Carl Hertz

Carl Hertz (1859-1924) was an American magician.

Not to be confused with the physicist co-inventor of medical ultrasonography, Carl Hellmuth Hertz[1].

Biography

Born Louis Morgenstein in San Francisco and after becoming proficient in the art of magic, he used the stage name Carl Hertz and toured America and Europe appearing in various music halls. Like other magicians of the time, such as David Devant, Hertz acquired one of the first Theatrograph[2] projectors made by Robert Paul (1869-1943)[3], and included film projections in his act.

In 1896 he went on a tour of South Africa and the antipodes, taking this speciality item with him. Having shown it in South Africa, he then went on perform and display his Theatrograph in Australia, Ceylon (Sri Lanka), India, China, Japan, the Fiji Islands and Hawaii.

In 1924 he published his autobiography.

For more on Hertz, see: https://www.victorian-cinema.net/hertz

Contribution to SA film

Having arrived in South Africa, Hertz travelled to Johannesburg in the ZAR, where he began his tour, which would include various towns in South Africa. Among the performances were:

May 9, 1896: He gave a press show to demonstrate the Theatrograph at the Empire Palace of Varieties.

May 11, 1896: He presented what is probably the first time public demonstration of film projection in Southern Africa, again at the Empire Palace of Varieties. The films shown included scenes of Highland Dances, Street Scenes in London, Trilby Dance, Military Parade and the famous film The Soldier's Courtship[4], which Robert Paul had shot on the roof of the Alhambra Theatre, Leicester Square in April.

July 9, 1896: Hertz and his Theatrograph performed at the Opera House in Port Elizabeth.