Ronald Stanley Leonard (August 23, 1923 – October 5, 1998) was a Canadian entertainer, artist, and entrepreneur. Best known as a talented magician and illusionist, he was also an accomplished painter. He used oils and watercolours to paint landscapes.[1][2] His brother was the ventriloquist Cy Leonard.[3]
He was a trained MC, a singer, and an actor who appeared on the same bill as Robert Goulet, Cab Calloway, Rich Little, and Jane Morgan.[4][5] For 16 years, he was the featured magician known as Mr. Magic on Uncle Bobby, a children’s show on CFTO that ran in the 1960s and 1970s. He was given life membership to the Society of Canadian Magicians and the Toronto Hat and Rabbit Club, Ring 17. He toured a comedic illusionist act called “Funzafizzen Magic a Go-Go” in Toronto, Niagara Falls, and internationally.[6] He called himself a comedian who happened to use magic as his vehicle.[2]
References
edit- ^ "Leonard works magic with paint". The Aurora Banner. 30 April 1986.
- ^ a b Rasky, Frank (9 February 1980). "There's real magic in his art". The Toronto Star. p. H12.
- ^ Wedge, Pip (November 2002). "History of Canadian Broadcasting: Uncle Bobby".
- ^ "Heavy schedule at show for Ron". The Aurora Banner. 7 May 1969. p. 22.
- ^ "Royal York in June". The Royal York Magazine. Vol. 11, no. 6. H. E. Dennis. June 1969. p. 16.
- ^ Deverell, John (12 October 1998). "Ron Leonard, a magician of many talents". The Toronto Star. p. B8.
External links
edit- Ron Leonard (II) at IMDb
- Ron Leonard's paintings at Tweed, Ontario's Studio 737