He was born on June 14, 1874, in
New Castle, Pennsylvania, and developed an interest in magic from a young age. Carter's first theatrical experience occurred at the Herzog's museum and Pat Harris' Masonic Temple in Baltimore at the age of 10, where he appeared as "Master Charles Carter the Original Boy Magician". Due to stiff competition from the number of magic acts on the American stages at the time, Carter opted to pursue his career abroad, where he gained fame. Among the highlights of Carter's stage performances during his career were the classic "sawing a woman in half" illusion (an elaborate surgical-themed version with "nurses" in attendance), making a live elephant disappear and "cheating the gallows", where a shrouded Carter would vanish, just as he dropped at the end of a hangman's noose. He was also known for devising acts that were inspired by recent events that captured the public's imagination, such as the
discovery of Tutankhamen's tomb in 1922 or
John Dillinger's famous jailbreak in 1934. In 1894 he met his future wife, Corrine, whom he married and included in his show. A year later, his son, Lawrence, who would eventually take over the act after his death, was born. According to some sources, it was this heavy equipment of his that lead to him being refused a place on the
RMS Titanic during a return trip to the US in 1912. A famous anecdote states that he kept his lion, Monty, in the back room of the shop and when it would roar, the startled customers would run for the door. In 1920, The Great Carter was touring again, opening at the Criterion in Sydney, Australia in May, accompanied by stage psychic Miss Evelyn Maxwell. The pair then toured Australia before heading overseas again. In 1921, he lost a fortune while filming
The Lion’s Bride in South Africa, a movie starring himself, that he had also written, produced, directed. The film never made it to screen. The Great Carter returned to touring, playing packed houses in Australia in 1924 and again in 1934 together with Miss Evelyn Maxwell. In 1936, Charles Joseph Carter suffered a heart attack on his way to
Bombay, India. He was sent to the hospital and his son Larry took over the show. He died on February 13, 1936, aged 61 following a second heart attack. He is buried in the
Calvary Cemetery in
Queens, New York. ==Legacy==