 Although never gaining wide fame , Ali had a dedicated following on the vaudeville circuit in the United States . He performed for heads of state including Tsar Nicholas II of Russia . Judy Garland named him her favorite <unk> and David Blaine identified Ali as his favorite magician . <unk> of his act were captured in the short film Strange as It Seems ( 1930 ) and in Politiquerias ( 1931 ) , the Spanish @-@ language version of Laurel and Hardy 's <unk> Come Home . Two documentaries contain footage of Ali taken from Politiquerias : 1977 's <unk> ! , and 1999 's Vaudeville . Ali 's unusual <unk> abilities led to rumors that the Rockefeller Institute had offered a large sum of money to obtain his stomach post @-@ mortem . After he died in England , his body was offered to Johns Hopkins University for study , though the offer was declined . 
