Cindythings Chrystal Dunninger Museum Page 4

Chrystal probably bothered Dunninger even more by getting a lot of press on the wire services and even in magic magazines--she was a public figure in her own right now, horning in on Dunninger's territory. He may have thrown her over, but she wasn't letting him forget her--or underestimate her. At one point she studied with Slydini for her own performing career, and in 1949 wowed a huge convention of the International Brotherhood of Magicians in Chicago with her surprise appearance skillfully performing Paper Balls to Hat. She didn't really pursue the magic performing career for long, she was probably just playing around with it to make a point to her ex. Had she done the same years earlier, with her great beauty, the history of magic might have been quite different. Here she is with Slydini in 1950,

Chrystal's later years were what you would expect of someone with her background and drive to stay in the center of things. She socialized with the jet set and retired film stars like Wini Shaw, Ruby Keeler, and Mae West.

Here is Chrystal with her dear friend Wini Shaw, who was in many early movies.

Chrystal attended glamorous luncheons, belonged to society clubs, and got involved in performers' guilds.

Here she is in the spotlight at a Catholic Actors Guild St. Patrick's Day party in 1971. She reminds me so much here of one of my other idols, romance author Barbara Cartland.

She also had some wealthy boyfriends over the years, such as a handsome doctor named Dick who inscribed photos to her adoringly. And she continued to travel, visiting friends and loved ones in places like Hawaii and California. One of them was her grown son Harry Jr. Here she is with grown up Harry Jr.

She also continued to clip news accounts about her famous ex to paste in her scrapbooks right up until the end.

Dunninger died on March 11, 1975, more than thirty years after their split, and Chrystal saved the clipping. She carried a flame for Dunninger all her life. You can't look through her scrapbooks at a page like this one and be unaware of that. She carried a love of magic with her, too, going to see shows by Blackstone, Siegfried and Roy, and a Houdini theatrical, and clipping various press items about it as late as the mid-1970's. One noted that magic was making a big comeback. Maybe Chrystal was dreaming of the old days with Dunninger and Daffy, and wishing they could come back too.

Chrystal died in her New York apartment, just days short of her 84th birthday, on February 18, 1982. She died only a few weeks before I would meet a future mentalist with the same first name as her beloved Dunninger, Joe Atmore, who would later become Dunninger's devoted biographer, and who I would marry. The Social Security number listed on Chrystal's death certificate was Dunninger's.

In Summer, 2001, I acquired the collection of mementoes and scrapbooks that comprise the Chrystal Dunninger Museum when they were given to me by her son Harry Jr.'s stepchildren. I am very honored to have them, and I know she'd love having her own virtual museum!

As for the real museum, when we have mentalism visitors to the house, I almost always ask them, "Do you want to see my Chrystal Dunninger Museum?" They always accept and follow me with wide eyes to the back room, and then laugh when I start to laugh and show them it's just a drawer. I think they all expect a wing of the Louvre or something! But they almost all stop laughing and seem amazed anyway when I open the drawer. There's just something about it that hits you when you look at it--this is real, rare Dunninger stuff! It's amazing. Anyone who can't make it to see it in person, here it is, the next best thing, the virtual tour.

Now I've shared with you just some of what is in the multiple scrapbooks and albums Chrystal kept, and I've told you what I know about Chrystal's life. I hope you like what you've learned and seen so far. But you ain't seen nothin' yet!

Now I hope you'll enjoy looking at the three dimensional exhibits in my Chrystal Dunninger Museum. Some of these objects were in Chrystal's possession for more than sixty years. That means they must have been in Dunninger's presence for many years, as well. Just think of it! He may have bought some of them for her when they browsed some souvenir shop, or gazed at them on some trinket shelf or fiddled with them on a desk in their home as he came up with his next Brain Buster...or at the very least paid for them via alimony he earned reading minds on radio and television at the peak of his career! Looking at them and thinking about that is simply fascinating to me.

Come along now, and let's see Chrystal's things. I'll give you a few views of each item so you can virtually walk around and have a good look. I'll give you dimensions as well in case you're into details. And if you have any questions about any of the items, please feel free to contact me and I'll be happy to reply to the best of my ability.

Chrystal Dunninger Museum Page 5 Chrystal Dunninger Museum Page 7