Walford Bodie

Photograph of Bodie c. 1900s Walford Bodie (born Samuel Murphy Bodie; 11 June 1869 – 19 October 1939), was a Scottish showman, hypnotist, ventriloquist and stage magician, famous for his "mock" electrocutions involving a replica of "The Electric Chair". He also performed an act of "Bloodless Surgery", claiming he could use electricity, hypnosis and manipulation to cure "all kinds of ailments and disabilities". His performances were enormously popular in the early 20th century, and inspired both Harry Houdini and Charlie Chaplin.

His touting of medical skill displeased the medical profession of the time, who labelled him a 'quack,' and took him to court over the use of the word 'doctor.' Yet Bodie was also a great showman and stage performer, and it was the combination of showmanship, as well as his apparent 'cures,' that provided the magnet for his huge success. Jay (1998) accredits Bodie with the origination of many of today's comic interludes in stage hypnotism. In other words, the originator of much of the 'humorous hypnosis' we see on stage to this very day, while Professor Edwin A. Dawes states that 'as a ventriloquist (in his later stage review, 'Fun on an Ocean Liner') he was superb.' Provided by Wikipedia
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