Before this, he had been a long-term father figure to Maurice and Ralston after their father mysteriously and literally disappeared in a disappearing act performed by Herrmann. Maurice and Ralston began to view Herrmann as a surrogate father, and regularly attended his shows. Because of this, the magician cautioned their half-brother Ned to avoid their clingy nature. Despite this, he would help the twins develop as magicians, and was grooming them to replace him. This upset both his assistant, Alexandria, and another magician he mentored, The Geek. He appeared in "Oh Oh Oh...It's Magic".