Photo: Sam Holden
One of the country’s most respected magicians quietly holds court in a Baltimore County industrial park.
By Jim Meyer (Baltimore City Paper, 1/11/2012)
To learn magic in England, travel to King’s Cross Station, step through a brick wall to the landing at Platform 9 3/4, and board the 11 a.m. Hogsmeade train to the Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry to begin your training. In the U.S. of A., take I-695 to Exit 35B, Pulaski Highway, hang a left on Rossville Boulevard then a right behind the Toys ‘R’ Us on the hill, and follow the Yellow Brick Road (yes, really) deep into an industrial park to Denny and Lee Magic Studio. Follow the magical instructions scrawled on the glass door—pull hard, door sticks—and enter a fading world of mysterious men and arcane illusion unknown to most Maryland Muggles. Thankfully, the path is not guarded by a dragon, though there is a pig.
She stands as tall as a German Shepherd but half again as long and twice as wide, with coarse black hair forming a wiry Mohawk that runs halfway to her twisted tail. Her black eyes and ribcage-rattling grunts make her an intimidating guardian. Luckily, other than poking her head out to take in new customers, she spends most of her time in her room rearranging her bed and watching television. She likes Jeopardy.
“That’s Baby,” says Dennis Haney, the owner and proprietor of Denny and Lee Magic Studio and its sister store in Las Vegas. “She’s a sweetheart.”
Denny and Lee Magic Studio is to magic shops what Kentucky is to Bourbon, what Nathan’s is to hot dogs, what Belgium is to waffles. There is no rival. David Blaine, the Amazing Jonathan, and Penn Jillette (of Penn and Teller) have shopped at Denny and Lee. Teller makes a point of stopping in to hang out when he’s in the area. “I was there when David Copperfield called to wish [Haney] a happy birthday,” says Michael Cantor, a magician and prop builder who frequents the shop.
Continue reading “Dennis Haney, The Wizard of Rosedale” at Baltimore City Paper.
Related:
Denny Haney is featured in Dawn Campbell’s short film “The Finale”