How much was Doug Henning worth?
| Net Worth: | $7 Million |
|---|---|
| Profession: | Professional Magician |
| Date of Birth: | May 3, 1947 |
| Country: | Canada |
| Height: | 1.67 m |
About Doug Henning
Douglas James Henning, a magician, illusionist, escape artist, and politician from Canada, died on February 7, 2000. His estimated net worth was $7 million. In addition to being the most well-known magician in the world in the 1970s and 1980s, Doug Henning is frequently credited with bringing back magic as a well-liked theatrical art form. Sadly, he quit magic just when his career was peaking and passed away in 2000 at the age of 52.
Henning received a $4,000 Canada Council Study Grant to pursue magic after learning magic in his youth and performing on local television in his native Canada.
After completing his undergraduate studies, he decided against attending medical school and further his studies in Hollywood, California, where he spent three months at the Magic Castle.
He constructed a number of theatrical illusions after obtaining a $5000 loan from a bank. Together with Ivan Reitman, they raised $40,000 to put on “Spellbound,” a successful production that incorporated magic with a plot and music at Toronto’s Royal Alexander Theatre.
Henning brought the production to Broadway in 1970, when it was altered and given the new moniker “The Magic Show.” Henning received a nomination for a Tony Award for the production, which was a hit and played for more than four years. Henning altered the public perception of magicians by donning jeans and tie-dyed shirts instead of the conventional top hat and tails.
Henning created the first of several magic programs on NBC in 1974, and he also starred in it. In December 1975, the program was broadcast live. He received seven nominations and one Emmy win.
Henning traveled with his act in 1978. Since the 1940s, he was the first magician to travel with a lavish production. Henning reportedly went with two tractor trailers loaded with 15 sets, props for 30 illusions, and a menagerie, according to a Los Angeles Times obituary.
According to the article, “…he turned a woman into a black panther, sawed two women in half and reassembled them on each other’s legs, walked through a mirror, suspended his wife in midair before making her vanish and reappear in a box hanging over a stage, escaped from a chained trunk like Houdini and conjured up the Bengal tiger,”
Henning performed later at the Sahara Tahoe and Hilton Las Vegas. Henning made a comeback to Broadway in 1980, producing and appearing in “Merlin.”
Henning abandoned magic in 1987 to learn transcendental meditation, and he later went to India to work with the movement’s founder, Maharishi Mahesh Yogi.
Henning quotes Maharishi Mahesh Yogi in “He [Maharishi Mahesh Yogi] told me that by expanding my consciousness I could develop my full potential as a human being,” a souvenir booklet from his traveling show, as saying, “Doug Henning and His World of Magic,” “Then, so-called “TM-Sidhis,” supernormal skills like levitation and enhanced senses might be learned. Because our scientific understanding hasn’t yet been able to investigate the subtle realms of the mind, these skills currently appear to be impossible. What currently seems supernatural will be regarded as scientific in the future.”
Henning announced a joint theme park venture with the maharishi in 1989 under the name “Maharishi Veda Land.” According to a 1992 New York Times article, the park was initially intended for India and later Niagara Falls, Ontario, and it would have featured rides and attractions that mirrored themes of enlightenment, education, and enjoyment.
An attraction was to examine the molecular makeup of a rose, and a building was to look to be hanging over water. Later, Orlando, Florida was chosen as the park’s new location. The 450-acre Orlando plot for the theme park was put up for sale in September 2008.
Henning continued to raise money for the maharishi by performing irregularly in the 1980s and selling several of his illusions to David Copperfield. Henning was forced to run for office in Canada and England as a member of the “Natural Law Party.” as a result of additional maharishi-related actions.
Henning’s decision to explore transcendental meditation cost the magic community one of its most ardent supporters. Henning tragically passed away in 2000 from liver cancer. Doug Henning had a $7 million net worth when he passed away. The magic world is terribly missing him.
