* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Magic New Zealand * www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Issue Number: #321 Date: Sunday 20th March 2005 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. Competitions - 2005 IBM Convention Reno   3. Martinka Auction Ends This Sunday   4. Ron & Nancy Spencer - Exposed!   5. Nathan Burton Survives Week Of Box Saga With Las Vegas Showgirls   6. New FISM 2006 Website Launched!   7. Somethin' Devilish   8. The Magic Circle - New Editorial Team Announced   9. The Bad News   10. 2005 LVMI Schedule Of Events   11. MAGIC Magazine Collector   12. Making Several Children Vanish   13. Elias "Lee" Nasser - Passed Away   14. Rip Offs   15. Magic / Illusion / Hypnosis Full Evening Shows   16. Willis Hall Passed Away   17. Appearing 6 Foot Cigarette - Jamie-G   18. The Amazing Orchante Saga   19. e-zine Archives   20. Subscription Management ------------------ 1. Editors Message ------------------- Message from Alan Watson - The Magic One The New Zealand IBM Day of Magic: Sunday 23 October 2005 The Venue is the Dolphin Theatre, Onehunga Auckland. The headline acts, programme and competitions will be announced in next week’s e-zine. ----------------- Remember if you have any magic news drop me a line: AW@Alan-Watson.com ----------------- 2. Competitions - 2005 IBM Convention Reno ----------------- Message from Jerry Schnepp - Convention Contest Chairman Dear Magicians who like to see great magic: Calling all budding young magicians, working pros, hobbyists, or anyone who’s dreamed of being a champion of magic. This year’s international contest in Reno is going to be spectacular. The facilities at the Reno Hilton are absolutely perfect to showcase a world-class magic contest. If you have ever thought of entering the international stage or close-up contest, this is the year to do it. Wednesday morning’s preliminary stage contest will be held in the hotel’s largest ballroom. The stage we will be using features full theatre lighting, sound, a traveling curtain, and plenty of performance space. There is a plush dressing room with lighted mirrors and a huge backstage area. The stage finalists will perform in the Friday night gala show in the casino’s main theater. This is a first class Vegas showroom with a huge proscenium, intelligent lighting, a gigantic balcony and cabaret seating. The preliminary and finalist close-up contests will be held in three intimate rooms with elevated seating. Contestants will perform once in each room and can expect the seats to be packed for this popular event. The IBM contests have been accepted worldwide as the benchmark for a well-organized, quality-driven, and objective magic contest. Our gold cups and gold medal awards are largely considered to be the most prestigious prizes in the magic world. This year’s prizes will be as follows: Stage Contest Gold Medal: Gold Medal plus $3000 First Place Adult Stage: Trophy and $1000 Second Place Award of Merit, Adult Stage: Plaque First Place Youth Stage: Trophy and $500 Savings Bond Fantasma Youth Stage Award, Trophy and trip to NYC. Second Place Award of Merit, Youth Stage: Plaque People’s Choice Award: $500 The Karrell Fox Comedy Award: Trophy Close-Up Contest Gold Cups International Award of Excellence in Close-up Performance: plus $1500 First Place Adult Close-up: Trophy and $500 Second Place Award of Merit, Adult Close-up: Plaque First Place Youth Close-up: Trophy and $500 Savings Bond Fantasma Youth Close-up Award, Trophy and trip to NYC. Second Place Award of Merit, Youth Close-up: Plaque People’s Choice Award: Complimentary Invitation to next FFFF Convention Through my years as contest chairman, I have seen some of the biggest names in magic get their start in an IBM contest. Lance Burton, Johnny Ace Palmer, Jade, and Giovanni are just a few of the previous winners. But even if you do not take home a trophy, participating in the international contests is a great way to network, meet people, and share ideas. IBM contestants have the opportunity to perform in front of an international audience under professional conditions. So what are you waiting for? Start practicing now because the convention is just a few short months away. Visit www.magician.org for more details, downloadable application forms and sign up now for the IBM contest! We’ll see you in Reno! ----------------- 3. Martinka Auction Ends This Sunday ----------------- Message from Bogusta (US) The 16th Martinka online magic auction now has over 700 lots online and ends this Sunday March 20th. There's a wonderful selection of memorabilia and posters, including items from Kellar, Thurston, Blackstone and more. There are also items from more obscure performers that are unlikely to surface again anytime soon. We've posted a wide selection of apparatus including some nice pieces for the working magician, many are listed at a fraction of the original cost. You'll also find collector quality items from P&L, Thayer, Bartl, Owen and others. Please note that the majority of items are listed without a reserve, meaning that they will be sold for whatever the final bid is. There are still many bargains in the mix, so you'll want to look carefully. As usual, you can view everything at: www.martinka.com/auction If you are not already registered and wish to bid, please fill out the simple registration form at www.martinka.com/register If you know someone else who may be interested in the auction, please take a moment and let them know about it. ----------------- 4. Ron & Nancy Spencer - Exposed! ----------------- Message from Peter Zenner (UK) After several years of delay, for one reason or another, Ron and Nancy Spencer's book 'Telepathy Personified' has now made its grand entrance. Martin Breese has done them proud and I must confess that my first word on opening this package was 'WOW'! The Spencers have used the photograph reproduced on the dust wrapper as a publicity photograph but this was the first time I had seen it in full colour. Their radiant smiles beam out at you and you can't help but like them! American mentalists will no doubt remember Ron and Nancy from their performance at the 1995 PEA convention in Seattle. They were rewarded with a standing ovation there and Ron certainly deserves one for his lucid explanation of their two person telepathy act(s) described herein. Nothing is kept back and their techniques are very simple, starting with the easy to learn basics and then progressing for those who are hooked on this type of presentation. Nothing is held back -- if you have seen the Spencers perform a particular item then here it is, fully explained. For over 50 years, Ron and Nancy have charmed their audiences and graced magical gatherings with their presence. I confess to knowing them for over thirty of those years but that does not diminish my admiration for them and their professionalism. Ill health has forced their retirement and this book will serve as a memento for those who have known them and an inspiration for those who would like to emulate them. At £20.00 this is a bargain compared to the extortionate amount asked for a similar type of book about 30 years ago. That was a rip-off but this is a steal... RECOMMENDED Peter Zenner ----------------- 5. Nathan Burton Survives Week Of Box Saga With Las Vegas Showgirls ----------------- Message from Wayne Bernath (US) Robin Leach hosts exit on Las Vegas Strip with 7 showgirls; paramedics say he's OK LAS VEGAS - Magician Nathan Burton (watch-your-back-David Blaine) successfully exited a Plexiglas box after a weeklong saga of no food, no water but all the energy drinks he could handle with 198 showgirls in groups of seven doing four-hour shifts from March 9-15. Robin Leach of "Lifestyles of the Rich and Famous" acted as master of ceremonies at the event in front of the north end of the Aladdin Resort and Desert Passage on the Las Vegas Strip. The crowds who came to see Nathan Burton donated over $4,000 to have a photo taken with “The Magic Man” and the seven showgirls for a $10 minimum donation (100 percent of the profits were to go to the American Red Cross) to aid the Tsunami victims but Nathan was informed that they had already collected the goal so the funds were given to a Las Vegas non-profit organization called Child Haven. Child Haven taKes care of children who are undergoing unfortunate circumstances and need living arrangements. Houdini submerged himself while shackled in chains; David Blaine was enclosed in a box by himself; but Nathan Burton will be accomplishing this feat Vegas-style -- sandwiched between seven sexy, scantily-clad showgirls. No food, no water, only an endless supply of energy drinks. He madeS Nathan's wife Sarah, was there to make sure that no sleight-of-hand got, "out of hand!" Sarah, when asked if she has any reservations about the stunt, "I love and trust Nathan...but, if he doesn't behave, I have a boxful of Chippendales waiting in the wings! I managed the 198 showgirls. We are applying to the Guinness World Records for most showgirls at a cattle call." There were four webcams from different angles on him along with the bevy of beauties that was by millions by logging on to nathaninabox.com. His web site is www.nathanburton.com. All of his contact information, video and updated developments can be found there. Las Vegas’ symbol the showgirls was represented in honor of the Las Vegas’ Centennial Nathan Burton is currently one of the stars on E! Entertainment Television's hot new reality show, Wayne Newton's, "The Entertainer". He and nine other hopefuls are competing for the gig of a lifetime - headlining at the Las Vegas Hilton for a year and a $1 million contract. Check out eonline.com or tune in to “E!” Nathan Burton currently stars with Sarah in the sold-out show “V - The Ultimate Variety Show” at the Aladdin Resort & Casino on The Las Vegas Strip. They have played everywhere from Caesar's Palace to The Venetian. ----------------- 6. New FISM 2006 Website Launched! ----------------- Message from John Houdi (Sweden) Stockholm March 12th, 2005 Today we have launched the all NEW website for FISM 2006 - World Championships of Magic held in Stockholm, Sweden July 31 - August 5, 2006 Visit www.fism.com for the latest news about FISM 2006 For downloading registration forms or to register online go to www.fism.com/registration ----------------- 7. Somethin' Devilish ----------------- Message from Dale Sadler (Aust) Somethin' Devilish - Wednesdays, 8:30 pm, 13th and 20th April, Star Bar Theatre, Sydney. "Somethin' Devilish" is a brand new production starring Charlie Mortimer and Dale Sadler, opening in Sydney, next month. The show features magic, mentalism and other time honoured, devilish practices (???). It is being staged in the beautiful Star Bar Theatre (which is well raked with luxurious seating and state of the art facilities), in George Street, Sydney. There are only two performances (on the above mentioned dates) and seating is limited to approximately 60 people. All tickets are only $10, available at the door and at Sydney magic shops. Prepare yourself for Something' Devilish.. ----------------- 8. The Magic Circle - New Editorial Team Announced ----------------- Message from Richard Stupple - Chairman of Council The Magic Circle is pleased to announce that a new team for The Magic Circular has been appointed. Following the recent tragic death of Peter McCahon and the temporary editorship of Peter Eldin, the new Editor of The Magic Circular, is Matthew Field, an American member now living permanently in London. Matthew has many years experience in magical journalism, having edited over 65 magic books and written a column for Genii from 2000 to 2004. He also has extensive experience in broadcast management, publishing, advertising, marketing and PR. Matthew will be working closely with independent magazine designer, John Hawkins, and the new team will be producing issues from June 2005 onwards. ----------------- 9. The Bad News ----------------- Message from Clive Court (Canada) I have recovered from my accident and lung problems in January -so I am catching up with things seeing that my computer has been down for a long while. I am now getting comfortable with an Imac. The Bad News: I regret that we had to pull the plug on our plans for the Midsummer Magic Festival in Richmond,B.C, this July. We had a three-month sponsorship campaign but were unable to raise sufficient sponsorship funding to make the event viable. We wanted a world-class event to attract tourists from Asia and Europe---not a low-rent street performer or children’s festival where the performers have to support themselves. We may take another shot at establishing the Festival in a year or so. The Good News. One of our scheduled star performers for the Festival was Juliana Chen with the debut of her full-evening, through contacts made during our planning, Juliana was able to launch her show at the recent Chinese New Year celebrations. Juliana attracted ten thousand spectators to five paid performances. It was a great success, Juliana was supported by two Las Vegas friends, Kevin James and Ardan James. If you are visiting Japan before the end of May, you should be aware that Juliana will be performing at the NGK Theatre in Osaka until mid-May. Juliana does about 25 percent of her work in Japan and 50 percent in Germany. She rarely works in the English-speaking countries outside North America, Does anyone know why this is? Please email me at: funslinger@magicwest.com See Julianas new website at www.julianachen.com ----------------- 10. 2005 LVMI Schedule Of Events ----------------- Message from Danny Archer (US) Sunday 12th Noon Registration Opens 2:00pm Lecture 1 - Chris Randall 3:30 Break 4:00 Lecture 2 - David Solomon 5:30 Dinner Break/Dealers 7:00 cocktail party / cash bar poolside 8:30 Attendee Jam Show 10:00 Lecture 3 - Allan Ackerman Monday 13th 11:00am Lecture 4 - Earl Nelson 12:30Lunch/Dealers 2:00pm Attendee Jam Show 3:00 Break/ Dealers 4:00 Lecture 5 - John Bannon 5:30 Dinner Break/ Dealers 7:30 The Hedonists Reunite Panel with Paul Harris, Michael Ammar and Daryl 9:00 Lecture 6 - Gaetan Bloom 11:00 - Gazzo Late Night Show Tuesday 14th 11:00am Surprise Event ??? 12:30 Lunch/Dealers 2:00pm Attendee Jam Show (All Paul Harris Material) 3:30 Break/Dealers 4:00 Lecture 7 - Eric Decamps Lecture 5:30 Dinner Break 7:30 Lecture 8 - Michael Ammar Lecture 9:30 Pro Close-Up/Cabaret Show Schedule subject to change ----------------- 11. MAGIC Magazine Collector ----------------- Message FROM Neil Martin (UK) I have a vast collection of Stan Allen's MAGIC Magazine for sale as I have no space for the collection any longer. I also have a few other general magic books. Volume 1 has sold already, but I have most issues from Vol.2, Issue 1 (September 1992) to Vol.12, Issue 12 (August 2003). Visit www.neilmartin.com/magic for the full list and instructions on how to order. Alternatively email me at nelly@neilmartin.com ----------------- 12. Making Several Children Vanish ----------------- Message from Dave Harris (NZ) I am wondering if anyone can make a suggestion or recommend a good book that can enable me to assist in making several children vanish. I am on the team who are performing the CS Lewis story “The Magicians Nephew” in Dunedin (NZ) and I have been asked to vanish two children in a scene. (Apologies to those who do not know the story). I have several ideas and we are using false stages for appearing them back in the land between our world and the other worlds. The thing main effect is vanishing Polly from Uncle Andrews study. As she just ¨goes¨ I intend to have Diogory jump forward to misdirect everyone and use some black art but with the wealth of experience I am sure someone can reccomend an idea or two. I then have to make Diggory follow her. One of the conditions that I have set is limited stage crew and as I know the children involved I will be strict as possible on secrecy and it will be a condition of taking a role in the play. (The children will be around 14-15) Any ideas or suggestions where to go would be greatly appreciated. Regards Dave Harris (Immediate Past President, Otago Magic Circle) Contact me at dave@korporateklowns.co.nz ----------------- 13. Elias "Lee" Nasser - Passed Away ----------------- Message from Maria Ibanez Society of American Magicians National 2nd Vice President Elias "Lee" Nasser, the first of four generations of magicians has passed away. Broken wand and funeral service details follow. My family and I send our deepest condolence to the Nasser family and will keep them in our prayers during this difficult time. Respectfully, Maria Ibanez Society of American Magicians National 2nd Vice President ------------------------------ This just in from Rick del Vecchio Sad to report that long time IBM Ring 45 member, Elias "Lee" Nasser passed away Friday evening after a long illness. Lee held IBM number 5802. A funeral service will be held Monday, March 14th from 5pm-10pm at the Caballero Rivero Funeral Home located at 8200 Bird Road. The family has requested that I perform a Broken Wand Ceremony at approximately 7:00pm. All magicians are invited to attend. At age 12 Lee got his ventriloquist's doll, "Oscar". The magic bug bit him shortly after. He and Oscar have been performing together for over 80 years! Along with his son Steve, grandson Tim and great grand-daughter Madison, the Nassers represent four generations of performing magicians. Lee will continue to live on, in our fond memories of him and his pal "Oscar". Lee was 95 years young. ----------------- 14. Rip Offs ----------------- Message from Don Drake (US) I got this from Bill Palmer whom I have worked with in the past. He did a Merlin the Wizard kid show that was hilarious. We worked together in the dealers room TAOM Austin, '93. I believe Bill to be an honorable man and we've got to draw the line somewhere. To the list: Recently, I received an e-mail from a fellow using the name "Paul Ingram" offering illegal copies of hundreds of manuscripts, books, and DVD’s and magic instructions. His e-mail address is paul.ingram4@btinternet.com. His PayPal account is duninger666@yahoo.co.uk. He also uses the name "Michael Fish," which is the name of an English weather forecaster. Anyway, if you have any information leading to him, several of us would like to give him a good hiding, if not prosecution for copyright violation. Among the stolen manuscripts are items by Robert Cassidy and other rather well-known people. Bill Palmer, M.I.M.C. ----------------- 15. Magic / Illusion / Hypnosis Full Evening Shows ----------------- Message from Brent McLeod (NZ) Brent McLeod & Dave Upfold from Brotherhood Auckland Magicians & IBM NZ have just completed 3 sellout nights in Whangaparaoa, Auckland with their 2 hour Full Evening show with good crowds on all nights. We finished with an adults only R18 show by request mainly to have a full evenings enjoyment for adults with no children-we used a bigger auditorium than the first 2 shows and supplied an evening in Cabaret style with BYO drinking facilities & food etc in an intimate atmosphere to an hilarious evening of Magic & Hypnosis We have received requests for 4 more shows from these and will keep Magicians posted as to where these will be one of which is for a large conference in Rotorua NZ and the rest back in Auckland Theatres. Dave leaves New Zealand on 6 May to go back to South Africa and will only be back mid June. Daves and his son Wesley will be doing the Hit Show not 1 But 2- On its 4th Year World Tour-the only Hypnosis show in the world where 2 Hypnotists are on stage at the same time. ----------------- 16. Willis Hall Passed Away ----------------- Message from Nicky McAllister March 14, 2005 Willis Hall was a man of the theatre who must have moved more people at different ages than any other playwright of his generation. This is mainly because he wrote as often for young people as adults, a habit he formed right at the start of his career. Later, with Keith Waterhouse, he formed one of the most remarkable writing partnerships in British dramatic history. As a friendship it endured for all their lives; they were the same age; born in the same Yorkshire town; first met at the age of 12; went to the same school; worked together on a youth club magazine; and as a professional collaboration it yielded nearly every kind of play and film to suit the taste of the times. If Hall, who first suggested in 1959 the idea of joining forces, had the edge as a dramatist, it was because he had already achieved a West End success in The Long and the Short and the Tall, a sharply-written anti-war play which the Royal Court Theatre had seized in its heyday under Lindsay Anderson. There were other plays, too, one-acters, such as Last Day in Dreamland and A Glimpse of the Sea, which had already proved him a dramatist with a future. But it was the first play, set in the Malayan jungle, which had begun life at the Edinburgh Festival for amateurs and was acted at Nottingham professionally, which awoke Londoners to the fact that John Osborne had provoked a competitor with this arresting tale of a seven-man British Army patrol wondering what to do with a Japanese prisoner. But regardless of whether one was more of a dramatist than the other, they began working together, and found a smart Mayfair office in which to do so. By exchanging dialogue and gags as they worked on a plot over two desks, they produced one play or musical after another which almost unfailingly struck a chord with undemanding playgoers and filmgoers - the bulk of their admirers. Critics whose duties crossed their path from time to time would enjoy the result. There were, however, only a handful of plays and films and television programmes which everyone agreed represented an authentic regional comedy to make everyone sit up. One was the different versions for the straight and musical theatre which they culled from Waterhouse’s novel, Billy Liar; the first a long-running play about a dreamy youth (Albert Finney, then Tom Courtenay) who kept spinning tales about his adolescent job as undertaker; the second a musical at Drury Lane, Billy, with Michael Crawford as the angling, provocative youth; and two outstanding films, Whistle Down The Wind and A Kind of Loving. Their joint success brought them early visits together to New York and Hollywood. They found themselves, for example, escaping obliteration in a car driven by 82-year-old Gladys Cooper because she was too vain to wear glasses. Neither man would ever learn to drive. Both could by then afford taxis; and though both men had been brought up in the same kind of Leeds back-to-back, Hall stuck to Yorkshire, coming up to London from time to time, and never losing in voice or manner his Yorkshire roots and accent or his tendency not to speak more than necessary. Willis Hall was born in Leeds and educated at Leeds Cockburn High School. He first met Waterhouse at Mill Hill Youth Club, where they co-discovered their mutual love for writing, and both began contributing to local magazines. Hall later joined the Army in the Far East, where he began writing fairy stories for Chinese children on the radio. He also began writing plays, and after his return to Britain, his Disciplines of War appeared at the Edinburgh Festival in 1957, which in turn was retiled — and produced professionally - as Boys, its All Hell at the Nottingham Playhouse. In turn, in 1959, it became The Long and the Short and the Tall, at the Royal Court, directed by Lindsay Anderson. After the first triumph of Billy Liar in 1959, with its beautifully detailed study of youthful frustration and observation, Hall took on something alone. He translated and adapted for the London stage a play which already puzzled the French, Billetdoux’s Chin-Chin, which Anthony Quayle and Celia Johnson gave at Wyndham’s. Later the “firm” was understandably considered capable of doing anything as long as there was a laugh or two in it. Celebration, for example, transferred to the West End from Nottingham as a riotously funny study of a wedding and a funeral in terms of homely, North-Country comedy. Some critics thought it as good as anything they had written; but without a star name like Finney or Courtenay, what was the use? They next tried a revue, England, Our England, in the days when revue was still just in fashion (though the material would go better on television in That Was The Week That Was); and All Things Bright and Beautiful, again set in the North of England, and then (somewhat surprisingly) came a sophisticated sex comedy, Say Who You Are, which ran and ran at Her Majesty’s, about a borrowed flat in Kensington, with Ian Carmichael and Patrick Cargill amid the extra-marital exertions. After Whoops-a-Daisy and a version of Arnold Bennett’s The Card came their adaptations of Eduardo de Filippo’s popular Neapolitan family comedies, Saturday, Sunday, Mon- day (with a cameo for Laurence Olivier) and Filumena (1977) (for Joan Plowright). Were they better, on the whole, with North-country comedy? It became a matter for argument. The fact is that they worked together like clockwork. No one ever spotted the wheels going round. There was always so much to do — journalism, television, writing of one sort or another — that they had no time or inclination to sound the least pretentious. Hall wrote superbly for children by not writing down to them. Many people would rate Hall’s work in the Worzel Gummidge series for television as good as anything he did. It would be absurd to overlook, too, his passion for football and the Magic Circle. Nevertheless they gave the public a regular taste of mostly Northern family life with sympathy, sense, sensibility and wit without the class war. In 1989 Hall found Adam Faith to star at the Cambridge in a version of the television series, Budgie; but musicals were also one of Hall’s hobbies. They may not have produced anything sensational, but Hall loved having a hand in them. With Denis King as composer, Hall’s The Wind in the Willows and Treasure Island went down well in 1985; and in 1987 came The Water Babies; and Peter Pan (1988) with George Stiles and Anthony Drewe. As for Hall’s fiction for children, which had begun during his early years in China on National Service with scripts for the wireless, the Vampire stories, from 1982, were perhaps his most successful. If there was one thing to congratulate Hall on, apart from his always being himself, it was the scope every text gave to the actor. Unlike more prominently acknowledged exponents of the new wave of dramaturgy — and Hall was one of the earliest Royal Court writers to be taken seriously — he could not help bringing characters to life on the stage. He is survived by four sons. Willis Hall, writer, was born on April 6, 1929. He died on March 7, 2005, aged 75. ----------------- 17. Appearing 6 Foot Cigarette - Jamie-G ----------------- Message from Jamie-G Effect: Magician shows a normal cigarette to the audience. He tells the audience that smoking isn't just a small problem its a large problem. He puts the small cigarette into a paper bag and gives the bag a tap with his magic wand and then pulls the 6 foot cigarette out of the bag. Props: You need to go to the nearest hardware store and purchase a plastic cover for a shower curtain rod. Of course you have to make sure that there isn't any cracks in it. To ensure that your cigarette (rod) will not crack you have to make it sturdy. I do this by putting duct tape on the inside liner all the way down. This will help to avoid the misfortune of cracking. Now to make the filter. I used a bunch of white stickers and placed them all the way around the cigarette. You should only go down about 8 inches. Once you have made that all white you can color it with an orange magic marker. To make the little speckles that some filters have I went over all the orange marker with a brown marker and made dots all over it. Once this is done properly you will have your six foot cigarette. Method: Very carefully roll up your cigarette and put a rubber band around it. If you start from the bottom of your cigarette once you pull it out of the bag it will come out filter first. Once that is done you can put it in a brown paper bag and you are ready to go. Show Time: In laymen terms take a small cigarette and place it in the paper bag. Undo the rubber band and slowly unroll your cigarette and pull it out of the bag a little bit at a time. Your bag will be left with the rubber band and small cigarette inside. Dispose of your bag however you wish. Note: I have had mine going on six years now. This is great for magical no smoking show. ----------------- 18. The Amazing Orchante Saga ----------------- Message from Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)(UK ex-pat Kiwi) The Amazing ‘ORCHANTÉ Saga - 9th May, 2002 S-P-E-C-I-A-L E-D-I-T-I-O-N - REVIEW - 50 GREATEST MAGIC TRICKS, AS SHOWN ON U.K. TELEVISION, CHANNEL FOUR, 6TH MAY 2002. The Radio Times 4 - 10 May 2002, columnist Jane Rackham, among other things said “Presented by Adam and Joe (although you’ll soon be wishing that they vanish in a puff of smoke)” etc. After watching the show, I totally agree with her sentiments. These two idiotic ‘clowns’ - and I use that term advisedly, and their amateurish and childish behaviour, were the cause of many people switching channels prematurely. I know this because I had asked several friends and neighbours to watch the show, and give me an unbiased opinion today. Fortunately a few sat through the excruciating shenanigans of these two ‘WANKERS’, whose air-time would have allowed the complete Richard Ross Linking Ring routine (And others) to have been shown; could have been called “60 Greatest Magic Tricks”. The magicians were shown from number fifty, down. 50 - Franz Harary - ‘Vanishing a Space Shuttle’ (1994). Not bad, but what happened to David Copperfield’s famous Lear Jet, which blew the world, and magicians away! 49 - Juan Taramiz (1996) Performed a brilliant Card routine - ‘Four Blue Cards’ shown and counted hand to hand, face down -with each consequent count, the cards, all spot cards, turned one at a time, face up. Then one by one they became four Jacks - one became a Joker, and on next count, all the backs became different from each other. 48 - Shahid and Lisa Malik ‘Cardboard Box illusion’ (1991) With Assistant in box, sticks are thrust through, at as a great rate of knots. Very good, but not up to the standard of Hans and Helga Moretti, the best version of all, where assistants from the audience put swords through the box, and at the finale Hans emerges, in a totally different costume, with a live hen on his head, and God knows what else. 47 - Guy Hollingworth - Signed, ‘Torn and Restored Card’ (1997) Excellent. Ali Bongo summed up his presentation perfectly when he said, “He has great finesse - he’s a gentleman performing magic, as in Victorian times”. Beautifully spoken English, I was so very impressed. Please tell him not to hold his left hand in such a tight fist at the finish. 46 - Harry Blackstone Jnr. ‘Vanishing Bird Cage’ (1997), Made famous by his father; brilliant. Kids loved it. Me too! 45 - Mark Mottram - ‘Thumb Tie’ (2000) “WHAT UTTER CRAP!” 44 - Penn and Teller -‘Truck Trick’ (1991) Where Teller is run over by a Truck. Very good, but not their best. Nicholas Parsons, amateur magician, made pathetic and amateur statements; especially when he said that: “THEY ‘SHOULD BE CRUCIFIED BY THE MAGIC CIRCLE”. For God’s sake - it was a one-off trick, invented by Penn and Teller, never to be performed again - a throw -away! No wonder he’s only an amateur. What a sad man! 43 - Meir Yehid - ‘Finger Fantasies’ (1985) Fantastic! Left me feeling very disjointed! 42 - Derren Brown - Made a train passenger forget what stop he was getting off, and then, the poor sod actually missed getting off at his stop! It was a pity that they didn't show the beginning, before they actually started to film the sequence. As a professional hypnotist for many years, it was obvious to me that he was using what I term ‘waking hypnosis’. 41 - Melinda Saxe - ‘The Drill of Death’ (1999). Apparently pierced by giant revolving screw. Absolute crap! A corpse would have shown more animation than she did -the noises she did make sounded more like sexual climaxes, and even then, her face remained frozen in a ‘deadpan’ expression! 40 - Paul Zenon - ‘Snooker Card trick’ (2000). A version of the card stabbing, using Billiard balls. Good but not GREAT -should not have been counted as one of the best Magic Tricks in the World. 39 - ‘Spoon Bending’ - Began by showing The Amazing Jonathan doing same - I love this guy - then Uri Geller - I raced for the toilet, and lost my dinner - spewed up. I got back just in time to see Ian Roland, who made Geller look like a fake - what a bullshit artist he is! Intelligent man, that Ian Roland - I’d like to meet him. 38 - Stevie Starr - ‘Regurgitator’ (1992). Here, they showed him swallowing Goldfish, and bringing them up again totally unharmed. It was a pity they didn’t show more of him instead of the two ‘clowns’ who took up so much time. He is absolutely fantastic! I know, as we have worked together many times. In his show he really blows his audience away! 37 - Fay Presto - ‘Bottle through a table’ (1996). Smutty presentation. One of the spectators summed it up for me when she said: “It’s gone already”, obviously referring to the bottle that was about to apparently penetrate the table. I cannot believe that this presentation was rated one of the best of the 50 Greatest Magic Tricks. The Magic Circle’s choice? 36 - Lance Burton -‘Osmosis illusion’ (1997). He should have been among the top ten - say, number 2 or 3. Amazing illusion, performed by the total, consummate professional! How dare they place him at only 36! 35 - Robert Gallup - ‘Straight Jacket Escape’ Performed in Melbourne, Australia. (2000). Very impressive! Suspended at 1000 feet up. Supporting rope set on fire - had 2 minutes 20 seconds in which to escape. I was very disappointed by the fake straight jacket. Houdini’s used the real thing, 90 years ago! 34 - James Hydrick - (1980). Turned pages of a telephone book etc., by a mere wave of his hand, apparently. I find it difficult to believe that magicians, as well as so-called ‘experts’, were fooled by this ‘dip-stick’. I, and I'll bet, so have thousands of other magicians, been making cigarettes and matches roll across tables for years - two at a time. Mind you, I did have two functioning lungs at the time. They finally caught him out as a fake. Amazed it took so long. 33 - Penn and Teller - ‘Snake Trick’ (1991). Performed a la ‘Cut and Restored Rope’ - you know, extra loop - blood and meat everywhere - I just love these guys!!! 32 - Paul Daniels - ‘Electric Chairs’ (1989) Very good - first to present this ‘shocking’ bit of fun. 31 - Geoffrey Durham - alias The Great Suprendo (1976 - 88) ‘Torn and restored newspaper’. Quite simply, I think Geoffrey is brilliant. I would have a lot more respect for English magicians, if they were all up to his high standard! 30 - David Berglas - ‘The table’ (1981), eight people seated around a table, their fingertips just touching the top. On standing up, the table moves up with them - apparently held by some sort of ‘strange force’. Moving, swaying from side to side or running around in a circle, the table continues to stick to their fingertips - then suddenly, the table drops to the floor! I HOLD THE GREATEST RESPECT FOR DAVID BERGLAS - A GENTLEMAN AND, A TOTAL PROFESSIONAL. THE MAGIC CIRCLE'S ONLY SAVING GRACE! 29 - Amazing Jonathan - ‘Skewer through tongue’ (2001) I could watch this very funny magician all day - and night - and day ad finitum 28 - Tommy Cooper -‘Multiplying Bottles’ (1967). A legend, forever! Geoffrey Durham said it perfectly “He was a great magician, pretending to be a crap magician, who actually was, a great magician”. 27 - Paul Zenon - ‘Tax Disc Trick’ (2000). Apparently pulled a Tax Disc through the car window screen. Very clever, but what happened to the Tax Disc holder? It vanished too - another mystery. Very good, Paul 26 - Derren Brown - again - ‘Mind reading’ effect, with a painting. Reminded me of some of David Berglas’s effects. 25 - Paul Daniels ‘Disappearing Television camera trick’ (1984). Absolutely brilliant! Haven’t got a clue how it was worked, but then it is difficult to make a judgement without seeing the whole presentation. 24 - Amazing Jonathan - Knife cutting into Arm illusion (1996). Pure magical comedy. Give me more, more, and even more. 23 - David Berglas - ‘Stopping the Pulse - in Both Arms’ (1996). A brilliant showman/magician/entertainer. A mind - blowing presentation. Magic at its very best! I ‘performed’ this stunt years ago in my doctor surgery. He immediately asked me to ‘do it again’ and brought in two other doctors to ‘see’ it. “YOU SHOULD BE DEAD!” - He said. 22- Siegfried and Roy -‘Interlude’ (1994) (From the Magic, the Mystery, Feld Productions Inc.) ‘Spider Woman’ penetrates through the body of Roy then, a tiger that appears from nowhere, leaps through his body as well! Great stuff. Well, would you expect anything less? Of course not! 21 - Simon Drake - ‘Sword Illusion’ (1990). Apparently pushing several swords and daggers into, and through, his body. Naah! He’s done better! 20 - Ishamuddin - ‘Indian Rope Trick’ (1999) filmed out of doors and, with no buildings in the vicinity. Rope rose straight up into the air to a height of approximately 20 ft - then a boy climbed only a very short distance up before being ordered down again. It was an amazing sight and I guess that all those who saw it, will have their own theories on how it was performed. My suspicions were aroused right from the beginning when the magician fed a short piece of rope into the basket that somehow became 20 ft long - two ropes? The other clue I came up with, regarding methodology, was that at the finish, the top of the very thick rope began collapsing first, followed by the rest of the rope; it was as if some sort of support was being pulled rapidly out from the central core of the rope. You'd have to see it for yourself. Very impressive! 19 - Derren Brown - yet again (he must have shares in the Magic Circle)! The following statement came from one of my neighbours! “Now it’s getting boring! Same sort of thing, just a different scenario - some sort of hypnotism bullshit!” 18 - Robert Gallup - ‘Death Dive’ (1996) handcuffed, shackled and the locked into a mailbag - then locked inside a eight ft-square cage which contains a parachute. At 18,000 feet the whole lot is shoved out the back of a Transporter Aircraft the idea being to escape, and, put on the parachute before you put a huge dent into Mother Earth! Various amateur magicians were giving comments during this performance, all along the lines of ‘What if…’ - C’mon, fellas, if there WERE a ‘What If’, no silly bugger would do it! I’ve never heard of anyone accidentally ‘killing themselves’ in an escape stunt, but I stand to be corrected! Let’s face it - WHOSE Handcuffs, Shackles, Chains, and Cage! - FOR CHRISSAKE, WAKE UP! 17 - The Amazing Orchanté - ‘String Thing’ (‘Psychic Surgery’) “The Last Resort” (1987) Seeing that this is about myself, to avoid any sort of back-lash, I shall write, word for word, the comments that were made before, during and after my 2 minute, 20 second performance. (Those two idiotic ‘clowns’ Adam and Joe got more air-time than anybody else). PAUL MORLEY, Journalist and Magician said, “I remember it VIVIDLY! I remember it happening! The unfortunate thing is, it is SO vivid, that it DOES stay with you!” JENNY ECLAIR - comedienne, said, “It was one of those, what we call nowadays, ‘water cooler moments’, where everyone the next day says ‘Did you see it - did you see it?’” PAUL MORLEY again, said, “It is excruciating, but, but, but in that sense, it is fantastic television.” During my performance he again quoted, “I quite like the moment when he swallows the string, and everyone thinks that’s the trick. The audience sort of applauds, thinking, ‘That’s quite a good trick’.” (Hate to tell ya mate - it ain’t no trick) During the segment where the string is being pulled out from my stomach by members of the audience, PAUL MORLEY comments - “I’m with some of the people in the audience, I mean, how some of those people manage to touch that string and pull it out, because the way it pulls on the skin - you don’t want that in your life, because you’re going to carry it with you, FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE!” JEREMY DYSON, comedian and amateur magician, said, “How are you doing that? What have you done? Have you gone in there a week before, and made an incision - and surgically put it in there” (No, mate. I’ve performed my ‘String Thing’ three times a night countless times!), “or are you really doing it, which is even worse?” REECE SHEARSMITH, comedian and amateur magician, immediately said “Don’t do that - you’re going to get peritonitis, and die, if you keep doing that!” At the conclusion of my ‘String Thing’, PAUL MORLEY quipped “I like the very last bit of it, just as he pulls it all out and it REALLY hurts him” (I’m a ‘good’ actor) “and you think ‘Bloody Good’ - it should hurt you - DON’T DO IT AGAIN!” 16 - Siegfried and Roy - ‘Vanishing and Appearing Elephant’ (1994). I can do no better than to quote Ali Bongo’s comment, “ABSOLUTELY STAGGERING”. 15 - Simon Drake - ‘Guillotine’ (1992). Apparently he only performed this once - he was taken to hospital with three cracked ribs immediately after this performance. EXCELLENT - LOOKED REAL - GOOD MAGIC! 14 - Lance Burton - in my opinion, The Greatest Magician in the World Today! ‘Escape from Roller-Coaster Track’ (1999) He managed to escape from the track TWO SECONDS before the Roller-coaster, which was going at a great rate of knots, would have hit him. At the conclusion, he said “STUPID! THAT WAS REALLY STUPID!” I really DO believe that he was within seconds of being killed! It was the first time, in a long time - I’ve been on the edge of my seat! Then again, he could be a really great actor; well he convinced me. 13 - Harry Blackstone Jnr. ‘Floating Light Bulb’ (1977) THIS IS MAGIC! MICHAEL BAILEY, President of the Magic Circle, commented, “As near to a miracle as you can ever get” GAY BLACKSTONE former Assistant and Widow, said “Oh - I think the Floating Light Bulb is the greatest trick, because, it is the purest trick!” 12 - David Blane ‘Card Revelation’ - Forced card shuffled into deck, and then thrown at a café window -same card apparently stuck to inside of glass. I cannot believe that this is at number 12, or even on the ‘best of 50’ list. What an insult to sleight of hand purists, and card experts! Just who the bloody hell in the Magic Circle had the intelligence - or lack of - to include this? 11 - Penn and Teller ‘The Magic Bullet’ (1996) A Double ‘catching a bullet in the mouth’, trick. BRILLIANT! Haven’t got a clue. Fantastic, guys. 10 - Hans and Helga Moretti ‘The Crossbow’ (1995) William Tell, eat your heart out! Whoever decided which were the 50 greatest tricks, should have been shot! If they had any brains, they would also have included Hans and Helga’s ‘Swords through Box’, instead of ‘Shahid Malik’s as the Moretti’s is, without a doubt, the ultimate version. 9 - Richard Ross ‘Linking Rings’ (1983) FANTASTIC! THE BEST EVER! I remember when he appeared on the scene with his version of the Rings - not only blew audiences away, but also the Magicians! Just three rings - PURE MAGIC! They should have shown his full routine. Unfortunately, the ‘powers to be’ thought that Adam and Joe were far better than anyone else on this TV programme, and deserved far more air time - they sure as hell got it! 8 - Paul Daniels ‘Chop Cup’ (1985) Very slick and entertaining. However to a purist, such as myself, I can’t be done with trick cups and magnets. Only pure sleight of hand will do, and I think it is an absolute insult to the memory of Dai Vernon that his version of the ‘real cups and balls’ - described as the finest routine ever evolved - wasn’t shown instead -especially if the Magic Circle had a hand in it. The next best would be, without a doubt, Ricky Jay’s routine. A commentator said “I don’t think anyone performs it better than Paul Daniels”. I totally agree, if he is talking ONLY about the Chop Cup! 7 - Tom Mullica ‘Smoking Trick’ (1996) Sheer brilliance, coupled with belly-aching comedy, and wonderful sleight of hand. I could, and have, watched this guy all night. Another performance that should have been shown in its entirety! 6 - David Copperfield ‘Flying’ (1995) ‘YOU WILL BELIEVE A MAN CAN FLY’ says it all. 5 - Robert Harbin ‘Zigzag Lady’ (1965) One of the greatest modern illusions! Geoffrey Durham summed up the man perfectly, when he said, “he had an extraordinarily brilliant magical brain, and his tricks have been copied, duplicated, and done by every other magician since, but his first version is the best”. 4 - Lance Burton ‘Doves’ (1982). This man, this magician, this entertainer is total perfection - in every facet of our art. THE BEST THERE IS!! 3 - The Pendragons ‘Metamorphosis’. The substitution trunk, performed in under 2 seconds” Great - but where’s the entertainment value? Looking at a ‘bird’ with huge muscular legs, who shaves within an inch of her life! What the hell are they doing at number three? Jonathan Pendragon said the word himself “ARROGANT” (So did my neighbours) 2 - David Blaine - again. ‘Levitation’ At Number Two? Dear God! I’m puking up bile - my dinner went ages ago. I cannot believe they have shown this - especially after the exposé on ‘Secrets Of Street Magicians Finally Revealed’ showing how it was done, including the camera tricks - which is exactly what was shown here. I am utterly disgusted. 1 - David Copperfield - ‘Death Saw’ (1995). A brilliant illusion and presentation. What spoiled it for me was - he got into a ‘box affair’ and was temporally hidden from sight - tons of time for the ‘dirty work’! Same thing happened at the close. I much prefer the old buzz -saw version that was developed by Harry Blackstone, where the ‘body’ is in full view at all times. Harry Blackstone Jnr. performed his Fathers version as well. The Amazing Mr ROOKLYN from Australia (now deceased) had a similar version as well - which I used and presented for many months at ‘The Magic Village’ (now long gone) in Sydney, so I do know what I’m talking about! So there it is! Hard-hitting, you bet ya! Truthful? You better believe it! Remember, my comments were, in part, derived from friends and neighbours (the ones who managed to sit through the stupid, childish and totally unnecessary antics of Adam Buxton and Joe Cornish), your normal, average, everyday people, the ones who, hopefully, come to see you perform and watch you on T.V. and, whose opinion is more important than anyone else’s! If you don’t like what I’ve written, blame them! ---------------- 19. 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. Eg 001 Nov06 1999.txt first three numbers (001) denote issue number, then the date (Nov06) and the last figures the year (1999) ------------------- 20. 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 Magic New Zealand® e-zine: www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html Magic New Zealand® e-zine is published weekly, on Sunday. The opinions expressed in this e-zine are those of the individual contributors and not those of Magic New Zealand®. Neither Magic New Zealand® nor Alan Watson can vouch for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, message, statement, or other information reported via Magic New Zealand® e-zine. Subscribers to this publication and authors who contribute to it by doing so agree that they will not hold Magic New Zealand® 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 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 2005 Alan Watson