These were, strictly speaking, nothing more than tricks or illusions, sleights of hand performed by a master magician. Mr. Jay, who was also an actor, film consultant and renowned scholar of confidence tricksters and exotic entertainers, was 72 when he died Nov. 25 at his home in Los Angeles. “Since Gary was unwilling to actually have his legs amputated for the film, they had to call us in,” Mr. Jay explained to the Los Angeles Times. Mr. Jay asked him to name a card, and Mort settled on the three of hearts. “Once, when I was 10, I switched the tubes,” Mr. Jay said.

Source: Washington Post November 25, 2018 22:21 UTC