Out of Our Past: Blitz, famous magician, caught bullets in his teeth

The latter part of September - on Sept. 21, 1872 - the country’s most famous magician performed in Richmond.

Signor Antonio Blitz, "Professor of Mechanism and Metamorphosis," caught bullets in his teeth, trained birds to perform onstage, and made plates “dance” on tables. He was the nation’s premiere magician of the 19th century.

He first appeared locally in 1857, and then again on Sept. 21, 1872, at the Richmond Lyceum, where over 500 trained canaries did everything from racing chariots to rocking in chairs and standing on their heads.

While here, Blitz was billed as the Great, the Unrivaled, the Original, the Mysterious Signor Blitz! – The Amusing Blitz! – The Remarkable Blitz! – The Laughing Blitz! – The Popular Blitz! – The Blitz Who Makes All Happy! - Come and Laugh! Come and See the Funny Blitz!

While his act consisted mostly of magic, trained birds’ antics and ventriloquism, he early on did the dangerous Bullet-Catch with his teeth, but stopped it after a member of the audience took out a six-gun and exclaimed, “If you can catch one, you can catch ‘em all!”

Luckily Blitz stopped the man from firing. Although he dropped the act, he likely did it in Richmond in 1857, in his first appearance here early in his career.

Antonio Blitz brought many talents to the stage. His canaries were expertly trained. One would sit calmly in a ring of fire. Another would pull a canary in a wheeled cart. Varying canaries stood on their heads. He had canaries play dead and then come to life. Blitz was also one of the first to use a “vent” dummy and employ ventriloquism. The dummy he used was named ‘Bobby.’ The act started a trend.

In 1863, the magician performed in a July 4parade that President Lincoln attended. While marching, Blitz pulled a bird from the hair one of one of the girls on the parade route. This impromptu act stopped everyone in his or her tracks. So Blitz continued several dazzling slight of hand tricks, including whisking an egg from the mouth of young Tad Lincoln.

At this point Abraham Lincoln introduced himself to Blitz and asked how many children he had made happy by his magic.

Antonio replied, “Thousands and tens of thousands.”

Lincoln replied sadly, I fear that I have made thousands and tens of thousands unhappy.”

He said this because of the Civil War, which there seemed to be no end to. What neither knew was the Union victory at Gettysburg that would turn the tide of the war had just occurred, but the news had not yet arrived.

Signor Antonio Blitz was born on June 12, 1810, as Antonio van Zandt in Kent County, England. His family came to the United States in 1834. Young Antonio had a penchant for magic and eventually developed a highly successful stage act. Blitz performed in saloons, at theatres, and did charity acts. There was humor in his magic; laughter and mystification were his stated goals.

The premiere magician called Philadelphia his home and donated time at the local depot, performing magic for sick and wounded soldiers during the Civil War.

In his 1871 autobiography, "Fifty Years in the Magic Circle Being an Account of the Author’s Professional Life; his Wonderful Tricks and Feats; with Laughable Incidents and Adventures as a Magician," he wrote about performing before soldiers: “The poor fellows loved to laugh. It drove away their pains and cares! …Men whose limbs had been amputated but a few days… begged to be dressed, that they might attend my show… A good laugh will raise your spirits and bring about a speedy recovery. Is not laughing good for health? …There was no medicine like laughing.”

Signor Blitz did an estimated 132 shows before approximately 63,000 soldiers.

The year before coming to Richmond, Blitz’s autobiography came out. In it he emphasized having comedy in his performances and being a merry person. He was so beloved that an estimated 13 other performers were trying to imitate him, using his name.

For his Richmond appearance he emphasized he was the original, true Antonio Blitz. But not all went well while he was here.

Blitz would pull bread slices from under peoples’ hats and from men’s overcoats after lifting their coattails. Although early on he dropped bullet-catching with his teeth, because it was too dangerous, he never stopped pulling fruits and vegetables from beneath men’s backsides, either onstage or at parties or on the streets... or at the Richmond depot, where he trudged through to get to the Lyceum. Sometimes this did not go over well, because bystanders did not like having their backsides “messed with.”

But it got a laugh.

Antonio Blitz died six years after his Richmond appearance and is buried in the same New York cemetery as Harry Houdini.

Contact columnist Steve Martin at stephenmonroemartin@gmail.com.

This article originally appeared on Lafayette Journal & Courier: Out of Our Past: Blitz, famous magician, caught bullets in his teeth