Showing posts with label Philip Hornan. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Philip Hornan. Show all posts

24 March 2023

Canada's Got Talent: Getting to know Dean Gunnarson

Next in the the series of Canada's Got Talent contestants is Onanole's Dean Gunnarson!

 



Who inspires you that is not an escape artist?
 
Jerry Jones, the owner of the Dallas Cowboys has been a long-time friend and supporter. I have performed many shows for him over the years, and I admire his determination and willingness to take risks. Much like an escape artist.  I know there are people that don’t agree with him, but he will risk it all on what he believes is right for his team. I feel as an escape artist to have had to make many similar decisions.
 
What is your first memory of escapology?  How old were you?

When I was 10 years old and, in the 5th, grade my Mom bought me a book on Houdini. I was growing up in Texas at that time and everything was big there like Houdini was in my young eyes.  I read the stories of Houdini and how he could do anything. He was like a real life comic book hero.
 


Who from the escapology community inspires you?

James "The Amazing" Randi inspired me greatly. I remember an episode of Happy Days in 1978 where he played himself. That is true greatness when you get to play yourself in a fictional sitcom. In 1987 I met Randi and he believed in me enough to help get me on my first USA TV special, "In Search of Houdini." It was a two hour live special with many greats of magic on it. David Copperfield, Penn & Teller, Harry Blackstone Jr., Banachek, The Pendragons, and a young 23-year-old Dean Gunnarson from Canada. Randi got hurt in rehearsal and I went on live television to perform the Houdini Milk Can escape on live TV. It was the first time I ever attempted it. Randi later retired and named me as his successor and gave me all his handcuffs and escape equipment, including his Milk Can he used on Happy Days.
 



I’m always doing a variety of TV shows, corporate dates, and travelling. I will be performing in China again soon now that restrictions for performers have changed. Also, I will be back again at a great Magic Festival in Quebec City this September. I also have a film that we just finished taping being released later this fall. It is based on my book, "Dean Gunnarson : The Making of an Escape Artist" and my friendship in 1983 with a teenager named Philip [Hornan] who was battling cancer. We had such great adventures escaping from the RCMP detachments, performing magic shows at the Cancer Foundation for the other children, to trying to find the real magic to try and save his life. It’s an amazing story and one that I have carried with me for 40 years. Now I get to share it on the screen.

Was there anyone or anything instrumental to you becoming an escape artist?
 
Peter Reveen was the first true Showman I ever saw live on stage when I was 15 years old. The way he could stand on stage and command an audience! Wow. I thought that’s what an escape artist must be able to do. My time with James Randi over the years was always such a learning experience from a true master. My best friend and mentor for over 25 years was Bill Brace. He was a retired RCMP Officer that started the Society of Young Magicians (SYM) in Canada. I truly miss my friendship with all of them. Having a mentor is so important in life. People that we can look up to and ask for advice and information.  

I used to also travel to Minneapolis a lot in the 1980s and spent time at Eagle Magic Shop downtown. Toad Hall Toys in Winnipeg I also enjoyed when they started selling magic tricks and I would take some of the old magicians there for the afternoon and listen to their old stories of magic from another era.






Did you ever get discouraged and think about quitting escapology?  
 
Sure, many times. A life in magic is a tough choice. Being self-employed is a challenge. You go through periods of great joy, success, and triumph, then waiting and looking for your next show and paycheck. You must be truly passionate, dedicated, and believe in yourself to succeed in this world. Never surrender to your fears or those telling you can’t succeed. It has been a long journey of over 40 years of escaping around the world, but I would do it all again in a heartbeat. When you feel like quitting you need to remind yourself why you started in the first place. The only people that have never failed at something are those that have never tried !

Do you have any pre-show rituals?
 
I like to get ready early and be prepared. I don’t like to feel rushed before going on stage. I like to get my energy up. I always warm up by stretching and warming up my voice (even though I can't sing ... lol) I actually took singing/voice lessons in the 1980s because I was losing my voice on stage. My coach taught me to always warm up my throat before a show. And lastly, I love a shot of Dr. Pepper before I take the stage. Must be my Texas roots …

 
 
 
What inspired you to be a part of this season of Canada's Got Talent?
 
I have said no to "all" the "Got Talents" for many years. When they asked me this year, I had always wanted to go back to Niagara Falls. They told me about this season and how exciting it was going to be, and I really wanted to part of it.  I also have some really special memories there with Henry Muller and The Houdini Museum. I wanted to attempt a big escape at the original home of the Daredevil, Niagara Falls so this was my chance.  So I had to say yes and give it my best.


 
Is there anything else you’d like to share with our readers?
 
Magic has been a great career. I have travelled the world and seen and done many things people could only dream about. But most important to me are all the friendships I have developed from performing with so many great and wonderful magicians over the decades. Those friendships truly mean the world to me.

 

 

Thank you Dean, for making the time to answer our questions!  Break a leg on CGT!


Learn more about Dean at his website AlwaysEscaping.com or follow him on Instagram.

 
Was that Dean hanging upside down and on fire at the end of last week's episode?  Tune in next Tuesday to find out! 

 
Watch Canada's Got Talent Tuesday nights at CityTV.

 

 

 

 

25 May 2019

Philip’s Magical Paradise update!

From the May 23rd article "Giroux magic museum not disappearing yet" by Jordan Ross in The Carillon:
A group of Winnipeg magicians has put their wands together and come up with a plan to keep Western Canada’s only museum of magic and illusion open for another summer.

Marc Hache of the Magic Club of Winnipeg said Tuesday the 25-member group is rallying the volunteers needed to reopen Philip’s Magical Paradise on Sunday afternoons during July and August.

The future of the Giroux institution became uncertain last August, when maintenance of the 115-year-old former church that houses the museum became too difficult for longtime proprietor Marilyn Hornan.


Read more.

26 August 2018

Philip's Magical Paradise to close in September?

Read Dean Gunnarson's Facebook post from August 25 and watch his mini-tour of Philip's Magical Paradise in Giroux (just south of Winnipeg).  It opened in 1991 as a tribute to Marilyn and Gordon Hornan's youngest son, Philip Hornan.  Philip was a magic enthusiast who succumbed to cancer at the age of 15.

From Dean's video, it sounds as if the museum is set to close forever, unless one of you out there has an idea on how to keep it alive.


From Dean Gunnarson's Facebook page:





From Dean Gunnarson's Facebook page:


15 June 2017

Emily presents "Magic Manitoba" as part of the Red River Heritage Fair

Nine year old Emily T from Winnipeg, chose "Magic Manitoba" as her topic for this year's Red River Heritage Fair.  Visit Canada's History for Kids to watch the video that Emily prepared.  Her mom Linda, reached out to tell us that this project has been entered into a national history competition.

Watch Emily talk about Len Vintus, Doug Henning, Dean Gunnarson, and Philip Hornan. 

Don't forget to give her a vote if you liked what you saw!


23 April 2014

Linking Ring (v94, 4) round-up

For those of you who haven't flipped through the April Linking Ring, here's some of the Canadiana inside this issue:
  • Cover and page 16, "Tony Econ An Icon in Card Magic" by Joan Caesar
  • Page 58, report of Ben Train Lecture (Ring 211)
  • Page 61, "Manitoba Magic Museum is Tribute to Young Magician" by Dennis Schick

02 March 2014

Manitoba museum an honour to son

Updated at 2:50pm to add:
 


Philip's Magical Paradise
"Preserving Canada's Magical Heritage with treasures donated by magicians from around the world."


From the Winnipeg Sun:
It's been operating for 22 years in the RM of Ste. Anne and believed to be the only museum of its kind in Western Canada, but most Manitobans have never heard of it.

"We're a hidden treasure out here," Marilyn Hornan said Wednesday morning.

Philip's Magical Paradise is a magic museum that opened south of Winnipeg in the village of Giroux in 1991. It's a tribute to Marilyn and Gordon Hornan's youngest son, Philip Hornan.

Philip had been a magician since he was a youngster and his love for magic only grew as he got older.

"Unfortunately, cancer took him at the age of 15," Gordon said. "His request was to create a room for everyone to enjoy, to keep the magic in life."

Read more.
The article goes on to discuss how "performers who provided items were Gunnarson, Lance Burton, Doug Henning and Peter Reveen."   In addition they mention a piece on display which includes something once owned by Houdini himself!


[via Owen Anderson]