User:Mmcwethy/Don Alan

Don Alan Don Alan (McWethy) February 22, 1926 - April 15, 1999 Close-Up Magician, Don Alan, was born Donald Allen McWethy in Norwood, Ohio on February 22, 1929. His father, Charles, was a structural architect, and his mother Dorothy, a housewife and noteworthy visual gardener. Bothe Charles and Dorothy were fastidious detailists, and didn't ever really connect with their only child, Don, who was of a more artistic bent. Don did, however, acquire thier habbit of perfection when it had to do with his eventual career in magic. When he was around 9 years old, his school class made a visit to a local manufacturer of playing cards, and Don was immediately taken with the demonstration of card tricks. He practiced them in secret from his parents, who were not supportive of his hobby. In fact, as a young teenager, he would put on argile socks (which he bought in secret with money he worked for mowing lawns), and sneak out his bedroom window at night and go to bars and gatherings to watch local Cincinnati magicians. Eventually, he came under the tutorship of magician John Snyder, Jr. who rigorously demanded that "nothing was too mch trouble if it made a trick better." After graduation High School in 1944, at the age of 18, Don joined the Air Corps hoping to become a pilot. He qualified for Air Cadet training in Wichita Falls, Kansas, but just before earning his commission, the U.S. Government suspended the program. Don ended up an entertainer in the USO. He spent 2 years in the Special Services branch of the Air Corps. After his WWII service ended, he took advantage of the free college tuition offered to go to the Chavez School of Magic in Hollywood, CA. His father was very much against Don's career choice, even telling him. "If you get on that train now, don't ever write home for money!"

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