Forgotten Magic by Celtic

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Official history has a funny way of neglecting to tell large chapters of our collective human story. If we only take enough time to read the text we are issued in whichever schools we fall into, and only enough interest to be able to leap through whatever hoop gets us a piece of paper that says ‘graduate’, we inevitably miss out on most of the best parts – and the most illuminating tracts. Finding real history requires more. Real history is akin to the gems buried deep in the dirt and rock of passing time, and we must dig for them. And dig with passion!

One of these nearly lost treasures is the story of Long Tack Sam, an internationally celebrated vaudeville star that you’ve probably never heard of. His story, fortunately for us, is collected by his great-granddaughter – Ann Marie Fleming. She has taken the time to dig through her family history and create a documentary called “The Magical Life of Long Tack Sam” which allows us to travel with him as he leaves China, marries an Austrian woman (Leopoldine) and eventually brings his art to North America. His contemporaries and colleagues included Laurel and Hardy, Houdini and the Marx Brothers among others.

You can purchase copies of the DVD at National Film Board of Canada website. A direct link to the page is here.

The official website for this story is located here.

An illustrated companion book is located here.

And finally, a small sample of the DVD located on YouTube:



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Comments

J said…
I'm amazed that you know of these rather obscure gems from history, Celtic. Nice find!
January 7, 2010 at 10:59 AM
neaato said…
THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU THANK YOU FOR THIS FIND. I WILL REMEMBER THIS DAY FOREVER, seriously. how did you come across this?????? where has this been all my life???

going to now buy/read/watch all of her stuff. again, thank you thank you!!! soooooo goooooooooooooooood!

it's like persopolis and sita sings the blues combined!
January 7, 2010 at 12:10 PM
Celtic said…
*laughs* Well, I suspect it may just be one of the side effects of becoming an old lady. I've gotten a lot of stuff crammed into this smaller than average skull of mine over the years. The hard part sometimes is getting it back out again when I want to!

Neaato, I wish I could remember how I first heard of this story, but all can say for sure is that I am an infinitely curious creature, so I just read and look things up a lot. But I am enjoying your enthusiasm. I am beyond thrilled to hear that you are going to support this lady's efforts and hard work with some of your own hard earned dosh.
January 7, 2010 at 1:42 PM
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