The Great Lafayette Funeral Footage Found!

A couple years ago I wrote a blog about the Great Lafayette (Sigmund Neuberger).  I had discovered during the research that Houdini had made arrangements to have the funeral filmed because he could not be there in person. I also learned that there was funeral footage in the UK but I couldn't view it. I was unsure if this was the UK footage was what Houdini had commissioned or was someone else's footage and I still don't know.

Well, a reader of my blog posted an address where the footage of Lafayette's Funeral can be viewed. It's only 2 minutes long but it's so cool to see it. Here is the link http://ssa.nls.uk/film.cfm?fid=1620
and a special thank you to Fiona for the information!

The Great Henley Reeves!

It's not often that I brag about a fictional magician, but in this case I have to brag about the portrayal of Henley Reeves by Isla Fisher in the movie Now You See Me. I should begin by stating that I have some issues when it comes to female magicians. I also have issues with kid show magicians and illusionists and escape artists and comedy magicians. It's probably more a matter of taste for me, what I like and don't like.

Alana Moehlemann

My number one favorite female magician working today is Alana Moehlemann. Alana is a real artist who does a fantastic job with her magic. When she performs the magic looks 100% natural for her and totally believable not to mention incredibly original. That is not always the case with some magicians, both male and female.

Another female magician I like is Angela Funovits. She also looks 100% natural and believable and it's a joy to watch her perform. I'm pretty sure Angela is also a genius because she just became a Doctor, as well as a fashion model, photographer and who knows what else. Everything she does, she does exceptionally well.

But there are some female magicians who I just don't connect with. And please don't think it's because I dislike female magicians, that is not the case. I wish there were a whole lot more and I'm encouraged to see more and more women getting into magic and establishing themselves as true artists in the field. But to me some people 'get it' and some people 'don't get it' no matter how hard they try. One of the things that bothers me are the performers who 'overdo the sexy' aspect. This goes just as much for women who are assistants as those who are the magicians. Sexy is ok, dressing like a pornstar is not.  It's not just female magicians either. Comedy magicians drive me insane because many don't get it. Many of the comedy magicians I've seen ruin the magic by exposing it for a cheap laugh. But then you see a Michael Finney, John Archer, Nick Lewin, Mac King and/or Kyle Eschen and you say, WOW now THEY GET IT! They do strong magic, totally believable and are exceptionally entertaining.

When I saw the movie Now You See Me, I did not think for one second that Henley Reeves was a 'magician's assistant'. She struck me as the archetype for female magicians. Her character was confident, in control, engaging, smart and totally believable. Isla Fisher played her perfectly. And she apparently had a pretty good coach. She studied with a real professional female magician Dorothy Dietrich. I was not aware of this when I saw the movie. But I'm certain that studying with someone who has done magic and escapes for a living made all the difference in her portrayal, as frankly, the most magical of the four magicians in the movie. According to Isla, she also studied all the video footage available on Houdini.

I can't help but wonder if there might be a Now You See Me 2 down the road.  IF there is a NYSM2, I hope Henley gets a bigger part in the movie!!! She is awesome. I can tell you that the first time I saw the movie, I went with a buddy of mine and we thought we were in the wrong theatre because it was us and 90 females! And thankfully they stayed for the whole movie and really enjoyed it. Now they might have been there for the young male stars in the movie, but I can't help think they got a charge out of Isla Fisher's role as Henley. And perhaps, Henley will inspire a new generation of females to explore the world of magic in the same way that magic movies and TV specials inspired so many of us!

The Beginning & Maybe The End of Rabbits From Hats

Comte

The rabbit and hat trick. Old as recorded magic history some might think. But actually not quite so old. The first recorded event of rabbits magically appearing did not in fact come from a hat, but rather from a woman giving birth to them. The woman's name was Mary Toft and she was from Surrey England. She apparently gave birth to numerous rabbits over a short period of time. News of this event caused quite an uproar and soon an investigation took place. Eventually, Mary Toft would admit the entire thing was a hoax. Too bad. I do not see a real connection to conjuring however, even though Barry & Stuart used this incident as an idea for their 'rabbit from hat' routine. There is a video of B&S doing their rabbit routine but I'm not going to post a link because it's graphic (not meant for younger eyes).

The first magician to pull a rabbit from a top hat might have been Louis Apollinaire Christian Emmanuel Comte, known as 'The Kings Conjurer'. Born June 22, 1788 in Geneva Switzerland, Comte became a popular Parisian performer. One of his more famous effects was borrowing a hat and producing various objects from it.  I have found several places that list Comte as the first to present the rabbit from top hat effect, but I don't can't seem to find where the original source information came from.

John Henry Anderson

Milbourne Christopher in his book The Illustrated History of Magic says the rabbit from hat trick originated in the 1830s, but does not give the name of the first person to present the effect. 1830 was the height of Comte's career so perhaps he was the one.

But Christopher does give a great deal of credit to John Henry Anderson, the Great Wizard of the North, for popularizing the trick. John Henry Anderson was born in 1814 in  Scotland. I had always heard that Anderson was the first to do the rabbit from top hat, but if it began in 1830, it would have been before J.H. Anderson's career started. There are numerous posters and woodcut illustrations of Anderson not only pulling a single rabbit from a hat, but numerous rabbits from a top hat.

The top hat itself seems to have originated in Europe sometime in the late 1700s. Given the size and shape of the hat it was an ideal object for a magician to borrow and make things appear from. Even into the 20th Century magicians were still using a borrowed hat for productions and even for the Misers Dream effect.

Magicians today have shifted from the top hat to other ways of producing rabbits but unfortunately, those days may be coming to an end. The long arm of the US Federal Govt has decided that magicians and rabbits need governmental supervision. They now require magicians to have a liscense to use a rabbit in their show and apparently, magicians must also provide the USDA with a detailed disaster plan for protecting the rabbit in case of dangerous weather. This news came about from magician Marty Hahne of Missouri who has been all over the news of late with his story of the USDA Rabbit Police. No offense to rabbits, but I don't even have a written disaster plan for myself! I guess this means every undocumented rabbit puller is now an outlaw. Fantastic (not)! For the record, I've never pulled/removed/extracted/picked up or lifted a rabbit out of a hat. I don't own a rabbit, so nothing to see here, move along! I have recently purchased a top hat as strange as that is for me to admit, but upon last check, it was rabbit free!