Channing Pollock
Born: August 16, 1926 (Sacramento, California)
Died: March 18, 2006 (Las Vegas)
The work of Channing Pollock in the performing art of magic is important to me for several reasons. First, his magic is filled with elegance, grace, and class. His understated showmanship reminds us that it is possible to be a virtuosic sleight-of-hand performer, while remaining humble. Second, Pollock attended one of the few official magic schools that I know of in North America: the Chavez School of Magic. I am currently attempting to locate and map magic institutions to get a clearer understanding of how magic as a performing art both has and has not built schools. So this aspect of his life story is of great interest to me. Finally, Pollock is also from the city where I was born and raised — Sacramento, California. He retired in 1969 and moved to Moss Beach where he and his wife set up an organic farm. Even though he traveled and performed all over the world, I’ll always think of him as a Northern California guy — a hometown hero.