Television magicians from decades long gone

Two Canadians in the top 8!

From Me TV Chicago's article "8 Magicians Who Dazzled Us on TV as Children":

1. DOUG HENNING

With his bedazzled overalls and beaming smile, Henning was the perfect man to introduce children to the world of magic, a lovable character akin to Gallagher or Slim Goodbody. The Canadian first broke in this country on Broadway, earning a Tony nom for his 1974 production, The Magic Show. A year after that opening, 50 million viewers tuned in for the TV special Doug Henning's World of Magic. The escape artist and lover of Houdini went on to create stage tricks for Earth, Wind and Fire and Michael Jackson tours.

2. THE AMAZING RANDI

James Randi is as well known for his skepticism as his illusions. The performer famously offered $1,000 (then $10,000, then $1,000,000) to anyone who could prove the existence of the supernatural. He's still waiting to pay out. Randi, seen here on the cover of Dynamite magazine, had a mission to expose charlatans posing as naturally gifted psychics. He would especially work to debunk the following man, his nemesis…

 Read more.

Catching up with David Peck's "Face 2 Face"

Edited at 10:15am to add a list of magicians David's interviewed over the years:

• Matthew Disero - episode 3
• Jay Sankey - episode 5
• David Merry - episode 27
• Anthony Lindan - episode 45
• Gabe Fajuri - episode 48
• Tom Ogden - episode 102
• David Ben - episode 145
• James Alan and Mike Close - episode 79
• Lawrence Hass - episode 150
• Viveka Melki - 177 - On the Circus
• Marcie Hume - filmmaker - about the movie "Magicians" - episode 187
• Jeff McBride - episode 188
• Mac King - episode 189

Coming soon:

• Lawrence Hass (Part 2)
• Bobby Motta 
• Jeff and Tessa Evason
• Matthew Disero (Part 2) 

David's got a long list of interesting guests on his "Face 2 Face" podcasts this year.  Check out his interviewees, then click through to his site and have a listen!  (I'm hoping to get a chance to listen to the Mac King and Jeff McBride interviews soon.)

From David Peck Live:

• Greg Paul – Episode 193

• Brian McKenna  – Ep. 192

• Alex Hinton – Episode 191

• Jay Whitelaw – Episode 190

• Mac King – Episode 189

• Jeff McBride – Episode 188

• Marcie Hume – Episode 187

• Michael Coren – Episode 186

• Mitch Abrams – Episode 185

• Nicholas Greco – Episode 184

• Susanne Regina Meures – Episode 183

• Peter Stockland – Episode 182

• Christal Earle – Episode 181

• Alethea Arnaquq – Episode 180

• Todd & Jedd Wider – Episode 179

• Anjali Nayar – Episode 178

• Viveka Melki – Episode 177

• “Best and Most Beautiful Things” – Ep. 176

Read more and listen to podcasts.

Mike Fisher on being a magician

From Mike Fisher's Facebook note*:

To be a magician it seems to me,
you have to get good at things others can’t see.
Practice for hours when you’d rather go out,
Explain to the client what your shows all about.
Create a performance to fit a challenging budget,
Perform for a crowd that can’t help but judge it.

To be a magician performing shows can be tough,
some times your best just isn’t enough.
Arrive at a venue with no sound system inside her,
Argue with the client it was on the rider.
Set up your show and learn most of it won’t fit,
weeks of rehearsals all gone to sh*t. 

To be a magician and perform for the public,
often does terrible things to ones stomach.
Unruly children and parents who don’t care,
heads tilted downward into phones they stare.
Volunteers from the audience who’d rather not join you,
disrupt your act and often upstage you. 

To be a magician running a business is hard,
no one is begging for my contact card.
Facebook adds are expensive, Newspaper’s dead,
I’m never sure if my twitter feed’s read.
Cleaning my suit and repairing an old prop,
buying new magic spending won’t stop.

To be a magician and have a great show,
is a powerful drug that many can’t know.
The feeling you get when an effect goes right,
smiles from the audience -- a beautiful sight.
Line ups for autographs, people asking for more,
Inquiring about your next stop on the tour.

To be a magician is a wonderful thing, sometimes you cry, sometimes you sing.

--
* Reprinted with permission from Mike.

Chicago: Chris Mayhew at the Chicago Magic Lounge

From Chris Mayhew's Facebook page:

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Jack Lillico in the Vancouver Magic Circle June 2016 Newsletter

Last month I posted  a link to John Smithman's interview of Jack Lillico.  This month, the Vancouver Magic Circle published a special "pull-out" section about Jack.  It includes John's interview, along with some fabulous photos of magic history.

Check it out on pages 7 - 14 of the June 2016 edition of the Vancouver Magic Circle Newsletter.

As an added bonus, watch on Facebook, a video John made of an 89-year Jack Lillico doing a Card Sleight:

Diary of a Sorcerers Safari newbie - part 11

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A camper's notebook.

Day 5: Tuesday August 18th (cont)*

8pm

Dinner was wings and fries and salad and donuts!  Jen Segal, Christina Galonska, Stephanie Kline, Lori Farquhar, Lisa Close, and Mike Toal worked hard to get it organized and serve us since we weren’t in the Mess Hall tonight.  They’re always working really hard to making sure all of the non-magic stuff is taken care of.  I sure am grateful for their efforts. 

Dance party = so much fun!   Mark Correia did a wicked Michael Jackson impersonation and two of the littlest kids here had an incredible dance off!  Phil DaCosta DJ’d again and gave away t-shirts and cards and stuff too for answering questions and making clever requests.  I love this place. 

Mark doing his thing.

The weather must have cleared ‘cause they’re letting us have camp swim!

10pm
I did it!!  I got scared and wasn’t going to.  But then I remembered that Scott Hammell and Eric Leclerc both say that we should try things “out of our comfort zone” now and again.  The lifeguard said it was safe to jump from up high and that he’d make sure nothing bad happened to me.  I was so nervous climbing up those stairs.  They went up forever.  The lake looked such a long way down.  I froze and almost didn’t do it.  Then I jumped!!!!  I was surprised how long it took for me to hit the water -- it felt like hours.  I didn’t get hurt, nobody laughed and my friends all cheered for me!  I really feel like I’m part of one big family here.

I did it!!!

There was more dancing and a spectacular fireworks show.  Everyone sang some song by a band called “Queen” and that was the end of the night.  I’m so excited and tired.  I don’t remember much else.  I don’t want camp to end tomorrow.

This is so. much. FUN!

Everybody dance now!

To be continued ...

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The 2016 season of Sorcerers Safari will run from Sunday August 7th through Friday August 12th, 2016. For more information, or to register, please visit SorcerersSafari.ca

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* The “Diary of a Sorcerers Safari Newbie” is primarily based on the 2015 camp season.  It is an aggregate of many perspectives, and at times includes events from previous years.

Have you registered for the 2016 Magic Master Summit*?

  

Updated November 2017 to add:

• Register for the 2017 Magic Master Summit!

Back in May, I shared with you information about the 2016 Magic Master Summit, a FREE online magic convention featuring more than 30 presentations, from more than 24 experts, totaling more than 50 hours of incredible secrets!

Did I mention, it's completely FREE, July 18-22, 2016?

Here's the tentative schedule:

Monday - July 18, 2016

• Rick Thomas

• Brad Ross

• Dan Sperry

• Bill Gladwell

• JC Sum

Tuesday - July 19, 2016

• Shawn Farquhar

• Dr. Joe Vitale

• Kristoffer Olson

• Justino Zoppe

• Chris and Neal

• Chris Randall

• Jim Gravina

Wednesday - July 20, 2016

• Greg Frewin

• Murray SawChuck

• David DaVinci

• Steven Yerardi

• JC Sum

• Glen Foster

Thursday - July 21, 2016

• Reza

• Josh Knotts

• Brad Ross

• David Farr

• Stacey Smithson

Friday - July 22, 2016

• Josh Knotts

• Wacky Chad

• Ken Weber

• Kyle Knight and Mistie

• Justino Zoppe

From what I understand, the sessions are each free for 24 hours, then after that if you want to purchase access to them, you'll have the ability to go back to review them.

What are you waiting for?  Register at Magic Master Summit today!



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* Disclosure: I am a Magic Master Summit Affiliate and I am eligible to make a commission with every sale made using the links posted on this site.