HENNING HONOR STIRS CONTROVERSY IN MAGIC COMMUNITY

As I have been reporting since June, Magician Doug Henning has received a well deserved honor by being inducted into Canada's Walk of Fame.  Sources that were in attendance on Saturday when the tribute show to be broadcast as a part of this was filmed have told me that several members of his former stage crew were in attendance.  For the Henning segment, a three minute piece was played which included an introduction by David Copperfield and footage from his television specials. 

According to a new article from the Toronto Star which I posted yesterday: Doug Henning, the Canadian magician and international performer who died 10 years ago, was inducted into Canada’s Walk of Fame on the weekend, yet no one from the family attended the event. His widow wasn’t there, nor were his two sisters. They say they weren’t invited to the tribute.

Doug's sister Nancy is quoted saying that " she was contacted by the Walk of Fame a few months ago, but only to ask if she would agree to have her phone number given out to the media. One person called. Nancy said she later tried phoning and emailing Walk of Fame officials to find more information, but couldn’t get through."

I have called the Walk of Fame offices several times since the initial announcement and have received the following information from Peter Soumalias, their President and CEO.

“We made numerous attempts to contact Mrs. Henning but were unsuccessful in reaching her. We had hoped that through the extensive media exposure accrued on behalf of Canada's Walk of Fame, Mrs. Henning would have approached the organization, and we would have welcomed her involvement. Naturally, we would have been very pleased to have had Mrs. Henning on hand at the tribute ceremony in honour of her late husband, Doug Henning.  We would definitely appreciate it if Mrs. Henning would agree to be on hand and involved in any way she chooses when we install Mr. Henning’s star on Canada's Walk of Fame." 

In September, both Nancy and Debbie were interviewed by the Star regarding the upcoming tribute.

In that article, Debby said: “I'm honoured that Dougie is recognized for the legend he truly is — a legend not only in magic, but in the field of conscience exploration research. He's the pride of Canada and the pride of his family. I only wish he could have received it when he was alive.”

No matter the reason for their absence, it is a shame that they were not in attendance for the presentation of this well deserved honor and I hope to see them in attendance at the actual Star installation when that occurs. 

I have a call out to get a statement from Doug's sister and will update this story accordingly.