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BornJoseph Cohen
Known forSecond Sight Act

Joseph Mercedes (1888-1966) and his wife Nellie were billed as "Mercedes and Mlle. Stantone" during the 20 years they played theaters in North America and Europe.


Mercedes developed a Second Sight that made him one of the highest paid attractions of die 1920s. In their act, his wife sat at a piano on the stage, her eyes covered by a blindfold. Mercedes circulated through the audience and was told, in whispers, the titles of musical compositions. Mrs. Mercedes would play the music requested without hearing die titles spoken.

Mercedes made his first professional paid appearance in the Clark Street Museum in Chicago in 1903 with sleight of hand and escape act.

In 1933 Mercedes started the Wisconsin Heart o' the Lakes Tourist Bureau, and spent much of his time in Wisconsin.[1]


  1. Obit, Linking Ring, September 1966