Happy Belated Birthday Doug Henning and News

I guess I had forgotten, but May 3rd was Doug Henning's birthday, he would have been 70 years old. It's been 17 years since he left us. Seems like just yesterday. Though he had been retired, his absence in the world of magic is still felt deeply. I was looking over my past articles and saw that I had 15 articles that are either about Doug or mention Doug Henning. You can view those here: http://www.themagicdetective.com/search/label/Doug%20Henning

But there is news, and news for which I am very very happy. There is a new blog devoted strictly to Doug Henning. It is called DougHenningProject.com  and is put together by Neil McNally. He starts off very strong with a three part interview with Milt Larsen about Doug. It's great stuff. And with so many people who knew Doug still alive today, this site should be a rich treasure trove of Doug Henning facts and trivia. I almost wish I had done it! Best of luck Neil!!!

IF you're wondering if I was inspired at all by Doug Henning. YOU BET I WAS. Look at the photo below of a young Doug and younger me!

Next Up for The Magic Detective, Obscura Day 2017

Last year, I was invited to entertain during Obscura Day. This was part of a Nationwide group of festivities put on by AtlasObscura.com. Last year's event in Washington was called HOUDINI IN DC. And this year, it's called, HOUDINI TAKES DC. Last year, there were three locations for events. One in the law offices of Ken Trombly, who shared his collection of Houdini posters and photos. Next was McPhereson Square Park, where I presented a short magic show with routines that were similar to those that Houdini might have done. The final leg of the journey was a walk over to the location of of where Keith's Vaudeville Theatre once stood, today it is The Old Ebbitt Grill. I shared some history of the theatre, as well as information on Houdini's upside down outdoor hanging straight jacket escape from that very building.

Ken Trombly from 2016

This year the event takes place in a single location, no travel needed. Everything will be in one place. My friend Ken Trombly, who is a HUGE magic collector, will be bringing a number of his Houdini pieces. Last year he bought several posters and quite a few photographs. His collection is mind boggling! Ken will also be speaking about Houdini as well. I'll be bringing a pair of Houdini cuffs as well as some other Houdini-era cuffs. I will also be presenting a few magic routines, again in the lines of what Houdini might have done. Last year, pretty much the entire show was made up of escapes. This year, there will probably only be a single escape, maybe two and the rest of the program will be magic. If you can make it out, it's going to be a lot of fun. Seating is limited. So get your tickets soon! http://www.atlasobscura.com/events/obscura-day-2017-houdini-escapes-dc

Carnegie from 2016 Obscura Day!

Talking Magic History at TEDx in DC

I had the great honor of being invited to speak at a TEDx event in Washington. It was such an enjoyable event. I was asked to speak about magic history and possibly present some magic as well. Not an easy task with a time limit of 8 minutes. All the speakers at the event had 8 minutes to talk. If I had talked ONLY magic history, my speech would have been a bit more in depth. But as it was, I only spoke for 5+ and used the rest of the time for my magic routine. So what they got was a brief overview of magic history.

A TED talk is very different than a lecture. It has to fit within a structure and really move quickly and get to the point fast. Thankfully, the team at TEDxFoggy Bottom were super helpful with guiding my speech in the right direction. As time went on and I rehearsed the speech, I sadly had to cut several  whole paragraphs from the talk. The actual talk is more like 12 minutes, without the magic trick. But I still was able to present a wonderful talk on magic and then follow it up with an unusual piece of wonderment.

If you're wondering the effect I presented, I borrowed a bill and caused it to travel via a Victorian Teleportation Device into a Lightbulb. Actually, the same time the bill traveled to the bulb, the lighting element from the bulb traveled to my Teleportation Device, that's the effect I was going for. Kind of like a mini Metamorphosis trick done with different objects. (and Metamorphosis just so happened to be the theme of the day).

The event sold out so that means they sold 1500 tickets. And what a truly WONDERFUL audience they were! But as wonderful as the audience was, the backstage staff and crew were even more incredible. If only every theatre crew was as attentive and helpful as this bunch. Heck, I'd love to take them with me when we play theatres, they were simply beyond professional!

Eventually, my speech will be posted online, but it might be a couple weeks yet. So if you'd like to get a preview you can check out the incredible graphic that was done LIVE while I spoke by artist Trent Wakenight. Amazingly, he captured all the elements from my talk in the graphic below!