Talma (magician)

This article is about Talma the magician. For other uses, see Talma.

A smiling young white woman with dark center-parted hair with a white scarf draped over her head
Talma, from a 1900 publication

Talma was the stage name of Mary Ann Ford (1861 – 13 July, 1944), the magician, who is best known for performing with her husband Servais Le Roy in the act "Le Roy, Talma & Bosco".[1]: 104 

Ford was born in England, while her husband was Belgian. As a performer, she adopted the name Mercedes Talma, but was generally known just as Talma. When Talma was an assistant to a mind reader in London, she met Servais Le Roy, who was a sleight-of-hand artist.[1]: 104  Talma and Le Roy were wed in 1890.[1]: 104  Talma became accomplished at performing sleight of hand and manipulation acts, especially coin manipulation, and she was often billed as "The Queen of Coins".[1]: 104 

Talma formed a long-running stage partnership with her husband and their colleague Leon Bosco. They named their act "The Comedians de Mephisto Co" but they were much better known as Le Roy, Talma & Bosco. Le Roy is credited with devising the Asrah levitation illusion, which he and Talma first performed in London in 1914.[2][3] Talma performed sleight of hand for their show.[1]: 105 

Photos
  • Talma, 1899
    Talma, 1899
  • Le Roy, Talma, Bosco, 1912.
    Le Roy, Talma, Bosco, 1912.
  1. ^ a b c d e Randi, James (1992). Conjuring. New York: St. Martin's Press. ISBN 0-312-08634-2. OCLC 26162991.
  2. ^ "Brief Biographies of Magic Inventors". MagicNook.com. Retrieved 12 April 2007.
  3. ^ Roy & Andrews (1985). Illusions: Secrets from the world of magic. Methuen. ISBN 0-423-01300-9.