The Pendragons
Jonathan and Charlotte Pendragon were a husband-and-wife team of American illusionists who called their work "physical grand illusion". They are widely known thanks to numerous national and international television appearances.
Performing partnership
The couple met at the University of California, Irvine, where Jonathan was studying theatre and Charlotte was studying dance under choreographers Eugene Loring and George Balanchine. They married soon after. Charlotte (born Charlotte Ann Brown in Kalispell, Montana) is a dancer and former gymnast and body builder. Jonathan (born Claude Douglas Yarbrough) was a gymnast, spring board diver, martial arts expert and fencer. He used his athletic skills in a career as a Hollywood stuntman, performing the back hand springs for John Belushi down the church aisle in The Blues Brothers. He became Belushi's stunt double and friend, coordinating stunts and second directing in the movie Continental Divide.
Jonathan and Charlotte's athletic skills allowed the pair to develop a distinctive and graceful take on classic illusions such as levitation. Their shows included a number of illusions with which they became particularly associated, including Interlude, in which a woman crawls through a man's chest. They were the first artists to perform this trick. They are noted for their version of Metamorphosis. This illusion won them a place in the 50th edition of The Guinness Book of Records, under the heading of the "Fastest Transformation Illusion". Another illusion was Clearly Impossible, a sawing in half trick designed by Jonathan. Its distinctive feature is a transparent box that allowed the audience to see Charlotte from head to toe throughout the trick.
