The Great Lee Grabel Has Passed

Lee Grabel, one of the magicians in the Royal Dynasty of Magic has died. He passed away July 27th, 2015 at his home. Lee Grabel was to receive the Mantle of Magic from Dante, but Dante died suddenly before an officially ceremony could take place. Because, he was the only one Dante was considering, the Mantle still went to Grabel. Lee passed the Mantle of Magic on to Lance Burton in 1994.

His life story was covered in the wonderful book, The Magic and Illusions of Lee Grabel by Ormond McGill. One thing I would like to mention, Lee Grabel retired from magic in 1959. Having seen him in his later years and still a commanding presence, I personally wish he had continued on all those many years as his magic was wonderful.

I'll have a longer biographer at a later time. For now if you'd like to read more about Lee, please visit his website http://www.leegrabelmagic.com/index.html

A Cool Houdini Connection and The Official Houdini Seance 2015

Imagine going through life and hearing from relatives that you're related to Houdini or someone close to Houdini. That was the situation Robert Strong was in. He had heard from relatives that there was some family connection to Houdini, but no one was quite sure what the connection was. Robert thought he might be related to Jacob Hyman and Joe Hayman. So the search was on earlier this year to discover that branch of his family tree.

He was surprised to find out that it was not the Haymans but rather Sidney Radner who he was related

to! The man who owned the bulk of Houdini props for so many years having purchased and/or acquired them from Houdini's brother Hardeen. Too bad Robert didn't know this before Sid auctioned everything off.

I should mention that Robert Strong is a very busy full time professional magician from Maryland. He currently lives in San Francisco, but travels all over the country presenting his unique brand of comedy magic.

Once Robert found out he was related to the Radners he contacted Sidney's son and a new door opened. Robert is helping out with the Official Houdini Seance this year. Plans are in place for the event to take place in San Francisco at the Brava Theater. There are new websites set up for this event, one of them being a Kickstarter Campaign, though that page is not yet live.

You'll want to be sure to LIKE the Facebook page by going here https://www.facebook.com/houdiniseance

Check out the official webpage for the event here http://www.houdini-seance.com/   (The site is still under construction, so you'll want to check it out from time to time to see the progress)

Finally, the Kickstarter page is https://www.kickstarter.com/projects/radicalphysics/236293987?token=744b6390

AND to learn more about Robert Strong, http://strongentertainment.com/

BREAKING: TCM WILL AIR 'THE GRIM GAME' ON OCTOBER ...

This comes from John Cox over at WildAboutHoudini.com Exciting News!!!WILD ABOUT HARRY: BREAKING: TCM WILL AIR 'THE GRIM GAME' ON OCTOBER ...: "I'm on my way!" Here's the news we've all been waiting for! TCM will air their restoration of Houdini's The...

Another Book Update and More

The Conjuring Arts Research Library every summer for the last 3 years has had a special FREE book download. They offer a different book each week to download in pdf format. Many of these are hard to get and all are out of print. This week they have Prof. Hoffmann's MORE MAGIC. You can still find this volume from time to time on ebay, but here is a chance to get it for free! Just visit the following link this week http://shop.conjuringarts.org/store/pc/FREE-More-Magic-PDF-by-Professor-Hoffmann-127p1218.htm#.VaMSR0WpNWY
In addition they have a number of 50% off deals as well so be sure to stop by their site and check out what they have to offer.

Next is a surprise catalog by Potter and Potter Auctions. It's for the Magic LIVE Auction which takes place in Las Vegas on August 12th. Unfortunately for me, I won't be attending this year and this auction, unlike their others, won't be open to online bidding. Still, the catalog has great images and who knows, it might inspire you to head to Vegas!

To download the catalog or order a printed version, go here: http://www.potterauctions.com/auctions/upcoming

It Must Be Book Month, Another GREAT DEAL

I just saw over on Chuck Romano's website that he found 'a stash' of his great book on Paul Rosini called HOUSE OF CARDS-The Life and Magic of Paul Rosini. This book is a real gem. The first 101 pages is the biography of Paul Rosini. The next 100+ pages is the magic of Rosini. What's great about this is you really get to understand him as a performer through his choice of material. And then as an added bonus there is a reprint of Paul Rosini's Magical Gems by Rufus Steele, which runs about 67 pages. A total of 320 pages on the incredible Paul Rosini.

I paid $35 for the book when it first came out. Chuck is selling these for $17. Get them while you can! Click the link above to head over the Chuck's site!