29 March 2015

Broken wand: Eric Lenz

From Legacy:
LENZ, Eric
August 11, 1935 - March 6, 2015
On March 6, 2015 Eric Lenz passed away with his family by his side at his home, Rosewood Manor. Eric was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba to Albrecht and Cecelia Lenz. His three siblings, sister Joan and brothers Norman and Albrecht (Chub), predeceased him. Left to cherish his memory are his wife of 51 years, Donna; his sons Michael (Trish) and Graham (Aya); grandsons Zachary and Spencer; nieces Heather, Adele, Laura, Joanne and nephew Albert as well as many good friends. Eric resided in Richmond in the South Arm area for over 40 years. Long-time neighbours benefited from his great sense of humour and the value that he placed on their friendship. On his regular walks through South Arm Park, he was always happy to stop for a friendly chat with anyone he met. Eric worked as a salesman in the housewares/china industry to support his loving family. Second to them, his passion was magic and he was never happier than when on stage performing. He was awarded the Order of Merlin from the International Brotherhood of Magicians and a Life-Time Membership in the Vancouver Magic Circle. For more than a decade he entertained thousands across the country with the Magic of Cooking show. As a magic teacher, he taught at the Vancouver Technical night school program for 28 years. Many of his students went on to join the Vancouver Magic Circle, making it the largest magic club in North America.

Read more.

From Shawn Farquhar's Facebook page:

Sorry to learn of the passing of another dear friend. Eric Lenz was an amazing man who did it all and loved every...
Posted by Shawn Farquhar on Saturday, 28 March 2015

Broken wand: Alexander Chervin

From Legacy:
CHERVIN, Alexander
Peacefully at home in his 101st year, on Sunday, March 22, 2015, surrounded by his family. Devoted husband of the late Edith Weinreb. Loving father and father-in-law of Ann and Justin Edwards, Michael Chervin, Nancy Chervin, Tamara (Tammy) and Steve Humphreys. Beloved "Papa" of Jasper, and Ian Edwards; Samantha, and Evan Fruchthandler; Jonah, and Samuel Humphreys. Dearest brother of the late Hyman Chervin; and brother-in-law of the late Betty and the late Jack Berman, the late Sadie and the late Sam Cramer, the late Sally and the late Ben Shenker.

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Read some of Phil Matlin's memories of Alex from the Perfect Magic Facebook page:

The first magic store I visited, somewhere around 1948, was Cramer's Magic Shop located on Bleury Street in downtown...
Posted by Perfect Magic on Tuesday, 24 March 2015

With thanks to Phil for letting me know.

28 March 2015

Congratulations Michael Fisher

From Captain Corbin's Twitter feed:

27 March 2015

26 March 2015

Ariann Black in Westword

From Westword:
Ariann Black has worked as a professional magician since 1990, and she's a master of her enchanting art form. The Canada-born magician began practicing the art of illusion when she was just four years old, working her way through magic school and onto the world's stage. She's performed on television and now is a staple on the Las Vegas entertainment scene, working to elevate the visibility of women in the male-dominated world of magic. In advance of her two-night appearance at the Theatre of Dreams in Castle Rock this weekend, Black spoke with Westword about her decades of experience as a magician and what it takes to hone your craft.


Westword: What brought you to wanting to becoming a magician in the first place?

Ariann Black: I was about four years old and I had a cousin who would do magic tricks and he would never tell me how they were done. The first time I saw him do a magic trick, I thought it was the greatest thing in the world. He lived in a different city, so I went home and it took me a couple of months to sit down and figure things out. But once I got it figured out, it was about three months later and we went back to visit the family and I showed him what I thought the magic trick was and then he showed me another one.
At four, you don't realize that there is more than one magic trick out there. I was fascinated with the idea that there was more than one magic trick and you could do all sorts of things. When I was twelve, I saw Doug Henning on television, and prior to that I had been told that girls couldn't be magicians. But when I saw Doug Henning and I saw him with his look — he didn't look like that stereotypical magician — I thought, yeah, I can be a magician, too. He really inspired me.  
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25 March 2015

Brian Roberts and David Merry at "Magic Tonight"

Confirm details by visiting Abracadabaret.com


Mississauga (Thurs):  Brian Roberts
Pickering (Fri):   Brian Roberts [sold out]
Toronto (Sun):  David Merry


James Alan, over at Abracadaberet, has kindly offered the readers of Canada's Magic a coupon code for 50% off tickets to "Magic Tonight!"  Use the coupon code cmagic when you buy your tickets for Magic Tonight to receive your discount*.



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* Offer is subject to change without notice.  Canada's Magic earns a commission when you use the coupon code cmagic.