A Classic Player: Harry Lorayne, 1926 - 2023

By PAUL GINSBERG

Harry Lorayne

THANKS FOR THE MEMORIES!

Someone once said, “You have to walk through many weeds to get to a flower.” That applies to mates, work, and certainly to experts and virtuosos in their chosen fields. One such rare “flower” was Player Harry Lorayne, who died on April 7, 2023, at the age of 96. Harry was the leading expert on memory, and a revered magician. And he was a Player.

Harry appeared on "The Tonight Show" with Johnny Carson 26 times. He was on just about every other talk show, and showed up at trade shows, conventions, auditoriums and schools all over the world, demonstrating his memory and magical skills.

Harry was THE authority on memory. Being a magic fan since birth, I first met Harry about 50 years ago at a Magic Jubilee convention at Brown’s Hotel in the Catskills. There, I watched people read him 40 random digits while they wrote them down. Harry then asked, “Do you want them forward or backward?” and then proceeded to recite the 40 numbers as if he was reading them. Absolutely amazing.

At "The Tonight Show" filming, Harry would greet each audience member as he or she entered the studio. Later he’d have the audience stand up. Then he called each name out, row by row, from memory, and as he called a name the audience member would sit down. He always completed his task, and thanked the cameramen by name, as well.

Eight years ago, I was honored to be invited to Harry’s 90th birthday party, hosted by the magician Steve Cohen. Harry was alert, and in great spirits, and proceeded to entertain his friends with original baffling magical effects. There were recorded birthday greetings from all over the world.

Harry penned more than 50 books on magic theory and techniques, and 28 more on his memory system and ways to improve memory.

He was known for his sleight-of-hand skills, his sense of humor, and, of course his memory. I once asked him: “Mr. Lorayne, you are the world’s foremost authority on memory. Is there a foolproof way that I can remember my wife’s birthday and our anniversary?” Harry said: “Sure, forget it once. You’ll never forget it again.”

Colin Powell once said, “Harry, you helped make me a general,” because he had used Harry’s memorization system in his career. Another friend of Harry, Mel Brooks, wanted to use Harry’s Jane Street address in “The Producers,” but Mrs. Lorayne was afraid people would be knocking on the door at all hours, so the address was changed.

Harry was a true legend. In an interview with Steve Cohen he mentioned that The Players was his club. And he could probably have recited the membership list without looking. Harry Lorayne, Yoda of memory. R.I.P.

Paul Ginsberg

 Paul Ginsberg is a leading forensic audio expert specializing in clarification of undercover and aircraft black-box recordings. He has participated in over 2,000 trials. He recently used his expertise to enhance recordings of Edwin Booth recorded on wax cylinders by Thomas Edison. Paul loves family, friends, comedy, magic, pasta, wine, and chocolate. He had a pet peeve but it died. He can usually be found in the grill telling funny stories.