Monk Watson (Donald William Watson)

The Professional Touch

Abbott's Magic Novelty Co (1945)

Paperback

49 pages | USA | eng

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Genre

Conjuring

Subject

Magic tricks

Plot

Watson, Donald "Monk": The Professional Touch
©1945 Abbott Magic Company
64 Pages, Paperbound

Comment (From Abbott's Catalog 17): On the performance of magic, with some magic.

Monk Watson (1894- March 23, 1981) was born Donald W. Watson in Jackson, Michigan (From MagicPedia)

Contents: (numbers are not page numbers)

1 Let's Have a Reason For It
2 Your Entrance
3 Tempo
4 Stage Fright
5 Can a Trick be Too Perfect?
6 Not What You Do
7 To Acknowledge Applause
8 Keep Your Salary Up
9 What Does It Get You to Expose

10 Trick Section:
11 Card Frame
12 50 Card Lift
13 Uncanny Block
14 Face to Face
15 A Quickie
16 The Birth of a New Trick
17 Behind Your Back
18 A Twist on Anti-Gravico
19 A Milky Mix-Up: invisible milk routine
20 The Lota Drink
21 Hand Rabbit: With Dell O'Dell's patter in rhyme

Personal

Owner	Bryan-Keith Taylor
Location	Magic Library (Home)
Index	5641
Added Date	Jul 01, 2017 03:06:50
Modified Date	Apr 06, 2026 14:24:19

Value

Book Condition	Very Fine

Notes

Monk Watson

Born: Donald William Watson
March 23 1894
Jackson, Michigan
Died: March 23 1981 (age 87)
Metuchen, NJ
Resting place Lakeside Cemetery, Colon, Michigan

Monk Watson (1894-1981) started his career at 8 years old and traveled as a mascot on tour with the Buffalo Bill Circus where he met William "Buffalo Bill" Cody.

Biography
Watson learned how to do clown work and, joined the Hagenbeck-Wallace Circus at 16.

Monk Tribute

Monk got his nickname after enlisting in the Army to serve in World War I from a girl who saw his humorous act and said "That fellow looks like a monkey ".

In vaudeville, he toured as a bandleader and dancer, then as a stage manager. Watson was responsible for booking such acts as Jack Benny and a young Bob Hope. While a resident of Colon, Michigan, he became close friends with Harry Blackstone, Sr. and was even the godfather of Harry Blackstone, Jr..

He wrote a long running column in Tops called "The Professional Touch".

Monk died March 23, 1981 in Metuchen, NJ at home of a daughter on his 87th birthday. [1]

Books
The Professional Touch (1945)
To Vaudeville: With All My Love (2006)

References
↑ Genii Vol.45, No.5, May 1981, Obituaries, page 305
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a page hosted on Wikipedia. Please consult the history of the original page to see a list of its authors. Therefor, this article is also available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike License

Cover, Tops Magazine, Vol.7, No. 3, March 1942, “Monk Watson” – His Story, page 4
The Conjurors' Magazine, Vol. 4, No. 7, September 1948, SPEAKING OF PICTURES… Monk Watson, page 7 - In Bruce Reynolds Spotlight, Monk Watson, page 13
Cover, The New Tops, Vol. 1, No. 12, December 1961, COVER PORTRAIT… 'Monk' Watson, by John Braun, page 4
The New Tops, Vol. 6, No. 6, June 1966, ‘Monk’ Watson, Our Vaudeville Smash, 35 Years Later, by Daniel Waldron, page 14
Cover, The New Tops, Vol. 10, No. 8, September 1970, Cover Portrait… Monk Watson, Headed for College at 76, by Virginia Gust, page 55
Cover, The New Tops, Vol. 14, No. 3, March 1974, COVER PORTRAIT... Donald 'Monk' Watson, HIS EIGHTIETH YEAR ...by who else? – 'Monk' Watson, page 8
The Linking Ring, Vol. 61, No. 5, May 1981, Broken Wand, Donald "Monk" Watson, page 107
The Linking Ring, Vol. 82, No. 7, July 2002, PICTURE FROM THE PAST, page 36 - ANSWER TO PICTURE FROM THE PAST, page 118