Douglas James Henning (May 3, 1947 – February 7, 2000) was a Canadian magician, illusionist, escape artist and politician.
Henning was born in the Fort Garry district of Winnipeg, Manitoba.
Henning became interested in magic after seeing the Peruvian magician Richiardi Jr. perform on The Ed Sullivan Show. He subsequently learned a variety of tricks and performed for his relatives. He began practising magic at Oakenwald School in Fort Garry. Later, his family relocated to Oakville, Ontario. Eventually he named himself "The Astounding Hendoo" and started advertising in local newspapers.
After Henning graduated from Oakville Trafalgar High School, he stopped doing magic, not wanting to do it for a living. He felt that there were only two kinds of magicians, "...magicians for kids, and magicians for nightclub acts. I didn't want to be either kind." So, instead, he enrolled and became a student at McMaster University in Hamilton, Ontario, and studied psychology, in preparation for a medical degree. There, Henning met Ivan Reitman, when he appeared in the 1968 Reitman-directed production of Li'l Abner in the role of Lonesome Polecat.
To support himself during this time, Henning worked at the Toronto International Airport, loading and unloading crates. He found the work to be too heavy and tiring; so, with the help of his partner Mars Barrick, he formed the partnership of Henning and Mars, and they performed at local bars and nightclubs.
On May 19, 1967, Doug's father, an Air Canada pilot, was killed during a training flight when his DC-8-54 crashed near the Ottawa International Airport.
Henning and Mars successfully performed with the top entertainers in Canada and travelled from one end of the country to the other.
Henning realized that he needed more theatrical training as well as in the principles of magic. He applied for a grant from the Canada Council for the Arts in the theatre division with a proposal that used the equation that magic plus theatre equals art. Henning was awarded a Canada Council for the Arts grant for $4,000. After being awarded the grant to study the art of magic for a year, he studied mime under Adrian Pecknold as well as dance with a Canadian choreographer. He sifted through magic literature in the hopes of developing an all-around magic education in manipulation and illusionism.
He visited the Magic Castle in Hollywood, California, a private club for magicians. After an impromptu performance in the Wine Cellar, he met resident magician, guru, and fellow Canadian Dai Vernon, known as the Professor. Since the terms of the grant required Henning to study magic, he got up the nerve later in the year to write the Professor and asked him if he could take lessons with him. Thereafter, Henning travelled to Hollywood to study with Vernon and then with another magic great, Slydini, whom he came to consider his primary teacher of magic.
Intending to return magic to its "glory days", Henning worked to perfect his craft. Garnering financial support, he developed a live theatrical show, Spellbound, written by David Cronenberg and directed by Henning's college friend Ivan Reitman. Along with music by Howard Shore and co-starring actress Jennifer Dale, Henning created a musical that combined his magic with a dramatic storyline.
Henning borrowed money for the project and spent $5,000 to build and design illusions. They set up a backer's audition in Toronto. One man found potential in the project and invested $70,000. It took so long to work out a plot around his illusions that there was time only for two dress rehearsals, neither of which was in the theatre.
The show opened at the Royal Alexandra Theatre in Toronto, where it broke box-office records. Henning reworked the show after catching the attention of New York producers and took it to Broadway as The Magic Show, with songs composed by Stephen Schwartz. Debuting in 1974, the show ran for four and a half years and earned Henning a Tony Award nomination.
Following his Broadway success, Henning approached NBC with the idea of producing a television special. It was not until Henning suggested that he would reproduce live Harry Houdini's famous and dangerous water-torture escape—for the first time since Houdini performed it himself—that the NBC executives signed him.
Henning spent the next eight months reworking his stage act for TV and practising the water-torture escape act. More than 50 million viewers tuned in for the December 1975 broadcast of Doug Henning's World of Magic, hosted by Bill Cosby.
In 1977, Henning co-wrote a biography of Houdini, Houdini: His Legend and His Magic. He created illusions for an Earth, Wind and Fire tour in 1979, and for two of singer Michael Jackson's concerts, including his 1984 Victory Tour.
In 1983, Henning was the producer and star of the Broadway musical Merlin. In 1984, he began a solo Broadway show, Doug Henning and His World of Magic.
In 1985, Doug & Debby Henning's Wonder Whims, a set of plush toys, were made by Panosh Place and copyrighted by Marvin Glass and Associates. There were a total of six Wonder Whim characters. Each came with an animal friend, a personalized story, and a magic kaleidoscope wand of colors and patterns.
Henning's first World of Magic special aired on NBC on December 26, 1975. Henning successfully performed the water torture illusion, although he did not break Houdini's time record. Produced by famed talk show host David Susskind and sponsored by Mobil, the show ran live in the eastern United States without commercials. The event was the first of seven annual broadcasts, which eventually brought Henning seven Emmy Award nominations, including two back-to-back in 1976 and 1977 for World of Magic.