Stanley Warde Hart
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Stanley Warde Hart (about 1870 - May 23, 1944) was a touring vaudeville performer and later theater manager. He performed under the stage name "Hart the Laugh King".[1] Hart was described as a graduate of the New York Institute of Science, a by-mail institution dedicated to hypnotism and the occult; Hart included stage hypnotism among his acts.[2] Hart was performing as late as 1910.[3]
After touring as the Laugh King, Hart relocated to Los Angeles where he ran theaters including the city's Hyman Theater.[4][5] In association with the theaters, Hart organized beauty queen pageants.[6] By 1914, he was manager of the Columbia theater.[7] In 1919, he was associated with Quinn's Rialto theater.[8]
Hart received a brief mention in the 1942 biography of American clairvoyant Edgar Cayce who recalled having first been exposed to hypnosis through Hart's stage act.[9][10] When Stanley Hart died in 1944, his death was covered nationwide via the Associated Press wire service.[11][12][13]
