Late Pittsburgh-area magician to be honored in Scott Township magic present | Information

In a long time as a magician, Dick Recktenwald pulled fairly a number of rabbits from a hat.

They weren’t reside rabbits, thoughts you, however sponge rabbits. Nonetheless, although, they had been rabbits.

“That was all the time a crowd-pleaser,” in response to his son, Mark Recktenwald. The youthful Recktenwald would accompany his father when he placed on magic reveals at Cub Scout banquets, nursing houses, lodges, birthday events, household picnics and different occasions.

“He by no means charged an entire lot,” mentioned Mark Recktenwald. “He liked to see the response he would get. He simply actually appreciated performing.”

Dick Recktenwald continued doing magic reveals till simply earlier than his dying at age 80 in 2020.

A driver for the Pittsburgh Put up-Gazette, Recktenwald grow to be fascinated with magic as a young person. All through his life, he gathered a mammoth assortment of things associated to the magician’s craft – playing cards, cube, posters, books on how you can pull off among the most jaw-dropping feats, and lots extra.

Upon his dying, Recktenwald’s household determined to donate all of it to the Pittsburgh department of the Worldwide Brotherhood of Magicians.

To mark the bequest, Recktenwald’s fellow magicians will likely be paying tribute to him in “The Thirteenth Ring: A Magic Present for Youngsters,” set for the Scott Township Public Library on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 2 p.m. The present guarantees to incorporate a few of Recktenwald’s favourite feats, utilizing a few of his props.

“Dick had an excellent assortment of books and DVDs,” mentioned Dan Kamin, president of the Pittsburgh Worldwide Brotherhood of Magicians. There’s no brick-and-mortar location the place to retailer it, so the gathering will likely be divvied up between the members of the group, he added.

“Whoever needs it will get to make use of it,” Kamin defined.

Mark Recktenwald mentioned it made sense to let the Worldwide Brotherhood of Magicians have all of the gadgets as a result of “I wished it to go to an excellent dwelling,” he mentioned. “The membership was such a giant a part of his life.”

And regardless that the efficiency on the library is aimed for youths, magic will be, nicely, magical, for anybody of any age, in response to Kamin.

“Magic turns everybody into kids once more,” he mentioned. “I nonetheless get that approach after I watch it. The air begins to glitter as a result of every part appears potential.”

Admission is free however area is restricted, so arriving early is inspired. For extra data, log on to scottlibrary.org.