The Encyclopedia Of Stage Hypnotism

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Ormond McGill
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Hypnotherapist, stage hypnotist
Born Ormond Dale McGill
June 15, 1913
Palo Alto, California, U.S.
Died October 19, 2005 (aged 92)
Palo Alto, California, U.S.
Occupation Stage Hypnotist
Spouse Delight Beth Olmstead (m. 1935; died 1978)
Ormond Dale McGill (June 15, 1913 – October 19, 2005) was an American stage hypnotist, magician and instructor who was considered to be the "Dean of American Hypnotists".[1] He was also a writer and author of many books including Hypnotism and Mysticism of India (1979) and The New Encyclopedia of Stage Hypnotism.[2]

Early life
McGill was born in Palo Alto, California, to Julia (née Battelle) and Harry Aloysius McGill. His given name Ormond was chosen by his mother, after the last name of a childhood friend from her former residence in Omaha, Nebraska.[3]

At age five, McGill was bitten by a monkey at a carnival in La Honda, leaving him with a permanent scar on his right hand after McGill's mother treated the bite with make-shift poultice. He performed his first magic tricks in fifth grade by showing off a water-to-wine-to-milk chemistry demonstration and developed an interest in stage theatrics after seeing a magic show by an illusionist named Herman Hansen at Pantages Theatre in San Francisco.[4]

In 1927, after returning to Palo Alto from a brief move to Berkeley due to his father's work for AT&T, McGill began taking Tarbell Course in Magic lessons at the start of high school and studied hypnosis. Inspired by a performance of magician Charles Carter, McGill held his first full-length magic show at Palo Alto High School, with more complex tricks such as the bullet catch and a hypnosis act involving a homeless carny and a sledgehammer. McGill then took a side job as an assistant for a local magician. McGill graduated high school in 1931 and attended San Jose State College a year later to study psychology.[3]

Career
Between 1932 and 1940, McGill performed magic tricks at various Northern California resorts as a summer job. In 1934, he turned down an offer to be signed with Elwin-Charles Peck's El-Wyn Midnight Spook Party as he didn't want to quit college, but continued to visit magic shows at any opportunity, including a few by Long Tack Sam. After obtaining a bachelor's degree, McGill started his own traveling show, "Séance of Wonders", featuring horror-themed routines and costumed assistants typical of the midnight "spook shows" which were popular during that era. Between 1935 and 1954, McGill made a living as a stage magician, initially limited to the United States and Canada. On September 29, 1943, McGill married Delight Olmstead in Santa Monica.

In 1955, McGill first began touring worldwide, touring mostly for the U.S. military, in Australia, South Korea, the Philippines and Japan. Through Ron Ormond, who had named himself after McGill, he performed several filmed magic acts on a tour through the southern coastline of Asia. McGill's last overseas tour was in 1970 in New Zealand. During the 1970s and late 1980s, he authored several non-fiction books on eastern mysticism and hypnosis, returning to stage magic in 1982.[3]

Ormond McGill also trained students for therapeutic applications through hypnotism beginning 1981, when he joined the Hypnotherapy Training Institute in Corte Madera. He wrote the Encyclopedia of Genuine Stage Hypnotism[5][6] in 1947. Beginning 1999, at age 86, he hosted workshops in hypnotherapy, lecturing until a few days before his death.

McGill continued to collaborate with other colleagues including Gil Boyne, whom he mentored, and to teach hypnotherapy until his death in 2005 with Randal Churchill at the HTI.

Other attributes
In addition to his career as a magician and stage hypnotist, McGill was also a skilled hypnotherapist and a student of Eastern mysticism. He wrote between twenty-five and forty books (sources disagree on the total), including such titles as Grieve No More Beloved (about his afterlife contact with his deceased wife), Hypnotism and Mysticism of India, and his autobiography, The Amazing Life of Ormond McGill. McGill has revealed the truth behind magical events such as the Indian rope trick and others during his visit to India.[3]

References
Confessions of a Regressionist: Is There a Life Or Time Other Than the Present? ISBN 1475907427
The Power of I Am: Creating a New World of Enlightened Personal Interaction ISBN 1583941428
McGill, Ormond (July 6, 2005). The Amazing Life of Ormond McGill. Crown House. ISBN 978-1845904807.
"Ormond McGill Biography". Archived from the original on 2013-11-01. Retrieved 2013-03-28.
Hypnotherapy: A Client-Centered Approach ISBN 1589800524
They Were Giants 2007 ISBN 0595871526
External links
Ormond McGill's Bio at Hypnotherapy Training Institute
Ormond McGill Memorial Site
San Francisco Chronicle obituary (SFGate through Legacy.com)
Tribute to Ormond McGill at the Wayback Machine (archived March 17, 2013) (originally http://www.durbinhypnosis.com/mcgill.htm)

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Ormond McGill

Born: June 15, 1913
Palo Alto, California
Died: October 19, 2005 (age 92)

Ormond McGill (1913-2005) was known as the "Dean of American Hypnotists".

Biography
McGill became interested in magic as a child (and was later considered legendary in magic circles), but first studied hypnosis in 1927 while still a teenager. He wrote the seminal Encyclopedia of Genuine Stage Hypnotism (the acknowledged bible of stage hypnotism) in 1947, and continued to teach courses and lecture right up until a few days before his death.

He launched his original Spook Show under title "The Great London Hypnotic Seance," touring throughout American West and Midwest and Canada, beginning 1942.

From 1947 to 1954, McGill performed hypnotism and magic under the stage name of Dr. Zomb. His "Séance of Wonders" show featured horror-themed routines and costumed assistants typical of the midnight "Spook Shows" which were popular during that era.

In addition to his career as a world-traveling magician and stage hypnotist, McGill was also a skilled hypnotherapist and a student of Eastern mysticism. He wrote between twenty-five and forty books (sources disagree on the total), including such titles as Grieve No More Beloved (about his afterlife contact with his deceased wife), Hypnotism and Mysticism in India, and his autobiography, The Amazing Life of Ormond McGill (2005).

Eventually, he became known as "The Dean of American Hypnotism" and taught many courses and lectures about Hypnotism right up until his death.[1]

Books
The Zomb's Magic Book (1945)
21 Gems of Magic (1946)
The Encyclopedia of Genuine Stage Hypnotism (1947)
Psychic Magic, Vol. 1-6 (1950-1951)
Entertaining with Magic (1977)
The Magic and Illusions Of Lee Grabel (1986)
Magic with Soap Bubbles (1987)
Real Mental Magic (1989)
Secrets of Dr. Zomb (2003)
The Amazing Life of Ormond McGill (2005)
References
↑ Ormond Mcgill tells secrets about hypnosis and magic.

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Ormond McGill was born in Palo Alto, California, in1913, the son of the city's telephone manager. At a young age, McGill became interested in magic, and eventually took a correspondence course through the Tarbell Music School in Chicago while still in high school.

After graduating from high school in 1931, he attended San Jose State, studying psychology, commercial art and advertising. He relates how his love affair with hypnosis was triggered as a university student when he saw a performance of a stage hypnotist named De Walzoa. Fascinated, McGill began reading books on the subject, and gradually started to incorporate a little bit of hypnosis into his magic shows. Eventually he began performing hypnosis shows as well. In the early days, he recalls, Palo Alto had a clause in its laws that prohibited gypsies from coming to Palo Alto, along with fortune tellers and hypnotists.

He remained interested in magic, and soon began traveling as an assistant to "Mandu the Magician.” Continuing his interest in stage hypnotism, in which volunteers from the audience are willingly hypnotized in the course of the performance, he continued to travel to wherever his jobs would take him.

After one Canadian performance, McGill was awakened late at night by an officer of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police at his door. He explained that a woman at his performance had failed to come out of her hypnotic trance for nearly three days, was at a local hospital and could he please come to help. By the time McGill showed up, she was out of the trance. The incident was picked up by news radio commentator Paul Harvey.

From 1947 to 1954, McGill performed hypnotism and magic under the stage name of Dr. Zomb. His "Séance of Wonders" show featured horror-themed routines and costumed assistants typical of the midnight "Spook Shows" which were popular during that era.

In addition to his career as a world-traveling magician and stage hypnotist, McGill was also a skilled hypnotherapist and a student of Eastern mysticism. He wrote somewhere between twenty-five and forty books (sources disagree on the total), including such titles as “Grieve No More Beloved” (about his afterlife contact with his deceased wife), “Hypnotism and Mysticism in India”, and his autobiography, “The Amazing Life of Ormond McGill”, "The Encyclopedia of Genuine Stage Hypnotism” and a number of books with Hypnotist Tom Silver, two of which are “The How To Book of Hypnotism” and “Hypnotism Training & Techniques Manual.”

Ormond McGill made many of his greatest insights in recent years. He has combined his profound mastery of many hypnotic techniques; his deep personal understanding of Eastern systems of meditation, mysticism, wisdom and healing; and his creativity, vision, compassion, humor and life experience.

Known as “The Dean of American Hypnotism”, Ormond McGill continued to teach courses and lecture right up until a few days before his death. He passed away on October 19, 2005 in town where he was born – Palo Alto.

His best piece of advice: "Make life your playground,
not your battlefield."