Still More Holiday Gifts for the Magician in Your Life

I always like to give a wide variety of out of the norm kind of gift suggestions each year. Here are a few more that you all might find of interest. Even though these are suggestions for folks to buy for their magician friends/relatives, there is nothing wrong with buying one of these for yourself! :)

Mike Caveney Books

My suggestion is to pick up the new book Wonders & The Conference Illusions by Mike Caveney. This is a fantastic book filled with history, magic, magic history and more magic! It's a two volume set and it's just wow. But if you are feeling adventurous, there a lot of other titles under MCMagicWords.com to choose from and most of those are magic history as well. You can't go wrong with a Caveney published book for the holidays!

Rabbit and Top Hat Tree Ornament

Ok, this is just cool. A Christmas Tree Ornament with a magic theme. Found this on ebay, so get them while they last.

Rabbit and Hat Wall Stickers

I thought these were just plain cool. I'm not sure I'd put them up, but a great idea for a kid magician!
They can also be found on ebay. http://www.ebay.com/itm/SET-OF-3-RABBITS-WITH-HATS-BOWLER-TOP-MAGIC-MAGICIAN-WALL-STICKER-DECAL-GRAPHIC-/161135137629

Taschen MAGIC

The newest edition, which is also the smaller edition, which is also not really so small, but it's smaller than the first edition! And from Barnes and Noble it's cheaper! So go here http://www.barnesandnoble.com/listing/2689779204888

Hofzinser Books by Magic Christian

I saved the best for last. This is for the hardcore magician. If you don't know who Hofzinser is, you need to find out. If you don't care who Hofzinser is, then get out of magic (and I'm not kidding). Buy these from Conjuring Arts and you can make payments rather than pay the full amount up front!

I don't like to put trick suggestions up in case you're wondering. The main reason is, I believe, as performers we should be selective in our material. If everyone is doing the SAME tricks what is so special about us? Now that certainly flies in the face of helping magic trick creators, but I'm looking at it strictly from a performers stand point. GO TO YOUR LOCAL DEALER, or favorite magic dealer and ask them if you really want advice on tricks. There are many cool effects that come out every year. But as a rule, if you buy a good book on tricks, like one of the Tarbell books, or the Card College books, you'll have so much more material to chose from and usually about the same price as a singe trick. Good luck shopping. Please support your local brick and mortar magic shop!

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays 

from The Magic Detective!~

Even More Unique Magic Related Statues

I just love when readers contribute! Here are two images for magic statues that I've never seen. The first is a Tommy Cooper Jug.

Guild/Tommy Cooper Toby Jug.

Tommy Cooper Toby Jug Collectors Guild 1996/97 by Kevin Francis Ceramics manufactured by Peggy Davies Ceramics. This 9.5" Toby Jug captured the great man on stage, wearing his trademark red Fez , matching red socks and black evening suit with white shirt and bow tie, pulling a rabbit out of a hat. Tommy Cooper is one of the few magicians to have a life size statue of himself as well.

Next we have, a wooden figurine which is amazing. It's a female magician pulling a rabbit from a top hat. The figurine is the work of artist Ben Godi. This piece is made of wood as I mentioned, and has a run of 200. I read about the process on how he creates them and it's quite amazing. He begins by creating a unique hand carved figurine from wood. Then he has a machine that duplicates his figurine though he still has to go back and work on each of the 200 copies by hand to fix and imperfections and smooth them out. Simply amazing. This figurine is 9 inches tall and there are still some available if you are interested in adding it to your collection. Just visit his website http://www.ben-godi.com/artwork/natural-girls/i-am-not-your-rabbit.html And there are additional views of the figurine on the site, it's a wonderful piece.

Thank you to Christina from Luxembourg for the contributions!

Holiday Gifts for Magicians - Organizations & Periodicals

I'm going to give you some real practical suggestions for gifts. A subscription to any of the following magazines and organizations will pay for itself over and over again. First up we have the GrandDaddy of all magazines, GENII. Along with the subscription, you also get access to the digital version and the entire archives of every Genii ever printed.

Next we have MAGIC Magazine. Always well done, always great articles. And they featured my artwork on two of their magazine covers! They offer a monthly subscription or a yearly. They also have a digital version of the magazine which I think is a separate subscription.

If you are into the history of magic, and you should be if you are reading my blog, then you'll want to get a subscription to MAGICOL, the Magazine of Magic History and Collectibles. I love this magazine!

The Society of American Magicians is the oldest continuing magic association in the world. They publish a great magazine monthly MUM, and hold a wonderful magic convention each year. In addition they have assemblies all over the globe that meet monthly to share magic and learn magic.
Any magic group is only as good as the effort put forth by it's members. It is a great learning ground for the beginner and a wonderful place to hang out with fellow magicians.

The International Brotherhood of Magicians is the second oldest magic association in the U.S. and was founded in 1922. Like the SAM, they put out a monthly magazine called The Linking Ring, and have local 'rings' that meet monthly across the globe. You can't go wrong with a membership to the IBM!

KIDABRA International is the Association of Kidshow and Family Entertainers. They also have chapters that meet in various cities in the U.S. and abroad. They publish an online only magazine called The Kidabra Journal bi-monthly. And they run an annual convention in Pigeon Forge TN called......The Kidabra Conference. If you are a family entertainer, this is the group to be associated with.

The Magic Castle and home of the Academy of Magical Arts. This is for the more hardcore magician and magic enthusiast. One visit to the Magic Castle will make you want to be a member. But you can't just walk into the Castle. You have to be a member or be the guest of a member...thus membership isn't such a bad idea.

Finally, if you are in the U.K. you should consider applying for membership with The Magic Circle. This is the oldest continuing magic organization in the U.K.. Unlike the SAM, IBM and Kidabra, the Magic Circle has their own Headquarters, with it's own meeting room, museum and theatre.

Holiday Gifts for Magicians-Videos

It's that time of year again and time for another list of great gifts to get that magician in your family or a friend who is into magic. Even though the sales of DVD's are down, I would submit that a magic related DVD is an ideal gift. There were many movies this year which dealt with the subject of matter.

Ricky Jay Movie
This is a must for any fan of magic. Filled with stories and rare footage of many of magic's greatest close-up stars including Ricky Jay himself. The Ricky Jay movie is also available on iTunes. I've given you the link for both itunes and Amazon, however, for any of the magic related DVD's, if you can purchase them from your local magic shop, please do that. It might cost a couple dollars more, but you'll be supporting the shops which need all the help we can give.

Desperate Acts of Magic Movie
Here is another magic related movie. I have not watched it yet, but after being contacted by the producers of the movie, I do intend to watch it. It features a lot of magicians as well, so you can't go wrong here.

Now You See Me Movie
This one I have seen several times. There is even an extended cut version. It's not about specific historical magicians, though it does use magic as it's theme. David Copperfield was a consultant on this movie.

Burt Wonderstone Movie
Here is a movie that had a lot of promise, but fell short. I enjoyed it, but I don't know if lay people liked the movie or even understood it. A lot of inside jokes with this movie. David Copperfield makes a brief cameo in this movie.

The Great Buck Howard Movie
This didn't do well at the box office and apparently didn't make very much money. But I think it's because it was terribly promoted. It's a really cool movie that is basically about the life of Kreskin.
I really enjoyed it and Kreskin is featured in the Bonus Footage.

The Prestige
One of the most awesome magic related movies ever made. It's a must see with Wolverine and Batman, I mean, Hugh Jackman and Christian Bale.

The Illusionist Movie
This is one of my favorite magic movies. Edward Norton does an incredible job in the title role. This came out around the same time as The Prestige and both are great flicks!

The Illusionist Animated Movie
I have not seen this movie but I understand it's quite good. From what I hear it's also sad. But take a look for yourself. More than likely most of the movies here are available on itunes as well, so if you'd prefer to rent them, you can do that.

HOUDINI Movie
The original with Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh in the starring roles. This is the Hollywood version of Houdini's life so it's highly fictionalized, but it's also the movie that got many of us interested in magic to start with.

Houdini The Movie Star
A collection of most of the real Houdini's silent movies.

American Experience: HOUDINI
A fine documentary by PBS on the life of Harry Houdini.

David Copperfield-ILLUSION
This is a special compilation video from many of David Copperfield's specials. There is some fantastic footage on here. If you are a younger magician and didn't grow up with David, I encourage you to get this video.

David Blaine: Decade of Magic
Cool footage from David Blaine's various specials. He is the guy who really changed the face of magic.

Guest Blog - Amy Brewster - The Art of Escapology

 Harry Houdini was known for his escape acts and played a huge part in the shaping of escapology routines.  We spoke to three modern day Houdini’s, Chris Cross, Rob Roy Collins and Roslyn Walker on how Harry has been a big part of their careers and how they became the performers they are today.

All three artists said Houdini played a major role in their life, not just with his routines but with his performances and ability to capture an audience. “Houdini obviously influenced me – it’s difficult for him not to have. He took a very old art form and transformed it into a massively successful performance piece,” says Roslyn. “Before him magicians would use the ability to escape from cuffs and other restraints in order to perform pseudo psychic demonstrations. He was the first to see the potential of using the escape itself to entertain.”

Rob Roy Collins too is mesmerised by Houdini’s ability to entertain, “What I love most about him is not just his ability to perform escapology stunts, but his ability to sell himself. He was the best PR guru I’ve ever come across!”

Chris Cross envies Houdini’s ability to pull a crowd, especially “his marketing skills and his ability to create hype. He got people’s attention and was a master crowd-puller.”   All three artists highlight the power of Houdini’s work and how charisma was an important element in Houdini becoming a household name.

Roslyn Walker is such a fan of Houdini he recreated some of his most famous routines, “One of his most famous stunts was the Mirror Cuff Challenge where a pair of escape-proof cuffs was created. Houdini was locked in and had to escape. It took him over an hour to get out. But he did it and the audience went mental!”

Roslyn explains how he took the challenge to escape from the same kind of cuffs: “I wasn’t allowed to see them until they were snapped on my wrists and I wasn’t allowed to have them taken off unless I admitted defeat, or I escaped on my own. The only difference was I did this in full view, so my audience of 3000 could see everything, whereas Houdini did the escape in private. Houdini took over an hour, as I said, but I took just over four minutes to free myself. I was given the cuffs as a souvenir.”

Roslyn, Chris and Rob obviously love what they do and would encourage others to get involved but with precaution, as “the world of escapology is littered with horror stories of escapes going wrong and people being injured, or worse,” says Rob. ”If the person has practiced enough and has all safety precautions thoroughly in place then this should not happen.”

Roslyn Walker thinks experience in performing arts is the key to escapology, “Most escape artists get into the art through magic. They train as magicians first and then find escapology. Personally I think it’s an advantage to also have knowledge and experience in other performance arts. My background in circus has really helped me.”

Find out more about Roslyn Walker, Chris Cross and Rob Roy Collins here.

An Early Bust from the Scranton Houdini Museum

Today's photos are a special treat from Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brooks. These show one of the early casts made during their attempt to recreate the bust to sit on Houdini's Grave. Look closely and you can see all the pits and imperfections which were later filled in for the final bust. This particular bust is made of solid polyurethane and was then coated to give the appearance of bronze.

The photos also contain a second bust much smaller. This is apparently a bust that Bess Houdini gave out. It's hollow, made of plaster and quite fragile.

Thank you Dick and Dorothy for sharing these images!

The Great Lafayette on TV

One of my favorite articles, from this blog, was called Beauty and Lafayette. It's the story of a magician and his dog and the tragedy that ends the magician's life. It's one of my favorite stories in the history of magic because it has so many interesting layers to it.

The TV show Mysteries At The Museum has done a piece on Lafayette. I don't know when it was done originally, I just heard about it. They share the story, rather briefly, of Lafayette's death and the amazing thing that happened afterwards. The fellow doing the interview is David Stahl, who just so happens to be on the cover of the December 2013 MAGIC Magazine. And you need to read the article about David because along with being a successful performer he is also a collector. There is a wonderful story about a 'chance encounter' related to Lafayette that is a must read within his MAGIC Magazine article.

Now, enjoy the video from the show Mysteries At The Museum.

A Few Magician Statues

These photos come from the Collection of Bill King. Bill passed away a while ago and his stuff has been auctioned off. I have no idea what happened to these statues sadly, as I would love to have added them to my collection.

In the photo above there are two statues and in the center is an original Robert Houdin Mystery Clock. The statue on the left is actually Robert-Houdin and I recently saw one in auction for over $1000. The statue on the right is a little more common, though it was been reproduced. Bill King told me how to spot an original versus the copy. The bottom of the top hat on the originals was rounded and it's flat on the copys. I think the copys were authorized, at least I hope so, cause I have one :)

HOUDINI Calls in Deceptive Practices

According to an article on www.Broadwayworld.com, the company Deceptive Practices has been called in to consult on the new Houdini Broadway Musical. The company, is run by magicians Michael Weber and Ricky Jay.

The musical is set to star Hugh Jackman in the title role with music by Stephen Schwartz. The last part of the article mentions that HOUDINI could hit the stage sometime between the next 12-18 months!

To read the article from click here!

A New Twist on the End of HOUDINI by Tony Curtis

 In the world of Houdini, one of the most beloved movies is the Paramount 1953 version with Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. It also happens to be one of the most frustrating because of the ending. Magicians know that Houdini died from Peritonitis after having been punched in the stomach by J. Gordon Whitehead.

The HOUDINI movie with Tony Curtis shows a different end to Houdini's life. In the movie, he dies attempting the Pagoda Torture Cell Escape. So iconic was this ending that for many years lay people thought that was the way Houdini actually died.

That brings me to this little story. A close friend related the story of meeting Tony Curtis during one of his Art Gallery showings a few years before he died. They struck up a conversation and as is probably the case, the talk turned to his movies. My friend brought up the ending of the Houdini movie and why they chose to go with a fictitious ending.

Before I tell you what he said, I have heard many reasons. One, is that the students involved in the incident (when he was punched) were still alive and the studio feared being sued.  Another was that the studio wanted a more dramatic ending to the movie.

What I never heard is what Tony Curtis told my friend. He said "We shot the ending with the punch and it didn't play very strong for test audiences. So we shot the alternate ending where I die in the attempt of escaping from the big tank of water." I have never heard that before. I totally believe that he said it, but I'm not sure if I believe that it's true. IF it is true, that means that the movie many of us came to love had the potential to be a very different movie. In fact, still shots from other scenes have surfaced over the years, like the Milk Can, and the Airpline Transfer from the Grim Game.

Again, I must say I do believe Tony Curtis said it, but I'm not sure I believe it. I'm wondering if anyone else has heard this story?

Unique Houdini Artifact

Harry Houdini died Oct 31, 1926 at Grace Hospital Room 401. Most magicians today know that Houdini died on Halloween, they might not know the particular details of his death and what followed.

Grace Hospital

Grace Hospital in Detroit MI, opened in 1888 and quickly became a leading hospital in the city. As the years went by, additions were added to the hospital around the original building. Finally, sometime in the 1970s, the original part of the hospital was torn down and replaced.

Enter magician Wayne Alan. He had read about the upcoming demolition in a magic magazine and contacted the hospital administrator. He was able to go to the very room where Houdini died and salvage items from the room. Among the items he collected were two air vents and a piece of door trim. The air vent that was above the bed where Houdini died can be seen at the top of the page. Wayne has a number of unique items that he removed from Room 401 at Grace Hospital just before it was demolished.

News From the First Annual Houdini Festival in Danville VA

This has been a whirlwind weekend. So many stories, like the car breaking down on the way to Danville and having to turn back to have the car checked out. Long story short, we arrived at the Historic North Theatre in Danville VA shortly after midnight on Friday.

Magician Wayne Alan owns the theatre where the Houdini Festival takes place.  Attached to the theatre is a bed and breakfast which is just amazing. I'm not sure how many rooms there are, but Wayne has turned them into themed rooms. Of the ones I can remember, he has the Marylin Monroe Room, the Sinatra Room, the Tonight Show Room, the Today Show room and there are others I've forgotten. You can access the theatre from the Bed and Breakfast which was great.

First thing, Saturday morning Wayne gave us a tour of the Theatre. Let me say, this place is a real treasure. At one time, Danville VA sported 5 Vaudeville Theatres. Today, the Historic North Theatre is the only one which remains. It was recently refurbished before Wayne purchased it, so it has brand new seats (500 of them) and really a brand new everything. It's an amazing place.

In the basement below the stage, Wayne has put in what he calls Houdini's Haunted House. It's a normal Haunted House with some rather interesting Houdini artifacts scattered throughout. He also keeps several of the side show style illusions down there. It's certainly clever and word was he did a really strong business over the weeks in October because of Halloween. I will write about some of the artifacts in a future blog this week.

In the balcony of the theatre, Wayne Alan has created a sort of mini-theatre and this is where the lectures took place. The first lecturer of the event was Tony Econ. Tony is a fantastic card magician with a truly amazing life story. He was a great guy and did a simply fantastic job with his lecture.

Next up was ME! I was doing my lecture on Houdini and Escapes. To be specific, it's more on escapes and only briefly covers Houdini. The reason is because you can't talk escapes without mentioning Houdini. I talked a bit about the history of escapes and then taught a number of rope escapes, thumb cuff and thumb screw escapes and finally gave them some very clever information on handcuff escapes. I finished by performing an escape called The Strong Box. I was really thrilled with the reaction to my lecture and the response that followed. I'll be presenting this lecture again in the future.

After my lecture we had a surprise guest. But I'm going to hold the information on this wonderful lady because I need to get some photos and more biographical information. So this part of the day is for a future article.

Wayne Alan prepared an interesting talk on Why Houdini Was So Famous. I must say I really

enjoyed this talk. One of the first reasons Wayne sited for Houdini's success is actually almost identical to the first chapter of my book on Houdini (yes, I have a book and no it's not done.)
Wayne gave some really wonderful examples to back up his thoughts on Houdini's success and I'd say he was pretty much right on the money.

At this point in the day, Denise, my assistant, and I had to leave to run some errands so we missed

Carnegie & Wayne Alan

some of the activities in the afternoon. Basically, we had to get to the store to buy a video tape to record the evening Gala Show. Once we returned, the evening was spent preparing for the show, loading in our props and getting on costumes.

I should mention that Wayne Alan acted as M.C.for the Gala Show. He said a few opening words, did a quick routine and then proceeded to introduce the first act. Up first was Tony Econ doing his wonderfully executed Manipulation Act. Tony was great during the day with his lecture and he proved equally strong performing Card Manipulations and Billiard Ball moves with Large Dice.

Next up was Denise and I presenting our Steampunk Illusionist Act. During the course of the act we actually presented one escape routine and closed with my signature story trick about Houdini and Charlie Chaplin.

Wayne wrapped up the last part of the show by presenting the Misers Dream, A clever Shrinking Illusion using someone from the audience and then Floating a Member of the Audience in the Air. The audience loved the show! We got to meet and talk with them in the lobby following the performance.

After the last person exited the theatre, the boring part of showbiz began, which is tearing down the props and loading them in the car. Then stripping off all the costumes and makeup and getting ready to hit the road again. 

Another thing I missed was the Friday evening Close-Up Show in the Mini-Theatre. I forgot to ask Wayne how this part of the event went over, but I'm sure it went fine.

The First Annual Houdini Festival was fun. The number of attendees was less than Wayne would have liked but it just meant that it was more of an intimate gathering. For all who attended, they got a real treat with some bonuses that I have not mentioned. Wayne Alan is already beginning work on The Second Annual Houdini Festival. I know he is looking for lecturers, speakers, performers and of course attendees. Wayne has some Houdini related artifacts that he told me about which would make any Houdini-fan very envious and I'm sure they will show up in future editions of this festival. There are already some really cool things planned for next year so it's going to be something I personally will be looking forward too!

Houdini Festival in Danville VA

This weekend, November 1-2, 2013, Wayne Alan and The North Theatre in Danville VA will be hosting the first annual Houdini Festival. It's going to be a fun time and yours truly will be there on November 2nd lecturing and then later performing.

At 10:30am I will be doing a lecture on Escapes. I'll teach some methods used by Houdini and also some techniques by others. I'll be teaching methods to escape from Ropes and Handcuffs as well as some unusual escape methods.

At 8pm, there will be a Gala Evening Show and I will be doing my Steampunk Magic Act along with some escapes thrown into the mix. If you are in Southern Virginia, or perhaps the Northern part of North Carolina and have an interest in magic and Houdini, please come on out.

Click on the poster above to find out more about the festival!

I will have a full report of the Festival once it's over! 

In Search of Magician Statues

 The surprise success of the various Houdini Bust/Statue blogs has me interested in doing something similar with magician statues and busts. I know there are a lot of them out there. I actually have quite a few. The success of the Houdini Bust blogs was because many people submitted photos that I was unaware of and thus helped to really enhance the photo collection.

So I need your help. I'm looking for busts and sculptures and statues/figurines of magicians to include here. If at all possible, if you could also include some information on the statues such as who created them, where the statue came from, what it's made of, and things like that. IF you know that is, if you don't just send me the photo.

Unlike the Houdini blogs which continued over several days, I'd like to gather up as many of the magician statue images and then present them all at once, or least keep the blogs to just a couple. I already did a blog a while ago on large magic statues which can be seen here.

So if you have anything, please send to carnegiemagic@aol.com

Houdini and His Likeness

Courtesy of John Hinson, the Great Nephew of Houdini, we have another Houdini Bust. This time the Grand Daddy of them all. This bust was commissioned by Houdini in 1914 while he was performing in England. Sculptor John Cassidy created this amazing bronze bust.

This bronze bust was to be placed upon Houdini's grave when he died. However, a marble copy was mounted on the grave instead. Bess Houdini kept the bronze bust in her home and it was passed down to her sister when she died. The marble copy suffered a tragic end at the hands of vandals. But thankfully today, due to the efforts of Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brooks a new Houdini Bust sits atop the grave.

In 1958, John A. Hinson donated the bronze bust to Museum of the City  of NY.

More Houdini Statues Continue to Come In

Here is a cool Houdini statue that sold on eBay. It has Houdini's name on the front, underneath the bust the number 1958 is printed. The bust stands 12 inches tall.

The next statue is very interesting, it's Houdini in a strongman pose. He is 6" tall and made of bronze.


















Next is a 7 inch metalware statue of Houdini was that was apparently part of a "Legends of Magic"

series. It is signed by Jack Taves. I don't know if there were other 'legends of magic' or if it just stopped with Houdini.

Next is a very unique Houdini Bust. This is on the old Houdini property in California. The property is in Laurel Canyon and actually, was probably NOT Houdini's property at all. But it's been called that for years by residents and real estate people that it's now known as the Houdini Estate. Houdini expert, Patrick Culliton believes the property across the street is where Houdini's property actually was. John Cox and Patrick Culliton visited the Houdini Estate in 2012 and you can read all about it at
http://www.wildabouthoudini.com/2012/03/inside-houdini-estate.html








Special thanks to Joe Notaro for two of the images on this page. If anyone else knows of Houdini statues or busts which I've not featured and you have photos you're willing to share, please let me know at carnegiemagic@aol.com

The Hinson Houdini Bust

This is a real treat. John Hinson, sent me this image of a Houdini bust that belonged to his grandmother. Unfortunately, he does not know where she got it from. I can say, I've never seen another like this one. So cool. Thank you John for allowing me to share this.

I can't wait to see what other Houdini Busts and Statues show up in the coming days!