Michael Finney, a magician in a million.

•August 5, 2010 • 1 Comment

I am a huge fan of Michael and his unique style of Comedy Magic. He is easily funny enough to be a top stand-up comedian and performs magic that is so smooth and strong that even if he didn’t say a word his act would take him to the top of the list in the magic world. Fortunately he has chosen to walk the tightrope that is Comedy Magic and combines them as smoothly as any performer I have ever seen.

I have known Michael for over 25 years now and he was the pivotal reason that I had the courage to break away from the magic world and start my 11-year excursion into comedy club territory. His generous advice and encouragement was and still is much appreciated.

Last week I had a chance to see the other side of Michael, it was just as impressive. I attended and performed at the 14th Annual ‘Michael Finney’s Dry Heat Classic,’ the golf tournament is held in Phoenix, Arizona and raised nearly one million dollars for children’s charities. It has great golfing, fantastic food, true camaraderie and a couple of the best comedy and variety shows you will ever see.

Now I could spend the entire blog just reporting on the magicians who graced the stage at the Talking Stick Resort, however I am going to save that for another entry. This one is about Michael and his lovely wife Lori who have very obviously poured their hearts and souls (not to mention endless hours) into creating an event that hits the bull’s-eye in every way.

The Michael Finney Foundation created and runs the event. After all the events that Michael has performed at over the years; he must have been taking notes! With a deceptively casual manner, Michael avoided the mistakes that so often spoil gatherings like this. The stage and sound system were of the very highest quality. There was live music exactly where and when it was needed and a hospitality suite that felt like a private club.

One of the first things you notice at the ‘Dry Heat’ was the respect and pride that the local community feels about Michael. He doesn’t just live in Phoenix, but rather he is a very active and vital element in the city. Everyone is aware of his commitment to the charities he supports, but there is never a sense of ‘Look What I’m Doing’ that so often accompanies charity events. His quiet sincerity speaks volumes without a word needing to be said.

Quietly in the background was Michael’s wife Lori Soohoo. Watching them work the front and back rolesinterchangeably was of particular interest to Susan and I. We have worked like this for years and enjoyed watching their intuitive skills combine as they quietly got things done, with a minimum of fuss or flurry. Magicians often have their wives as onstage partners, believe me, this kind of behind the scenes partnership is just as difficult as ‘box jumping’ and all the more exacting as it goes on in the background and underneath the surface of their relationship.

The strong sense of family and patriotism that Michael feels was passed on to the audience and a very palpable addition to the mood of the event. This was an event that not only benefited a great cause but also made it fun to do so. During the event a one minute video was shown featuring the children who would benefit from the cash raised; and how. It brought a tear to many of the eyes around me, including myself. Just one minute, not a downer or a guilt maker, just a very simple reminder of how the fun that we were having was able to benefit those less fortunate than ourselves.

Bravo, Michael, I always knew that you were in the very top league as an entertainer, but for three days I got to take a peep behind the colorfully dressed performer with the larger than life persona and see the big-hearted gentleman, who would probably laugh it of if I called him the humanitarian that he most certainly is.

It was my pleasure and delight to join you in the Dry Heat of Arizona and be a part of the proceedings.

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Thoughts and Musings on the Magic part of ‘Comedy Magic.’

•July 28, 2010 • 1 Comment

Well, having given some thoughts about the comedy side of comedy magic in my last blog, I thought I had better devote a line or two about the magic side. It is obviously just as important as the comedy issue.  Speaking for myself, which I am uniquely qualified to do, here is what I think.

Performing good Comedy Magic is walking a tightrope. If the show get’s too funny then it tends to throw of the audience reaction to the magic you perform. Therefore what you have to do is to make sure that the magic in your act is really, really strong. Obviously I am not talking about the ‘Cod’ magic acts of giants passed on like Carl Ballentine and Tommy Cooper, they are from a previous era. I’m sure with the cyclic nature of the entertainment business they will return, but now is NOW. Try talking to an agent or TV booker about a ‘Cod’ magic act and they will just look blankly at you.

The two people who taught me about the importance of keeping the magic in your Comedy Magic act strong were Ken Brooke and Billy McComb. Pretty darn good teachers. Towards the end of his life Billy became very fond of what he called his ‘Hokum’ act, which was a series of gag tricks and items. I will be honest and say that I really missed some of the classical McComb pieces from earlier years such as his Whisky Egg Bag, Ring on Stick, Coin in Bottle etc. If you are presenting a funny magic show, then the occasional real GASP from the audience is needed to keep you upright and balanced on your tightrope.

I am not a great believer in the use of too many ‘Gag’ props or tricks. They tend to smell a little too strongly of mothballs! Worse than that (AHHHH!) they may seem like Vaudeville or Burlesque routines. If you think the use of the expression ‘Cod’ magic scares bookers, buyers and agents; just let them get a hint of the word Vaudevillian and watch them head for the hills! It doesn’t matter how you dress it up with expressions like ‘New-Vaudevillian,’ they won’t bite.

Along these lines, there are some tricks that sadly have become a liability to the performer who doesn’t realize that they are quite rightly leading the way on the endangered species list. They might still get a laugh from the audience but that doesn’t matter to ‘The Powers That Be’ and it’s not the audience that can improve your career and increase your prestige and salary. Top of this list is tricks such as the  ‘Linking Rings,’ ’20th Century Bra’ and the ‘Bandana routine.’ Up until a few years ago the Bandana/Banana routine was a gem, sadly some idiot released it as a $30 trick and everybody put it into their act. All the performers now use the same tape, the same devils hank and have just devalued the trick as a viable effect. This was a killer routine way back when ‘Allen & Rossi’ were performing it in Vegas in the 60s but it’s day is done now. The real killing is the guy who started selling them for $30! The ‘Baffling Bra’ still gets laughs but is really quite unacceptable  in today’s climate.  Rather a shame because the props for both tricks weigh nothing and pack flat. I could continue this list but it does more good if you look at your own act with a fresh eye in case it contains one.

Comedy Magicians rightly or wrongly are considered creaky and unoriginal in today’s marketplace– jugglers even more so, thank God! Now I’m not saying there is anything wrong with performing a classic effect if you bring something fresh to the table. Audiences revere classical musicians, they expect them to perform the classics–otherwise they would just be pianists or violinists. What their audience does expect is a different take on the classics in the way they are interpreted and presented. A classical magician must also think this way if they want to remain relevant.

……or to make my point with a Zen or Haiku (or Twitter) style of brevity, strong comedy+strong magic = strong performer with strong bookings.

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Thoughts and Musings on the Comedy part of Comedy Magic.

•July 27, 2010 • 2 Comments

On Sunday I had the good fortune to be able to attend Mitzi Shore’s birthday party. It was held in her gorgeous hillside home and was attended by a group of comedians ranging from the very famous to the newest ‘Young Turks’ from the Comedy Store. I was delighted to be in the company of Jeff ‘Big Daddy’ Wayne whose skill, tact and diplomacy have earned him a very special place in the heart of comedy.  For those of you who are not familiar with the Comedy Store it has been the training ground for most of Los Angeles’ top comedians. Mitzi has ruled her domain with a combination of instinct and judgement that have nurtured comedians in a very special way. They were actually trained! Trained in front of tough audiences who expected the very best from their comedians.

Unlike the Magic Castle, the ‘Store’ gave it’s top ranking performers to work a short set once or maybe twice a week. You never knew whether you might be following Robin Williams, Richard Pryor or a new promising comedian from Idaho. It trained comedians in a very special way because their chief goal was to fine tune a five minute set and polish it like a gem for that Tonight Show set that might (or might not) be round the next corner. However, nothing was allowed to stagnate and everyone was expected to develop new material. I always say that when a comedian gets the timing, reaction and delivery of a joke just right—–then he drops it from his act. A variety performer when he reaches that same point with a ‘bit’ or gag, heaves a sigh of relief and it remains in his act f-o-r-e-v-e-r!

While I did perform at the Comedy Store, it was never a true home for me in the way that the Castle was. The magic Castle allowed you the ‘luxury’ of performing your show 21 times within a 7 day period. You would think that this would lead a performer to experimenting on a night by night, if not show by show basis. I have been visiting the Castle more recently than at any other time in 25 years since I stopped working there. With a handful of exceptions I am amazed by how static the performers material has been. It is as if performers expect to be congratulated because the act is still as good as it was last time!

When I stopped performing at the Castle, I went on the road and headlined in Comedy Clubs across the country. One week was New Jersey, the next Atlanta and then on to Alaska. This meant that you really needed to be able to judge the mood of the crowd or be prepared to die the proverbial death. You try treating a late night night audience in a New York club like a mid-week audience in Greenville N.C. and you are ready for the shock of your life, and not a pleasant one. You suddenly realize why real comedians are always scribbling in notebooks and tape recording their sets, it is how they improve and develop. The path to perfection (impossible of course) is to live up to the real message of Charles Darwin, which was not the often misquoted ‘survival of the fittest,’ but the survival of the most adaptable.

At the very least a Comedy Magician should throw away his dependance on ‘patter,’ joke books, Robert Orben and ‘heckler stoppers.’ Even a newbie comic will hold you in disrespect when you do the same trick with the same patter that the magician they worked with the week before did. That is their definition of a hack, and in the comedy world that is not a place you want to be. Obviously there are similar themes in comedy such as relationships, traveling, childhood, etc. just as in magic there are similarly themed effects; The destroyed and restored whatever or the vanishing/appearing this or that. Just as in comedy jokes riff of other jokes, in magic tricks develop around other tricks. However, you can’t let them remain static. I have featured a burnt and restored banknote in my act for years, but it has been a never ending series of both small and larger changes that has kept it relevant.

If you are going to perform Comedy Magic, and not just be a magician who gets laughs, then you need to combine the tough love competitiveness of the Comedy Store with the cheerful glow of the Castle where people laugh at something because they know it is supposed to be funny instead of because it IS funny. Being a comic magician is kinda’ taking the easy way out, if you want to really stretch a little (and improve your chances of working and making bigger bucks) then work at becoming a Comedian Magician, either that or keep well away from real comedians who understand the difference.

Happy Birthday Mitzi! I really wish I had worked harder to become a true Comedy Store regular. It would have probably taught me in a year what it took 11 on the road to learn.

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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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