Winston Freer

{{Infobox person

| name = Winston Freer

| birth_place = St. Albans, Vermont, United States

| birth_date = {{birth-date|August 10, 1910}}

| occupation = Magician

| death_date = {{death-date and age|April 21, 1981|August 10, 1910}}

}}

Winston Freer (August 10, 1910 – April 21, 1981) was born in St. Albans, Vermont. In 1926, at the age of 16, Freer saw Howard Thurston perform and became interested in magic.{{cite web |url=http://www.magicnook.com/forum/bioFG.htm |title=Biographies Page FG}} He grew up to be one of magic's cleverest inventors.{{cite web |url=http://www.miraclefactory.net/freer.htm |title=The Adventures of Winston Freer CD}}

In the 1930s, Freer worked at Abbott's Magic in Colon, Michigan and performed under the name Alladin and later Doc Maxam.

Freer gained a reputation for performing effects like freezing ice in his bare hand. He also startled magicians by performing a suspension while standing in the middle of a floor entirely surrounded.{{cite web |url=http://www.angelfire.com/musicals/fitzkee/TB14.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20070107175331/http://www.angelfire.com/musicals/fitzkee/TB14.html |url-status=dead |archive-date=January 7, 2007 |title=Fitzkee - The TRICK BRAIN - chapter 14}} It was captured on the cover of The Linking Ring, August 1941.{{cite web |url=http://geniimagazine.com/wiki/index.php/Winston_Freer |title=Winston Freer's MagicPedia entry}}

Freer also published his classification of magical effects in The Linking Ring.{{Cite magazine|editor-last=Scott|editor-first=Myron E.|date=January 1942|title=Hocus Pocus Parade|journal=The Linking Ring|volume=21|issue=11|pages=36–53|url=http://askalexander.org/display/37610/Linking+Ring/36|url-access=subscription }}

Freer also fancied himself a mathematician. One of his most impressive creations was his Tile Puzzle. What makes it so interesting is that neither the pieces nor the frame change shape or size in any way.{{cite web |url=http://gmvlog.blogspot.com/2006/09/winston-freer-tile-puzzle.html |title=Grey Matters Videos: Winston Freer Tile Puzzle}}