Dr. mortimer’s Mysteries: The Remarkable Life of W. Golden Mortimer
Mystic Beginnings: An Inheritance of Artistry and Freemasonry
Deep within the heart of every true conjurer flickers the knowledge that real magic is not hidden in shadow but cast in the light, where only the keenest eyes can see. Few walked the line between wonder and enlightenment more artfully than Dr. William Golden Mortimer: a man whose life played out like a series of seamless illusions, each mystery a foundation for the next, building toward a legend that lingers even now in the hush after the final curtain.
Rooted in a remarkable legacy, Mortimer's story truly begins a generation earlier, with his maternal grandfather, James Herring, a master Mason, visionary craftsman, and tireless advocate. Herring’s brush shaped the faces of America on canvas, an accomplished portrait painter and engraver, Herring captured the likenesses of prominent Americans, which still hang in museums today, and famously advocated for the inclusion of African-American art at a time when such efforts were rare.
Masterfully, Herring shaped not only portraits but institutions: as leader of Clinton Lodge during the storm of anti-Masonic sentiment, he guided brethren through peril, uniting their efforts with Saint John’s Lodge No. 1. As secretary of the Grand Lodge of New York, Herring helped found both the Masonic Hall and Asylum Fund and, with Samuel Morse, co-founded the New York Academy of Medicine; stoking the twin flames of philanthropy and enlightenment within his family’s future.
Onward the legacy flowed. William’s father, George T. Mortimer, by day, pursued law, while by night, apprenticed with sculptor Robert E. Launitz, chiseling the sub-treasury building at Nassau and Wall street, now the Federal Hall Memorial, infusing in his son the virtues of labor, artistry, and a craftsman’s courage to approach mastery.
Raised among marble dust and palette strokes, young Golden Mortimer grew in a home where stone became symbol, paint wove legacy, and the impossible always seemed but a matter of craft; or, perhaps, faith.
Apprenticeship and the Alchemy of Illusion
Tempted less by law or medicine than by the gaslit marvels of show business, Mortimer found himself drawn as a boy to the trickster’s art. In his youth he apprenticed with William Ellsworth Robinson, the enigmatic “Fakir of Vishnu,” later to be known as Chung Ling Soo, whose spellbinding magic would grip audiences and claim his own life in a theatrical tragedy, during a fatal performance of his “bullet catch” trick.
In those formative evenings, Mortimer stood at the intersection of shadow and spotlight, rehearsing Robinson’s ingenious interpretations of Robert-Houdin’s revolutionary acts alongside fellow stage assistant, and future Freemason, Harry Kellar. From whom he absorbed craft; alchemy of wit and wonder, of stage mechanics and sleight.
Mortimer’s mastery soon carved its own place: In 1867 he developed his own Robert-Houdin-styled show, “Mortimer’s Mysteries”, which filled theaters across the country. His nimble hands summoning illusions as his glittering eyes hinted that all was not as it seemed. Working with stage legends like Harry Kellar and Dr. Saram R. Ellison, he proved that magic was as much a brotherhood as it was a craft.
Ever the collaborator, Mortimer lent his ingenuity to Kellar's acts while igniting in a young Erik Weisz, birth name of Harry Houdini, a hunger for wonder. Weisz’s apprenticeship under Mortimer and Kellar prepared him to one day transcend even their renown.
Gathering Luminaries: Brotherhood on Stage and in the Lodge
Rites of passage soon beckoned. Inspired by his grandfather’s step, Mortimer was raised to the degree of Master Mason in Advance Lodge No. 635 in Astoria Village on May 5, 1880, and was eventually elected Worshipful Master of the lodge in 1889. He became a 32nd degree Mason and served actively as an officer in both the Royal Arch Masons and the Columbia Commandery. Yet destiny’s wheel turned once more: within a year, Mortimer left the road behind, investing the savings from his performing days into a new pursuit, medicine, while moonlight as editor for the Pharmacy Journal Advertiser to offset his lost road show earnings.
Sleepless in his studies and keenly observant as a clerk, Mortimer recognized the era’s casual attitude toward discovering the wider properties of medicines and the ever-present threat of accidental overdose. These insights fueled his drive to graduate NYU Medical School.
Magical fellowship remained a constant lure. Martinka’s Magic Shop became his sanctuary: a crossroads for card tricks and camaraderie. He mixed medicinal compounds by day and conjured coins by night, these were the origins of his greatest foundations. Mortimer may have retired his traveling show, but attached to Martinka’s, was the Bijou Theater, where he spent long hours perfecting and performing acts with the era’s great conjurers.
Inspiration and Innovation: Building the Society of American Magicians
Yearning for deeper meaning, Mortimer’s time as a Mason, forever guided by symbols and secrets, reached its zenith at Martinka’s. In a haze of sawdust, he and fellow magician, Dr. Saram R. Ellison founded the Society of American Magicians in 1902. Mortimer, crafted its emblem, still in use today, codified its secrets, and created the Initiation ritual that, some who have witnessed claim, mirrors the grandeur of Freemasonry. Houdini, ever the innovator, would later add the Broken Wand ceremony as a farewell ro deceased members, thus cementing Mortimer and Houdini’s collaboration to instill Harmony and Fraternity among the S.A.M.
Soon, as editor and visionary, Mortimer transformed the Society’s magazine, M.U.M., into a platform for wisdom and inclusivity. He inspired members nationwide to document and share the secrets and stories of magicians and their acts. Inclusivity, was his edict for S.A.M. In his own words, “Above all, you don't have to be a full-time performing professional to be a member. This is an organization intended to unite those associated in magic, not only professionals but amateurs, manufacturers of apparatus, collectors, and all who are interested in any way in magic."
Through Mortimer’s vision, the fraternity grew. Today, S.A.M. boasts more than 5,000 members in 300 Assemblies worldwide, each one kindling the flame set by Mortimer’s original spark.
Crafting a Lasting Legacy: Medicine, Magic, and Mortimer’s Enduring Influence
Expanding his reach beyond magic, Mortimer set about uniting doctors just as he’d united magicians. As editor of the New York Academy of Medicine Journal, he coordinated knowledge to undertake a four-year investigation into the coca plant resulted in a magnum opus, “History of Coca: The Divine Plant of the Incas." In this he blended science and artistry, urging caution against cocaine’s dangers while defending the ancient role of coca leaves, also dispelling a myth of that time, that the coco palm had any relation to the coca bush.
Resonating through years, his insights remain relevant; the book has been many times reprinted and cited by botanists, psychologists, and healers; still opening new doors of perception as any great illusionist must.
In the culmination of his life’s performance, Mortimer accepted the role of director of ophthalmological surgery at New York Throat and Nose Hospital, uniting the symbols of Masonry, the drama of magic, and the rigor of medicine. By his retirement in 1923, he had woven together these diverse arts into a singular, radiant tapestry.
Ever the champion of harmony, during his directorship, Mortimer continued to work alongside Houdini, fortifying the respectability of their art through scholarship. He helped Houdini pen, "Unmasking Robert-Houdin," published in 1908, a treatise demystifying the mechanics of stage trickery and dissecting the technical genius of the legendary Kellar’s couch; an infamous artifact once displayed in Martinka’s back room. Though it still exists, where it lies today, no magician would tell.
So Mortimer's true masterpiece was his legacy: a brotherhood forged across divides, their unity and vision an everlasting light on every stage and in every sanctuary. The real magic was never the trick, but the courage to unlock the extraordinary within the world, within others, and, most wondrously, within himself.
