Attorney William W. Larson, right, whose hobby is exposing bogus spiritualists, shows how one of the tricks is worked. Mrs. Edna Hill, woman magician poses as victim. Benny Chavez, conductor of magicians school, poses as a "guide or steerer," who brought Mrs. Hill to the fake spirtualist. Larson shows "victim" blank slates. The victim then reads the "answers" she thinks were written by the spirit world. The answers are "Your name is Edna" and "You will travel." The answers, of course, were written on the slates exchange for the ones she originally was shown. Larson estimates the "take" of fake mediums runs from $200,000,000 to $300,000,000 a year. Photo dated: June 22, 1949.
Roosevelt Hotel (Hollywood, Los Angeles, Calif.) Magicians Fraud Spiritualists Hollywood (Los Angeles, Calif.) Los Angeles Evening Herald and Express photographs Herald-Examiner Collection photographs
If you're wondering about permissions and what you can do with this item, a good starting point is the "rights information" on this page. See our terms of use for more tips.
Share your story
Has Calisphere helped you advance your research, complete a project, or find something meaningful? We'd love to hear about it; please send us a message.
