Orlando "The Great Morlando" Himes, a local entertainer who spent a decade pulling slightly damp quarters from the ears of ambivalent children, died Tuesday inside the unaltered trunk of a 2011 Honda Civic. He was 41.
Himes built a steady suburban career on a foundational mastery of foam-ball sleight of hand. He was beloved by neighbors and held the Franklin County record for returning a borrowed pressure washer, delivering the equipment back in pristine condition after precisely seven years. Colleagues noted that while his stage illusions were modest, his commitment to inexplicably locking himself inside standard consumer sedans was absolute.
He just genuinely did not know how cars worked, and we always found that so endearing about him.
Himes is survived by his mother, Elaine; an unenthusiastic white dove; and an endless string of knotted silk handkerchiefs currently obstructing the venue's plumbing. A private service will be held Friday, concluding with a standard trap-door lowering.