Carl Ballantine was an American magician, comedian and actor. Billing himself as "The Great Ballantine", "The Amazing Ballantine" or "Ballantine: The World's Greatest Magician", his vaudeville-style ...

His daughter says he died Nov. 3 in his sleep at his home in the Hollywood Hills. Ballantine, who was born Meyer Kessler in Chicago, switched from straight magic to comedy in the 1940s. He would ...