A self-taught magician, Andrus preferred to develop his own style rather than learn the craft as traditionally handed down from other magicians, eventually becoming one of the “best and most-influential ‘close-up magic’ performers ever.”He was known to many accomplished contemporary magicians, such as Lance Burton, Doug Henning, and Penn & Teller, for this unique brand of close-up, sleight-of-hand magic.
International card magicians knew Andrus for his “Master Move”, a sleight-of-hand classic “pass” without “necessary false movement”.
An early member of The Magic Castle in Hollywood, California, Andrus performed there semi-annually until shortly before his death. “With over 5,000 members at the Magic Castle… this gentleman’s membership number is #306; he has been performing here since we opened our doors.
“Each of us possesses a unique brain that could conceivably be the most amazing thing in all of the universe. What do we do with it? Most of us just let it lie there and rot.” – Jerry Andrus
Books and lecture notes
- Andrus Deals You in (1956)
- Sleightly Miraculous (1961)
- Special Magic (lecture notes for 1974 Japan Tour) (1974)
- “Andrus Card Control”—Volumes 1, 2 (1976)
- More Sleightly Slanted (lecture notes) (1977)
- Andrus Card Control (with Ray Hyman) (2000)
- Kurious Kards and $5 Trix (2001)
- Safety Pin-Trix
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Video’s
Although the quality of some of the videos are not great, they are all worth watching if you wish to learn more about Jerry.
James Randi on Jerry Andrus
Jerry at 83 years of age
Performing at the Magic Castle™
Jerry Andrus and Ray Hyman on Uri Geller
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=2iSVye8cEJE