Milt Larsen. 36 years of friendship and counting.

•July 21, 2010 • Leave a Comment

When I first arrived in Los Angeles it was 1974. I had exactly $50 to my name and a bunch more energy and drive than I have now! For various reasons my wife Susan and I spent our first night staying in one of her friends houses in Santa Monica. I was anxious to see my new homeland and while my wife went to sleep I took a long walk around Santa Monica. I just couldn’t wait to explore.

Much to my amazement one of the first things I saw was a building that looked like a beautifully recreated Old English Music Hall. The marquee proclaiming that my powers of observation were smack on and read, ‘The Mayfair Music Hall.’ I was very excited and the next morning told Susan that I had already found a place where I could work. I just knew it.

I visited the ‘Mayfair’ later that week and met its creator, a highly pleasant and friendly chap called Milt Larsen. He took the time to have a couple of drinks with me and I discovered that this was the same person who had created the ‘Magic Castle.’ well I certainly knew all about the Castle by reputation and definitely wanted to visit and to work there as soon as I could.

However, I got my first job at the ‘Mayfair,’ I was very excited, an actual wage! It wasn’t much, but coupled with a very short career selling men’s clothing in the Northridge Mall it allowed me to join the Castle! My work continued with various weeks at the ‘Mayfair’ and then branched out also into weeks at the Castle. It was the foundation of my career in America and the greatest training ground a young performer could wish for.

Over the next few years I met Milt often and he was always friendly, courteous and best of all encouraging. He always bought me a drink, I remember with a pang of horror the night I asked him what he was drinking and he replied, “Aquavit.” I said, “I’ll try one too.” They just don’t make hangovers like that anymore.

The more I got to know Milt, the more I discovered that he had truly created my two hubs of work. I mean actually created, with a hammer in one hand, a glass of wine in the other and most important of all a vision in his mind that could create something unique and tangible from abstract ideas. I developed an enormous respect for this slightly crazed creator, carpenter and T.V. writer and it is a respect that has only grown through the years.

Suddenly, there was talk of a new venture  ‘a society for the preservation of the variety arts,’ it was very vague initially but I paid fifty dollars to become a member of a club, that existed mostly in one man’s head and didn’t even have a clubhouse where members could meet. That didn’t worry me, and I was right not to worry, because that germ of an idea turned into a four-story building with a full sized theatre, a nightclub, a restaurant and the look and feel of an old fashioned and larger than life venue, it was just another of Milt’s ‘Castles in the air’ that arrived firmly on the ground. The ‘Variety Arts Center’ was born.

The ‘Magic Castle,’ however was always Milt’s masterpiece and a glorious tribute to the ideas of his father William Larsen Sr. It has employed more magicians and encouraged, nurtured and given them a perfect ‘Jewel Box’ to showcase what was a quickly declining form of entertainment. In fact, I think it is fair to say that in the ’70s the Magic Castle, along with Siegfried & Roy and Doug Henning gave magic a re-birth. The Art of Close-Up Magic would certainly never have developed as it has without the Castle.

One interesting thing was the way the Castle never quite remained physically the same, not only subtle changes but some very major expansions too, Milt couldn’t resist his instincts to improve what most people would have considered a fully completed masterpiece. The one constant was that magic always remained as the heart, soul and core of his creation.

Milt never seemed that concerned with the day to day running of the Castle, while obviously having an extremely shrewd business sense, he stepped back to let his brother Bill take care of the day to day affairs. Milt may have had the mind of a good businessman but his soul remained that of a highly creative artist. A pretty smart call!

Times change, not always for the better, and at a certain point the off hand casualness and eccentricities of the Castle were seen as some kind of weakness instead of one the keys to its continued success. Well, at a certain point the desire to create a slick and commercial vehicle out of what was always a work of love by both creators and performers suddenly arrived on the scene. It usually does.

Has recent change improved the Magic Castle for its membership, I suspect any long-term member (my membership number is in the mid 2000s, so I’m not a part of the true pioneers, but pretty close to the source!) would give you the same answer? Do I need to tell you what it would be? I won’t do so because any off my readers who know me understand I always run a mile from speaking my mind or being controversial. LOL.

Let me just say that Milt has earned my respect and admiration for 36 years now. He’s not an easy man to get to know but I feel we have become real friends over the years, friends in the quiet and understated way we both prefer. The Magic Castle without Milt is as inconceivable as Disneyland without Walt. I guess you could turn Disneyland into a Six Flags operation but what would be lost in the process would be incalculable.

I make these comments in a personal and non-political way; I’m not one to keep up with gossip or Internet forums so my timing is quite random. I just want to thank Milt for creating three unique venues and being a friend for 36 years and counting……………

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One Final Walk Down The Line.

•July 19, 2010 • Leave a Comment

As a great fan of Johnny Cash, when I was listening to his last album, I was really struck by what a loss to the world this man was. He was a genius in the simplest most humble way. A giant of a man with a depth and breadth of understanding that put him in a class of his own.

This video is from his final performance just weeks before he died, it was recorded at the ‘Carter Family Music Center.’ The video is both inspiring and heartbreaking. He had just lost June and was filmed after his last rush of recordings with Rick Rubin.

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40 Years of thoughts on Close Up Magic in 200 Words. Don’t You Love Blogs!

•July 14, 2010 • 1 Comment

There is a curious need for many close up workers to use very complex means to achieve their end results. I guess when you have spent hours working on a move you want to use it, curiously enough it often confuses the direct line of a trick. The shortest distance between two spots is a straight line, or in this instance it is from the set up to the reveal of a trick.

One of my favorite demonstrations of this approach was the way Ron Wilson performed the Chop Cup. He didn’t spend 5 minutes making a spectator choose where the ball was in the pocket or under the cup. He did one ‘pocket or cup’ moment and then BANG, BANG, he did the double production that is the real reason for the routine. You were really shocked by the speed and surprise of the routine, end of story!

Last week I watched John Carney performing a chop cup style routine which worked in a different way. His routine was quite a bit more complex but had some wonderful surprise along the way. A vanish of the glass used in the routine, the production of an orange and finally a mind blowing production of a coconut. While his set up was a lot longer than Ron’s routine, his low key selling of the build up, was charming and never crossed over into being an ‘I fooled you’ situation. As in the rest of his show, John did nothing without a reason and his style of performance gave much more of a feeling of someone talking to themself and letting the audience listen in. I saw more than a little of the patented McComb style of  performance in his vocal pattern. That is meant as a very high compliment.

I was a great fan of the ‘Jazz’ approach to close up magic as initially proposed by Dai Vernon and beautifully articulated by Daryl in his first book. The ability to choose the right move for the right trick at the right moment does indeed give you the freedom to take your work to a different level, however the consistency of your style must remain the same. It’s nice to have a dozen, forces, double lifts and card controls at your command but if you can develop a truly convincing method of achieving these moves then you can achieve a seamless continuity that is psychologically very powerful. Hey, if you can perform a classic force well, a good card control and Dai Vernon’s push over double lift, you can do enough eye popping magic to keep an audience amazed for hours!                                                                                                                                                                                                                              

My late, friend Bobby Dee was almost unknown to magicians, but he made between $5000 and $7500 a night for his walk around magic and pretty much all he did was variations on the classic force. Ah, but the variations, the ‘outs’ and his personality made him a star in this genre. When he worked a banquet hall he was the center of attention not just at the table he was working but throughout the entire banquet room. Bobby was without doubt the most amazing close up performer I have ever witnessed, and I have seen the best of many generations. Not the greatest magician but the most effective close up performer.

…….Then there is handling cards during a stand up show! A very different story indeed and one I have become more and more familiar with since I left the close up phase of my performing behind. I will get into that in another blog!

This rather more scholarly blog is dedicated to S.P. Lodge, The very singular magician and mentalist who always gives me a hard time about seaming to take magic much less seriously than I do.

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A visit to the Magic Castle. Thoughts and Musings.

•July 11, 2010 • 2 Comments

I cut my eye-teeth performing at the Magic Castle but haven’t worked there in 25 years. I will be visiting the Castle three times within five days this week. That is about as many times as I’ve visited in the last two years! Today is the memorial for Glenn Falkenstein and on Tuesday I plan to visit just to spend time with Ron Wilson and Steve Mitchell. I can’t wait to see the final copy of Ron’s book.

Visiting the Castle as infrequently as I have in the 20 odd years since I left Los Angeles, it is always interesting to observe the changes. I really get sick of hearing the inevitable, “It’s not like it used to be.” Of course, it isn’t like it used to be; nothing is. There is a definitely commercial element that has snuck in, however the gloriously casual ‘Let’s try this!’ approach that made the Castle so special in earlier years might not cut it now. Everything costs more.

It was interesting to see the Castle packed out on a Friday night was my first surprise, then I realized that Friday and Saturday nights were no longer members only night. I didn’t eat at the Castle (I have heard so many times about how the food has improved, only to find that it is overpriced and mediocre) so Susan and I had to wait in the non ticket holders line for the Palace show. You certainly do feel a little second class citizen vibe, however  I can see the point. In the ‘Old Days’ I would just nip through the back door of the Palace and catch the act I wanted to see. That privilege of having a membership in the 2000’s has dissapeared.

The show was three quarters good. How’s that for tact! The highlight of the show (and the reason for my visit) was comedy magician Adam London who destroyed the lay crowd with his high energy and slightly abrasive sense of humor. His initial shows were in comedy clubs and it shows, has really got a sense of timing and pacing that make him outstanding. Look out for him to quickly become a first class contender in the performance world.

It must have been a couple of decades since I had seen John Carney work. Wow, this guy really sets the bar very high for close up performers who want to be as commercial as they are skilled. I loved the material and I loved the way John performed it. He was performing in the Parlor, and it was refreshing to see that he had actually chosen ‘parlor’ tricks for his performance. He looked so comfortable and at ease that his skilled sleight of hand just looked like a natural part of him.

Of course, a huge part of the enjoyment of a visit to the Castle is bumping into old friends. It was as always a joy to spend some time with Jack Goldfinger and Dove. Jack is doing a wonderful job with his booking at the Castle and he realizes that part of the job of a booker is to be cheerleader and coach for his performers. I remember that Jack’s old business card read, “Jack Goldfinger; Creative Thinker.” The Castle is very lucky to have his creative thoughts working for them.

So was the Castle as much fun as it used to be? How could it be without the chance to gossip with Jules Lenier, Billy McComb, Dai Vernon, and all the other great characters who have left us. Is it still fun to visit, “You Betcha.” The faults many of ‘old timers’ find are directly related to the way the Castle has been redirected towards a non-magician crowd and a commercial approach. As Frank Sinatra used to say so authoritively “That’s Life!”

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Farewell to a man who read minds, way ahead of the curve.

•July 5, 2010 • 1 Comment

This is a column I wrote about my respect and admiration for Glenn Falkenstein on a personal and professional level. It was published in July 2008 and is my personal reminisces of this great performer and human being.  It was written long before I had any idea that Glenn was ailing, therefore what I say is not from any sense of sadness or loss but was shaped solely from the heart. All my sympathy and condolences go out to Francis, who has obviously been a God send to Glenn in these final years. After the column I received an email of such graciousness and pleasure from Francis and Glenn, that it was one of those moments when I realized why I need to be a writer.

I am currently cruising to the end of the world. To be more exact I am at the very tip of Norway getting ready to sail to the polar ice caps. Gorgeous countryside, amazing views, incredible views but some of the most erratic Internet spots in the world so I hope this column finds its way to New Zealand!

Due to some miscalculation on the part of the cruise line I am onboard with a mindreader. Not the best of bookings given all the psychic stuff I feature in my show these days but a true joy as far as good company goes. The name of my fellow entertainer is Marc Paul and although I haven’t seen his show yet I suspect he will be outstanding. Sitting drinking Lattes, we discussed mindreading and mindreaders for hours. When I asked him what had really inspired him to specialize in this aspect of our art he replied; “Glenn Falkenstein, because he really just looks like he is doing what you would do if you really could read minds.”

I thought this was a great answer and it took my memory back to the first time I had ever watched Glenn work. I remembered how very impressed I had been at the way he just snapped out answers to questions in truly dynamic manner. I watched Glenn work many times when I arrived in the States and I can honestly say that he really fooled me more than any other act I saw. I was blissfully innocent at the time to the subtleties of a blindfold Q & A act and I gasped right along with the civilians, as h act e truly seemed to peer into people’s minds. He just got right on with it and did what people wanted to see him do.

Many years later I had the opportunity to work with Ross Johnson and observe his Q & A from the metaphorical wings. Every show I got the samecharge watching him go about his business. He would sometimes laughingly refer to himself as a one-trick pony. It is a hell of a trick convincing people you can read minds. Quite a different thing to performing tricks that may or may not be achieved by ‘unearthly means!’

By the strangest of coincidences Susan and I were present at Glenn’s marriage to Frances Willard in Las Vegas. It isn’t that we were close friends, it just sort of happened! However I was delighted to be able to attend as I had become a huge fan of the way Frances and Glenn had reinvented his show with their classic performance of the spirit cabinet. It wasn’t easy to change or top Glenn’s act but this was a match made in heaven. Peanut butter and jelly good!

In the documentary ‘Women in Boxes’ (I must have really enjoyed the film because I keep quoting it!) It was fascinating listening to Frances talking about her multi-generational life in the magic world. I suspect that many other people, just like me, would have loved to have heard her talk in a little more depth about her life. I hope there are plenty of deleted scenes on the DVD.

I have always been astounded and more than a little outraged at the cavalier manner in which some magicians dismiss mindreaders as if there is something not quite fair about their goals and means. I suspect there is more than a little jealousy about the reaction they achieve and the strong hint of the mysterious that they bring to the audience. We are meant to fool them but it is cheating to make them believe us seems to sum up the mind-set of these characters. I have frequently seen magicians reveal ‘mindreaders’ secrets in a casual and vindictive manner. They would never do that with an illusionist or sleight of hand performer. OK we won’t get into the Valentino thing here—that’s a whole other story. The bastard.

Yesterday while sitting, sipping and chatting with Marc Paul it took me back into an earlier stage of my magic career and the simple pleasure of watching Glenn just get on with it and read minds. It is a feeling and a memory that I treasure.

So I guess this column goes out to Glenn and Frances one of the classiest couples ever to mess with an audiences mind!

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Fun Projects I’m Happy to be Involved in!

•July 2, 2010 • Leave a Comment

Greetings to everyone out there in the digital world, I want to use this space to catch you up on a couple of recent, and a future projects that I am lucky enough to be involved in.

As many of you will know, I am a very big fan of the work of Ron Wilson and consider him to have been one of the most commercial and effective magicians that I have  ever seen. I am delighted to say that Ron has completed a book of his magical memoirs, it is a must read for people who want to know a little more about the ‘actual’ flesh and blood men behind the legends of magic. Anyone with a true love of magic will be unable to put this volume down. It is also lavishly illustrated with rare photographs from many private sources.

I was very proud when Ron asked me to write the introduction to the book. I was even more excited when Imanaged to fly down to Los Angeles to interview Ron as part of a DVD that will be included with each copy of the book. I got to ask Ron many questions that I knew very few people would have been able to answer.

The video also includes footage from Ron’s classic Castle act and I was able to discuss these gems of magic as someone who has studied them for 40 years. Ron had great and insightful answers. There is also footage of R. Wilson performing Ron’s ultra cool ‘Highland Hop’ routine in an impromptu session. Hell, we even get to see Ron himself show exactly how a ‘Strike Second’ should be dealt.

There will be a limited edition of 100 specially bound, numbered and signed by Ron which are likely to become highly sought after collectors items even before the rest of the 1000 book run is sold. The books will be available through the Internet and I will give you the ‘Head’s Up’ when all the final details are determined. I must give a very special thank you to Steve Mitchell who used his considerable knowledge and skills to get the book out into the world!

I was also very pleased to be asked to contribute a chapter and trick to ‘Mysteries of my Friends 2,’ the new book by Burton Sperber. This is a fabulous book of fine magic that has been lovingly constructed by a man who knows his magic. The book is available from <richard@magicbookshop.com While Burt is mostly familiar in the magic world as one of the handful of top-league collectors,’ there is a very savvy performer an inch below the surface.

I wrote a blog entry about my first meeting with Burt where it is honest to say he surprised, confounded and amazed me with a deck of cards, and I have seen some of the best. If you would like to read an amended/updated version of this article, which first appeared in Magic New Zealand,Check it out at http://atomic-temporary-10911989.wpcomstaging.com/2010/06/10/387/

Finally I am delighted to say that I will have the privilege to be one of the participants in Michael Finney’s ‘Dry Heat Classic’ golf tournament inPhoenix, Arizona. The event is into its 14th year and has mixed; golf, celebrities, magic, fun, and great food; and has become one of the most popular annual events in Phoenix. Oh, and along the way has raised over $700,000 for children’s charities.

Anyone who knows Michael is aware what a very special person he is, both onstage and off. He is a one of a kind gentleman who earns your respect by the very nature of his being—not to mention by being one of the funniest comedy magicians of this generation.

Full details about the ‘Dry Heat Classic’ can be found athttp://www.dryheatclassic.com/

If you have a chance come along and join in the fun, you don’t even need to be a golfer as tickets to some of the shows and events are open to the public. Well, I’m out of here; time to restart rehearsing my spiffy new Nielsen/Okito ‘Chinese Sticks.

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A Kid’s show, Jersey Style!

•June 21, 2010 • Leave a Comment

Back in the early eighties I was busy crossing the country and headlining in comedy clubs in nearly every state. It was a busy and enjoyable period of my life and resulted in many memorable highlights. This is one of them.

I often seemed to end up in New Jersey and played nearly every club in the state. The most prosperous and prestigious club was in the city of Orange and it was quite a feather in the cap for a magician to headline there. This is where my story begins.

This particular club boasted a menu that included gourmet Italian entrees that cost upwards of forty dollars: quite a change from the nachos and chicken wings that usually predominated in comedy clubs from coast to coast. There was a general feeling among performers that this particular club was a little different from most of the others we played.

There were a great many ‘Goodfella’s’ and mob jokes that disappeared like magic from comedian’s acts when they performed in the club. It wasn’t anything you knew for certain but it certainly was a widely held view that this was a smart step for performers to follow. Nobody spoke about it, it just happened. I’m sure you catch my drift.

In the middle of one of my engagements the owner of the club approached me after the show and asked me if I performed a kid’s birthday party show. I said that I hadn’t done so for years; he replied that I was doing one on Saturday afternoon. I tried to look happy as I said “OK.”

The next day I made a fast visit to Tannen’s and picked up modeling balloons, mouth coils and a set of ‘Hippity Hop Bunnies.’ I now felt somewhat prepared for my first kid’s show in many years. I wasn’t looking forward to it but I did feel prepared. Now if I could just remember how to twist a darn poodle!

Saturday afternoon arrived and at the appointed time so did a long black limousine. I jumped in the back and we drove several miles to the party location. As soon as we pulled up at our destination I gulped and felt slightly sick.

We were parked in front of a large empty space with a small Italian restaurant situated in the very center of the lot. At each of the four corners of the lot was a large black sedan. Standing next to each vehicle was a brace of burly men wearing dark glasses and dark suits. Even a casual glance at them was intimidating.

As we pulled into the lot two of the burly men came over to the limo and looked inside. I was motioned to get out of the car and then escorted to the door of the restaurant. Inside the entrance were two more burly men dressed in the same uniform. One of these men escorted me to a small room next to the kitchen and said; “I’ll get you when we’re ready.”

I peeped out into the dark restaurant and it was filled with expensively dressed men and women. There was a head table that ran crosswise at one edge of the room. It looked a little like the last supper recreated by Martin Scorsese. At the centre of the table was a powerful looking elderly gentleman who looked just like all the other men in the room but more so.

When the man who had escorted me to the room returned to tell me it was showtime I took the opportunity to ask him where the birthday girl was. “Sitting right there,” and he indicated with a jerk of his thumb, a lady on the head table. She looked like she was in her early to mid-forties but the way she was sitting next to that focal figure of power at the center of the table spoke volumes. On the table In front of her was an elaborate birthday cake complete with candles. It was apparent that his was very much Daddy’s little girl!

I performed my show, minus the ‘Hippity Hop Bunnies,’ but I did make my very best fancy poodle and presented it to the birthday girl. She seemed very happy to receive it and even more importantly her dad grunted in approval as I handed it over.

Minutes after my performance had ended to polite applause I was escorted out of the restaurant. As I left I noticed a nervous looking juggler, complete with clubs in hand, peering out of the small room next to the kitchen that I had recently vacated. “Good luck ” I thought as I made my exit from the scene.

The man who escorted me out of the restaurant to the waiting limo spoke only four words; “You done good kid.” and he slipped a hundred dollar bill into my hand. I got into the limo and we sped away into the hot New Jersey night like something from a Bruce Springsteen song. I breathed a sigh of relief. I still have slight shudders anytime I see a set of ‘Hippity Hop Bunnies.’

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Variety, the spice of variety and the demon of patter.

•June 12, 2010 • 3 Comments

I am having a blast working at Harrah’s this week. I am having fun just mixing and matching up material. Nothing sacred–just wholehearted one hour shows to keep me excited, and apparently the audience happy!

It is very easy to fool your mind into believing you have ‘An Act’ and it is always the best way to perform and will always achieve the best reaction. Actually, once you have ‘the act’ down perfectly then that’s the time to have fun and keep it fresh. I don’t mean discard, everything you do well, just to mix it around a bit. Bare in mind I’m not recommending this for someone who hasn’t managed to form a solid act as a guideline.

I love to switch blocks of comedy around from place to place. I also add/change some of the magic, sometimes significantly i.e. switch my opening and closing routine etc. So far I haven’t done the same show exactly in sequence more than once. It is fun because it keeps your techy on the jump too!

What is amazing is that new jokes, and bits just seem to fly in from everywhere like flies at a picnic. Just keeping note of the changes is tough enough, however you eventually don’t bother much trying and you just learn to rely on the inner performer and that he will come to your rescue! This is the moment you start to become an entertainer and not an act; a comedian instead of a magician who does ‘Patter.’

Patter…….the deadliest word in magic! Look up the description in the dictionary and you will find; “The term was originally a colloquial shortening of “Pater Noster” and referred to the practice of mouthing or mumbling prayers quickly and mechanically, without any expression of meaning or sincerity.

From this, it became a slang word for the secret and equally incomprehensible mutterings of a cant language used by beggars, thieves,Roma people, etc., and then the fluent plausible talk that a cheap-jack employs to pass off his goods. “Hmmmmmm, not what I want to foist on an audience. Be polite actually talk to the audience and not at them.

Just a series of thoughts.

Incidentally my Magic Martini posters are selling gangbuster. If you are a collector of that kind of thing and want one of the signed limited first editions then contact me at nicklewin1@mac.com and I will mail you one for 10 dollars plus postage.

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A Great New Book. Thank you Burton Sperber, for including me!

•June 10, 2010 • Leave a Comment

I recently had the honor of being included and contributing a story/trick to Burton Sperber’s new book in his ‘Miracles of my Friends’ series. I thought I would take this opportunity to re-print this story I wrote about Burt after first meeting him.

One of the side benefits (?) of performing on a cruise ship on a fairly regular basis is the fact that you get to meet quite a few magicians. It is very seldom the close-knit group of peers I might wish to spend an hour or two swapping stories and gags with – they are all busy working a gig somewhere else!

Often on a ship I will meet up with a socially inept amateur who insists on showing me the three rows of seven cards and then deals them into a pile and after getting the card wrong restarting the entire process complete with reassurances; “Oh no, you haven’t seen this one.” No when I see it the magician often gets the card right.

These can be the moments when you either lock yourself away in your cabin for the rest of the cruise or try and construct a make=shift scape raft out of your bed in order to escape from the ship! There are also times when you can get a delightful surprise and this is about one of those times.

I was sailing on the Crystal ‘Galaxy’ and a note arrived for me that someone would like to meet me. The note was from Burt Sperber.I didn’t know Burt but very gladly met up with him and his charming wife. We had a delightful chat and arranged to have dinner in the Italian steakhouse the next night.

Somewhere along the line I discovered that Burt was a magic collector. Now when I say Magic Collector I had better use capitol letters because he obviously has a world class collection that could even cause David Copperfield’s eyes to turn green! I am in no way a collector of magic (accumulator yes!) but Burt was describing items that were even making me foam at the mouth!

After we had eaten Burt dropped the bomb. “Oh, I also perform a little magic too, maybe you want to come back to our suite and see a couple of tricks?” Well to be honest when someone defines himself or herself primarily as a collector it doesn’t exactly scream out to me that they are going to be snappy close up performers! However short of pretending to have some kind of seizure I couldn’t think of any way out of it. I have never been happier about saying yes to an offer of watching a magic show.

I sat in Burt’s suite for over an hour and gasped as he fooled me with card trick after trick! These were some of the snappiest and most commercial pieces of card magic I had ever seen mostly, if not all, were originals. His presentation was deceptively casual and initially gave no idea of how carefully he had prepared and planned his demonstration.

After he finished performing I congratulated him on doing something that very seldom happens to me- being both entertained and fooled by great magic. I then performed my very best original card trick (the one I keep for just that kind of occasion) and quickly put the cards back in their case and onto the table. When you’re socks have been knocked of it is best just to admit it!

Burt then asked me if there was anything I particularly liked and said he would be happy to teach it to me. I said; “YES.” There were two items that I had seen performed that I considered as commercial as anything I’d ever witnessed. The next two hours flew by as he took the time and trouble to really teach me these tricks. I don’t mean show me how they were done; I mean teach me the tricks.

I haven’t yet had a chance to take up Burt on his offer to view his Magic Collection but let me tell you it has a tough act to follow with his close-up show!

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Duct Tape, Bulldog Clips and Cardboard: the good things in life!

•June 9, 2010 • 2 Comments

Tomorrow, I start two weeks subbing for Mac King at Harrah’s in Las Vegas. Mac just completed his 10th year doing the show, I lasted about five and ended up on anti-depressants, high blood pressure medication and a host of other mental and physical goodies. I don’t know how you have done it Mac. I do really have fun filling in for you though!

It isn’t the shows I enjoy. I have done a lot of shows in my life and  it certainly isn’t the audiences. In fact as Woody Allen (the funny one) once said; “I believe everything in life can be summed up in a Groucho Marx joke….. ” Well it’s not the same joke, it may not even have come from Groucho, but the principle is the same for me.

An  elderly man goes to the doctor and says, “Doctor, I can’t pee.” The Dr. says, “How old are you?” The man says,”I’m 85!” The Doctor says, “You’ve peed enough!.” It kind of sums up my feelings about shows—–“I’ve done enough!” It’s not that I don’t enjoy them anymore (though in all honesty from a very early age, I have never finished a show without thinking, “Thank God nothing went terribly wrong.”  I think I can honestly say my work has never been better. I have become so smooth, I sometimes slip on myself!

What I do still really relish is getting ready for a gig.  Folding up the Torn & Restored Elmsley Newspaper, winding up my Gypsy Thread, setting my working case and making new holders and gizmos to secure props in it. I have been making up the same lists of tricks into minutely different orders for decades–now I have an iPhone App that pretty much does it for me. It is these quiet meditative moments that seem to give me my chief joys as a performer, these days. Maybe this  is why I am starting to retire, “If you fold up an Elmsley Newspaper Tear and don’t ever tear it up, is it really ever restored?” These are deep thoughts though, I am off the Ace Hardware to by another big roll of black duct tape, I foolishly forgot to pinch one on the last ship I worked.

“Ah, the horror, the horror!!!” Captain Kurtz.”

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