In Memoriam: Alumni Classes of 1980 - 1989

Cesareo Pelaez, M.A.’82, of Beverly, Mass., who created the long-running “Le Grand David” magic show, died on March 24. The show was performed at the Cabot Street Cinema Theater in Beverly for more than 35 years, which Guinness World Records termed the longest consecutively running stage magic show in the world. Cesareo, a native of Cuba, created the show in 1977 when he was teaching psychology at Salem (Mass.) State College. As Marco the Magi, wearing opulent robes, he made tables levitate and enchanted audiences with his Cuban accent. He was a master of a classic illusion involving linking rings. His mysterious routine could shift into vaudeville as he tossed off his robes to reveal a 1920s bathing suit.