Late Pittsburgh-area magician to be honored in Scott Township magic show
Courtesy of Dan Kamin
Some of the items from the extensive collection of the late magician Dick Recktenwald.
Courtesy of Dan Kamin
The collection of the late magician Dick Recktenwald has been donated to the Pittsburgh branch of the International Brotherhood of Magicians.
In decades as a magician, Dick Recktenwald pulled quite a few rabbits from a hat.
They weren’t live rabbits, mind you, but sponge rabbits. Still, though, they were rabbits.
“That was always a crowd-pleaser,” according to his son, Mark Recktenwald. The younger Recktenwald would accompany his father when he put on magic shows at Cub Scout banquets, nursing homes, lodges, birthday parties, family picnics and other events.
“He never charged a whole lot,” said Mark Recktenwald. “He loved to see the reaction he would get. He just really liked performing.”
Dick Recktenwald continued doing magic shows until just before his death at age 80 in 2020.
A driver for the Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, Recktenwald become fascinated with magic as a teenager. Throughout his life, he accumulated a mammoth collection of items related to the magician’s craft – cards, dice, posters, books on how to pull off some of the most jaw-dropping feats, and plenty more.
Upon his death, Recktenwald’s family decided to donate it all to the Pittsburgh branch of the International Brotherhood of Magicians.
To mark the bequest, Recktenwald’s fellow magicians will be paying tribute to him in “The Thirteenth Ring: A Magic Show for Kids,” set for the Scott Township Public Library on Saturday, Oct. 1 at 2 p.m. The show promises to include some of Recktenwald’s favorite feats, using some of his props.
“Dick had a very good collection of books and DVDs,” said Dan Kamin, president of the Pittsburgh International Brotherhood of Magicians. There’s no brick-and-mortar location where to store it, so the collection will be divvied up between the members of the organization, he added.
“Whoever wants it gets to use it,” Kamin explained.
Mark Recktenwald said it made sense to let the International Brotherhood of Magicians have all the items because “I wanted it to go to a good home,” he said. “The club was such a big part of his life.”
And even though the performance at the library is aimed for kids, magic can be, well, magical, for anyone of any age, according to Kamin.
“Magic turns everyone into children again,” he said. “I still get that way when I watch it. The air starts to sparkle because everything seems possible.”
Admission is free but space is limited, so arriving early is encouraged. For additional information, go online to scottlibrary.org.