Talma

Who was Talma?

Talma was the stage name of Mary Ann Ford, a female magician who is best known for performing with her husband Servais Le Roy in the act "Le Roy, Talma & Bosco". Talma was born in England while her husband was Belgian. She became accomplished at performing sleight of hand and manipulation acts, especially coin manipulation, and she was often billed as "The Queen of Coins". As a performer, she adopted the name Mercedes Talma but was generally known just as Talma. Talma was taught magic by Le Roy and although being an assistant she was known for her own coins tricks including the "Out of the ear" trick and "Talma's travelling coin." Eventually she was known as "The Queen Of Coins." She formed a long-running stage partnership with her husband and their colleague Leon Bosco. They named their act "The Comedians de Mephisto Co" but they were much better known as Le Roy, Talma & Bosco. Le Roy is credited with devising the Asrah levitation illusion, which he and Talma first performed in London in 1914.