Biography for
John Scarne More at IMDbPro »

Date of Birth

4 March 1903, Steubenville, Ohio, USA

Date of Death

27 July 1985, (natural causes)

Birth Name

Orlando Carmelo Scarnecchia

Spouse

Steffi Storm

(1955 - 27 July 1985) (his death) 1 child

Trivia

Expert on card games.

Inventor of the board game Teeko, popular in the 1950s.

Child: John Teeko Scarne.

Among his clients as a magician were Arnold Rothestein, Lucky Luciano, Meyer Lansky, and President Franklin D. Roosevelt, just to mention a few.

His son, John Teeko Scarne, died of cancer in 1981.

Wrote a book entitled "The Mafia Conspiracy" claiming that the mafia no longer existed.

During World War II, helped prevent GIs from getting fleeced by crooked gamblers by educating them on card and dice hustling techniques.

Devised the blackjack shoe used today in casinos around the world.

Was an advisor to numerous casinos around the world.

First open card counter in Blackjack and the first person banned from playing Blackjack at Bugsy Siegal's Flamingo casino in Las Vegas.

Was able to pull Aces out of an unprepared, unmarked deck of cards, a feat that to this day remains unmatched.

Revolutionized card magic by performing them under the noses of magicians with a borrowed deck of cards.

Was hailed by top magicians as one of the world's greatest card manipulators of his time.

Shortened his last name to Scarne at the advice of a friend when he began performing magic.

Is considered the World's Foremost Authority on Gambling.

First billed himself as "The Magician who Fooled Magicians."

His last name is pronounced Skar-ney.

He was best friends from childhood (and business partners later in in life) with World Heavyweight Boxing Champion James J. Braddock, whose life story was portrayed by Russell Crowe in Cinderella Man (2005).

Biography in: "The Scribner Encyclopedia of American Lives". Volume One, 1981-1985, pages 704-706. New York: Charles Scribner's Sons, 1998.

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