* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Magic New Zealand * www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Issue Number: #250 Date: Sunday 18th April 2004 Editor: Alan Watson www.magicianz.com www.alan-watson.com e-mail: AW@Alan-Watson.com ================================ Hi here is the latest news ================================ 1. Editor’s Message 2. The Magic Circle To Receive Unique Honour 3. Jonathan Pendragon’s Reply To James Randi’s Message 4. S.A.M President Jay Gorham Son Rushed To Hospital 5. Carol Roy’s Operation Extremely Successful 6. The Amazing Mr Douglas (AKA Doug George) Passed Away 7. Houdini's Showplace - Dining & Deception 8. Searching For Magic Silhouettes 9. The World's Longest Magic Show! 10. Paul Daniels’s Comment Re Egg Bag 11. Magic Mountaineering The M&M's Of Magic 12. 67th Annual Houdini Club Of Wisconsin's Convention 13. Brent McLeod And Dave Upfold Fund Raisers 14. Here Is A Forgotten Piece Of Magical History 15. New Way To Melt A Fork - By Jamie-G 16. The Amazing Orchante Saga 17. e-zine Archives 18. Subscription Management ------------------ 1. Editor's Message ------------------- Message from Alan Watson - The Magic One Re: Reno IBM Convention and SAM Convention Boston 2005 scheduled for the same dates!!! We hear unofficially that an announcement is going to be made shortly by the IBM confirming that new dates have been scheduled - I believe will be a week earlier than originally planned. So those wanting to attend both convention will now be able to. ---------------------------------- Charles Gauci from Australia is now included in the line-up of talent for the 27th New Zealand International Convention. ---------------------------------- Paul Daniels tells us Debbie talked to Ali Bongo who has now gone home after his heart operation. --------------------------- Message from Ola (Aust) It was the 20th anniversary of Tommy Coopers death this month. I found the info on bbc.uk website. Go to: http://news.bbc.co.uk/1/hi/wales/3625301.stm ---------------- Remember if you have any magic news drop me a line: AW@Alan-Watson.com ----------------- 2. The Magic Circle To Receive Unique Honour ----------------- Message from David Beckley (UK), Press Officer, The Magic Circle. The Royal Mail To Issue Commemorative Stamps to mark The Magic Circle’s Centenary. The Magic Circle today announced that The Royal Mail would be issuing a special set of commemorative stamps to mark its Centenary. This is the first time that a Magic Club has been honoured in this way and it is an acknowledgement of The Magic Circle’s unique standing in the world of magic. The special stamps are due to be released on February 5th 2005 and will certainly be a popular addition to the collections of both philatelists and magicians around the world. The designs, which have to receive the approval of Her Majesty The Queen, are being kept a closely guarded secret until nearer the release date. John Fisher, The Magic Circle’s Executive Curator, who first approached The Royal Mail, today said, “ I am absolutely delighted that the society will be honoured in this way and I am very grateful that The Royal Mail have agreed to mark this important landmark in our history”. Alan Shaxon, President of The Magic Circle said, “ Since our foundation in 1905 we have strived to both elevate and promote the art of magic in all its forms. This prestigious honour is a reflection of our achievements during the first one hundred years of our existence”. For Further Information contact: David Beckley, Press Officer, The Magic Circle. Telephone 01276-857935 Fax: 01276-855037 e-mail: davidbmagic@aol.com ----------------- 3. Jonathan Pendragon’s Reply To James Randi’s Message ----------------- Message from Jonathan Pendragon (US) I read with great interest what Randi wrote and I understand his concern, in fact I share it. I have great respect for Randi as a protector of our art and "the" expert on Houdini. I hate TV producers who take cheap shots at us, expose our work and basically explain that there is no Santa Claus. This is not generally known, but it was Stan Allen and I working together who unmasked the masked magician weeks before the first TV special aired. You know, of course, that they always depend on us to scream, kick and cry "Foul" whenever they expose our secrets. Their publicity is shaped by the controversy they know we will cause. The Houdini museum, after I talked to the people at the museum, seemed to me a different matter. The kids that see the exhibit, I hope, will be inspired to check out more magic. The trunk is not shown in the open, you have to go to the museum and then take part in an experience, not shown to the general public that just walks by, that gives you the opportunity to touch history. Once in the museum you are surrounded by the life of magic's most famous magician, props, posters and all. The kids that make this journey will feel the "mystery of the man." They may become hobbyist, club members or even a great magician. But at least, and this is important, they have made the journey, they had to go there, they had to get past the point of the idle and only curious who have it all laid out for them on TV's expose specials. Is this any different from the child who buys their first magic trick at an amusement park, local magic shop or hobby store? Is this any different from the kid who checks out a magic book at the library (how I got started)? How many of us started in this manner? If Metamorphosis, an illusion I love and that made my career, was shamefully exposed in the open or on TV, I would feel differently. I would be outraged. I hate idle expose as much or more than other magicians. Those who know me, know that it is in my nature to think, over think and then obsess about every point I make in a magic discussion. This topic is no different. Again, my thanks to Randi who showed me great respect when he could have blasted me on live television, which is probably what the producers wanted. In the end it may turn out that Randi's fears are justified and my hopes naive. With Respect Jonathan Pendragon ----------------- 4. S.A.M President Jay Gorham Son Rushed To Hospital ----------------- Message from Maria Ibanez (US) Greetings everyone: It is now 10:00 PM EST and I just had a phone call from Jay Gorham. The news is better than anticipated.for those of you who don't have all the info, here it is. Tim was hospitalized 2 days ago at the VA Hospital in Baltimore. He was incoherent and more than just "not doing well". The medical teams weren't sure whether he had an aneurysm or a brain tumour at the time. It has now been determined he is suffering from the lesser of the two -- an aneurysm and will be undergoing surgery on Monday morning. Tim has been moved from the VA Hospital next door to the University Medical Center and is in room 950. Not sure if he will be moved after surgery to a different room. Jay is very hopeful that all will go well because they have been told their son is in the best possible hospital for the surgery he will be undergoing. On behalf of the group, my family and myself, I sent Tim and the family our best wishes and our prayers for a full and speedy recovery. If any of you want to talk to me, I am home and you can reach me at 305-258-3414 or on my cell 786-258-8762. At present there isn't much we can do for them except pray for Tim and the family. Jay promises to keep me informed so that I can keep passing the information on to the group. ----------------- 5. Carol Roy’s Operation Extremely Successful ----------------- Message from Gene McCarthy (NZ) I spoke with Marvyn and Carol Roy and Carol has been going through various surgeons who had performed back operations on her since 2001. For months she was literally bed ridden. During these times I was only able to speak with Marvyn as Carol was 'always in bed'. So Marvyn took Carol to Las Vegas where they got Roy Horn's surgeon to operate. This surgery was extremely successful. Now when I call I get to speak with Carol. Marvyn has just finished his autobiography. And it will be filled with memorabilia of their lives and travels including their experiences with all of the characters of the business. So it should be quite good. Marvyn stated that it will be a 'coffee table' sized book. ----------------- 6. The Amazing Mr Douglas (AKA Doug George) Passed Away ----------------- Message from Alaana George (NZ) This is just to advise that my dad, The Amazing Mr Douglas (AKA Doug George) passed away on the 10th April 04. He had been unwell for quite some time following having his stomach removed 7 years ago, and this time had to have an emergency surgery for a twisted bowel - he made it thru the op but was unable to recover. He died 6 days after his 84th birthday. Message from Burns Scandrett (NZ) I returned the call from Doug's daughter and she said that Doug had donated his body to the Otago med school and that there would be a service later. Charlie Manhire (magician for many years) who is also a marriage celebrant will conduct the service, but in Australia for a month, so it will be delayed. ----------------- 7. Houdini's Showplace - Dining & Deception ----------------- Message from Vince Carmen (USA) Sarasota, Florida.Mr. Walter Jones, manager of Vince Carmen & Yvonne are opening an intimate magic theatre in four weeks. The name will be Vince Carmen Presents, Houdini's Showplace - Dining & Deception. Email address houdinisshowplace@comcast.net. The Houdini name was acquired from the Blood family legally.decor will be from the Vince Carmen collection.magicians are welcome, and sometimes to perform. ----------------- 8. Searching For Magic Silhouettes ----------------- Message from Joe Gomez I have been searching for silhouettes of magical scenes. Such as a magician pulling a rabbit out of a hat, sawing in half, levitation or any other scene. Also silhouettes of famous magicians. Some may have been cut out of paper as Dai Vernon did years ago. Several years back I saw some the where cut out of metal but can't remember who made them. This was at a magic collector’s convention, I believe. I would appreciate any info anyone may have. Joe Gomez josejuan@comcast.net ----------------- 9. The World's Longest Magic Show! ----------------- Message from Tim Ellis (Aust) It's up! We now have a web page full of pictures and a report on The World's Longest Magic Show! Check it out here www.magicunlimited.com/wlms.htm ----------------- 10. Paul Daniels’s Comment Re Egg Bag ----------------- Message from Tommy Orchard (Orchanté) I wholeheartedly agree with Paul’s comments that ‘The quality of the bag only comes into it from a magician’s point of view’ etc and, – ‘…no prop should ever mean a damn thing…. However, if you are working with ‘shoddy’ prop(s), the likelihood of something ‘mechanical’ going wrong is quite on the cards (no pun intended). When you are using ‘Quality Gear’, the chances of breakdown is very small, so yes, all your acting abilities, presentation etc are not hindered, worrying if a prop is going to ‘embarrass’ you. Regards my pure Chinese Silk egg bag, it IS heaven to use and to touch/feel; in my presentation I have two ladies onstage to assist, and they sure know that the material is something special. I would much rather wear a silk shirt against my skin than say, an Army kaki outfit that makes you itch like hell – remember! An audience knows when they see something that is - ‘Quality’; you can perform a fantastic routine with the cups and balls using paper cups, but when you work the same routine with a beautiful set of engraved cups, like the late Dai Vernon’s for example - enough said. I work Don Alan’s sponge ball routine with a sugar bowl but it’s not just any sugar bowl. It is an obviously expensive work of art (handmade by a well-known artist). Deeply engraved with swirling etchings – it looks magical and again, is a joy to use. From the audience point of view, apart from an entertaining and perplexing bit of magic, I hope - it is something to admire, a ‘Must Have’ item - to bad, it is a one-off! Use Quality - a discerning audience knows - they are not stupid! ----------------- 11. Magic Mountaineering The M&M's Of Magic ----------------- Message from Chuck Henderson April 10 was the day after Good Friday and the day before Easter. It was also the M&M's get together day that became Good Saturday as a result of the wonderful magic performed. On hand for this month's activity were Dan Strauss, Glenn Vodhanel, Dr. Harvey Rosen, Harry Shaffer, Pat (Wagner) du Vannes and Chuck Henderson. The wonderful lady who is responsible for the delicious food at the monthly M&M meetings, Ampaporn, was greeted with a birthday cake, song and merriment. Chuck is a very fortunate guy to be married to this lovely lady. After the food and birthday cake we adjourned to the family room and magic, magic, magic. The first volunteer, Dr. Harvey Rosen tossed a red scarf on the table along with a coffee mug, whiskey jigger and one inch red sponge ball that Dr. Rosen identified as his assistant in disguise. The coffee mug was placed over the whisky jigger and covered by the red scarf. Dr. R placed his "assistant" on top of the red scarf and told it to penetrate the scarf and coffee mug and appear inside the jigger. The assistant was very uncooperative and simply sat on top of the red scarf. A frustrated Dr. Rosen picked up the assistant and tossed it at the red silk. The red ball (assistant) was nowhere to be found until the scarf and coffee mug were lifted and there was his assistant -- inside the jigger for all to see. Being a true fraternalist Dr. R gave us an opportunity to catch his assistant making the invisible trip to the whiskey jigger by repeating the effect a couple of times with a different twist each time. On the last repeat - when the coffee mug was lifted the assistant and jigger had been replaced by 30 silver dollars (we counted them) that were spread across the table. Hey! Dr. R you are nice guy but tough on assistants. Dr.R. during his encore performance, asked a volunteer to shuffle a deck of cards. After the volunteer was finished shuffling, Dr. R took the deck, removed two cards and placed them face down on the table. The volunteer was asked to turn over the two cards -- 6 of spades and 9 hearts. The volunteer was asked to point to one of the cards. He pointed to the 6 of spades. The volunteer was instructed to place the deck on top of the selected card (6 of spades). The volunteer was told to pick up the entire deck, including the face up 6 of spades, and deal as many cards as he wished on top of the remaining face up card - 9 of hearts. When finished the volunteer placed the balance of the deck on top of the pile of cards. We were informed the two cards will be paired up with another six and nine but of different suites. A resulting face down table spread produced the two face up cards, -- six of spades and nine of hearts. Dr. R carefully removed the adjacent cards and when turned over the results were exactly as he had predicted -- two sixes and two nines. Last week Pat (Wagner) 'Let Me Hear That High Note' du Vannes informed us she was the laziest magician around town. Today, she informed us she was also the cheat-inst magician in town. Pat removed all 12 court cards from a deck and cut the pile. She told the first volunteer to count six of the cards face up onto the table and then hand them to a second volunteer. The first volunteer retained the remaining six court cards. "As I spell p-o-k-e-r each of you deal a card from top to the bottom of your six card stack of court cards." After this was accomplished they were each asked to place the next four cards face down on the table and hand the balance to Pat. "Turn over your four cards." Wow! Each of them had two pairs. There were only four cards remaining from the original 12 court cards and Pat was holding them. She slowly turned over her four cards which revealed not to play poker with this lazy, cheating' magician WHO WAS HOLDING FOUR OF A KIND. "Let Me Hear That High Note" du Vannes decided to allow us to join in on her second hunk of 'lazy, cheatin', and now -- psychic magic.' She asked a volunteer to, "Take a card while my back is turned, look at it and show everyone (The four of clubs)." "I am so psychic I know what is on your mind." Pat unfolded a huge giant card and we discovered what was on the volunteer's mind. A drawing of what appeared to be the front of a nude woman. Wait a minute! Pat unfolded the card further and we saw the nude woman transformed into a donkey holding the four of clubs in its mouth. Clever magic by a darn clever lady. Harry (CPA to the Stars) Shaffer told us about another aspect of his background of which we were unaware. He was very involved in a Parapsychology Testing Laboratory. We were shown five 8 X 11 sheets -- each were inside clear plastic covers and numbered one through five. Harry brought to our attention there were 100 different words on each sheet - 500 words in total. While Harry's back was turned he asked a spectator to select any three of the five sheets and discard the other two. The spectator was told to arrange the sheets in any order and place them next to each other on the table. The spectator placed sheets #3, #5 and #1 from left to right. "Add the last two digits together (51) and count down that number of words on your first sheet (#3) and mentally project the word at that number to me (Money). Really concentrate on the word and project a mental picture of what you are seeing. "Ah! As a result of my extensive background in Parapsychology, I am receiving a mental image of the definition of your selected word." Harry held the back of a slate toward us and proceeded to write something on the opposite side. "What was the word you selected?" The spectator answered, "Money." Harry turned the slate for all of us to see that he had written, "A Medium of Exchange -- Money." Dan 'Tough Guy' Strauss introduced us to an experiment in, 'Not Tearing Up or Punching a Hole in a Volunteer's 100 Dollar Bill.' This was bar magic that could be performed in any bar and resulting in, "free drinks on the house.”Dan folded a Volunteer's 100 dollar bill and placed the point of a wooden pencil on the center of the bill. He pressed on the pencil until we saw it penetrate the bill and appear on the other side. The volunteer told Dan, "Be careful with my $100 bill!" Dan explained, "the pencil only 'melted' through the bill and when removed the bill will melt back together and the hole completely disappear." Yeah, and Bill Clinton's a virgin. Dan slowly removed the pencil from the bill. We examined the bill and there was no sign of a hole. Dan's next experiment was to fold the bill lengthwise and lay the pencil parallel to the lengthwise crease of the folded bill. We watched as the entire pencil slowly 'melted" its way through the bill. This should result in a $100 dollar bill cut in half, however, when Dan performed a few magic gestures the bill halves had remarkably reunited via a sophisticated melting process. Good magic. Tough guy Strauss tossed a deck on the table and demanded that any volunteer, "pick up the cards, shuffle and remove a card." After a volunteer complied he was told, "look at it and place the card face down on the table." 'Tough guy' turned his back to us as he handed the deck to the next volunteer who was told to select two cards and place them face down on the table. The same action took place with the next two volunteers resulting in a total of seven face down cards, including the original selected card, in a circle on the table. Tough Guy Dan turned facing us and holding a sapphire ring, "--that has extrasensory powers." To prove his point he threaded a 10 inch red string inside the ring and used it to suspend the ring over the cards. The ring started to swing in different directions over each card until it reached a certain card and its swing seem to calm down and circled over only one of the cards. Dan asked the first volunteer to turn over the card and tell us if it was his selected card. The volunteer response was, "Hey! That was the card "I" selected from a deck "I" shuffled." Glenn 'Computer Whiz & Nice Guy' Vodhanel showed us a small change purse. There was only one problem. The bag of the purse was missing -- only the brass part that opened and closed was all that was left. He snapped open the brass hinge, placed his hand inside the invisible bag and removed a quarter. He repeated the effect a second and third time -- Hey! 'Computer whiz' where are those quarters coming from?" Glenn borrowed a $20 bill from a generous spectator and right in front of everyone -- RIPPED IT IN PIECES. OK, GLENN! MAGIC IS MAGIC BUT THIS HAS GONE TOO FAR! Reading our thoughts he tossed the scrap pieces of $20 away and reached inside the brass opening of the coin purse and removed the reincarnated $20 bill. The Computer Whiz also showed us some very clever manoeuvres with a Die Box and four dice. Glenn was able to place the Die Box over each of the four dice and after a shake of the box and its' removal we saw all four of the dice standing on top of each other. Glenn removed the four dice and asked a spectator, "what is your favorite number from one to six?" The response was "SIX." Now for the mind blower: Glenn removed the die box and inside was a giant die and the number on top of the diewas "SIX." A sneaky effect by a sneaky but nice guy who performs darn good magic. Our next M&M get together is on May 22 at 1:00. Our guest performer will be famous magician, author, illusion builder, Las Vegas perform er and technical advisor for films and television -- Lou Lancaster. Now for the sad news: We were saddened to hear that Albert Raskind's daughter, Elly Dorfler, passed away April 10, 2004. Our deepest sympathy and prayers for Elly, her husband, children and Albert. May Elly rest in peace and her family overcome the terrible pain they are suffering. ----------------- 12. 67th Annual Houdini Club Of Wisconsin's Convention ----------------- Message from Bob Rath Vice President of the Houdini Club of Wisconsin Sept 3-5, 2004, Madison WI. 67th Annual Houdini Club of Wisconsin's Convention will feature Norm Nielsen, and Lupe his Wife. We also have Chris Capehard, Mike Douglas, George Saterial, Ken Mate, Hank Moorehouse, Ardan James, Murray, and more. Check out www.houdiniconvention.com for all the details and on line registration. Thanks. ----------------- 13. Brent McLeod And Dave Upfold Fund Raisers ----------------- Message from Brent McLeod (NZ) Update on the 2 night run of Magic & Hypnosis held at the Harlequin Theatre, Auckland 2-3 April by Brotherhood Auckland Magicians Dave & Brent. Funds raised for McLeans College Odyssey Enterprises Events Management. A 1 year course of Business & Marketing for students to Organise & run shows. The feedback from the school Principal & mentors was -'We were blown away by the success of the show & funds raised by this venture in the first 2 weeks.' The shows were a complete success with sell out crowds over 2 nights to a very appreciative & vocal audience. Brent McLeod entertained the crowd first with a Sudden Appearance on stage then went into a Cabaret Routine of Fire, Productions, Vanishes, & an old classic Zombie Ball routine to Music that the audience thoroughly enjoyed, & finished this with an 8 ft Wand production (a la Wayne Rogers) to an appreciative round of applause! Dave Upfold had the audience in Hysterics with his entertaining Hypnosis mastery that had the volunteers- Dancing, Stuck to Walls, Speaking Martian, Guys putting on Makeup, Eating onions (apples), & 1 girl pretending to be a puppy- Humping the Piano Leg!!. Numerous Routines followed & the 2 hr shows went by very quickly. Dave received a standing ovation both nights from a fabulous appreciative crowd. -------------------------------------- Further shows & Dates including International Illusionist / Hypnotist Wesley Upfold who arrived from South Africa on April 14 for the "Not 1 But 2 Magic/ Hypnosis Show"- (Many have already sold out) ------------------------------------- Evening shows - Friday 16th April - Pakaranga Rugby League Clubrooms Friday 23rd April/ Sat 24 April - Awhitu Community Hall (rural fire services fundraiser) Friday 30th April - Waiuku College Hall (o/seas Netball tour fundraiser) Sat-Mon May 1st, 2nd, 3rd - Harlequin Theatre, Howick. (Odyssey Enterprise Event Management) May 6th, 7th - Otumoetai College, Tauranga. (o/seas Netball tour fundraiser) May 8th - 10am Pukekohoe Town Square. (Free promo show) May 8th, 9th, 10th - Harlequin Theatre, Howick. May 14th - Pukekohoe Town Hall This is the last show in the North Island NZ of this type of show with Magic & 2 Hypnotists on stage - Next Year shows are being organised now for The South Island NZ & Australia July 2004 - Dates to be announced extra shows for crowd demand in Awhitu with "3 magicians & Hypnotist" full evening show. ----------------- 14. Here Is A Forgotten Piece Of Magical History ----------------- Message from Michael Chandler The Sunday Times Magazine March 07, 2004 The Boldest Swinger In Town First she bewitched the golfing world by flouting all the rules. Then she turned herself into a magician. And then she disappeared, presumed dead. More than 60 years on, Nick Pitt has discovered what really became of Gloria Minoprio. The mystery of Gloria Minoprio, magician and one-club golfer, began on October 3, 1933, in the north Devon seaside resort of Westward Ho ! At noon that day, a crowd of some 200 had gathered around the first tee of the famous old links, the venue for that year's Ladies' Golf Union golf championship. They were waiting for the start of a second-round match between a Miss G Minoprio and a Miss N Halsted, and their only interest lay in what they had heard on the grapevine. Apparently, Minoprio, a totally unknown player, intended to compete with only one club; and to compound that perversity, her single club would be the most difficult of all to use, the straight-faced iron known as a cleek. Nancy Halsted had arrived on time; Gloria Minoprio had not. The official starter called her name, twice, but there was no answer. She was about to be disqualified. At that moment, a limousine thundered down the lane beside the clubhouse and screeched to a halt. The door was opened by a chauffeur and a tall, dark figure emerged and began to walk across open ground towards the tee, 200 yards away. Her head erect, with a golf club under her arm, Minoprio looked straight ahead as if in a trance. She was dressed darkly, but her face was ghastly pale from white make-up, save for the scarlet slash of her mouth. She wore a pair of white kid gloves. As she neared, a murmur of disapproval rose from the spectators when an awful realisation took hold Never mind the curiosity of using one club. This woman had the effrontery to be wearing trousers! Minoprio stepped up to the tee, approached her opponent, held out her gloved right hand and said: "How d'you do?" From that day until the outbreak of war in 1939, she astonished the golf world by her refusal to conform and by playing better with one club than seemed possible. She played no competitions except championships. She hardly ever spoke and she never explained. She became a brilliant magician and went to India to perform her conjuring show for the maharajahs in their palaces. Then she disappeared from public view, presumed dead, leaving behind the mystery of who she was and why she did it. Previous attempts to solve the mystery have barely scratched the surface. But now, new information has been unearthed, and a much fuller picture of her life and motivations can be painted. As the crowd around the tee gazed open-mouthed, Minoprio removed her leather jacket and handed it to her caddie. He also had a duster to polish her cleek between shots, a spare cleek in case the first one broke, and a bag of balls. She indicated the spot where she wanted the ball to be teed up, and began to wave her cleek back and forth, staring at the ball as if imparting a spell. Finally, she concluded her strange preliminaries, was still for a second, then swung the cleek. It was a slow, classical swing and it sent the ball unerringly down the centre of the fairway. Minoprio's two methods of drawing attention to herself were nicely calculated. Nothing, save nudity, was more certain to upset the sensibilities of the Ladies' Golf Union (LGU) than trousers, which had never been worn in competition. Equally novel was the notion of playing with one club, a handicap that is all but suicidal. So it proved on Minoprio's first appearance. Nancy Halsted was too accomplished a player and, for Minoprio, escape from the cavernous bunkers and clumps of sea rushes at Westward Ho! was virtually impossible with a cleek. Minoprio, who had been silent during the round, shook hands with Halsted on the 15th green, said "Thank you" and walked away to her waiting limousine. The next morning, the papers were full of the mysterious one-club girl. "Never in the history of women's golf has a competitor caused such a sensation as Miss Gloria Minoprio, who will go down to posterity with an immortality that is denied to kings and bishops, generals and statesmen, as 'the lady who played in trousers'," wrote the celebrated golf writer Henry Longhurst. The Daily Mail said Minoprio "looked like some goddess waving a flashing rapier", while the Morning Post thought "the slim silhouette was more that of a stage Mephistopheles or executioner than a player of the royal and ancient game". But the LGU deplored the "change from traditional attire" and insisted that all competitors endorse its disapproval. Not so, according to Elizabeth Borradaile, one of the few surviving players from the 1933 championship. "There was all this furore with the LGU and the boo-hoo-hoo over what Gloria wore," she said. "But many of us thought she was awfully brave. I admired her, and she made her name." One of the spectators that day, Mrs Marquetta Sillem, remembers 70 years later that Minoprio had a beautiful swing. "I saw the car arrive and saw her walk along to the tee. All the men dashed out to see her. They were entranced. I followed her match and when she got into trouble it was disastrous, especially in the rushes. We thought she was slightly barmy." Just as barmy, and original, was the way Minoprio learnt the game, which she had never played as a child. Three years before her entrance at Westward Ho!, she used to take her cleek and climb by fire escape onto the roof of her seventh-floor Mayfair apartment, which lay between Piccadilly and Jermyn Street. There she would practise hitting balls from a mat into a net, advised on the basics of grip, stance and swing by an elderly companion, a wealthy man about town. It was a strange scene indeed. But the young woman was not just learning to play golf. Under the direction of her companion, she was in the process of transforming herself. His motives were dubious; hers simple. As her real self, she was outwardly fortunate, well off and beautiful. But inside she was deeply unhappy. Gloria Minoprio was born Dorothy Minoprio in 1907, to a family of successful Liverpool merchants. Before she was a year old, her father died and her mother suffered a breakdown. Dorothy and her sister, Nell, were separated from their brother and sent to be looked after by their grandmother and two aunts in an all-female household. Although provided for materially, Dorothy's was a childhood lacking in affection. By the time she left her girls' boarding school, a highly intelligent, handsome young woman with a talent for languages and music, the psychological motifs of her life were established: a yearning for attention, a fear of intimacy and the need for a father figure. That need was satisfied when she met William Gavin, a retired rogue and charmer. He was the first of her disastrous choices in men. As he was married, Gavin set up Minoprio in his Piccadilly apartment, and became her sugar daddy. But he was a devious man. His entry in Who's Who, for example, was lengthy and impressive, listing his achievements as a publisher, steel magnate and adventurer. But when checked, it turns out to be almost entirely fictitious. Gavin was divorced in 1929 and, soon after, he married Minoprio secretly in Paris. She was 21; he was 63. Theirs was a first-class lifestyle of Rolls-Royces, five-star hotels and winters in the south of France. They always presented themselves as uncle and niece - no doubt, given the age difference, that spared embarrassment. Under Gavin's direction, Minoprio devoted herself to mastering golf. And at the same time, she created an impenetrable and mysterious persona and changed her name to Gloria. It was her own insistence that she would use only one club. To make a fiendishly difficult activity even more difficult seems wholly irrational, except that it makes success more spectacular and provides a ready excuse for failure. Minoprio was also an excellent pianist - who played one - handed. She first took her one-club game onto a golf course in 1931. That summer, Gavin rented a cottage called Bleak Villa, which backed onto the Huntercombe course in Oxfordshire. Minoprio had a daily lesson with the club professional, Jim Morris. Years later, Morris said he felt sorry for her because her "uncle" made her practise so much, and he thought them both crazy. "How could you get the ball to hold on a green like the 17th with only a cleek?" he muttered. Equally, how could she get out of bunkers with such a straight-faced club? Gavin was aware of that problem, and he knew Minoprio would need to be able to escape from the deep bunkers of the seaside courses on which championships were played. He asked the club secretary if some of the bunkers at Huntercombe could be filled with sea sand, at his expense. When he was turned down, he had a bunker built in the garden of Bleak Villa and ordered a lorry-load of sand from the coast. Every day, after her lesson, Minoprio continued her lonely labours in the bunker with her cleek. After Westward Ho!, Minoprio made her next entrance at the 1934 English championship at Seacroft, near Skegness. Again a crowd, including reporters and photographers, had assembled at the first tee. And once again, her name was called and she was missing. But this time there was no limousine, no screech of brakes. Moving silently over the dunes, a solitary figure appeared in silhouette. The figure grew more distinct as it neared, head erect, wearing trousers, carrying a single club. Minoprio walked on to the tee, sought out her opponent, Betty Sommerville, held out a white-gloved hand and said: "How do you do?" "Had she been Gloria Swanson come to shoot a film, she could not have stirred more deeply the emotions of the spectators," The Star reported. "A large band of stewards were present - there was a battery of camera men at the side, the eyes of the populace. were focused on her, and she looked as destitute of emotion as a Frigidaire." This time she won. Sommerville, making her debut at 19, was petrified. "It was like playing a supernatural being," she recalled. "The effect enhanced by Miss Minoprio's curious mannerism of waving the club to and fro above the ball. She was not a bit friendly. She never spoke.” Thus Minoprio became the first person to win a championship match using one club. However, her second-round opponent, Mary Johnson, was more formidable. She had been the runner-up at Westward Ho! and would again reach the final at Seacroft. In defeat, Minoprio deviated from her role as the "Frigidaire" when she stopped to sign autographs. But when approached by Henry Longhurst, the golf writer, she gave him the cold shoulder. Longhurst had exchanged letters with Minoprio and evidently had romantic intentions. At Seacroft he took the plunge and introduced himself as her correspondent. "Oh yes," she said vaguely, staring into the distance before walking away. Longhurst, like most who met Minoprio, was left perplexed. Like many a modern celebrity, she craved attention and dreaded intimacy. For her next trick, Minoprio turned to conjuring. Gavin hired four leading magicians as her tutors, paying them sums they could hardly believe. The first, Les Levante, was a famous Australian illusionist who performed in Britain from 1933 until 1940. Levante found Minoprio a brilliant pupil. "She practised sleights for five hours a day and devoted the rest of her waking hours to golf," he recalled shortly before his death in 1977. "She paid me handsomely to teach her and became so adept that I called in Graham (Adams, one of the best card-manipulators in the world). He hit her with Erdnase. When I tell you that within six months she had mastered Erdnase, you will probably think I am romancing." Adams, Minoprio's second tutor, introduced her to the bible of his craft, Erdnase, a manual of card manipulation considered the most important work on the subject. Religiously, Minoprio practised sleight of hand in front of a mirror in her apartment. She had again chosen an activity that required dedication and was solitary. Indeed, the role of the magician suited her perfectly; the magician is in control, masterful, glamorous and remote, empty of emotion, safe from rejection. By 1936, Minoprio had developed a substantial repertoire of tricks. She was invited to join a professional magic show, and was offered £2,000 a year. But she and Gavin had a more exotic project. She would go to India and perform her show to maharajahs, to raise money for charity.First, she produced a fabulous advertising brochure, limited to 100 copies, with a cover decorated by the monogram "GM" and bound by gold silk cord. It included tributes from her tutors, who wished her well on her trip to India and testified to her capabilities as a conjuror. The brochure reprinted newspaper reports of her golfing exploits as well as a "personal explanation" reproduced in Minoprio's handwriting: "When mechanical means are not employed, skill in the higher branches of the Art of 'Magic' is attained only by the exercise of infinite patience and perseverance. And it was the years of training in this hard and exacting school that made the mastery of a single club, even though it was entirely unadapted to the purpose, a comparatively easy matter. When this implement became, as it were, tamed and docile in my hands, I regarded it as just one more trick added to my repertoire. "So her one-club golf was a kind of conjuring trick, and her outfit was not so much a modern fashion statement as the uniform of the magician. In retrospect it seems obvious: the inscrutability; the dark trousers; the white make-up; the white kid gloves; the duster carried by the caddie; the weird addressing of the ball, like an incantation; and above all, the single club, wielded as a wand. With the brochure printed, Gavin contacted Sir Edward Mellanby, secretary of the Medical Research Council, explained Minoprio's plans and invited the council to be the beneficiaries of any funds raised. Gavin and Minoprio travelled first class on the Viceroy of India, which left for Bombay on November 7, 1936. Minoprio struck lucky immediately, for one of India's wealthiest maharajahs, the Gaekwar of Baroda, was on board. She performed for the Gaekwar, who invited her to his palace in Makapura and promised to donate 5,000 rupees. But Gavin fell ill on the boat and was an invalid for the rest of the trip. After disembarking in Bombay, the couple went to Delhi, where a government official, Sir Bernard Glancy, arranged for Minoprio to perform for six maharajahs. But then she became unwell herself. She and Gavin took a liner to Marseilles and recuperated in the south of France. When Mellanby at the Medical Research Council heard what had happened from a contact in the India Office, he was not surprised. "It is a pathetic business," he wrote back, "but I think we are both agreed that all the wizardry of the world could not counteract the presence of 'Uncle' Gavin. I am rather sorry that I did not take on his bet.that Miss Minoprio would come back with not less than £20,000 in her pocket." The Gloria Minoprio fund had one donation: the Gaekwar of Baroda sent 2,000 rupees rather than the 5,000 he had promised. It converted to £151. Minoprio continued to play golf championships until the war. Perhaps her best round was in the 1936 British championship at Southport and Ainsdale: the Sunday Graphic reported that "the greatest performance of the whole day was the 84 of 'one-club' Miss Minoprio". Her last championship was in 1939 at Portrush, where she entertained her competitors with magic tricks. They never heard of her again. Rumour had it that she had been a victim of the bomb that hit the popular Café de Paris near Trafalgar Square on March 8, 1941, claiming the lives of several socialites In fact, at that time, Minoprio was assisting on a sheep farm in Northamptonshire. Gavin had been replaced by an elderly Hungarian named Jakabos. Susan Overman, the farmer's daughter, recalls of Minoprio: "We called her Minnie. She was tall and slim and always wore trousers. Jakabos and Minnie slept in the same room. It was silly, but we thought Jakabos was a spy. He used to underline items in the newspapers with coloured crayons, and we imagined he was sending them off as coded messages. It turned out that the police were watching him, because he was arrested and interned. Minnie was desolated. She used to languish by the gramophone, listening to tearful songs."After the war, Minoprio's life was a sad decline. In 1947 she married Stefan Godlewski, an erratic Pole who had fought in the British Army. Later he changed his name and Minoprio became Mrs Gloria Caroll. They worked in hotels and had little money. It was a world away from her days with Gavin, when all was first class. In 1958, Stefan Caroll secured a job in a hotel in the Bahamas, where Gloria joined him. Soon after her arrival, she became ill and died from septicaemia. She was 50 years old The remains of the Minoprio story are few. The most poignant, the cleek she played with and the outfit she wore at Westward Ho!, reside in a cupboard in the British Golf Museum, St Andrews. A few family members remember her. One, her nephew, Ted Minoprio, recalls her visiting after the war. A boy then, he had taken up conjuring as a hobby. He showed his aunt his best trick, a billiard-ball routine. First he opened his hand to show he had nothing in the palm; then he closed it, and when he opened it again there was a billiard ball between his thumb and first finger. He closed it again and there was another, between his first and second fingers, then three, then four. Ted, like most conjurors, did the trick by using a "shell", which dispensed the balls from the back of his hand.Aunt Dorothy asked to try the trick herself. She took the shell and put it on the table. Then she performed the trick purely by sleight of hand, and for the life of him, Ted could never work out how she had done it. But she hadn't finished. Gloria Minoprio picked up a pack of cards. She had problems for a few moments - it was years since she had endlessly practised her sleights in front of a mirror - and then she brought it off. She flicked the pack with a throwing motion and a single card flew out into the room. It curved in the air, describing a circle like a boomerang, and returned to nestle in the pack, as if by magic. Note (from Michael Chandler) (We know that Jasper Maskelyne was also one of her magical tutors as he testified to her brilliance as a magician in her tutor section on the first pages of her brochure) Michael Chandler extravaganzaentertainers.co.uk ----------------- 15. New Way To Melt A Fork - By Jamie-G ----------------- Message from Jamie-G (Canada) Effect: The magician takes a fork and by shaking the fork it cause's the tine's to bend in different angles. Then the magician rub's the fork with his finger and cause's the whole fork to bend. As a final part of this effect the magician turns the fork upside down then asks the spectator to hold out his hand. The magician then starts to rub the bottom of the fork and the metal starts to melt right in front of the spectators eyes. As proof that this is really happening there is little piece's of metal left over in the spectator's hand. Also the spectator can see the metal coming right off the fork. Note: This is a major break threw in metal bending. Until I came up with this special foil system this effect was not possible. You don't have to do the metal bending if you don't want to you can just turn the fork over rub the bottom of the fork and melt the bottom of the fork that way. Also make sure that you get the spectator to hold out their hand and as they are watching you melting this fork right in front of their eyes they see little piece's of metal fall from the fork into their hand and on the floor. This is a killer effect all on its own and you really don't even need to do the metal bending. If you do metal bending it all fits in very well together. This effect alone is priceless and should be a very guarded secret. This effect is very easy to do and anyone can do it when you know how. Even a child can do it. Method: You can use any metal bending moves that suit you the best or what ever you have learned in metal bending all of it is good. But since I came up with the magic foil system you don't really need it to melt metal off a fork and it look as real as if you are really melting a fork. If you find that the moves in metal bending are hard and you have a hard time trying to bend the tine's of the fork you are going to love this. Before hand you must prepare the fork with the silver foil we are going to go through this step by step. First you must remove the paper from the foil don't forget what side the paper is on because this is the side with the glue on it and it is the side that goes on the fork. After you take the paper off the foil you place the foil on the fork, now you take a ball point pen or a magic marker and rub the foil on the fork. The foil will start to bond onto the fork and you cannot tell that the foil is on it. The more foil you put on the fork the better because later you are going to scratch it off and this is what is left behind as proof of the fork melting. This silver foil is great you can have the spectator have the fork in his hands all day and they will never know that it is gimmicked with this foil you can't see it you can't feel it only you know its there. Note: As your rubbing the bottom of the fork in real time you are using your finger nail to take off the foil. Rub in a circular motion so it just looks like you are rubbing the bottom of the fork. This tip alone is worth a million dollars. Also when you are putting the foil on the fork take your time with the foil and make it nice and neat. You will fool your self it is that good. Real Time: You pick up a fork turn it upside down, you ask a spectator to hold out their hand. Then you start to rub the bottom of the fork as little parts of metal start to fly into their hand and on the floor. This is the best and easiest way to melt a fork. So if you don't know how to do metal bending to can use this method to melt a fork and still look like an expert. But on the other hand if you do know how to metal bend you save the foil for last and you look all the better. Stand Alone: What I'm trying to say is that you can just use the foil method alone. All you do is turn the fork over scratch the foil off into the spectator's hand and that would be enough for the effect. This is fresh and new magic that I have came up with. It is as well new to magicians as well and I’m sure you can see the possibilities with this great foil and the magic that you can do with it. This is a very powerful effect and I'm sure you will have a lot of fun with it. This is one of the effects that I taught at my workshop for the Detroit club Ring #22 and they enjoyed it very much. Patter: You can pretty well say what ever you want in an effect like this or you can say nothing at all but "WATCH". But in a special effect like this you can tell the spectator just by rubbing the fork you can generate enough heat to melt a fork and if they hold out their hand you will prove it to them. (go on with the effect) Metal Bending: If you don't know how to metal bend check out Guy Bavli's video's and books on this subject. I feel that he is the best magician on this topic. Your local magic shop should carry his video tapes and special props. Hope you enjoy this effect and give it a try and have fun with it.Jamie-G www.windsormagiccircle.homestead.com jamiegmagic@aol.com Phone 1(519)252-3770. Windsor, Ontario, Canada ----------------- 16. The Amazing Orchante Saga ----------------- Message from Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)(UK ex-pat Kiwi) Here's this weeks edition. This past week or so, my breathing has become worse. Wednesday - I was out in the garden and feeling very guilty as I watched Veronica mow the lawns; that's my job, or used to be - I'm heaving my heart out just pulling the damn mower out of the shed. I went inside to make coffees when all of a sudden, my breathing just became a total struggle - worse than anything I have experienced before. I got on Phone and rang the doctor, explained how I was feeling - he said, ' I can hear how bad your breathing is over the phone. Dial 999 right now and get an ambulance - they will have oxygen". They duly arrived in 5min flat, shoved a mask on my face and in a matter of minutes I was feeling my normal self, -Sub human! Off to the hospital emergency room (around 2pm), and had all sorts of blood tests and all that. It was after 8pm bt the time they got al the results in - everything was practically normal, well for me that is. The doctors etc decided that I should have oxygen on hand at home, because when I get that bad, my nebuliser and inhalers are useless and, I'm on the highest level of the drugs as it is. So that's the next thing. Mind you, after the OP, I won’t be needing any of it for at least five years, and if I'm lucky ten years, before everything reverts back to the way it is now. At least I will have some quality of life in the interim, which is the whole point of the OP. Page 14 1959 / 60 / 61 The Early Sixties - Magic, sex, drugs and Rock ‘n’ Roll. Drugs? Well, I smoked cigarettes and liked a drink! The years just zipped by. Sometime in 1959 I go to a private party; it was the usual ‘Kiwi bash’, booze and guitars, and people doing their party ‘bits’ – some sang, others told jokes, played guitar solos, and, a young magician ‘did his thing’. Some bloke came into the lounge room, his face blacked up, so that his eyes and mouth were the most prominent features, white shirt, black bow tie, and trousers and on his hands, he wore white gloves. Carefully placed a 78 record on the old gramophone, he turned the volume way up, dropped to his knees, and - He suddenly, he was - AL JOLSON, singing, ‘Mammy’! His timing and lip synchronisation with the record was perfection. You simply forgot that a record was playing. I was fascinated, what a great party piece – a stunner. For me, this was perfect – I couldn ’t sing or whistle in tune to save myself (have perfect pitch when listening to others – can tell when a record or tape is playing even minutely fast or slow). In the ‘60s, some of my favourites were: singer Paul Anka, the comedian Stan Freberg, and Spike Jones and the City Slickers. Utilising some of their recordings, with the aid of my record player (I think every kid must have had one – they held 12, 45 RPM records or LP’s, and dropped them down one by one as each one was played) and a mirror, I soon had an act together. Must have got it right – the first time I ‘performed’ the mime act in public was at the 1960/61 Mt. Maunganui Sound Shell – Christmas/New Year shows, with the ‘Fabulous Howard Morrison Quartet’. Here’s part of the write-up from the local newspaper: Quote: “last night 10,000 spectators attended ‘The Mount’ sound shell outdoor concert, the numbers no doubt boosted by the appearance of the fabulous HOWARD MORRISON QUARTET. Also on the programme was the young entertainer, ORCHANTÉ– who gave an astonishing demonstration of mass hypnotism, placing 100s of the audience to sleep, As well as the 50 or so crammed onto the stage! He also showed his skill as a Magician with some adept sleight of hand tricks, and then proved himself as a singer of no mean ability. This talented young man who turned 17 just three months ago, is set to take the world by storm!” Unquote. “A singer of no mean ability”? Now that upset Howard and the Quartet - as well as the other singers on the show - I’m not surprised! Strange how audiences (myself included) disregard the fact that there is no band/orchestra on stage, when watching a mime act. Later, either I invested in a reel-to-reel tape recorder – saved the embarrassment caused by the needle occasionally jumping on the record, or some ‘wit’ giving the turntable arm a ‘gentle’ nudge. Always thought that I had originated miming (to records) as a full act, to the New Zealand public, but I recently discovered that it was in fact DON LINDEN, who started professionally around 1957/58. Apart from being a great Mime Artist, he had a ‘wonderful’ natural gimmick. When he opened his mouth, it was like looking down the Grand Canyon; you could damn near see his feet. He truly had an ‘India Rubber gob’! A few years later another chap, STEVE STEVENSON arrived on the scene; he was the ultimate; fantastic sound system and, everything was recorded in STEREO – WOW! Incredible sound effects – cars, planes etc., racing across the stage – what a mime act! Apparently, he had all his teeth pulled out because it enhanced his mouth movements for his mime act – now, that are dedication for you! ------------------ 17. Magic New Zealand e-zine Archives ------------------ Back issues of the Magic New Zealand 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: magic Password: kiwi When you enter the archive the e-zines are in issue order and are coded. 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We reserve the right to edit, correct or, in our discretion, choose not to publish any submissions provided to Magic New Zealand for potential publication. Magic New Zealand 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 Magic New Zealand 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 Magic New Zealand. >>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 2004 Alan Watson