Former home of world-famous magician burns down in Surrey
Posted August 28, 2016 2:23 pm.
Last Updated August 28, 2016 4:53 pm.
This article is more than 5 years old.
SURREY (NEWS 1130) – Leon Mandrake once mystified audiences across the globe as Mandrake the Magician. He cut women in half, drove a car blindfolded, and made rabbits disappear, all while wearing his iconic top-hat and cape.
After he became famous, Mandrake, (whose birth name was Leon Gigleo,) moved into a home on the 14100 block of Grosvenor Road in Surrey’s Port Mann neighbourhood.
That house was the scene of a large fire this morning, which drew out dozens of firefighters and sent plumes of black smoke high into the air.
As he watched firefighters hose down the building’s charred remains, neighbour Edward Junling recalled having a famous magician living on the block.
“It was interesting,” he says. “(Mandrake) was all over the United States. His kids were small, so the neighbours used to babysit their two boys.”
When Mandrake was home, he used to put on magic performances for the neighbourhood kids in his yard.
“Also I met him at PNE on stage when he was pick-pocketing everybody, and also myself,” Junling adds.
After Mandrake passed away in 1993, neighbours say the house fell into disrepair and developed an infamous reputation before it burned down.
The cause of the fire is still being investigated. No injuries have been reported.
