Kalanag

German film producer and magician in the German Reich and in the early Federal Republic of Germany. In 1927 he became editor-in-chief of MAGIE magazine of the Magic Circle. He chose his stage name after the elephant Kala Nag ("Black Snake") from Rudyard Kiplings Jungle Book. Due to his good contacts to Nazi Propaganda Minister Joseph Goebbels he made his career at the Tobis Film Company. With the onset of the sound film era Schreiber rose to production manager, from 1930 to 1934 he was also active as a motorcycle racer. From summer 1936 he worked as a production group leader, in 1939 he became an executive of the film industry, in June 1942 he finally became production manager in Bavaria and remained there until the end of the war. As author, cameraman, recording and production manager, Schreiber was responsible for a total of 150 films. Schreiber, who belonged to the NSDAP since 1933, prevented the dissolution of the Magic Circle. He turned his hobby into a profession in 1947 – at a time when the postwar period was turning into a postwar boom or economic miracle. He entertained British occupation soldiers with his Kalanag revue, consisting of elaborate illusions and scantily dressed showgirls. In the 1950s, Kalanag toured with his 50-member ensemble tours of Britain, Sweden, Denmark, Spain, South Africa, Brazil, the United States, Turkey and Switzerland. In the summer of 1960 he appeared in the Zwickau Groß-Variete Lindenhof. At that time, Kalanag was the only major illusionist in the world who still toured with such an elaborate show. On Christmas Eve 1963 he died of probable heart failure in the Gaildorfer Hospital at age 60. Link to Wikipedia biography Read less