Harry Lorayne, an American magician, memory-training expert, and author, was born on May 4, 1926, and passed away on April 7, 2002. Time magazine referred to him as “The Yoda of Memory Training” and “The World’s Greatest Memory-Training Expert.”

He made 24 appearances on various TV series, including The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson, and was well renowned for his amazing memory displays. The Memory Book, his book, was a New York Times best-seller.

Most professional and amateur magicians copy his card tricks, especially his advances in card sleights.

Lorayne was raised in the Lower East Side of New York City and learned magic in the Hamilton Fish Park in the 1930s. He began his career as a table magician at Billy Reed’s Small Club, located at 70 E. 55th St., in New York, when he was 18 years old.

What Did Harry Lorayne Die From?

On April 7, 2023, Harry Lorayne passed away in a hospital in Newburyport, Massachusetts. He was afflicted with an unspecified ailment, but the cause of death wasn’t made public.