* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
* Magic New Zealand®
* Proudly sponsored by International Entertainment Ltd (New Zealand)
* www.magicnewzealand.com
* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *
Issue Number: #1192
Date: Sunday 5th April 2015
Editor: Alan Watson QSM
www.watson.co.nz
E-mail: editor@magicnewzealand.com
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Hi here is the latest news
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1. Editor's Message
2. 2014 AMA Showroom Awards Nominees
3. FISM - Pigna Fountain
4. The Magic Word Podcast #217 - The Good Old Days
5. "C.I.A.: Ultimate School Show Secrets" At S.A.M. Convention
6. April Issue Of The Linking Ring
7. Remarkable Magic #385 - Nick Lewin
8. Festivals - Illusions - #357 - Kyle Peron
9. Carney Magic Theater Show - Burbank, CA
10. PCAM 2015
11. McBride's Magic And Mystery School
12. Updates So Far This Week On VanishLive.com
13. Magic TED Talks
14. Rest In Peace, Stanley
15. 32nd New Zealand International Magicians Convention 2015
16. e-zine Archives
17. Privacy Policy and Copyright Notice

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1. Editor's Message
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Tickets are NOW on sale for the "Magic Moments" family comedy magic show. It will feature performances by some of the top magicians in New Zealand.

Saturday 11th of April, 2pm and 7:30pm

**Saturday matinee selling fast**

You can reserve your tickets by emailing mail@mickpeckmagic.com

The venue is the lovely Rose Theatre, 1 School Road Belmont on Auckland's North Shore

For more details go to: www.magicmoments.co.nz

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For all those who would like to read the Magic New Zealand e-zine in a HTML format go to: http://www.magicnewzealand.com/ezine-archive/2015-Jan-to-Dec-2015/1192-Apr03-2015.html

Remember if you have any magic news drop me a line:
Editor@MagicNewZealand.com

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2. 2014 AMA Showroom Awards Nominees
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The AMA Elections Committee, Board of Directors, and Board of Trustees are proud to announce the 2014 Showroom Award Nominees!

Close-Up
Woody Aragon
Bill Goodwin
Armando Lucero
Garrett Thomas
Richard Turner

Parlour
Chris Capehart
Handsome Jack (John Lovick)
Derek Hughes
Gregory Wilson
Rob Zabrecky

Stage
David and Leeman
Pop Haydn
Tina Lenert
Shoot Ogawa
Arthur Trace

Lecture
Mike Caveney
Shoot Ogawa
Garrett Thomas
Steve Valentine
Gregory Wilson

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3. FISM - Pigna Fountain
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Message by Joan Caesar (Canada)

The Pigna Fountain is something you should see while at FISM in Rimini. It represents history from both the medieval time as well as the recent past.

Until 1912, the year in which the public aqueduct was completed, the Pigna fountain was the only source of drinking water in the city, and its water is still enjoyed by passers-by.

It's no wonder that it's still considered the heart of medieval Piazza. Even Leonardo da Vinci was enchanted by the beauty and harmony of the waterspouts when he passed through Rimini in 1502. His words are engraved on the monument: "Make harmony with the different falls of water, as I saw in the fountain in Rimini".

Giovanni Carrari restored the fountain after damage caused in 1540 by celebration fireworks placed in the basin. The bronze, 4 foot high pine cone sculpture crowning this fountain was installed in 1807, replacing a 16th-century statue of St. Paul damaged by the Napoleonic army. It once spouted water from the top. The drum holding the cone is covered with bas-reliefs and dates from Roman times while the marble fountain basins are 15th century.

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4. The Magic Word Podcast #217 - The Good Old Days
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Message by Scott Wells, M.I.M.C. with Gold Star

This week's podcast has interest both local, regional and worldwide. By that I mean that we talk with Kent Cummins about the history of the Austin, Texas Magic Auction which may have limited appeal to those outside a certain geographical area. But you might listen to the person who introduces Kent before he delivers this mini-lecture: it is the late Claude Crowe who passed away just a few days later.

Gene and Madeline Willard talk about their father, Willard the Wizard, who traveled with his tent show in the early 1900's and may have more of a regional appeal. Since this was recorded during a reception at a funeral, we are joined in the podcast by Walter "Zaney" Blaney who was also in attendance. He contributes his two cents (or more) with his stories about Willard.

Arthur Moses is a noted collector of Houdini artifacts. Houdini was and is known around the world as an escape artist. His name has lived well beyond his years with his name even being bastardized to become a verb appearing in the dictionary. Arthur talks a bit about his recent acquisitions and also a little about Harry's brother, Hardeen.

I also came across a five minute podcast I recorded many years ago with Aldo Colombini. I posted a link to this short "Scott's Spotcast" at the bottom of the blog.

You can read the blog, watch a video, see some photos, listen to the podcast and download the MP3 file at: http://themagicwordpodcast.com/scottwellsmagic/the-good-old-days You can also download and listen through iTunes, Stitcher, Tunein and FeedPress.

And if you have time, I would like to see where you listen to The Magic Word Podcasts. Please take a selfie of wherever you are while listening to the podcast and post it on your Facebook page, Twitter and/or Instagram using the hashtag MagicWordPod. That's #MagicWordPod and I will post your pictures on upcoming podcasts.

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5. "C.I.A.: Ultimate School Show Secrets" At S.A.M. Convention
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Message by Mark Weidhaas (US)

Romano to present "C.I.A.: Ultimate School Show Secrets" at S.A.M. Convention

Joe Romano is the preeminent producer of educational school assemblies on the East Coast. His productions have appeared in over 5000 schools. His incredible success stems from providing great Content, a professional Image and showing great Appreciation to his many school show clients.

Romano rarely lectures, so don't miss this opportunity to learn from the best. Whether you are new to the school assembly market or would like to increase revenue in your kid shows, don't miss Joe Romano and his C.I.A.: Ultimate School Show Secrets!

In 2011, Joe created UltimateSchoolShows.com. Recruiting the talents of other amazing school performers like Atlanta's Ken Scott and Michigan's Doug Scheer, Romano created a one-stop shop for PTA/PTO coordinators. Currently, Romano is the #1 school assembly performer on the East Coast. No other individual magician is seen by more students in a given school year.

See Joe's lecture at the family friendly location with so many options for food nearby and twice daily FREE walking tours of Historic Philadelphia for your family. So much to see and do - you just have to attend the S.A.M. 2015 Convention, July 1-4 in Philadelphia - where it all began.

Register and reserve your hotel room at www.magicsam.com. Only $300 for S.A.M. members, spouse, or SYM parent and $200 for SYM members and siblings age 7-17 until 6/1/14. Hotel Convention rate is $115 per night.

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6. April Issue Of The Linking Ring
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Message by Dennis Schick (US)

The April 2014 issue of The Linking Ring could be called the "Mike Powers issue." Master cardician Mike Powers -- columnist for The Linking Ring -- moves not only to the cover of the issue (with a profile inside, of course), but also provides the One-man Parade for the month, too. Add to those his regular column and you have the "Mike Powers trifecta."

Editor Sammy Smith has a nice column about people who find their life's work -- their labor of love. And International President Shawn Farquhar proves that "It's a small world" in his column by giving us updates on his travels on behalf of the I.B.M., from Russia, Hungary, Austria, and Bulgaria. Talk about frequent flyer miles.

"Do the Spirits Return?" is the title of an article by Dr. Steven Schlanger telling us about the new extensive Thurston exhibit at the Brooklyn Morbid Anatomy Museum for the next nine months. He also has an article in the issue entitled "True to Form: The Fellowship of Rotarian Magicians."

Besides the several house ads telling us about the upcoming IBM Convention in July, Simone Marron tells us about the Six-pack Lectures during the convention. Roger Miller is this month's spotlight IBM member with a "Commitment and Passion." He is a past IBM International President. Also highlighted this issue is Bruce Walstad, the Territorial Vice President of Alabama.

Assistant Editor Dennis Schick took advantage of his IBM membership and visited the Ask Alexander Website for free. He got wrapped up in the Victorian Popular Culture site, and time-traveled back to the Nineteenth Century, and tells us about it. Associate Editor Jason Goldberg attended the Yankee Gathering last November in Massachusetts, and tells us about it in "The Fascinations of Magic History."

Scott Hood focuses on families in his "The Therapy of Magic" column. And Skip Way's column, "Polishing the Rings" is entitled "Invisible Riches," referring to all the wealth of knowledge embedded in older magicians which often is ignored by today's young magicians. Bev Bergeron uses his "Cutting Up Jackpots" column to tell us about "The Great Lester -- Ventriloquist," the man with the magic voices.

In his "Ways & Means" column, Joe Turner brings us "Bite by Bite" by Mark Tirone, using the common item of chewing gum. Jean-Emmanuel Franzis turns over his "Numismagic" column over to Mario Lopez, who brings us "The New Age Ambitious Coin." In his column "Simple Diversions," Andrew Woo explains "Card to Anywhere Made Simple." Jeff Prace went to Europe to bring us guest Andi Gladwin's "Voicemail Prediction" in the column "The Expert at the Tech Table." And Chris Beason explains the clever "Mute" in his column "Situationally Yours."

Finally, also in the April issue are ten new magic product reviews; the Broken Wand pays tribute to sixteen magicians who have died and who we learned about since last month; and seventy-nine Ring Reports this month. And don't forget all the advertisements, which help pay the bills.

Of course The Linking Ring is a benefit of membership in the International Brotherhood of Magicians, the largest magic organization in the world. Go to www.magician.org for more information.

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7. Remarkable Magic #385 - Nick Lewin
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Message by Nick Lewin (US)

Ah Those Saturday Gigs!

There was a really great "Glam Rock" band back in the '70s called Mott The Hoople. You probably never heard of them, heck, you probably don't even remember "Glam Rock!" They were a pretty wonderful band though lead by Ian Hunter, who at 70 something is still rock and rolling. The band had a handful of hits, but nowadays are something of a footnote in musical history. However they still hold a very special place in the hearts of some of us, right up to this very day.

Before "Mott the Hoople" called it quits, they were briefly joined by David Bowie's legendary guitarist Mick Ronson and recorded a couple of great final singles. My favorite of these tracks was an unabashedly sentimental track called "Saturday Gigs." The song was an ode to the early days in their performing lives when the paid gig on a Saturday night managed to support them for the rest of your week. It made it possible to remain in "the biz," and perhaps even make it big one day.

The chorus of this song began, "Do you remember the Saturday Gigs? We do, we do…" Well I do too, and in a sentimental vein I thought I would write about two of my early Saturday gigs. I'm sure many of our readers have similar stories in your memory banks. For our younger readers you can take it as an invitation to realize that every gig, however potentially disastrous, might one day become a happy slice of nostalgia.

One of my very first friends in magic was a school chum called Jimmy Stevens who is now a respected radio disc jockey back in England. I was about 13 years old and living in Wimbledon at this time. Jimmy taught me to perform the Zombie Floating Ball effect, and it remained in my act for many years. Like most youngsters in magic we planned to perform a show together and figured out we had the perfect venue. Every Saturday morning a local cinema had a special kid's event. It was part movie shorts and part live entertainment for the benefit of a screaming bunch of youngsters seated out front of the little stage that was set in front of the movie screen.

Now, with many additional years experience as a magician I would be terrified to face an audience like that! At the time, it seemed like the perfect place to perform. We planned to present a 45-minute show and were convinced it would be an extremely appropriate length of time to entertain the mass of youthful "Saturday Morningers". How little we knew about the practicalities of performing is demonstrated by our bold and faulty assumption that we had any chance of holding the audience's attention for anything like that length of time! Many performing years later I now fully appreciate just how long a 45-minute show can be.

The manager of the cinema wisely stepped in and squashed our plans of a mammoth magic performance and said that four or five minutes was the most time that we could be allowed to perform. I remember steaming with righteous indignation at this totally highhanded action. After all we were ready, and had practiced and rehearsed for hours in preparation. I complained bitterly to my father and implied that in my opinion the manager deserved to be fired for his actions. My dad didn't quite think so though, and what did finally happen was the "gig" was cancelled. I was mad.

Looking back on the event I am so pleased that our show was curtailed in this manner. Quite how disastrous the 45 minute show could have been can still make my skin crawl. There was nothing kind about those cinema audiences of young potential hooligans--- think "Lord Of The Flies". It could well have been painful enough to have caused me to lose the entire commitment to performing that has dominated my life ever since. So finally, 50 years later, my thanks to that wise and savvy cinema manager.

My second "Saturday Gig" has a much happier ending and took place when I was about 15 years old and a highly seasoned and vastly experienced children's entertainer (LOL) now living in Sussex. I was hired to perform at a kid's birthday party in a beautiful home in the countryside. It was the busy pre-Christmas time of year and by the time I arrived at the gig I had already performed at two parties that afternoon.

The kid's party was running late (no surprise there) and the Churchill's who had booked me to entertain at their son's party asked me if I would mind waiting in the kitchen until the birthday tea had been finished, the cake cut and the presents opened. When I arrived in the kitchen a rather sweet old lady whom I assumed must be a maid or 'charlady" asked me if I would like a cup of tea. I said, "Yes please." She put the kettle on to boil and pretty soon we were sitting together, chatting and enjoying a "cuppa" and biscuits. In the course of our conversation I discovered (once again) that things are seldom as they seem.

The Mrs. Churchill who had booked me (for the princely sum of three pounds) to entertain at the party was the wife of Winston Churchill Jr. the son of Sir Winston Churchill England's legendary Prime Minister and Statesman. The birthday boy was Winston the third, and the old lady who brewed me my Typhoo tea was none other than Granny, or to put it another way, the widow of the great Sir Winston Churchill himself! Her friendliness and kindness was an object lesson that I will never forget. You just never quite know what is going to happen on those "Saturday Gigs." The lesson is to enjoy and learn from every one of them.

I have an amazing collection of books, DVDs, tricks and routines available on my online store and would be delighted if you checked them out at www.lewinenterprises.com

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8. Festivals - Illusions - #357 - Kyle Peron
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Message by Kyle Peron (US)
magic4u02@aol.com
http://www.facebook.com/perondesign
http://www.kpmagicproducts.com

Yes you can perform illusions at festivals. However, it really is not necessary to do so. Do not feel that you cannot work the festival market if you do not have the best and latest Origami or thin sawing. Festivals just want their audiences to have fun and for you to give them a reason to stay at the festival. You can certainly provide that to them with or without illusions.

By an "illusion" I am specifically referring to any larger style prop in which a person is the center of the magic. The magic happens to the person. This can be a transposition, levitation, suspension etc. Illusions I am talking about would be things like sub trunk, Miss made lady, sword basket, chair suspension etc. Those are what I refer to as illusions.

I do offer illusions as one of my day packages and I have done them before. I must admit that I often times do not even have to do them at all and can still have a wonderful show that really makes them cheer, smile and laugh. The illusions can bring in more potential income for the day and so I keep this as an option for the festivals should that meet their needs. If you offer illusions, make sure your price covers the expense of the extra set up involved in presenting them, carrying and also traveling with them. You also have to factor in the cost of the assistant.

If you decide to present illusions in your festival show, there are a few things you will want to take into consideration before deciding on which ones to perform or purchase for this market. Make sure that your illusions:

- can be done surrounded
- can be performed in any kind of lighting
- can pack down flat and are easily moved on and off elevated stages
- do not require a "pre-load" that the audience does not see.

Let me go into a bit of detail on each of these mentioned above to give you more information as to why these are so important to working the festival market.

Surrounded: In many cases you never know just what staging you will have to work on when you are doing a festival. I have worked on stages ranging from full stages with lighting to setting up my own small tent to performing in the street surrounded. You also cannot control exactly where people will be seated or standing during your illusion performance. Because of these situations you will find yourself in, you never will have the perfect angles to do illusions that rely on this.

This is why every illusion I perform at festivals is an illusion that can be performed totally surrounded. Because of this, I am not worried about where I have to perform the illusion as I know I will be fine and the illusion will be performed without problem.

Lighting: Almost every festival I have ever performed for was outdoors. Because of this, your lighting is always changing based upon where the sun is during the day. Keep this in mind for illusions that work on black art principles will not work well in the outdoor environments. It is best to leave these illusions behind for a better opportunity. Use illusions that do not rely heavily on proper lighting and you will be much better off.

Packs Flat: The easier it is for you to carry, set-up and transport your illusions, the better off it will be for you and the festival. I try to always keep and build my festival illusions to pack as flat as possible. This allows me to keep my transportation vehicles to a minimum without having the extra cost for truck rentals etc.

You must also keep in mind that festivals are outdoors with a lot going on during the course of the day. There are a lot of people moving about and so you will have to place your storage and packing cases back in your vehicle or plan with the festival crew a place for you to store them for the day. If they are flat and less bulky, you can store them back in your own vehicle and cause less problems for the festival to deal with.

You never want to keep your illusions or packing boxes out in the open during or between shows. If you are using your cases as part of your on stage set up, then this can be an exception for you. This may be common sense, but some performers feel that the festival will watch them for you. This is not the case as the festival crews are usually much too busy moving around and solving problems that occur throughout the day. I usually try to get a booth spot (a designated vender area) near to the stage so that the illusions can be moved under my booth tent between shows so they are out of the way and I can keep an eye on things without causing traffic problems for the festival.

Pre-Load: By pre-load, you will want to try and stay away from illusions that require the assistant to be loaded into the illusion ahead of time before the show starts. Because you never know where you will be performing or where people will be standing, pre-loading can be difficult to set up and arrange so that no on sees this taking place. If you have an opening illusion like a Blammo production, you can probably get away with it but make sure to talk about staging with the festival prior to you getting there so something can be arranged. In most cases you might be able to move your vehicle behind the stage and use that to temporary block the angles for the pre-load. Or they might be able to block off an area for you. Just keep this in mind if you have an illusion that requires this before your show start time.

So what type of illusions go over well at festivals? Well, I will answer this by saying that you want to first start off with the classics. They are classics for a reason. They have been tested and proven to get great responses over and over again. Some that I am referring to would be Sub Trunk, Sword Basket, Chair Suspension, Broom Suspension etc. All of these are classics and work very well for any festival style show. Most pack flat, are easy to travel with and can be done surrounded and in most lighting situations. Certainly there are more, but this should give you an idea of the types that tend to work well and get good responses.

Kyle Peron
Magician and Illusionist
http://www.kylekellymagic.com
Facebook (Magic): http://www.facebook.com/kyleandkellymagic
Twitter (Magic): https://twitter.com/KyleKellyMagic
Follow us on Facebook or Twitter for exclusive discounts and offers.

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9. Carney Magic Theater Show - Burbank, CA
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Message by John Carney (US)

Weekends in April

GTC Burbank Theater
April 4 - 26

Saturdays o 8pm
Sundays o 3pm Matinee

Reserve your seats here:
Brown Paper Tickets
http://carney.brownpapertickets.com

GTC Burbank (Grove Theater Center)
1111-B West Olive Ave, Burbank, CA 91506
1/2 mile West of 5 Fwy
Behind the Lockheed Fighter Jet & Olive Recreation Center

More info@CarneyMagic.com
http://carneymagic.com/theater-show/

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10. PCAM 2015
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Message by Mike Norden

The 83rd Annual PCAM (Pacific Coast Association of Magicians) Convention will be held in beautiful Chilliwack, BC Canada on Nov 19-22nnd, 2015. It will be a joint convention along with the '3 of Clubs Convention', a smaller regional event that rotates between Vancouver, Victoria and Seattle.

Normally held in the summer, a few factors have led to the change to hold it in November - the main ones being, time, location and talent. We are happy to report that we have secured the Coast Hotel in Chilliwack to hold the event, and that the esteemed IBM President, Shawn Farquhar, will star along with 8 other talent that are being booked as we speak. We will announce a new talent each week - but don't wait until we are done that before you book! Why? Because this unique PCAM will be limited to just 75 spots! Yes, that is correct. Just 75 spots!

Oh - and as we write this there are only 42 spots left! And we have not even launched to the public yet. So do not delay - register today at
www.PCAM2015.ca

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11. McBride's Magic And Mystery School
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Message by Jeff McBride (US)

A documentary on Jeff McBride's Magic and Mystery School in Las Vegas.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XBJHYhkch9s

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12. Updates So Far This Week on VanishLive.com
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Message by - Mick Peck (New Zealand
Online Content Editor
www.VanishLive.com

Latest updates on VanishLive.com include:

- Leah, Young Magician Of The Year
- Magician Offers Vasectomy Special
- Better Safe Than Sorry - Trust Me!: Nick Lewin
- Ben Seidman Chosen as Princess Cruises' Entertainer of the Year
- Mac King Trades Wands For Words

Magic news, articles from around the world and product reviews from working professional magicians.

Visit us today at:
http://www.VanishLive.com

- Mick Peck
Online Content Editor
www.VanishLive.com

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13. Magic TED Talks
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Message by Peter Glass

Maybe this be of interesting for your readers:

http://www.ted.com/talks/helder_guimaraes_a_magical_search_for_a_coincidence#t-37084

http://www.ted.com/talks/keith_barry_does_brain_magic

http://www.ted.com/talks/arthur_benjamin_does_mathemagic

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14. Rest In Peace, Stanley
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Message by David Charvet on Facebook forwarded on by Mel Kientz

I lost my magic "father" yesterday with the passing of Stan Kramien, just a few weeks shy of his 90th birthday. I knew him for nearly 40 years and we were like father and son. Any of the success I've enjoyed in the world of magic I owe to what I learned from Stan.

He was one of the great showmen of his time, with a 70+ year career that spanned vaudeville, U.S.O., nightclubs, theaters, circus, radio, television (including Johnny Carson's "Tonight" Show), and for over 30 years touring North America with one of the largest magic shows of his time, appearing in as many as 200 cities a year.

I assisted on the show for about 10 of those years, and it was truly a college course in show business. So many memories and stories. One day I'll write a book! know he's back on stage today.

Rest in peace, Stanley.

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The Great Kramien -- legendary traveling magician from Portland
(Excerpts from October 02, 2013 article)

by Tom Hallman Jr.

When Stan Kramien's era ended, his son needed to do something with the old man's props. The gear, much of it nearly 60 years old, sat in a Newberg warehouse. Once, the equipment defined the proud man and who he was. Now it was a sad reminder of all he'd lost and was no longer.

In his prime, the magician crisscrossed the country, performing 200 times a year in big-city auditoriums, small-town theaters and high school gyms. He'd arrive in his Cadillac, leading the way for a truck and bus carrying an entourage, including long-legged stage assistants in revealing outfits and high heels.

He was billed as "The Great Kramien," "The Mad Magician" and "The Mad Man of Magic," a moniker bestowed on him by the TMZ of the day, a national gossip columnist who caught Kramien's act in Greenwich Village one night.

Kramien, born in Portland, learned his first trick at 10 and skipped school to catch professionals performing in a downtown theater. He turned to how-to books and hung around amateur magicians.

Before long, he had an act. During World War II, after Army brass learned what he could do, Kramien was assigned to an entertainment unit to perform for troops, frequently in hospitals and doing 25 shows a day.

When the war ended, he bounced around, always something in entertainment. He married a stage assistant and they played state fairs before settling in Seattle where he performed in clubs and had his own half-hour Seattle-only TV show for kids, called simply "Stan Kramien."

The couple had a son and moved back to Portland, where Kramien bought a small circus. The family traveled throughout Oregon, Washington and Northern California. When their son, Rick, outgrew his clothes, two chimps in the act, Pixie and Murphy, wore the hand-me-downs. Kramien's wife ran the dog act and helped with magic. When the show's lion trainer was mauled one day, Kramien quickly learned how to use whips and chairs to tame the beasts.

The show had to go on.

And then it didn't.

His wife tired of the nomadic life -- their son at one point missed a year of school -- and she divorced Kramien to put down roots in Portland. She married a man who came home for dinner each night.

Kramien kept right on moving. He later married another stage assistant and created wild illusions to keep the customers coming back.

In the first seven minutes on stage, he had more tricks than most magicians managed during an entire show. His assistant not only appeared to levitate, but vanished. A dog was placed in a cage that rose above the stage. When the cage opened, the dog was gone.

He cut an assistant in half with a circular saw so terrifying that when Kramien appeared on Johnny Carson's "The Tonight Show," guest host David Letterman looked at the contraption and backed out of subjecting himself to the blade.

"His timing was incredible," said Art Manning, a Beaverton magician who knows something about entertainers. He spent 33 years as an on-air announcer at KGW and before that was a radio DJ who went by the name Okie Slim.

"Magicians say that on stage it's just you and God, and sometimes God doesn't bother showing up," Manning said. "No matter what happened, Stan was never flustered. He was the best."

Then the public's tastes changed.

An old-fashioned traveling magician -- in a world of cable TV and illusionists who make the Statue of Liberty vanish -- was quaint.

But Kramien couldn't let go.

He left the road and created an annual magician's jamboree at his son's Newberg farm. They built a stage, installed lights and a sound system and lined up chairs for an audience.

Word spread and for 10 years, magicians came from across the country for a long weekend to hang out with the Great Kramien. They'd swap stories, help the kids and perform. The event ended when it became too much work.

On stage, there wasn't anything the magician couldn't make the audience believe. Off stage, he couldn't stop time. At 88, he's in a wheelchair and lives with two parakeets in a small apartment in a Tigard retirement community.

Rick Kramien . . .

"I lived with my mom and her husband," Rick Kramien said. "But after a few years, I'd go out in the summer with my dad. Living with Stan Kramien was different."
During one show, right after the Great Kramien started the circular saw illusion, the house lights went out.

"We all stood on that stage," Rick Kramien said. "No one dared move until the lights came on again."

His father rubbed his chin, musing about that illusion.

"By God," he said, "that was a good one, too."

He fell quiet.

"It was a hard life," he said. "Didn't matter if 15 people showed up at some gym in Wyoming, or 20,000 in D.C. I played 90 minutes."

He reached out to touch one of the props.

"I loved every second of it," he said. "Hell, how could I be bored?"

Magic and entertaining had bound the Kramien family for decades. Twenty years ago, Stan got his grandchildren -- two girls and a boy -- into the act.

"I was in the third-grade," said granddaughter Amanda Kramien, 24. "I got to skip school on Friday and we'd travel around Oregon and Washington. My brother and I were part of an illusion. We did something with rabbits and were his little assistants. I got a taste of what my dad's life must have been like."

David Charvet . . .

His father could no longer perform, so Kramien contacted Dave Charvet, a world-renowned professional magician and author of several award-winning books on the history of magic. Charvet got his start nearly 40 years ago when Stan Kramien took the kid on as an assistant during one of his traveling shows.

The son asked if Charvet would perform the act.

"It would be an honor," Charvet said. "Stan is the last of the legendary traveling magicians. This will be a chance to resurrect a bit of vanishing Americana."

The show was performed in Portland, Tigard, Salem, Warrenton, Lincoln City and Bend -- all cities where George Morlan Plumbing has offices. Rick Kramien bought the business from his stepfather, Gary Morlan.

"One last hurrah for my father," Rick Kramien said. "My dad loved the road. He liked the cheapest motel with the loudest air conditioner."

He had one goal.

At each place he wanted to get on the stage in his wheelchair and do one trick.

And then the curtain can finally fall.

"It was my life," he said. "By God, it was my life."

-- Tom Hallman Jr.

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15. 32nd New Zealand International Magicians Convention 2015
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Message by Nopera Whitley (NZ)

Join the Wellington Magic Club on Labour Weekend 2015 for three days of magic.

When: 24th - 26th of October, 2015
Where: James Cook Hotel, Wellington City, New Zealand

Registration is Open

Register online at www.wellingtonmagic.co.nz or to download the registration form go to: http://www.wellingtonmagic.co.nz/register.pdf
.
Venue and Accommodation
The convention will be held at the Wellington James Cook Hotel Grand Chancellor.

Headliners already confirmed include:
- Phil Cass and his partner Philippa
- Charlie Frye and his partner Sherry
- Nick Nickolas
- Paul Romhany
- David Merry
- Mike Bent

For more information, or to get in touch, visit us at
www.wellingtonmagic.co.nz.

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16. E-zine Archives
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Back issues of the Magic New Zealand e-zine go to:
www.magicnewzealand.com click on the red button center right "Archives"

When you enter the archive the e-zines are in issue order in folders for each year and are Coded, e.g. 001 Nov06 1999.txt first three numbers (001) denote issue number, then the date (Nov06) and the last figures the year (1999)

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17. Privacy Policy and Copyright Notice
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Our subscriber list is NOT made available to any other companies or individuals. We value every subscriber and respect your privacy.

You can subscribe to or unsubscribe from the Magic New Zealand® E-zine at: www.magicnewzealand.com

Magic New Zealand® E-zine is published each Sunday.

The opinions and statements expressed therein are those of the individual contributors and not necessarily those of Magic New Zealand®. Neither Magic New Zealand® nor Alan Watson QSM 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 they will not hold Magic New Zealand® or Alan Watson QSM, jointly or individually liable or responsible in any way for the opinions or statements contained therein.

Magic New Zealand® reserves the right to alter, correct or disregard any articles submitted.

Readers are encouraged to submit timely articles or news items which may be of interest to subscribers. By submitting articles to this e-zine, the authors grant Magic New Zealand® the right to publish such articles and such authors confirm their copyright of the material submitted.

All works published by Magic New Zealand® are protected by international copyright legislation and articles must not be published for profit by anyone other than the individual authors without the written permission of Magic New Zealand®.

Notwithstanding the foregoing, 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 2015 Alan Watson
www.magicnewzealand.com
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http://twitter.com/#!/magicnewzealand

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Privacy Policy and Copyright Notice

Our subscriber list is not made available to any other companies or individuals. We value every subscriber and respect your privacy. You can subscribe to or unsubscribe from the Magic New Zealand® E-zine at www.magicnewzealand.com Magic New Zealand® E-zine is published each Sunday. The opinions expressed therein are those of the individual contributors and not necessarily those of Magic New Zealand®. Neither Magic New Zealand® nor Alan Watson QSMvouch 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 they will not hold Magic New Zealand® or Alan Watson QSM, jointly or individually liable or responsible in any way for the opinions expressed therein.
Magic New Zealand® reserves the right to alter, correct or disregard any articles submitted. Readers are encouraged to submit timely articles or news items which may be of interest to subscribers. By submitting articles to this e-zine, the authors grant Magic New Zealand® the right to publish such articles and such authors confirm their copyright of the material submitted. All works published by Magic New Zealand® are protected by international copyright legislation and articles must not be published for profit by anyone other than the individual authors without the written permission of Magic New Zealand®. Notwithstanding the foregoing, 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 © 2015 Alan Watson QSM.


Magic New Zealand® E-zine