Magician Richard Earl Oakley’s last business card stated “I Only Cheat a Little.”
Magician Richard Earl Oakley, who died July 11 at age 82, “was known as ‘The Senile Sorcerer’ and his last business card stated ‘I Only Cheat a Little,’” according to his obituary in The Commercial Appeal of Memphis, Tennessee.
The obit includes details about Oakley’s show business training and his gigs as a pianist, organist, magician and ventriloquist. For example,
Richard was a self-taught musician who could not read music but could play most anything on the piano or organ after ‘listening’ a few times.
And magic with a capital “M”:
Richard was interested in Magic since boyhood and has personally sparked the ‘magic bug’ in thousands of young and not-so young magicians.
He performed his magic at state fairs across the country as well as at local venues.
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This post was contributed by Alana Baranick, a freelance obituary writer who lives in Northeast Ohio. She is director of the Society of Professional Obituary Writers and chief author of Life on the Death Beat: A Handbook for Obituary Writers.
