Truly A Magic Dream - Watch and Read

 

This is Norberto Jansenson. He is a brilliant magician and storyteller from Argentina. He performs mainly in his native tongue, but occasionally, those of us who do not speak Spanish can be blessed by his English speaking routines.

I have been a huge fan of his for years. The first time I saw him, I was struck by the dignity he brought to magic. He used storytelling, references to literature, music, and great magic to create the most wonderful compositions. Watching him, elevated magic in my eyes. 

Imagine my surprise to just now learn about a film he made a few years ago. It was based upon something that really happened in his life. It's called The Dream of Aces. This story is very interesting, as it deals with Norberto in his youth, his magic teacher at the time, and this particular trick. It's a touching story and a wonderful short film. I encourage you to watch the film and then read on, as there is more to this story.

I truly hope you took the time to watch the video. IF for some reason it doesn't show up, you'll need to go to Youtube and in the search box type in  Dream of Aces Jansenson, and it will come up. But either way, watch it and come back.  

Now, the extra can be seen on a video on Norberto's Instagram page. I'm going to put the link here, but just in case it doesn't work, I'll share the important details. https://www.instagram.com/reel/C_rGmJ8PjWJ/

It turns out that Charly Brown learned this routine from Gary Oulett, the magician and TV producer. In fact, at one point it was put on on the market as the Dream of Aces in 1993. According to Norberto, a chance running into Gary Ouellet at a magic convention is how he learned the history and where his mentor Charly had learned it. And then. Norberto Jansenson too, learned the routine. Pretty cool.

The routine is a version of the MacDonald's Ace, which first appeared in Dai Vernon's book, More Inner Secrets and it was then called McDonald's $100 routine. The effect itself was likely the creation of Hofzinser and has manner versions over the years.

Gary Ouellet taught it to Alain Choquette, a fantastic Canadian Illusionist, for one of his TV specials. He used a hand held camera so that the entire audience could view the routine. David Copperfield also adapted the routine for one of his TV specials and called it Grandpa's Aces. I'm going to post David's routine below so that you can see the work he put into the effect. According to David, Chris Kenner helped with some of the handling and they really suped it up in regards to the sleight of hand. David's version has some knuckle busting moments in it. You can see that below....BUT then keep scrolling after you watch that one...

Finally, we come to one of the most brilliant versions. And frankly, I think David's and Jansenson's and I'm sure Alain's are all fantastic. But the next one was extremely different and helped to pave the career for no less than Ricky Jay. Same routine, totally different vibe, very different reactions. 

I posted all of these to show you how a classic effect, like an Ace Assembly, can be turned into a wonderful theatrical moment with storytelling, music, emotion, and more. 

Elevating Magic!

The NEW Genii Is Out of the Lamp!

 

When I say, "The NEW Genii" I'm speaking of the magazine first started by William Larsen Sr. back in 1936. This was truly a family magazine for many years. From 1936 till 1999, the magazine was produced by the family Larsen. But in 1999, Richard Kaufman purchased the magazine and has kept it running until January 2025. I believe the magazine was sold to Randy Pitchford before this time, but Richard stayed on as editor.

Now in February 2025 we have a new editor, Jim Steinmeyer, well he is listed as the Executive Editor. Richard Kaufman is staying on to run the Magicana column. Some of the old columnists have remained and some new ones have come on board.

One of the interesting things is the look. As you can see by the image above, they've gone with a new Genii Logo. I hope the color pink is just for this month. The b/w image on the cover is cool. The inside is full color. The lay out is very different from the older Genii. I guess it has a more contemporary look on the inside. A lot more 'white space' at least at the start of some columns. 

It has one magic history column, which I'm glad to see. The Table of Contents breaks the articles up into the follow categories:  Features, Columns, Voices, In Practice, In Performance, Marketplace, Workshop, and finally, Perspectives. 

So what do I think overall? I love it. I am thrilled Genii continues. I hope it continues for another 100 years quite frankly. It is important for many reasons. If you've ever done any research on magicians of old, the magazines of the time hold a huge amount of information. And Genii will continue to discuss, the old, the modern, the new, and the future of magic within it's pages!

If you don't already have one, get a subscription today. www.Geniimagazine.com

Eradicating TRICKS From Magic :Essay

 

I would like to give you, my fellow magicians, something to think about. I am sure I am not the first person to have this idea, and possibly not even the first to come up with this solution. But I would like to eradicate the word "TRiCK or TRICKS" from the magical vocabulary. And maybe to be more precise eradicate it when performing before lay people. 

First let me begin with the why. The word trick to me and to others sounds negative. "Oh He is going to TRICK me" or "She is going to play a trick on me". These both have negativity in them. It goes along with the word "fool" which is another word, I'd like to get rid of but as long as Penn and Teller have their TV show, it stays. 

Here is another reason. I can state for the record, I HATE the people on social media who expose magic and then treat it like something stupid. I'm not naming names or giving anyone credit for being a jerk. But I hate the demeaning of magic. That's where all this came from actually. All those exposure videos and making magic look cheap or stupid. And they all play into the idea of 'tricking someone'. Most decent magicians are not interested in 'tricking someone', but rather creating a unique moment of magic that the spectator can experience.

Watch this. Magic has some stupid explanation. It's just a fake coin, it's just a fake card, it's a string, it's this or that. OK. But let's attack Music for a moment. WAIT, that's not music, it's just sound. You're just hitting a metal string with your fingers to make that sound. Or you are just using your fingers to hit a plastic key tied to a string which makes the sound. OR Art. WAIT, that's just a bunch of paint on paper, so what. Or PHOTOGRAPHY. WAIT, I can do that on my phone, so what.   See when you break things down to the tiniest degree, everything can be shown to be stupid, especially if you talk like Mitch Pelegi (sorry old reference to another time). 

Jamy Ian Swiss said, "Magicians have taken something intrinsically profound and made it appear trivial." And that is a hard statement to hear, because it's true. But perhaps, our own terminology isn't helping matters. Remember when the movie The Prestige came out. They had these terms that they said magicians used to describe certain things in their shows. One of the words was the Prestige.  That's good. We never used it in real life, but we sure should have.

I propose we ditch the word "TRICK" and replace it with 'composition'. The definition of the word means,  a work of music, literature, or art. EXACTLY! Just add magic, to that definition. We can create all sorts of titles for these compositions. But I love calling an effect a composition. "This is my latest composition with cards, I call it The Dance of the Pasteboards" or whatever. It sounds so much better than, here is another trick. 

I know for me, I am going to make a concerted effort to refer to routines in my show as 'compositions' going forward. What do you think? I'd appreciate hearing your thoughts...

MAGIC CASTLE SAVED

 

JAN 8, 2025. It was a harrowing night, but firefighters and staff at Hollywood's Magic Castle were apparently able to save the building as fires raged a mile away. In one video I saw, you could see the fires burning the hillside and they sure looked a lot closer than a mile. 

Staff and firefighters took extra precaution by soaking the buildings roof and surrounding shrubbery with water. It's never a guaranteed fix given the ferocious nature of these wild fires, but thankfully it worked. Frankly it falls more into the miracle category.

It was only a few years ago that a fire broke out at the Castle, not related to a wild fire. Thankfully, the Castle was saved then too because of some smart thinking members and staff who took action when needed. 

This California WildFire is an unimaginable tragedy. I have friends who are waiting to evacuate. There are people in the magic world we have yet to hear from.

UPDATE: Just heard from John Cox. He is safe. Mike Caveney and Tina Lenert are safe. The Houdini Estate made it through so it's safe. I will post more as I hear.

Doyle Trumps Houdini in New Documentary

 

The relationship between Houdini and Doyle has been talked about over and over and over. It is generally talked about from Houdini's side. Doyle appears as a character in Houdini's life story. But now there is a documentary that is about Sir Arthur Conan Doyle and this time Houdini is the character in Doyle's life. And there is a bonus. This documentary has film footage that most believed to have been lost.

We learn about this from our friend John Cox, from his blog WildAboutHoudini.com The documentary called, "Lucy Worsley's Holmes vs Doyle" on PBS, has footage from the 1922 SAM Banquet in NYC in which Doyle was Houdini's invited guest. Much has been written about this particular moment in their lives, but here is the first time you get to view the actual film footage. https://www.wildabouthoudini.com/2025/01/houdini-doyle-sam-banquet-footage.html

I also want to address a bit more about the documentary. I really enjoyed it, though I wasn't thrilled with the magician they chose to be the 'authority'. No offense, but I don't think he had anything more than a passing knowledge of Houdini and Doyle's relationship. The question that Lucy puts to the guest magician is why Doyle wanted to convert Houdini to his belief system. The question is never properly answered. But the truth was, Doyle believed that Houdini himself had mediumistic powers. He saw Houdini's feats of escape to be supernatural in nature and despite all of Houdini's claims otherwise, Doyle believed Houdini had these powers. Of course their relationship sours after the Atlantic City Seance, and they exchange negative words in the press. But I think Doyle had real affection for Houdini, despite their differences. HOWEVER, I could be wrong about his affection for Houdini. In his book, The History of Spiritualism, by Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, he mentions Houdini only twice and both times refers to him as "Houdini the conjurer." No mention of their friendship. In fact, he rather insults Houdini when he is speaking of Margery, and how He (Doyle) was instrumental in getting her before the Scientific American, but also inadvertently putting them in the firing line of Houdini's "preposterous and ignorant theories of fraud".

Ironically, it would be Bess who would have the last word and heal the wounds of this relationship. After, Houdini's passing, Doyle wrote to Bess to share his condolences for her loss. She in turn, sent Doyle a package. It was a portfolio of artwork by Doyle's own father, that Houdini had purchased at an auction. 

One more thing I want to point out and that is the documentary, Holmes vs Doyle, does feature one excellent guest and that is Daniel Stashower. Mr. Stashower is an award winning author, and he has written a number of fictional books about Houdini. These include: The Houdini Specter, The Dime Museum Murders, The Adventures of The Ectoplasmic Man. It also appears that Mr. Stashower has written a couple non-fiction books about Doyle including: Teller of Tales, and A Life In Letters. 

And finally, though this has nothing to do with Doyle, I just learned that Daniel Stashower wrote a book called AMERICAN DEMON. This is about Eliot Ness and his case involving the Cleveland Torso Killer. I mention this because Episode 88 of my podcast dealt with this very topic and one of the people who was considered a possible suspect, and this guy was also a magician. https://magicdetectivepodcast.com/e/ep-88-tales-from-the-dark-side-of-magic/  I need to get Daniel's book to read his account!

2024 Magic Detective Year In Review

 

I haven't done one of these in a while. Seems time has slipped past me these last few years. Too many family deaths and deaths of close friends. But let's take a look at 2024.

The Magic Detective Podcast hit 50,000 downloads in 2024. Actually, the podcast will be inching closer to 58,000. It's currently at 57,801 and there are still two weeks left this month. Plus, if I get another episode out, that will shoot it up pretty fast. 

These are not Joe Rogan numbers by any stretch. But I can say my listeners are devoted! And they are kind enough to contact me about the various episodes. It's always GREAT to hear from listeners!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

Yours truly, the Magic Detective spoke at two different magic history conferences this year. The first was the Florida Magic Collectors Conference. This was a smaller conference but sure was a lot of fun. It was my first time attending. I spoke on the Life of Edward Maro, also known as Walter Truman Best. He was a remarkable turn of the Century performer who died far too young. Unlike a lot of magicians of his time, Maro amassed quite a bit of wealth and purchased lake front property in Michigan. He built an enormous house there. Later after he died, his wife built a Women's Community Center there and dedicated it to the memory of her husband. 

This was the third time I presented this particular lecture.

I continue to have a magic history column in the MAGIC TIMES periodical. This is for the Manchester Circle of Magicians in England. I've been providing them with articles for several years now. They have been choosing articles from my blog, with my permission, to use in their online magazine. 

I recently wrote my first current article for them, but I don't think that will appear until January. That article is a book review of the new book by Robert Hutton called The Illusionist, all about the REAL Man who Deceived Hitler and the German Army with Illusions.

In November 2024, I appeared at The Yankee Gathering in Nashua NH. This time I spoke about the Life of Robert Heller in a lecture titled Go To HELLers. Which, was one of his advertising slogans many years earlier. I've been fascinated by Heller for years and covered him right here on the blog for a while. I've actually removed most of that content, because I used it and some updated information in order to create the lecture notes for this lecture. I've decided after giving this lecture that I'm going to write a book about Heller. His story is just too fascinating to pass by. 

Every year on the Podcast, I try to do a special episode, usually some sort of Radio Drama, with ME doing all the voices and or narration. But this year I opted to give it into the hands of the professionals, so on Episode 105 of the Magic Detective Podcast, my audience got to hear an actual Joseph Dunninger Radio Show recording. Something different for sure. 

Coming in 2025

Well, I don't want to give too much away, but I will be adding more interviews to the podcast. In addition, my articles will start appearing in issues of DISCOVERIES Magazine from The New England Magic Collectors Association. And I'm working on a new Radio drama for next year which is actually from a very famous magicians show. 

the Magicians Holiday Gift List

HOLIDAY MAGIC GIFT LIST

If you're shopping for a fellow magician, or the wife or partner of a magician and are looking for some stocking stuffers this season, I've got a few below that might work out well for you.

1. The book, The Illusionist by Robert Hutton. This is the actual TRUE story of the man who used illusion to fool Hitler and the German Army during WW2. For years we thought it was Jasper Maskelyne, but the truth is, Jasper played a very small part. Now here, for the first time, is the real true story. Available on Amazon.com or your local book store.

2. Jumbo Sized Cards for Nightmare Santa trick by Judge Gary Brown. One caveat, this only includes the cards, no instructions. The instructions can be found in the book, The Inventive Magicians Handbook by Judge Gary Brown. If you have the book, grab a set of these jumbo cards while they last. Available through TheoryandArtofMagic.com

3. The book, The Great Boomsky, by Margaret Steele. This book covers the African American assistants that the Great Herrmann used in his show. He called that character Boomsky, and over time was played by numerous people. He was also intrigue to Herrmann's success. Learn how the whole thing came about, learn about the lives of those who played the part and the ups and downs of show business for people of color in the late 1800s. Available through Amazon.com

4. The book, IONIA Magician Princess by Charles Green. This book is a must have and must read. Charles is an amazing magic historian and you can't go wrong with this book. It's incredible. Get it direct from Charles at IONIASecrets.com

5. The HOUDINI Milk Can Christmas Ornament, and other magic related Christmas ornaments. These are the creations of Dan Wolfe of Smoky Mountain Magic. He outdoes himself every with gorgeous miniature magic illusion ornaments. Last year he did the Houdini Water Torture Cell ornament size! This year it's Houdini's Milk Can. He has also done a number of Jim Steinmeyer Illusions as ornaments, like Windshear and Modern Art. He's done some standard Illusions like ZigZag and shadow box. And some smaller items like tiny Tricky Bottles, A Die Box and much more. Check them out at www.SMmagic.com

6. PROPS. Ever heard of Ozark Magic Company? Well this is owned by Charlie Myrick and he makes old school props, the same way Thayer and Mak, and UF Grant used to do. Check him out at OzarkMagicManufacturing.com

7. SUBSCRIPTION: Get yourself a subscription to GENII Magazine. Richard Kaufman has brilliantly kept the magazine alive and flourishing for years. But he is now about to step down and an entirely new crew is going to take over operations. That new crew needs your support too. Go to GeniiMagazine.com to get a subscription.

8. Speaking of subscriptions, try out REELMagicMagazine.com. This is run by KOZMO and his many columnists. This is not a printed magazine, this is an online streaming/video magazine. It is well worth the price. Check it out over at REELMagicmagazine.com

9. Pick up some of my lecture notes on Robert Heller! I've finally sold enough to pay for the original printing costs, lol. But I still have a few more left. They are super cheap and you can find them over on eBay.com.  Just type in 'Robert Heller magic lecture notes/ or maybe just Robert Heller magic, in the ebay search box and my notes will come up. 

10. FINALLY, I am releasing some of my original Magic Related Artwork. There are NOT copies, they are NOT prints, these are the originals. I've sold a couple already. They are one of a kind. Not cheap but nothing super expensive. I will post some images below. And you can email me at info@carnegiemagic.com and put ART in the subject box. Tell me which one you are interested in and I can let you know if it's available and for how much. The Blackstone got cut off a bit in the collage, so I posted it down below. I call it Blackstone 5 because there are 5 things about Blackstone represented in the painting. Do you know what they are?

Recollections of Kreskin

 

It would seem the internet is a buzz with the news of the passing of Kreskin, at least among his fellow magicians. I've had so many conversations about Kreskin of late with friends that his death comes even harder. In my head I was thinking he'd just continue to perform, regardless of age. I mean, when I saw him in person last, he was 74 or 75 and I thought to myself, "This guy is my hero!" I wish I had been able to tell him that. Why is he my hero. Because he was 74+ and still performing and doing what he loved and still connecting with audiences and still filling theaters! You have to admire someone like that.

A week or so ago, I had a conversation with a friend of mine about performers. My friend had this belief that performers are like drug addicts, they do what they do because of the HIGH they get when they perform. They become addicted to it and can't stop. I disagreed. Ok, sure maybe there are some who behave that way. But for me, for Kreskin, for folks like us, there is a reason we perform and it comes down to one word, purpose. It is our purpose in life. This we feel deep down in our bones and I would say there is more a satisfaction to performing, but not nessasarily a high. We do what we do because we love it, but also, it's who we are, it's who we were made to be. Maybe some would say, it's a calling, or whatever, but we are fulfilling our purpose in life.

Kreskin loved to perform. It showed in every moment of his program. He played piano in his shows, he told jokes in his show. He bantered with the audience. And he performed amazing feats of mentalism. On his social media accounts, his family had noted that Kreskin came up with his name as a combination of Harry Kellar and Houdini. I'm still trying to figure it out. I think perhaps, he was inspired by Kellar and Houdini, (as was I) and he chose the name Kreskin, because his real last name, Kresge, was not quite right. But with a slight alteration, it became Kreskin. I wonder if in his youth if he ever went by Kreskini?

The first time I saw Kreskin was in the 80s and Kreskin had dark hair. The place, a bit unusual, a dinner theater. He filled the place. I took a date and she had no concept of what a mentalist was. And honestly, beyond seeing Kreskin on TV many times, I had not really been exposed to mentalism very much. I had been into magic for many years, but always avoided mentalism because it seemed boring. The only one I knew who could do it well was Kreskin. Sure enough, on this night, he delivered. He started with  a few card tricks, which surprised me. Then he slowly moved into brief mind reading and Q&A and more.  It was all I expected and way way more.

The second time I saw Kreskin was in Atlantic City. His show was much shorter. It was basically only the first part up until the Q&A act and that was all. It was still great. My friend I was with swears that Kreskin read his mind.

I learned over the years that Kreskin's act was similar to Joe Dunninger's act. To what degree I was never quite sure. And Dunninger who came first, sort of created the mold in which everyone else would fall into afterwards. I know that so much of Dunninger's type of material was in books like Tarbell, Corrinda and more. There was even a company that sold  mentalism material for many years, and I have it on good authority that Dunninger purchased items from them. I know this for  a fact. 

I'm sure Kreskin, and near every other mentalist of that time, modeled themselves to some degree after Dunninger. But George Joseph Kresge was a quirky individual. Quick with a humorous line. Frankly, he was a little funny looking, but not overly so. He was unique, so he made the material he was doing fit him. I don't know if Dunninger did the 'find a check bit' but if he did, and so did Kreskin, so what. It takes real SKILL to do that. Trust me, I've been working on it for a long time, lol. It's not easy. In fact it's easy to fail. And Kreskin lost his check 9 times during his career because he was unable to find it. In an interview he said one of those checks was for $50,000. Ouch.  But consider the thousands of times he did find it. WOW. It takes real guts and skill to put your entire fee on the line for an effect in your show.

I remember watching Kreskin on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. He was using a prop that nearly every magician has in their arsenal, and yet, he was using it in a completely different way. His routine allowed him to use it several times when the standard routine could only be done once. It was brilliant. 

Then there was the time on Regis and Kathy Lee where he was reading minds from the audience and just destroying the place. Or the time I saw him on Mike Douglas Show and he was doing an outdoor demonstration of his 'Find The Check' routine. 

In interviews, he avoided the word magic. He disassociated himself from magicians. But the truth was, he had a few close friends who where magicians. And he probably had a lot more not so close friends who were magicians. He didn't go to magic conventions, he was very careful back in the day if he went into a magic shop. He'd make an appointment and be sure he could visit by himself. And he'd buy a ton of stuff. I get the impression, magic was still very much a hobby, even though mentalism was his thing.

They made a movie about him which, I like and yet don't. It's called The Great Buck Howard and John Malkavich plays the Kreskin character. He's spot on. But Buck Howard has a real arrogance about him, where I never got that impression from Kreskin. Maybe behind the scenes in real life??? But from folks I talk to, everyone has said how kind and charming he was. I think he was not all too different from his on stage persona, maybe toned down slightly. 

Kreskin was a go getter. I've seen two numbers given out as to the number of shows he performed in his lifetime. 25,000 and 27,000. I'm opting for the 27,000 because let's face it, once you hit 20,000 all bets are off. I have a friend who owns a theater and Kreskin was performing about 60 miles away in another town. Kreskin called my friend and said, "Hey while IM in the area, would you be interested in having me do a show at your theater?"  Go getter. I've heard a number of stories now, and I really want to hear more about Kreskin. Such a fascinating person. 

It makes me sad that Kreskin has passed, but that's me being selfish. Im sad, because I wont have a chance to see him perform again. George Kresge had a wonderful career and a long life. I'm sure he had his highs and lows and yet, in the publics mind, HE was the most famous mentalist of our time.  Kreskin reigned supreme for a long long time. And now there is a void. There are lots of mentalists, some incredible ones like Banachek, some exceptionally creative like Max Maven, some that deserve the moniker 'The Amazing... like Darren Brown, ' but no one with the kind of fame that he had in his day. Kreskin was the King!

The Amazing Kreskin has Passed Away

 

The Amazing Kreskin, the Maestro of Mentalism, has passed away, Dec 10th, 2024. He was born George Kresge Jan 12, 1935 in Montclair NJ. He had been inspired to become a magician by reading the comic book Mandrake the Magician by Lee Falk.

In the 70s and 80s and beyond Kreskin appeared on every major TV Talk Show. His appearances on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson are legendary. 

Kreskin was 89 years old when he died. More on Kreskin later....

Houdini Milk Can Ornament and More

 

Ok my friends, this is a must have. The Houdini Milk Can Christmas Ornament is now available over on Smokey Mountain Magic. https://www.smmagic.com/  Last year, 2023, Dan Wolfe put out a Water Torture Cell ornament. This year, he is offering Houdini's Milk can. It is far more affordable than a real milk can, lol. And if you are so inclined he has a host of other magic related ornaments as well.

Every year he puts out a new Steinmeyer ornament. That means, an illusion first created by Jim Steinmeyer. And by all accounts these have been given the big thumbs up from Jim. This year he is offering the illusion called Windshear, or Crawling Thru a Spinning Industrial Fan. This miniature model even features spinning blades!

Then there are ornaments that actually allow you to do a trick. I believe this year's 'trick' ornament is some sort of Christmas gift that you can show empty and have something appear inside of it. 

Also, besides the 2024 offerings, they still have some of the previous years ornaments. So pick them up while they last! https://www.smmagic.com/

Robert Heller Lecture Notes Available

 

My friends, I have now finished my talk at the 2024 Yankee Gathering on the Life of Robert Heller. It was well received and a really fun talk to present. I have lecture notes available for anyone who would like to learn about the life of Heller. I have also decided to begin work on a book on Robert Heller. 

The lecture notes basically reveal the truth behind some of the mistakes that have been written about Heller in the past. They do not cover every aspect of his life but they do fix the major mistakes. 

If you want a set of lecture notes, they are $10 + $6 shipping (US only)  Just email me at info@CarnegieMagic.com and put 'HELLER NOTES' in the subject heading. I'll gladly sign the notes as well. 

RIP Jon Racherbaumer

 

I just learned of the passing of Jon Racherbaumer. He died this morning, Oct 22, 2024. He was 84 years old. He worked as an Associate Editor for Genii Magazine for a time and has been writing the column, On The Slant, for many years. He was a prolific magic author having written some 60+ books and countless articles for every major magic periodical. 

I'll have more on his life at another date. For now, we grieve his loss. RIP Jon. 

Celebrating Cesareo

 

Today marks the birthday of my friend Cesareo Pelaez, the founder of the Le Grand David Spectacular Magic Company in Beverly Mass. He of course was much more than that. He was a highly admired college professor, he was a mentor to many, he was a student of stage magic, he was in his own way a historian of magic, and of course friend to countless folks in and outside of the magic world.

To me he was friend and mentor. I considered him my stage magic mentor, though our conversations were limited. I always took his advice to heart. Frankly, had it not been for his encouragement, there wouldn't be a Magic Detective Blog and thus no Magic Detective Podcast. He was the sole person who encouraged me to write. And I followed through.

He passed away on March 24, 2012, so the world has been without his magic for quite a long time. He would have been 92 years old had he lived. I miss his words of wisdom and his jovial manner.

The Milk Can is Coming!!!

 

If you recall last year, I posted here that Dan Wolfe from Smoky Mountain Magic was releasing a Christmas Ornament in the shape of the the Houdini Water Torture Cell. They also have a host of other magic related ornaments. 

Well Dan has announced that this year there will be a Houdini Milk Can Ornament. It will be available on Black Friday, the Friday after Thanksgiving! And based upon his previous ornaments, you're going to want this ornament. The great thing, they are very affordable. 

These are 3D printed, and I believe Dan and company have done over 30 different magic related ornaments. To get yours when they come out, visit www.SMMagic.com 

This is from Dan Wolfe's Facebook page. Please purchase at SMMagic.com on Nov 29th, 2024!!!

HoudiniMonth 2024

Escapes Are Not Just for the Young, Hardeen Proves It!

 

Harry Houdini was 52 when he died. Thus his ability to escape ended with him. I think if he had his way, he might have stopped the escapes even earlier as they do take a toll on the body. Most escapists are younger folks, 20s and 30 year olds. By the time they get past 30 they seem to wise up and switch to card tricks or mentalism or something less dangerous. 

The best I can tell, The Amazing Randi, stopped doing escapes probably in his early 50s. I know he was injured preparing for the Milk Can escape on National TV for the LIVE Magic Special about HOUDINI hosted by William Shatner. Dean Gunnerson, many years younger, stepped in and presented the escape.

Dunninger who, during his teens and early 20s did countless escapes, completely stopped once his mind reading became all the rage. 

Cunning the Jail Breaker (Robert Doc Cunningham) pulled out of escapes in 1909 in favor of mentalism. He was in his 30s at the time.

Even Steve Mr. Escape Baker stopped his escapology while in his 50s. Granted he wanted to continue, but two freak accidents, one related to an escape, the other not, left him frankly unable to continue. He would often tell me, "if I knew I was going to live this long I'd have taken better care of myself."

But not everyone called it quits early. Houdini's own brother, Hardeen continued to perform after Houdini died. According to Walter Gibson, Hardeen did the overboard packing crate escape numerous times in Atlantic City in his later years. And on May 30th, 1945, at the RKO Madison Theater in Brooklyn, Hardeen presented his final show. The feature of his last show was the Milk Can Escape. He was only 69 years old, and no doubt had he survived the operation he had later that week, he would have continued to escape even in his 70s.

I've left out some modern day escape artists because...who knows, maybe they'll beat Hardeen's record!

The Man Who Really Fooled Hitler!

So, remember back when a really interesting book came out called The War Magician by David Fisher? This was based largely upon a book by Jasper Maskelyne called, Magic Top-Secret. Then at some point, the War Magician was accused of being highly fictionalized. I do not know, YET, that entire story, that will be for a later date.

But, now there is a new book called The Illusionist- The True Story of The Man Who Fooled Hitler. This is not about Jasper. It's not about Kalanag. It's about a completely different individual. I have not read the book yet. But it sounds like it is setting the record straight. I can't wait to get a copy. It is available through Amazon, I'm assuming Barnes and Noble has it and all your area book stores.

I will do a complete report once I obtain a copy and read it. Plus, I want to explore the entire story, where Jasper Maskelyne fits in or doesn't. Quite fascinating!

https://www.amazon.com/Illusionist-True-Story-Fooled-Hitler/dp/1639367160/ref=sr_1_1?crid=1SFW2LFD99PZE&dib=eyJ2IjoiMSJ9.vrPqbSFg4UUmJ36zHCsRHMFaeEUh0Pie9r3b4FUhHrkhLSucetqQIqCNeStBOQAuUvq-yJGQSG8uLAgw9Z89r_8k-pMhTJaj_ZFHTdQUq4bjWkrQnNq8jgAKVwrYCKpQnKhWcCZ4hxpJWXbu-rtZNh8Upg8ckEY6S7o6e_Ckce4rZT061WeJIkyfisOICo6bJjx6aH8wUNO_nwVaKUBuBGOyQMGm54NnEASs9ip6iJw.vYwjMj3Lqq7TKsPwvTfLjCiBFWtmKp6F9PUvkt4rpro&dib_tag=se&keywords=the+illusionist+book&qid=1728247564&sprefix=the+illusionist+book%2Caps%2C141&sr=8-1

Magic, Magic, Magic on Amazon Prime!

 

Magic on Amazon Prime In October!

We are now in October, or what I consider Magic Month, I thought I’d share with you ALL of the various magic related programming that can be found on Amazon Prime. I don’t have access to Netflix, so I can’t cover them other than to say that is the home to Justin Wilman’s shows.

This list is probably not complete, I may have missed one or two things. OH, and not all of these shows are free to watch. Many are. But also a lot of them require either rental or purchase and I think one of them requires a subscription, but that episode in featured in two places on the site so you can access it without the subscription too.

Here we go. For the Houdini Fans:

1. Houdini 1953 with Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh
2. Houdini the MiniSeries with Adrien Brody
3. Death Defying Acts with Guy Pierce as the worst rendition of Houdini, ever. Unwatchable in my opinion, but you might like it. Total fiction
4. The Magic of Houdini : an old 1970s documentary with Walter Gibson, Milbourne Christopher, Sid Radner and James Randi.
5. The Magic of Houdini: A British documentary of sorts with comedian Alan Davies
6. Houdini’s Lost Secrets: Documentary which first appeared on History channel I think.
7. Fairy Tale: A True Story which is has Houdini as a supporting character played very well by Harvey Keitel.
8. Would You Believe It : A documentary in which Houdini is just one of the stories featured.
9. Houdini & Doyle The Fox TV Series (fictional)
10. HOUDINI Unlocking the Mystery

TV Series on Magic Include

1. Mindfreak by Cris Angel
2. Magic & Beyond hosted by Michael York might feel very dated
3. Street Magic from 2015 a series 
4. Master Mindfreaks Vol 1 w/Cris Angel
5. Hip Hop Houdini 
6. Penn and Teller Magic & Mystery Tour
7. Lost Magic Decoded by Steve Cohen, his History Channel series
8. When Magic Goes Horribly Wrong
9. David Blaine Decade of Magic Vol 1
10. Something Unusual TV Series from Italy
11. Penn and Teller’s Bullshit TV series

Documentaries on Magic

1. Lost in the Shuffle which is NEW
2. The Expert At The Card Table
3. Deceptive Practices about Ricky Jay
4. An Honest Liar about James Randi
5. DEALT about Richard Turner
6. Long Tack Sam
7. Magic Camp about Tannens Magic Camp
8. Quiet Masters: the History and Relevance of Black Magical Artists
9. Kalanag Hitlers Magician There are two of these and appear to be the same, but offered by two different platforms. Get the one without the subscription.
10. Siegfried and Roy The Original Tiger Kings
11. Magicians Life In the Impossible, as I recall this one is hard to watch

Finally the Movies About Magic

1. Billy Topit staring Lance Burton
2. The Prestige with Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale
3. MAGIC with Anthony Hopkins from the 70s
4. Escape Artist the Movie from the 70s
5. The Illusionist with Edward Norton
6. The Illusionist animated movie
7. HUGO which is a fictional movie featuring George Mellie
8. The infernal cauldron, The Hilarious Posters, The Old Hag, the Impossible Balancing Feat, Whimsical Illusions, Excelsior! The Prince of Magicians, The Impossible Voyage, all short films by George Mellies, available if you have a MAX Subscription
9. The Great Buck Howard, loosely based upon the life of Kreskin
10. 10. Penn and Teller Get Killed

Full disclosure, I’ve not seen every one of these shows or movies. And there were some that didn’t make the list because they were so bad, mostly, independent sorts of things that just looked horrible. There may be some horrible ones on the list yet, lol. So buyer beware if you decide to rent or purchase some. 

Lost in the Shuffle Film: Review

Have you seen the movie, Lost in the Shuffle? I've posted about it several times here on this blog and mentioned it on my podcast. Have you seen it? Well, if you missed it, there is good news, you can now see it on Youtube.com or Amazon Prime. You will have to either rent it or buy it. I bought it, trust me, it's more than worth it.

What is this movie about? It's the history of playing cards, it's magic history, it's magic. In a way it feels like revealing our ancestry, because those of us who do card magic know it becomes part of your identity, part of who we are.  This is frankly a brilliant concept for a documentary. Shawn Farquhar is the main character driving the story. Along the way he speaks with other magicians and historians. He learns how the first playing cards were made. Why cards had a similar appearance through the ages. And mostly, he uncovers WHO these court cards represent. Because behind this mystery, is yet another mystery that is to be unveiled. To be very specific, it's about a potential murder mystery being locked into the images of playing cards for 400 years! 

Jon Ornoy is the producer of the film. Together, he and Shawn have created a fascinating story. Shawn as an onstage performer exudes enthusiasm. He is the same here in the documentary, his enthusiasm for the subject matter in infectious and you can't help but want to learn more and more as the story unfolds. He travels the Globe to uncover the secrets behind this age old murder mystery. Guest magicians include Alexandra Duvivier from France, Juan Tamariz from Spain, Michael Vincent from England and Richard Turner from America. 

I enjoy magic history documentaries as a general rule. This one is a lot of fun and has another twist to it, that you'll need to see to discover. You really need to take the time to watch this documentary. It's well worth your time and investment!!!

You can rent or buy Lost in the Shuffle on the following platforms: In the U.S. iTunes/AppleTV, Youtube, Microsoft/Xbox, Fandango at Home. Go here for a complete listing of LIVE events and where to see the movie online