The Anamorphic World of Judge Gary Brown

 Judge Gary Brown is a friend of mine, I state that up front. But even with that, he is able to create some of the coolest effects. He has a rather large repertoire of original material, some very off beat and yet quite remarkable.

His latest creation was his website JudgeBrownMagic.com. And being the genius that he is, he created this brilliant way to drive traffic to his website. He created a playing card size 'activity card' filled with optical illusions galore.  It's printed front and back with some very unusual artwork. From his own write up, "This priceless marvel contains TWO MIND-BLOWING SCIENTIFIC OPTICAL ILLUSIONS guaranteed to BAFFLE and AMAZE! And, as if that weren't enough, the card also contains more than  a half dozen hidden magical messages using ARCHAIC SYMBOLS and MODERN CODES developed over some 3,000 years, encompassing  everything from ANCIENT WISDOM to SPACE AGE ALGORITHMS."

In other words, it's very cool AND here is the great news, you can get one for FREE. You'll need to send Judge Gary a Self-Addressed Stamped Envelope. For you younger readers, you may need to see if there is a Youtube tutorial for that. For everyone else, just go to JudgeBrownMagic.com and click the link for the Free Magic! Enjoy.

Batman the Escape Artist

 

I watched Batman with Adam West growing up. Now everyone refers to it as Batman66, because it came out in 1966. I saw every episode there ever was, but I saw them as a kid. Imagine my surprise to come upon THIS episode called, "Zelda the Great". It starred Anne Baxter as Zelda the Great. She was a criminal, but also an illusionist and escape artist. Hanging in her secret warehouse was this huge poster (see above) which reads at the bottom, "EVEN GREATER THAN HOUDINI". 

Houdini is mentioned in the episode as well. And this interesting line is said, "and you know Batman, he's the greatest escape artist alive!"  Pretty cool stuff. Below is the contraption that is built as Zelda's new show piece. Except there is one problem. Neither Zelda nor the builder know how to open the device. So they set a trap for Batman and Robin.  They trap Batman and Robin and then watch closely on how Batman escapes. That will then reveal to Zelda HOW to escape!!!! Holy Houdini Batman!

Three Icons of Mind Reading Seen In A New Way

 

This animation app is all the rage, and I've done the typical ones that everyone is doing. But I thought I'd try some lesser known performers so here are three icons of mentalism for your enjoyment. First up, Anna Eva Fay. She will have a podcast episode is Season 3 for sure. She has a shorter one, that I did previously. http://magicdetectivepodcast.com/e/houdini-anna-eva-fay/

Next we have Samri Baldwin, known as the White Mahatma. He was another pioneer in mind reading and mentalism. And his podcast episode is here http://magicdetectivepodcast.com/e/samuel-spenser-baldwin-pioneer-clairvoyant/

Finally, the ultra mysterious Washington Irving Bishop. His podcast is here http://magicdetectivepodcast.com/e/three-pioneers-of-mind-reading/

The Great Signor Blitz

 

“Come and Laugh, Come and See the Funny Blitz–The Amusing Blitz–The Remarkable Blitz–The Laughing Blitz–The Popular Blitz–The Blitz who Makes All Happy" 

That headline comes from an actual 1863 playbill. I didn't even catch on to the play on words with his name 'Blitz', when I finished by most recent podcast. But as is often the case with these folks I cover either here on the blog or on the podcast, once an article is finished, more information pours in. 

For example, I recently saw this Signor Blitz Token for sale (it had already sold). First thing I thought upon seeing it, it did not belong to the real Signor Blitz, so it must be a competitor. Just look at the image, that is NOT Signor Blitz. But then I found out that the token is actually a fake. It was created by  Bill Kuethe in modern times and it's fake or what is called 'a fantasy piece'. There is no Signor Blitz coin that we know of. The link above is to another article that describes the entire story behind the creation of the fake coin.

One of Signor Blitz's big talents was his ability to throw his voice or ventriloquism. He was a master and seems to have used it more offstage than on. There are articles filled with funny stories that happened to Blitz. In my latest podcast episode #61 on the master himself, there are numerous stories of when he used his ventriloquism in everyday settings. I just heard another one, Blitz was in a library reading room and had all manner of fun with the folks in the room by  throwing his voice and making it sound as if a bee were buzzing around! lol.

Speaking of ventriloquism, though Signor Blitz was a master of throwing his voice, he was also an early pioneer of the vent dummy or vent figure. His was a country bumpkin character he called 'Bobby'. By today's standards 'Bobby' is pretty freaky looking, but I'm sure back in the day he was cutting edge.

IF you have not already done so, please go over to my podcast and check out the episode on Signor Blitz! You'll be glad you did!

Kassner the Illusionist - The Statue

 

Here is something you don't see every day, a statue of Alois Kassner the famous illusionist. I received this photo from his grandson. Kassner is a fascinating character in the annals of magic. In fact, he will be the subject of an upcoming podcast. YES, lol, the podcast is returning after a short hiatus. 

I own one vintage Kassner poster (see below). But as it turns out, Kassner had a great deal of posters, full color, quite a variety. I'm looking forward to doing the research on this fellow. It won't be next in line, that one is on Signor Blitz, but hopefully soon after.