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THOMAS C. WORTHINGTON III
Thomas Chew Worthington III hailed from a prominent Baltimore family, his father a doctor at John Hopkins. A known eccentric and magical purist, he showed open disdain for magicians that did not take the practice seriously and was even known to pick fights! He was the first member to join the Demons Club, but left in 1923 to form the Society of Osiris after his increasing agitation at the club's lack of exclusivity, calling it's members "the Peeping Tom's of magic." He worshiped Howard Thurston, considering him the world's greatest magician and despised Houdini "I knew Eric Weiss very well, he was an egotistical ass. There was no love lost between him and me."
He also would joke that the initials M.U.M used by the Society of American Magician's (which stands for Magic, Unity and Might) actually meant "Many Useless Magicians!" lol
At his home in Baltimore, Worthington had one of the largest and most
valuable collections of rare magical apparatus in the world which, just
prior to his death. he gave to the Ringling Brothers' Museum in
Sarasota, Florida. |
Thomas Chew Worthington, III (1879-1953),
the son of Dr. Thomas Chew Worthington, Jr. and Mary Kate Worthington and
brother of Richard W. Worthington. He married Clara McDonald, and the couple
had one daughter; they lived at 2113 Poplar Grove St. Thomas Worthington
was a graduate of the Maryland Institute, and a friend of many faculty
and students over the years.
By profession, Worthington was a salesman for many years with the firm
of John T. Willis, Co., distributors of X-ray and photographic equipment.
By inclination, he was a magician, photographer, and collector. A friend
of many eminent practitioners of the prestidigital art, Worthington's own
collection of magic equipment was accepted by the Ringling Museum in Sarasota,
Florida; he made the donation as a memorial to his friend, magician Howard
Thurston (1869-1936). Other collections included antiques, stamps, autographs,
and natural history specimens (which last he left to Loyola College at
his death), as well as photographs now at the Enoch Pratt Free Library and the Maryland Historical Society.