Humanities: Black Herman
Black Herman: Famous Magician from a Family of Amherst, VA Restaurateurs
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Benjamin Rucker, whose stage name was Black Herman, was an extremely popular nationally-known magician in the early years of the 20th century. Benjamin Rucker was the son of boarding house and restaurant owner Louisa Rucker, and worked for her in his youth. As Benjamin told it, he traveled as an apprentice to a medicine man and magician called "Prince Herman" until the older man died. Benjamin took the name "Black Herman" and began his extraordinary career as a stage magician traveling nationwide and performing illusions and legerdemain. There are also stories of his studying with Harry Keller, the most famous magician of the time.
Benjamin's younger sister, Juanita "Wanna" Rucker married Watt Brown, and took over running the restaurant from Louisa after she retired, and added running a boarding house and laundry service at the building, still standing at 616 South Main Street, Amherst. Juanita and Watt's grandsons, Carl "Buddy" Brown and Charles "Skippy" Brown shared with AGAR some family stories about Black Herman, who died while on tour in Louisville Kentucky in 1934, and Juanita Rucker Brown, who lived on until 1982. AGAR conducted video interviews with Skippy Brown (who has run Charlie's Chicken for 35 years) and his brother Buddy, a horse farmer and trainer. Excerpts from the interviews were shown in an AGAR and Amherst County Museum co-presentation at the Museum's Hamble Center on March 18, 2018.
Also on the program were a PowerPoint presentation by Melodie Fletcher about Benjamin's Life as a stage magician traveling throughout the United States, and his role as a political activist, primarily in Harlem, New York City, where he owned a brownstone home and worked with Marcus Garvey. The program finished with a demonstration of some of Black Herman's magic tricks by teacher Linda Zabloski and students from the Drama Club at Amherst Middle School. The program was repeated at CENTRA/Fairmont Crossing Rehabilitation Center in Amherst on March 19th. DVDs of the video interview, and materials about the life of Black Herman and his family have been archived at the Amherst County Museum and Historical Society and can be viewed there.
Benjamin's younger sister, Juanita "Wanna" Rucker married Watt Brown, and took over running the restaurant from Louisa after she retired, and added running a boarding house and laundry service at the building, still standing at 616 South Main Street, Amherst. Juanita and Watt's grandsons, Carl "Buddy" Brown and Charles "Skippy" Brown shared with AGAR some family stories about Black Herman, who died while on tour in Louisville Kentucky in 1934, and Juanita Rucker Brown, who lived on until 1982. AGAR conducted video interviews with Skippy Brown (who has run Charlie's Chicken for 35 years) and his brother Buddy, a horse farmer and trainer. Excerpts from the interviews were shown in an AGAR and Amherst County Museum co-presentation at the Museum's Hamble Center on March 18, 2018.
Also on the program were a PowerPoint presentation by Melodie Fletcher about Benjamin's Life as a stage magician traveling throughout the United States, and his role as a political activist, primarily in Harlem, New York City, where he owned a brownstone home and worked with Marcus Garvey. The program finished with a demonstration of some of Black Herman's magic tricks by teacher Linda Zabloski and students from the Drama Club at Amherst Middle School. The program was repeated at CENTRA/Fairmont Crossing Rehabilitation Center in Amherst on March 19th. DVDs of the video interview, and materials about the life of Black Herman and his family have been archived at the Amherst County Museum and Historical Society and can be viewed there.
