Magic Man Henning Dead At 52

Doug Henning, who helped revive the popularity of magic as mass entertainment with a series of Broadway shows, television specials and a traveling act, has died. He was 52. Henning had suffered from liver cancer for five months. His office in Toronto said he died Monday in Los Angeles.

Born in Winnipeg, Canada, Henning became well-known in the United States in the 1970s and '80s.

His rock musical "The Magic Show" ran on Broadway for more than four years in the 1970s. Audiences flocked to the Cort Theater to see Henning make women disappear in sections and mix his magic with music and comedy.

The attention he won on Broadway helped Henning land an NBC special called "The World of Magic."

He recreated Harry Houdini's "Water Torture Escape" before a live audience and ratings were so good that NBC made the show an annual event. The shows won an Emmy award and seven Emmy nominations and made Henning one of the world's best-known magicians.

He is survived by his wife, Debbie.