A very well written tribute to the great Carl Ballantine from The New York Times. It includes not only a listing of his accomplishments as well as explaining how he came by his stage name…
Meyer Kessler, as he was known as a boy, was born in Chicago on Sept. 27, 1917, and according to family lore he learned his first tricks from a barber who came to the family apartment to cut his hair. His career began in the waning days of vaudeville, when, as a young magician who actually could perform tricks, he was helping support his family. An early stage name, at a time when he was working with playing cards, was Carl Sharp; the name Ballantine he stole from a brand of Scotch.
“He thought it sounded show-businessy and classy,” his daughter said.
Read the rest here.