* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * New Zealand's MagicNZ e-zine * www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Issue Number: #111 Date: Sunday 3rd March 2002 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. Lance Burton Hosts `Secrets Of Animal Magic' On Animal Planet 3. "The Amazing Ballantine" 4. New York Stories - George Schindler 5. "The Knackered Chef" 6. 'The Gimmick' - A Quarterly Magic Magazine 7. Lecture Tour Of Sweden And Norway - Tony Griffith 8. "The Father Of Indian Magic" 9. Magic In Hawaii 10. The Great Elephant Illusion 11. The Orchante Saga #65/66 12. MagicNZ e-zine archives 13. Subscription Management ------------------------------------ 1. Editor's Message ------------------------------------- Message from Alan Watson - The Magic One Martin A. Nash (US) is currently in hospital with pneumonia. He is hoping to return home over the next few days. If you would like to drop Martin a message you can e-mail him at: NMrtnA@aol.com ----------------------------------------------------- Remember if you have any magic news drop me a line: AW@Alan-Watson.com ---------------------------------- 2. Lance Burton Hosts `Secrets Of Animal Magic' On Animal Planet ---------------------------------- Message from Wayne Bernath (US) LAS VEGAS - Magician Lance Burton will hit the TV screen six times during "Magic Week" on ABC Family and take a fun but serious look at the relationships between magicians and their animal assistants on "The Secrets of Animal Magic" to air at 9 p.m. Tuesday, March 5 on the Animal Planet Network. "The Secrets of Animal Magic" was filmed in Las Vegas and Lance Burton who stars in his own show "Lance Burton: Master Magician" hosted this Animal Planet first-run TV special. The family friendly show at the Monte Carlo Resort & Casino has some 60 doves, geese, ducks along with Petey the mouse, Elmer the bunny rabbit and Elvis the parakeet. Even the show's mascot Monte and Lance's pet Golden Retriever gets his 15 minutes of fame since he comes to work nightly. This is the first comprehensive TV special on the enduring relationships between magicians and their animal assistants. "The Secrets of Animal Magic" immerses viewers in a new look at an old art, by looking behind the curtain, to see just how they do what they do. The ABC Family Network will air "Magic Week" from March 4-8. On Monday, March 4 from 2-3 p.m. ABC Family will air "Houdini's Secrets of Magic." Lance Burton is buried alive at the Valley of Fire in Nevada. Lance Burton will be featured on the two one-hour specials "The World's Greatest Magic I" from 8-10 p.m. Monday evening which repeats on Tuesday, March 5 from 1-3 p.m. Lance escapes from a car crushing machine in Bakersfield, California on "The World's Greatest Magic IV," which airs on Thursday, March 7 from 8-10 p.m. and again on Friday, March 8 from 1-3 p.m. ---------------------------------- 3. "The Amazing Ballantine" ---------------------------------- Message from Steve Dacri (US) So, in less than six hours, the limo will come to the door with Carl "The Amazing Ballantine" and take us to the airport, then in San Francisco we will be taken to our hotel first, then to MacKenna Theatre where we will perform for two nights, to sold out houses of 750 people. We share the bill with legendary Merv Griffin, Pat Morita, and many other celebrity guests. The fact that I was able to convince the Amazing Ballantine to take the act out is an amazing accomplishment in itself. We consider this a dry run for the lecture at The Magic Circle on April 29th in London. ---------------------------------- 4. New York Stories - George Schindler ---------------------------------- Message from Burns Scandrett (NZ) For your newsletter: Friday, 1 March, at 9.30 p.m. TV4 screens NEW YORK STORIES. This is a trilogy of stories, the latter one in which George Schindler plays the part of a Chinese magician. When I stopped with George & Nina a few years ago, he showed me the magnificent Chinese robes which Woody Allen presented to him afterwards. The first two stories are not memorable, but worth watching the trilogy for the one in which George appears. ---------------------------------- 5. "The Knackered Chef" ---------------------------------- Message from Burns Scandrett (NZ) Thursday 21 February, I performed on "The Knackered Chef" hosted by TV personality, Jim Hopkins on CTV (Canterbury Television). The format is a chat show at a dining room table, where a top Canterbury chef cooks a meal in the studio (although prepared in his restaurant), consisting of mains and desert, accompanied by wine. The meal, served by the Swiss chef, was Coq au vin (marinated chicken cooked in wine) and the desert, marinated apricots topped with a spiderweb of toffee, whipped cream and an Amaretta sauce. Delicious. Jim spoke of my life in magic and my magic shop. I performed a sponge ball from purse frame routine and the Blank Deck (a.k.a. Nudist deck, Mental Epic, etc.) I was pleased that it was filmed in my home town, as it was my 250th Television performance covering four countries. ------------------------------------------------------- 6. 'The Gimmick' - A Quarterly Magic Magazine ------------------------------------------------------- Message from Salil Kumar Kundu - Solyl Kundu, The Magician, TVP of IBM(USA) for India, writes from India. 'The Gimmick' - a quarterly magic magizette, Edited and Published by me ran for continuous 16 years before it came to an end due to my ill health and financial crunches in 1998. Many well known magical personalities like late Edwin Hooper, late Bruce Posgate, late Tony 'Torino' Kardyro, late Sid Lorraine, Ian Adair, Bob Olson, George Johnstone and many others used to contribute to that little publication. Now I have decided to bring the 'The Gimmick' back to life. It will be published from April 2001 once every three months. And I request one and all to support this magizette. Please send articles and news for publication. Dealers are requested to send their ads and products for review. For details, please send e-mails to Solyl Kundu at solylkundu@yahoo.com ---------------------------------- 7. Lecture Tour Of Sweden And Norway - Tony Griffith ---------------------------------- Message from Tony Griffith (UK) Judith and I will be on a lecture tour of Sweden and Norway in April. Dates and venues are as follows:- 17th April Lecture - Trondheim, Norway 20th April Lecture - Stavanger, Norway 23rd April Lecture - Stockholm, Sweden 24th April Lecture - Norrkoping, Sweden 26th April Lecture - Gothenburg, Sweden 27th April Lecture - Malmo, Sweden 29th, April Lecture - Oslo, Norway More details on my web site at www.tonygriffith.co.uk ---------------------------------- 8. "The Father Of Indian Magic" ---------------------------------- Message from Indranil Ray (India) Magician P.C.Sorcar (Senior), "The Father of Indian Magic" and "All the time Star of Stage Sorcery" is the focus of interest of Magicians, Researchers, Filmmakers and Magic-lovers. So as to cater the interest of all, Mr. Prafulla Chandra (Manick) Sorcar, the famous animator, engineer and laserist by profession and the eldest son of P.C.Sorcar (Senior) has created a website www.pcsorcarmagician.com The site contains Biography, Family Tree, Cartoons, valuable articles by eminent personalities and several other topics as hyperlinks. Books written by/on Sorcar can be purchased online from this site. A highly recommended site for ever! By kind permission of Mr. Prafulla Chandra Sorcar ---------------------------------- 9. Magic In Hawaii ---------------------------------- Message from Maui Hawaii-Lauro Castillo As far as magic is concerned here in Hawaii, Maui is one of the booming islands that is flourishing with magic and great magicians! We have a third place World-Champion in close-up magic, Carl Andrews! We also have Extreme balloon artist and magician, trained for many years under the top names in balloon sculpting, magician George Mack! We got World renown Illusionist Jodie Baron and his company! Maui also boasts one of the most versatile magicians in Hawaii, Kenn Serrano, doing almost everything from juggling, to extreme balloon sculpting, to great magic! These are just a few of the great secrets that this little island in the Pacific holds! The reason I write about them is that, all the magicians on the island of Maui along with myself and several other great magicians on the neighbouring islands have come together and are planning to create a huge performance of some sort that will display the awesome talent that lies in the magicians that reside here across the islands! It will be sort of a "World's Greatest Magic of Hawaii" (sort of a thing?) If anyone out there is interested in this event that is in the making, then e-mail me at: magicofmaui@cardmagician.com If you would like to help in the process of this development, please feel free to let me know what you would like to do to help. If you have any more questions on this matter, feel free to e-mail me. I will try to keep everyone informed on the details of the event as it nears its completion for the planning! ---------------------------------- 10. The Great Elephant Illusion ---------------------------------- Message from Peter Marucci (Canada) There are good jokes, there are bad jokes, and -- every so often -- there are jokes that are so bad, they're good. This fits that last category. It's based on an old, old gag line, combined with a bit of magic. It doesn't read all that well but, believe me, it gets a socko audience reaction. THE GREAT ELEPHANT ILLUSION Effect: The magician shows a handkerchief on both sides and, as he folds it up into a bag, he announces that he is going to make an elephant fly, using just the handkerchief. Showing his hand empty, the magician reaches into the handkerchief and pulls out a two-foot-long zipper -- an elephant "fly." Working and Presentation: This is, of course, our old friend the Devil's Hank, loaded with a two-foot zipper that you can pick up at any craft or sewing store. Load the zipper into the hank, and you're ready to go. In your most pompous and bombastic manner, show both sides of the hank, saying: "Ladies and gentlemen, in the 1920s, the great Harry Houdini made an elephant disappear from the stage of the New York Hippodrome -- or did he make a hippo disappear from the New York Elephantdrome? No matter! Tonight, I am going to outdo that amazing illusion by making an elephant fly -- using only this simple handkerchief." Fold the hank into a bag, and go through whatever mystical gyrations that suit your style. Finally, pause for dramatic effect, reach into the bag, and pull out the two-foot zipper. "Ta-da!" you announce, taking a sweeping bow. Second Thoughts: Well, I warned you it was a bad joke! 222 But I also said this plays a lot better than it reads -- and that's the truth! This is strictly for adult audiences; most kids are not going to get the joke right away (if at all) and this is, after all, really a quick, throwaway bit. Although, don't dismiss it on those grounds. The Devil's Hank should look as much like a normal handkerchief as possible; I made one up using those blue hanks with the white polka dots. This is no time to pull out an "ordinary" hank, covered in Chinese figures, cabalistic symbols, or bunnies and top hats. I repeat: For the gag to work, it must look ordinary. The zipper should be a bright and contrasting color -- white or red, for example. I use both, since I had two zippers of those colors while playing around with the idea of doing the Afghan Bands with zippers. (Well, why not?) Leave the zipper about one-third unzipped, so it will be instantly identifiable for what it is. The audience is not going to tear up the house over this little routine; however, they'll probably be talking about it long after they've forgotten the linking-ring routine that took you six months to learn (and which proves that you have far to much time on your hands). Have fun with this; your audience certainly will. Peter Marucci 270 St. Andrew St. East Fergus, Ontario, Canada N1M 1R1 e-mail: showtimecol@aol.com ---------------------------------- 11. The Orchante Saga #65/66 ---------------------------------- Message from Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)(UK ex-pat Kiwi The 'Family Variety spectacular' '74. - Résumé's On page 64, last paragraph, I described one of the posters on the spare bed /computer room - wall, advertising the above title. I had a vague feeling that I also had a leaflet regarding the show; the best place to look was in the 'bottomless' aluminium trunk. A slight digression (Oh no, he's only just got started) - during various tours of our show throughout Scandinavia, particularly Norway - we have always admired the beautiful wooden flooring in the various homes we visited. So last weekend, with the help of a couple of friends, the old carpet in the lounge room was ripped up and we put down laminate flooring. My pal Gary wanted something heavy to hold down a threshold strip he had glued, so I pointed to the aluminium trunk saying, "That should do the trick". Now Gary is a big, strong, 6ft. plus - bloke, but he sure grunted as he picked up the trunk. "Bloody hell" he said, "what have you got in here, bricks"? " NO", I replied, "ONLY THE WORLD, ACCORDING TO 'ORCHANTÉ"! Opening the lid of the trunk is a bit like watching the surf on a beach - various bits and pieces of information, washes up like sea foam on a sandy shore, swelling and overflowing up and out of the trunk in a continuous cycle. Dipping my hand into the 'tide' as it were - up floated, from somewhere within its swirling depths of - times past and into my searching fingers, the aforementioned leaflet, which turned out to be the actual souvenir programme of the show. My seemingly bottomless aluminium trunk 'knows things' - of this I'm certain! (So where are my 73/74 diaries then?) What a lucky find that was, as the programme contains the history of 'Galaxy Enterprises' Ltd and a résumé for each of the artist's/band on the show. I will try and cut out the crap and give you a brief ("Brief? - He must be joking"'!) run down of each; some of you may find it a little boring, non the less they're all part of NEW ZEALAND'S 'SHOWBIZ' HISTORY. I'm sure that many of New Zealand's professional magicians - apart from myself - e.g., Jon Zealando, Peter (Evans) & Margo and Burns Scandrett, would have worked with some of them during the Seventies, as well. Here goes: - CRAIG SCOTT: - he had his first hit, - "STAR - CROSSED LOVERS", in 1970 and was also the popular winner of the Golden Disc solo award in the same year, and only one year later, '72 - he took the most coveted trophy in New Zealand Show Business, the ' LOXENE GOLDEN DISC AWARD' - proper. In 1972 he followed his golden disc win with THE 'ENTERTAINER OF THE YEAR' award, which established him as the foremost entertainer in New Zealand during that year. In 1974 his latest single, "ROCK and ROLL", had been on hit parades around the country for some considerable time and was one of his most successful hits. One of his first nationwide tours was with the English international recording star, CILLA BLACK, and later with TONY CHRISTIE, another English recording star. His latest long-playing record then, "THE BEST OF CRAIG SCOTT", featured 12 of his hits - this was the first time a New Zealand artist had recorded this many hits on one record. He was also the resident singer on TV's "HAPPEN INN" pop show for many months and in '73, the NZBC (New Zealand Broadcasting Corporation) paid tribute to Craig when they made a documentary about his rise as a singer in a small club band in Dunedin and through his successes on record, television and stage, to his current top position (1974) on the entertainment ladder, at that time. Angela Ayers: - from the early age of six years it was dancing and singing schools for Angela, which along with normal schoolwork, took up a great deal of her time. However, the hard work paid off and she passed past exam after exam; at seventeen she became one of the leading dancing teachers in her home city of Palmerston North. For 10 years she entered numerous talent quests with some success but it was not until July 1972 that her big break came - she won a national talent quest organised by an Auckland promoter and Sunday newspaper. Since then (remember, all this relates to the year of 1974) she has toured New Zealand several times with such artist's as - MARIA DALLAS, JOHNNY DEVLIN and CRAIG SCOTT, and appeared on national television twice weekly for 10 consecutive months, making her television appearance longer than that of any other New Zealand artist. Her first recording, "Humpy Dumpty", enjoyed considerable success after being released not only in New Zealand but also Australia, Great Britain, Canada, the United States and Japan. Page 66 'The Reflections': - sisters Elaine and Patricia Wairau, began their career entertaining in the Hawkes Bay area before moving to Wellington. Here, their talent was quickly recognised and were featured guest artists for several top New Zealand vocalists. They got their big break when they toured with international recording star ROGER WHITTAKER. They were well received in all of the 27 shows held throughout the country, and also toured New Zealand with the 'Country and Western Stage Show' in 1973. They performed on many television shows and had been resident on the extremely popular 'HAPPEN INN' TV show at various times. Brendan Dugan: - was the winner of Television's popular 'New Faces' talent quest in 1968. He began working with Lou Clauson, of 'LOU and SIMON' fame - for two years after his 'New Faces' win to gain experience. In July 1971, he began to pursue a solo career. By 1974 he had five long-playing records to his credit and had appeared on such television shows as 'HAPPEN INN', 'COUNTRY TOUCH' and 'COUNTRY ROAD' as well as many tours throughout New Zealand. 'The Amazing 'ORCHANTÉ': - "WHO"? "Read The Bloody Saga"! Prentice': - formed in Wellington in 1973, Prentice had already become well established on the North Island working the N.Z. Breweries hotel circuit and had also featured at nightclubs in Wellington and Christchurch. The backing group for the 'Family Variety Spectacular' ' 74, the band also played at hotels in Nelson and Timaru (This is the band who stayed with Veronica and I in Timaru). The group members were: - PETER LEEF: - lead vocals, was originally with the 'Sons and Lovers' and ' Marmaduke', in Wellington; he had been entertaining professionally for four years. PETER MATTHEWS: - lead guitarist and backing vocals, played for 'Next Of Kin' in Auckland - became professional 1973. JOHN MORRIS: - Organ, was with the old 'Creation' before it disbanded. 3˝ yrs Professional. JOHN RARITY: - nickname -'TANGLES', drums, also ex - Creation, also Professional, 3˝ yrs. Galaxy Enterprises Ltd; Managing Director - J.E. Brooks. In the one short year since its establishment (1973), this progressive company had become firmly established on the South Island entertainment scene. Beginning operations by providing localised hotel entertainment in the Canterbury area of the South Island, the company had staged several successful variety shows, with both New Zealand and overseas artists. In 1973 the company toured Ten South Island centres with a variety concert, which was well received by enthusiastic crowds. They decided to stage a bigger and brighter show (The Family Variety Spectacular ' 74), to visit not Ten but Twenty centres! Galaxy Enterprises was also arranging a VARIETY - HYPNOTISM SHOW - to tour to every possible country centre in the South Island. This promised to be a great hit with all age groups. "Now I wonder just who they were arranging this show with"? "Read The B.!" This has been rather more the lengthy than I intended but, for the sake of completeness and from a historic point of view, it couldn't be helped. Who knows, someone, someday, may want to follow up on the information I have supplied. - CONTINUES - ------------------------------------- 12. 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 ------------------------------------- 13. 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 and not those of MagicNZ. 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. Subscribers to this publication and authors who contribute to it by doing so agree that they will not hold MagicNZ and/or Alan Watson liable or responsible in any way for the opinions expressed herein. We reserve the right to edit, correct or, in our discretion, choose not to publish any submissions provided to MagicNZ for potential publication. MagicNZ welcomes readers to submit timely articles or news items which appear to be of interest to our readers. Those submitting to this e-zine agree that we have permission to publish their submissions and that they have the full copyright to the material submitted. All works published by MagicNZ are fully protected by international copyright as provided by law, and articles cannot be published for profit by anyone other than the individual author without the written permission of MagicNZ. >> This publication may be freely redistributed (but not sold) to other magicians if copied in its ENTIRETY including the copyright notice below and the above disclaimer.<< © Copyright 2002 Alan Watson