Paul Vandy

Who is Paul Vandy?

Paul Vandy was the stage name of Charles Edward Maynard, known as the juggling magician, who was a prolific performer from around 1894 to 1930 and is credited as the originator of magical juggling.

Billed as "The World Famous Magical Juggler", "The Jocular Juggler", "The Juggler King", "The Great Vandy", "the Best Plate Juggler on Earth", "the Greatest Juggling Novelty in the World", "the Peerless Vandy" and "England's Extraordinary Entertainer", he was primarily a juggler and equilibrist, but also gained notoriety as a magician as his career progressed.

Over nearly 5 decades Paul Vandy's performances branched from the music hall circuits of the UK to the leading theatres of Europe, America and South Africa.

Vandy was one of the owners of the Accrington Hippodrome along with Fred Willmot, Frederick Edward Weisker, John Leopold Weisker, William Johnson, and Albert Lindsay Parkinson. He was the partner of Ernest Valentine D'Iffanger in a Theatrical, Musical and Variety Agency, located at 11 Nassau Street, Shaftesbury Avenue, under the style of Valentine's Agency; a business that Vandy took sole ownership of in late 1902. Vandy was also the proprietor of the Magical Pastimes Co and Vandy's Magic Saloon.