chicagomagic

The 12th LA Conference on Magic History 2011

2011-12-10T15:51:00.001-06:00

November 12 – Saturday

There will be only two events on Saturday, a field trip andthe big show.

Brookledge

The second field trip of the Conference is to what is called’“the most famous address in magic.” I guess for the west coast centric magic communitythat may be so. I expect so Midwesterners or east coasters may have their ownchoices. Either way this private residence is home to a long and great magiclegacy.

In 1930, Floyd Thayer opened his Studio of Magic in hishome. It was named Brookledge because out behind Thayer built an addition onthe home which transverses a small brook that runs though the back yard. Thishoused his workshop and an ornate theater.

The theater was used as a demonstration platform for the newThayer products. Every Saturday afternoon magicians, notable or not, wouldgather in the theater to watch the Thayer demonstrator show off the newest inmagic.

The aim of the presentation today was to give us an experienceof one of those afternoons. It was a huge success.

We were transported to Thayer’s 1942. Mike Caveney emceedand gave some historical tidbits, like that Orson Wells rehearsed his MercuryWonder Show on that stage. He then introduced the newest of the Thayerdemonstrators, the young Marvyn Roy.

Okay, Mr. Electric isn’t so young anymore, but in 1942 thewar had taken Thayer’s demonstrator. The teenage Marvyn got the promotion.

I’ve seen Marvyn at several of these conventions and he hasalways seemed…old, frail. But on this day, he was also transported to 1942. Hecommanded the stage with renewed vigor and great humor. He still has all thatcharm and greatness in him. Marvyn showed off the new Thayer catalog. “Only 1dollar. I know you are thinking that is a lot of money,” drew laughs from theaudience and the line became a running joke every time he announced the 1942price.

This was the second emotional moment in the Conference. It wasa strong one. A lasting memory.

Brookledge is now owned by the Larsen family (In anelaborate deal in which part of the purchase they traded houses with theThayers.) We have them to thank for opening their home for this event.

The demonstration/show was closed by Brett Loudermilk, areal up and coming sideshow performer and Liberty Larsen. They demonstrated alarger Thayer illusion. Afterward we were treated to lemonade and cookies inthe garden just like Jennie Thayer would lay out for the magicians so manyyears ago.

The Show

The Saturday night show is where it all the previous days’work comes together. Talk becomes action. The magic of the past returns to lifeto inspire the magic of the future. It is the lucky position of us historiansto reveal this important idea to the public. The show will also bring out acouple of celebrities, Ryan Gosling and Eva Mendes sat right behind me.

This night John Gaughan will perform with Robert-Houdin’sacrobatic automaton Antonio Diavolo which, surprising had never before appearedat a Conference. Antonio is a fine performer, restored by John some years back.It has been seen on several TV specials, but is appreciated all the more inlive performance. A quick search of youtube will reveal a performance if youare curious.

Mike Caveney reminded all of us as to what a fine performerhe is. As a 19 year old he assisted Orson Wells on the Johnny Carson show.Tonight, he would play Orson and recreate the performance word for word. It isa simple vanish and reproduction of a Persian princess embellished with Orson’sArabian Nights style script. This bit was marred only by a slight technicalglitch when the prop gun fails to fire, but saved by Mike’s funny adlib. The actwas followed by the original recording of Orson’s performance. It turns outthat Mike sucked us all in. This recreation was actually word for word, eventhe “mistake” and adlib was Orson’s. We the audience was totally invested inthe performance and heartily laughed at seeing we were fooled. Orson got a hugeaudience reaction from the audience present at his performance and Mike gotjust as huge a reaction for his work.

Jim Steinmeyer will introduce the next part of the show. Foryears the Conference hosts have avoided the straight recreations of performers ofthe past, feeling that such bordered on the ghoulish. They rather perform theold as new. Tonight they depart from such thinking in the most successful way,Jonathan Levit performs as Thurston. Using first hand and written accounts ofHoward Thurston’s shows, they will give us the experience of seeing the greatmagician perform his Rising Cards and Sawing a Lady in Halves.

The show closed with a homage to the McElroy brothers,makers or ventriloquism figure by the superstar ventriloquist, Jeff Dunham.Jeff recently had John Gaughan restore one of his figures and after a little ofJohn’s arm twisting, Jeff agreed to fit the conference into his busy schedule.Jeff showed pieces from his collection of figures, demonstrating theprogression of the figures through the McElroy’s career and peppering his talkwith humorous adlibs. He closed to an ovation with his familiar character,Walter, and some new scripted material. Wisely no one had to follow him and weended the night on a high note.

The 12th LA Conference on Magic History 2011

2011-12-06T19:02:00.002-06:00

The 12^th LA Conference on Magic History 2011

November 11 – Friday

In the morning is the first of two field trips arranged for the Conference. Starting early buses head out to the Skirball Cultural Center. The Skirball recently hosted the Houdini exhibit and in conjunction created Masters of Illusion, Jewish Magicians of the Golden Age.

The exhibit contained treasures from the collections of Burt Sperber, Mike Caveney, John Gaughan, Bill Kalush, Ricky Jay, Richard Hatch, Ken Trombly, Gary Frank, Les Arnold, Bob Rossi, Bruce Averbook, Cary and Joseph Hanosek, Barry Katz, Chris Woodward, Bob Underwood, Arthur Moses, and Saratoga Ballantine.

John Gaughan’s own magic room was the inspiration for the dark wood Victorian style of the displays. The lavish exhibit presented items from the earliest English book containing magic, Discoverie of Witchcraft, to props from the act of Mr. Electric, Marvyn Roy.

Available from Mike Caveney is a slick exhibit catalog with photos and descriptions.

Afternoon Session

A Magical Romance

Charles McCall tells the story of the courtship of McDonald Birch and Mabel Sperry. First, just hired for the show as assistant and Xylophone act, Mabel was set against any romance with Birch. But like running water on the rock, shore he wore down her objections and revealed the perfect mate. She even handled the business for the act. (A magician’s dream!) Charles really only covered their relationship up to their marriage and this made for an odd moment like when he jumped from the couple’s marriage to McDonald’s death many years later without pause to comment on the years in between.

Poster Restoration

John Davis of Poster Mountain is Mike Caveney’s go to guy for restoring and preserving his legendary poster collection. John will give an illustrated talk of his efforts to do the repairs needed to bring the posters to “new” condition. John is a leading authority on ethical restoration (restoration not to deceive) and has a passion for posters that came through in his talk. One quote in particular stood out, he said he preserved these posters as a “remembrance of the world that once was.”

The Thought Reader Craze

Barry Wiley discussed the rise of the “mentalists” in the late Victorian age. The family tree of these performers started in Chicago with John Randall Brown, who originally practiced contact mind reading and then expanded into other stunts. He begat the celebrated and infamous Washington Irving Bishop, who worked for Brown and stole the act. Bishop’s own assistant, Stuart Charles Cumberland, (Apparently, mentalists, assassins, and serial killers all need three names.) “borrowed” the act and, while lesser known, became the most financially successful of the group. This was a preview of Barry’s forthcoming book on the subject. If it is anything like his Anna Eva Fay book, it should be an excellent piece of history.

Evening Session

Minerva

Gary Hunt spoke on Minerva, the great female “Houdini.” Minerva had a successful career in the European music halls copying the stunts of Houdini. She was a beautiful, yet powerful woman who could stand the rigors of escaping from straitjackets, water filled barrels, and handcuffed bridge jumps. Although one reviewer thought it was not pleasing to see a woman exert herself like that. It cannot be denied there was a definite sexual and social subtext to the performance of a woman being tied up on stage. In fact, Gary could not resist repeatedly alluding to the various men/husbands in Minerva’s life. To this observer his tone smacked of that same kind of misogyny that has permeated magic for much too long. Otherwise it was an excellent talk and it looks like another well researched book will be coming out soon.

Sanders and Erdnase

Writer Marty Demarest recaps his research on his candidate for the identity of Erdnase. If you want to know what his talk was, read the article in Genii. It was the same information. After that, get your hands on a copy of the most recent Magicol (#180 August 2011), which is focused on all things Erdnase. There are several well written, informative, and thoughtful articles on the subject. The most I can tell you is that while just about every presenter this weekend was a performer, Marty, a writer, gave the best presentation of any speaker. I am not sure what to make of that.

Brookledge

Phil Shwartz gave a brief history of the “most famous address in magic.” He then hosted a panel discussion of the residence with Marvyn Roy, Irene Larson, and Milt Larson. I’ll write more about Brookledge in my next installment when we actually visit the house.

The 12th LA Conference on Magic History 2011

2011-11-27T14:29:00.000-06:00

November 10 – Thursday

From almost the moment the last Conference ended I’ve been waiting for the next one, like a child counting down the days before Christmas. It wasn’t a daily obsession, but always there, in the background. This convention is that special of an experience.

I arrived a couple of days early. Time for me to relax after a busy October and do a few touristy type things including my traditional visit to the Magic Castle. There were quite a few other early arrivers and what is really the best part of the Conference started early, the social interaction. I’ve written about it before and I won’t write a long list of names, but increasingly this is my favorite part. Mostly over at the bar, I got to visit with old friends and make new ones. Had two long conversations with an amazing woman and got to know her a little better, more than confirming that amazing part.

Thursday is the pick-up of the registration packets and where the fun really begins. I specifically avoided any knowledge of what the events might be in order to be surprised. Everyone tears into their packets, again like Christmas morning, to see what they hold.

Inside are our badges, schedules, and the beautiful Conference program put together by Jim Steinmeyer. The program is 40 glossy pages of picture and articles illustrating the days’ events.

The first session will start at 2:30

John Gaughan will begin our day with a tribute to some of our friends who have passed including Burton Sperber, who spoke several times and often provided expensively produced booklets on the subject matter to the Conference attendees at his own expense. He will then introduce Margaret Steele

Margaret is a magician who is widely known for her recreation performances as Adelaide Herrmann. She has been a tireless researcher on the life of Adelaide Herrmann and has some exciting news. After years of following leads and rumors, Margaret has discovered the existence of Adelaide’s autobiography. A manuscript lost to the magic world for 78 years. Adelaide can be considered the first great magic assistant, a true partner to her husband Alexander. She can also be considered the first great female magician, a successful vaudeville headliner. Most of Margaret’s talk will deal with the lavish, expensive book she published containing the manuscript, full color pictures, and her own additions to the story. She does tell us that 25 of the 30 chapters cover Adelaide’s life with Alexander. There she creates a narrative of how she wanted him to be remembered, no warts here. She often takes credit for improving the act and adding a more theatrical sense to the show. The last 5 chapters in the book cover her 30 years after her husband’s death. I eagerly await a non-collector’s version of this important memoir.

Ho Yam was the stage name of William Mayoh, who adopted the “Chinese style” of performance after seeing magicians’ acts such as by Okito. In 1949, he published the book “Ho Yam Mysteries” describing his stage magic. Years ago, Nate Kvetny met Mayoh and purchased some of his costumes and custom apparatus. Because of his accent and halting way of speaking English, Nate chooses to use a friend’s recording of the introduction to Ho Yam’s book as an introduction to the man and his performing philosophies. This goes on for much too long. I begin to think it might be an “Andy Kaufman” type bit and it will just go on and on until the audience gives up. When finished, Nate will perform a series of production effects using Ho Yam’s original props. He wears Ho Yam’s hand embroidered costume. It is a delicate and old fashioned performance that is magical, especially since some of those props are nearly 100 years old.

The last talk of the afternoon is a somewhat bizarre one. Bill Taylor will speak about the set of cups and balls Dai Vernon used. Well, actually, just the cups specifically. Oh, and another set just like them. He gets into the minutia of their construction including the various ways a metal cup can be constructed. He will also talk about their exact measurements (because they were handmade each is a little different). Also, we’ll learn about the silver/lead/copper and other metal content of the cups, all of them. I do give him credit for his diligent detective work, but really, I don’t know who cares about this, beside him apparently.

The Evening Session 7:30

In the first talk Steve Freeman discusses his experiences with Suzy Cottrell. First a little background on Suzy from an article on “sightless vision”: “Outstanding in the field of sightless vision was Susie Cottrell, a student at the University of Kansas, who appeared in the American Johnny Carson "Tonight Show" in 1977, and whose claims were extensively tested by a Denver psychiatrist and parapsychologist Dr Jule Eisenbud, and other highly qualified academics. Susie Cottrell's repertoire included predicting the selection of a nominated card, the order of the cards in a deck, the sequence of suits, the naming of cards in sealed envelopes and predicting which persons would select the highest cards in a simple dealing of the pack…”

Steve was invited to a private party to meet Suzy and to try to discern her methods. Immediately, he recognized she was using trickery, an advanced use of a Matt Schulien card force among other techniques. In one on one “testing” with Steve, she failed terribly. Missing the card more than a dozen times in a row. After Steve broke down her methods and his experience, he played a video of her 17 minute appearance on the Tonight Show.

Following Steve was the most eagerly awaited and most disappointing events of the weekend. The legendary Philip Morris would appear. Did I say disappointing, I meant disastrous. I want to learn more about the man; instead we got a commercial for his business Morris Costumes and all it provides. Then he spoke about his involvement in the Bigfoot film hoax. This went on much to long, as if he was trying to build a case that Bigfoot is fake. We know that already. He showed video clip after video clip, all of them saying exactly the same thing to support his case. Simply said, too much of that other garbage and not enough Morris. I might suggest anyone else considering him for their convention to do an interview format. Philip has to have some great stories to tell, just not on this night.

One of the big surprises and heart warming moments of the weekend was the introduction of Albert Ching. For years, Mike Caveney sent guests to a little hamburger shack called the White Hut, but it wasn’t until Arden James mentioned he did magic that it was revealed that the owner was a magician also. And not just any magician. After serving our country in World War II (Thank you, Albert!), he took advantage of the GI Bill and enrolled in the Chavez School of Magic, where he learned from Benny and Marion Chavez. He went on to perform at the Palace in New York (3 times) and appeared twice on Ed Sullivan’s Toast of the Town. We were treated to a short clip of Ching, The Oriental Mystifier on that same show. A fine performance. Albert and his family were treated to extended applause. It was an emotional moment for all of us.

Quote Me

2011-08-03T10:52:00.000-05:00

"The mystery story is two stories in one: The story of what happened and

the story of what appeared to have happened." -Mary Roberts Rinehart

As good a definition of a magic show as any.

The 42nd Annual Magic Collectors Weekend - May 21, 2011 Part 4

2011-06-06T16:20:00.003-05:00

An Evening of Mystery

The weekend finishes up with a show.

The always classy David Charvet acts as our host for the evening. During his part of the show, David will pull out a couple of historical pieces and one of his own. One was a favorite small piece of Jack Gwynne’s in which two drinking glasses are placed mouth down on a board. The board is turned upside down and the glasses stay impossibly “stuck” to the board. David also performed a fine version of his the jumbo nest of boxes. Last, he performs the Rag Picture that he spoke about earlier. David is a classically styled magician. He is entertaining but plays it straight and that is ill suited to this routine. Mostly, he built the pictures while music played. This is not an act. It is certainly possible that there is no entertainment to find in Rag Pictures. I can only imagine how different it would have been if it were performed by someone with more comedic skills instead.

John Carney was also on the show. He performed as he always does, sort of low key fun with impeccable sleight of hand. I hesitate to say too much because John will be performing in Galena, IL five days a week through October and these tricks will be in his one man show. Yet…he performed a multi-phase routine in which several small wooden balls appear, multiply, and disappear. He treated us to a live performance of the hat and glass routine he featured on the David Letterman show. Last, he did a classic Egg Bag routine.

The closer on the bill is Murry Hatfield & Teresa. They are a quality illusion act that has been touring extensively for many years. Their performance style is mostly audience pleasing, but standard fare for the magic set. They performed Jim Steinmeyer’s puzzling Op Art, a bag escape, a rope routine. They finished up with a routine where Teresa was chained to a table and covered by a box. The box, and Teresa, where penetrated with four swords through the top and the entire box was trisected by three large shields leaving her no place to be.

The End

I guess the real question is: “Was the Weekend a success?” The short answer is yes.

It was imperfect, much of it rested on the presenters and not the organizers fault. It is something that can be fixed. Some innovations from the first year were abandoned. Some of what worked the year before wasn’t built on. I am also sure that my opinions may not always be the same as others.

Attendance was slightly down. Investigation will be needed to figure out the reasons behind the drop. After last year’s success attendance should have climbed. More outreach and education may help improve things. There are some rumors that it may go to every two years instead of being a yearly convention. This would be a sad loss for Chicago.

I did like the themed sets and panel discussions. I did like the bringing in of some of our older icons. They are our last links to a show business that doesn’t exist any more. There are precious few magicians left like Jack Kodell and Celeste Evans. They need to be celebrated more.

As I’ve said many times before, for me these conventions are increasingly more about the people I get to spend time with than the actual programs. I still want the programs to be quality. It makes it easier to survive and later write about. But more often it is the personal, not the public, moments I look to cherish. (Last year’s experience of Walter Zaney Blaney’s final performance was the rare public moment from last year that trumped all other memories.)

There is nothing more exhilarating than spending time with some endless intriguing person, especially when found quite unexpectedly. It is this moment that takes my breath away. You should be looking for your moment also.

It is this thought that keeps me from wanting to rejoin the real world on Sunday. These few precious moments in time that I want to put my arms around and hold on—and, if I can’t make it last forever, then maybe it can last a day, an hour, or even a minute longer.

You can see some pictures, get information about the Magic Collectors Association, and find out about next year’s convention at the Magicol Blog: http://magicol.wordpress.com/

The 42nd Annual Magic Collectors Weekend - May 21, 2011 Part 3

2011-06-05T09:51:00.002-05:00

Del Ray: America’s Foremost

Bill Spooner, one of the men responsible for the popular Del Ray book, starts his presentation with an early video of Del performing. It is 1951; Del is on Ed Sullivan’s Toast of the Town. It is an early version of what would become his acclaimed act. Bill needlessly tells us to watch closely. We do, but because it is Del Ray. Del has some problems with one effect. After his set, Ed Sullivan practically exposes the vanishing birdcage. What a dick.

The presentation Bill is about to give is the one Del never wanted to happen. Del was one of the most secretive of all magicians. I say this realizing that there is a long tradition of magician’s wanted their secrets buried with them. Often, our art would be less without the knowledge of them. I also realize my life is often been about an obsession with uncovering secret knowledge.

Bill is about to show the inner workings of Del’s self-created electronic props. It starts with a little geek porn. There are pictures of his workshop. Bill shows us photo after photo of bins full of switches, motors, wires, diodes, transistors, and various other technical bric-a-brac.

I guess if I were more technically minded, a Radio Shack guy, I might be more interested. The display continues with pictures of the guts of Del’s tables and props. There is a rudimentary explanation of what we see, enough to hint at its workings, not enough to build it. Most of it is just a show of what his props looked like dissected.

Bill is a good presenter, but I feel like I am attending an autopsy. If you’ve seen the videos of Del Ray performing on youtube, if you’ve been amazed by them like I have, you realize this is not the magic of Del.

Del Ray’s real magic was his charming personality and his incredible timing. The electronics were invisible. The props created miracles, but were mostly inert innocents or, in the case of his bird, almost alive. We magicians so rarely get fooled, but Del’s magic did just that. An exhilarating experience.

There is an old E.B. White quote about comedy that can apply, “Humor can be dissected as a frog can, but the thing dies in the process and the innards are discouraging to any but the pure scientific mind.”

I Can Still See Me

There is a picture on my desk of Celeste Evans, age unknown. In it she could be 20 or 50. It doesn’t matter. She is a dark and alluring, beautiful, exotic. She is Ava Gardner with doves. Every time I look at the picture I think of the femme fatales from the pulp novels I love, “the kind of woman men want…but shouldn’t have.” A woman who is seductive, strong, and likely to end up on the back end of a .45 looking for revenge.

Now approaching 80 years, her walk is a little unsteady, but she still is that strong, opinionated, feisty woman out looking for revenge. With the help of her “chip off the block” daughter, Evanna, she will tell us the story of her life in magic.

Her revenge comes at the back end of a silk handkerchief and a short routine of knot tricks. At the age of nine she was shown the trick, but she was told she could never be a magician because she was a girl. She’s been opening with that trick ever since.

She developed a sex-tinged, glamorous style. Truly a va-va-voom girl, she worked in sky high heels and low dipped evening gowns. It made the appearance of her doves all the more amazing from the skin tight costumes. Where did she hide them? When pressed in the interview, she said her dove loads were made by Victoria’s Secret.

With those pin-up girl looks, she was the desire of every magician and a serious threat. She was up to the task of fighting off their jealousies. In a male dominated profession often rife with misogyny, she competed on her own terms. She toughened up by years of working the carnival circuit. Independent and adventurous, she then toured around the world for the USO and UN, using up 3 passports in ten years. In one harrowing story had her coming under fire and being held prisoner on a plane in the Belgian Congo.

As the entertainment scene changed, Celeste expanded the act by adding patter routines to survive and even appeared over 30 times on the Bozo show. A young Evanna sometimes played the random audience volunteer after she was admonished repeatedly, “Don’t call me mommy!”

Celeste took over her late husband’s theatrical management company in 1984 and retired in 2003.

The audience warmly applauded Celeste at the end of the presentation. I held my breath wondering if they would rise and give her the standing ovation she deserved. In a deft move, Evanna rose from her seat on stage to applaud her mother. The audience responds in kind.

Later, as I sit with Celeste and Evanna, I am reminded as performers how we live for validation by our audiences. Celeste is a live wire, ready to take on the world, electrified by the standing ovation she received. I am glad I am there to enjoy it.

There is one thing that is missing. Most of the audience had never seen Celeste perform. Like the Kodell presentation, they need to get a video of her performing her famous act. Then, the audience would not need Evanna’s prompting.

Celeste has a biography available. Visit her website www.celesteevansmagic.com to see pictures, read more stories, and order that book.

The 42nd Annual Magic Collectors Weekend - May 21, 2011 Part 2

2011-06-04T15:25:00.000-05:00

The American Museum of Magic

On April 1, 1978, Robert Lund opened the American Museum of Magic. Since that day magicians and public alike have made a pilgrimage to the hamlet of Marshall, Michigan to see the delights the museum holds. For the researcher, there is a treasure trove of over 1800 individual files, over 10,000 books, 1000s more in posters and props.

Museum Director Jeff Taylor is on hand to give a brief update on the state of the museum. Jeff is not a magic guy. He is a museum guy. A great choice to run a museum. It seems obvious, I know, but it wasn’t always so. The real work of a museum isn’t necessarily the management of the collection. The real work is grant writing. The museum needs money to run and it is good they have a professional to move that forward.

For example: the museum owns Doug Henning’s Zig Zag, but it is deteriorating rapidly. Paint is flaking off on a daily basis. The museum is looking for a grant to restore this precious piece of magic history. This is only one of many. (And if you are so inclined, you can donate.)

The museum is also doing outreach with their magic partners on the board of directors. The have several events a month to boost awareness and foot traffic. They have started magic camps and they are working on expanding their hours. It would be good to a vibrant community to form around the museum. Please visit their website for more information: www.americanmuseumofmagic.org. You can also find them on Facebook.

Going, Going, Gone!

Gabe Fajuri presided over one of the better presentations of the weekend. His business is the auction house of Potter & Potter (potterauctions.com)and he has hosted some of the most important magic auctions of the last few years. His job today is to lay bare the secrets of his business and take us through the auction process, from start to finish. This is not the ebay style of auction he is talking about.

After his presentation, he sat down with Mike Caveney, George Daily, and David Goodman. Mike and George’s experience being running their own auction and David Goodman is one of the most respected auctioneers working. They all made for a great informative panel.

My notes include: Investigate the auction house you plan to use. Take your time. Make sure you are comfortable and understand their terms, many are negotiable. Make sure they will do their due diligence in taking care of your belongings.

The most important point of the talk and panel was one of estate planning. Don’t just dump your collection on someone. Document your collection. Leave an inventory, provenance, stories, amount paid, behind or don’t leave it to someone else. Sell it yourself.

The 42nd Annual Magic Collectors Weekend - May 21, 2011 Part 1

2011-06-03T17:39:00.000-05:00

I’m back Saturday morning 10 AM. I think I’m getting used to this. (Sarcasm doesn’t always come across in the writing.) It doesn’t hurt that the bar seems to close way too early. On this mornings schedule is three talks on, The Expert at The Card Table, ending in a panel discussion.

Before I start a brief note: There is no way, even in the two and a half hours allotted for the discourse, that all the research on Erdnase can be imparted to the audience. I will only make the briefest comments on the presentations. There is an extensive amount of discussion about Erdnase on the Genii forum. I recommend you start here: http://tinyurl.com/42h5ltx

Everything Erdnase

Jason England starts the morning with a slide presentation on the book itself. Jason is a gambling expert and has collected over 60 different editions of the book. The slide show takes us through the many and most important or interesting editions. A presentation like this usually can get boring. “This is the 1^st edition.” Click. “This is the 1905 edition.” Click. “This is the 1905 edition in red cloth.” Click. And so on. Jason actually does a good job of keeping things interesting with his running commentary and quick pace.

Chicago Bound

Hurt McDermott is a filmmaker and playwright who developed an interest in Erdnase from read the Genii forums. He was especially curious as to why the book was published in Chicago and why the author might need to hide his identity.

Hurt had a lot of information, but unfortunately he read his entire presentation from his papers. He droned a near monotone, never making any contact with the audience. I am sympathetic. I remember the mistakes I made in my first presentation. I hope we’ll get more and better things from him. Here is what I’ve pieced together.

The whys of both are traced to a man named Anthony Comstock. Comstock was a politician and United States Postal Inspector. He was dedicated to an oppressive idea of Victorian morality. The Comstock Law made it illegal to send any "obscene, lewd, and/or lascivious" materials through the mail, including contraceptive devices and information.

He had a wide definition of what could be determined as obscene. This included gambling exposés. (This may also be part of the reason the magic section was added, to make the book more palatable.) Comstock would go after the authors and publishers of any materials he found immoral. They would be harassed, framed, arrested, jailed. He bragged he drove 15 people to suicide.

But this was Chicago. It was a wide open town. A live at let live town. The long arm of Anthony Comstock laws got broken off at the city line. The book was “safe” here. With the author and publisher (one in the same, according to the book itself) anonymous, they were safe also.

Reading Erdnase Backwards

For a long time Richard Hatch was the “H” of H & R Books. Besides being a book dealer, he is a performer, writer, publisher and teacher. To call him “the preeminent scholar on the question of the identity of the author of The Expert At The Card Table” is not doing him justice.

I find it hard to find the words to describe his presentation. In over an hour, without notes, he will give us a PhD level dissertation on Erdnase history and the usual and unusual men suspected to be the author. It is a breathless race though a mountain of information punctuated with opinion and tangents. It was a lesson on presentation. He went way over time, but it was an entertainment all on its own.

The 42nd Annual Magic Collectors Weekend - May 20, 2011 Part 3

2011-06-02T18:09:00.000-05:00

The last presentations of Friday will deal with personalties.

Unspeakable Acts

Jim Magus joins us to talk about one of the most enigmatic figures in recent magic history, Timothy McGuire. You might know him better as Tom Palmer, Tony Andruzzi, or Masklyn ye Mage.

Few of us get to live a single full life; Tony was able to create three. A true artist, his life was a mysterious act of invention, creating the myth of himself, rarely showing his true face to anyone.

As Tom Palmer, he created an award-winning comedy magic act. Taking the conventions of popular magic clichés and turning them topsy-turvy. This perverse style of magic inspired many other comedy magicians especially Johnny Thompson.

As Tony Andruzzi, he pioneered the field of Bizarre Magick, again taking stereotypical magician and perverting him in a new (or old, some would argue) darker direction.

As Masklyn ye Mage, he performed, created, and shared this unusual style of magic. He published the magic periodical, New Invocation. He created highly collectible books and hosted, perhaps the most hedonistic magic conventions ever.

This just barely scratches the surface. Jim does a good job of peeling back some layers in the brief time we have with him, augmenting his talk with many pictures of Tony’s life. The limited time he has cannot do justice to the man. Jim has a new book about Tony, Unspeakable Acts. I never knew Tony, but I have a friend who did. And he knew him as well as anyone. He has given the book excellent reviews, so I recommend you seek it out.

Kodell: Do Something Different

Jeff Pierce (magic dealer, book author and publisher) is on stage to introduce the next presentation. The lights dim. A movie begins.

It is a home movie. The quality is quite good. As I think of it now, whether nostalgia or reality, I see it being not black and white, but sepia toned. It is an old movie. The year is 1943. Silent. The shot is of a young magician about mid-thigh and up. He is performing for the camera in full evening wear. He is handsome with a smile that would be the envy of any actor on those teeth whitening commercials. He is producing parakeets. Not just producing but, interacting with them as they appear, disappear, transpose, and multiply. It is an early view of the act that would make him famous and take him around the world. It is Jack Kodell at age 16.

The lights come up to the realization that, even at just 16, Jack was one damn good magician. And he has one more trick up his sleeve; he walks, unsteadily, out onto the stage with the help of his wife Mary. Previous we had only seen him use his motorized scooter, at this age his legs failing him. Not on this stage, not on this night.

Seeing him on his feet, the audience returns the favor. Like last year, David Ben has found an emotional moment to pin this convention on.

The presentation will be in the interview format moderated by magician Ron Urban. He is a friend to the Kodells and freely admits his debt to Jack who blazed the trail that Ron followed.

Ron is a less able interviewer than Richard Kaufman, but Jack is a less talkative subject. Often questions are answered with a only a word or two until the more loquacious of the two, Mary Kodell, either prompts Jack often filling in the blanks herself.

Jack, we learn, is a man of firsts. He is considered the first bird manipulator. He was the first magician to perform in ice shows. On the bill with the Williams Brothers and comic Larry Storch, he was the first magician to perform in Vegas.

Jack headlined the best shows in the best venues around the world, including Paris, London, and New York. Many of those venues never would use a magician before him. His classy act opened doors for other magicians to walk through.

The interview covered a little of his performing life, a lot of his courtship of Mary, and some of his personal life with his father. It was his father that early on admonished him to, “Do something different.” Jack would take care of him for the rest of his life.

As I look at the convention program there is one nagging unanswered question, in 1960 at age 33, Jack walked away from a successful career. Why? I can only hope that his new autobiography, Kodell: Do Something Different will answer that question.

Jack’s time on stage ended as it started with a second standing ovation.

Friday Evening Triple Bill

It is movie night at the convention. This year it is a triple feature. There is a film of the awarding of Doug Henning’s star on Canada’s Walk of Fame. The second video is of an interview with Doug Henning by Brian Linehan. Last, there is a taped interview of Charles Reynolds by Patrick Watson.

I can’t give you a review or overview of these films because I never got to see them. I was occupied hanging on the every word of Saturday afternoon presenters, Celeste and Evanna Evans who treated me to story after story of her (later, their) performing life. Much of it made it into her book, some of it will make it into her presentation, a little of it won’t make it anywhere. Except that it will make my weekend.

The 42nd Annual Magic Collectors Weekend - May 20, 2011 Part 2

2011-06-01T13:36:00.000-05:00

After the trio of marketing presentations, we begin a triplet of presentations on our wonderful toys. The collectors have been waiting for this.

Gimmicks, Gadgets, & Gizmos

The talented John Carney brings his Magicol column to life. He has held a lifelong love affair with the small gimmicks and gadgets that are the tools of the trade, the “secret accomplices to his theatrical deceptions.” This fascination comes from the “spy culture” gizmos that permeated the movies and television of his youth.

John is a funny, friendly presenter. He is at his best when he just talks to the audience, as soon as he starts reading from his notes he loses all that personality. Fortunately, that only happens briefly.

He starts with defining what a gimmick is: “the extra piece of the puzzle that cannot be considered in the solution.” It is an elegant way to answer the question.

In the physical, these are holders and loads and tanks and clips and appendages. Many mass produced, some still in use today. Some are unique specimens, their use only speculative. They are now orphans created by an unknown magician for a problem yet to be uncovered.

There are items that seem the products worthy of a Bond villain, only existing to complicate the simple production or vanish of a silk handkerchief. It is chiefly in that complication why the Goldfingers of the world fail and why these gimmicks have stood the test of time.

He shows us, via photographs, a staggering array of gimmicks in his and other collections. He adds texture by demonstrating several gimmicks in his own collection. He includes the familiar, like the sixth finger and some not so familiar like a silk which vanishes from his hands in a flash by retracting into a small ball. These mini-performances are welcome in a decidedly unmagical morning. They are also evidence of the meticulous thought and consideration John has put into the work of these gimmicks. The type of perfection John is known for.

Cups and Balls

Edmund Gwen lives! Sorry, that is exactly what I thought when the dapper Bill Palmer hopped up onto the stage. That is not an insult, although it does show my age. He has more than a passing resemblance and that same kind of twinkle in his eye, that old world charm Gwen put in his most famous performance. (Look it up on IMDB.com if you don’t know who I am talking about.)

Bill is a veteran performer, mostly known for his work in Renaissance Faires. He has also translated many German magic books into English. He came to collecting late in life, 2003. He has made up for the lost time by attacking his specialized field with ferocity.

He starts with a Q&A.

“What makes something collectable?” You want it.

“What makes it desirable?” One other guy wants it.

“How do you determine something’s worth?” By paying one dollar more than someone else is willing to pay for it.

Bill has built his collection of cups and balls partially by donation and partially by paying that one dollar more. In eight years that collection has grown to over 1700 sets. Grown with the full support of his wife, he adds. I can’t help but feel the love as he serves up her share of praise.

He loves the minutia of the cups and balls. He has sets from famous magicians, several sets from the street performer Gazzo. He has more variations of the Paul Fox cups than I could ever imagine existed. He also knows their history and differences. One whole case in his dealer room display was all Paul Fox style cups.

The bulk of the presentation is Bill asking audience members to yell out cups that they want to see while he scrolls through his website to find the proper set. This is inefficient and borders on the tedious. Bill is too engaging and should have presented a more structured presentation. If I want to go to his website I would...and have...and you can too, www.cupsandballsmuseum.com (The site is password protected. You will need to contact Bill for information.)

During the Friday night honor presentations Dr. Matsuura and Ray Goulet were asked the same question, “What will happen to your collection?” They both answered the same way: They wanted their collections to be dispersed, so that they may live again in some other collections. Bill also answered that question. He wants his collection to live, but in a different way. It will be donated to a museum. The important cups will be put on display and the rest used for hands on teaching. Ensuring the long legacy of performing cups and balls will continue.

The Rise and Fall of “Rag” Time: The Magic of Painting With Cloth

Performer and prolific author of magic history, David Charvet followed Bill Palmer with a look at Rag Pictures, a once popular vaudeville act now lost to the dusty corners of performance history.

What is a Rag Picture act? There is a piece of wool framed on an easel, standing center stage. This is the background of the picture. The performer places various shaped pieces of cloth onto the background, almost like building a jigsaw puzzle. Originally, the pieces were pinned, later, using better quality wool, the pieces stayed in place by friction. A picture, such as a landscape, is thus created when all the pieces are placed. The act of creation is usually combined with a story, poem, or witty banter.

The history of rags started in bible schools where the assembling of the picture illustrated a bible story. Many performers, including Dante and Virgil, put this novelty to their shows to add some variety.

I was surprised by the rags themselves. I always thought they were just plain pieces of cloth. In actuality, many pieces were painted with details, trees with leaves, houses with windows. With the event of fluorescent paints and dyes, the rags became a blacklight act. The picture would be assembled, with the regular lights on, showing a scene. The lights are turned to blacklight and the scene changes to something different. Other rag pictures made one figure right side up and another when turned up side down.

Many of these innovations were pioneered by John Balda. His Balda Art Service in Oshkosh, Wisconsin was the primary supplier of Rag Picture materials for over 50 years.

The presenter, David, is a regular at these events. I don’t know where he finds the time to do all his research. His talks are always well prepared and never boring. He is a performer cut from an old school cloth, commanding the stage with his presence and resonant voice. More later as David performs the Rag Picture act in the Saturday night show.

The 42nd Annual Magic Collectors Weekend - May 20, 2011 Part 1

2011-05-31T20:29:00.000-05:00

Friday, day two of captivity, sees us starting at the too damn early time of 10 AM. (Mostly, I expect I am in the minority, but we magicians do like make for a late night at these events.)

This year the organizers of the weekend have decided to try to thematically group presentations. (Ending some of those sessions with a group panel.) This idea, despite some unevenness in presenters, has possibilities and is worth exploring. The first three presentations in the morning session deal with marketing and advertising.

It’s Magic

First, we are treated to a slide show presentation of print ads from the Bob James collection. Bob is a local magician and dealer. Through the years he has collected hundreds of advertisements from the mainstream world that have the theme of magic. The slide show represented a small portion of those ads. The unfortunate thing is that the images flew by and became nothing more than visual noise. I didn’t know what ads I was looking at, just that there were a lot of them. A good idea poorly executed.

Marketing Wonders

Our next presenter was Phil Schwartz. Phil is the world’s foremost expert on the Thayer Magic Company. He has collected over 600 Thayer items including letters, photos, and promotional materials. In 2010, with Dr. Robert Albo, he produced a two volume book and ten DVD set on the history of Thayer from 1877 to1963.

His talk is to be about how and how well magic has been marketed in the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries. With a career in marketing and advertising, he is, with out a doubt, an expert. In fact, most of his speech will cover general marketing ideas and concepts. As to the how well part, the answer is—not very.

Simply, the vast majority of magic companies throughout our history had no concept of marketing 101 or creating a plan to properly market their wares. (Such as branding, logos, motto, etc.)

There are two problems with the speech and they are related. Phil breaks the cardinal rule of Power Point presentations: Don’t read from your slides. This is a real pet peeve of mine. (It is okay, Phil didn’t know.) This is death to any presentation. If you have something written on a slide, like a bulleted list, I can read it. You do not have to read it too me. If you do need to read it to me you don’t need the slide.

Here is some Power Point 101: If your slide has words on it, tell a story that adds or illustrates what I read on the slide. If you need to convey to me a concept, tell me, your slide then can have an image to serve as an example of such.

Hence, Phil spends so much his time reading his slides of bulleted points of general marketing theory that he doesn’t have room for many illustrative examples from the magic world. The few that he does show are interesting, but there are not enough of them.

New Era Advertising

I have mixed feelings about the next presentation by Adam Rubin. Things start off very bad, but there is sound information, yet, there is a big “why?” Adam is the marketing and creative director for the online service, Groupon. His talk will deal with new advertising channels such as blogs, twitter, youtube, and social networking.

Adam starts by telling the audience that this is not the talk David Ben had asked for. David wanted Adam to design an online marketing campaign for an old magic product. This is actually a quite clever way to show how these new online platforms work. Adam told us that he didn’t because his “hourly rate” was too high. Wow, really Adam? Your time is too valuable? We are not worth your time and effort?

In the audience sits some of the great historians and collectors in the history of magic. Individually, they have spent countless hours, even lifetimes, to bring their presentations to the Magic Collectors Weekend. Adam can’t spend a few hours over a few months to produce something of importance.

Instead, he starts out telling us about this great thing he didn’t do for us, so what we get is the low effort cut-rate talk. On the other hand, for what the talk is, he has some useable information. He knows the world of online marketing.

I don’t know how much of the technical aspects got through to this audience. The average age in the room is dirt. Did they connect with what he was saying? Another problem is that he used two incomprehensible charts to augment his talk. One big chart, that looked like a giant flower, showed the various online tools available. They is so much and even blown up stage size little can be understood except if he is trying to tell us that the internet is overwhelming. He nailed that. The second graph showed the online sharing path of a New York Times story or the long term trajectory of Voyager 2, it made that much sense.

He did make some points to consider:

We all know word of mouth is the best advertising. Twitter, blogs, Facebook have become the way to communicate that word of mouth.
Expert is a relative term. Usually the first responses on a search page are the experts. To become a “search page expert” you need to blog. You need to be consistent, do it frequently, develop trust, and don’t be phony.
Online services really allow you to target a small niche and thanks to my friend Gordon, I know there is money to be made on those fringes. Find you niche.

Another thought about this presentation was brought up to me by another regular attendee who is the CEO of a large company, while the presentation was fine, Adam’s talk didn’t belong at this convention. What does the world of online marketing really have to do with collecting magic or magic history?

Adam did allude to a relevant message that got lost in the clutter: as historians and collectors we need to leverage social media to become “the expert” in our interests and communicate to a whole new audience. If we don’t infuse new blood into our mix, the Magic Collectors will die out.

The 42nd Annual Magic Collectors Weekend - May 19, 2011 Part 4

2011-05-27T23:18:00.000-05:00

It was now time to present the second honorees, this presentation would be an interview style format moderated by Richard Kaufman. As a side note, Richard handled his duties perfectly, he asked the questions and got out of the way, gently prodded when needed, and never tried to top the real stars—Ray and Ann Goulet.

This couple, too, have been long time fixtures at the MCW. I don’t remember when exactly I met Ray, but I’ve enjoyed every interaction I’ve had with him. He is just a fun and engaging guy, always ready to provoke a laugh. He charmed me then and charmed an audience full of old friends this night.

He was born in 1930 and after wasting 14 years, he became interested in magic. Still in high school, he started performing in USO shows and nightclubs. Many of those clubs could be better classified as “joints,” by Ray’s own admission. Also while in school he met Ann and by 1949 they developed a two-person act. Though retired from performing (1989), their life is still a powerful two person act.

In 1976, they opened a magic shop: The Magic Art Studio. Located Watertown, MA in became the center of the New England magic universe. They would also form the Magic Art Book Company, publishing over 30 books.

Ray was a performer first and didn’t come by collecting until much later. Then, he attacked it becoming an almost indiscriminate collector. Amassing a huge collection, he created the Mini Museum of Magic and happily gives tours by appointment. (The shop is only open about 20 hours a week now.)

How huge of a collection? Here are a couple of numbers: There are over 10,000 books in his collection (33 copies of Erdnase alone!) and 300 Die Boxes. Add to that, among other things, he collected everything Petrie Lewis has ever made including many custom pieces. They are a couple who have given everything to a life of magic. And, magic has given back, with love, respect, and fellowship.

Following the two honor presentations, there was well appointed wine and cheese reception with an opportunity to mingle, catch up with old friends or meet a new one.

The 42nd Annual Magic Collectors Weekend - May 19, 2011 Part 3

2011-05-27T15:44:00.000-05:00

Since 1970, the Magic Collectors Association has chosen a Guest of Honor. This year, like last, we have multiple honorees- Ray and Ann Goulet and Dr. Gene Matsuura.

I’ve seen Dr. Matsuura at several of these collector/history conferences, but never had the pleasure to meet him. This would be my first experience with his story. An experience I was sharing with many others because Dr. Matsuura is sort of the “quiet” man around these gatherings. David Ben introduced him and illustrated his secretive nature with a story:

Dr. Matsuura was drafted to do a “teach a trick” session at one convention. He was having quite a bit of anxiety over this when he was asked to take a look at another attendee who might be having a heart attack. He replied, “Okay, but no teach a trick.” The answer came back to Gene, “we’ll let him die.”

First a brief word about his life outside magic: Dr. Matsuura is a native Californian, born in 1940. He spent his early years in the Arizona desert in a WWII internment camp. Later, after graduating from medical school in 1967 and despite the shameful treatment he received from his country, he served overseas in the U.S. Armed Forces. A former ER doctor, he is retired from active medical practice.

Dr. Matsuura caught the magic bug at age ten with the help of his older brother. That older brother ordered a sent of Chinese linking rings from the Johnson Smith & Co. He wasn’t interested in magic—he needed to know the secret. Once revealed, the rings held no more interest so; he sold that trick (at full retail) to his little brother and created a magician.

He would become student, friend, confidant to some the greatest magicians of the twentieth century: Dai Vernon, Charlie Miller, Ross Bertram, and especially close to Tony Slydini. In the shadow of these greats he became a sleight of hand expert, his personal annotations appearing in The Annotated Magic of Slydini. (2001 L&L pub)

Reluctantly, Dr. Matsuura spoke of his journey to magic, noted his difficultly speaking about himself, and revealed part of his collection. Most of it centers on choice pieces from his influences, Winston Freer, Dai Vernon, Tony Slydini, and Ross Bertram. Many of the pieces being props and costumes directly from the performers’ acts. He also added pieces of fine workmanship like from the craftsman John Martin.

It was an interesting speech. Dr. Matsuura was compelling despite being thoroughly uncomfortable speaking about himself and, perhaps compelling because of that reason. He spoke simply and honestly, revealing his humanness. And the audience went happily along for the ride.

The 42nd Annual Magic Collectors Weekend - May 19, 2011 Part 2

2011-05-26T12:36:00.000-05:00

I realize my comments on the Tricks Old and Seldom Seen may seem overly harsh. It was really only one presenter that truly angered me and couple more that caused any real discomfort. I admit I am not a collector in the strict sense. I really don’t collect the physical. My passion is to collect stories and knowledge, much of it in the oral tradition.

So I ask the question, “Why do you collect?”

Are you an accumulator? Piling up pieces of apparatus with little regard. Do just collect because you love the look or workmanship of certain craftsman? Are these props nothing more than pretty dead things to sit on a shelf?

Or do these things represent something more? Do you see the magic that lives inside them, their inanimate corpses waiting to be revived, if only for a moment in time? If you love the props for what they represent, if you have a passion for their stories, then it is your responsibility to communicate it. Care about it. That is all I ask.

It is not on my nature to write without comment but I will try to describe some of the other TOSS presentations with embarrassing anyone. (I mostly add this to appease my adoring fans…okay, fan. Who says I won’t do what a woman asks?)

Bill Spooner performed an Inexhaustible Production Box circa 1907 in which he could assemble and disassemble the box, repeatedly producing silk handkerchiefs. From 1898 he showed the Six Mystic Numbers which allowed him to divine which of six numbered blocks a spectator chose.

MC Tom Ewing (his official rap name) showed off a Disappearing and Reappearing Opium Pipe (much like the old disappearing wand) and a George Johnstone built Nest of Boxes. This included a nice video of George performing the same boxes on Don Alan’s Magic Ranch.

Ken Klosterman followed with an intriguing transposition effect, Humboldt and Globe, originally in the Dell O’Dell collection and circa 1850s. The “Humboldt” appears to be a small bust of a man on a marble base such as you might see in a library. I assume it is Alexander Von Humboldt (d. 1859), noted German naturalist and explorer. The “Globe” was a…um…globe on a spindle style pedestal. The difference in the two objects is striking. They are opposites in form. One wide at the base and narrow on top, the other a narrow base with a wide top. It seems impossible that they could switch places, but they do, when each is hidden from view by a large canister-like cover.

Gale Molovinsky displayed several bead tricks in his collection. I think most commonly seen as the Tibetan Bead Mystery; several large beads are placed individually into a tube and then become mysteriously linked. He showed U.F. Grant’s Uncola where four “random” letter blocks rearrange themselves to spell COKE and a bottle of the soda appears. Also from Grant, Gale, himself, was puzzled by his flat board head vanish.

Tom Ewing returned to demonstrate a clever Handkerchief Penetration. A hank is tacked to a square wooden frame, placed into a bag, and penetrated through the center by a finger or pencil.

Bill McIlhany finished up the program with two beautifully decorated block tricks, a baffling vanishing wooden block that reappears inside an oriental pagoda type box.

More to come....

The 42nd Annual Magic Collectors Weekend - May 19, 2011 - Part 1

2011-05-25T00:24:00.003-05:00

The MCA has returned to the Westin Hotel-O’Hare. The hotel facilities, as noted last year, are upscale, comfortable, and well suited for the weekend’s events. David Ben, Julie Eng, and Sandra Eng, our hosts, have done their best to accommodate everyone. Responding to some grumblings from last year, they even negotiated discounts for parking and food.

After picking up the registration, I toured around the dealers’ room. It is generally the usual assortment of temptations—posters, books, ephemera, props, and gimmicks. I say generally, because there is one tempting new dealer with a selection of wood chop cups and wands. Evanna Evans, daughter of Celeste Evans, is a talented wood turner and recently started creating gorgeous magic products. They are heavy weight, durable, real worker props that are reasonably priced. I hope that with her successful debut, a website might be coming soon to give everyone a chance to purchase one.

Speaking of Celeste Evans, she was selling her autobiography, a remarkable story of a life in show business. Jeff Pierce was also selling the fresh off the presses (literally) Jack Kodell biography. More about these two legends later when they do their presentations.

Bill Palmer had a table, but not selling a thing. He did have a small selection of cups from his collection including a set from Alexander Herrmann. The history freak that I am I passed by more than once and tried to imagine what it must have been like to see Herrmann performing with those cups.

The first real event of the weekend was the Dealers show, hosted, predictably, by the affable Tom Ewing. A few of the dealers came up to the stage, spoke a little about their booths, and what they were selling. It was mercifully brief, except for one dealer that apparently wasn’t told she would be speaking the next day. If it weren’t for an applause starting clap snuck in between sentences she still might be talking. Last year, I saw promise. I had hoped the show could be improved. I think now it is better that David just eliminate it. It does not add anything to the weekend. It is not even bad enough to be fun.

Next is The Old and Seldom Seen Show. The program is to take the feel of a “show and tell” with audience participation. It hardly reaches that level. Again, this show has yet unmet promise. The program varied widely in content. David Ben performed a terrifically scripted coin routine originated by T. Nelson Downs. My good friend Gordon Meyer performed the old Vampire Block, with an equally well rehearsed script.

When things go well it is fun. When things go bad, it can be fun. Some of the presentations did fall into this fun/bad area. There were a few that were just painful bad. At least one presenter appeared to have never handled his props before. It is inexcusable that someone purporting to be a performer be so bad. I wonder if we would all be better served if those presenters be allowed to tell the history of the prop and have a more competent performer available to actually do the performance.

The 42nd Annual Magic Collectors Weekend Eve - May 18, 2011

2011-05-23T20:29:00.001-05:00

As I sit here it is hard to believe that a year has passed. A cliché, yes, but the truth nevertheless. I have been woefully neglectful of my blog, much to the consternation of some readers, and I hope to fix this, starting with my annual look at the Magic Collectors Weekend.

The Weekend unofficially starts on Wednesday with the Knights of Sleights Magic Flea Market. This is the 28th year straight and according to all reports it was the best year yet. There were over 40 tables of merchandise covering the full range of books and tricks: new, old, used, useful, junk, and collectable. And over 200 buyers attended.

This has been one of the great social events of Chicago. One out of town participant told me it was like a mini-convention and that the fleas hosted by clubs in her state could not compare. We have very little other events that can unite the whole of the Chicago magic community and I hope more Chicago magicians will spread the word to anyone that might be interested. That 200 could easily be 300 or more.

At least, one buyer purchased a book worth $200 for $2. Another purchased several broadsides for a quarter of their real worth. Last, I was told of the purchase of a window card for $150 that recently went at auction for $400. But that is just the collectable, much more useable magic was purchased and I expect, knowing magicians as I do, made it into their acts over the weekend.

The Flea has been a great partnership with the MCA. Seventeen of the dealers and many of the buyers came as a result of the promotions by the MCA.

The week is off to a good start.

The Advance Man

2010-08-03T23:02:00.000-05:00

When he blew into the town on a warm summer breeze, the theaters had already closed for the season. It was too hot to be inside. There was little else to do; those who could play played, everyone else worked. His job was a little of both.

He was the advance man. He arrived with a con man’s smile, pockets full of cash and promises. He prepared the town and every town before and after. The circus was coming and they had to be ready for it.

The job meant to get as much for as little as possible. He rented the field where the circus could set up. He got the posters and broadsides printed and hung. He greased the right palms with the right grease. He promoted, got tickets sold and when the circus arrived, he moved to the next town and did it all over again.

While the names and times and technologies changed, the essential job of the advance man hasn’t changed. Why am I telling you all of this? Because I want to tell you about a book I’ve enjoyed and you might enjoy also.

The Advance Man by Jamie MacVicar

It is the story of a young marketing guy who falls into the world of the circus as an advance man for Ringling Brothers’ Circus in the 1970s. It is a true personal story with some surprising twists and turns. It is just those surprises, a rare experience for a book to surprise me, that makes it hard for me to say anything else than, “Buy this book!”

There a couple of things; I went into the book because expecting some nuts and bolts type marketing information. There is some of that. Marketing school can teach you everything about the work, but not about your life in marketing. That’s what this book is ultimately about. I feel like I met someone I’d like to know further. I expect Jamie has some more great stories to tell over a couple of beers.

As a performer who has spent nights awake wondering if anyone will buy tickets for my show, I was on the edge of my seat during some passages. If you are at all interested on the behind the scenes of the circus there is much of it to enjoy in this book. At times, I thought I was reading a novel, but it was all real.

My best advice is, don’t just believe me, head over to amazon.com, read all about the book, and pick up a copy for yourself. And after you read it, spread the word. The world needs more good books to read.

The 41st Annual Magic Collectors Weekend Day 3

2010-06-01T19:52:00.000-05:00

Saturday May 15

The Saturday program began with Diego Domingo and Finding Your Man. I’ve come to appreciate Diego from his frequent appearances at the LA Conference on Magic History. He is usually a funny and engaging speaker, often speaking about the odd and unusual characters on the fringe of the magic world. Other times he has tracked down lost magic figure with dogged and patient, as much as 10 or more years of detective work.

Here Diego related the methods and secrets of his craft; I would call more search than research. Giving real life examples, Diego’s (belly laughs evoking) anecdotes served as lessons on how to find your man, even when separated by decades. This kind of nuts and bolts talk I really enjoy and it would continue for the whole morning session.

While Diego covered more traditional legwork, Gary Hunt followed with a talk on the tool the internet offers the researcher. He covered various genealogy and newspaper archives. The only slow point was the attempt at doing live searches to show some examples, otherwise excellent information.

After their individual talks, Diego, Gary, and David Alexander sat down for a panel discussion. David Alexander, besides being a fine magician and excellent writer, was once a private detective. He also has played mentor to Diego, giving advice from his professional experience that Diego used on his historical subjects. David really contributed the most information and tips on detective work. The most important tip being: be a people person, a little schmooze will go a long way in getting what you want, especially from bureaucratic types. The second best example from the group was being patient yet, tenacious. Keep trying.

Jim Maloney found his man, Nate Leipzig. Jim has been doing research on Leipzig for many years, uncovering tidbits and scraps of information to fill out the story of his life. The information was fine. The presentation needed some scripting. I expect a book will be forthcoming.

After the lunch break, the other Robert Olson (author of books on Rosini, Thurston, and Speer) spoke. Reverend Bob seized the stage and commanded the room, being the only presenter not to need a microphone. Being a preacher has made him a better performer than most of the weekend’s presenters. He spoke about his seventy years in magic. Seventy years!Topics included: the magicians he read about as a child and impressions of magicians he personally knew. He was given 15 minutes, but this was another speaker I could have listened to for much more time.

Jim Alfredson is the Honorary President of the Magic Collectors Association. He holds a special place in my heart. As I have written before, he made me feel welcome when I was new to this world of historians. I look forward to seeing him at every convention. He is an interesting conversationalist with a great deal of knowledge and personal experience. Jim is well know for his numerous books including (with honored guest, George Daily), A Bibliography of Conjuring Periodicals. His talk was about the history of The Sphinx and the men who edited it. He compared the magazine favorably to main stream magazine of the time. Related that Wilson added the editorial and some factors (other than the much publicized CIA job) that contributed to why John Mulholland ceased publication. One of the interesting comments he made was the connection between the rise of vaudeville to the increase of amateur magicians. Something, I think, worthy of more research.

David Charvet is also well known among attendees of historical conventions. He spoke, this year, on magician Jimmy Stoppard. Jimmy’s claim to fame was receiving The Houdini Award in 1935 for his effect, The Phantom Ray. Jimmy had a fascination with early science fiction patter. Using it, not only as the inspiration for the ray, but for a book of patter he wrote. David performed a passé passé bottle trick using such patter as an example.

Filling out the theme night of Finding Your Man, Eduardo Sanchez, from Argentina, told the story of David Bamberg in Argentina. Eduardo was worried about his English, but it was unfounded. He made himself understood with very few problems. He showed many rare images of Bamberg and his promotional materials. Also presented were some film clips of performances. Things that caught my attention: Bamberg used much comedy in his presentations, most routines were theatrical type plots, sometimes his name was written Fu Manchu and sometimes Fu Man Chu, and one show advertised 43 tricks in one hour. My favorite advertising line: King of Magicians and Magician of Kings.

The evening show was strictly a performance. Mike Caveney did his usual stellar job. Tina Lenert continued performing her new routine and thoroughly fooled the audience with her rabbit production. David Charvet performed a piece from the Willard show and the Jimmy Stoppard’s Phantom Ray, ending with a hilarious sight (and sound) gag. Arden James closed the show with his usual aplomb. Near the start of his act a breaker tripped and he was short some lighting and music for a few minutes. It didn’t faze him. The audience appreciated his professionalism.

Now that it is over and the bodies can be counted, it was a good convention, not a great one. As I expected, it is a work in progress. Seeing what he has done with everything else he’s touched, I expect David Ben will turn this to gold also. Once again, I cannot compliment his support staff of Julie Eng, James Alan, and Sandra Eng, enough. They did amazing work, especially Julie, who seemed to be everywhere as greeter, MC, floatee, computer operator, and general problem solver. I can’t say for sure but I think she parked the cars and made the beds also. I had a great surprise from David Odette who showed up unannounced. It lifted my spirits to spend time with friends and make some new ones, which is really the best part of it all anyway.

Last, those who know me know two things: 1) I like to sit in the back of most lectures because I have little patience for bad and, even when good, I am looking for the joke. 2) I love bad jokes.

Here are my two favorite from the weekend:

1) When I heard someone say, “That's like $5000 in today’s money.” I replied, “Yeah, but who has today’s money.”

2) When I heard someone say, “Blackstone had lots of chief assistants.” I said, “That was his problem, too many Chief assistants, not enough Indian assistants.”

I’m sorry you had to read that. I believe Robert Orben is spinning in his grave.

The 41st Annual Magic Collectors Weekend Day 2

2010-05-28T21:37:00.001-05:00

Friday May 14

Not staying at the hotel this year had its advantages and disadvantages. The late nights were just about the same except my drinking time was replaced with driving time. The mornings were a little earlier due to that same driving time. Traffic was surprisingly good. I rolled into the hotel about 9:30.

It is a half hour before the first event. Normally at this point I would complain about having an event at 10 A.M. but if you read paragraph 1 you’ll understand that it didn’t matter as much this year. The dealers’ room is open. I walk around and drool over things I cannot afford and talk to various people, many my once a year friends.

Maybe I should explain if you haven’t read my review of the last LA Conference. My once a year friends are those people who I only see once a year at these conventions. Seldom, we talk during the time between. This is not a derogatory term. How can one keep up with everyone? Once, sometime twice, a year we share a deep bond over the thing we care deeply about, magic history. I cherish all these interactions. Usually, I list all their names, but I’ll refrain. They all know who they are and how I feel about them.

The first presentation of the morning is called The Sphinx and The Sage. Joe Culpepper spoke of bringing his doctorial research “alive” by recreating the 19^th century illusion, The Sphinx. I was especially curious because this idea has fascinated me ever Eddie Dawes wrote about it in his book about Col. Stodare. Joe did an interesting presentation that was marred by a dark and incomprehensible video of the actual performance. He showed a few backstage photos of the construction and explained why he changed the story from Egyptian to one of the stories from the Arabian nights. A perfect marriage of story and effect, it was an excellent choice. He also spoke to the power of the illusion for the modern audience and how it still fooled them.

Next we watched two video presentations showing the normally private magic collections of The Magic Circle. Originally, David Ben planned to do a live Skype tour, but technology doesn’t always cooperate. What a cool idea though. I think this could be an annual event, video tours of various collections or museums from around the world, things we normally don’t get to see.

Will Houstoun followed with a talk on Professor Hellis. Hellis was a fine 19^th century magician and Will had access to a notebook of magic half written by Hellis and Half written by one of his students. I’ve seen Will before and I am impressed with his level of scholarship. He also does and excellent job at presenting his material. I look forward to reading his book, Hellis in Wonderland. Will spoke about the very modern nature of the coin and card magic in the notebook and about an interesting plot in which a handkerchief is scented with perfume, instead of signed, destroyed and made to reappear in an impossible location.

Instead of a banquet, David chose, this year, to have a lunch instead. We all ate box lunches at the tables in the lobby and dealers’ room. A nice little social moment.

The afternoon session started with the emotional high point of the convention, the last stage performance of Walter “Zaney” Blaney. Walter has performed for over sixty years and is the inventor of the Ladder Suspension. I should say his world famous, the most incredible, greatest suspension ever, Ladder Suspension. If you haven’t seen it, pop over to youtube.com and search for it. I’ll wait…

Did you go? It fooled the heck out of you didn’t it? Don’t worry, you are not the only one. It is one of the best kept secrets in magic and should stay that way. I have some ideas, but not talking, so don’t ask.

After performing his ever present vanishing bird cage, Walter sat before an enthralled audience of just under 200 to tell the story of his invention. Sitting, listening, to Walter is like an evening with a favorite Uncle. He is the personification of easy charm. Seductive, but in a friendly way. I can see why he was such a successful performer; no booker could resist that kind of traditional style and class. He spoke for just over an hour. I wish it had been two.

Some highlights from his talk: He spent years performing the Suspension in miniature with a model and continually fooled his magic buddies. He took five curtain calls the first time he performed it at a magic convention. Jack Gwynne originally refused to learn the secret and finally gave in at the urging of Walter. He badly fooled the original Mercury astronauts who amazed Walter with their gullibility. He really showed how smart and classy Merv Griffin was and how Merv saved his performance. Last, David Copperfield begged for 5 years before Walter would let him do the illusion.

The details of that and much more of Walter’s incredible life will appear soon in a must read book.

Then, it was time. Julie Eng was to be the last floatee. If you saw it on youtube, you know what we saw. But I felt a chill, goose bumps. My eyes welled up. I would not be the only one. Everyone I spoke with confessed the same. We were seeing history, something us historians and collectors only read about. Of course, it was a standing ovation. The performance deserved it.

Afterward I would feel sad. The world has been robbed of this experience. No one will perform the Ladder like Walter. He may not perform any more, but I hope now he’ll find time to make the convention circuit and collect the rewards of being legendary. If you see him say hello, you’ll like him.

Jason England had to follow that. He acknowledged that much when he came to the podium. Jason is a gambling expert and did a slide presentation of various gambling devices, mostly crooked. The talk mostly amounted to a laundry list with not much “color.”

Further sucking the life out of the room, Daniel Zuckerbrot followed with what was supposed to be a talk on the history of magic and movies. It barely touched on that. It was supposed to be a talk on the issues of exposure, editing, and interviewing. It didn’t really address that. Daniel is a fine documentary filmmaker. Basically, he just showed some clip from his movies and the movies of other that were magic related. I think a one more rewrite and recut of this talk was needed.

Listen, it was an impossible task to follow Zaney Blaney, but those two talks would not of stood on their own even if they didn’t have to create a miracle.

We broke for dinner and the evening was a free program night.

The MCA had a bus to take attendees to the showroom of Potter and Potter auctions, into downtown Chicago to see Supernatural Chicago, or just to do a little shopping and site seeing. I stayed at the hotel to watch a film of Billy McComb being interviewed at the 31 Faces North convention. The uncensored, no-holds barred interview was an incredible and moving experience. Jason England followed with a virtuoso demonstration of gambling skill. (Somewhat redeeming himself) Finishing the night, in the lobby lounge, one of the most talented magicians in Chicago, Tomas Medina performed close-up.

I am not sure how anyone else felt, but I liked this relaxed format.

I got to mingle with friends as always. I'm a lucky guy because they are some great people.

The 41st Annual Magic Collectors Weekend Day 1

2010-05-18T18:43:00.000-05:00

Actually, we’ll start a day early, Wednesday, with The Knights of Sleights Magic Flea Market. This is sort of an unofficial event aligned with the Collectors Weekend. The Flea is one of the few annual magic events in Chicago. For me, it is the magic social event of the year.

This year there were 41 dealers and around 250 attendees. It was great fun and there were lots of good buys to be had. I expect some items purchased will find there way on ebay for 2 or 3 times what they went for at the market. There was at least one major book dealer that was selling books he bought Wednesday to collectors on Thursday.

I hope they continue to get the word out about the Flea market because it deserves to be even better attended than it is. Chicago magicians have a tendency to not put a great deal of support behind Chicago events. It is a shame because we have so few.

Thursday May 13

Today is the first day of the convention, day one of the David Ben era of the Magic Collectors Association. First, this is Chicago or, at least close enough and near the airport, so things are going to cost money. Parking was $20 a day and, as I expected I heard some grumblings. Please, get over it. Stop being the stereotypical cheap magician. This is the big city. Most the beefs I heard were from local guys, who should be used to Chicago prices anyway. The happy note, there was little to grumble about in the overall convention, so they had try hard to find something. For those in the city, the hotel was easy access from the EL.

Checking in, I met one of the people who would be the reason for the success for the Weekend, Julie Eng. She is David Ben’s right hand woman at Magicana and hospitality professional. Her genuine enthusiasm, indefatigable energy, and constant smile was cliché-ingly infectious. (I had more contact with Julie, but her sister Sandra was also equal to the task.) Julie threw me immediately when she seemed genuinely excited that I was there. I expect everyone received a similar good start to their Weekend experience.

The dealer’s room was spacious with tables to hang out at in the center. I noticed those tables got a great deal of use during the three day weekend. There was also plenty of room to visit with the dealers. I expect next year some smart dealer will put a couple of the chairs at the front of their tables to allow a more comfortable browsing. I picked up a cool piece of Chicago magic history for 20 dollars.

The first real event was the Dealer’s Show. The second room for the weekend was the show room. This room is a large meeting room with a stage, theater-like seating, and even desks. It was a terrific room for all the presentations and I overheard many complimentary comments about the room. Here is the trade off…better facilities, pay for parking. That trade I believe was the right choice by David Ben.

The dealer’s show, I expect is a work in process. Tom Ewing was MC and his usual affable self. There were high and low points, but pretty painless overall. Some of the dealers did presentations that were fun and educational. A few just didn’t seem into it. It is a shame because these are all performers or former performers. With a few exceptions, they could have done better. But it wasn’t awful by any means.

The return of “Tricks Old and Seldom Seen” followed the Dealers Show. Like the dealers show and like the Tricks Old from years past, there were some uneven parts. Although, less uneven. Part of the attempt this year was to return the Weekend to a more casual style. It worked. The Weekend was comfortable and informal.

In the show was the always entertaining Robert Olson. It really doesn’t matter what he does. It will be fun. Oh, he vanished four coins from a box and they reappeared in a glass.

Bill McIllhany performed an intriguing two light variation on the magic switchboard, guaranteed to fool the electricians in your life.

Tom Ewing, again MC’ed, showed a Stereoscope of Kellar’s theater, and later showed a couple of pieces from Tim Felix’s collection.

Stroke survivor De Yip Louie and his daughter, Frances inspired everyone, together they performed a The Snake. It is a fooler in which Louie wrapped his hand in a string of beads only to have his hand pass right through it.

J. P. Jackson performed a trick called Floating Power, where a ball ends up threaded on a stick.

Jim Rawlins demonstrated a self closing Thayer suitcase table used by the magician Virgil. This was a large size table that automatically collapsed/morphed into a suitcase with a seemingly dangerous snap. I expect a few magicians ended up looking like shop teachers after using this prop.

The fine prop maker, Bill Schmeelk showed off a couple of new products, a clever die routine and a set of blocks which cannot be turned over.

The evening program started off with the Jay Marshall book tour and Sandy Marshall telling a few brief anecdotes about his father. He treated us a, once thought lost, video of Jay performing his bagpipe act.

Finally it was the time for our guests of honor, George Daily and Mike Caveney. George told a little about himself and a little more about his friend and business partner. He, then, led into a funny reminiscence of his relationship with Mike. It was a story of opposites, who have great affection and have great admiration for each other. The always humorous, Mike took the stage after George and spoke about George and his view of their relationship. Together they told the story of buying and dividing up Egyptian hall.

David Ben presented commemorative coins to the honorees.

After the presentation, we all went to the lobby for a desert reception. It was the end of the day and a good start to the weekend.

Magicol

2010-04-06T13:08:00.000-05:00

I don't know if they will sell copies to nonmembers, but I have an article called "Walking the Magic City" in the newest issue of Magicol, the magazine of the Magic Collectors' Association. It is about a two mile walk in downtown Chicago which covers a broad range of Chicago magic history.

Unfortunately, I only had about a week and a half to research and write the article, but it is pretty complete for the areas of the walk. One of my strengths is research. The problem is you just cannot cover everything. Anytime you turn down one street or another you automatically exclude another street which may call home an equally important site.

The most depressing thing is that most everything I write about is gone. Long gone. Most I never was able to see myself.

I still miss them.

Merry Christmas

2009-12-24T11:45:00.000-06:00

As I've traditionally done, here is last year's Christmas card.

Los Angeles Magic Conference – Day 3

2009-11-21T23:31:00.003-06:00

November 7

Saturday is the last day of the Conference. It brings with it one of the highlights of the weekend, a visit to John Gaughan’s workshop. The conference provided a shuttle bus from the hotel to the shop (and back). There are scheduled times, mine is at 1:00 P.M., but you can go anytime if you are driving. I catch a ride with Fred Pittella and the gang.

For those who don’t know John is one of the foremost illusion builders in the world. He has built for Doug Henning, David Copperfield, and Ricky Jay, to name a few. He, also, is a restorer of antique magic and automata.

The ride, besides giving more time for us to hang out, gets us to the workshop a couple of hours earlier. I’ll need it. There is just too much to see. When I get there, I start taking pictures and pictures and pictures. It is almost a frenzy to document everything.

I pause.

I realize my photos will not do justice to the experience. It was a foolish folly to think I could get it all. I wasn’t enjoying it. So, the camera was put away and I took a break. John, besides opening his doors for us, provided lunch in the form of a barbeque. Not cheap burgers either, but real steak.

After my break, the idea was to savor the event. Take time and enjoy the moment. I was able to get Houdini’s autograph for John’s life-size Houdini automata. I was the fly on the wall in a long discussion on Houdini’s Water Torture Cell, next to a replica of the cell and by guys who have actually performed it.

I touched the talking skull of Joseffy and Kellar’s Psycho. Sat for a photograph, a Victorian novelty, in which the final product looks like I am sitting at a table play cards with 5 clones of myself. John demonstrated an amazing Doug Henning illusion, in which, from a flat table, a large humpbacked steamer truck appears, along with a woman inside.

I, carefully, touched tricks owned by Robert-Houdin, Heller, Hartz and others. Each one, not only a functional trick, but a fine work of art. It was quite like visiting a museum of art stuffed into a single room.

I wasn’t the only one. Nobody wanted to leave. They were in a daze. Even the hardest of men was left breathless at the sites. Tim Felix, head attendee wrangler, had to force people on to the bus, gently.

It cannot be overstated how generous this gift of John’s was.

This would be the entirety of the afternoon program. I doubt anyone was complaining.

Dinner was with my good friends, Mark and Sue Holstein. We sort of are starting a tradition of going to this terrific little Italian restaurant, not far from the hotel.

The evening program began with Jim Steinmeyer performing Beau Brocade. This is interesting, or should I say odd, we are watching an illusion that was mostly explained to us in a previous session. There were a couple of added touches in the performance. But there were some obvious flaws also and beyond the impracticability of the original method. There is a theme to tonight’s show, missing persons. Beau Brocade is the first, of several, vanishing women in the program.

Diego Domingo followed with a double talk on two missing figures in magic, George White and Doc Nixon. George White was Howard Thurston’s main assistant. The African-American was one of the stars of the Thurston show, but where he came from and where he went after his magic career was over has long been a mystery. Doc Nixon was a successful performer and creator of “where did the ducks go?” Then he disappeared from the magic world in a swirl of rumors. Diego did some amazing detective work to uncover the secrets in these men’s lives. The first of the talk was very good. Diego had problems with the second half and it fell flat.

William Kalush discussed the enigmatic Charlier’s life and his contributions to sleight of hand. Included was the long thought impossible “invisible” performance solution for Charlier cut. An excellent talk.

John Gaughan took the stage. In his understated way, he performed Charles Morritt’s creation, “Goodbye Winter.” This illusion was last seen in Houdini’s final tour. It is an amazing example of vanishing a woman from the top of table.

Mike Caveney closed the show with a performance of two pieces from magician, Paul Valadon, “The Drum That Cannot Be Beat” and “Well I’m…” The first a production illusion of many silks. The second a startling vanishing woman. The illusions were first performed in the Egyptian Hall and then again, when Paul toured with Harry Kellar.

After the show, it was out to patio for a coffee reception. I mean, after we picked up some cocktails, then it was the coffee reception. The cookies were delicious.

I’ve been to three Conferences. Of those three this was the weakest, then it would be difficult to top my experiences of the previous years. The first year I spoke and was my coming out party. The second was Hooker’s Rising Cards.

At the beginning of the Conference, Marvin Miller (I told you I’d speak of him again.) said he would be interested to read my blog and see what I thought was the highlight of the event. In these reviews, I’ve used the words kindness and generosity. I could have used them when speaking about every person I spoke to at the Conference.

I spent time with Mark Cannon, Jan Janson, Todd Robbins, Ward Hall, Jamy Ian Swiss, Joe Fox, Fred Pittella, Andy Lansing, Diego Domingo, Jim Steinmeyer, Frankie Glass, Lupe Nielson, Mark Holstein, Sue Holstein, Tim Felix, Mike Caveney, Scott Smith, Rob Zabrecky, Andy Lansing, David Goodman, Lisa Cousins, Bill Goodwin, Stan Allen, Mark Kaschube, Bill Kalush, Newell Unfried, John Gaughan, David Alexander and many others.

And Marvin Miller, Marvin is a former CEO, magazine editor, mystery writer. We come from very different worlds. As do many of the people, I get to hang out with at this Conference. We are not in the same social circles, except here. They all treat me with kindness and generosity. I love being able to be around them.

That is the best part of the Conference. The people like Marvin Miller. My best friends, even if it is only three days every two years.

Los Angeles Magic Conference – Day 2

2009-11-19T14:57:00.004-06:00

November 6

I expect there is no need for me to go into detail about my waking up procedures. If you have seen Groundhog Day, you’ll know that every morning at the Conference was sort of like that morning. SSDM.

The first event of the day was the Eidophusikon. Every 15 minutes or so, 30 odd (in every sense of the word) magicians are herded into the exhibit room to see the 3 minute 45 second show. Then, they move to the backstage area to see the entire show again. My show time was 11:30.

The show was a dramatic representation of Satan and his minions rising from the depths of Hell. Volcanoes, flowing lava, Satan’s palace, and his army are all static pictures painted on glass, which slide up into position. This makes a sort of three-dimensional painting that “creates” itself. In the 1781, the glass was lit in various ways by gaslight filtered through colored glass shades. In our case, inferior modern lighting took the gaslight’s place. Inferior because the modern lights did not have the natural flicker of the gaslights and, thus, much motion was lost.

Backstage it is an intricate coordinated effort by three performers to time the music, light and position the glass. It was really a cross of puppetry and stagecraft.

I expect, partially because of my interest in Toy Theater, I enjoyed the performance more than many of the other conference attendees. I see the historical through line. I also try to see how it can be presented in a historical and entertaining way to modern audiences as part of a larger production. And let’s face it, in this case, you have to sit and wonder how anyone was so entertained by this thing. A few others and I went in and watched the last performance while the final scheduled group got to see the backstage view.

One of the people I most looked forward to see was my friend, Jamy Ian Swiss. He came to the Conference late because of some booking conflicts. I just happen to catch him as he/I were headed to lunch. While I don’t always agree with Jamy, he always makes me think. That is what I want from my friends. We had a good talk, life, business, Houdini and the world of skepticism.

The afternoon session began with Will Houstoun. Will did an in depth study of a handwritten notebook on card magic from the Magic Circle Library. It is a first person account of seeing some of the great magician’s of the 18^th century. Mr. Houstoun went into great detail of how he dated the manuscript, which was quite fascinating. That, alone, was a lesson in historical research. He also commented some of the more interesting observations of the unknown author. He has written a book on the subject including a facsimile of the notebook.

The second presentation was by Chris Woodward who told the story of Rameses-The forgotten star. He has a new thin book out about this “lost” performer. I find it odd to write this review because while I was there for the presentation, (I remember seeing the pictures and Mr. Woodward speaking.) I can’t remember anything about it. Apparently, Rameses will remain forgotten, at least in my mind.

David Charvet finished the session with a talk on Ade Duval. Ade created the Silken Sorcerer act that took him all over the world. By all accounts he was a fine, disciplined magician, timing out is act within a couple of seconds every show. David showed some rare vintage footage of Ade. He also has self-published a thin book on Ade. There was a story about Ade that I was surprised that David did not mention. Ade’s real name was Adolf; Jay Marshall told me that he changed his name at the beginning of WWII for obvious reasons. David Charvet shows this is not true. Ade was working as Ade since early in his career.

Dinner was with David Alexander joined our group for dinner. As usual, it is just fun hanging out with magic guys of high caliber. There are engrossing stories, hilarious joke, and salacious gossip.

The evening program began with Michael Albright, an executive with the BBC and long-time Prof. Hoffman collector. With proclaiming his utmost nervousness, unusual for someone who give presentations for a living, Michael gave an entertaining and interesting overview of Prof. Hoffman’s life and his books.

Richard Lane followed with a talk on hypnotic charlatans in the vaudeville era. Richard had excellent material, but did not deliver it very well. It seems this Emmy award-winning producer and writer must not be used to speaking like this. I hope he will end up writing a book on these fascinating con men of the stage.

A Conference favorite for his usually entertaining presentations, Peter Lamont finished the “speechifying” portion of the program. It was a short talk on Annemann and his article in the Jinx magazine titled, “Was Dr. Rhine Hoodwinked?” Dr. Lamont speculated on Annemann’s theory and why it doesn’t make sense in the full context of all the facts. While the information provided was new and interesting, Dr. Lamont’s talk left me empty and wanting something more.

The final piece of the evening was a performance by Conference regular, John Carney of Robert-Houdin’s Orange Tree. This is a reproduction of the original tree created by John Gaughan. John did a poetic routine embracing this anachronistic prop. He then went into a sequence similar to the familiar canary, egg, lemon routine. He first vanished the silk, supposedly transporting it into the egg. The egg is then vanished. Both of these first two vanishes were as masterful as you expect from John Carney. The vanish of the lemon was not. Bad and obvious. In a clever turn, he proceeded to vanish the orange in stages. The fruit shrinking ever smaller until it existed no more. The magic was then made to bloom and bear fruit. The oranges were passed to the audience to show their reality. A final fruit grew at the top of the tree. A flock of butterflies came to life in the tree. The orange split open and two of the butterflies carried the silk out of the orange on wing. It is a beautiful effect, but I was left with one problem. What happened to the egg and the lemon?

Each year, Jim Steinmeyer and his wife, Frankie Glass kindly open their home for an invitation only reception. There are drinks and, with the aid of a special kitchen elf, Frankie lays out a scrumptious feast of hors d'oeuvres and baked goods. I am always grateful I can attend.

Back at the hotel too late for last call. What kind of bar closes at 1:00 A.M. on a Friday night? A stupid hotel bar that doesn’t understand how much money they are losing. Magicians like to drink. The same kind of thing happens every year at Collectors. I think it is time to bring my own bottle.

Los Angeles Magic Conference-Day 1

2009-11-16T00:34:00.000-06:00

November 5

I slept late. That is generally a given at these types of weekends, unless some ass schedules an early lecture session. Those who run the LA Conference are no asses. Even with sleeping late, I made it just under the wire for breakfast at the aforementioned Tula’s: eggs, over easy, bacon, very crisp, and wheat toast.

Registration was just off the new patio and since the dealer and exhibit rooms weren’t open yet, I bought hotel priced coke and stretched out on a couch. Need I say the weather was glorious?

Here I was able to go through my registration packet. Jim Steinmeyer did his usual great job with the program. There was a reprint of an 18th century Japanese magic book, actually a chapter of a larger book, much like Scot’s Discoverie of Witchcraft. This book was not a full translation, but an explanation of the artwork on 13 two-page spreads. This most interesting book was compliments of Max Maven and Ton Onosaka.

The program and the gift book were my leisurely reads for the afternoon. Occasionally, I would be interrupted, and not in the bad sense, by an arriving conference attendee. For example, Marvin Miller, who I’ve written about in my review of the last conference, stopped to say hello and chat. I’ll be writing about Marvin later also.

This year the conference was sort of a working, although hardly work, vacation for me. I had a mission. I am working on a Houdini project at the moment and I hope to talk to Bill Kalush about it.

Mr. Kalush co-wrote the most recent Houdini biography and is, perhaps, the most knowledgeable Houdini expert extant. He is a consultant to David Blaine and does a terrific pass. He has always been very accessible and generous with his time and knowledge. My curiosity was about what magic Houdini might have done early in his career, like the “King of Cards” years.

When I caught up with him and asked, he invited me to lunch. There is a little strip mall a couple of blocks away from the hotel. We walked over, grabbed a sandwich, and talked Houdini. (By the way, if you are a sandwich shop and you don’t have hot peppers or, better, giardiniera. What the hell are you thinking?)

The convention proper started at 2:30. I found my usual seat in back. I only ever walked out of a talk once, but I like to be close to the door in case another bad one pops up. Frankly, I have smart-ass tourette’s and if the speaker leaves me an opening, I can’t help but fill it. It is better for all involved if I sit in back.

Jeff Soltzing, the nephew of Johnny Carson and head of Carson Enterprises gave the first talk. He spoke on Johnny’s love of magic with some personal anecdotes about Carson performing. He then opened up the Carson archives to show some brief clips of magicians on the Tonight Show. There really wasn’t anything new here, especially if you are of the age that watched Carson. It is always nice to see Johnny in action. I find it a constant reminder of how good he really was and how bad most show (not only late night) hosts are. Get yourself over to youtube and watch some clips.

Burton Sperber spoke on collectable trading cards. The talk was somewhat disorganized and Burton is not a great speaker. Each one of the cards shows an effect on one side and then on the other side explains a trick that a person can do. He had some video clips of some noted magic people doing the tricks. All I can say is bad and amateurish. I sure there was a way to do this to be fun and perhaps he meant it to be, but it was just painful. I hate saying this about Burton. He is a good person. He produced a wonderful little souvenir booklet with full color images of the cards, front and back, a real high quality production. He gave them free to the attendees. What more can I say?

Chuck Jones put the life back in the room with the closing talk of the session. He spoke about his mentor, Dell O’Dell. Dell was the most successful female magician of her time and one of the most successful magicians of the time. Chuck remembered her life and punctuated it with a ton of photos. He also demonstrated some of her props. An excellent talk about a real worker by a real worker.

We all broke for dinner. I hooked up with Mark Cannon, Joe Fox and Fred Pittella. Mark spoke before me a few years ago at the conference. All three guys are into escape magic. I’m not. But as I know, you can learn a lot in just that situation. I take what I can and apply it to what I do. Anyway, it gave me a chance to pick Mark’s brain on my Houdini project. I ended up hanging with these guys most of the weekend. They were great fun.

As much as I have previous wanted to take a girlfriend to these types of events, I am glad I haven’t. It doesn’t matter how much she is into magic. I like having the freedom to hang with whomever I might be talking to at the time. I’ve made some great friends this way and had some great experiences in the process.

The evening session began at 8:00. First up was Mike Caveney. He gave a talk on the Ediophusikon. This is a late 18th Century novelty theater. Especially seeing the after seeing the inner workings, I would say it is the forerunner of the toy theaters that would become popular in the 19th Century. On the second day of the Conference, there would be a performance of a scene out of what would be a full evening performance. Then we would literally go behind the scenes to see it workings. The odd thing about the talk is that Mike, in a first for the Conference, talked down the experience.

Jim Steinmeyer took over to describe another piece well will be seeing, this time on Saturday night, Beau Brocade. This was a great “lost” vanishing lady illusion by David Devant. This is another example of Jim’s great detective work and brilliant thinking, solving the puzzle and bringing it to life.

Last, Todd Robbins was scheduled to interview sideshow showman Ward Hall. Todd, instead, ended up more like a piece of furniture; Ward needed no prompting to begin talking. Todd just pushed the button and let Ward go. He should be commended, it was Ward’s time and Todd was smart enough to stay out of the way. A lesser magician might not. Ward told stories of his life, pitched some DVDs, and performed the blade box assisted by my friend, Sue Holstein. If you want to know more about Ward, check my sideshow posts. I spent a day with him at the sideshow in 2005 and wrote a long piece on it called The Last Sideshow.

It was now off to the bar with some friends.

Los Angeles Magic Conference – Day 0

2009-11-12T15:07:00.000-06:00

The Los Angeles Conference on Magic History was held over a three-day period, November 5 through 7, 2009. This is my story of the event.

It doesn’t seem like two years. The conference is held every other year. I had to force myself start saying “last conference” because I found myself saying “last year,” repeatedly. Perhaps wishful thinking.

I flew out to LA a day early. I don’t travel much, not to anywhere, so I wanted to be a tourist. Just for a day.

My flight went out of O’Hare at 7:30 A.M., 80% full. The one trick I have learned traveling is that if you need space sit in back. This is the part of the plane that is most likely to have empty seats. It did. With the middle seat vacant, I could relax and stretch a little. Not as much a the guy in the row behind me, who was able to lay across all three seats and take a nap.

At LAX, I took the Super Shuttle to the Beverly Garland Holiday Inn. This is the regular conference hotel. I’ve written before on how much I like this hotel and my opinion hasn’t changed. In the two years since I’ve been here, they have improved.

The hotel expanded the lobby, the store, and built a wonderful patio out back. They also seem to have the friendliest staff. From the desk clerks and the door staff to the housekeepers and maintenance staff, all had a smile, hello or a good morning.

(I wish I could say the same for the attached restaurant, Tula’s. The service was slow to non-existent. They seemed overwhelmed and unprepared by the fact they had any business. The same goes for the hotel bar, Decoy.)

After a quick unpack and lunch, I snuck over to the main room where they were setting up the stage for the conference. I said hellos to those I knew, like Mike Caveney and Jim Steinmeyer. I had to ask Jim about the Magic Castle. The plan was to go to the Castle that evening but I could not remember the address for the cab. I thought I could get in because of being out at the conference.

Jim introduced me to Rob Zabrecky, who was performing that night. Rob put me on his list so I would have no problem getting in. Then when I said I was just going to take a cab over, another worker, Scott Smith offered to give me, a complete stranger, a ride. Scott, Scotto the magician, runs a contest at the Castle and physically walked me inside to ensure there would be no problems.

That Wednesday night the Castle celebrated the 100 year anniversary of the building itself. The place was packed and Vodka was the drink of the night. For the specials and for myself.

I only got to see shows in the parlor and in the palace theaters. John Lenahan performed a nice, relatively standard, stand-up comedy magic set in the parlor. I met Fernando Keops at the bar. Didn’t get to see him work, but I will say his jewelry would be the envy of Liberace.

In the Palace they were doing short, 25 minute shows with cabaret style seating. Bruce Gold hosted the show. He was affable albeit generic. Gregory Wilson, who is a fine close-up magician, did a forced set, trying to hard to gain the audience’s favor. Christopher Hart performed a solid set of tried and true material, an act he has spent 20 performing. Tina Lenert performed a silk and ring routine which had some nice ideas and moves in it. I think it may still be a work in progress and shows great promise. Rob Zabrecky performed a delightfully off-kilter act seemingly inspired by Charles Addams. And not the TV or movie Addams family but the original cartoons in the New Yorker.

One of the highlights of my stop at the Castle was the personal tour of the library by its slightly tipsy librarian, Bill Goodwin.

Actually I ended up not drinking as much as I expected, which forced me into being shanghaied into driving Tim Felix and Mark Kaschube back to the hotel. But first a stop at Jack-in-the-Box. No, I did not eat the tacos. I learned my lesson from last year, oops, last conference.

Happy Halloween

2009-10-31T00:57:00.002-05:00

Film Archive

2009-08-15T10:54:00.002-05:00

I been digging into the online archive of British Pathe. Most films date from the 20s through the 40s. Some wonderful, although slightly wooden magic performances, dastardly magic exposures, all sorts of jugglers and vaudeville performers, and some great Chicago footage can all be seen here.

http://www.britishpathe.com/results.php?search=chicago&o=20

Para Abnormal - The comic blog

2009-06-26T21:52:00.002-05:00

Just a cartoon from one of my favorite blogs, http://www.paraabnormalthecomic.com/

Go check this talented artist out for yourself.

The Navy Pier Dilemma

2009-05-26T23:34:00.002-05:00

The dilemma is not only Navy Pier’s, but also mine. I’ve put off writing this for a while, partially to let some of the feelings I had about leaving Navy Pier to dissipate. You should know I believe in Navy Pier or at least the possibility of it. The pier does have some problems. At the moment, it is at best mediocre with some good days. It could be great.

One of the problems is that Navy Pier has an identity problem. There is too little retail to be a mall. There is too little convention space to be a convention hall. There is too little entertainment to be an entertainment venue. The management at the pier doesn’t seem to want to decide what the focus should be, thus it’s individual parts add up to less that the whole. If the pier had focus, such as entertainment, the other parts would be plus extras.

One of the great fears of the management at Navy Pier is being thought of as a carnival. Remember what is at Navy Pier. There is miniature golf, a Ferris wheel, carousel, swing ride, Cirque Shanghai, fireworks, boat rides, and a beer garden. And they don’t want to be thought of as a carnival. They hire (although less and less) jugglers, magicians, contortionists, stilt walkers, and clowns. Not a carnival. They have in-house performers, who perform on stage and walk around. The theme of the in-house performers is a dated pirate motif. Not a carnival.

There are other problems besides perception. The budget for entertainment has been cut repeatedly. Money from that budget has been spent poorly. Big money is going to a sound guy to run sound on the main pavilion stage, not needed. Even before the economy took a dive, Navy Pier was in trouble. Despite what they proclaim on their website, Navy Pier has not seen 8 million people a year in many years.

The first step to a solution is to embrace the idea that Navy Pier is an entertainment venue. The entertainment brings people in the door. I know from observing the pier for the last 13 years. If we fear the carnival tag, let’s call it a festival mall.

Chicago does festivals pretty well. This is something we know.

My feeling is that the pier should foster the feeling of the Columbian Exposition or some modern equivalent. I want something wonderful around every corner. Remember, the vast majority of people that go to Navy Pier are not from Chicago. They are looking for something special, unique, and Chicago.

So how do we do this?

The pier does need a face-lift. Repainting. A change in facades. Let’s lose the generic mall feel to the place. Add some character, perhaps change the flooring in the Family pavilion to Chicago bricks like the streets used to be paved with. Change the lighting to old Chicago street lamps. Add famous street signs. There are many ways to “Chicago up” the place.

Now how do we add entertainment without breaking our budget?

First, hire real pros. Let the professionals do what they do best. One of the things Navy Pier has done is lock all the performers onto stages. I was always really against this. When the performers walked around, spontaneous shows occurred. This is a special thing for our guests. You never knew what corner you might turn and find fun. Good surprises like this create a feeling of excitement. These spontaneous rather than the structured shows create a feeling of uniqueness. When a guest sees something that seems like a once in a lifetime experience, it becomes an often told story.

I mentioned in a previous entry that when the entertainment ends the people leave. I saw that while working many nights at the shop. The pier closes at 10 P. M. weekdays and Midnight on weekends. The entertainment would spot at 7 P. M. and the sound man would pack up. The people thinking things were over, went for the exits. The few who stayed were looking for something to fill their interest. Idle crowds are trouble. The moral is when the pier is open there should be entertainment. I will give a couple of hours in the morning when entertainment isn’t needed because people are just coming in, but after that, get to entertaining.

Years ago, John Mills and Jim Ellis, of Mills productions, wanted to host a street performers festival at the pier. This, at least in Mills’ and my heads, was a perfect marriage. Quick name a world-class city…Madrid? London? New York? Miami? LA? Dublin? Any world-class city you can name has a rich cultural life including a tradition of street performers.

Chicago, a pretender to the world-class tile, does not have this tradition. Chicago’s boss mayor and big brother aldermen want to treat street performers as beggars and a public nuisance. Sad. Some of the best performers in the world are street performers. Performers such as Robin Williams and Harry Anderson have come from the streets.

Let’s fix this situation. Here's where we need "stage areas." Navy Pier can audition street performers to ensure only the best performers work. The pier can schedule times and places to perform their street shows. The better performers can get the better slots and beginners can get the lesser ones until they improve. The performers can gather the crowds and pass the hat. Navy Pier has quality control. The performers have their freedom to earn. The spectators have the illusion of spontaneity. The pier does not lay out a cent for performers. Chicago can have some great street performers and they can perform at a great venue.

This addition alone would probably solve most of the pier’s entertainment problems, at least during the summer. Winter is another story. But not yet.

Chicago has a rich theatrical life. If Navy Pier wants to lock performers to their family pavilion stage, they should reach out to the many local theater groups. These groups could perform on stage and promote themselves in the process. Again, they add additional variety and novelty to a rich entertainment fabric.

The other opportunity to reach out would be the various ethnic communities in Chicago. The pier does reach out to Polish, Chinese, and Mexican communities. The also do events for Black history month. What about our other ethnic neighbors? I imagine a series of weekends during the winter celebrating the entirety of Chicago’s ethnic diversity. Food, music, art and culture would be a learning experience as well.

Some other ideas I have are: Do an indoor winter mini Taste of Chicago. Remember the cows, during the winter have the pier grounds lined with snowmen decorated by the many local artists in Chicago. In summer, invite chalk artists to create murals along the pier promenade.

You see there are opportunities for more fun at the pier. You just have to embrace it. The pier would be more than just a festival mall.

Navy Pier would be an event mall.

Every day would be a once in a lifetime experience.

Quote Me

2009-05-12T21:20:00.002-05:00

I’ve been working on reading all of Nelson Algren’s books, most for the first time. I ran across this little golden nugget, which I would call, Advice to the young dice cheat. It is the real deal. As magicians, we tend to romanticize the world of cheats and cheating. In reality, as this piece shows, it is much more crude and cruel.

If you wanted to use phony dice, slip them to a sucker and let the sucker make the passes. Ride with him for a half dozen passes, then grab your hat and let the sucker try talking his own way out. Let the suckers take the beating. That’s what suckers were for.

--Nelson Algren, The Children, Published in the short story collection, Neon Wilderness

The 40th Annual Magic Collectors’ Weekend

2009-04-27T22:43:00.003-05:00

An Overview

The weekend unofficially starts on Wednesday with the Knights of Sleight Annual Flea Market. While attendance was down by almost half, lucky buyers got to take advantage of some incredible buys. I purchased a $100 book for $20 from Fred Zimmerman’s table. I thought I did okay sales wise until I heard stories of dealers doing up to $2000 in sales. If you didn’t make it, you missed it.

Due to my current circumstances, I did not attend the whole weekend. I will report on the Friday sessions that I did get to see. Also, some general observations on the event as a whole.

The attendance was shamefully sparse. I am continually amazed that more Chicago magicians do not support a convention in their own backyard.

We can blame the economy for some of the shortage of bodies, but not all. I heard a rumor of some boycotting by long time members. Much of this grumbling is inside political stuff that I am not involved with. Some of it is personal which I cannot even say if it is true. I will say it speaks volumes of the perception of certain people and creates a disturbing impression that my ultimately destroy this event if no addressed. I will not go into specifics here. If the right person asks me the right questions, I will answer them honestly.

Once again, the hotel is less than adequate. The bar situation being one of, and one of my, complaints. In a town of many options, why isn’t there any others?

The dealers’ room was large and spacious. Unfortunately, this magnified the lack of buyers. It was still the right choice. If attendance met expectations, the room provided all the comfort needed.

The events were held in a pavilion tent outside the hotel. Many seemed upset by this, especially on first hearing such. I was. I was wrong. I liked the tent and no apologizes such be needed. The tent was an improvement over the banquet room. Perhaps it was the vaulted ceiling or the intimacy, but I liked the “feel” of it. The one drawback I did not experience, but I heard that when it rained, the rat-a-tat drowned out the speakers.

The Guest of Honor

Last year, many thought that Harry Anderson was the wrong choice for the guest of honor. He really has little if anything to do with collecting or the history of magic. This year, the guest was Johnny Thompson. Again, there were grumblings. They hold less water this time. I agree Johnny has little to do with collecting. However, this weekend is not just about props. It is about the stories those props engender. Johnny is living history, a prop creator and a link to some of the great magicians of the past. Something we are rapidly losing. He deserves to be honored.

The Friday Morning Sessions

As I mentioned last year, the sessions started too early. Not this year, the 11 A. M. start time worked. Plenty of time to recover from a late night and fuel up for the day.

Jim Alfredson started the day. He is the president for life of the Collectors’ Association. I like that. As a side note, I like this man immensely. At my first LA conference I really didn’t know anyone, Jim befriended me and made me feel welcome in a place I wasn’t sure I belonged. Whenever I see him, I try to give him the respect a man of his character deserves.

His talk was on the infancy of the Magic Collectors’ Weekend in the back room of Magic, Inc. It was an interesting reminiscence with pictures. He spoke of the tight quarters and informal nature of the event. It was a bit of show and tell. Something the modern weekend could use, a sense of community.

It was a time of our history being an oral tradition, perhaps the end of it. The stories told there became the foundations of Ricky Jay’s and Jim Steinmeyer’s books. Where else could you talk to a man-Dorny-who attended Houdini’s wake and could describe the condition of the corpse-overly made up to the point of clownishness.

There were “bedroom” dealers at the hotels with “milk house” room heaters on Lincoln Ave. where, back and forth from Magic, Inc., most of the magicians dodged the “working” girls that walked that street. That neighborhood has changed since then.

After Jim, came Tad Ware, who did a talk on the magician Nicola. He touched any many points in Nicola’s life, a few that stick out are:

Nicola, faced with being unable to use a particular theater during his tour, in five days had a 2000 seat pavilion built. He sold out the run. He excellent reviews and many of his performance in the states were standing room only also.

He repeatedly used Houdini’s publicity ploy of using large public escapes to promote his shows. Including at least once doing an upside down straitjacket escape from a balloon.

The talk ended with the dramatic story of Nicola and his staff being shipwrecked in the port of Shanghai. Two of his assistants were refused a lifeboat. They ended up helping to save many of the steerage passengers. They also took photos until the last minute when the finally jumped from the sinking ship. They survived, as did the amazing photos.

Lunch

One of the best things about the Weekend is spending time with friends. Gordon Meyer and David Solomon invited me to lunch. We went to Ted’s Montana Grill. Delicious. And some good talk also.

The Afternoon Sessions

The first speaker scheduled did not speak. If he is the cancellation I heard about, there was plenty of time to replace him. Apparently, the effort was not made.

Phil Schwartz started the session with a talk about the magic dealer Thayer at war. Spanning from the Spanish-American war to World War 2, he covered not only Thayer’s personal involvement but also anyone associated with the business. He spoke of prices increasing due to material shortages; the efforts of Thayer to sell war bonds; and the erasure of the once religious swastika image from the tricks now that it was a symbol of evil.

Kirsten Voris followed with a talk on Gene Dennis, the girl who knows. Many will remember Gene from the David Abbott book published by The Miracle Factory. She was one of the many popular psychics of the times. Perhaps one of the most famous. She caused a panic in California with one of her, ultimately false, predictions. She gruesomely solved a crime that was never committed. Gene tried to stick to stage entertainments, but the lure of money caused her to be busted for breaking the fortune telling statute in New York.

Gene may be a very early media whore. She made product endorsements. She allowed the press to follow her everywhere. She often showed up at police stations, with press in tow, to give her uninvited advice of cases. In her case, the medium was the message as she wrote a newspaper advice column, did radio shows, and published her own magazine. She was Oprah before Oprah. Mixing dubious advice with mystical nonsense.

Kirsten’s talk was good and interesting. She is an excellent writer. I have no doubts her book on Gene Dennis will be excellent. She does need to work on her speaking skills because she just read her script and never engaged or connected with the audience.

There was to be a presentation of films from the Nicola collection, but technical difficulties prevented this and we were left with about 4 hours for dinner.

Dinner

So full from lunch, I hung out in the dealers’ room where I spent $130 on a couple of broadsides that the estimable Robert Olsen was selling. On John Greget's table was a Disecto painted with a bright sky and puffy clouds. What the hell? Gordon guested correctly that it was painted in tribute to Doug Henning. Just exactly how do you present the dangerous arm chopping Disecto when it is painted sky blue with clouds?

I then headed to the bar where I got to hang with a few friends, Gordon, Brad, David, David, Dan, P. T., Ross, and Boz. It was also nice to see Frances Mai-ling and family. It was a great time, especially with Boz, one of my crazy uncles. Boz is an endlessly fascinating gentleman who is a terrific storyteller. He is a close friend of 46 years with Johnny Thompson. While he waited for Johnny, he got to talk diving with David and magic with Brad. I am glad I made the introduction. I think they are also.

The Evening Sessions

David Ben started the session with a collection of films from the collection of Sid Lorraine. The films were interesting to watch. They covered the years from the 30s to the 50s. David asked the audience to yell out magicians they recognized but few were forth coming. It would have been better for him to narrate. Some of the magic notables mugging for the camera were Percy Abbott, Mel Stover, T. Nelson Downs, Joe Ovette, Harlan Tarbell, John Ramsey, Bill Neff, Ted Anneman, and Edgar Bergen.

David then took the role of interview and sat down Johnny Thompson for a talk. I hope Jamy Ian Swiss will cover much of this in the new book on Johnny.

In no particular order just like the interview:
At 16, Johnny became a member of the Harmonicats.
He did his Vernon impression as Vernon insulted a bad act at the Magic Castle.
His acting teacher was Uta Hagen.
He was Frank Everhart’s fill in at the Ivanhoe and had to out Tullock Eddie Tullock at a trade show. Marshall Brodien faked a broken arm to get him into trade shows.
Of all the things doing bar magic in Chicago taught him, it was stamina that was most important.
Penn and Teller are the most fun and most challenging to work with. He spoke briefly of his work at Riverview Amusement Park and the 80s boob movie Lunch Wagon.

Final Thoughts

There are continually things missing at this convention. The Old and Seldom seen session was not restored. There was no museum type display ala the LA conference. The show was not relevant to the theme of the weekend.

There was a huge break midday, which should have been partially eaten up by presentations. Instead the preview the Jay Marshall auction which does not belong as part of the convention schedule, took attention. I hope the Magic Collectors’ Association is being reimbursed for the time spent on the auction. The attendees should not be paying to have that as part of their schedule.

This was to the 40th anniversary. There was only one talk on the MCA. Not much of an anniversary party. I hope there is more thought put to the 50th. The Weekend will have to survive until then.

Ultimately, if the Weekend is to survive, serious changes will need to be made. An improvement in the economy will not save this event.

I do look forward to the Weekend every year. I enjoy the talks. I do love that this weekend brings me near some friends I don’t normally see. Being able to send time with Mark and Sue was the best part of the whole weekend. Meeting Gale and Carol was a treat. I’m a lucky guy.

Save Our History

2009-04-23T18:41:00.002-05:00

I received this note from a friend of mine. If you go to the comments page on the blog listed below there are two links for the petitions. Please Help.

Dear Fellow Comedy Fan,

There is an urgent movement afoot to save the historic Marx Brothers house from scheduled demolition. (Plus a baby companion movement, to rename the block it is on.) http://savemarxbrothersplace.wordpress.com/ Please consider "signing" these two petitions, both of which will soon be sent to the very mayor of New York City himself.And thank you so much for taking the time to read this.

Hoping you will forgive my one-time dabbling in world affairs, Emo

No explanation needed

2009-03-25T21:20:00.005-05:00

I think I'll add this to my next feather flower routine. You can find more videos of these talented artists on YouTube.

Chicago's Lost Magic Theater

2009-02-22T17:56:00.004-06:00

In 1894, the Steinway Piano company commissioned Dwight Perkins to build a new building in Chicago at 17 Van Buren Street. Finished in 1896 the Chicago Musical College building, a 12-story high-rise, housed the 850-seat Steinway Hall and various offices. It was in financial trouble from the start. The theater suffered from poor acoustics and supports for the balcony blocked views on the main floor.

By 1899, the situation worsened. Alexander Comstock came to save the Steinway Theater. He had managed Niblo’s Garden in New York and had wide experience in theatrical affairs. The task was great. The financial trouble deep.

A late summer heat wave cooked Chicago that early September. Thermometers reading near 100 did not stop huge crowds from attending Buffalo Bill Cody’s Wild West Show. The Dreyfus Affair trial, gripping news from a half a world away, filled the front pages of the newspapers. It was the latest of the “trials of the century” to be debated in the homes and barrooms across Chicago.

In this Chicago, Comstock announced the reopening of Steinway Hall as a Temple of Magic. He based his hope on the some 40 years of success of London’s Egyptian Hall and the “experiment” in Philadelphia, Kellar’s Egyptian Hall in 1891.

“Magic,” said Mr. Comstock, “is the most ancient form of amusement and that it is still immensely popular is proved by the financial success of every modern wizard of cleverness and ability. Professor Herrmann, although an extravagant man, left a large estate and fully a dozen prestidigitators living in this country are wealthy.”

Comstock chose Edward Maro to open the new Temple. Billed as Maro the Versatile, he performed an act of magic, music, and art. He was a star in the Lyceum and Chautauqua circuits. At this time of his career, he was considered the heir apparent to the magic legacy of his friend Harry Kellar. Now, he was to perform a month in a Temple of Magic.

Chicago Tribune, September 3, 1899

Chicago Tribune, September 3, 1899

Opening of the Steinway
The Steinway had a happy opening last night as a “Temple of Magic,” a phrasing which hereafter is to be part of its title. An audience of respectable proportions was kept in good humor for over two hours by Maro, an entertainer of versatile talents. He divided his performance into three parts, appearing first as a magician, in the second as a musician and an artist, and in the third as a magician again. His tricks were not all novel, but they were cleverly done, and some of them apparently were of his own invention. His card tricks in particular seemed to cast in an original mold. In concluding his first part, he employed the “Chest of Mahatma,” a brass-studded affair which did not have a remarkable look. However, it served as a medium of transposing a Negro boy, whom the audience saw locked inside, and a Negro girl, whom the magician perched upon the closed lid. A whisk of a cloth disclosed the boy to view, and when the chest was opened, the girl was inside. In the second part of the program, Maro played upon several peculiar instruments and afterward posed as a lightning artist, drawing pictures in quick succession upon a canvas surface. Maro is to stay at the Temple of Magic for a month. Performances will be given nightly, with Wednesday and Saturday matinees.

Advertising for Maro’s performances lasted only a week. If he performed the full month, the newspapers ignored it. There is no other article on a Temple of Magic or other magicians performing there. On January 4 of 1900, the Tribune announces the sale of Steinway Hall, ending the magic theater experiment.

History would see Steinway Hall become more famous for the occupants of its top two floors. Frank Lloyd Wright joined a group of inventive architects, including the builder of Steinway Hall, Dwight Perkins. There they created the center of Chicago progressive architecture and formed the beginnings of Wright’s Prairie School movement.

The magic gone and forgotten, the theater itself languished. In an effort to change its luck, it was named and renamed of the years, first as the Kelly and Leon Opera House, then the Whitney Opera house. Around 1910, it became the Central. In subsequent years it was known as Bryant’s Central, Barrett’s Central and then was leased to the Shubert family and as, Shubert’s Central hosted light opera and musicals into the 1920s. Stars such as Sophie Tucker and stars-to-be like the young comic, Roscoe Arbuckle appeared on the stage. Early in the 1930s, it became Punch and Judy, a movie house and renamed, again, 1935 as the Sonotone. Five years later, another makeover (reducing seating to 300) and renamed the Ziegfield. Last, it became the Capri Cinema and lived its final days as a porn theater.

On April 5, 1970, a Tribune reporter wrote an obituary for the Capri Theater as wrecking balls demolished the structure. He remembered its theatrical past, never mentioning its brief magical history. He did write that, “Few, if any, will mourn it.”

I do, although much too late.

A brief note on addresses in Chicago: The Tribune, within a matter of months gives two different addresses for Steinway Hall, 17 Van Buren Street and 19 to 23 Van Buren Street. These addresses were changed early in the new century (after 1900) when Chicago adopted a more sensible numbering system. The ads for the theater put the address on Van Buren Street near Michigan. Contemporary sources, such as the Tribune article from 1970, report the modern address to be 64 East Van Buren Street.

Sources for this article include Articles from the Chicago Tribune Historical Archive and Magic Magazine (August 1997 Maro Article).

Mess-terpiece Theater Quote Me

2009-02-17T11:49:00.001-06:00

Edwin Booth, son of the previously mentioned Junius Brutus and brother to the reviled John Wilkes, is considered by some historians to be American’s greater theater actor. Edwin help usher in a new era of naturalistic acting as a reaction to his father’s more histrionic style. Mostly he performed in the works of Shakespeare, as the most literate works of the time.

The writer George Plimpton, in an interview, told a story in which he believed Edwin uttered the greatest ad-lib in theater history.

It seems that the play required Edwin to be shot from behind. Except, his costar could not get the prop gun to fire. After an agonizing minute or two, the anonymous actor strode forward and kicked Edwin in the ass. To which Edwin replied, “My God, the shoe is poisoned!” and he fell dead.

Performance Trouble?

2009-02-05T00:28:00.000-06:00

Wally Cox, comedian and character actor, was most famous for his role on television as Mr. Peepers. He was also the roommate of Marlon Brando in acting school. His career as a stand-up comedian is less noted.

One night he is working the Dunes in Las Vegas. He bombs. Not just a little bomb, a big bomb, the biggest of all stinkerooneys. The bomb is so bad that the Dunes management arranges to have Wally carried out on a stretcher, so they can cancel the remaining engagement due to illness.

True story.

Quote Me

2009-01-28T22:19:00.002-06:00

"There's no money in poetry, but then

there's no poetry in money either."

--Robert Graves

January Magic Magazine Malini Article

2008-12-26T23:17:00.003-06:00

Well I wrote a short article on my search for Max Malini's grave on spec. for Magic Magazine. It appears in the January issue. (I just got mine on 12/26) Stan and his crew did a wonderful job of laying it out and making it beautiful. I tried write it in a more literary style that the usual journalism style of the magazines. Also, much different than I wrote here on this blog. I am very happy how it turned out. I hope you all take a peek at it and let me know if you like it. More importantly let Stan know you like it and I'll be able to write more.

An End

2008-12-23T00:22:00.003-06:00

I was going to wait until after Christmas to post this, but I thought I'd better get the ball rolling.

Maybe I’ve just reached that age. It occurred to me that if I were to take someone to the places that once mattered to me, all I’d be able to show of my youth would be the buildings that replaced it. I started to feel it every time I added places to Gordon Meyer’s Map of Chicago Magic. Most entries start with the word former, as “the former location of…”

“Progress.” That’s what a friend of mine said, but Progress implies movement forward. And, yes, we do move forward and, yes, we do leave things behind. In this case, it is not for something better, like moving from childish things to adult things. Arguably an improvement, a plus. This is a movement forward with less.

Izzy Rizzy’s House of Tricks, for 10 years my first workplace, full of happy memories, moved and is not what it once was and maybe not long for this world. Bishop’s magic shop, my hangout, gone, as are Bit O’ Magic, Houdini’s pub, Schulien’s restaurant.

These places taught and trained me in work and magic. They gave me a social network. In them, I found friends and laughter lasting a lifetime. There seems to be very little place for that now.

I have begun to realize I don’t like change. It is the reason I don’t travel much. I don’t live in the past. Well, I do sort of revel in it. In my love of research and history, I open up a vein of nostalgia. I know times have changed. But, I still long to open up a magic bar, where something fun is going on all the time and people want to congregate at. There has to be a place in this city for this. I find it disturbing that I know some big names in restaurants and entertainment venues in Chicago, men who are into seriously into magic, but do nothing to promote it.

This has especially hit home because as of January 5, I am losing my job. After thirteen years of being in Chicago, Magic Masters is being forced to close its doors at Navy Pier. The Pier, in its wisdom, thinks since patronage is way down changing a few stores will make it all new again.

Admittedly, our business has been down, way down. Every other business is experiencing the same thing, despite what the management of Navy Pier says. Changing the stores is hardly a way to bring the numbers up. Navy Pier is an entertainment center, yet they repeatedly cut the entertainment budget. Smart move.

When there is entertainment or an event, the pier is busy and sales are good. When there is nothing going on, as there often isn’t, sales are bad. Entertainment that used to keep people in the mall until 9 or 10 at night now ends at 6 or 7. When they pack up, so do the patrons.

People don’t go to Navy Pier for the Sunglass Hut or the t-shirt store. People go to Navy Pier for the businesses that give an experience, the IMAX, the Children’s Museum, Build a Bear, and Magic Masters. They come for events like Tall Ships and Winter Wonderland.

I have had the experience, more often than I would like to admit, of people coming into the store to tell me I sold them their first magic trick. I usually, jokingly, apologize, knowing the road to ruin it can be. I meet many people who just come to the pier to see us. Even with the poor business, Magic Masters was trying to build a 50 seat magic theater at the pier, only to have the pier stonewall us the whole time. We would have only increased our drawing power.

So, come January I will be looking for work. I’d like to find something in the magic world. Whether it be a shop or a performing venue or consulting with a performer. A writing job wouldn’t be bad. I’ve neglected my show work and there I would have to start from scratch. Finding the right restaurant, that is willing to make a commitment to magic, would be a dream. But I am open to other possibilities, even moving, maybe as I put the word out someone reading this will have an opportunity just waiting. I am thinking of trying to open a pitch cart at the Pier for just the summer. After 20+ years of working in magic shops, I have a long list of ideas for stores and store/entertainment venues. All I need is a partner willing to make the financial investment to give it a chance.

In the end the patrons of the pier lose out the most. Another fun experience is lost. Another piece of mismanagement by the pier, one of many I’ve seen through the years.

I plan to write more on the pier and what it can do to bring people in the doors. In the meantime, I am mounting a grass roots campaign to let Navy Pier management know what a mistake they made and, perhaps, ease my way back this summer. If you too will miss Magic Masters, please write Navy Pier. Address your letter to Bridget O'Connell Koconis or Marilynn Gardner

Navy Pier
600 East Grand Avenue
Chicago, IL 60611
navypierinfo@mpea.com

Christmas 2007

2008-12-18T12:15:00.005-06:00

For those of you who don't get my Christmas Cards, I publish a version a year later on this blog.

Here is last year's card. If you can't figure out the code, go to the December archives from 2007 where I put the solution. Except I did fix the typo from the card I sent out.

Merry Christmas and Happy New Year

Chicago's First Magic Show

2008-12-04T16:02:00.004-06:00

Winter forgot February. Throughout January, it raged. Unabated winds, dense snows, and bottomless cold all but stilled Chicago. In February, the rains came, swelling the river to an unusual volume and force. Chicagoans mostly entertained themselves in these bleak days. Nelson P. Perry, “a man of color,” spend a few weeks in town and was “at all times ready to furnish music.” The Chicago Democrat printed the news of the week.

Not yet a city and barely a town, Chicago needed a respite from the business of survival. It came in the form of a Mr. Bowers. He declared that he was a Professeurs de Tours Amusant. The fancy pigeon French aside, he was one of the early itinerant performers to visit the edge of the new Grand Prairie that the city opened up. He made our history by being the first professional performer to charge admission to exhibit in Chicago.

The 13th issue of the Chicago Democrat, February 18, 1834.

“Joy hath its limits. We but borrow one hour of mirth from months of sorrow.”
The ladies and gentlemen of Chicago are most respectfully informed that Mr. Bowers, Professeurs de Tours Amusant, has arrived in town and will give an exhibition at the house of Mr. D. Graves on Monday evening next.

PART FIRST
Mr. Bowers will fully personate Monsieur Chaubert, the celebrated Fire King, who so astonished the people of Europe, and go through his wonderful Chemical Performance. He will draw a red-hot iron across his tongue, hands, etc. and will partake of a comfortable warm supper by eating fire-balls, burning sealing wax, live coals of fire and melted lead. He will dip his fingers in melted lead, and make use of a red-hot iron to convey the same to his mouth.

PART SECOND
Mr. Bowers will introduce many amusing feats of Ventriloquism and Legerdemain, many of which are original and too numerous to mention. Admittance 50 cents, children half price. Performance to commence at early candle light. Seats will be reserved for ladies, and every attention paid to the comfort and convenience of the spectators. Tickets to be had at the bar.

Mr. D. Graves is Dexter Graves, one of Chicago’s founders. In 1833, He built an inn, Mansion House, on the north side of Lake Street near Dearborn. Many sources list this as block 18, but examining early Chicago maps show block 17 is near Dearborn.

Other than this advertisement, nothing is known of Mr. Bowers. I expect as more and more early newspapers are added to digital files we will learn addition information. We can we learn some from his ad.

It was not unusual to trade on the name of a more famous performer. At least, he gives credit. Chaubert had a disastrous tour of America and returned to Europe where he made his fame. Most of his, and Mr. Bowers’, stunts were common among the class of performers known as fire-eaters. While Mr. Bowers recreates the fire portion of Chaubert’s show, he leaves out the part where Chaubert ingested various poisons to no effect.

The probably didn’t use a ventriloquist dummy when he performed, most performers of this age didn’t. He may have used some simple hand puppets. Many performers had voices emanate from common household items. A saltshaker, a plate, a fork, each with its own voice and tale to tell. Perhaps he had a bottle of whiskey give a humorous discourse on temperance.

The magic at the time is also predictable. Tricks with eggs, such as a version of the egg bag, was common to performers. Card effects and coin effects, vanishes and productions, and the Cups and Balls filled out the repertoire of the traveling performer.

Mr. Bowers must have been a hit because immediately he, or more likely Mr. Graves, advertised a second day’s performance, on Wednesday February 24.

Further Reading
About Chaubert and other incombustible performers, Ricky Jay’s Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women
For information on early Ventriloquism, Stanley Burns, Other Voices
Most of my conjecture on early magic comes from the writings of Ricky Jay and Milbourne Christopher, Illustrated History of Magic.
The original ads came to my attention in A. T. Andreas, History of Chicago.
The Chicago Public Library has microfilm archives of the Chicago Democrat where I obtained copies of the original ads.

Death and the Magician 4

2008-11-24T06:46:00.004-06:00

Edward Maro born Walter Truman Best, September 9, 1869, died February 26, 1908 at age 39. He was a magician, musician, and artist.

I first learned about Maro’s grave in Mike Caveney’s Kellar book. He cites an article from a St Charles, Illinois newspaper that Edward Maro was to be buried in that same town. I am treading on worn ground. My friend and fellow historian, Chuck Romano stepped here long before me. I still want to see for myself.

The day is bright. That is good. It is the first day of the season where the high temperature will not reach freezing. The sun keeps most of the chill back, only the occasional breeze nips at my cheeks and ears. Maro is buried in a small slab of land named North Cemetery, ostensibly named because it is on the north side of St. Charles on route 25. Across the street is the larger Union Cemetery, both plots of land commemorate the sacrifices of the local boys who died in the Civil War.

It is easy to find Maro’s grave. Upon his death, he arranged to have a 5 ½-ton boulder shipped from his home in Michigan to mark the plot. I knew for Chuck’s previous Maro article that either through time or neglect, the boulder fell down. It is a landmark that cannot be missed.

The, now prone, stone hides a brass plaque proclaiming the greatness of Maro’s forgotten fame. There are three other stones, reminiscent of over sized river rocks and each bearing a name. Edward Maro rests in the center, Addie Best, who may be Maro’s mother, sits to his right and Allie Maro takes her place on his left. Their naturalistic, rustic motif is a counterpoint to the standard monuments that surround them.

Note: Visible on the Maro monument is a plaque which seems inexplicably unrelated to Maro and may be markers for the people buried on the opposite side of the stone. In 1993 Chuck Romano wrote an article for the Linking Ring detailing the life of Maro and his discovery of the grave site. In 1997, Mike Caveney wrote a short bio of Maro that appeared in Magic Magazine.

in the headlines

2008-11-11T11:29:00.003-06:00

Saw this headline on Yahoo this morning:

Web site: Spears' youngest son out of the hospital

NEW YORK – Britney Spears' youngest son has been released from the hospital after being treated for some kind of reaction.

I'm thinking it was something like this, "Holy shit, these are my parents?"

Death and the Magician 3

2008-11-01T21:34:00.005-05:00

My friend Jeff Korst turned me on to this interesting article on Houdini's grave. Originally from the New York Times.

Houdini’s Final Trick, a Tidy Grave

By Corey Kilgannon

I’ve long been fascinated by, and even somewhat drawn to, the grave of Harry Houdini, in the run-down Machpelah Cemetery, just off the Jackie Robinson Parkway in Ridgewood, Queens.

I stop by to check on the grave whenever I’m in the area with some spare time. The grave lies directly inside the gates, next to a daunting, abandoned building that was once the cemetery office. I’ve never found the gates locked, even though the cemetery always seemed utterly deserted and forgotten. The dilapidated building has open doors and windows and the inside is ransacked and dark and spooky, with old cemetery records scattered around.

Many of the grave sites are overgrown, and many headstones are in disrepair or toppled or covered in ivy. Houdini’s grave was always in decent shape, as if someone came and landscaped it occasionally and left various mementos on the gravestone: decks of cards, rocks, coins, keys, a witch’s broom, and other objects.

This week, there was a crude broom on the gravestone, a few rain-spattered playing cards, some keys and coins and stones.

Turns out, someone does come and shape up the grave once in a while. The New York chapter of the Society of American Magicians has a Houdini Gravesite Committee, and a Brooklyn man named George Schindler is the committee chairman. He said that the bust of Houdini that once adorned the grave site was often vandalized and is now kept in storage by the committee, whose members bring landscaping tools to the cemetery and tidy up the grave site several times a year.

“Houdini paid for perpetual care, but there’s nobody at the cemetery to provide it,” he said, adding that the operator of the cemetery, David Jacobson, “sends us a bill for upkeep every year but we never pay it because he never provides any care.”

Mr. Schindler said that the group used to conduct a ceremony every Halloween at the site — Houdini died on Halloween in 1926 — but now holds it in November, when Houdini’s death date appears on the Jewish calendar.

“The crowds were just getting too big — we had to start having a police escort — so we changed the date,” he said. “Since Houdini died on Halloween, the grave site became too attractive to vandals and people who wanted to party there.” Now the site is watched closely by the police on Halloween, he said.

An official at a nearby cemetery provided a phone number for Mr. Jacobson, who sounded annoyed when he answered the phone on Wednesday to be asked by another reporter calling near Halloween about the Houdini grave site.

After haggling a bit about the condition of the cemetery (“What makes you think it’s in disrepair?”), he hung up the phone. I called back and he hung up again, for good measure.

Happy Hell-O-Ween

2008-10-31T14:13:00.003-05:00

A Night with the Jersey Devil

By Bruce Springsteen, Robert Jones, and Gene Vincent

(Download the song free from his website)

Hear me now!

I was born 13th child, 'neath the 13th moon

Spit out hungry and born anew

Daddy drag me to the river tie me in rocks

Throw me in where it's deep and wide

I go down, I don't die

Hole in the river bottom, I crawl through

Come back kill six brothers and sisters, kill papa too

Sway down Mama, sway down low

They gonna know me wherever I go

Into my bed with her kerosene my mama creep

Set my flesh to burning, whilst I sleep

I burn, burn, burn, till my soul burn black

Black rains fall, I come back, I come back

Get down Mama, get down low

They gonna know me wherever I go

16 witches, cast 16 spells

Make me guitar outta skin and human skull

Sing you a song like the wind in the sandy loam

Bring you baby out'cha your happy home

Ram's head, forked tail, clove hoof, love's my trail

I sup on your body, sip on your blood like wine

Out world theirs, this world mine

So kiss me baby till it hurts

God lost in heaven, we lost on earth

Sway down Mama, sway down low

They gonna know me wherever I go

Wherever I go, wherever I go

Well I got a brand new lover

I love her yes I do,

She's my one and only and her name is Baby Blue...

Happy Hallowe'en

2008-10-30T21:31:00.001-05:00

Death and the Magician 2

2008-09-28T22:36:00.008-05:00

The Unexpected Grave of Max Malini

Mostly in my research, an article will provide a small piece of a life’s puzzle. Rarely does an article become the puzzle as this one did, Chicago Tribune, dated July 25, 1943:

It was a surprise. Malini is buried in Forest Park, Illinois. Why? I never really gave the burial place of Malini a thought before. With all his far-flung adventures, he should be buried in some exotic land, somewhere else at least, not here.

Most of what I know of Max comes from the Ricky Jay’s book, Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women. Max Malini was born Max Katz in a small town on the Polish-Austrian border in 1873. Early in his childhood, his family immigrated to America where he grew up in the New York Bowery. Max began his apprenticeship in magic with Professor Seiden at the age of twelve.

Max’s general story is widely known. He was a man of tiny stature and enormous confidence. His legend grew from his remarkable sleight of hand skills, his finely tuned misdirection, and his unmitigated gall. He was the envy of his magical peers due to his ability to gain the patronage of the rich, renowned, and royal.

Max actually died October 3, 1942 after a long illness. Now, in 2008, I am driving east down the Eisenhower expressway to Des Plaines Ave to find his grave. The cemetery office is reserved, decorated at least a couple of decades ago. The only change in the decades is the addition of computerization. With a few key strokes, the first surprise comes; there are two listings for Malini. The first is Lizzie Malini, interred 1921. The second, Max Malini, interred 1943.

Who is Lizzie Malini? It will take me a little time to discover that secret.

Meanwhile I am on my way to Malini’s grave. The roads in the cemetery are so narrow that one car cannot pass another. My first impression is that while the lawns are neatly manicured, the marker stones are closely cluttered and haphazardly strewn about. I wander. Many of the stones are in Hebrew, which sets me to worrying that I might not be able to read Malini’s stone.

Worse happens. I can’t find the stone. The stones on the end of the row should be numbered. They are not. I guess. I walk the whole section, each row, up and down. Even the grounds keeper takes a break from tending to a newly occupied hole to help me. He is also at a loss.

Near where the stones for Lizze Malini and Max Malini should be, is a stone for Lizzie Katz. As we know already, Katz was Max’s real last name. Lizzie cannot be that common of a name. Is Lizzie Katz really Lizzie Malini and how are they related?

The original ledgers show a Lizzie Katz, Max Malini, and Lizzie Malini. The names of Max and Lizzie Malini are followed by question marks. They people at the office cannot explain it.

Ricky Jay, my source for many things historical, does not know. I am off to do an online search of the Tribune to find an answer, hopefully.

The answer comes from an obituary dated February 28, 1921.

Lizzie Malini is Max’s first wife. Lizzie Malini is also Lizzie Katz. I am not sure why she is buried as Lizzie Katz, but I am sure she is. The dates from the obituary and the gravestone match. It cannot be a coincidence.

With a little more searching, the issue becomes clear. During the early 1920s, Max Malini and his wife Lizzie lived in the Congress Hotel in Chicago. There are several ads of Max performing in the Florentine Room of the Congress Hotel. In February of 1921, Lizzie died and was buried as Lizzie Katz . Twenty-two years later, in Forest Park, Illinois, Max is buried along side her in an unmarked grave, gate 47, lot 137, section D, row 11, grave 6.

Max, a magician to the end, leaves us with one last mystery.

Why is it that a man who would never accept anonymity in life, chose it in death?

The Blackstone Name Game

2008-09-22T20:52:00.001-05:00

Harry Boughton became Harry Bouton who became, through some discount posters, Fredrick the Great. By the time 1918 opened, he made one last name change, Harry Blackstone. For him it meant success, for me―trouble. A few posts ago I published a brief essay on the role of Chicago in the history of magic and one sentence caused much fury:

Harry Bouton was a struggling unknown until he borrowed the name of a south-loop hotel and became famous as Harry Blackstone.

I decided that I should reveal a bit of the writer and historian’s process, the process I went through before I wrote those words.

The People

Harry Blackstone was an artist at flinging the bull, though for Harry it was quite charming. The whole family seems to have the bullshitter gene. This is something beyond any argument. Yet, we must give Harry’s words weight. It is his story and there must be a germ of truth in it. Speaking for myself, who at one time has needed to lie about current and past activities, I understand it is easier to lie when you keep it closer to the truth.

Inez Nourse became the first Mrs. Blackstone and was there when the name changed. She figures prominently in one of the stories.

Harry’s biographer Dan Waldron, Dan wrote a Blackstone biography and examined the differing stories. He gave the most weight to Inez’s story.

Pete Bouton, Harry’s brother, confirmed one story and stars in another version of the story.

Harry Jr. and Gay Blackstone most likely never knew the real story and just repeated the various stories of Harry Sr.

The Story: The name Blackstone came from the Blackstone Hotel. The Hotel was built on the former site of the Blackstone Mansion. The Chicago Tribune lamented the loss of another city landmark, but the hotel that went up in its place was a grand one indeed. Finished in 1910, it was an important addition to the city. Harry said he was walking the streets looking for a new name when he saw the hotel sign.
The Case: Harry, born and raised in Chicago, certainly knew of the Blackstone legacy in the city. He told this story more often than any other story. It made the mainstream press, of which I base much of my extensive research, more than any other story. Milbourne Christopher felt it was the most probable of Harry’s stories. There is one serious problem, the name change happened in Ohio, a long way from the Blackstone sign. Let us be honest here, if you say this story is not true and Harry just repeated it for good publicity, you are calling Harry a liar. For me, the virtue of it being Harry’s story, even with the hint of lie, the hotel inspiration must carry some truth.

The Story: The name Blackstone came from Blackstone cigars. Blackstone cigars were a common cigar brand early in the 1900s. I could find little else written on the history, except that their production moved from one city to another in 1919. The cigars were prevalent enough to that he should know them. Inez said they were walking down a street, trying to figure a new name when she suggested Blackstone after seeing it on a sign. She gave Harry the name.
The Case: Inez Blackstone (nee Nourse) says this is the real name change story. It certainly can be true. There is very little to refute the story. At times, Harry said the cigars were an inspiration, of course, omitting Inez’s part. To play devil’s advocate, did she insert herself in the story to add to her self-importance? Alternatively, did she carry on Harry’s tradition of obfuscation?
Pete, his brother, told the cigar inspiration story. One wag on the Magic Café uses him as a confirming source, but in the same post admits Pete cannot be trusted. The only thing, apparently, he can be trusted on is that the hotel story is not true. Sorry, you cannot have it both ways. I have also heard the story with Pete, instead of Inez, suggesting the name after the cigar. (This may also be storyteller embellishment.) Yet, we still have to give the cigar inspiration weight in the truth derby. If you notice, it is similar to the hotel story: walking down the street, seeing a sign, only the inspiration changes.

The Story: Blackstone was his grandmother’s maiden name.
The Case: False. Blackstone said it, but family and census data proved it a lie.

The Story: He overheard Blackstone by chance on an elevator.
The Case: There is just no way to prove or disprove this yarn and in Dan Waldron’s words “vague and unlikely.”

The Story: He wanted to change his name to Herr Bismarck, but because of the WWI anti-German bias, his lawyer then suggested Blackstone.
The Case: I want to look at this story two ways, first on the surface. Look at the timeline. It was 1918; America one year into the Great War and Harry couldn’t sell tickets as the German sounding Fredrick and was looking for a non-German name for the act. Harry would have to be the single dumbest man in America to want to change his name to Bismarck. Second, a little deeper, there is another similar story that Harry’s agent suggested the name Blackstone. I bet that the memory of the story changed and that over the years, Fredrick morphed into Bismarck and agent morphed into lawyer. Nevertheless, Inez refutes this story. She said Harry did not have an agent. If we believe her cigar story, then this story is false. If we want to believe this story, we shift the responsibility. We don’t answer the question, cigar or hotel.

We have a problem. Each story seems to have elements of truth; if we believe one part, it disproves another. We still end with two credible options: Blackstone Hotel, Blackstone Cigars.

Fifty-Fifty

A Coin Flip

I would like to try on another story, one of pure fantasy. I have had to create names for performers, shows, tricks, and stories. When I am stuck, I brainstorm. I search the dictionary, the thesaurus, read magazines, skim books, and make lists of words to juggle. It is a mundane process, but true to life. Dan Waldron would have us believe for Harry any name would do. We are lucky Harry didn’t walk past a dime store; we would be talking about Harry Woolworth Sr. now. No, I think Harry tried on many names in his search. He may have been walking the streets to do so. Somebody may have suggested the name Blackstone, from the cigars. Were Blackstone cigars a status symbol? The hotel was. Even if the cigar was suggested, it is naive to believe that Harry did not connect the name to the hotel and all its implications. Elegant, high class, regal, that’s the Blackstone Hotel of 1918. That’s Blackstone. It is not the sound bite of publicity, but it does ring of truth. The strange answer is that both, the cigar and the hotel could have played a role in the name change. As I said this is a fantasy and no one has ever said such a thing.

We are back to two choices: the cigar and the hotel.

Author Dan Waldron admits the real story is lost, forever. There is no way to discern the truth. The important thing is that Blackstone is. Ultimately, Dan is right when he says it “doesn’t matter...one account is as good as the next.” He chose to go with Inez. (Dan may have other reasons. If her story is not true then he cannot rely on the other facts of her life with Harry. His book falls apart.) It is Dan's right to go with Inez and I admire that he at least had a point of view.

“One account is as good as the next.” History is not nearly as clear cut as most of wish it to be. We deal with a human element that is fault ridden. Often we are forced to make a best guess or even a leap of faith. Every book on magic history, any history, is full of hundreds of these coin flips.

After discussing my dilemma with several prominent and magic writer/historians, they agreed that either story worked. Neither was definitive. Moreover, for the type of piece I was composing, it would not be wrong to write:

Harry Bouton was a struggling unknown until he borrowed the name of a south-loop hotel and became famous as Harry Blackstone.

Harry said it.

I chose it.

It was a writer’s right to do so.

Book Quote Me

2008-09-18T23:26:00.001-05:00

This may be my new favorite theater story.
From Low Life, Lures and Snares of Old New York, by Luc Sante.

The subject of the story is Junius Brutus Booth. He was a renowned English actor. Father to John Wilkes Booth, Edwin Booth, and Junius Brutus Booth Jr., all celebrated actor in their own right. Walt Whitman described him as "the grandest historian of modern times."

"Booth, increasingly a drunk, was noted with hilarious approval for his insistence on really fighting the staged duels, on at least one occasion refusing to die even though his part clearly called for it."

Luc Sante’s wonderful book is a terrific view into 19th and early 20th century New York and Victorian society. I recommend it highly to any historian looking to write about that era.

Chicago Magic & The Magic Cabaret

2008-09-08T13:26:00.003-05:00

My friends, David Parr and PT Murphy have returned with their show the Magic Cabaret. I thought that they put on a terrific show in its last incarnation and I expect nothing less for this new show. I wrote a piece on Chicago’s role in the magic world for the show program. This is a slightly longer version of what will appear there.

Chicago: Magic City

In Chicago there was always magic. No, that’s not more bluster coming from the windy city.

Consider this:

The first public entertainment by a professional performer was an exhibition of “amusing feats of ventriloquism and legerdemain.” You can look it up in the Chicago Democrat archives, February 24, 1834. Although at the time, Chicago was just a town not yet a city, but I think it still counts.

That’s not all…

Alexander Herrmann, first of America’s great magicians, made yearly trips to the city. He filled the best theaters, to rave reviews, which ensured him a profitable season.

The second of America’s magicians, Harry Kellar purchased his first show from the money he earned performing séances (with his partner William Fay) in Chicago. In an era where showmen advertised not only the feats to be seen, but also their show’s weight in tons, Kellar had the best illusions and the heaviest show in America.

Harry Houdini first hit the big-time here with some deft publicity and a pair of police handcuffs. Before his premature death, Houdini’s final appearance in Chicago was considered the greatest triumph of his career.

Harry Bouton was a struggling unknown until he borrowed the name of a south-loop hotel and became famous as Harry Blackstone.

Extraordinary sleight of hand artist, Max Malini, magician to Kings and Queens, performer for Presidents and Generals, lived for a time at the once opulent Congress Hotel. He held court in the Florentine room where he performed for Al Capone.

Renowned for the grace of his performances, Theodore Bamberg, whose stage name was Okito, retired to the city. In retirement, Okito demonstrated magic at the State Street novelty emporium, The Treasure Chest, and manufactured elegant magic props that now command high prices by collectors.

All in Chicago, but wait, there’s more…

During Vaudeville, Chicago’s status as the nation’s transportation hub made it the natural place for performers to settle. Chicago Vaudeville theaters offered plenty hometown performing opportunities, from the low “break-in joints” for new acts to the high-class palaces for the experienced headliners.

When the motion pictures usurped Vaudeville, magicians moved into showrooms and nightclubs. The Empire Room at the Palmer House and the Boulevard Room at the Hilton showcased the best magicians of the era. In the outfit-controlled nightclubs, gangsters and their kibitzers supported magicians and marveled at their tricks, a legit cousin to their own criminal ruses.

Chicago’s large population provided ample opportunities for performing at social clubs, civic organizations, and private parties.

In turn, the city became base to many world-renowned professional magic shops and manufacturers. The numerous neighborhood novelty shops supplied fun-loving amateurs with an endless supply of tricks, pranks, and gags. Chicago had, perhaps, more magic shops than anywhere in the world.

In the 1970s, a Chicagoan took the magic pitch he saw in those stores to television. Marshall Brodien and his TV Magic Cards became a rage and inspired a generation of children to become magicians.

Chicago’s greatest gift to magic was Matt Schulien. Early in the 1920s, he conjured up a new way of performing magic, “the Chicago Style of magic.” When Carl Sandburg lovingly called Chicago a “stormy, husky, brawling” city, he unknowingly described Matt's performances. His magic was visual, fast, direct, explosive, sometimes crude, and driven by his out-sized personality. He shattered the formal barriers between the performer and the audience. Once seen, Schulien’s magic was never forgotten and neither was the table-slapping, tear-inducing, chest-heaving laughter he elicited.

If Schulien was the heart of Chicago magic, Heba Haba Al was the spirit. Mentored by Schulien, Al became the original magic bartender. He expanded on and refined the rowdy style into pandemonium. From around the world, magicians would pilgrimage to a seedy bar on the north side of Chicago to see this imp and his nightly antics. These Chicago barkeeps taught magicians that the real secret of magic was not the trick, but the person behind the trick. Those performers who experienced the magic of Schulien and Heba went on to spread the gospel of the Chicago style.

In 1955, Jay Marshall, the single greatest repository of magic knowledge and a frequent guest on the Ed Sullivan Show, made Chicago his home. Jay and his wife Frances’ shop, Magic, Incorporated, became a Chicago institution and a gathering place for visiting magicians. If that were the only thing, you knew about the Chicago magic world that would be enough.

That alone made Chicago the center of the magic world.

THE MAGIC CABARET
September 18 - October 18Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays at 8:00pm
The Greenhouse Theater Center2257 North Lincoln Avenue
Tickets $25. No one under age 13 admitted.Go to Tix.com or call (773) 404-7336

Death and the Magician

2008-09-05T21:30:00.003-05:00

Theodore Bamberg was born into magic in 1875. He adopted the name Okito, but he didn't just put on an Asian theme for parody. He approached it with respect and the caring soul of an artist. The magic he created was some of the most beautiful and refined of its time. He retired to Chicago in the mid-1950s. Retirement though a misnomer. When Okito stopped performing on stage he continued to demonstrate magic at Chicago's famed State street novelty store, the Treasure Chest. A master craftsman, he also produced many tricks now highly coveted by collectors of magic. Life passed from him in 1963.

Theodore Bamberg is buried at Westlawn Cemetary, 7801 W Montrose Ave, Chicago

Elm Section, row 13

Grave Art two

2008-09-01T18:22:00.002-05:00

"At first cock-crow the ghosts must go

Back to their quiet graves below."

-Theodosia Garrison

Grave Art

2008-08-31T21:37:00.005-05:00

"Cursed be he that moves my bones."

-William Shakespeare (Epitaph on his gravestone)

A while ago I went exploring some older cemeteries around the St. Charles area. Many of the stones go back to before the civil war. I wanted to use up the last of my B&W film. I sure do miss real film. Maybe I am a bit old fashioned, digital just doesn't "work" the same for me. I like the tactile feel of real film, the fun of seeing if you got the shot, and the surprise of getting something unexpected. And having to use photoshop to adjust and fix things feels like cheating. Hopefully, as they continue to improve the digital cameras I can find my way. Until then, enjoy these photos.

Lost and Found

2008-08-25T23:25:00.006-05:00

I was digging looking for some papers when I ran across a few old photos.

I cannot believe my hair was that long. 'lo those many years ago. After a few years I got tired of finding long stray hairs everywhere and taking care of it. So one day I walked into a salon and told the stylist to cut it all off. You should have seen her face. By that time the hair was over a foot long and I was able to donate it to Locks of Love.

Demonstrating Rocky the Raccoon for the Magic Masters crowd. I can kick ass, when I am motivated.

For years people have been coming into the shop and telling me I look like Penn. I aways poo-poo'ed the comments until I took this picture. Okay, it is a vague likeness but then don't we magicians count on peoples' vague memories anyway. BTW, I love my coat. Is a $1000 Donna Karen coat that I bought for $100 at a clearance sale. It also helps me hide in the grass.

My favorite of the all. A picture of me teaching Wil Smith magic for his portrayal of Muhammad Ali in the movie Ali. The question I always get is "What is he like?" He is just like he appears on talk shows and movies, loose, relaxed, and friendly. Just like one of your buddies. It was a really great experience.

Quote Me

2008-08-14T22:50:00.001-05:00

Life is full of unlimited possibilities, but limited opportunities.
--Anon

Procrastination is the thief of time.
--Edward Young

Time goes by so fast; people go in and out of your life. You must never miss the opportunity to tell these people how much they mean to you.
--Anon

An opportunity is found with difficulty and easily lost.
--Anon

Four things come not back: the spoken word, the spent arrow, the past life, and the neglected opportunity.
--Anon

Catch the opportunity while it lasts, and rely not on what the morrow may bring.
--Anon

There are only so many tomorrows.
--Michael Landon

Go Google Yourself

2008-08-09T22:28:00.002-05:00

Sure googling yourself can be the ultimate act of narcissism, but you might just find some thing very odd, or cool, or scary. That is if you are patient enough.

(I don't know if he is a relation or not.)

Quote Me

2008-08-01T23:00:00.001-05:00

"Let us be grateful to people who make us happy:

They are the charming gardeners who make our souls blossom."

Marcel Proust (1871 - 1922)

Chicago History

2008-07-15T16:32:00.000-05:00

Here is a selection from the many great stories about Chicago. A bit of old Chicago history and a bit of eerie history from modern Chicago.

The Sands of Chicago

Early in its history, Chicago was not only a city of neighborhoods, but also of “patches.” Along the river grew up communities of itinerant vagrants, jobless immigrants, criminals, drug addicts, prostitutes, and seasonally unemployed sailors and dockworkers.

The worst was Conley’s patch. Most famously for known for being the place where the Great Fire started. The Tribune called patches like these home to “the most beastly sensuality and darkest crimes.” Following closely behind Conley’s was the Sands.

Dutch Frank and his gang controlled the vice and protection for the patch. Rickety saloons and gambling dens provided shelter to diseased prostitutes. Cockfights, dog races, and dogfights provided additional income along side the crooked card games. Rat killings, where terriers are thrown into a pit with rats and bettors wagered on how quickly the dogs killed their prey, were a nightly amusement.

“Long John” Wentworth, in a campaign of violence, was elected mayor. A rabid nativist, Long John vowed to clean up the foreign defilers that populated the patches. The Sands was targeted. It sat on prime lake land. (Where, ironically, the Tribune building sits today.) When Long John’s friend, William Ogden bought up some of the land, it was time to move.

But they needed a diversion; to go up against Dutch Frank would cause too much bloodshed. Mayor Wentworth secretly organized a dogfight between Dutch Frank’s best dog and a dog owned by Bill Gallagher, a butcher, for the prize of $250.

On April 20, every able-bodied man in the Sands went to Brighton Racetrack to support their boss. Moments later, Long John and Ogden moved in.

They came with teams of horses, chains, and hooks. Shanty by shanty, they tore down the Sands. They crowd of spectators turned to looting the crumbled homes and soon to be crumbled homes. When the dogfight crowd returned late in the afternoon little remained of their slum.

Long John Wentworth and William Ogden completed the most dramatic land grabs in the history of Chicago. The residents of the Sands had a last laugh when they simply moved south of the river and went back to business.

Northerly Island

In 1909 Daniel Burnham had developed the great plan of Chicago. It was not to be. The only piece of his grand vision to be created was Northerly Island. It is a man-made island which was to be the northern most is a string of islands stretching between Grant and Jackson parks.

Technology would change it. In 1910, first airplane flight in Chicago foreshadowed its future. By 1918, it was clear that Grant Park couldn’t handle the regular mail service and Chicago must have an airport. In 1920 plans passed and in 1922 construction started.

The Depression and World War II delayed plans and, in between, Northerly Island hosted the 1933 World’s Fair. Finally after the Great War, in 1948, a single runway airport opened on Burnham’s island. A few years later, Northerly Island was rechristened Meigs Field.

It quickly became an important connection for medical flights, including emergency transport and transplant shuttles. Many businesses used the airport for convenient access to downtown offices.

Of course, many Chicagoans believed Meigs was also a playground for the rich and privileged. Those who can afford private planes. Meigs Field broke the long standing court approved local dictum that the lakefront must be kept “free and clear” for all the peoples of Chicago.

March 30, 2003 Mayor Daley (Boss Daley the Younger) beating a populist drum and waving a banner of Chicago safety ordered the destruction of Meigs. He said, after 9/11 that Chicago was no longer safe with an airport near its heart and, as stated previously, that the airport was a playground for the rich and not for the people of Chicago.

In the dark of night, construction crews snuck into the airport and carved giant Xs into the runway leaving 16 planes stranded. This was an illegal act. Chicago was fined and had to return millions in misappropriated federal funds.

Despite various lawsuits Meigs has been complete destroyed. Slowly it is being replaced by a private concert venue (perhaps another pocket filling project for the cronies of Mayor Daley) and public parkland.

Winston Churchill once said, “The farther backward you can look, the farther forward you are likely to see.”

Second Hand Jokes

2008-06-20T13:54:00.003-05:00

It’s been a while since my last Second Hand Jokes post. Most of the good jokes I’ve heard, I would not post here. I’d rather tell them. Those who know me know I am fond of the silliest, dumbest, puniest jokes. I also love the dirtiest, sickest, and meanest jokes. This one is neither.

This joke could be Second Hand Jokes meets Selling Magic. It is a specialized joke, one that salesmen tell other salesmen. It was told to me by a customer before he left my store empty handed because he didn’t want to carry that heavy Svengali deck around the pier with him. Hey, he had to pass my store on the way out anyhow he could pick it up then. (This is one of the common, “I don’t want to buy, but I’d rather lie than say so.” Excuses I hear at the store.)

He told it a more of a generic joke. I rewrote it with a more specific bent.

A Svengali pitchman dies and goes to heaven. St. Peter is showing him around, cloud to cloud, when he says, “You know, I’ve been a pitchman all my life and eternity is a long time. What am I going to do?”

St. Peter replies “Don’t worry. We have an area for pitchmen. You can set up there.”

So the pitchman was happily pitching, when after a few hours he has to go to the bathroom. He asks one of the other pitchmen where he can go.

The guy says, “We just go over to the edge and pee over the side.”

The pitchman looks of the edge and says, “But there are a whole bunch of people down there.”

And the guy says, “That’s okay, those are just the be-backs.”

Just about any salesman will laugh at this joke. But then I got to think of the absurdity of the joke and started to break it down. Here is an annotated version of the same joke:

A Svengali pitchman dies and goes to heaven.
Right here everything falls apart. Everyone knows the pitchmen (myself included) are lying, cheating, thieving whores who are all going to hell.

St. Peter is showing him around,
What is it with St. Peter? Gatekeeper/Tour guide? First, Jesus changes his name from Simon to Peter on a whim. Then he sticks him in this dead (no pun intended) end job. Man, Jesus just walks all over this guy. (I almost wrote: Jesus, Jesus walks all over that guy.)

cloud to cloud,
Great, ethereal insubstantial beings walking around on ethereal insubstantial things. The laws of time and space are but a mockery. (Thanks, Jeff Korst. Where ever you are.)

when he says, “You know, I’ve been a pitchman all my life and eternity is a long time. What am I going to do?”
Gee, I don’t know. Maybe, lounge?

St. Peter replies “Don’t worry. We have an area for pitchmen.
See my first note about pitchmen in heaven.

You can set up there.”
And just who is buying Svengali decks up there.

So the pitchman was happily pitching,
Pitchmen are not happily pitching, they are happily selling.

a few hours he has to go to the bathroom. He asks one of the other pitchmen where he can go.
You are a spirit, unbound to the mortal coil. Why do you gotta pee? What are you drinking in the first place?

The guy says, “We just go over to the edge and pee over the side.”
This is exactly the kind of advice you would get from a competing pitchman.

The pitchman looks of the edge and says, “But there are a whole bunch of people down there.”
Who are these people who can feel your pee, but not see you selling Svengali decks in the clouds?

And the guy says, “That’s okay, those are just the be-backs.”
Wait, perhaps this is pitchman heaven.

Hope you had fun. Be back soon.
Bill

CelebraCadabra bites back

2008-05-24T22:45:00.002-05:00

I wouldn’t call this a change of mind, more of an evolving opinion based on new factual information. Most of what I said in my first essay about Celebracadabra I still believe. Ant is an aptly named annoying insect. He returns in episode five to remind us just how repulsive he is. As much as they try to say otherwise, the show promotes the "become a magician in 24 hours school of thought."

But in episode 4 and even more so in episode 5 the magic has vastly improved. I am sorry to say that these celebs are embarrassing many a professional and even more amateur magicians. They perform better with 24hrs of work than most magic shop hangers-on with 24 years of practice.

In fact, now that they have been pared done there is more magic, better magic, and more magic castle. And the judging is now much more productive.

My advice is to head over to VH1.com and watch for yourself. Every one of these acts could win and magic club contest, perhaps a few convention contests as well. They are a lesson on how to perform. Okay, except for Hal who does not seem right in his show. My girl, the lovely Lisa, almost wins, and C. Thomas Howell creates and fully commits to an outrageous character.

So, after a shaky start, the show is now more than watchable.

Sideshow banner

2008-05-19T22:14:00.003-05:00

I can't draw. Not a bit. So the idea of me doing a sideshow banner seems just plain silly. Since being silly is become a life long habit, I wanted to find a way to indulge myself. It is also a fun, creative exercise to find ways to get around my lack of talent. I wonder sometimes that if I had talent at anything else if I would still do magic.

Well, I did a little research on the web and after experimenting on my own. I created my first banner. I may not be able to draw. I know layout and I can letter. And I like the mystery aspects as originally created by master gaffmeister Doug Highley. Although, he would not like my color scheme.

This is a 4 foot by 5 foot banner. Hemmed. Gesso. Painted with Acrylic Paint. The hemmed seam was folded over and sealed with Gorilla Glue to add strength. Grommets all around. Finally, 5 coats of a flexible matte varnish to make it waterproof.

What will I do with it now? Maybe I'll keep it. Maybe eBay. If you want, make me a offer.

Comedy Womb to Comedy Boom

2008-05-11T23:06:00.002-05:00

The 1980s was a good time for comedy. Overnight, comedy clubs opened in every neighborhood; just about every local bar or restaurant with a little extra space, and many that didn’t, started comedy nights. Once just seen in the singular late night performance, the television air became thick with stand-up comedy shows.

That boom had its origins in earlier night clubs and a few comedy showcases that paved the way and trained the first new wave of comedy talent. Kay Cammon, a veteran of those boom years, premieres a new seminar that explores the beginnings of full-time stand-up comedy clubs and Chicago’s influential contributions to the art.

This 90 minute event will be part of her video documentary; interviews with comic greats such as Tom Dreeson, Judy Tenuta, and Emo Philips. The other part of the program will be a question and answer roundtable with other comics and club owners.

Wednesday, May 28 – Check in 6:00 P. M. Session 7:00 to 8:30 P. M.

The Improv Comedy Club
5 Woodfield Road – Woodfield Mall
Schaumburg, Il 60173

$15.00

This event is sponsored by National-Louis University

Register at www.nl.edu/continuingeducation/

These clubs also gave many opportunities for magic performance.

I hope to see you there.

Bill

Magic Collectors' Weekend

2008-05-06T21:12:00.001-05:00

Overview and Review

Although the Weekend is sponsored by the Magic Collectors’ Association, The weekend is Gabe Fajuri’s. By day Gabe works at Fun, Inc., in his free time he publishes books and organizes this convention. I do say that he does nice work with this largely thankless job. In the process, I think he is transforming this convention from what I remember it to be to something along the lines of the LA Conference on Magic History. It is not there yet, but I applaud his efforts.

I also love that the Weekend is back in Chicago. It is a shame that Chicago has no annual convention. I wish more of you Chicagoans would support this endeavor. Chicago does have one annual event (and non-official convention event) The Knights of Sleights Magic Flea Market.

This is a fun event where all Chicago magicians should be getting together to socialize and, maybe, buy a trick or two. There were forty tables with products ranging from the very used to the sparkling new. I was good and bought little. I did spend some quality time with many of my Chicago magic friends. Those of you who missed it or don’t bother going for some reason, Shame on you. This is the magic social event of every year.

The first official convention event is the opening of the dealer room at 1:30 P. M. Thursday. Who is there right up front? Harry Anderson.

Harry Anderson is this year’s guest of honor. Now, I heard some grumblings about this, mostly from people who I assume think that they should be a guest of honor. Why was Harry chosen? I suspect it was to add some celebrity cachet. However if you look deeper, while not know for his collecting, Harry did house a world class collection of magical oddities in his New Orleans shop. If you read his works and talk to him he has a deep sense of the history of our art. Yes, I do believe he fits.

I always fear meeting people I admire. It is hard for anyone to live up to the person we create in our own minds from the public pieces we are given. There have been disappointments. Harry was not. For most of the weekend he was a fun, friendly, regular guy. Aside for one lapse, he was the man I had hoped for.

The real convention starts with the evening reception. There is a good selection of cakes, treats and coffee. Tom Ewing acted as MC for the weekend and he performed his job admirably…loose, relaxed, and friendly. Ross Johnson was the first presenter. Ross is a friend and someone who admire to the point of worship. He is simply...I take that back…there is nothing simple about him. He is one of the smartest and most powerful performers I know. Unfortunately, his presentation on Al Koran fell flat. It seemed like his timing was off. Normally he doesn’t perform for this kind of crowd. Perhaps that threw him. Second, his lecture was half-way between a magic lecture (trick demo) and history lecture. This limbo world was awkward.

The second event of the program was an interview of Harry Anderson by Jon Racherbaumer. Jon was as much of a spectator as the rest of us as Harry regaled us with expletive filled anecdotes from a lifetime of magic and thinking about magic. This show was definitely not for the kids, but huge fun.

Friday, Max Maven gives the opening talk on the first close-up magician. This is interesting. How could we ever know? Really. Think about all the magic performed through history and all the nameless magicians in that history. Where do we begin? Max guides us through a brief history of performing magic while creating a set of criteria to make his choice.

The audience must be part of the performing area.
There must still be an understood performing contract between the audience and the performer.

Max then comes to the determination that Matt Schulien was the first true Close-up Magician. He has his reasons, with which I agree, that Matt is the well-spring of formal close-up magic.

Sean Owen continues the morning presentation with a power point presentation of some of the treasures from the Salon de Magie. Interesting, but much too superficial.

In the afternoon session, Tom Ladshaw speaks on the mechanical marvels of the McElroy brothers. These genius brothers built for Abbott’s Magic Company and then for Proctor and Gamble. They were responsible for the most intricate ventriloqual figures and important consumer products like roll-on deodorant and head and shoulders shampoo.

David Ben follows with an interesting talk on Paul Fox. He showed many never before seen photos and film of the legendary magician. At the end, he introduced Paul Fox’s daughter to the audience.

The evening session was turned of to John Carney and his one-man show, Carney’s Wonders. This was the only event that was open to the public. John was good, not great. Again, he seemed a little “off” for his presentation. I heard people comment that they’ve seen him perform this material better.

Saturday morning at 10:00 A. M. is too damn early for a presentation. But here is a sleep deprived Bill Pack with many others that joined me late into the dark for a presentation on magic squares. The only reason I am here is the talk is given by Harry Anderson. He really does have on nice twists and turns with the presentation of magic squares. This is also the only time I’ve heard “blow me” in a magic lecture. (The comment was not directed at me.)

David Gartler and Vince Newkirk will now be able to say Harry Anderson opened for them. Who are they? They run a poster conservation and restoration business and they spoke about the same.

Graham Putnam, owner of Fun, Inc. filled in for the ailing Patrick Page. Graham added to his pervious talk on the history of Fun, Inc. and its original owner Jules Traub. Jules was one of the great characters in magic and, through Jules’ own letters, Graham brings him to life.

The Saturday afternoon session begins with David Charvet with a talk previewing his forthcoming book on the triumphs and tragedies of the Willard the Wizard family.

Dr. Eddie Dawes, a well-worn historian, follows with Brunel White a magician who could be thought of as the precursor to Jeff Busby. If you know what I mean. Wink. Wink.

The Saturday night show ends the convention. David Kovac hosts the show and does a good job. His relaxed “new vaudevillian” character provides a steadying influence in a show of ups and downs.

Handsome Jack (John Lovick) performed. I am always curious to see a columnist or critic from one of our magic magazines perform. Do they live up to their own hype? Or are they all bullshit? John put forth an excellent effort. I enjoyed his set the most.

Harry Anderson performed next. Here was his one miss-step. Harry gave a half-assed performance. I was told afterwards he was pissed off that he did not get a better response. It looked like he would walk away and not make an appearance in the dealers’ room afterwards. Well, Harry you got from the audience what you put into the show. You have no one to blame but yourself. Harry did cool down and must have realized the error because he not only showed up to the dealers room, but also was as fun and friendly as he had been all weekend.

Circus Boy Bobby Hunt did a short set of his usual juggling antics. Sadly, because I am a fan, his set fell flat. One of those nights, because I’ve seen him do better.

Rick Merrill closed the show with his award winning routine. ‘Nuff said.” Very good, very fun.

The good – The thing like best about this convention is its casual nature. I get to hang out with a great group of friends like Gordon Meyer, Dan Mindo, Brendan Kirby, Frank Glab, Ben Barnes, David Kovac, Mark and Sue Holstein, Marshall Brodien, Andy Lansing, Tim Felix, PT Murphy, Graham Putnam. Along with, I get to see friends I only see at these conventions like the beautiful and multi-talented Frances Mai-ling and make new ones like Celeste Evans, Harry Anderson, Jan Janson, Jon Racherbaumer among others. As I have quoted before, everyone has a story to tell. And I love to find it.

The bad – The Hyatt Woodfield was undergoing construction and I was woken up extra early by the noise. (I changed a couple of their “Pardon our dust” signs to “Pardon our noise” signs with my trusty Sharpie.) Also the bar was closed. They made a makeshift one in the lobby, but then closed it at midnight. The convention attendees, including myself, like to drink and converse late into the night. Heck, I don’t have to drive. I hope Gabe at least tries to find another hotel for next year. Included in that is that the dealer room is just too small, we need more room. Next, I personally would like to see a little more magic performance. The early years of going there was a session called “Old and Seldom Seen.” This was fun as collectors got to show off their wares if not their performing skills. This varies widely from good to bad and can be great fun with a smart MC that could play off the performances. Of course, this means the convention attendees need to step up and perform. Last, 10:00 A.M. is too early for a lecture. Way too early.

Overall, I love this convention and the people around it. Gabe should be commended.

Celebracadabra note: as predicted, the idiot Ant was eliminated by his own stupidity, in the end even his coach, Asi Wind, hated him. With that there is little to add to my original comments except the judging is better with Max Maven there.

Reality Bites or CelebraCadabra Begins

2008-04-29T15:04:00.001-05:00

Were you looking forward to this? Was anyone? Not I, remembering the Circus of the Stars fiascos. I have to be honest. I hate these misnamed reality shows. Unreality would be a better description. Nothing on there resembles real at all. I have carefully avoided watching any of these shows with only a couple of exceptions:

1) The Contender, all I can say is that I love boxing. This wasn’t that bad in its first season. This is the only show I watched from start to finish.

2) Flavor of Love, I did watch bits and pieces of this bizarre “love” fest, mostly because I was expecting hot black women. After my initial shock. I quickly learned BET and I were a better fit.

3) Celebrity Fit Club, I only watched a couple of episodes that featured Saved by the Bell’s Screech. Man, that guy is a huge dick. No wonder his career is in the toilet. (I mean besides that whole lack of talent thing.)

That’s where I stand on that whole unreality show thing. I hate them. There is only thing I hate more and that is celebrity unreality shows. Great, just what I need to see, overpaid narcissists competing for prizes. In many cases, these are millionaires vying for thousands of dollars. How did we get to the point when things are more interesting when they happen to celebrities?

I used to watch some game shows, early reality shows, if you will. It was interesting to watch everyday Joes (like me) go through the anguish and ecstasy of the game when the prize really mattered to them. Winning that Buick LeSabre changed their lives. I remember some of the most interesting guests on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson being just ordinary people.

There is only one way I can tolerate these mostly C-list celebrities and that is if they are dropped off on a deserted island and the show is titled, “Survivor – Eat or Be Eaten”. That is appointment television. (Survivor – Eat or Be Eaten, copyright William Pack 2008.)

So, I am embarrassed to say at 11:30 P.M. on April 27, 2008 I find myself with 200 channels and nothing to watch, except CelebraCadabra on VH1.

Here is the good news, it is better than I thought it would be.

Here is the bad news, it is still not good.

I just want to write a few impressions on seeing this first episode. I don’t know if I will watch any others. So this may be just the start.

For those of you who are not familiar with the premise. Each dubiously famous, marginally talented marketing entity is pair up with a talented and inversely proportional unfamous magician. That magician prepares the celeb for various performing tasks. This first show featured Street Magic.

The Celebs:

Ant, most famous for being the host of Celebrity Fit Club

C. Thomas Howell, Actor, after some early promising work, mostly c grade movies

Hal Sparks, TV host, Talk Soup and Actor, Queer as Folk

Chris “Kid” Reid, part of rapper duo, Kid and Play, and stand-up comedian

Lisa Ann Walter, Stand-up comedian and character actor

Kimberly Wyatt, Pussycat Doll, Arm candy

Carnie Wilson, most recently famous for being the size of an ox, and then not, and now again eating her way back to ox-dom.

The Magicians:

Asi Wind, inventor of the highly regarded Time is Money

David Regal, hugely inventive inventor of magic and TV Writer

Derek Hughes, comedy magician

Rocco, talented magician and self-made D’lite magnate

Silly Billy, Kid show superstar

Murray, the guy with the CDs

Simon Lovell, talented magician who sold his soul for a bottle of booze to shill for Magic Takers, Inc.

First, Jonathon Levit opens the show by welcoming everyone to the Magic Castle. Yea! Unfortunately, the show is shot in such a way that it could have been shot anywhere. The Magic Castle barely provides a background. I hope in future episodes they show off this magician’s Valhalla.

Early in the show, Ant tries to make alliances to try to upset other contestants. He has seen too many other unreality shows. This tactic seems doomed to fail. He’ll spend more time back-biting and tearing down the others while neglecting to perfect his own magic. Wait...he’ll just fit right in with the magic community. I predict he will have a long magic career, just not on this show.

The Performances:

Ant does a signed, torn, and restored mis-made dollar bill. Passable, but much edited. He spent the rest of his time on his true talent, being annoying.

C Thomas Howell tried to perform the floating bill and failed at first. Later, he succeeded while connecting to a séance, talking to the dead theme. ICKY. He made it, but was on the bubble. This guy does not have much self confidence.

Hal Sparks is quite comfortable. He performed a sequence with some newspaper ending with the production of a mouse. He also did the quarter in the bottle.

Chris Reid was also comfortable gathering a crowd and working it. Both his rap history and apparent comedy experience help. He did the borrowed ring to shoelace. He sold it well. He and Hal will both be difficult to beat.

Lisa Ann Walter also had no problem building a crowd and performing. She did a sexy card under her fishnet stockings. I think I may love her. She gets it and is having fun.

Kimberly Wyatt surprised me the most. She missed a little in her script, but her performance of a broken bottle, in the air, card stab was impressive. She is not just a body. Both she and Lisa have a chance for the top prize.

Carnie Wilson “Fucked up” Her F-words not mine. Later, she succeeded with a signed card through window. After which, she gleefully taunted the spectator/assistant’s family by yelling at them, “I got your father, I got your dad.” Thankfully, she omitted the “Naa naa naa.” Also, thankfully, she was kicked off the show with her coach Slimon Lovell. She didn’t want to believe it, but she was the worst. As host Levit said, “Maybe Whiz-Dree is not your thing.”

As far as the show goes, I did like the fact that they showed them nervous and failing. All magicians fail. We are only human. One of the hardest things to learn is how to get out of it, cover it, or do it gracefully. I look forward to seeing their progress.

I would like to see the teaching magicians work on the scripting a little better some of the themes were tenuous, needing to be fleshed out and more rehearsed. These are supposed to be actors, after all. Learn your lines.

Yet, many of the performances were no worse than people, I know,who have been dabbling in magic for years sometimes decades, who proclaim to be magicians, who have business cards, and who charge real money for shows. And in a few instances better than the average magic club blowhard. A sad, but true statement of fact.

I've seen a few reviews stating that the show had no spark. This is true. The magical moments aren't very magical. Not like we've learned to expect on television like from Blaine and that mindfreak guy.

The format is put together like a reality show Mad-Lib. Just plug in the right-ish phrase here and there and you have a show. CelebraJuggle, you'll be thrown out. CelebraVent, who is the dummy now. Celeballonatic...etc.

The most disturbing aspect is the idea that you can become a magician in twenty-four hours. I've been fighting this fight in my store for years. "Oh, I have a presentation tomorrow, what trick can I do? What do you mean none? I can practice all evening." Just shut up and go away.

C Thomas Howell is a good example. He fails at the floating bill trick and proclaims he is a magician. Isn't there a rule you have to actually perform a trick successfully before you can call yourself a magician?

The judging overall was correct, meaning they agreed with my assessments, but not very concrete with help. Franz Harary typically hit the nail on the head. Levit agreed with anything said like a human bobble head doll. Jeff McBride was his usual pompous self. Yes, McBride may be a fantastic magician, but he is excessively full of himself. First, stop talking with your hands and not in that, "hey I'm Italian, what do you expect kind of way," but in that I am in the THEATRE so you must notice me kind of way. Second, I don’t find comments like, “You need to get all those butterflies flying around in your stomach to fly in formation,” particularly helpful.

I begin to think:

This is your McBride:

This is your McBride on drugs:

His "advice" is just more of that empty new age woo-woo that passes for profundity. I expect he will provide me with a juicy life (not) changing quote like that in every episode.

Max Maven was unavailable to judge in the first episode. He will be joining the crew later and word is to keep an eye on his hair. I am looking forward to that. He also said he was brought on to be the Simon Cowell type character, but it didn’t turn out quite that way. Months ago he told he to give the show a chance that it wasn’t as bad as expected.

He was right.

As always.

Blog Watch -- Garfield minus Garfield

2008-03-06T22:24:00.004-06:00

This Blog was brought my attention by my employee Markus. I don't know how he found it, but I am thankful he sent it along. It certainly makes the comic better and is quite thought provoking. But you should really explore it for yourself.

Garfield without Garfield. Genius!

http://garfieldminusgarfield.tumblr.com/

Quote Me

2008-02-25T13:37:00.002-06:00

Found in Studs Terkel's remarkable new biography, Touch and Go ...

"History does not only refer to the past.

On the contrary, the great force of history comes

from the fact we carry it within us,

are unconsciously controlled by it in many ways,

and history is literally present in all that we do."

--James Baldwin

Quote Me

2008-02-17T23:50:00.002-06:00

This quote is sometimes attributed to poet Sekou Sundiata and it may be a matter of simultaneous invention. I found it in a book about dreams...the nightime kind, not the aspiration kind. But, still, it works for both.

"Everything in the Dream

is the Dreamer."

--Wilson Van Dusen

Street art

2008-02-15T13:41:00.003-06:00

Check out this great video, Frozen Grand Central. Then you visit their website and see all the other "pranks" they've pulled. And, if you can, support their important fun...

http://www.improveverywhere.com/

Magic and the TV world

2008-01-25T21:28:00.000-06:00

"There’s a good deal in common between the mind’s eye and the TV screen, and though the TV set has all too often been the boob tube, it could be, it can be, the box of dreams." - Ursula K. Le Guin

There is a belief. One that has become a fiercely held magic doctrine. One that I have held onto fiercely myself. The best way to see magic is to see it live. That is it. In person trumps Television. Doesn’t compare. Nope. Not the least.

Given the choice. Live performance.

Have you been waiting for the “but”? Yeah, me too. Recently, I’ve been deep into two seemingly unrelated books that have made me reexamine my long held beliefs. The first is Performing Dark Arts, A Cultural History of Conjuring by Michael Mangan; the other is Words that Work by Dr. Frank Lutz. (Both are good reads, the first for an interesting take on the history of magic, the second with valuable advice on the use and misuse of words in politics, business, and life.)

In chapter seven of Dark Arts, Mangan covers life, death and the meaning of liveness. While he has many, more points than I will cover here. The first that I do want to look at is that for the past 30 or so years, if you asked the public the name of a magician, the magician they would name made their career on television. It can be said the even Houdini’s popularity today can be because of his exposure on television.

The second is a point of Philip Auslander. “Auslander’s point is that while live performance and the mass media are rivals...contemporary live performance seeks to replicate television, video, and film and also incorporates media technology to such an extent that the live event itself becomes a product of media technologies.”

While reading this I read this in Words: “It is an interesting phenomenon to watch television audiences at live studio tapings in Hollywood or New York. Those older than fifty will inevitably watch the actual performance, even if the actors are far away and partially obscured by cameras or lighting. But those younger than forty will watch the performance through the television monitors, even when the monitors and high above them and the actors nearby. Why? Because for younger audiences, it’s what comes through the television itself, not the performance, that defines the meaning of live. You can see this at sporting events as well. Younger fans watch the action on the “jumbotron” monitor rather than focusing on the game itself.”

TV has become the new reality.

Yet, I do have some reassurance. Every day some comes into the store and talks my language. They tell me that they want a magician do magic close-up, right in front of them rather than being separated from it, either by stage or by screen.
Of course, right after that someone comes in and asks if that Mind Freak guy is for real, “I mean how else could he do it?” The context of doing the tricks on the street, in “real life situations” adds to the live or real nature. Television doesn’t lie. As the old joke goes, “What are you going to believe me or your own eyes?”

People still go to plays, although they really can't be seen on TV. People do wait for the movie instead of reading the much higher quality book. People still go to concerts, but when they go to see U2 are they watching the band or the giant TV screens?

"Television thrives on unreason, and unreason thrives on television. It strikes at the emotions rather than the intellect." - Sir Robin Day

The thing I want to believe is that the masses are generally uneducated. If they experienced good live magic, they would understand its real power. Lacking a better choice, people will still choose a simulated reality.

It is our responsibility to change that.

"So why do people keep on watching? The answer, by now, should be perfectly obvious: we love television because television brings us a world in which television does not exist. In fact, deep in their hearts, this is what the spuds crave most: a rich, new, participatory life." -Barbara Ehrenreich

Math Magic

2008-01-22T00:06:00.000-06:00

I found this after my last post.

See Arthur Benjamin work

http://www.ted.com/talks/view/id/199

I also recommend looking around. There are many wonderful and interesting talks here.

LA Conference finale

2008-01-21T22:17:00.000-06:00

And, finally, Saturday night begins with a roundtable discussion of the conference organizers. Hosted by Richard Kaufman, the panel sheds some light on what goes into producing such a marvelous event. Some old video clip highlights are shown and discussed. Mostly it is the audiences’ way to thank those who inspire us so.

Arthur Benjamin was one of the highlight acts of the week. Arthur is a math genius. He does a lighting math act. He obviously loves what he does. I wasn’t expecting much. I’m not a big math guy. His exuberance carried his set and swept away the audience. With Mac King and others on the stage being perfect foils. The expression of complete amazement on their faces made this non-magical act magical.

Michael McGiveney closes the weekend. I remember seeing years ago on, I think, a Ricky Jay special. He does his father’s quick change act. This is not like the changes now so popular. He does a scene from Oliver Twist, changing from one character to another when passing offstage. An interesting look at a popular turn-of-the-last-century entertainment.

The convention night finishes like most of the night by closing down the hotel bar with some new and some old friends. Again, I think about how lucky I am to have tripped into this magic life. You meet the most interesting people.

I would not trade it for anything.

LA part 5

2008-01-06T21:39:00.000-06:00

So now where was I...Ah, yes, Saturday morning. Early, I spend some time stalking Ricky Jay. Just kidding. Before going to LA, I arranged with Ricky to bring out copies of his books to be signed. I fully understand that he doesn’t like to do that sort of thing but he graciously agreed to do this for me. I think, or hope, he sees in me a kindred spirit and lover of lost performers. He really is part of why I love the history of the art of magic and the personalities involved.

Now I get to see the Hooker Card Rise.

Yes, it fools the hell out of me.

No, I don’t care. I am thankful.

After all these years in and around magic, it is such a rare occurrence when I am fooled. It is a good thing. How can we begin to clearly understand our audiences when we can’t experience what they do?

After the show, Jamy Ian Swiss and I talk. He feels that it is his job to figure out how it works. I do not. I want to enjoy the beauty of it. The challenge is to figure out how to give my spectators a similar experience.

Saturday afternoon Jim Steinmeyer does his usual good job telling the story of Hooker. Roxy gives a talk about the history of “lightning calculators”. It doesn’t interest me and his accent is impenetrable. So I leave. Hook up with Mark Kaschube for a couple of pints. We have a good talk, something we hadn’t done since before his divorce, new marriage, and baby. There was a lot to catch up on.

Being with people, hanging, talking, joking, that is the best part of this week.

2007 Christmas Card Key

2007-12-29T21:23:00.000-06:00

For those of you who received a Christmas Card from me this year and didn't solve the puzzle included. Here is the key... Write the alphabet backwards and underneath write it forwards and you'll be able to solve the puzzles.

Sorry about the lateness of this solution and yes, I know I forgot the "H".

Happy New Year--Bill

Christmas 2006

2007-12-23T19:36:00.000-06:00

As I have related before every year I do a limited edition custom Christmas card. The year after I put it on my blog as a Merry Christmas to all my readers. This is the first story of all the cards. See the previous posts for my other cards, all poems. Hope you enjoy it. -- Bill

The Night Of...

He is old. Impossibly so. Old as long as he can remember, as long as anyone remembers. He must have been young once, everyone was young, once. So many years have passed since his youth that the very memory of it is a memory. He is fat, also. But he is sure that wasn’t always so, that he remembers.

They called him “big boned” and a “corn-fed country boy.” A man who was big and strong, like of legend and song. Long ago, not when he was young but certainly less old, he, ax in hand, chopped down half a forest. The owner told him to take what he needed and he did, not a stick more. It was an old growth forest, even then, some said biblically old. Then, alone, he hauled the timber mile after mile to build a business and a home. Well, a house, it wasn’t a home until she came, but that is another story.

Life yielded to time, muscle to fat, and the morning to a series of long, deep inhalations of air, short violent exhalations of the same, and an assortment of grunts and groans. Getting up was made more difficult by the shift in hours this time of year. He tried to work nights year round. It didn’t work. So, as the busy time of year approaches, he shifts his hours, going to bed earlier and waking up later until he can work the night through.

He awoke to the smell of coffee. At least, his wife saved him the jarring buzz of an alarm. Even though, he continued to lie, thinking. Wondering if he will ever not wake up. Just how long was he expected to do this? More often these last few years, he wondered why he did it any more. Had he outlived his usefulness?

Countless others were already performing his job anyhow. Yet, they missed the subtlety, the artfulness he liked to believe he brought to the job, often replacing quality with quantity and the punitory with ignorance. Perhaps he could find a replacement, turn operations over to someone younger, and train them in the traditions. Meanwhile he will continue to do as he has always done, as he was chosen to do, until he knows different.

He had to get moving, this night was the culmination of a year’s worth of work, around the clock, and massive product deliveries. He sucked in some air and held his breath as he maneuvered his considerable bulk upright and to the edge of the bed. “Whew,” out goes the breath. He just lets his bare feet dangle for a moment over the floor. It will be cold. Everything is cold here. He tried different types of insulation, increasing layers of clothing, forced air, radiant heat, and a Franklin stove in every room. It didn’t help. The cold always found a way in. You had to get used to it.
At the very least, you must co-exist. Most days the cold receded un-noticed to the background like the static of a needle on an old record album. He heard the music and shut out the noise. On this day that would not happen and he set his feet on the floor acknowledging the shock with a couple of halting breaths. Once feet hit the floor, it was better to move than linger. In his red flannel long johns, he padded his way to the washbasin. If the coolness of the floor didn’t fully awaken him, the splash of cold water did. The mirror reflected back a tired stranger, in dire need of some grooming. Under the spell of an immutable deadline, he ignored the basics. A brush and a comb will have to do. Tomorrow, he’ll tend to his wild white and scruffy white beard.

Next to the basin sat a chair and in the chair mother arranged his work clothes. At this age, he called his wife mother, not that she had any children of her own, still she was mother to so many. These clothes were an improvement over the old ones. He used to wear stiff leather breeches and an equally stiff leather coat. Over that went a cloak made from the hides of two full-grown grizzlies. The whole arrangement was warm, but difficult to work in. He loved the old ways and begrudgingly accepted his new work uniform, foisted on him by marketeers and consultants. It is the only thing they ever did he liked.

Now, he worked on two pairs of woolen socks. Over his flannel underwear, he put on a red sweatsuit. Then, he slipped on a pair of fuzzy shearling pants, dyed red. Layers—that was the key—layers provided warmth and mobility. Suspenders kept them from falling down.
Gore-tex, air exchange systems, and fine waterproofed leather keep his feet warm and dry. The large buckles and cuffs on his boots are a nod to tradition than necessary function.
At least partially dressed, he could have breakfast. The days of skirt steak and half dozen eggs are over. Coffee, grapefruit, and a warm bowl of oatmeal are now the breakfast of choice. A concession to his sweet tooth being maple and brown sugar flavored oatmeal.

It is almost time.

On go the matching coat and a large patent leather belt to keep it in place. He pulls his hat down tight. Every year guaranteed that he’ll experience bad weather at one time or another. Finally, his well-worn deerskin lined gloves are loyal old friends.

A floorboard creaks as he heads to the door and reminds him of all the things he has neglected these last hectic months. No time for that now. His itinerary will be waiting for him programmed into the new GPS system. Everything will be ready. He gave control of those things to others. He will make up for his negligence later, but for now; he kisses his wife on the cheek and whispers a quiet “thank you.” She’ll worry. All these years he never had a problem, but it doesn’t change her feelings. Before he opens the door, he pauses to clear his throat.
The door opens to cheers and the spring in his step returns. He spreads his arms to encompass the cheering mass. His eyes twinkle as he smiles and laughs. His employees always see him off with a pep rally. There are pats on the back, “good lucks,” “boss,” and the odd tear. He tries to hide the welling up in his eyes. He liked the job. The listing. The compassionate balancing of accounts. The act of distribution. Every year this scene made him more and more emotional, the old fool. A gift of a heated ergonomic car seat will make the trip extra comfortable this year. There is one thing left to do.

And in a booming voice, he calls out, "Now, Dasher! Now, Dancer! Now, Prancer and Vixen! On, Comet! On Cupid! On, Donder and Blitzen! To the top of the porch! To the top of the wall! Now dash away! Dash away! Dash away all!"

LA Conference Part 4

2007-12-14T19:02:00.000-06:00

Friday, I get to go to dinner with Bob Higa, Mark Holstein, and Sue Holstein. These are old friends from home and I don’t see them often enough. They have all been very kind to me and good to my career for at least the last twenty years. After a few false starts, we end up at this wonderful Italian restaurant. One terrific meal and a fun waitress, who also was from the hometown Chicago area, later we wend our way back to the hotel and the evening program.

I like to sit in back. You give up very little in view. There is the advantage of being able to move about and talk a little when things get difficult. Luckily, with the night’s program, I wasn’t going anywhere.

Jules Fisher is a legend on Broadway. Eight Tony awards, many more nominations. He is arguably the best lighting director in the world. He is also an amateur magician and friend of Ricky Jay. He discusses the science and aesthetics of lighting. The thing that struck me is that while he did talk about certain technical issues, candlepower, red lighting for thread work; he spoke about lighting as feeling emotions. A wonderful concept for magicians.

Peter Lamont was one of the highlights of the last conference. He is a historian for the parapsychology unit at the University of Edinburgh. Look for his books; he has a light and humorous touch, which make for enjoyable reading. His talks take on that same quality. This year’s talk was on W. J. Vernon, a phrenologist, a mesmerist, and, finally, a radical political activist.

Mike Caveny finished the show in his typical easygoing manner. He performed Charles Carter’s Astral Hand and Einstein’s Problem. The Astral Hand is a rapping hand routine with predictable results. It fell flat and, probably deserved a more dramatic presentation. Einstein’s Problem is Carter’s version of the Million Dollar Mystery. It is a cool piece that plays more like a puzzle. I wonder if it has been talked about so much that, it just didn’t do much for me. Usually, Mike’s style is enjoyable, but it didn’t work with these pieces.

LA Conference Part 3

2007-12-09T22:10:00.000-06:00

Friday, I wake up. Early. Too early. I am going to the early opening of Ricky Jay’s exhibit of broadsides at the Hammer Museum. He has been kind enough to open early for the convention and be on hand to discuss the pieces. But first, breakfast...

In my traveling group are Tim Felix, Mark Kaschube, and Bob Higa. Tim and Mark insist we go to Jack-in-the-Box for our meal. This will be the first time for Bob and me, but Tim and Mark would eat at Jack’s for every meal while they are in California. The deep-fried tacos and only the deep fried tacos to be specific. I do not have a delicate system, but it is a mistake I will not make again.

After my trip to the bathroom, the broadsides amaze. If you have seen the book, Extraordinary Exhibitions, you’ve seen the pictures. They do not do the pieces justice. The depth and vibrancy of the colors, the textures of the papers, they can only be appreciated in person. One former Davenport, now Kellar and Fay bill, one I’ve only seen in black and white, was in full color. The blue shading had such a depth it looked like it was a separate transparency laid over the print.

After the museum, we head back to the hotel. Mostly I hang out talk to friends, make one of my many visits to the exhibit room and dealer rooms. The afternoon program begins at 2:00.

Diego Domingo talks about Ronald Coyne and the religious revivals of the 1950s. Coyne was able to see with his artificial eye as clearly as his real eye. Diego gave a lively talk on this nutball’s life including one smart Chicago doctor who examined and Coyne’s power were found lacking. This same doctor is also a magic enthusiast and now visits Tim Felix’s Midwest Magic often. I surprise to Tim and I, who never know this chapter of his life.

Bill Liles added to an earlier presentation he gave on Houdini and the Mirror cuffs. To be honest he had nothing particularly new or relevant to say and spent a lot of time saying it.

Peter Reveen finishes up with an informal talk about his life and career. I would have preferred a more structured approach to this presentation with, perhaps, a question and answer session or interview format. I do see how Peter commanded the stage. He is full of charisma.

Now it is off to dinner with some great old friends and the Friday night program.

LA Conference on Magic History part 2

2007-11-29T23:48:00.000-06:00

The Thursday evening program begins at 8:30

Richard Kaufman is the first presenter. Something I was not looking forward to. Richard gave a talk at the Collector’s convention, and not to good result. He reads his presentations lifelessly and goes on way to long. Except this time, his deadpan style garnered great laughs as he demonstrated some of Theodore DeLand’s card creations. Well, he did read a little too long, but overall it was a good presentation.

Trevor Dawson spoke next. I spent a couple of beer’s time at the Collector’s with Trevor. It was fun to tip a few with him. He spoke about “The Great Carmo,” a British hall artist and successor to the great Lafayette. The information imparted was fine, Trevor tends have that kind of mumbling British way of speaking, much to the annoyance of most of the audience.

Last on the bill was Jim Steinmeyer performing Amac’s Find The Lady. This amazing illusion has been in my mind since I saw the first pictures and drawings. It sounded like the coolest illusion. Me not being a fan of box tricks at all. (Sorry Jim.) I was right. Jim opened a window into vaudeville and showed why this effect was a sensation. It made great fun when Jim then performed the whole routine over again with see-thru cards.

After the night’s events, it was off to the bar. Although I didn’t make it too late of a night. Fist the bar closes at like midnight on weekdays. Boy are they losing out on a lot of money. Magicians love to drink. Second, I need to be up for breakfast at 8:30 because Ricky Jay had a special exhibition of his broadsides and it was opening early for conventioneers.

LA Conference on MagicHistory part 1

2007-11-24T21:47:00.000-06:00

Finally, I get to start writing again. Training a new employee and working on a new act taking up most of my time. Two weeks have elapsed since the Los Angeles Conference on Magic History. This may not be a bad thing. I was able to digest it more fully.

For those who don’t know the LA Conference in limited to 250 invitation only guests. It occurs every two years. Originally sponsored by John Gaughan, Jim Steinmeyer, and Ricky Jay. After the first couple, Mike Caveney replaced Ricky Jay. They are dedicated to bringing to life the history only read about in books.

I flew out to LA at 6 am on just a few hours sleep. Sleeping on a plane is not my favorite activity, reading is an option, but they were showing the film Transformers. Not the ideal place to see this movie, yet it killed the time nicely. I figure if I can check in early I’ll catch a nap at the hotel.

Arriving in LA, I took a shuttle van to the hotel. (Purchased on Orbitz, it is half the price of a cab to the hotel.) As the van driver loads in another passenger, I over-hear he is also going to the same hotel. And I meet Marvin Miller. Marvin, at one time wrote the puzzle column for Magic Magazine. He’s a former VP for Johnson and Johnson and still a “big-wig” in several other companies. He is a best selling author and editor of Games Magazine. We had a nice-getting to know you-talk on the way and spent a few other minutes here and there throughout my stay.

The hotel is the Beverly Garland Holiday Inn. Go to the website. Two years ago when I first went to the Conference, I thought, “Holiday Inn?” This place is a retreat, lush, green, almost isolated from the city. The rooms are serviceable. They are only for sleeping (it off) and showering (it off).

First, I head to registration to pick up my packet. The most prominent piece is a 100 page glossy program covering not only this weekend, but being the tenth anniversary, there are the previous nine programs. The graphic look of the Jim Steinmeyer created program is art deco, beautifully set and written as one would expect from a Steinmeyer production. My desire to read the book and take a nap pulls me in different directions. Nap wins.

The first program starts at 2:30; I’m fresh and ready to go. Down at the ballroom, it’s meet and greet time, renewing old acquaintances and find some friends in attendance that I didn’t know would be here.

In no particular order and, surely leaving a few out: Bob Higa, Mark and Sue Holstein, Jamy Ian Swiss, Max Maven, Ricky Jay, Brad Henderson, Stan Allen, Mark Kaschube, Richard Kaufman, Todd Karr, Aaron Fisher, Bill Kalush. I’ll meet a few more for the first time: Stephen Minch, Eric Mead, David Ben, for example. This is all heady stuff for me. I have always been on the out side looking in. To be a part and treated as an equal to my idols puts my world on tilt.

The program starts will John Carney in his character of Mr. Mysto. I’ve always been a big fan of John, but I don’t find his Mr. Mysto character hilariously funny. He does a black bit with the Indian Rope Trick. Amusing, at best.
Dustin Stinett followed with a talk about some new discoveries about the magic duo, Milo and Roger. The absolute best part was some rare tape of Milo and Roger performing on “The Hollywood Palace.”

John Gaughan takes the stage to perform the Shower of Gold effect described in Hoffmann’s More Magic. This is an amazing bit of Victorian conjuring. Later, in the exhibit hall, he will display the mechanism. Quite a complicated bit of machinery, but could be made into a fine performance today.

Mark Kalin and Jinger end the show with their presentation of the Spirit Cabinet. I will say that theirs is the closest in quality to Falkenstein and Willard. They are actually two of the better performers. Tightly scripted and in their own style.

After the show, it is to the hotel restaurant and dinner with Max Maven, Jamy Ian Swiss, and David Ben. We discuss Phenomenon, the upcoming Celebra-cadabra and life after surgery. David and I haven’t really spoken before, but being with Max and Jamy gives me credibility. Jamy and Max are two of my favorite people. Too smart and too direct for their own good, they make the most interesting conversationalists.

In another day or two, I’ll cover Thursday night.

Magic Tripping

2007-11-06T12:01:00.000-06:00

Off to Los Angeles and the LA Conference on Magic History and the Hooker card rise, plus other unannounced surprises.

Yahoo!

I'll report on the goings on next week.

Hope to see some of you there.

As a side trip, I am going to try to see 90+ years old, father of the magazine Famous Monsters of Filmland, Forrest J. Ackerman. He lives 15 minutes away from the hotel and has an open house on Saturday to view his collection. Forry, if you don't know popularized the term Sci-Fi. How is that for a claim on history.

If you want to learn more on this amazing man, visit his web site:

http://4forry.best.vwh.net/

Blog watch

2007-11-01T22:47:00.000-05:00

Here is yet another great blog. I'll let it speak for itself.

"Raffaele De Ritis' Novelties and Wonders
Journal, Cabinet, Multilingual Parlour, Untranslated Conference Room, Repository of Erudite Pastimes, even a Gymnasium for the Polemist and the Humorist; Consacrated to Oddities and Facts Concerning Peculiarities of Theatrical Amusements related to the Circus, Conjuring, Comedy etc.; their Connections with Fine Arts; the Uncovering the Curiosities of their Past, and the Critical and Hopefully Provocative Account of what of Interest is Remaining of their Uncertain Present. Profusely Illustrated."

http://raffaelederitis.blogspot.com/

October 31 All Hallows Eve

2007-10-30T15:01:00.000-05:00

HALLOWE'EN

Pixie, kobold, elf, and sprite

All are on their rounds to-night,-

In the wan moon's silver ray

Thrives their helter-skelter play.

Fond of cellar, barn,or stack,

True unto the almanac,

They present to credulous eyes

Strange hobgoblin mysteries.

Cabbage-stomps-straws wet with dew-

Apple-skins, and chestnuts too,

And a mirror for some lass,

Show what wonders come to pass.

Doors they move, and gates they hide,

Mischiefs that on moon-beams ride

Are their deeds, and, by their spells,

Love records its oracles.

Don't we all, of long ago,

By the ruddy fireplace glow,

In the kitchen and the hall,

Those queer, coofllke pranks recall?

Eery shadows were they then-

But to-night they come again;

Were we once more but sixteen,

Precious would be Halloween.

-Joel Benton

Just in Time for Halloween

2007-10-10T21:58:00.000-05:00

This is one of the coolest, most addictive blogs ever. I must go there daily to be inspired. You should also. Don't forget to go through all his past posts.

www.skulladay.blogspot.com

Soapbox, Shut up

2007-09-07T17:16:00.001-05:00

It is an old oft-repeated adage or an old oft-repeated aphorism or, maybe, neither. I am sure it can, at least, be called an old oft-repeated saying, perhaps aspiring to be an adage or aphorism.

“If you can’t say anything nice, don’t say anything at all.”

Oh sure, a fine bit of verbiage, a solid enough sentences as far as sentences go, I guess. The thought best suited for the slow-witted and consistently foolish who wish not to be spoken ill of and yet probably deserve it.

Yet, just think about how disastrous it would be if we all ran around not saying un-nice things. It’s 1860, “Those slaves down in the south? Well, if you can’t say anything nice...” Or how about 1935, “I say, that Hitler chap just invaded Poland. Well, if you can’t say...”

Extreme? Nevertheless, certainly valid. This is taking the thought to its logical conclusion. It is a sentiment that has permeated the magic world and editorialized as recently as a couple months ago in Magic Magazine. This kind of thought has helped keep magic in the dark ages for practically ever.

Nay, I say. Do speak ill. Don’t hide your distain.

There are signs of it changing. The internet has helped, Tim Ellis’ wonderful blog and Magic Fakers website for example. Honest and, in the face of the sniping magic world, brave writers like Jamy Ian Swiss are exerting influence in the magic world. Although too often, the criticized attack back with little reason and personal attacks.

To keep those who treasure truth over lies and pursue perfection over mediocrity in a safe zone, I offer up a correction to our insidious thought.

“If you can’t say anything nice, have evidence.”

Previously, I wrote about my dislike of a couple of big shots in the magic world. This was not just random name calling. I believe I had a reasonable argument. That is the most important point. It is not just enough to say some one sucks. There must be a why. Like Tim Ellis, it is not enough to say that some is a rip off artist, show where they stole from.

There are two other variations of this theme.

“If you can’t say anything constructive, don’t say anything at all.”

“If you have nothing to say, don’t say it.”

Both should be heeded by those denizens of the message boards. I have no vested interest in what people write. I lurk. I see how people treat and react to others. It is embarrassing.

Repeatedly I see people post honest questions only to be attacked:
“I am working on a new show. A complete mentalism show under the theme of Water.I am writing something very different and, in my opinion, interesting.All kinds of effects, will be presented, and I was wondering if you know of one effect that is done with water ...I would be interested in your opinions and ideas.”

Answer: “I think that this would have a limited appeal to an audience, and would seriously limit the scope of your performance options.”

Was that what the poster asked? What do you care? Answer the question.

I saw another response to a post, the answer to the poster’s request was, “I don’t know, ask someone else.”

What the fuck? I am too annoyed to write any more about it.

Another saying to remember is, “It is better to be silent and thought a fool than to open one's mouth and remove all doubt." (Thank you, Mark Twain.) Alternatively, try this, “It is better to be silent and thought a fool than to type online and remove all doubt."

So let us review the rules. Write them down, paste them above your computer, and before you type, review.

1) “If you can’t say anything nice, have evidence.”

2) “If you can’t say anything constructive, don’t say anything at all.”

3) “If you have nothing to say, don’t say it.”

Ed and other people I know

2007-08-06T13:11:00.000-05:00

This is a first draft, but since I haven't blogged in a while I thought I should post something. The summer has been a serious drain on me energy. I hope you enjoy this anyway. -Bill

Working in a public forum, I meet a lot of people. Most drift in and out of the store and barely leave a ripple in my water. Some become memories. A few just annoy me. There is something about a magic shop that acts as a magnet for every nut bag, jerk or loon.

A class of people exists solely to show me a magic trick. Well, we are not that kind of magic store. It is not the magicians; usually they understand and are content to hang out. It is the amateur who pushes to show a trick.

“You gotta deck? Gimme a deck. I’ll show you a trick. See if you know this one.”

Believe me, I do know that one and every other one they are going to do. As soon as they start describing the trick I can finish their sentences. Of course, they have to continue long past any time a reasonable person would’ve stopped.

Worse is the parent pushing their child to show that trick.

“Hey show him your trick. Do that trick. Here’s a quarter. Do your trick. See if he knows that one. Betcha don’t know this one.”

Really…I guess I got the job because I work cheap. (I don’t.) I might have a little experience with magic trick considering they are my job. If the Chinese ever need me to confess my secrets they now know what to do.

A second species inhabiting Navy Pier is the mall walker. There are several antiqued gentlemen and gentlewomen who visit the mall to pass their golden years. (Days?)

An older Italian man used to come into the store for a visit. This I found hilarious because, although in this country for many years, his English was terrible. He spoke with a thick accent, in a half English, half Italian vocabulary. Only once in a while would I understand a “Fuck” through the garbled talk. But he spoke on and on while I smiled and politely nodded. Until, he started calling the black people he saw monkeys and showed me a picture of Hitler he kept reverently in his wallet. I pulled the plug after that. Was my polite nodding an agreement to his racist ranting? I sure hope not.

Our most regular visitor is Ed. He is nearly 80 years old. Not a real deep thinker, but mostly harmless, and he has some interesting stories. At seventeen, he joined the army and served food on Navy Pier to the soldiers returning from World War 2. He was a drunk, a vagrant, and homeless for many years. He spent a lot of time in theaters, a cheap place to be sheltered, and remembers seeing many legendary performers live. He did a little time in prison again for vagrancy. He goes out to jazz clubs every Friday night, gets his drink on, dances a little, and brags about imaginary girlfriends. Ed was hit by a bus last year, but gets around as well as always. Ed is a survivor.

There is an anonymous man in a wheelchair that rolls by everyday and waves hello.

The other day an 80 year plus black woman, who has also anonymously limped by the store for the past couple of years, finally decided it was time to talk to the magic guy.

“How do I look?”

Well, a novel way to start out I think. She looks the same as she always has, as far as I can tell. I am unusually observant and notice much that happens past my store. The woman is average. Maybe a little shorter than average, but otherwise medium build. Medium brown skin tone. What I did notice was the limp and that one leg was considerably thicker than the other. She moves a little unsteady like she is always off balance.

“Um…you…you look fine.” I reply.

“Oh, I was just wonderin’. So I look okay, huh?”

“The same as you have every other time you walked by the store.”

“Well, I used to be 350 pounds.” She shows me the skin hanging from her arm. “I am going to the doctor and gonna get this fixed and down here,” pointing to her stomach, “this too. All fixed.”

Hmmm, I think this may be trouble.

“I’m alone now.” She continues.” My kids they all met someone out of state and married them. But I get along okay. My clothes, where I live they all think they’re new, but I go to the thrift store on North Ave. and the woman there she saves stuff for me and I go and buy it. And they all think I got me a new fur coat. But I look okay huh?”

I want to say, “When I am as close to death as you are, I should be so lucky.” Instead I say, “Fine.” It is taken as her cue to continue.

“I’m alone now, but I had a brother he was a boxer. Here in Chicago. But he never got scarred up. No. The women he had around him. They were like syrup. Honey.”

I will be patient. She is a harmless lonely old woman who needs someone to talk to. I nod my head. Smile. And generally ooh and aah in all the right places. Least, I can understand her.

“Well, I’m glad I look okay. I was a nurse in the war and I was giving the doctor a scalpel when a bomb went off and I looked up and there was no one around. They all dove under the table. I was there with patient. I still have a bullet in my leg. They never took it out. They didn’t want to show me the x-rays, so I called my lawyer Bernstein. He made them. I still got it in my leg.”

She lifts her swollen leg up to show an Ace bandage wrapped around it, slightly above the knee.

“But I’m not afraid to be alone. I lived with my mother. And she was alone, but I never saw her with no boyfriends. My brother he went with all the women. I’m okay. I go anywhere. You got to the liquor store over by **** and they will sell you. Give the cash. I put a silencer on my 45 caliber. No one comes up to me.”

“Gulp.” I gulped.

A family comes in the store and I ask if they need any help, hoping they do. They don’t. But they will just look a moment.

“Bernstein, he’s good. He won’t do a dirty deal. I go there and get some papers done. He won’t charge me. He’s got two sons and they’re lawyers too, but he says come to me. They do dirty deals. They are in the same building. Same floor. But he won’t have anything to do with them. He says, ‘go away, stay there.’ Yep, I had my last baby when I was fifty years old.”

“Wow.” I wowed.

“The newspapers came out. And the doctor he had to do a caesarian because he said my womb was too small. And he said I couldn’t have intercourse with a larger man because of my tiny vagina.”

“ ” I blanked.

I did the only thing I could. “Don’t you folks have any questions yet?”

They did.

The elderly woman turned and left in a wisp of an unintelligible mumble.

As she left, I quietly thanked that family. The mom, who was standing right next to the conversation, asks, “I was only half listening. What was she talking about? Her kitchen?”

I laughed, “Sort of…it was a little more… more anatomical than that. So do you guys do some magic already?”

Yes, another day in the store. I can’t wait until Wednesday when we’ll both be back. Maybe I should introduce her to Ed.

PC Bastards

2007-07-10T01:28:00.000-05:00

Those of you looking for a rant about Apple vs. PC, look elsewhere. This is a rant about a group of out-of-touch, power mad public “servants”, Chicago’s Aldermen.

First, a word about the so-called PC movement.

While I do agree that we should not discriminate against those that may be different from us, this movement has created an atmosphere of over sensitivity. Every I turn I see imagined slights and transgressions causing offense. Neutral language and equivocated statements are rendering our interactions beige, bland, and, at times, incomprehensible. Worse yet, boring. Look at the first sentence of this paragraph. I have to equivocate or else I know the PC fools will be on the attack. They want to impose rules onto other people.

I am not a smoker. I hate when I come home and my clothes smell from smoke. I would never date anyone again that smoked. My father had a horrible decade long battle within his body because of what smoking unfiltered Camel cigarettes did to it. Nasty things happened to my father. It finally killed him two years ago. Yet, I am against this smoking ban fad running rampant through America right now.

Smoking, while personally distasteful, is a legal act. You can buy cigarettes. You can pay the taxes on them. You just can’t smoke them. Prohibition, that worked out well, didn’t it? How about that war on drugs, glad we stamped them out. Whew!

My main complaint is that the free market should decide whether a particular business should be smoke free, limited smoking, or smoke filled. If enough people complain or refuse to patronize a business, the business must adapt. This is a time honored successful capitalist tradition. We do not need it to be legislated.

I don’t like Burger King’s French fries. I don’t eat Burger King’s French fries. I go to McDonald’s or Wendy’s. I do not go to Burger King. If enough people feel the same as I do then either Burger King will change or go out of business. No laws are required to change the fries at Burger King. The system we created, we depend on, works.

But, the Chicago City Gestapo has not only banned smoking, it has banned food and wants to further limit the free market by limiting the choices of how our food is made.

On May 4th, the City Gestapo’s Buildings Committee voted to reject an exemption that would have allowed actors on stage to by-pass the city ordinance that bans smoking in public places. So, if a play requires smoking, say to re-create a period or as an important metaphor, you can’t do it. A court in Colorado has already rules that an actor doesn’t have a First Amendment right to light up.

To a magician, this means the death of cigarette tricks. Violence and sex are protected on stage, but not cigarette manipulation. No, no, no.

Perhaps, this isn’t a battle I should be fighting or caring about, but I believe this is a chip knocked off the Constitution. This slow erosion of our rights is frightening. The process is so small that we hardly recognize that we are ceding the control of our lives to a political machine, bought and paid for by the highest bidder.

I’ve not performed my cigarette act in years, but I would like the option. I would like my audience to have the option of whether they want to see it or not. I want the system created by our founding fathers to be allowed to work.

The problem is one ban always follows another.

The real question to ask is, what’s next?

Without freedom, no art; art lives only on the restraints it imposes on itself, and dies of all others.
-- Albert Camus

Freedom is poetry, taking liberties with words, breaking the rules of normal speech, violating common sense. Freedom is violence.
-- Norman O. Brown

If we don’t believe in freedom of expression for people we despise, we don’t believe in it at all.
-- Noam Chomsky

The condition every art requires is, not so much freedom from restriction, as freedom from adulteration and from the intrusion of foreign matter.
--Willa Cather

The true danger is when liberty is nibbled away, for expedience, and by parts.
--Edmund Burke

For the article that inspired this entry please read Perform Ink.
http://performink.com/Framesets/2frmBody.html

Quote Me

2007-06-22T23:26:00.000-05:00

"To write a diary every day is like returning to one's own vomit."
-Enoch Powell

True History for the Showman

2007-06-18T17:34:00.000-05:00

The Many Legs of Santa Anna

Antonio de Padua María Severino López de Santa Anna y Pérez de Lebrón was born with the standard two, although mirror imaged, matching legs. They served their master, Santa Anna, for many good years.

In 1810, at the age of sixteen, the three of them, Santa Anna and his legs, joined the Mexican army. By the time a dozen years had passed, Santa Anna’s stellar military service earned the rank of General. In 1836, he defeated the troops at the Alamo. Despite the victory, he was not received as a hero by the Mexican government.

In 1838, he saw a way to redeem himself when the French invaded Mexico. During the so-called Pastry War, cannon fire struck the General. His leg and ankle were shattered and amputation was the only option. In a ceremony befitting any war dead, the detached leg was buried with full military honors. His leg wasn’t the only loss, the battle was also a defeat, yet, Santa Ana styled himself as a hero.

During this era, wooden legs were little more than sticks. Santa Ana preferred a cork leg sculpted to a more realistic shape. This leg he would hold high above his head and wave it during parades to remind the onlookers of the sacrifice he made for Mexico.

However, he wasn’t finished with the formerly attached leg. On the year anniversary of his loss in the Pastry War and the ten-year anniversary of his greatest victory over Spain in Tampico, the leg was disinterred. Santa Ana had the limb paraded through the streets in an imperial coach and laid to rest in an ornate mausoleum. He commissioned songs and poems to eulogize, lovingly, his former member.

Santa Ana was president of Mexico eleven non-consecutive times over a period of twenty-two years. Sometimes handed the power of state, sometimes seizing it for himself, only to be thrown out of office for his extreme corruption. After one such event, a riotous mob destroyed his leg’s crypt. They dragged the desiccated appendage through the streets chanting “Death to the Cripple, Long Live Congress.” The leg hasn’t been heard from since.

In 1846, the United States declared war on Mexico. Santa Anna commanded the Mexican forces the battle of Cerro Gordo. American troops forced the General into a hasty retreat. Illinois guardsmen discovered Santa Ana’s personal carriage abandoned. Its contents included the General’s personal wardrobe, $70,000 in silver to pay his troops, and his favorite leg. The troops immortalized the leg in song parodies. To this day, the war prisoner (cork leg) is still being held at the Illinois State Military Museum in Springfield, Illinois.

Mourning the loss, Santa Ana never again would sport cork; wood would have to do. There is an unconfirmed rumor that Texas is also in possession of a wooden Santa Anna leg and tried to trade it for a flag that flew over the Alamo, which is owned by Mexico.

I can just imagine some industrious owner of a 19th cabinet of curiosities touring with wax copies of the many legs of Santa Ana.

Must have been quite the draw.

PostScript: The former legs of Heather Mills and Monty Stratton could not be reached for comment on the previous totally bizarre, mostly true, story.

News and Quotes

2007-06-09T20:05:00.000-05:00

I have to apologize to my regular readers; I’m way behind in my writing.
Too many projects, too little time.
Keep your eyes open this week for the bizarre story of the many legs of Santa Ana. Also, there will be a review of last weeks opening of Chicago’s newest weekly magic show, The Magic Cabaret.
For now, here are a few choice quotes about Chicago:

It used to be a writer’s town, and it’s always been a fighter’s town. For writers and fighters and furtive torpedoes, cat-bandits, baggage thieves, hallway headlockers on the prowl, baby photographers, and stylish coneroos, this is the spot that is always most convenient, being so centrally located for settling ancestral grudges. Whether the power is in a .38, a typewriter ribbon, or a pair of six-ouncers, the place has grown great on bone-deep grudges of writers and fighters and furtive torpedoes.

--Nelson Algren, (Chicago’s greatest writer)

Here’s the difference between us and Dante. He wrote a lot about hell and never saw the place. We’re writing about Chicago after looking the town over.

--Carl Sandburg, (Chicago’s 2nd greatest writer)

Chicago is the glory and damnation of America all rolled up into one. Not to know Chicago is not to know America.

--Neal R. Pierce and John Keefe

Eventually I think that Chicago will be the most beautiful great city left in the world.

--Frank Lloyd Wright

I find the whiskey unexpectedly good.

--William Butler Yeats, (visiting Chicago during prohibition)

I wish I could go to America if only to see Chicago.

--Otto Von Bismarck

Loving Chicago is like loving a woman with a broken nose.

--Nelson Algren

Quote Me

2007-05-26T19:14:00.000-05:00

Keep this in mind when writing and routining:

"tanto nadar para morir en la orilla"

(So much swimming only to perish at the shore)

--Arthur Plotnik, from The Elements of Expression,

Putting Thoughts into Words

Color Changing Card

2007-05-18T21:41:00.000-05:00

If you didn't see this yet, you'll be surprised.

Late Reviews from the Collectors' Weekend

2007-05-13T19:40:00.000-05:00

Okay, it took me a couple of days to recover from Collectors', but here are some thoughts and reviews. Better late than never.

Wednesday
The Magic Collectors' did not have any events, but Chicago's own Knights of Sleights put on their annual flea market. Auctions seem to be all the rage. Thankfully, the Knights (in an effort for full disclosure, I am a member-at-large.) stuck to tradition and organised a wonderful event. I look forward to this Wednesday every year because it is a social event. I see people that I may only see once a year. Oh, and there is good stuff to buy, too.

Thursday
Check in, Dealer rooms open, It seems like much less dealers than I remember. I look longingly at all the things I can't afford. The Jay Marshall auction previews begin. I look longingly at all the things I'll never afford. In the evening, Richard Kaufman spoke on the book Greater Magic. Most of what he said could be found in the introduction of the book itself. He never said the only words I wanted to hear: "reprint". Jim Steinmeyer gave his customary professional talk on Amac, Jarrett, and historical notables.

Friday
I start off the program with a talk on the new discoveries I made concerning Spirit Medium Carrie M. Sawyer, the star of my book, EXPOSED! The Untold Story of Harry Kellar and The Tribune Spook Cases. (I have only 10 books left out of the 100 I printed. I will not be printing it again. When I promise a limited edition I mean it.) The talk went well. Better than my first talk in LA, I was much more comfortable this time. Transplanted Chicagoan David Parr Followed me with a wonderful talk about rediscovering your own magical past. Digging up some of his earliest magic books and finding what made him love magic in the first place. After lunch, Michael Claxton, a researcher after my own heart, waded through 150 years of Punch magazine collecting everything on magic. He covered the first 75 years in his lightly entertaining talk. David Charvet returned with an updated talk about Alexander and new version of his Alexander book from Mike Caveney's Magic Words company. David Avadon spoke in support of his book, Cutting up the Touches, from Squash Publishing. (the event organiser, Gabe Fujari's company.) This was one of the low points of the weekend when he clearly could not handle the speaking assignment, especially odd considering he just wrote a book on the subject. In the evening, Chicagoan Lee Levin spoke on two newly discovered Houdini window cards. I wrote about this subject previously, check my archives. John Carney spoke and performed his take on three magical marvels. Filling in for the recovering Max Maven, David Ben recounted a few anecdotes and introduced a Canadian documentary on Max. What didn't help is the singles party next door blasting their music to constant distraction.

Saturday
Woke up in time for the Jay Marshall auction. Spent $140 on a small picture album of Chicago stage performers. Over all most items went for much more than thought. I one piece I really wanted went to my friend, Dave Odette. Who will now be known as That Bastard. The evening show featured local juggler Andy Head, who did a nice turn. Andy is an incredible juggler, but not nearly as entertaining as he could be. David Avadon surprisingly did not perform pickpocketing. I thought that was what he did. He performed a newspaper tear and a spirit cabinet stunt in which he, while tied up, ends up wearing a spectator's coat. David only cannot speak his own speech, but can't perform his own act. Again Chicagoan and life long friend of Guest-of-Honor Jim Steinmeyer, Bob Higa performed classic manipulations well and had Jim introduce three of own illusions while Bob performed them.

The final result was a good, but not great or special convention. I was happy to see it back in Chicago. It is our continuing shame that the is not a regular convention in Chicago.

Finally, I got to spend time and meals and excessive cocktails with David Parr, Dan Mindo, P.T. Murphy, Arthur Trace, Gordon Meyer, Jon Stetson, Dave Odette, Jim Steinmeyer, Tim Felix, Rodger Dreyer, Bill Kalush, John Carney, Graham Putnam, Jim Alferson, and probably a few others that I can't remember. All of these guys engaged each other in a few days of interesting talk and hilarious stories.

I wouldn't trade that for anything.
Maybe the convention was pretty special, after all.

Random Acts of Sideshow

2007-04-28T22:42:00.000-05:00

How to go from Ordinary Human to Blockhead.

It started in the pain and torture acts, sideshow performances in which the performers endured or seemed to endure intense pain.

Some survived crucifixion on a nightly basis. Others just pushed needles through their skin. Not like in this age when gratuitous piercing has rendered shoving a spike through your tongue meaningless. Nope, these guys and even a few girls shoved needles through parts rarely pierced today, like arms and legs. One nutty bastard even thrust a sword through his chest. And when I say through his chest, I mean it. From the front and out the back, not just through a bitsy piece of skin, impalement is the correct terminology. If you want to see the pictures visit the link to The Human Marvels, check his archives.

One of the common torture tests was for the performer to pound a large nail or spike into his nasal passage. It horrified. The audience believed the nail pierced skin, bone, and, perhaps, even brain to make its way into the head. Of course, the performer hammed it up.

Then came a man by the name of Melvin Burkhart, he changed everything. He took a minor torture piece, turned it into a showstopper, and gave birth to a generation of blockheads. The big change was that he played it for laughs. This made it accessible to audiences. Sure, it was still shocking, especially because he used a HUGE spike.

I have performed the Human Blockhead act for at least a decade. What makes a man pound a spike in his face? I think for Melvin, it was work; it was show business. For me, it was another challenge.

So many years ago when I decided being a magician was preferable to working for a living, I also decided that I wanted to learn everything about magic and its allied arts. I learned to juggle, ventriloquism, and eat fire. Right now, I am working on whip cracking.

I digress. Ten years ago, a friend, Scott Wagmeister, introduced me to the act. After some experimentation with Q-tips, I moved to nails. First, just sliding them in and then figuring how to “pound” them into my nose. I tried larger nails until I settled on a size and length that was comfortable. I believe my sinus passage would stretch, but I don’t want to go through the pain of enlarging it.

Now, you can find performers who have backslid into making the act a torture act again. They shove ice picks, screwdrivers, and drills into their heads. Whatever works. (Whatever sells!)

I prefer the middle road, a little shock, a little fun.
Make ‘em squirm, then make ‘em laugh; pull them and let them know everything is safe.

The other day a new addition for the act came in the mail. Glass Nails!

I’ll get to the maker in a moment. The nails are made from Pyrex. They look great and slide in smooth. One of their amazing properties is that they conduct light, much like fiber optics. When the nail is deep in my nose, I can put a flashlight in my mouth and light up the nails.

Cool. I’m the Human Lite-Brite.
(Lite-Brite is a registered trademark of blah, blah blah.)

The maker of these wonderful new tools is Brett Loudermilk, The Freak Prodigy. I found out that he made these in the sideshow section on the Magic Café. No, never fear, I am not a member. I lurk, mostly shaking my head in disbelief, except in the sideshow section, which seems pretty decent.

Back to the commercial, Brett has made an incredible product. I urge anyone reading this that does the blockhead act already to purchase some nails from him. Don't waver. For a few bucks, it will make your act better. Even if you just perform it for fun, these nails add a lot to the show. Here is his e-mail: bretteloudermilk@gmail.com

Hey, get your freak on.

Play Time

2007-04-20T21:51:00.000-05:00

From the UMA website:

ORANGE LEMON EGG CANARY
by Rinne Groff

April 18 - May 18, 2007

Chopin Studio Theatre

Uma is proud to present the Midwest premiere of Obie Award-winning playwright Rinne Groff's ORANGE LEMON EGG CANARY. Great, a renegade magician with a mysterious legacy finds more than meets the eye in his sexy new assistant Trilby, who pursues him for the truth of his past and the truth behind his tricks. This funny, quirky modern love story has plenty of disappearing coins, floating objects, and the infamously dangerous and thrilling "chick-on-a stick." Not to mention a lovely assistant who talks a lot for being a dead woman. A magical exploration of the cheap tricks, smoke and mirrors and bonds of faith in modern romance, ORANGE LEMON EGG CANARY is sure to be an amazing night at the theatre, especially when experienced amidst one of Uma's fantastical "umavironments."

This production is appearing in Chicago for the first time. Dennis Watkins from the House Theater is playing the lead and did the magic consulting. He is a fine magician and actor, who many in Chicago remember from his role as Houdini in Death and Harry Houdini by the House Theater. I am looking forward in seeing this new show.

If you are in Chicago, it's a must do thing.

For more info, dates, and ticketing visit the website:

http://www.umaproductions.org/shows.php

Also see the article in the Friday, April 20, Weekend section of the Chicago Sun-Times for the article by their theater critic Hedy Weiss.

Or google the play's title, Orange Lemon Egg Canary for information on the original off-broadway production.