Elsewhere

Jay Marshall,

85, a magician-ventriloquist, dean of the Society of American Magicians and the first entertainer to open for Frank Sinatra in Las Vegas, died Tuesday at Swedish Covenant Hospital in Chicago, his family said.

Mr. Marshall had suffered a series of heart attacks.

Although he was a noted historian of stage magic and wrote several books on the subject, his own act did not incorporate the spectacular illusions and escape stunts that were popular when he was a young vaudevillian.

Instead, Mr. Marshall concentrated on the magic of card tricks and sleight of hand, combining it with ventriloquism and often self-deprecating patter. He liked to bill himself as "one of the better of the cheap acts." He made 14 appearances on the Ed Sullivan Show.

His usual stage partner was "Lefty," his left hand dressed in a white glove and wearing rabbit ears. Occasionally, "Righty," Mr. Marshall's other hand, would join them to sing trios.

For many years, Mr. Marshall and his wife a shop for professional magicians on Chicago's North Side.