* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * New Zealand's MagicNZ e-zine * www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Issue Number: #73 Date: Sunday 13th May 2001 Editor: Alan Watson www.magician.co.nz www.alan-watson.com e-mail AW@Alan-Watson.com ================================ Hi here is the latest news ================================ 1. Editor's Message 2. Botany Downs Town Centre 3. Celebrity moderator - Stan Allen 4. Film news 5. Thank the Magic Fraternity of Australia 6. Tim Ellis and Sue Ann Webster 7. Phil Cass' N.Z. tour 8. Paul Romhany in Kusadasi Turkey 9. Wonderful trip to Algarve Portugal 10. Dominique Duvivier's nightclub in Paris 11. Danny Cole lecturing - Mind Over Magic 12. Hello from Alaska 13. For sale one colt 54 pistol 14. Magic Coctail 2001 15. "Chemical Magic" 16. The old cone and pence effect 17. Wayne Rogers English Lecture tour 18. The Magic Factory 19. Twelve months at Jupiters Casino 20. International Directory of Magicians 21. Movie about Robert Houdin 22. The Orchante Saga #29 23. Diarise these events 24. MagicNZ e-zine archives 25. Subscription Management ------------------------------------ 1. Editor's Message ------------------------------------- Message from Alan Watson - The Magic One Norm Twigg tells me that registrations for the Palmerston North Magicians Mini convention are filling fast. To save disappoint e-mail Norm NOW to register your interest normtwigge@xtra.co.nz Registrations are limited, and you MUST register in advance to be able to attend this convention to be held on Sunday 3rd June. You never know who you will meet when performing magic. Last week when performing strolling magic at the Botany Downs Town Centre I had the pleasure of performing for Jackie Chan (Kung Fu movie star). A message from Burns Scandrett to say that Pat Sweeney is back in hospital. ------------------------------ Remember if you have any magic news drop me a line: AW@Alan-Watson.com ------------------------------------- 2. Botany Downs Town Centre ------------------------------------- Message from Richard Webster (NZ) One of the benefits of having the largest shopping mall in Australasia open up three kilometres from home is that I have been able to see dozens of excellent acts over the last ten days. It seems that all of New Zealand's leading entertainers have appeared there during the opening celebrations. One of the highlights for me was seeing Alan Watson perform his illusion show. I have seen his children's act many times, but had not had the opportunity of seeing his illusion act before. It was fast paced, funny, and ideal for the family audiences he was performing to. Another highlight was taking my granddaughter to see BJ the Clown perform. I knew him when he was a keen teenage amateur magician, and it was wonderful to see how far he has come over the last twenty years. The non-magical highlight was seeing Lisa Lorrell sing. She is a consummate entertainer who has worked around the world and is now working cruise ships. I'm looking forward to hearing her new CD which will be out in the next couple of months Unfortunately, it would take too much space to describe all of the acts. The other magic related acts were: International hypnotist Guy Cater, the Aunties, A. O'Halloran (mime act), Nick Nickolas, Invisible Circus, Jiggles the Clown, and Lollipop the Clown. I also saw Crackles the Clown working at the Waipuna Lodge. I must be getting old as I vividly remember him as a teenage clown, a mere twenty years ago. He is famous for his unicycling and juggling, and I had not seen his close-up magic before. It is well worth visiting the Waipuna Lodge to see this talented man in action. ---------------------------------- 3. Celebrity moderator - Stan Allen ---------------------------------- Message from Kevin James (US) Stan Allen will be our celebrity guest moderator at www.kjmagic.com (click on the message board) from May 14th to the 20th. He will be open for discussions and answers questions from everyone. Hope to see you there. ---------------------------------- 4. Film news ---------------------------------- Message from John Williams (Aust) "The Mercury" our local paper carries a report this morning that Michael Douglas and his brother are developing a movie about Robert Houdin. The report says that it is hoped Kirk Douglas, their father, will play a sultan in the movie. Kirk Douglas was a guest on the Parkinson show broadcast on ABC (Australia) last night. Very impressive. Get the best magic tricks, books and gimmicks at: http://www.aladdin.com.au/ ------------------------------------- 5. Thank the Magic Fraternity of Australia ------------------------------------- Message from Steven Bye (Aust) For all those who don't know me my name is Steven Bye. I have been doing magic for 20 years. Magic to me has been a kind of therapy. I use to be a chronic stutterer and I suffer from Epilepsy and a bit of Cerebral Palsy. I would like to thank the magic fraternity of Australia for those who have helped me. I have created a website of my own dedicating it to a man of magic. Rex Sinclair. Rex died at the age of 95 July last year. He has helped me build my self confidence up to what it is today. The Address is http://members.dingoblue.net.au/~stevebye I am at present looking into doing professional close-up. If anyone could give me some tips on presentation and tricks I would be pleased to hear from you. My email Address is stevebye@dingoblue.net.au ------------------------------------- 6. Tim Ellis and Sue Ann Webster ------------------------------------- Message from Tom Craven (US) I just had the pleasure of watching Tim Ellis and Sue Ann Webster at The FFFF convention. Then the following weekend at the Battle of Magicians convention in Canton Ohio. As all you Aussies know, they are superb performers! Tim's Cup and Ball routine "killed" everyone at both conventions. They were on the big, closing night stage show in Canton. The magicians and laypersons were all enthralled by their performance! This show consisted of Billy McComb as M.C., Terry Seabrook, Tim and Sue Ann, Jay Sterling (a Corporate trade show worker), Arden James (one of the funniest acts I have ever seen), and closing was Rick and Suzie Wilcox. A fabulous line-up. Your fellow countrymen should be extremely proud of Tim and Sue Ann. I hope I get to see them again soon. ------------------------------------- 7. Phil Cass' N.Z. tour ------------------------------------- Message from Sëan Tretheway Just a quick note re: Phil Cass' N.Z. tour. I caught him when he came through with this show in Australia and I highly recommend that *everyone* go see it! Phil is a consummate professional and will have you rolling in the aisles and scratching your head in wonder. Phillipa is also an important component of Phil's show and you will learn as much from her about the intricacies of timing and perfection as you will from Phil. All in all a great evenings entertainment! (Phil and Phillipa fan from way back!) ------------------------------------- 8. Paul Romhany in Kusadasi Turkey ------------------------------------- Message from Paul Romhany (NZ) Well here I am in Kusadasi, Turkey having just come from Alexandria and Port Said (Egypt), heading to Istanbul, Athens, Rhodes, Giardidini Naxos, Casablanca, Gibraltar, Barcelona, Cannes, Livorno, Lisbon etc. Will update as I go. I did my first show on a cruise ship the other night. I did a 50-minute headline act. Something I thought I'd never do was a headline act, but had no choice and it went very well, actually I got a standing ovation, which was the most amazing feeling. I have a close-up show this afternoon then have a split bill with another entertainer Caroline Dennis tomorrow night. She is a wonderful entertainer who sings, dances, comedy, plays piano and impressions from England. I am also on board with Bobby Dennis, an amazing comedian who plays piano and dances. ------------------------------------- 9. Wonderful trip to Algarve Portugal ------------------------------------- Message from Jahn Gallo (Sweden) Just back from a wonderful trip to Algarve Portugal where we met up with some very dear friends. Way back then, we used to work in Portugal almost every year for a period of 15 years. There were 3 casinos in the south and 3 in the north of Portugal and then in the middle near Lisbon, the one and only Casino Estoril! As if this wasn't enough there was the incredible Casino Funchal at Madeira - Plus some very nice nightspots in North Portugal and the Show place of Algarve Michael's at Montechoro. A unique show restaurant, which presented 2 spectacular shows every night to completely sold out houses. In the beginning of 1990 we changed over from nightclub and casino gigs to cruising and since then we have not had the pleasure to work in Portugal. During the years we worked in Portugal met many magicians and even if we don't come to Portugal for work anymore we still keep in touch with these wonderful people. I had the pleasure to be invited to the Magic convention in Valongo - north Portugal two years ago and it was really an event - I presented my lecture http://hem.bredband.net/janper/msp.htm and did some work in the Gala show - our latest trip to Portugal took us to Algarve where we visited our very good friends Serge and Fatima - A Magic team who specialize in doing Gala shows at the many luxury hotels you will find along the Algarve coast. They present a 30-min show featuring illusions and manipulation - everything presented with style and charm - It was really nice to see them work - Many of the hotels have in fact no conditions for doing shows - So the work is not easy. But that did not stop Serge and Fatima from charming the international audiences - in the end of their act it was always a standing ovation! Nice to see that Magic is still live and kicking in Portugal even if the shows at the casinos are not doing so well as they use to do. The policy of the big hotels is to arrange some kind of entertainment every night - keeping the guests in the hotel - and making some extra money out of them selling drinks before the shows. We also had the pleasure to visit Gerry and Dolf from the Gerry Atkins Dancers - we worked with Gerry and Dolf and their dance group at all the Casinos and also at Michael's where they were the leading ballet for 11 years. Nowadays they are retired from show biz and are running a very nice little - in fact very little hotel in Algarve - if you ever plan a visit to Portugal you should stay some nights at their place www.cacapo.cjb.net Next week we will go to Tjeckien and visit our good friends EveŽnalen http://members.tripod.com/~evenalan/index.htm and the magicians at The Magic Academy of Praha with Mila Trinka at the helmet. Then back to reality and the ships. ---------------------------------- 10. Dominique Duvivier's nightclub in Paris ---------------------------------- Message from Andrew Wimhurst Thought I'd let your readers know that I have two upcoming overseas lectures: Monday 14 May at Dominique Duvivier's nightclub in Paris, the Double Fond, and Thursday 17 May at Magic Inc in Chicago. I'll also be working close-up again at the Magic Castle from 29 May until 3 June. Who knows? If you're in those parts, why not drop in? Also holidaying in Vegas and San Francisco - plus hanging out at the A1 Convention (I'll be taping some videos for Mike Maxwell). Should be fun! ---------------------------------- 11. Danny Cole lecturing - Mind Over Magic ---------------------------------- Message from Jeff Ezell Danny Cole will be lecturing at Mind Over Magic in Burbank, Ca on May 21st. The Lecture starts at 7pm. You can visit www.jeffsmindovermagic.com for the address and phone # and for any other details. ---------------------------------- 12. Hello from Alaska ---------------------------------- Message from Jeff Brown Last year on Wednesday, October 4th, close to 300 balloon twisters took part in Balloons Across America, each donating an hour or more to a local good cause. It was an unqualified success and paved the way for this year's Balloons Around the World. Last year, people from 43 U.S. states took part as well as twisters from Puerto Rico, Argentina, Singapore, Canada, Germany, and even in the middle of the Pacific Ocean on a U.S. Navy vessel! This year's goal is to find participants in all 50 states, and as many other countries as possible, proving that balloon artistry has no language barriers! To get more information about Balloons Around the World, set your web brower to: www.BalloonsAroundThe World.com. There you'll find answers to many questions, a sample press release, a listing of all the other twisters, and an easy way to register on line. ---------------------------------- 13. For sale one colt 54 pistol ---------------------------------- Message from Ken Bates (NZ) - kbmagic@xtra.co.nz For sale one colt 54 pistol precision made by Ted Russell from down Timaru way many years ago its the trick where you put a card on the barrel fire the gun (it takes a 22 blank) and the card disappears. This would do for some one who collects magic props it cost $300 NZ ---------------------------------- 14. Magic Coctail 2001 ---------------------------------- Message from Pavel Sobek (CZ) All information about IV. year of Magic Coctail 2001 you can find on page: http://www.mcoctail.yo.cz ---------------------------------- 15. "Chemical Magic" ---------------------------------- Message from Bruce Graham (NZ) Hash: SHA1 In "Chemical Magic" by Lippy, a recipe is given: in 8 ounces of grain alcohol and one ounce of liquefied phenol dissolve the following (by weight) one-half ounce gum sandarac, one-half ounce gum mastic. Shake well to dissolve the powders. Allow to stand several hours, and then filter to remove any sediment. Phenol is carbolic acid and can burn, Gum Sandarac contains the element Arsenic ---------------------------------- 16. The old cone and pence effect ---------------------------------- Message from Trevor Lewis (Wales) Do you work the old cone and pence effect? The problem is the switch. I found the following makes it easy. The loose coins are in the left hand and the stack (with a small dice inside) is concealed and gripped by the second and third fingers of the right hand. Stack opening nearest the fingers. Shake and show the loose coins on the left hand and after forming them into a pile ask a spectator to guess how many coins there are. (Actually seven... same as the stack) Turn them over and apparently drop them into the right hand. The right hand turns palm up to apparently receive them while the left hand covers both the loose coins and the stack. Ask the spectator, "DO YOU THINK THE TOP COIN IS ON HEADS OR TAILS?" Raise the left hand and show him the top coin of the stack. "You were right (or wrong)" you're pretty observant aren't you!!!... (as the case may be). Place the stack (with dice) on the back of the left hand. "I know this trick like the back of my hand." Place a duplicate dice on the stack and cover with the cone. Coins 'pass' through the left hand and you lift the cone gripping the stack and showing the dice. Let the dice drop to the table amongst the loose coins and ease the grip on the cone allowing the stack to fall into the lap or the waiting left hand. (Remember to place the dice on the same number as the duplicate in the stack.) ---------------------------------- 17. Wayne Rogers English Lecture tour ---------------------------------- Message from Wayne Rogers (NZ) Next May 2002 I will be lecturing in the UK. The tour is being organised by Morley Budden of Kaymar Magic in Essex. Confirmed dates and locations are as follows: May: 7th: Magic Circle 8th: Kaymar, Upminster 9th: Leatherhead, Surrey 10th: FREE 11th/12th: Saturday/Sunday: FREE 13th: Chester 14th: Blackpool 15th: Stoke 16th: Bristol 17th: Weston-Super-Mare 18th: travel to Ipswich 19th: Ipswich Convention 20th: Anglia (Norwich) 21st: British Magical Society, Birmingham 22nd: Paignton, Devon 23rd: Medway, Kent Plans to extend the trip into early June are being discussed. If any English magical societies wish to be included, they can contact Morley Budden at: morley@kaymarmagic.fsnet.co.uk -------------------------------- 18. The Magic Factory ---------------------------------- Message from Roger Goltz Can some one tell me what the Magic Factory is up to? ------------------------------------- 19. Twelve months at Jupiters Casino ------------------------------------- Message from Sam Angelico (Aust) I'm appearing for the next twelve months at Jupiters Casino, Gold Coast, in a new show which is called ' Hidden Palace.' Also appearing on the same bill is the wonderful 'Omar Pasha' ------------------------------------- 20. International Directory of Magicians ------------------------------------- Message from Madan Bharati (India) Indian magic media circle is going to publish a 400 page 'INTERNATIONAL DIRECTORY OF MAGICIAN'.The publisher invites all magicians to highlight themselves in the international magic world. The book edited by Madan Bharati (President - IMMC) would be loaded with information and addresses of thousands of magicians as well as articles of magic. Tips, Tricks, Book reviews etc. Listing is available under heading Magician,Illusionist, collector, dealer, video, publisher, magazine, clubs etc. Interested magicians may send their Bio-data, visiting card etc to The Editor,Int Directory of Magicians, Indian Magic Circle PO - Maudah Buzurg. Patepur, Dist-Vaishali843114, Bihar. (INDIA) E-mail: madanbharatimagic@rediffmail.com ------------------------------------- 21. Movie about Robert Houdin ------------------------------------- Message from Burns Scandrett (NZ) Just a quick note re a movie about Robert Houdin. If you check the TV Guide for week May 19 to 25 (just out) you will find on page 126, a story about a family affair movie with Catherine Zeta Jones & husband Michael Douglas making a movie about the life of the famous French magician called "Smoke and Mirrors." -------------------------------- 22. The Orchante Saga #29 ---------------------------------- Message from Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)(UK ex-pat Kiwi) Friends, Past and Present ALAN HOROBIN Alan was born in London, where his father was a Zoo keeper. Alan travelled the world with Circuses, before settling down in New Zealand where he came to be regarded as the best trainer of Chimpanzees, both in New Zealand, and Australia. He had two Chimps that he performed with, Cheetah, who could be quite temperamental, and Charlie. Alan bought a small single-pole tent, and putting a show together with the chimps and the two Peters, (Taylor & Newberry) went up to Noumea, the capital of New Caledonia. Nobody on that island had seen a chimpanzee before, except in Tarzan movies - Alan made a bloody fortune. Each show lasted around 45 minutes - tent emptied out, and 30 minutes later, once again filled to capacity, the next show started. This went on all day and half the night, week after week. It was the nearest you could get, to printing your own money, legally. The people just poured in, returning time after time -Alan bought A BIGGER TENT - TWO poles - then headed off to Fiji, again with Peter Taylor and Newbs, but, this time, with myself and New Zealand's famous Country and Western singer, the late Rusty Greaves, in the show as well. We went from Nadi to Suva, and every place in between, for two solid months -from October 6th to December 10th, 1965 - it was bloody amazing! While we were showing in the town of Sigatoka, I met a young lady - Hope Foster - her father was the manager of Burns-Phillips, a company that has large department stores all over Fiji, and many other Pacific Islands. Hope was quite beautiful, due to her parents being of an Asian/American/Fijian mix. God knows what she saw in me, but we fell 'in love', and she toured with me and the show for the duration. We made plans that I would return to Fiji in January 1966, after I had finished my Christmas/New Year bookings in New Zealand. My Mum and Dad were totally disgusted that I would traipse off to a 'foreign country' to meet up with some female, for God knows what purpose - bloody hell, I was 22 years old! When I got over there, I came up with the bright idea of putting on the 'Orchante Show' at Picture Theatres, doing an hour plus show, and after the interval, the feature film would be shown. Hope organised the Theatres, and where we were to go - after all, Fiji was her home and she knew the place inside out. I did a 60/40 split with the Theatre Managers, with 60% coming to me - of course. Hope took me to places way off the Tourist route,- little villages not even on the map. It was during this time, that she also took me to various Hindu festivals, that are not for the eyes of tourists - these were fanatical religious ceremonies, and I was only allowed to attend because of Hope, although I had a sneaking suspicion that my own Yoga talents may also have played a part. I saw some amazing things. Try this on for size. Sugar is the main export product of Fiji - the cane is cut down with very sharp, very large knives. These knives were also used in some of these Hinduism rites, closed to all but the initiated. I am one of the very few white men to have witnessed this. Getting themselves into a high fever pitch of high zealous fervour, the men slashed themselves - and others - with these knives. Their hands, arms and legs should have been damn near cut off - they should have had huge cuts/scars/wounds on their bodies - NOTHING - NO BLOOD - NOTHING. EXPLAIN THAT - I CAN'T!!! Well, I can, sort of. I know you can control pain and bodily functions with your mind - pure thought - I can push needles through my cheeks, sew a button onto my arm without pain or blood, but what these people do/did is something else, again. The Fijian Fire-walkers are world famous, but the Hindus also perform this feat, not as a tourist attraction - it is a part of their religious ceremonies, and is mind-boggling. At their ceremonies, the fire-pit is so hot you can't even stand near it - so intense is the heat!. Throw green grass - not in, just at it, and it bursts into flame. They don't run, or walk quickly, along the length of the pit, (as I've seen every 'expert' white man do on various T.V. programmes) - they stroll s-l-o-w-l-y, from one end to the other. Not only that, most Hindus have quite hairy legs - these hairs don't even singe, not even the dried grass ornaments they sometimes wear around their ankles burn!. As far as I'm concerned - all of the foregoing blows science, and medical principals - as we know it - right off this planet. Phew - heavy - or what - none the less, fact! How does that line go - 'there are more things in Heaven and Earth, than are dreamed of in your philosophy, Horatio'. For three months, Hope and I travelled all over Fiji, then she fell 'out of love'. I packed my bags and baggage, and went home to New Zealand, and that was that. I never saw or heard from her again!!! JUNE 1966 - Alan Horobin, with the tent, Chimps, a monkey, the two Peters and myself in tow went back to Fiji. We toured for two months - I started to wonder what Nationality I was - Kiwi, or Fijian. My God, it was hot working under canvas. Alan had taken all the side-flaps off so we could get some sort of breeze through the tent - it didn't help much - I tell you, if anyone who was grossly overweight - a really fat bastard - had been with us, they would have finished up looking like 'Twiggy'. The worst place I can recall was a village called BA. Situated in a small valley, it was so hot I'll swear that the instruments to measure that sort of temperature have yet to be invented. Alan had, thoughtfully, bought a dozen buckets, and then filled them with water, to cool us down. As each of us finished doing 'our thing', we'd race out the back and upend a bucket or two, over our heads. The steam rose straight up to the upper reaches of the Troposphere - Ok, Ok, I'm exaggerating, but you get the idea. IT WAS BLOODY HOT! Even the Fijians couldn't stand it. Alan, again thoughtfully, packed up, and we moved on. Thank God - that was the nearest to Hell I ever want to be. Years later, early 80's, when Veronica and I practically lived on the cruise ship the 'MINGHUA' (it sailed from Australia to China, Japan, and all ports in between and back again -each cruise took 6 weeks). We were crossing the International Date Line somewhere around Guam - absolutely beautiful day, but it got so hot that by 1pm every passenger, and the crew, had gone inside. I sat out sunbathing for hours, on my own. The swimming pool was all mine. For me, after that Hell-hole BA, the temperature was just right. That's never changed - when we arrived in England 1985 (16 years ago) it was the middle of summer. I froze - still do! Back to Fiji - another memorable event for me was visiting the Emperor Gold Mines at (I'll never spell this one right) Vautakola . They (the management) took us down more than a mile underground to see the gold seam. Also fascinating, was looking straight up the mile plus mine-shaft and seeing the stars shining brightly, as they do in an unpolluted atmosphere, as though it was a dark night, when in fact it was broad daylight outside. It was a little unnerving being that far underground - you get buried in less than that. (Sorry about that, the pun). Another incident that springs to mind - Charlie, Al's youngest chimp, decided to climb up one of the two very heavy tent poles, which with the added weight of the tent it supported, weighed 'a ton'. It was immovable. Charlie didn't think so - for no reason at all, he refused to come down, and, in a sheer blinding rage, he started shaking that pole. He shook it so hard, the other pole, the entire tent, nearly came down. Then, thankfully, having gotten whatever was bugging him out of his system, he quietly climbed down, like a lamb, and cuddled up in Alan's arms. I had read somewhere about the amazing strength of these animals, and also, Alan had warned us not to rile them, especially Cheetah, the eldest one. That was an incredible demonstration of their strength, and Charlie was only a young Chimpanzee!!. August arrived, and we left Fiji for home (New Zealand). Conclusion next week. ------------------------------------- 23. Diarise these events ------------------------------------- Palmerton North Magician's Mini Convention Sunday 3rd June 2001 Joshua Jay (US) NZ Lectures: Auckland Friday 10th August 2001 Christchurch Monday 13th August 2001 The 26th NZ Magician's Convention Thursday 27th to Monday 31st December 2001. The registration form and information is now available on the web go to: www.magician.co.nz/convention1.html ------------------------------------- 24. MagicNZ e-zine archives ------------------------------------- Back issues of the MagicNZ e-zine go to: www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html Both the User Name and Password MUST be entered in lower case to gain access. User Name: ezine Password: newzealand When you enter the archive the e-zines are in issue order and are coded. Eg 001nov0699.txt first three numbers (001) denote issue number, then the date (nov06) and the last next two numbers the year (99) If you want to print copies of MagicNZ e-zine go to: www.watson.co.nz/ezine-archive ------------------------------------- 25. 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 MagicNZ e-zine is published weekly, on Sunday. The opinions expressed in this e-zine are those of the individual contributors. Neither MagicNZ or 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 << © Copyright 2001 Alan Watson