Updated February 25, 7:00 p.m. PT: The L.A. County Medical Examiner’s Department reported late Saturday that magician Daryl Easton died of an accidental hanging, not suicide as initially suspected.
Magician Daryl Easton was found dead inside Hollywood’s magic-themed club, The Magic Castle, on Friday night.
A spokesperson for the LAPD told TheWrap on Saturday morning that the cause of death was believed to be suicide. But following an autopsy, the Los Angeles County Medical Examiner’s Department later ruled the death an accidental hanging and not a suicide, according to Reuters.
A Hollywood police spokesperson told TheWrap that employees at the exclusive, members only magic club discovered the body of the 61-year-old “magician’s magician” around 7:30 p.m. on Friday night.
Easton, who was known for his card tricks, was found wearing only his underwear, with a bag over his head. According to the spokesperson, it appeared as if Easton had hung himself.
The Academy of Magic Arts Mourns the Passing of Daryl – February 25th, 2017 – https://t.co/rk8YB7bO3o
— The Magic Castle (@MagicCastle_AMA) February 25, 2017
“The Academy of Magic Arts (AMA) and the Magic Castle mourn the passing of celebrated magician and AMA family member, Daryl,” the club wrote in a statement on Facebook. “Daryl, who was performing at the Magic Castle this week, was found dead on the club’s premises on the evening of Friday, Feb. 24, and his death has been ruled a suicide by the Los Angeles Police Department.”
The statement continues: “The magic community mourns the loss of one of our most beloved and talented performers and the AMA’s deepest regrets and heart-felt sympathy go out to Daryl’s family.”
According to the AMA, “Daryl was a World Champion, first-place FISM Gold medal winning, close-up magician with over 40 years of experience in both performing and selling the finest magic in the world.”
The Magic Castle is an upscale Hollywood Hills restaurant that hosts magic shows, often catering to magicians and illusionists
The statement concluded by noting that, “Daryl was a World Champion, first-place FISM Gold medal winning, close-up magician with over 40 years of experience in both performing and selling the finest magic in the world. Daryl performed as a headline act at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas for seven years fine tuning his already encyclopedic knowledge of magic. Daryl has performed literally thousands of shows for audiences as diverse as the Witch Doctors on the South Pacific island of Vanuatu to the movers and shakers of the political world at the Presidential Ball in Washington, D.C.”