The Royal Dynasty of Magic is a tradition in which a great magician nearing retirement names a younger magician to carry on their legacy of great magic. The dynasty started in 1896 with the untimely death of Alexander Herrmann, the leading magician of the day. With his competition gone, magician Harry Kellar replaced Herrmann in all the finest theaters and started to bill himself as the next great magician after Herrmann. When Kellar retired in 1908 he named young Howard Thurston as his successor in a Royal Dynasty of Magic.  Howard Thurston became a huge success and played all the best theaters in America with his Wonder Show of the Universe but his career declined when theaters started installing movie screens. In the 1930s Thurston named Dante the Magician as his successor. Dante played extensively overseas in the finest theaters and had completed several world tours. When Dante neared retirement he moved to San Bernandino, California and began looking for his successor. He attended Lee Grabel’s show in 1954 and the two began discussing Lee carrying on the tradition as his successor. Dante wanted Lee to tour Europe and change his name to Danton – a combination of Dante and Thurston. Dante died in 1955 without making a public announcement about his chosen successor. Not till the publication of the book, “The Magic and Illusions of Lee Grabel” did the magic community learn that Lee Grabel was was the chosen successor to Dante. In the early 1990s Lee started scouting out young new illusionists to be his successor in the dynasty. In 1994 he chose Las Vegas headliner Lance Burton. In a ceremony in Vegas he placed a mantle on Burton’s shoulder to symbolize the passage. Lance is the former headliner of the Hacienda and Monte Carlo casinos. He won the Gold Medal for Excellence at the International Brotherhood of Magicians in 1980. And in 1982 he won the Grand Prix at F.I.S.M. (Federation International Society of Magic) in Switzerland.