IN THE MANY WRITINGSof Jack Avis, Alex Elmsley, Roy Walton and myself, magicians have seen the name Hugh Scott mentioned.Many have asked who was Hugh Scott.

He was one of the ghosts of magic, very much in the background, rarely seen at magic functions but an outstanding card worker. The reason for his shadowy presence in magic was due to his career. He was a Scotland Yard Detective with special duties as a bodyguard to members of the Royal family which required him to travel all over the world usually somewhat undercover. Consequently he spent many hours sitting alone in hotel bedrooms when his companions were a copy of Erdnase and  Expert Card Technique, magic magazines from the U.S. and a number of packs of Bicycle playing cards. Like many lone workers with many hours of isolation  he practised endlessly acquiring a very high stand of expertise with the paste-boards.

Born in New Zealand, his family moved to Scotland where his first job was with a shipping company in Glasgow. His first contact with magic was on seeing a copy of Foulsham’s Modern Card Magic in the window of Tam Shepherd’s magic shop in Glasgow, a business that still exists today under the management of Roy Walton. Hugh purchased the book and such was the impact of the window display he said he still remembered the name of the back palmed card shown on the cover. The seven of hearts.

He was a very quiet man. Over six feet tall, looking a bit like George Clooney and wearing a snapbrim hat, a double breasted raincoat and a dark suit, he could have passed as private investigator Sam Spade at any time. Because of his work he married quite late in life but Jack Avis and I met him when he was living in police barracks in Camden Town and used to visit Davenports on Saturday mornings which is where we first made contact with him.

Jack took to him instantly recognising a fellow cardician and he spent many magic hours with him at his police lodgings. He told us of many stories of meetings he had with  professional magicians Howard de Courcy, Tommy Martin, Billy O’Connor and  Ade Duval after seeing their performances at the local variety theatre and was shown many of their pet moves once they had witnessed his skill. It was Howard de Courcy who taught him the one handed riffle shuffle, largely unknown at that time, which he practised throughout the night until he acquired the knack. De Courcy told him that he had first seen the shuffle in continental Europe and later, when showing it to a U.S. Army Colonel, the officer asked De Courcy to teach him the shuffle. In that time of rationing, clothing coupons and short supplies, he offered tuition in exchange for a U.S. Officer’s trench coat. De Courcy got his coat and never saw the officer again. 

An unusual card flourish of Scotts was  to riffle a pack of cards upside down, so that instead of the cards water-falling down, he changed his grip so that they merged together upwards. It was quite offbeat but something he did all his life.

He published a few original moves and card ideas and attended the odd convention with Jack Avis and myself but he never sought to become a name in magic. But those that saw him testified that he was an outstanding card magician in a quiet, mannered way.

He retired from the police, worked in security, married and had a son but rarely emerged into the magic scene. Jack and I saw him from time to time at his home in Eltham where his health deteriorated and he died in his late eighties,

You’ll find a picture of him performing his upside down riffle shuffle on page 65 of my book “Come a Little Closer” together with an original move of his based on the Glide.

Filed under: Magic Biographies, Magic Miscellanea