Photo by Stephan Reed
Before his death in 1926, Harry Houdini hired a publicist to help his legacy grow even after his passing. Grandview Heights native Dr. Timothy Moore has become that embodiment of renown Houdini wanted through an astounding collection of artifacts, decades of research and a repertoire of mind-blowing magic tricks.
From Houdini’s top hat and handcuffs to his lapel pins and cane, Moore has turned his childhood hobby into a lifelong pursuit.
“My interest in magic started when I was 10 years old,” he says. “I won an art contest and the prize was a magic trick, so I fell in love with it. I started lessons when I was 11 from an Upper Arlington magician named George Kirkendall. He really understood the history of magic.”
Each piece and poster in Moore’s collection has a history, and every item has been investigated and tracked before purchase.
“I find this stuff through a lot of research,” Moore says. “I’ve never gotten anything off eBay. I find where they have been in the world through letters and correspondence. I’ll spend years tracking something down. Rarely does something just show up.”
Luckily for Moore, he has found a way to combine his two passions in life: magic and dentistry.
“My office in Upper Arlington is totally decked out in magic memorabilia,” he says. “Every single operatory has at least five posters. My office is lined with this stuff. Instead of books, I have magic stuff on my shelves.”
Bringing magic into the office has proved beneficial for Moore. It sparks conversations with adults and keeps the children distracted.
“I perform magic every day in the office,” he says. “Each kid who comes in gets a trick. It makes them excited to come in. My staff loves it because it makes it easier to do the dentistry.”
Moore even found a way to collaborate with famous magician David Blaine for an original trick called “Pulling Teeth.”
The dentist designed the trick and Blaine performs it. Blaine seeks a member of the audience and seemingly pulls out two teeth from his or her mouth. After the participant begins to panic, he blows the teeth back into the mouth and blows the minds of everyone watching.
“The original reaction was perfect,” Moore says. “Somebody actually fell to the floor because he was so flabbergasted.”
Through his research, Moore now has a few tricks – and coins – up his own sleeve.
“I do a lot of shows myself,” he says. “I was asked to perform at the conference for magic history in Cincinnati in June. I will perform some tricks by the famous Karl Germain. I have some of his real props, so we’ll use that in the show.”
One of the props he will use is Germain’s spirit lock, a piece that is as rich in historic value as in sentimental valu
e.
“The lock was originally owned by magician Charles Bertram,” he says. “He had the lock made in 1890 and performed with it. Germain tried to buy the lock, but was denied. When Bertram died, Germain once again tried to purchase the lock, but couldn’t. Edwin Morrow, who was the second owner, passed away two years later.”
Morrow’s widow took a liking to Germain and asked him to help sort through what Morrow left behind – one of those being the spirit lock. Instead of staying with Morrow’s widow, Germain escaped with the lock. He later gifted the item to a man name Stuart Cramer. Cramer showed up to one of Moore’s shows at Cedar Point and asked if he wanted the lock for $400.
“I didn’t have the money at the time, so I called my teacher, Kirkendall, and he drove all the way from Columbus immediately,” Moore says. “He did the deal, got the lock and, six months before his passing, Kirkendall laid it on me. He said I deserved it. I, myself, will absolutely leave this with someone who truly deserves it.”
Possessing an artifact of this caliber comes with responsibility, and trust is a must.
“It takes building relationships and just being real,” Moore says. “If you’re going to make a deal, the person has to like you. These things are an honor to have. I’m not the owner of these artifacts. I’m just the present curator. The original magicians are the true owners.”
The piece that started Moore’s madness for magic was a poster created in 1905 of another magician, coincidentally named Timothy Moore.
“There were only two of these posters in the world and the owner wouldn’t sell it to me,” he says. “He wanted something he didn’t have so we could trade. It took me a year and a half to find something. In that time, I fell in love with magic. I was hooked.”
Being a magic historian and collector, Moore has found almost all the different ways to trick the human mind. But that doesn’t mean he is immune to enchantment.
“I do get fooled every once in a while and it’s absolutely fantastic when it happens,” he says. “When you study this for 40 years, you start to understand the principles behind each trick. There are only certain methods because we are only human beings.”
When Moore isn’t in his office, texting with buddy David Copperfield, preparing for the 83rd Columbus Magi-Fest in January or spending time with his wife and two sons, he is out performing.
“For five years, I’ve done shows on the Vacation Bible Schools Tour for 104.9 The River, and there have been a few upset calls about magic in the church,” he says. “They think it over when they see what I’m doing with it. There’s such a strong message to give.”
Moore believes magic is the embodiment of mystery. It is a way to visualize what we cannot actually see.
“Magic is a tangible of the miraculous,” he says. “The author of miracles is God himself. Every child I perform for is the ultimate miracle.”
Stephan Reed is a contributing editor. Feedback welcome at laurand@cityscenemediagroup.com.
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