Great Ovette (January 20, 1885 – August 5, 1946) also known as Joseph Ovette was an Italian American author and professional magician.Room, Adrian. (2010). Dictionary of Pseudonyms: 13,000 Assumed Names and Their Origins, 5th ed. McFarland. p. 207.
Ovette was born as Giuseppe Olivo, in Naples, Italy.Who's Who in Magic. (August 1931). The Sphinx. Vol. 30, No. 6. p. 35 He also performed under the name Lung Chan Yuen and was well known for his hanging illusion act that was advertised as "The Man They Couldn't Hang".Anonymous. (1946). Noted Magician Dies In Buffalo. Tonawanda News, 7 August. "At the height of his 40-year career as a magician, the great Ovette thrilled audiences by swinging 20 feet in the air from a rope about his throat. He was billed as "The Man they couldn't hang." He wrote books on magic and contributed to numerous magic magazines.
Ovette performed the "blindfold drive", this consisted of him driving a car blindfolded through the streets of Ottawa.Anonymous. (1931). Drives Blindfolded On Ottawa Streets. Ottawa Citizen. December 10, p. 2.
He died in Buffalo, New York from a throat infection. He was buried in Ontario, Canada.The Great Ovette. (1946). The Bat. No. 33, September, p. 178
Publications
Magician's New Field (1916) Trickery Tricks (1917) Advanced Magic (1919) The Book of Wisdom (1920) Bargain Magic (1921) Practical Telepathy (1924) Publicity Miracles (1928) Book of Moses Outdone (1930) Silk Creations (1931) Kandle Magik (1937) Odds and Ends in Cardology (1937) Fast Ones (1940) Ovette's Tricks and Illusionettes (1944) Miraculous Hindu Feats (1947)
References