Ted Carrothers, of Brooke Park Drive, a local magic shop owner, promoter, and magician who once levitated Miss Toledo on the Anthony Wayne Bridge, died Sunday apparently while attempting to install a ceiling fan He was 65.
     The Lucas County coroner's office is investigating Mr. Carrothers's death and is expected to rule on the case today.
     Mr: Carrothers was well known both locally and nationally for his prestidigitation as well as for the large Magic Studio on Sylvania Avenue that shared his name.
      "He just loved it there, talking to magicians:" said Mr. Carrothers's wife, Cindy, who said her husband owned the shop for more than two decades.
      "He loved not only selling, but just talking to the people who would come in and talk about magic. That's where people who had a love of magic would congregate."
     Mr. Carrothers, who did thousands of perfonnances during his career, also was the last performer on the stage of the former Paramount Theater, Mrs. Carrothers said.
     A native of St. Louis who came to love his adopted hometown of Toledo, Mr. Carrothers served as a mentor to many of this area's young magicians. including Kip Barry, who gave Mr. Carrothers credit ror his own involvement in magic.
      "I've traveled all over the world and I've never met anyone like the man. He was extraordinary. Ted never did anything easy. He did everything bigger than life," Mr. Barry said.
     One of most distinctive features of Mr. Carrothers's magic acts was his use of a ladder when performing before large crowds, like those that used to crowd around him when he would be performing in the former Tiedtke's Department Store downtown, Mr. Barry said.
     Mr. Carrothers bad been working on a ladder shortly before he died.
      "It was one of his trademarks, especially when he would work some of these places that didn't have a stage," Mr. Barry said. "He would stand on the top of a ladder and do magic. Sometimes, he'd be all the way up on the top of this thing, If he was going to work a shopping center and he needed to be noticed. that's what he would do."
     Mr. Carrothers was very active in his community as well, both on a neighborhood and city-wide level He served as an area coordinator of his local Block Watch, and helped organize neighbors to clean up Greenwood Park.
     On a city-wide level, Mr. Carrothers was probably best known as the organizer of several of Toledo's International Festivals, which celebrated the city's ethnic heritages and drew tens of thousands of people each year.
     He also was the promoter and organizer of the Brotherhood U.S.A. Festival in 1971, which sought to begin America's celebration of its Bicentennial.
     He also was a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, the International Institute, and the Greenwood Park Board.
     Also surviving are his brother, William. and stepsister, Lynn Walters.
     Arrangements are pending at the Boyer-VanWormer-Scott Funeral Home.
The family requests tributes to a charity of the donor's choice.

Another Obituary

TED CARROTHERS

     Ted A. Carrothers, 65, of West Toledo, passed away Sunday, January 21, 1996, at The Toledo Hospital.. A well-known magician both locally and nationaly, Ted owned his own magic shop on Sylvania Ave. He had been involved with civic activities, especially organizing the International Festival and the local Block Watch Program. He was the founder of the Abra-Cadabra Club.
     He Is survived by his wife, Cindy; brother, William (Dorothy) Carrothers, Jr.; step-sister, Lynn Walters; 2 nieces and 4 nephews.
     Friends may call Wednesday from 5-9 p.m. in the Boyer-VanWormer-Scott Funeral Home, 5055 Secor Rd. (north of Laskey), where services will be held Thursday at 1 p.m., followed Immediately by Broken Wand Services. Interment will be private. The family prefers tributes be made to a charity of the donor's choice.