A Mentalist to Headline The White House Correspondants' Dinner

 

It has been announced that Oz Pearlman will headline this years White House Correspondants Dinner. This breaks from the tradition of having a comedian. The WHCD began in 1921as a DC Social event for journalists and some members of the government. Over time, Presidents began to attend. In 1924, Calvin Coolidge was the first President to appear. Since 1943 the dinner has included entertainment. Early on, they would feature a number of entertainers, with one main  MC, the first being Bob  Hope. Over time, the event would have just one comedian, though that would change when Ray Charles was brought in as the entertainer of the evening. This was a choice of President George Bush who chose a singer rather than a comedian due to the War in Iraq breaking out.

This year marks the first year a mentalist or anyone from the magic world hosted. Which is not exactly correct. Both Dick Cavettt and Larry Willmore hosted, but as comedians (both are amateur magicians).  It is not the first time a magician has performed however. In March 1955 Channing Pollack performed at the dinner, along with Duke Ellington, and Tennessee Ernie Ford.

The big question is whether the President will attend, as I think he has declined the invitation to attend all his previous dinners.  

Magicians are actually no strangers to Washington DC and the Federal Government. Many have performed at the White House. Many have performed for members of Congress. Magician and author Wayne Alan is publishing a book tentatively titled, 'Magicians At The White House' which covers the entire history of magicians who performed there, starting with President Polk, I think and right up until modern times. 

Houdini visited both the White House and the Capital Building. I believe he did magic for Congressman at the Capital building, besides also testifying before Congress. I dont recall if he performed any magic at the White House, but knowing Houdini, it wouldn't surprise me. I do know that President Woodrow Wilson would sneak, along with his wife, over to Keiths Vaudeville Theater on 15th St in Washington to see Houdini present his Water Torture Cell.

One of the more popular stories of a magician in DC is when Max Malini bit the button off Senator Hanna's coat on the steps of the Capital Building. Malini also gave an impromptu performance in the Marble Room of the Capital.

Some of todays top names in magic have performed for Senators, Congressmen, Supremes, and members of the Executive Branch! So Oz Pearlman is in good company.

Lost ART Has Been Found

 

I've been painting for more than 25 years now. In that time, a number of paintings have been acquired by collectors. I know where most of the artwork resides and with whom. But, there are pieces that I've sorta lost track of. Case in point, the Ricky Jay painting. This was purchased by a friend and collector in Virginia. I was aware that this person had gotten out of magic at one point and perhaps might have passed the painting on to someone else. I had an idea who that other person might be, the only problem was, that person had since died and their collection was scattered to the winds.

Denny-FOUND

Imagine my surprise when this painting turned back up a few days ago. Indeed, the original owner had either gifted or sold the painting to Denny Haney of Denny and Lee's Magic Studio. But as I said, Denny had died. Now, back in the day, I was commissioned to paint Denny himself, and that painting showed up in an auction a year or so ago. That was another painting I never expected to see. It has a good home today.

The Ricky Jay is going to another collector and I'm very happy as this person seems quite thrilled to be receiving it.

LOST

Are there other paintings? Yes. There are two David Bull paintings, he is the guy from the Le Grand David Magic Show (see left). There are two Cesareo Pelaez paintings, again, he is from le Grand David. There is a Houdini that I sold but lost the information of who bought it when my computer crashed. There is a Slydini painting which went to a collector who has since died. There is a Blackstone Sr painting that also went to a collector who has since passed away. Ken Klosterman owned a Thurston, which has never appeared in any of the auctions, that I know of, so it's lost. There might be more that I don't recall at the moment.

Then there are the ones in private collections. One collector owns: A Doug Henning, a Copperfield, the Dante w/Cigar, a Herrmann the Great, and the first Kellar painting I did. Another collector owns: the yellow Lance Burton, a Doug Henning w/Rainbow, and a Thurston Sawing in Half painting, oh and this guy also owns the Denny painting I mentioned above. There is a collector who owns my first Penn and Teller, another who owns a huge commissioned work of Cardini. There is a Thurston painting owned by a collector in Rhode Island. There are maybe a dozen more that are out there, and I know where they are. In fact, with most of them, I know the walls they hang on, lol. 

All of these I mentioned are originals. The prints are a whole different story. I will say, as an artist, it's rewarding to know that my artwork brings joy to people. Nothing worse than artwork that isn't displayed for everyone to see. Trust me, I have tons of that! There but so many walls in my home. I think this is every artist's curse. Even with selling a bunch of the artwork, I still have a ton here. But the good news, if you are interested, you can own a print, and possibly an original on the rare occasion that I let them go.

Mystery & Wonder Exhibit at New York Public Library For the Performing Arts Opens

 

The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts is having a wonderful exhibit called  Mystery  & Wonder : A Legacy of Golden Age Magicians in New York City. My friends Judge Gary Brown and Charles Green were there at the opening. I had a nice chat with Charles on the phone earlier in the week. He is quite the avid magic historian. I saw photos on Facebook that Judge Gary took and the event is clearly a hit. Though in some ways it looks like my living room, lol.

Here is the description from the website:  "In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, a surge of magicians began to refine their art, finding larger audiences and building communities of practice, especially in New York City. This period has come to be known as The Golden Age of  Magic. This history of magic and magicians has long been documented through text and image as a form of theater by the Billy Rose Theater Division at The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts. Now, the exhibition Mystery & Wonder, curated by Annemarie van Roessel, will display our rich and historic archival materials related to the art of magic and the fascinating lives of magicians performing in New York City during the Golden Age."

To learn more about it, you can visit their website here: https://www.nypl.org/events/exhibitions/mystery-and-wonder-legacy-golden-age-magicians-new-york-city

This is open to the public and I believe the tour is free, though you may want to check to be sure.

Its located at:  

The Vincent Astor Gallery, The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts

111 Amsterdam Ave

New York, NY 10023