The Ultimate Trickster

Martha Lueders
Murphy News Service

When you walk into the Eagle Magic Store in Burnsville you’ll see a colorful display of tubes and boxes with Chinese writing and Egyptian hieroglyphics. In the back is an entire room filled with old antique tricks, Larry Kahlow, owner of the practical joke and magic store said.

Kahlow, who is in his sixties, has owned Eagle Magic for 45 years and has managed it himself since 2008. “I have a lot of titles,” Kahlow joked. “But it’s kind of pretentious to call yourself the CEO of a one-person store.”

Regardless of what Kahlow calls himself, he is the owner of what he said is the oldest magic store in the United States.

Eagle Magic was founded by Collin Pentz and opened in 1899, Kahlow said. The store was inherited by one of Pentz’s employees. She was running the store the first time Kahlow set foot inside Eagle Magic’s doors at 8 years old.

Kahlow remembers looking at the gag jokes in particular. “I probably bought a snake in a can and rubber dog doo,” Kahlow said.

He had an eye operation in downtown Minneapolis not long after visiting the store. His parents bought him some more magic tricks and jokes to play with while he was recovering. And sometimes the jokes were on the nurses, he said.

He started doing magic performances at, for example, birthday parties and getting paid for it. By 15 Kahlow knew he wanted to work with magic, he said.

He bought Eagle Magic in 1970 and became the fourth owner of the store, he said. When Kahlow bought the store there were multiple locations including Seventh Street and Hennepin Avenue and Seventh Street and Portland Avenue in downtown Minneapolis, he said.

While Kahlow was owner of Eagle Magic’s multiple locations the stores sold magic tricks, practical jokes, masks, beards and also rented costumes.

Kahlow closed of his locations in 2008 and consolidated into one new store in Burnsville. Some of his long-time customers used their own cars to help Kahlow transport his inventory from three locations to Burnsville.

Eagle Magic has evolved and so has Kahlow, who now mentors newcomers, giving magic lessons and hiring out his services to individuals and companies for performances.

Kahlow’s love for magic is apparent when he interacts with his customers. He’s playful in his teaching approach. As he demonstrated a simple card trick using a fake deck of cards, he explained that years ago the fake decks weren’t as convincing as are today’s. They looked so fake that his grandmother even asked if they were. “I had to lie to her,” Kahlow said. “I got over it.”

After Kahlow closes shop he tends to stay late to learn more about magic tricks by reading books and practicing new material. Kahlow said he has become an expert in the trade by studying and the occasional shared secret from other magicians, he said.

Famous people such as magician David Copperfield, escape artist Harry Houdini and boxer Muhammad Ali have visited Eagle Magic since its opening 1899, Kahlow said.

When asked why he liked magic so much, Kahlow said, “It’s fun to be fooled, but it’s more fun to be the fooler.”

 

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