- After Howard Thurston's death in 1936, Jansen would inherit the title as the world's premier magician, which he held until his death.
- He died at his ranch in Northridge, California, of a heart attack, at the age of 71. He was alone at the time of his death.
- Shortly before Dante's death, he approached a young magician, Lee Grabel, to be his successor in the lineage of great magicians. Plans were underway at the time of Dante's death. However, because Dante died before making a public announcement, some magical historians believe the lineage ended with Dante.
- He was a Danish-born entertainer who settled in the United States.
- At the age of 16 Jansen made his stage debut under Charles Wagner. He then set off on a world tour for 5 years as The Great Jansen.
- In 1940 he produced and starred the Broadway revue Sim Sala Bim on the Morosco Theatre.
- Dante was known throughout the world under the name Dante the Magician, working in vaudeville, burlesque, legitimate theatre, films, and in later years, television.
- In 1991, magic historian Phil Temple published the definitive biography of Dante the Magician, Dante - The Devil Himself, based largely on Dante's personal records, and Temple's friendship with surviving family members who had toured with the show decades earlier.
- After his death in 1955, his ashes were originally kept in Southern, California until 2004, when the Dante Memorial Fund raised enough money to have his and his wife's ashes moved and interred at the San Francisco Columbarium.
- Years later, a memoir about life on the road with the Dante show was written by Marion Trikosko, who spent two years with Dante as an assistant. The book, Trouping with Dante, was published in 2006.
- Dante also appeared as himself in Racket Busters (1938) and Bunco Squad (1950). He played also a character role in Jean Renoir's movie The Golden Coach (1952).
- With Dante's death, what historically has been known as the "Golden Age of Magic" came to an end. Gone were the variety theaters of the world, and with it were the large traveling magic productions that had thrilled and mystified millions for generations. In prior decades, the magical lineage created by the American public had elevated magicians Alexander Herrmann, Harry Kellar, Thurston and Dante to the position of the #1 magician in the country.
- He can be seen using the three nonsense words, "Sim Sala Bim" in the Swedish 1931 feature "Dantes mysterier" (Dante's Mysteries) and in the 1942 Laurel and Hardy comedy "A-Haunting We Will Go".
- Jansen came to St. Paul, Minnesota at the age of six with his family. The family's surname was Jensen.
- He traveled the world as a professional magician under the name Dante the Magician.
- Howard Thurston gave Jansen the stage name of Dante. The name came from the original Dante, Oscar Eliason (1869-1899), who had been killed in a tragic hunting accident in Australia years earlier.
- Dante and his troupe, consisting of between 25 and 40 performers, made several global trips and appeared in many U.S. theaters.
- With television, the public stayed home more often, and the world of variety theatre suffered drastically. As a result, Dante retired to Southern California in the late 1940s.
- In 1922, magician Howard Thurston, realizing Jansen's talent and possible competition to him, engaged Jansen to star in the #2 Thurston show.
- His stage trademark was to utter three nonsense words, "Sim Sala Bim" (taken from the lyrics of a Danish children's song, during his performances to acknowledge applause.
Contribute to this page
Suggest an edit or add missing content