The Disappearing Act

The Final Disappearing Act
John was a magician, one of best in the business. The reason being was he had that special something that made people believe in the impossible..
His work included tricks from Doug Henning, David Copperfield and the great Harry Houdini. His whole life had been dedicated to magic - from his first talent show in high school, with a simple deck of cards - to his last performance at The Marrakech Magic Theater in San Francisco, 20 years ago. During this last show, John performed what is known as his greatest trick ever – The Final Disappearing Act.
“Every magic trick involves three steps: The first part is called "The Pledge". The magician shows you something ordinary: a deck of cards, a bird or a man. He shows you this object. Perhaps he asks you to inspect it to see if it is indeed real, unaltered, “normal”. But of course... it probably isn't.
The second act is called "The Turn". The magician takes the ordinary something and makes it do something extraordinary. Now you're looking for the secret... but you won't find it, because of course you're not really looking. You don't really want to know. You want to be fooled. But you wouldn't clap yet. Because making something disappear isn't enough; you have to bring it back. That's why every magic trick has a third act, the hardest part, the part we call "The Prestige"."
John’s trick had been considered as the most dangerous trick he had every attempted, but John had known the risk.
The first act – The Pledge – had been simple. John was to make himself disappear by standing behind a very large curtain, lifted by his assistant at the time, and having an enormous weight fall down at the exact point he was supposedly standing.
The second act – The Turn – was not reveled until well after his performance. John was to drop down through a trap door and make his way to the theater entrance, acting as though he had “appeared” there spontaneously.
The third and final act of John’s show – The Prestige – never took place that day. The audience had been left in silence for well over 20 minutes before John’s assistance moved to below the stage. After a daunting five minutes, she emerged from below the stage with a perplexed and almost desperate look on her face. She stood at the centre of the stage and lifted the curtain’s edge. John was nowhere to be seen.
The story of John Doe is probably the most told among the magic community as it describes what is thought to be the best disappearing act every performed.