Good morning, Swansea! This week, grab a cuppa and read about Swanea’s Roy Roth AKA Leeroy, a master magician who amazed crowds the world over.

Catch you on Sunday!

Andrew.

On a windy day in August 1985, Swansea shoppers were stunned to see 21-year-old Samantha Jones from Britton Ferry suspended on a tightrope high up on the roof edge of the Dragon Hotel.

This was just one of many spectacles performed by Swansea magician Roy Roth, better known as Leeroy, who accompanied her during the stunt.

A Brush With the Queen

Roy's journey into magic began when he was a child. "I can remember the magician coming around and doing a few tricks," he told The Evening Post. “And my dad used to do card tricks and left me a couple of books which I learned from.”

While he started his professional life as a bookbinder - having even bound the small white Bible carried by Queen Elizabeth II at her wedding - he quickly realised performing was more lucrative.

"It was better here than in London," he explained - referring to the many clubs springing up built by local breweries. "So I thought it was daft to stay in the [book binding] factory when it was more profitable to do my shows."

Local Legend

Leeroy was a regular fixture all across the city for decades, including at fundraisers and daily summer shows at Margam Park. However, at the Mill Restaurant in Blackpill, Leeroy became a local legend. From 1977 to 1980, he performed a full cabaret act before moving through the crowd with close-up magic that packed the restaurant every Friday and Saturday.

Some of his signature tricks included multiplying sponges and linking Polo mints, with one restaurant-goer noting that Leeroy brought in a lot of business and even saw an Evening Post reporter get "promptly sawn in half" during one of his performances.

Other popular tricks included microphones that would mysteriously explode, using a guillotine to "chop the head off” the head of a brave volunteer, and tables that would dramatically collapse, leaving audiences in stitches.

In January 1987, Leeroy pulled off a remarkable feat by predicting the Evening Post's front-page headline days in advance. His prediction, locked in a safe, was spot on.

“Damage to a property in anifonned persons will play part will result in personal loss Mystery and fire will be the keywords In headlines” was Leeroy’s prediction, with the headline being "Mystery Mansion Blaze". The Evening Post's Chief Sub-Editor Brian Hayden joked, "If he can do this, he should be an editor not a magician!"

World Renowned

Leeroy’s talent didn't go unrecognised, and in 1988 he was promoted to the Inner Magic Circle - a prestigious accolade that placed him alongside the elite of magical performers. The Circle's secretary noted his "international reputation" and "wide experience of magic," a recognition that validated years of dedicated work.

In the same year, he was invited to a major conjuring convention in St. Louis, Missouri, where he gave talks about his particular brand of magic. He was especially looking forward to performing with his puppet raccoon Russell, as reported by the Evening Post - "a creature that specializes in losing its tail and catching a ball on its nose!"

Roy and his wife Irene had big dreams for magic in Swansea, too. "There are only about eight magicians at the most in the area and most of them are getting on a bit," Irene told the Evening Post. They hoped to start a magic school to encourage young talent, inspired by American summer camps that teach magic to children.

Master Inventor

Away from performance, Roy was also a skilled inventor. He created many original tricks, including the "grind-a-ring" illusion (where a gold ring is reduced to dust and then restored), which even featured on one of Paul Daniels’ TV shows. Many of his tricks can still be found for sale online today.

"Magicians often come to me with an idea, and I figure out how to make it work," Leeroy explained. “But what I really love is performing.”

Roy Roth died in 2013 at the age of 83.

Were you ever lucky enough to catch Roy perform live? Reply to this email and let me know!

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Andrew