My friend Denny Haney, owner of The Denny and Lee Magic Studio, magical artist known as Denny Lee, died this day, Jan 23rd in 2019. He wasn't world famous, but yet he performed Internationally. He wasn't a household name. But among magicians he was revered. The best names in magic would call him for his opinions and advice. He freely shared his knowledge and wisdom with whoever wanted to hear. I know it also frustrated him at times. Denny was highly opinionated, this came from being the real deal, an actual performing magician with thousands of shows under his belt.
He performed nearly every type of venue there was and nearly every style of magic, with the exception of mentalism. For some reason, mentalism didn't really interest him. He admired those who did it, but his forte was stage magic. He loved manipulation having been a graduate of the Chavez Course in Magic. And he loved illusion magic. He had many clever twists on existing illusions. He was from the old school of 'make it entertaining'. So whenever magic was done, he also added in plenty of bits of business.
A perfect example of Denny's style of entertainment was his version of the Bottle Trick. This was something many many magicians have done. Denny's routine was straight out of Ken Brooke's booklet. But what made it special was Denny. He was often compared to Red Skelton in his style of performing and I can see that. Watch the video below and notice his impeccable style.
As I said, Denny was opinionated, but he could always back it up. There are plenty of people with opinions, but when you press them on it, they often fall apart. Why? Their opinions are based upon what they heard someone else say and they have no real knowledge of the subject. Denny's opinions were backed by years and years of work before real world audiences. Honestly if Denny made a suggestion about something, you'd be wise to follow the masters direction. Below is a video of one of Denny's signature routines. Again, I think much of this is Ken Brooke's handling. But notice how Denny interacts with the audience members. He's funny, friendly, and his magic is top notch.
I didnt get to see Denny during his last days, which on one hand makes me very sad. He even asked about me to some friends who were up there. But on the other hand, I remember Denny as the lively old Wizard who loved magic and loved sharing it with anyone who would watch. I learned so much from that guy. I still have a hard time thinking he's gone. It was a crushing moment for anyone who knew him and for those of us who were close to him. He was one of a kind.
A quick story to finish things up. I was in his shop, back in the 90s and I asked him about a particular trick that I had seen Doug Henning perform. It was something that fooled me and I could never find out where it was in print. So I asked Denny and he said, "It's in Tarbell". This was often something Denny would say in regards to an inquiry and he was usually correct. Except this time. This time I stopped him and said, "No it's not. I know what you are referring to and that's not it" And Denny said, "Yes, that's it. Go check it out again." And I was sure he was wrong. I went home, opened my Tarbell Volume 5 and there it was...he was correct, again. I had looked at that a dozen times or more and was convinced that what Doug Henning did was NOT that trick. So the trick fooled me TWICE! Once live and once via a book.
On his gravestone, is printed his favorite saying. I found a photo of it online. RIP ole friend.
