# Ormond McGill > Mediated Wiki article. Canonical URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ormond_McGill > Markdown URL: https://mediated.wiki/source/Ormond_McGill.md > Source: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ormond_McGill > Source revision: 1352519204 > License: Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/) Ormond McGill Hypnotherapist, stage hypnotist Born Ormond Dale McGill (1913-06-15)June 15, 1913 Palo Alto, California, U.S. Died October 19, 2005(2005-10-19) (aged 92) Palo Alto, California, U.S. Occupation Stage Hypnotist Spouse Delight Beth Olmstead (m. 1935; died 1978) **Ormond Dale McGill** (June 15, 1913 – October 19, 2005) was an American [stage hypnotist](/source/Stage_hypnosis), magician and instructor who was considered to be the "Dean of American Hypnotists".[1] He was also a writer and author of many books including Hypnotism and Mysticism of India (1979) and The New Encyclopedia of Stage Hypnotism.[2] ## Early life McGill was born in [Palo Alto](/source/Palo_Alto%2C_California), [California](/source/California), to Julia (née Battelle) and Harry Aloysius McGill. His given name Ormond was chosen by his mother, after the last name of a childhood friend from her former residence in [Omaha, Nebraska](/source/Omaha%2C_Nebraska).[3] At age five, McGill was bitten by a monkey at a carnival in [La Honda](/source/La_Honda%2C_California), leaving him with a permanent scar on his right hand after McGill's mother treated the bite with makeshift [poultice](/source/Poultice). He performed his first magic tricks in fifth grade by showing off a water-to-wine-to-milk chemistry demonstration and developed an interest in stage theatrics after seeing a magic show by an illusionist named Herman Hansen at Pantages Theatre in [San Francisco](/source/San_Francisco).[4] In 1927, after returning to Palo Alto from a brief move to [Berkeley](/source/Berkeley%2C_California) due to his father's work for [AT&T](/source/AT%26T), McGill began taking [Tarbell Course in Magic](/source/Tarbell_Course_in_Magic) lessons at the start of high school and studied [hypnosis](/source/Hypnosis). Inspired by a performance of magician [Charles Carter](/source/Charles_Joseph_Carter), McGill held his first full-length magic show at [Palo Alto High School](/source/Palo_Alto_High_School), with more complex tricks such as the [bullet catch](/source/Bullet_catch) and a hypnosis act involving a homeless [carny](/source/Carny) and a sledgehammer. McGill then took a side job as an assistant for a local magician. McGill graduated high school in 1931 and attended [San Jose State College](/source/San_Jose_State_University) a year later to study psychology.[3] ## Career Between 1932 and 1940, McGill performed magic tricks at various [Northern California](/source/Northern_California) resorts as a summer job. In 1934, he turned down an offer to be signed with Elwin-Charles Peck's El-Wyn Midnight Spook Party as he didn't want to quit college, but continued to visit magic shows at any opportunity, including a few by [Long Tack Sam](/source/Long_Tack_Sam). After obtaining a bachelor's degree, McGill started his own traveling show, "Séance of Wonders", featuring horror-themed routines and costumed assistants typical of the midnight "[spook shows](/source/Spook_shows)" which were popular during that era. Between 1935 and 1954, McGill made a living as a stage magician, initially limited to the United States and Canada. On September 29, 1943, McGill married Delight Olmstead in [Santa Monica](/source/Santa_Monica%2C_California). In 1955, McGill first began touring worldwide, touring mostly for the [U.S. military](/source/United_States_Armed_Forces), in Australia, South Korea, the Philippines and Japan. Through [Ron Ormond](/source/Ron_Ormond), who had named himself after McGill, he performed several filmed magic acts on a tour through the southern coastline of Asia. McGill's last overseas tour was in 1970 in New Zealand. During the 1970s and late 1980s, he authored several non-fiction books on eastern mysticism and hypnosis, returning to stage magic in 1982.[3] Ormond McGill also trained students for therapeutic applications through hypnotism beginning 1981, when he joined the Hypnotherapy Training Institute in [Corte Madera](/source/Corte_Madera%2C_California). He wrote the *Encyclopedia of Genuine Stage Hypnotism*[5][6] in 1947. Beginning 1999, at age 86, he hosted workshops in hypnotherapy, lecturing until a few days before his death. McGill continued to collaborate with other colleagues including [Gil Boyne](/source/Gil_Boyne), whom he mentored, and to teach hypnotherapy until his death in 2005 with [Randal Churchill](https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=Randal_Churchill&action=edit&redlink=1) at the HTI. ## Other attributes In addition to his career as a magician and stage hypnotist, McGill was also a skilled [hypnotherapist](/source/Hypnotherapy) and a student of [Eastern](/source/Eastern_philosophy) [mysticism](/source/Mysticism). He wrote between twenty-five and forty books (sources disagree on the total), including such titles as *Grieve No More Beloved* (about his [afterlife](/source/Afterlife) contact with his deceased wife), *Hypnotism and Mysticism of India*, and his autobiography, *The Amazing Life of Ormond McGill*. McGill has revealed the truth behind magical events such as the Indian rope trick and others during his visit to India.[3] ## References 1. **[^](#cite_ref-1)** Confessions of a Regressionist: Is There a Life Or Time Other Than the Present? [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1475907427](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1475907427) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-2)** The Power of I Am: Creating a New World of Enlightened Personal Interaction [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1583941428](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1583941428) 1. ^ [***a***](#cite_ref-:0_3-0) [***b***](#cite_ref-:0_3-1) [***c***](#cite_ref-:0_3-2) [***d***](#cite_ref-:0_3-3) McGill, Ormond (July 6, 2005). *The Amazing Life of Ormond McGill*. Crown House. [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [978-1845904807](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/978-1845904807). 1. **[^](#cite_ref-4)** ["Ormond McGill Biography"](https://web.archive.org/web/20131101205348/http://ormondmcgill.com/biography.html). Archived from [the original](http://ormondmcgill.com/biography.html) on 2013-11-01. Retrieved 2013-03-28. 1. **[^](#cite_ref-5)** Hypnotherapy: A Client-Centered Approach [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [1589800524](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/1589800524) 1. **[^](#cite_ref-6)** They Were Giants 2007 [ISBN](/source/ISBN_(identifier)) [0595871526](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Special:BookSources/0595871526) ## External links - [Ormond McGill's Bio at Hypnotherapy Training Institute](http://www.hypnotherapy.com/ormond_mcgill.html) - [Ormond McGill Memorial Site](http://ormondmcgill.com/) - [San Francisco Chronicle obituary (SFGate through Legacy.com)](http://www.legacy.com/SFGATE/LegacySubPage2.asp?Page=LifeStory&PersonID=15508852) - [Tribute to Ormond McGill](https://web.archive.org/web/20130317205138/http://www.durbinhypnosis.com/mcgill.htm) at the [Wayback Machine](/source/Wayback_Machine) (archived March 17, 2013) (originally [http://www.durbinhypnosis.com/mcgill.htm](http://www.durbinhypnosis.com/mcgill.htm)) Authority control databases International ISNI VIAF FAST WorldCat National United States Israel Other Open Library Yale LUX --- Adapted from the Wikipedia article [Ormond McGill](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ormond_McGill) by Wikipedia contributors ([contributor history](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ormond_McGill?action=history)). Available under [Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 International](https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/). Changes may have been made.