* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * MagicNZ e-zine * www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Issue Number: #26 Date: Sunday 18th June 2000 Editor: Alan Watson www.alan-watson.com ================================ Hi here is the latest news ================================ 1. Editors Message 2. REMEMBER - Harvey Berg (USA) - lecture THIS week 3. Harvey Berg - description of lecture 4. Harvey Berg - credits 5. The Lance Burton Theatre 6. Contributions to Linking Ring Magazine 7. Leave for the S.A.M. convention in Milwaukee 8. A mental legacy, a journey into the paranormal 9. The campaign #12 Catalogue for Avon N.Z 10. On TV programme What Now 11. Off to Vanuatu again 12. Update on Pat Sweeney 13. Billy McComb - This is retirement with a vengeance!!! 14. Bruce Kalver asks Lee Jacobs 15. Words of Wisdom - Joycee A Beck 16. Daryl - New Millennium World Tour lecture 17. Australia - Melbourne Convention June 9th - 12th 18. Tribute to Ross Skiffington and Graham Etherington 19. Competition winners - Melbourne Convention 20. If it sucks we tell you 21. Attend the IBM Buffalo Convention 22. Successful time at the Melbourne Convention 23. Diarise these events 24. News Items 25. MagicNZ e-zine archives 26. Benefit of subscribing to the MagicNZ e-zine 27. Subscription Management 28. Contact Information. ------------------------------------- 1. Editors Message ------------------------------------- Message from Alan Watson - The Magic One Very pleased to announce that MagicNZ e-zine subscription base is now in excess of 600+ and continues to grow on a daily basis. CONGRATULATIONS to both Ross Skiffington and Graham Etherington in achieving the honour of 'Lifetime Achievements In Magic' at the 27th Australian International Magic Convention. Two very worthy recipients for this award. For more information read contents item 18. We have changed the Password to access the MagicNZ Archives to "magicwand". For more details read contents item 23. Had a number of e-mails asking for more details on Franquin's death. I asked the original contributor of the posting Jon Zealando to double check his report. Jon tried to contact Ron Ricco but he was away at the time. He then made contact with Arthur Coughlan who could not confirm the report. If anyone has information on the above please e-mail me so that they can be included in the next e-zine. Wayne Rogers will be formally congratulated by Michael Bailey, President of the Magic Circle, London at the S.A.M. Convention in Milwaukee, USA at the Magic Circle function for winning the 'The Magic Circle's Millennium Magic Contest'. Circus Venues - 'ILLUSIONS' Duck Cameron is appearing with the Circus as the Wizard in the following areas: 7th-25th June Whangaparaoa 28th -16th July Ellerslie 19th - 30th July Pukekohe 2nd - 30th August Papatoetoe Reports from lay people have been very positive and complimentary on Duck's performances. Remember if you have any magic news drop me a line: alan@watson.co.nz ------------------------------------- 2. REMEMBER - Harvey Berg (USA) - lecture THIS week ---------------------------------- Auckland Sunday 25th June Contact: Alan Watson - alan@watson.co.nz Start time: 7.30pm Venue: Kd Car Park Training Room, Mercury Lane, Auckland (Opposite the Mercury Theatre) Phone 493 9274 Mobile 025 95 7070 Lecture fee: $15.00 Wellington Tuesday 27th June Contact: Michael Woolf - michaelw@ihug.co.nz Start time: 7.30pm Venue: 277 Horokiwi Road, Horokiwi, Wellington Phone 64 4 587 0045 mobile 25 577774 Christchurch Thursday 29th June Contact: Greg Britt - elgregoe@inet.net.nz Start time: 7.30pm Venue, 23 Halswell Junction Road, Christchurch ---------------------------------- 3. Harvey Berg - description of lecture ---------------------------------- The lecture consists of all original effects, which I started to put together in 1995. They are mostly with playing cards, and are all mental effects. As such, they only deal with the most rudimentary of sleights, so that anybody will be able to do them. This is very much of a "sharing" kind of magic, with a high degree of audience participation. The effects range from close-up through stage, where members of the audience either come up front, or participate directly from their seats. There are times when I leave the room, and instructions are given via a recording. Since I started lecturing in 1998, they have been very successful, judging from the feedback I receive, and the large amount of lecture notes that are sold. I have recently made arrangements for the notes to be sold through dealers, and initial sales are doing very well. I have five sets of professionally printed notes with more than forty original effects, and a series of false shuffles, cuts, etc that can be done by magicians with "sleightophobia". I have also recently received an invitation to Fechters, through recommendations from Lennert Green and Marc DeSouza. Other people who are familiar with my work include Bob Elliott, Ken Krenzell, Dennis Haney, Ed White, Barrie Richardson, Jarle Leirpol (who arranged a lecture tour for me through Sweden and Norway), and Bill Nagler. Other magicians who I have "baffled" with my work include Eugene Berger, Simon Lovell, Guy Bavli and God knows how many others. ---------------------------------- 4. Harvey Berg - credits ---------------------------------- Kudos to Harvey Berg for an outstanding lecture at the recent Workshop. It was described as unusual and unique. One person drove 200 miles to see it, and says it was well worth the trip. Harvey Berg, busy on the lecture circuit, has just returned from Baltimore, Philadelphia, and Allentown. He says judging from the feedback and sales of his lecture notes; it's been a most successful tour. At the end of May, Harvey begins a lecture tour of Norway and Sweden. His lecture notes are being published and will be available at Tannen's and other dealers. If you haven't caught Harvey's lecture, be sure to pick up his notes. Those who have seen his lecture gave him rave reviews. The next lecture of the New Year was on February 17th by magician/ mentalist Harvey Berg, from New York, a relative newcomer to magic who presented an unusual assortment of original magic and mental effects in which he used stacked and memorised decks, subtle psychology, and linguistics to create absolute miracles, which looked like real mind reading. The lecture had to be experienced to be believed. To quote one attendee, who accurately reflected the sentiment of all who attended: "It just blew me away. This stuff is incredible." Keep and eye out for this unusual performer, as I predict that you will be seeing him at conventions and other magic events in the coming years. Lecture notes are available, while they last, from White Magic. ---------------------------------- 5. The Lance Burton Theatre ---------------------------------- Message from Peter Reveen Lance is back from vacation and resumes showing on Tuesday next at 7 & 10pm. His show attendances broke all previously set records this past year. Saturday June 24 marks the 4th anniversary of his show at the Lance Burton Theatre at the Monte Carlo. Nine more years to go on the contract! ---------------------------------- 6. Contributions to Linking Ring Magazine ---------------------------------- Message from Tom Craven Hello from the U.S. Any NZ magician have anything they'd like to see in my column in the Linking Ring magazine? I'm not hurting for contributions, but would like to see some NZ magic appear in the column. You can e-mail me, or send it snail mail to: Tom Craven 5217-G Cline Rd. Kent, Ohio 44240 USA By the way, I'll be lecturing in Edmonton Alberta Canada (nearby), Spokane Washington, Portland and Eugene Oregon, San Jose, and Sacramento California in September. Then off to a nine-stop lecture tour in Florida in October. If any NZ magicians are going to be in any of those areas during that time... I'd love to meet you! ------------------------------------- 7. Leave for the S.A.M. convention in Milwaukee ------------------------------------- Message from Wayne Rogers I leave for the S.A.M. convention in Milwaukee in June 18, and will be back on June 27. I will have a dealer stand at the convention to sell my original products. My room mate at the convention is Carl Andrews, a professional magician from the island of Maui in Hawaii. Carl has been doing a lecture tour of the States. A note just to hand from Mike Bent, inventor and manufacturer of a recent new effect "Lite Lunch" . . . the production of a lit fluorescent lite. " I actually thank you (Wayne) in the instructions. It was after reading "Out of The Pole Vault" that I came up with the idea. ------------------------------------- 8. A mental legacy, a journey into the paranormal ------------------------------------- Message from David O'Connor Greetings to all Kiwi E-zine subscribers. My new book titled, A MENTAL LEGACY, A JOURNEY INTO THE PARANORMAL, is now ready for shipping to interested magicians down under. The book deals with all aspects of contemporary mentalism and psychic entertainment with material suitable for the newcomer to mentalism and the seasoned performer. Over 35 mind baffling routines complete with patter, tips, background, presentation ideas, and chapters on how to get into this fascinating area of magical entertainment. I believe psychic entertainment to be the most exciting branch of our craft, especially as we journey into the new millennium. You too will be able to read minds, tune into peoples thoughts, and demonstrate your powers of ESP, Telepathy, and Forecast. You will learn about Cold Reading, Auras, Metal Bending, and more. Each routine is carefully routined for maximum impact. This elegant manuscript of workable, practical mentalism comes with the background and experience gained from having performed throughout South Africa for the past 25 years in clubs, privately, corporate functions, seminars, hotels and motivational conferences. Now the good news. Local South African magician David Upfold, a member of the Magic Lodge of South Africa will shortly be visiting New Zealand, and Alan Watson, and has kindly offered to bring copies of my book with him for interested purchasers. This will be an immense saving on postage with a much quicker delivery. Alan Watson has kindly agreed to forward the books on to anyone with an order and payment may be made direct to my account in Palmerston North. The price of the book is $46. As David Upfold will be leaving at the end of June, to ensure your copy of this limited edition, signed by the author, kindly reply via my e-mail address: eire@yebo.co.za As an ex pat New Zealander, I am delighted that Alan's E-zine is reaching so many magicians right around the world, and keeping us so informed. I hope many of you get to meet with David Upfold for a goodwill exchange of magical camaraderie and fellowship. ------------------------------------- 9. The campaign #12 Catalogue for Avon N.Z ------------------------------------- Message from Ivan Hannah Have just seen the campaign #12 Catalogue for Avon N.Z. They are selling a Magic Set (Page 75), called 'Tricky Treat' Normally this would not bother me much, but this set seems to have some very 'commercial' tricks included, such as the Thumb Tip Silk Vanish, Sponge Ball to Square, a Dice revelation that Supreme put out some years back (now copied by Japan), rope tricks etc. This set is selling for $22.95, and comes complete with a magic wand. It's such a pity that some of these effects are still being used by close-up magicians (in particular), me included. Oh well, I'll just have to put these aside for a few years until the kids have forgotten them (hopefully). ------------------------------------- 10. On TV programme What Now ------------------------------------- Message from Ken Bates Some news from down this end of the island. Magic is happening this side of the Bombay Hills. Paul who lives in Wellington had 3 spots on a TV show called What Now it's on in the afternoon he did some magic and balloons. I know he's my son but he did look good he's in Wanganui this week doing school shows. ------------------------------------- 11. Off to Vanuatu again ------------------------------------- Message from Ken Bates Shirley and I are of to Vanuatu again doing bar and table magic and entertaining the locals, it's lots of fun and it's the kind of magic I love. You have got to be careful what magic you do, as they still believe in black magic ------------------------------------- 12. Update on Pat Sweeney ------------------------------------- Message from Burns Scandrett Just a fast note. Pat is recovering very well and thrilled that he received so many letters (emails) concerning his well being, and asked that, due to the fact that he won't be able to reply to them all because of his health, to thank those people most sincerely for their kind wishes. I fly out today for Australia; I have four days in Melbourne, R & R then on to Sydney where I have been invited to perform at a large function in Double Bay. Think of me in those 747's, getting obese from eating rich food in top hotels, people forcing cocktails upon me, getting sunburnt on Bondi beach, having to carry all those heavy bags of duty free goodies, etc. However, that's the penalty that I have to pay. Ah well, that's life. ------------------------------------- 13. Billy McComb - This is retirement with a vengeance!!! ------------------------------------- Message from Billy McComb I've just finished a week in The Castle Parlour. Then off to Seattle Friday. Back 21st June and off to SAM in Milwaukee the next day. Back from there 26th June and off to FISM (late booking) on July 1st (if I can get a plane out...its b.4. the July 4th holiday so all is packed solid). Then from FISM July 9th to Gibraltar. Thence to London and back to LAX end of July. 2nd and 3rd of August I'm in N. Carolina for the Seam Convention and back to work the Castle Palace. Then back to UK for the IBM to get made a Vice President of IBM No.25. This is retirement with a vengeance!!! Love to all ------------------------------------- 14. Bruce Kalver asks Lee Jacobs ------------------------------------- Message from Lee Jacobs As a radio talk show host, I get to interview lots of people. I seem to be able to get them to tell stories that you never hear. Occasionally on SAMtalk I am going to do some mini interviews with various people asking them questions that I hope will be interesting to you. My first mini interview is with Lee Jacobs. Visiting his wonderful website (full of photos of his posters) I've always wondered which of his many posters was his best seller. I guessed that it was the Houdini King of Cards Poster. Here is his answer and a few stories about his posters: Hi Bruce, Long time, no see. Good to hear from you. Thank you very much for your interest in our web site. We are busily at work adding more images and descriptions all the time. But we will be certain to notify you when there is a major up-date. In the meantime, please let us know if there is anything we can do for you. You guessed it. THE HOUDINI "KING OF CARDS" POSTER is by far the best seller. Probably next would be our KELLAR "LEVITATION" POSTER. But different posters sell well at different times for different reasons. For instance, we did a neat, full colour ED ALONZO POSTER with his bio and a bunch of great photos of Ed with different celebrities printed on the verso. This is selling well right now because he was just named Stage Magician of the Year by The Academy of Magical Arts. You know, with the advent of THE HOUDINI "KING OF CARDS" POSTER, Tommy Windsor and I created the idea of reproducing rare magic memorabilia. And it has changed the whole appearance of the magic world. You'd be hard pressed to look at the photos in a magic magazine without seeing one of our posters in the background somewhere. And we're all over videos, television, movies, stage productions, casinos, museums, nightclubs, bars, restaurants, etc., not to mention magicians' dens. In fact, I created a whole new area in magic and had to single-handedly create a market where there was none before. If I lived to be 200, I might even be able to make a decent living at this! Most importantly, I have taken images that were in danger of disappearing to the world forever and making them readily available and affordable to all who want them rather than the precious few collectors who can afford the originals when they are able to find them at all. You said you were interested in stories about posters, but I wasn't sure whether you wanted stories about posters or about selling posters. So I'll give you one of each. The Parent Assembly members will probably like this one. I used to do THE JOE FRANKLIN SHOW whenever I was in New York. Joe loved me because of his interest in nostalgia (which I guess we now have to call "retro"... Ugh!), and we used to show the posters on the show and discuss the performers. Once in a while, I'd give Joe a poster. After a long absence from the city, I returned to Manhattan. And one of my PR guys insisted that I go up and say hello to Joe. You have to have seen one of Joe's 8th Avenue offices in order to appreciate what a real mess can be. He always had endless shelves and tables and whatever totally overflowing with papers and anything else you could imagine. Well, in one of those strange coincidences that has always plagued and delighted my life, when I walked into Joe's office that day, he was standing with his back to me throwing things away. In fact, he had a carton that a refrigerator or freezer had come in that he was throwing the stuff into. So he was serious about this search and destroy mission. Just as I silently walked up behind him, he unrolled a HOUDINI "KING OF CARDS" POSTER, looked at it, and threw it into the box. At this point, I said, rather loudly, "Hello, Joe." He turned, saw who it was, and, without missing a beat, turned back around, swept his hand down, retrieved the poster, put it back on the shelf, and said, "I almost threw that away by mistake!" And then there was the time I conned Mr. Sardi into putting up a HOUDINI "KING OF CARDS" POSTER in his restaurant, but that's another story. Now, about selling posters, I'll tell you one of the odder stories. I got a phone call from a small Chicagoland magic shop with which I had never done business. And they ordered 500 HOUDINI "BURIED ALIVE" POSTERS. Then they ordered more. Then they called and ordered 500 HOUDINI SOUVENIR PROGRAMS. And then they ordered more of those too. Somewhere in this process, I said that it was none of my business but would they mind telling me what they were doing with all those items. They said they were selling them to The Chicago Tribune but they had no idea at all what the paper was doing with them. Well, some months later, I think I stumbled upon the answer accidentally while watching a weird and embarrassing two-hour TV special about a Houdini séance, which was produced by Tribune Broadcasting. This was the one during which they wheeled Randi out on a gurney and in which Charlotte Pendragon lost her pants in the sub trunk, if I'm not mistaken. Keep in mind that Tribune Broadcasting was responsible for the wonderful Geraldo Rivera special when they opened Al Capone's vault. Anyhow, they had two large blowups of the "BURIED ALIVE" POSTER (used without clearance) on the stage. And I figured that they must have sent one of the posters they got from me to each potential syndicating station and then followed up by sending the HOUDINI SOUVENIR PROGRAM to each one that bought the show. At least, that's my guess. Let me end by mentioning a couple of the things I find most perplexing about early 20th Century magic posters. First, what is the significance of "The Rooster and the Egg" logo that appears on many of the LeROY*TALMA*BOSCO POSTERS? Second, why are there so many little demons and other weird critters on many of the posters? I've always wondered whether the audiences actually expected to see those creatures when they went to see the show and whether they were disappointed that the beings were nowhere to be found during the show. ------------------------------------- 15. Words of Wisdom - Joycee A Beck ------------------------------------- Message from Joycee Beck I hope you enjoy the words of wisdom as much as I! Maybe God wants us to meet a few wrong people before meeting the right one so that when we finally meet the right person, we will know how to be grateful for that gift. When the door of happiness closes, another opens, but often times we look so long at the closed door that we don't see the one, which has been opened for us. The best kind of friend is the kind you can sit on a porch and swing with, never say a word, and then walk away feeling like it was the best conversation you've ever had. It's true that we don't know what we've got until we lose it, but it's also true that we don't know what we've been missing until it arrives. Giving someone all your love is never an assurance that they'll love you back! Don't expect love in return; just wait for it to grow in their heart, but if it doesn't, be content it grew in yours. It takes only a minute to get a crush on someone, an hour to like someone, and a day to love someone, but it takes a lifetime to forget someone. Don't go for looks; they can deceive. Don't go for wealth--even that fades away. Go for someone who makes you smile, it takes only a smile to make a dark day seem bright. Find the one that makes your heart smile. There are moments in life when you miss someone so much that you just want to pick them from your dreams and hug them for real! Dream what you want to dream; go where you want to go; be what you want to be, because you have only one life and one chance to do all the things you want to do. May you have enough happiness to make you sweet, enough trials to make you strong, enough sorrow to keep you human, enough hope to make you happy. Always put yourself in others' shoes. If you feel that it hurts you, it probably hurts the other person, too. The happiest of people don't necessarily have the best of everything; they just make the most of everything that comes along their way. Happiness lives for those who cry, those who hurt, those who have searched, and those who have tried. For only they can appreciate the importance of people who have touched their lives. Love begins with a smile, grows with a kiss and ends with a tear. The brightest future will always be based on a forgotten past; you can't go on well in life until you let go of your past failures and heartaches. When you were born, you were crying and everyone around you was smiling. Live your life so that when you die, you're the one who is smiling and everyone around you is crying. ---------------------------------- 16. Daryl - New Millennium World Tour lecture ---------------------------------- Message from Daryl As you may know, Alison and I are still on tour with my New Millennium World Tour lecture. For a laugh, you may wish to look at our most up to date tour schedule on my web site. I have been asked by several people if my lecture in Auckland, New Zealand for Magic Day on October 22, 2000 will be my last lecture? It seems that there has been a bit of a misunderstanding. I am *not* planning to give up magic and magic lecturing! It's just that the lecture in Auckland was, at one time, the last lecture scheduled on the New Millennium World Tour. Since the Auckland lecture has been confirmed, I have been booked to lecture and perform on the Magic Cruise (aboard the Enchanted Isle cruise ship) from October 28 through November 4, 2000. Please help spread the word that I am *not* quitting magic. Magic is my life and I'm looking forward to many pleasant years of magic in the future. Daryl http://www.Daryl.net P.O. Box 13821 Las Vegas NV 89112 USA Fax: +(1) 702 435 7227 ------------------------------------- 17. Australia - Melbourne Convention June 9th - 12th ------------------------------------- Message from Greg Britt - ELGREGOE Elgregoes thoughts: Well Melbourne convention has come and gone and I've had a lot of fun! New Zealand Magicians attending where Ron Elliot, Robert Clark, Greg Britt, Tony Wilson, Terry VonPein, Michael Woolf, Stu Robinson, Graham Grant, Theo Deleeuw, Ralph Corkindale & Robin Lucas. A big disappointment to the committee and attending magicians was the announcement at the beginning of the convention that Michael Finney would not be attending. A car accident on the way to the airport put his wife in hospital and he couldn't make it. The remaining two guests Rene Levand and Tina Lenert of course delivered good performances. I'm not a fan of to many card tricks but watching Rene make the impossible look so easy and with one hand is incredible. I think a convention is what you make it and catching up with so many friends in magic and talking with other magicians who do what you do is always a highlight evident in the fact that a lot of people were in the bar until 3.30 in the morning. Special guests at the convention was Phil Cass who performed his standard show and lecture always well received, Ray Crow first time I've heard him lecture and there was good advice for the pro, Chuck Fayne appeared at banquet and lectured, Ross Skiffington brought Grand Illusion to the stage and Brendon Montanna appeared at the banquet with fire eating and razor blades. Dealers room was a chance for dealers to make their impact. As a retired dealer I was surprised how little effort and product some dealers go to at these events. Those who did make an effort seemed to be doing well, New Zealand dealer Castle of Magic had more goodies on display than some of the Aussies! Magicana was signing up new subscribers! Sean Taylor demoed a lot of new items, the hot one being LOOPS invisible thread loops that make items move with no apparent attachment. Sean sends his regards to NZ magicians He is of to Portugal for FISM in a week or so. There where 9 different competitions and a lot of the pros seemed to be entering making the standard good. One thing was mentioned to me that the winner of the restaurant magic used swear words and risqué material, although the funny patter seemed to appeal to the audience there wouldn't be any restaurant where this material would be acceptable? But certainly would go down well in a comedy club. The banquet attended by about 300 people and payed tribute to ROSS SKIFFINGTON and GRAHAM ETHERINGTON by honouring them for their lifetime achievements in magic. Ross Skiffington was born in NZ and graduated from Auckland with a diploma of fine arts before moving to Australia in 1975. Personally I enjoyed the weekend but now I have to go and practice on these darn loops I brought off Sean!!!! ---------------------------------- 18. Tribute to Ross Skiffington and Graham Etherington ---------------------------------- Message sent by Tony Wilson The 27th Australian Convention of Magicians would like to pay tribute to Ross Skiffington and Graham Etherington by honouring them for their lifetime achievements in Magic. Ross Skiffington Ross Skiffington is easily recognised as Australia's finest illusionist. Born in New Zealand, Ross trained as an actor and graduated from Auckland University with a diploma in Fine Arts. He is also a qualified secondary teacher in Art and Drama. In 1975 he moved to Australia and over the past 25 years has worked with many major theatre companies, television networks, film, corporate and production houses as an Actor, Illusionist, Director and Magic Consultant. You may have seen Ross long before you recognised his magical talents. Here are just a few of the TV shows he has been in: The Box, Cop Shop, Division Four, The Sullivans, Carson's Law, Skyways and Holiday Island. His stage performances have been vast, ranging from Shakespeare to musical comedy. He has also made regular TV appearances on: The Mike Walsh Show, The Don Lane Show, The Ray Martin Show, Young Talent Time, The Bert Newton Show, Carols by Candlelight, Denise, I.M.T. and The Mid Day Show. He represented Australia at EXPO 1985 in Japan and again in Brisbane for EXPO 88, his was the only illusion show to appear on the main "River Stage". In 1986 Ross was invited to appear at The New York Magic Symposium, in San Francisco. Ross has written and directed original works for the theatre: "Patrick's Hat Trick" a successful children's play, "Tricks" flor the Last Laugh theatre restaurant, "Electricks" for the Australian Casino Circuit, "The Fabulous Fontaines" for the Australia Council, "Silvers Grand Magic Circus" Illusions presented under the Big Top and "Chiller! A horror show for Kids". He is the only illusionist to have worked in every casino showroom in Australia, either as a solo artist, a consultant or with his production shows. Ross was the winner of 4 major awards at the 16th Australian Convention of Magicians held here in Melbourne. Ross is currently Writer, Associate Director and Magic Consultant for "Chinois" an acrobatic spectacular opening in Beijing. The list goes on but unfortunately the page doesn't. It is with great pleasure that we recognise and thank Ross Skiffington for his lifetime achievements and contributions to the art of magic. Special thanks to: Gordon Arney, Nolene Etherington, Gerald Taylor. Graham Etherington Graham was born in England and his family immigrated to Australia whilst he was just a schoolboy. Apparently he had agreed to do a show at school but when he got cold feet the only way out was to move overseas! Yes the story is true but I don't think Graham became involved in setting up the Belgrave Magic Club. He was actually the fourth member of the club, and the final member of the club. No it didn't last long. However, it was through the other members that he became part of the ASM. This took place on the 12th March, 1954. Many people say now the only way to get Graham out of the ASM is for the family to immigrate to England. Graham's first job after leaving school was working for Alf Gertler at Bernard's magic Shop. Alf, despite his abrupt personality, helped Graham a lot. There was another person working at Bernard's at the same time, a young guy by the name of Peter Ryan, most people know him better as Peter Reveen. Graham was a member of the Saturday morning club, a group that included Lindsey Reichel, Ken Russell, Peter Rodda, Ken Warner, amongst others. They would meet at Percy Laidlaw's Play Shop where they would all do magic until 12:00 then onto the pub for the afternoon, dinner at a Greek restaurant, then onto the Tivoli to see the latest variety acts. Ron Kreyts ran a magic school and taught manipulation, multiplying balls, thimbles, cigarettes, etc. Graham was not the only member and Ron taught all students the same one routine leaving everyone to graduate with the same act. Graham started working in concert parties, where you all of a sudden became Jack-of-All-Trades. He would sing, tap and step dance as well as perform magic. The dancing took too him on to competitive ballroom, this is where he met Nolene. They married in June 1958. Graham's involvement in conventions goes back a long way, much of the success of these conventions is due to the hard work and dedication put in by Graham. He was one of the people responsible for bringing out Dai Vernon in 1980. He is a major part of magic in Australia and it is with great pleasure that we recognise and thank Graham for his lifetime achievement and contributions to magic. ---------------------------------- 19. Competition winners - Melbourne Convention ---------------------------------- Message from Paul Bowen Can I please say a big thank you to all magicians that attended the convention especially the New Zealanders, we will try to push your April convention as much as possible over here through the clubs, so any info please send it on. We would also like as much feedback as possible on our convention, what worked, what didn't so we can improve it for next time. So can you please encourage readers to send us info? Thanks Alan for all of your support in publicising our convention it makes things so much easier. Under 18 Stage 1st Chris Hackney-Smith 2nd Brad Quay 3rd Paul Cosentino Under 18 Closeup 1st Brad Quay 2nd Timothy Fensham 3rd Daniel Kinsey Non Pro Stage 1st Paul Cosentino 2nd Demis Kristo 3rd Ian Harvey Parlour Magic 1st Jim Morrison 2nd David Kendal 3rd Peter Cook Phil Cross Children's Magic 1st Jim Morrison 2nd Alan Sloggett 3rd Paul Bowen Strolling Magic 1st Jim Morrison 2nd Riki Brand 3rd Matt Thomas Closeup Restaurant 1st Ricki Brand 2nd Jim Morrison 3rd Brad Manuel Closeup Cards 1st Nigel Anderson 2nd Ben Kierce 3rd Riki Brand ---------------------------------- 20. If it sucks we tell you ---------------------------------- Message from Gene McCarthy Welcome to the newest edition of the elmagicshop.com e-mailing list, the most honest publication of product reviews in the world. Bar none! If it sucks we tell you. If it's great we will let you know. This month - Win $ 1000.00 in merchandise of your choice from elmagicshop.com. We will even pay the shipping. Details on the e-mailing list. Click the link below to go to elmagicshop.com reviews of the newest products. Remove instructions also appear on the e-mailing list itself. If you need to update your e-mail address for this e-mailing list, please respond to this e-mail and let us know. Also please include your old e-mail address and the new one along with your name. If you want to be taken off, no problem, instructions appear at the bottom of the e-mailing list. Click below on the link to check it out. If you click on the words below and nothing happens then copy the entire line and paste it in the address line on your web browser and press the enter or return key. http://www.elmagicshop.com/cgi-bin/2/webc.cgi/June_2000.html Thank you. Sincerely, David Malek Elmagicshop.com ---------------------------------- 21. Attend the IBM Buffalo Convention ---------------------------------- Message from Tony Wilson Mary and I are leaving NZ in two weeks time to attend the IBM Buffalo Convention then on to Miami for a seven day southern Caribbean Cruise. We then have a week in Mexico before returning home in late July. This will mean that the registration forms for Ring 160 day of magic will not be posted out until August. I will also not be available to process any enquiries or renewals for IBM subscriptions. Enjoy the rest of the winter while we take our three week holiday. ------------------------------------- 22. Successful time at the Melbourne Convention ------------------------------------- Message from Michael Woolf Had a very enjoyable and successful time at the Melbourne Convention. It was a rare privilege to meet Rene Lavand and interview him, Tina Lenert, Ross Skiffington and Convention multi prize winner Jim Morrison for future issues of "Magicana." While staying over for a few days in Sydney I caught up with Phil and Phillippa Cass working the Balmain Leagues Club, and also visited Sean Taylor's Magic Shop and Hey Presto Magic. Wherever I went - Sean's, David's and the Leagues Club, I met Robert from the Castle of Magic. Robert - we can't go on meeting like this - people will be beginning to talk! ------------------------------------- 23. Diarise these events ------------------------------------- Sunday 25th June Auckland - Harvey Berg (USA) - lecture Tuesday 27th June Wellington - Harvey Berg (USA) - lecture Thursday 29th June Christchurch - Harvey Berg (USA) - lecture Sunday 22nd October - IBM Ring 160 Day of magic Thursday 12th - 16th April (Easter) 2001 - 26th New Zealand Magicians' Convention If you require more information about the above events go to: www.watson.co.nz/ezine-archive to research for more information. ------------------------------------- 24. News Items ------------------------------------- If you have any news items that you feel the majority of our subscribers would be interested in please e-mail me so I can include them in the next e-zine. The magician who e-mails me a particular news item FIRST will receive full credit at the top of that item. If the news is of major importance I will send them out immediately as a Newsflash. ------------------------------------- 25. MagicNZ e-zine archives ------------------------------------- Back issues of the MagicNZ e-zine go to: www.watson.co.nz/ezine-archive Both the User Name and Password MUST be entered in lower case to gain access. User Name: ezine Password: magicwand When you enter the archive the e-zines are in issue order and are coded. Eg 001nov6.txt first three numbers denote issue number then the date. ------------------------------------- 26. Benefit of subscribing to the MagicNZ e-zine ------------------------------------- You will now be informed well in advance of coming events and kept right up to date with the latest news. MagicNZ e-zine is published weekly, late on Sunday night. ------------------------------------- 27. Subscription Management ------------------------------------- Our subscriber list is NOT made available to other companies or individuals. We value every subscriber and respect your privacy. To subscribe or unsubscribe from the MagicNZ e-zine: www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html The opinions expressed in this e-zine are those of the individual contributors. Neither MagicNZ nor Alan Watson can vouch for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, message, statement, or other information reported via MagicNZ e-zine. We reserve the right to correct any errors or omissions as we see fit. >> This publication may be freely redistributed to other magicians if copied in its ENTIRETY << (c) Copyright 2000 Alan Watson ------------------------------------- 28. Contact Information ------------------------------------- Alan Watson Ph. (9) 483-9274 Fax. (09) 483-9274 Mobile 025 95-7070 e-mail alan@watson.co.nz www.magician.co.nz www.magicianz.com