[4][3] The brothers promised each other after their father's death at age 41 that they would fulfil their dads dream to open an exclusive venue for magicians.
The brothers worked in television, Bill Jr. an executive producer for CBS and Milt for NBC who also wrote jokes for the TV show Truth or Consequences.
Bill ran the business side of things while Milt renovated the building which started out as a small close-up room and bar.
[4] The Academy of Magical Arts was run out of the Castle and Bill Larsen quit his TV job in order to manage the club and Genii magazine.
[5] A Spanish-style mansion built in 1937 by high-end magic builder, Floyd Thayer, Brookledge is located in Hancock Park a neighborhood in the Wilshire area of Los Angeles.
[6] In 2009, daughter of Bill and Irene, Erika Larsen reopened the theatre to the "Brookledge Follies" an invitation only vintage show, with seating for only about 70 attendees.
Celebrities Neil Patrick Harris, Dick Van Dyke, Paul Reubens and actor Jason Alexander plus magicians Penn & Teller and David Copperfield volunteered to help.
[3] Illusionist Peter Reveen writes Larsen's 1993 obituary published in Genii magazine that the world of magic was stunned at the death of Bill Larsen, Reveen calls him the "world's most beloved citizen" and "not since the loss of Harry Houdini in 1926, have magicians across the globe felt a sense of loss".
He adored his parents William and Gerri and always believed he would die early at the same age of his father 48, and was shocked he lived past 50.
Anonymously, Larsen helped out many not well-known magicians who were struggling financially, and for some senior members he would have the Castle "pick up the tab for both their living and medical expenses".