February is Over And the Moon Is Still Here: David Copperfield Update!

 

Last Fall, David Copperfield told the world he would make the Moon Vanish in February 2024. And, February has now come and gone, but the Moon still remains. What gives? Well, according to an article on SPACE.COM, 

" a lot of organizations have said they want to collaborate and make it an even bigger event that could do even more good.

We're going to try to use it to get telescopes in rural schools and indigenous schools around the country, to encourage kids to really look at the sky and dream about their future, and become scientists and engineers. So, because we're trying to make it bigger, we're just moving it a little bit into the future, to make sure we get all those ideas together."

There was another reason for Copperfield being interviewed on Space.com, and that is his contribution to the recent Odysseus Lunar Lander. Odysseus recently landed on the Moon, and in it's payload, the archives of David Copperfield's secrets. In addition,  Richard Kaufman's Project Magic book! All of this on nickel plated disc which will last a million years. 

Oh, and if that isn't exciting, this is not the first time David's archives have been sent to the moon. Back in 2019, Israel attempted to send a lander to the moon, which sadly crashed. It too contained a library disc and on it, yep, Copperfield's secrets. Here is an article on that event: https://www.fastcompany.com/90335254/the-lunar-library-crashed-on-the-moon-but-you-can-help-find-it

Sadly, it won't even take a million years before the tech to play the disc will be obsolete. That will be about 3 years. Anyway, if you'd like to read the interesting interview with David Copperfield, visit the attached link:  https://www.space.com/intuitive-machines-moon-mission-david-copperfield-interview

And keep watching here for more news about David's exciting Vanishing Moon Event!

Chita Rivera Has Died

 

Dolores Conchita Figueroa del Rivero was her real name, the Broadway World knew her as Chita Rivera. And she was a singer, dancer, actress and Broadway Royalty!  She was nominated 10 times for Tony Awards and she won twice. One of those nominations was for her role as The Queen, in the magical musical MERLIN, also starring Doug Henning. 

She died January 30th, 2024, she was 91 years old and didn't look a day over 60. She had an amazing career. 

Houdini vs Dunninger Water Torture Cells

 

I will begin by saying, I have no idea what is going on here. The top image is from the book, Houdini His Legend and Magic by Doug Henning and Charles Reynolds. I assume this image first appeared in a magazine article during Houdini's time. If you flip it upside down, clearly the face looks like that of Houdini. 

So explain to me the image below. This is the exact same image except it has been doctored. A drawing has been placed over Houdini's name. The name DUNNINGER has been added. If you flip it over, the previous face of Houdini has been altered very slightly, but more hair has been put on to look more like Joe Dunninger. 

At first glance, I wonder if this is just a bit of youthful fun. Not something meant to be seen by the public, but just something Joe did on his own. Yet, it did appear in a Dunninger book. And I don't think it's something the original artist did, though I suppose that is possible. 

My next question is, did Dunninger have a Water Torture Cell? I know he did handcuff escapes, strait jacket escapes, jail escapes and more. But did he have a WTC? Houdini went after folks who tried to duplicate this. There were others who had Milk Cans, but that trick had seen it's day. The Water Torture Cell was really Houdini's big sensational escape. I'm very curious.

I know there are at least a dozen, and probably MORE Dunninger Scrapbooks out in the magic collecting world. I've seen them on the various auctions. IF you have one, can you help me shed some light on this curious question? Did Dunninger own a Water Torture Cell? 

Florida Magic Collector's Conference 2024

 

The Florida Magic Collector's Conference 2024 just finished up and it was both educational and historical. OH, and lot's of fun as well. A smaller conference than some, it has a charm all it's own. I missed the first day's events which had a flea market and auction. And then in the evening, a charming presentation was given by Skilldini, Tim Wright. He has a history with Abbott's Magic Shop in Colon Michigan. He worked there and knew many of the various characters who built, painted, welded, sewed and created the various treasures that were sold at the shop. A really fun presentation.

On Monday morning, the day began with a lecture by Bob Swadling. He was to lecture on The Magic Tea Kettle. He began with a history of the prop, demonstrating various early versions. And for the first time I got to see The Inexhaustible Bottle being performed. It looks just as good as I always imagined. Next he shared the first Tea Kettle, which was the creation of David Devant. He finally moved to his own version of the Tea Kettle which he built for Paul Daniels. Bob them demonstrated his version of The Magic Tea Kettle, and it was glorious. He finished with a video of Paul Daniels performing the Tea Kettle on his TV Show. For those unaware, the basic effect is that any drink called for can be poured out of the Tea Kettle, such as: Red Wine, White Wine, Port, Sherry, Mixed Drinks, Milk, Soda, Champagne, and more. It's diabolical in it's methodology. let's just say, it's pure magic.

Martin Preston and Tammy Calvert were next to talk about the touring life of John Calvert.  I saw John Calvert lecture at Denny's many years ago, and I also have a video of his performance in Memphis TN where he does his full stage show. But hearing many behind the scenes stories from their life on the road was amazing. 

Martin Preston as it turns out, had a history working with John and Tammy Calvert, so he was the ideal person to both interview Tammy and share recollections of the show. Martin presents a Liberace Tribute Act, which is his claim to fame. But he is clearly a Calvert Historian as well. A Great Talk!

The next lecturer was Todd Harris who lectured on The Master Builders of Great Britain. This was a brilliant lecture. Todd had both a slide presentation as well as actual props to show from the various builders. I had not heard of many of these people, but I could appreciate the amount of research that must have gone into this presentation. In fact, finding who builders are, has to be even more difficult than discovering the lives of performing magicians. I wish I had taken more photos, but I got caught up in the his presentation. Todd really hit it out of the park with his lecture, and from what I understand, he is making it available to the attendees via streaming. So a double win! Sadly, I didn't get a chance to talk to Todd, but I know I'll run into him again in the future. I can't wait to go on FB and check out some of his videos!!!

In the evening was The Contest that is Not a Contest, lol. The basic idea was the present some piece of Vintage Magic. But as Dan Stapleton told me, that doesn't always happen. Several performers shared clever pieces of magic. Even yours truly presented a routine. It was a fun show.

Tuesday, began with Rick Heath, the Magician with a Paintbrush, the man who painted everything from scenery to props to posters at the Le Grand David Magic Show in Beverly Mass.. But on this morning, he lectured on Robert Orben and it was sensational. I didn't have previous knowledge of Robert Orben other than he wrote some comedy books for speakers. Wow, was this an eye opening presentation. Orben began as a magician. Later turning to writing jokes and one liners for other entertainers. Then writing material for speakers and even various Presidents of the United States. But his most prestigious job was being a speech writer for President Gerald Ford. This was a wonderful and extremely informative lecture. Rick received a well deserved standing ovation.

Next up, was yours truly, presenting my lecture on Maro: Prince of Magic. This is my third time presenting this lecture, but I always try to add something new each time I present it. Maro is a long forgotten performer who died in 1908 before he really made a name for himself. But despite not making a name for himself, he still had an incredibly lucrative career. Judging by the many conversations I had following my lecture, I would say my lecture was very well received.

The next lecture was supposed to Jeffrey Alan from the American Museum of Magic, but as fate would have it, Jeffrey came down with Covid prior to the conference and was unable to attend. In his place, they showed  a video of one of John Calvert's movies. I've got to say, I really enjoyed this. The movie was fun and John plays a detective in the movie. He even does a little magic in the movie as well. This was what was a called back in the day a "B" movie. But it's better than a lot of the junk you find on streaming services today. 

In the evening was the Gala Show which I cannot report upon because I missed it. I had to head home midday. But I know that Dennis Phillips did a 100ft Rope tie. Dan Stapleton presented his version of The Sands of Egypt. And Tammy Calvert was due to perform some of the magic from the Calvert Show. I'm sorry I had to miss this show. 

They had a great dealers room, but I can't say too much about it because I had a booth of my own, and didn't leave my booth but one time. But it was nice to meet so many folks from the conference and also meet some of my podcast listeners. I enjoyed all the conversations with fellow magic history buffs. 

I've got to say, this was a charming little conference on magic history. All the presentations were top notch. Dealers room was full of folks and I know for me at least, I sold about half the things I brought with me. The one unfortunate thing about the conference was that I was not able to meet everyone there! I did meet quite a few new friends and look forward to seeing everyone again in 2025! If you want to find out more here is the web site Magic-Palooza.com

The Rice and Water Mystery

 

Here is a forgotten gem. It's called The Rice and Water Trick in Later Magic by Professor Hoffmann. In Greater Magic it's referred to as The Rice Bowls. As a dealer item sold at magic shops it's often referred to as The Chinese Rice Bowls. The basic effect consists of two empty bowls. Rice is added to one of the bowls, then the two are placed together. When separated, the rice has doubled in quantity. Then the doubled rice is leveled off and the bowls are again placed together. This time when separated, the rice is gone and in it's place is water! It's an amazing trick.

The actual origin of the effect has been lost. Some scholars believe however that it originated in India as opposed to China.  In Greater Magic there is a method attributed to Frank Ducrot. And there is also a method attributed to Al Baker. What I find fascinating is how this basic trick has so many different methods. I've discovered 8 so far and there are probably more out there. 

I first encountered the Rice Bowls when I purchased a TV Magic Set as a kit. Good ole Marshall Brodien. In fact, here is the video of Marshall doing the Rice Bowls, it's the third trick in...

I could never get my TV magic set bowls to produce THAT trick, lol. But it could have been low attention span Dean who didn't follow the instructions to the letter. I was better at sleight of hand than this type of thing. Eventually, that would change, but I can't blame Marshall for my failure.

I mentioned above this is a forgotten gem. Not many people perform it, and for those few I found online, most do a terrible job. However, one exception is Jade. She does a superb job and her handling of the props makes the effect even more magical. Here is a video of Jade, her Rice Bowl routine is about 1:40 into the video:

One of the better performances of the rice bowls was done by Charlie Miller. I don't care much for his whistling presentation, but his handling is flawless. Sadly, I don't see that version online. It can be found on the Great Magic Video Libraries DVD with Charlie Miller. There is no explanation, but if you can see the handling you might recognize a mistake that is often made in inferior handlings. Btw, Jade has her own way of overcoming the weakness, which I'll not divulge.

My all time favorite version of the Rice Bowls belongs to Richiardi. I always thought his was the most unique version. Imagine my surprise to discover his version in the pages of Later Magic. But though the routine is listed there, the Richiardi flare is not. This is one routine that I have used in my shows in the past, and always listed in the program as 'A Tribute to Richiardi'! Here is the master doing what he does best. 

Magician Ben Hart presented a version of the rice bowls on America's Got Talent-Champions and frankly I thought his presentation was fine. All the judges hated him. Strange. I've seen them dumbfounded by much less and certainly by weaker magic. But for whatever reason, they all sat there confused and not sure what they just saw. Perhaps the story Ben told could have been tweaked a bit. What do you think?

Frank Ducrot's Iconic Tie.

 

Magic Dealer and performing magician, Frank Ducrot had some very memorable things about him. First, he had 3 nicknames: Fritz, Duke, and Dukie. Next, he was well known for three things, a magic wand, his slippers, and his flowing tie.

I kept reading about this 'flowing tie' in articles on Frank but I had no idea what it was. I assumed maybe it was some sort of bit or joke he used in his act. The opposite turned out to be true. The so-called flowing tie turned out to be nothing more than an unusual neck tie that he wore.

If you've ever seen images of Buster Brown from the Buster Brown Shoe company, you've see this type of

neck tie. I guess, as 'the boy magician' Ducrot must have worn a tie like that. And as he got older, he continued to wear this really big floppy tie. I finally, found an image below that shows his tie in all it's glory. To the right is a buster brown image. 

By the way, even in his 50's Frank Ducrot happily went by the moniker, 'The Boy Magician'.

Sadly, Frank Ducrot was buried with this tie.

I bring it up because there are so many performers who have 'something' that people connect to them. Tommy Cooper had his big red fez. Doug Henning and his mustache and rainbows. Siegfried and Roy, the Tigers. In the main world of show biz, you have folks like Charlie Chaplin, with his bowler hat and cane, Jack Benny and his violin, Bob Hope had sort of a signature walk, John Wayne had a walk and a very particular way he spoke, performers like Jerry Lewis and Jim Carrey had faces of rubber and outrageous personalities. Steve Harvey has his giant mustache and bald head, plus he is always dressed immaculately.  I think it's those that have that thing about them that stands out, that go further. Ducrot was known to be one of the busiest magicians in NY. No doubt because he was easily remembered.

Tommy Smothers Has Died

 

Tommy Smothers, one half of the famous comedy duo, The Smothers Brothers, passed away on Dec 26th, 2023 at the age of 86. He passed after a battle with cancer. Though Tommy was not a magician perse, the duo does have a couple really special connections to the world of magic.

First, one of the writers on The Smothers Brothers Show that ran on CBS in the late 1960s was magician/comedian Steve Martin. In fact, Steve appeared on one of the episodes and did presented his comedy magic act. See below.

But the second and lesser known connection to magic was Mr. Harry Blackstone Jr.. Harry was an associate producer on the Smothers Brothers Hour TV show. This was before Harry would decide to devote his career to magic like his father. He would also make three appearances ON the show doing his magic. I've not been able to find any of that footage however.

And there is a third connection to magic. Later when the Smothers Brothers returned to TV in the 80s, they had on the fantastic comedy magic, Ed Alonzo! 

Magicians We Lost in 2023

 Magicians Who Died In 2023

I've tried to compile a list of magicians who passed away this year in 2023. It is by no means complete. If you happen to know of anyone I missed, please include them and the month they passed in the comments below. If you have a photo of them, even better. I'm trying to put a photo with everyone I find out about.

Joe Stevens, died Jan 29, 2023

Robert Orben, died Feb 2, 2023

Scott Alexander, died Feb 6, 2023

Maria Ibanez, died Feb 15, 2023

Karl Fulves, died Feb 16, 2023

Eddie Dawes, died March 3, 2023

Gloria Dea, died March 18, 2023

Harry Lorayne, died April 7, 2023

Al Jaffee, died April 10, 2023

Ken Pulliam, died May 22, 2023

Milt Larsen, died May 28, 2023

Dan Garrett, died Aug 3, 2023

Larry Becker, died Oct 7, 2023

Darwin Ortiz, died Oct 13, 2023

Dirk Arthur, died Oct 16, 2023

Dick Gustafson, died Oct 27, 2023

David Berglas, died Nov 3, 2023

Leo Benke, died Nov 7th, 2023

Micky Hades, died Nov 16th, 2023

Paul Gross, died Nov 29th, 2023

Mario the Maker Magician on The Tonight Show

 

I don't think I've ever written anything on this blog about kids how magicians. And that doesn't mean I don't appreciate them and also know all the leading top of their field performers. I just normally cover history. Well, having a kidshow performer on The Tonight Show is HISTORY!!!!

Mario the Maker Magician is an excellent choice to be featured on the tonight show. He is currently starring in his own off broadway show. Some of his previous credits were as the opening act of David Blaine's touring show, and doing his own one man show at the Fringe Festival over in Scotland. 

If you've never seen Mario, GO SEE HIM. He is hysterical and amazing and brilliant. His appeal to kids is awe inspiring, but adults will enjoy the cleverness. 

Watch him on the tonight show. Absolutely Fantastic!

48 Years Ago Today, Media blitz begins on The World of Magic TV Special

 

It was 48 years ago today, that the press began to appear about a little show on NBC, called The Wold of Magic, starring newcomer Doug Henning. Local TV Guides all over the country had articles about the upcoming special, many with behind the scenes photos. And from what I've seen, some of them with information which was incorrect. Specifically, some of them had Orson Welles listed as one of the Special Guest Stars, but he would be replaced late in the game with actor/dancer Gene Kelly. 

The NBC Special would be broadcast LIVE on the evening of Dec 26th, 1975, and the magic world would never be the same again. 

I will go more into the special in a few days, but for now, enjoy the special commemorative poster that was created for the Special.

The Houdini Milk Can Poster Breaks the Bank!

 

A recent Potter and Potter Auction featured a Houdini Milk Can Escape Poster. This poster dates back to 1908 and was produced by Russell-Morgan Lithos of Cincinnati & New York. The poster depicts Houdini inside the can with a view of him submerged inside. The live audience never had a view inside the can but this artistic depiction helps to convey the cramped confines of this dramatic escape. On top of that, there are the words, "Failure Means a Drowning Death". 

Originally referred to as The Galvanized Iron Can Escape, it was the creation of Montraville Wood. Houdini, debuted the escape at the Columbia Theatre in St. Louis on January 27th, 1908. He had previously been pressure from the theatre manager to produce something people wanted to see, as his handcuff escape act was not pulling the crowds. Too many imitators cooled the desire to see such acts. So Houdini brought out the big guns, The Galvanized Iron Can Escape. Over time he would use it in many different ways. He would fill it with Milk as a challenge from a Dairy, or fill it with Beer as a challenge from a brewery. Over time he would add a wooden box in which the milk can was placed inside and yet he still was able to escape from everything!

I've written a longer piece about the Milk Can Escape which you can read here.

This particular poster came from Houdini's basement on 278 W 113th in NY.  The auction estimates were between $40,000 and $60,000. This poster with buyers premium sold for $180,000.00

Below is a photo of the Columbia Theater where Houdini debuted The Milk Can Escape!

SAM Hall of Fame To Have New Exhibit in 2024

 

The Society of American Magician's Hall of Fame will be opening a year long exhibit in 2024. They will be at the Whittier Museum in Los Angeles. It appears that back in 2012, the SAM Hall of Fame had an exhibition at the Whittier and it frankly looked great. 

The Hall of Fame contains props, posters, even some illusions from magicians of yesteryear. I saw a Brooks Trunk with the initials H.B. on it, so I'm wondering if that once belonged to Harry Blackstone. I've also seen some Le Grand David posters. One thing you can say about the Le Grand David folks is they knew how to create incredible magic posters! I know, I've got them all, and then some, lol. 

But among the rare items are some SUPER RARE Houdini items. One or two handcuff displays are under lock and key (no pun intended) in a glass encased room. 

From what I understand, the Hall of Fame is searching for a permanent home, but when not on display it remains in storage. I truly wish they had a permanent home, because these things deserve to be on display for all to see. 

The exhibition has a soft opening in early January and then the official grand opening date is Jan 27th, 2024. The Whittier Museum is located at 6755 Newlin Avenue, Whittier CA. 

Below is the exhibition room. Obviously, things are not set up YET. But it's going to be a wonderful exhibit when it's done. For more info. https://www.samhalloffame.com/

Houdini Water Torture Cell Christmas Ornament - Available NOW!

 

Dan Wolfe over at Smokey Mountain Magic puts out a series of magic related Christmas Ornaments each year. This year, among his offerings is the Houdini Water Torture Cell. This is an awesome piece and quite affordable. 

Also this year is an Origami Box Illusion, a Bottle of Grant's Black Cherry Soda from the popular Tricky Bottles effect, a tiny Wiz Kate trick that Chalet used to produce, and that tiny Christmas tree is a trick that Dan sells, where the star appears magically on top of the tree. These are all non working miniature versions.

Below are the other new ornaments for this year. And he still has a host of previous  years ornaments available, like the Shadow Box, ZigZag Lady and more. Go to  https://www.smmagic.com/blog1/?product=magic-christmas-ornaments to order yours TODAY!!!

The Josephine Dunninger Auction RIGHT NOW....

 

This blew my mind. But right now, Nov 19th on Facebook is Part 1 of The Josephine Dunninger Auction. This of course as billed as the Dunnger Estate Auction and it's all stuff from Joseph  Dunninger's life and career. What shocked me was, I have a friend who purchased 'The Dunninger Collection' recently.  He purchased the Maxine Dunninger Collection and I'm not at liberty to give his name. I've seen the collection and there is some amazing stuff in that collection, and thats all I can say.

BUT, having said that, there are some equally crazy cool items in the Josephine Dunninger Auction. I've seen numerous photos of Dunninger backstage at the 1953 Houdini Movie with Tony Curtis. I think 7 or 8 of those got auctioned off. There are also some window cards that are incredible.

The auction will continue till 9pm tonight. Go check it out!

https://www.facebook.com/KJKAntiques/videos/715375573857179

The Great Houdini Broadcasts -Behind the Curtain of Episode 97

 

The Great Houdini Broadcasts was written by Val Andrews, and published by Micky Hades International back in 1981. It is a booklet made up of two Scripts. One takes place in 1926 immediately following the death of Houdini. The other script takes place 50 years later in 1976. I have to be honest, I have no idea why Val Andrews wrote this or what his intended purpose was. Perhaps he was writing a big of fiction, a short story, but why did he write it in script form?

Well, I can tell you it was the PERFECT thing for someone like me. I read it and thought it should be made into an old style radio show, EXACTLY how it was written. Perhaps that was Val's intention, I do not know. It also had a copyright. A standard copyright that is found in most books. I honestly was not sure if this prevented me from using the script or not. But I took the high road and contacted Micky Hades and was able to get a non commercial license through his son Brian.

If you listened to podcast episode 97, you'll hear my rendition. Seven very different voices: Radio Announcer, Lawyer Kelson (fictional), Conan Doyle, Hardeen, Horace Goldin, Harry Jansen, and Jay Palmer. Only the lawyer was a fictional character. I almost used Bernard Ernst instead, who was Houdini's real lawyer, but in the last minute I held back. ALL the dialog is fictional, though, it's about 98% historically accurate. And it's because of the truth of the history that I wanted to recreate this. 

If you listen close, Conan Doyle's voice is a combination of James Mason and John Houseman. Hardee's voice is a form of Luka Bratzy from the Godfather movie, but is close to how he really sounded. I wanted to replace Jay Palmer with Dai Vernon. I had this great segment that I wrote AS Vernon, but then I realized that my announcer voice was similar to my Vernon. My Dai Vernon is identical to Johnny Thompson's.  So I couldn't use Vernon. And then I discovered that Jay Palmer was a real magician who actually DID work for Houdini. And on top of it he was born in Nashville TN, so I gave him a Southern accent. It worked fine. 

There are no special effects, other than the static radio sound that plays during the entire story. I would like to have included some 1920s music, but I wasn't finding the stuff I wanted. As it was, one track did make it on the episode, but it's very faint and very short. I meant to pull it and forgot, lol. I hope if you haven't already done so, you'll go listen to the episode. 

My previous 'old style radio drama' was episode 72 of my podcast. That one was called "The Devil and Harry Kellar" and I wrote the entire thing, and did all the voices. That one has a totally different feel to it as it's more dramatic and theatrical. It includes sound effects as well. That story is totally fictional, however if you know anything about Harry Kellar, you'll recognize that the story is filled with TRUE events from his life. The story idea came to me from looking through his posters and it dawned on me, there was a whole story there to be told. 

I have been encouraged to do more of these. But as you might imagine, it isn't like there is a huge amount of these scripts laying around. In other words, I have to write them!!! I already have one written, and there is part of another that I started to write years ago. I suppose I could use those....in the future. For now, the podcast returns to straight magic history!

The Water Torture Cell In Miniature

 

Just saw this and I'm freaking out. It looks PERFECT. And it can be yours. Not sure how many were made. It's a piece of art. Here is the link https://www.powellmagic.com/product/miniature-houdini-water-torture-cell-1-6-scale/