MUM.11-2014

NOVEMBER 2014

INTERVIEW WITH

AMERICA'S GOT TALENT

WINNER

MAT FRANCO

MAGIC - UNITY - MIGHT

Editor

Michael Close

Editor Emeritus

David Goodsell

Associate Editor

W.S. Duncan

Proofreader & Copy Editor

Lindsay Smith

Art Director

Lisa Close

Publisher

Society of American Magicians,

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NOVEMBER 2014

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Volume 104 • Number 6

THIS MONTH’S FEATURES

24 Nielsen Gallery • by Tom Ewing

26 Stage 101 Practicum • by Levent

28 Not Just Kid Stuff • by Jim Kleefeld

32 Ebook Nook: In a Class by Himself • by Jon Racherbaumer

36 COVER STORY • by Bruce Kalver

40 Silent Mora • By Tom Ewing

46 Hit the Road • by Scott Alexander

48 For Your Consideration • by George Parker

52 Cheats and Deceptions • by Antonio M. Cabral

54 I Left My Cards at Home • by Steve Marshall

56 The High Road • by Mick Ayres

60 Informed Opinion • New Product Reviews

67 Tech Tricks • by Bruce Kalver

68 Salon de Magie • by Ken Klosterman

69 Inside Straight • by Norman Beck

70 The Dean’s Diary • by George Schindler

70 Basil the Baffling • by Alan Wassilak

MAGAZINE

M-U-M

Cover photo by Richard Faverty

S.A.M. NEWS

6 From the Editor’s Desk

8 From the President’s Desk

11 M-U-M Assembly News

21 New Members & Reinstatements

22 Broken Wands

23 Good Cheer List

69 Our Advertisers

57

24

68

48

54

Cover Story Page 36

Editor’s Desk

Season nine of America’s Got Talent concluded on September 17, 2014. Included among the usual assortment of singers, con-tortionists, acrobats, musicians, comedians, and dancers that appeared during the season were four magic acts: Smoothini, Mike Super, David and Leeman, and Mat Franco. When the smoke cleared at the end of the season finale, an amazing thing had occurred; Mat Franco had won, beating out singer Emily West and AcroArmy, a group of acrobats. This was the first time that a magician had won America’s Got Talent and its first prize of one million dollars.

Many other magicians have competed on AGT, but Franco’s combination of a likeable, friendly personality and classic close-up magic effects (Ambitious Card, Out of This World, Cups and Balls) had a special appeal to the viewing audience. So how did Mat Franco make it to the finals? You’ll find out in this month’s cover story, an interview with Mat conducted by Bruce Kalver, who has known Mat for many years. (When Mat was fifteen years old, Bruce interviewed him for The Magic SYMbol; he also recommended Mat to Andy Dallas, who used Mat on an S.A.M. convention Stars of Tomorrow show.) I congratulate Mat on his win; his performances put magic in a positive light, and that’s good for all of us.

Sometimes current events dictate what happens during the production of a magazine, and that’s certainly what happened this month. As planned, the cover story for this month was to be on Louis J. McCord, who is better known by his stage name: Silent Mora. William Rauscher has a big, new book coming out this month on the life, times, and magic of Silent Mora. In our other big story this month, Tom Ewing interviews Rauscher about Mora, who was a big influence on Dai Vernon. If you know Mora’s name, it is probably because of two of his signature creations that live on in the repertoires of magicians today: the wand-spin vanish of a small object (a core sleight in many Cups and Balls routines) and The Three Balls and a Net routine. The latter routine is a perfect packs-small/plays-big trick for the close-up or parlor performer. If you have an interest in this routine, there are two excellent sources of instruction: John Carney’s lesson (The Mora Ball Routine), which is part of the series Carney 2013 (see my review in last month’s issue of M-U-M); and Johnny Thompson’s handing, which is explained on the DVD Johnny Thompson

Com-mercial Classics of Magic Volume 3. Both men are experts at this

routine, and both offer valuable insights.

I am happy to read in the Assembly Reports that many compeers are performing routines that have appeared in M-U-M. In fact, Assembly 22 has an annual meeting event that features magic from M-U-M. There’s some fine magic in this issue. In particular, kid show performers should check out Jim Kleefeld’s routine with a rope in his Not Just Kid Stuff column. (I suggested an added bit for this routine; Jim liked it and said he’d give it a try. If it plays well, I’ll tell you what my suggestion was in the next issue.) Steve Marshall’s I Left My Cards at Home column

has another kid show effect, this one contributed by David (Silly Billy) Kaye. Mick Ayres offers a simple but effective card trick from the late John Murray. This one is almost self-working, but it will probably puzzle your magic pals. (And it certainly will fool laymen.) Finally, you’ll find two not-well-known routines from Don Alan in the Ebook Nook column. The routine for the Mental Photography Deck is particularly useful. Pay attention to how Don gets the deck into play and how he gets rid of it before grabby spectators can examine it.

Finally this month, I would be remiss if I didn’t publicly say goodbye to two old friends who died in September. Bud Dietrich was simply one of the nicest, friendliest people I’ve ever met. I ran into Bud all the time when I was much younger and attended the Midwest Magic Jubilees in St. Louis and Kansas City. Bud and his wife Audrey always greeted me with a smile and made a special effort to include me in their group of friends. Bud was one of the first trade show magicians, and he made a good living from it. More important than that, he was generous with his time and his knowledge. If not for Bud, a generation of magicians like Shep Hyken and Seth Kramer would probably be in another line of work. I was just a kid, but Bud laughed at my jokes and smiled at my tricks, and for that I’m grateful. Aloha, Bud.

I met Phil Willmarth more than forty years ago; I’m pretty sure Jay Marshall introduced us. Whenever I drove from India-napolis to Chicago to visit Jay, I’d always make a trip downtown to see Phil at his office. On one visit, as we were heading out to lunch, Phil said, “There’s someone joining us that I’ll think you’ll enjoy meeting.” That someone was Eugene Burger, who at that time was just beginning to make his mark on the world of magic.

Phil was involved with The Linking Ring for many years, first as the Parade editor, and then as the executive editor. He loved working on that magazine, and it benefitted from his dedication. I know that one of the hardest decisions he ever made was leaving the magazine to become the international president of the I.B.M., but there were things he wanted to accomplish for the organiza-tion. During the twenty years I was the music director for the I.B.M. conventions we saw each other at least once a year, and we always set aside some time to kvetch about the world of magic and magicians.

Almost twenty-five years ago, Phil, Jay, and Eugene came down to Indianapolis to visit Illusions, the magic-themed restau-rant. (A photo from that weekend is floating around Facebook; you may have seen it.) Jay and Eugene performed on the small stage we had in the bar. It was the first time I had ever seen Jay Marshall perform for a lay audience, and it was an extraordinary event. Phil said to me afterward that it was one of the strongest performances he’d ever seen Jay give. Phil is also responsible for one of my favorite review quotes. He wrote (concerning a perfor-mance at an I.B.M. convention): “Jay Marshall was accompanied by Mike Close, who knows the act backward and forward, which is good, because that’s how Jay does it these days.”

I (and many others) mourned the death of his first wife, Anne. I (and many others) was delighted some years later when he met and married Robbie. They were a great “magic couple,” and they were a pleasure to be around.

If the measure of a life is how much you’re missed when you’re gone, then Phil Willmarth lived an exemplary life. Aloha, pal. I’ll miss you. 

Michael Close

Photo by fivebyphotography

Kenrick "ICE" McDonald

President’s Desk

In line with the “Year of the Member” campaign, this month’s article is dedicated to our members. Each month, members are selected by their peers and RVP to receive a Presidential Certifi-cate for being an outstanding assembly and/or associate member. I am excited and honored to congratulate the following recipients of Presidential Certificates:

Tim Wolf – Assembly 30, Atlanta/South Atlantic Region: Tim Wolf has been a longtime member of the Atlanta magic community. For more than three decades he has shared his special magic by making hospital visits. Through an initiative called Project Magic, Tim and other Assembly 30 members visit Shepherd Center, one of the nation’s leading facilities for medical treatment, research, and rehabilitation for people with spinal cord and brain injuries. Their monthly appearances include a magic show for the patients along with patient visits and words of encouragement.

Steve Barcellona – Current Vice President Assembly 8, St. Louis/Midwest Region: Steve is a very active member, not just at the meetings, but for the assembly as a whole. This past year, he put together their fundraising show and enlisted members who had never participated before by helping them select an effect that suited them. This increased membership involvement and guaranteed new people to be on the show. He set up the advertis-ing and became a one-man committee to make sure everythadvertis-ing was done. Assembly 8 has a Skype or video session at every meeting; Steve always provides a video to show, which increases the knowledge of the membership. He often leads the discussion on a wide range of topics to provide exciting and informative meetings. He arranged for the assembly to participate in the local Relay for Life, giving members a chance to perform in public as well as creating goodwill for the assembly in the community. He brought money in for the club through a strolling magic gig that eight other members participated in. He always has something to perform, teach, or share at every meeting.

Ray Goulet – Boston/New England Region: Ray Goulet, known to many, has helped countless magicians. He has dedicated his life to the promotion of our great art. He is a magician, magic collector, magic enthusiast, and a great person. He also has been a mentor, producer, author, and historian. Throughout his life he has assisted many organizations and community causes with a “good will” spirit. His magic shop, his magic collection, and his magic mini-museum are visited by many who come to New England.

John Jennings – Mid Atlantic Region: John is the ultimate S.A.M. Deputy. He visits each of the assemblies and potential as-semblies in Virginia every year. He stays on top of what each assembly is doing as well as its organizational health. John contends with his own personal situation, but never shows it during his work for the S.A.M. He is inventive in ways that con-tribute to the overall health of S.A.M., such as the recent Regional Growth Award. He is prompt with complete reports as needed and demonstrates an enthusiasm for the S.A.M. equaled by few.

I’d also like to offer my congratulations to Presidential Citation recipients Goldfinger and Dove, the directors of entertainment for the Academy of Magical Arts at the Magic Castle.

THE PRESIDENT’S GOOD WILL PERFORMER

OF THE MONTH: LES COOPER

Les Cooper, a native of Los Angeles, started his life of magic more than forty years ago. When he was eight years old, he purchased his first magic trick, a Ball and Vase. Later in life, Les joined the Navy. While stationed in Japan he joined the Masons, and after returning from Viet Nam, he joined the Shriners. Years later he was asked to be a clown at the Shrine Circus, which led him to becoming a part-time clown; this launched his new career as Pupo the Clown at children’s parties. Les is a member of I.B.M. Ring 21 in Hollywood, Califor-nia. In the late ‘70s and early ‘80s he was a stage manager for the Cavalcade of Magic. He has been a member of the Academy of Magical Arts (Magic Castle) since 1981. That same year Les began working with David Copperfield and others to form Project Magic in 1982, which resulted in him later being named as a Founding Director of Project Magic. In 2005, Les started a home-based magic business called Magic and More. In 2008 he became the founding president of Assembly 291, the Westside Wizards, a magic club serving the west side of Los Angeles; he is currently the secretary.

Since 2008, Les has been the New Assembly Coordinator for the S.A.M. He formed the S.Y.M. Assembly Y141 in 2010 and remains the group leader. Les entertains clients at an adult daycare center for folks with impaired memories (O.P.I.C.A. – Optimistic People in a Caring Atmosphere). This has become a regular part of his magic life, and he finds it very rewarding. It enables him to give back to the community by using magic as therapy. For four decades Les has enjoyed and lived a very magical life and has been an inspiration to those around him.

THE PRESIDENT’S YOUNG MAGICAL ARTIST

OF THE MONTH: TRIGG WATSON

At twenty-four years old, Trigg has performed for audiences from London to Las Vegas with his original magic and energetic stage presence. Trigg has received several awards for his magic. Most notably, he was the highest scoring American magician at the World Magic Contest in Las Vegas, and was a recent winner of the Texas Magicians Stage Contest. Last year, he was named the Dallas Performing Artist of the Year by the RAW Indie Arts Awards. This summer he was selected to represent North America at FISM in Italy in 2015. Trigg graduated from Southern Methodist University, where he pursued a double major in business management and theater studies, a combina-tion he likes to call “show business.” He keeps busy performing at comedy clubs, colleges, and corporate events throughout the United States and internationally. Trigg also works as a magic designer and consultant for his local Dallas theaters. 

S.A.M. National Officers

Dean: George Schindler, 1735 East 26th St., Brooklyn, NY 11229, (718) 336-0605, Fax (718) 627-1397, [email protected]

President: Kenrick “ICE” McDonald, P.O. Box 341034, Los Angeles, CA 90034,

(310) 559-8968, [email protected] President Elect: David Bowers, (717) 414-7574, [email protected] First Vice President: Jeffrey Sikora, (402) 339-6726 [email protected]

Second Vice President: Richard Bowman, 719-527-0678, [email protected] Secretary: Marlene Clark, 274 Church Street, #6B, Guilford, CT 06437, (203) 689-5730, Skype: marlene.clark, [email protected] Treasurer: Eric Lampert, (215) 939-5555, [email protected]

Regional Vice Presidents

New England: CT MA RI NH ME VT Thomas D. Gentile, 413-533-7653, [email protected] North Atlantic: NY NJ Eric DeCamps, (718) 896-5861, [email protected] Mid Atlantic: PA DE MD VAWV DC Arlen Z. Solomon, 215-443-7908, [email protected] South Atlantic: FL AL GA MS NC SC James M. Driscoll, 770-603-9266, [email protected] Central Plains: KY TN OH IN MI Steven A. Spence, (317) 722-0429 [email protected] Midwest: IL MN WI MO ND NE KS SD IA Shaun Rivera, (618) 781-8621 [email protected]

South Central States: TX AR OK NM LA Michael Tallon, (210) 341-6959 [email protected] Southwest: CA AZ NV HI Ron Ishimaru, (808) 428-6019, [email protected] Northwest: WA OR UT ID CO AK WY MT James Russell, (360) 682-6648 [email protected]

Canada: Lon F. Mandrake, 604-591-5839, [email protected]

Society of Young Magicians Director: Jann Wherry Goodsell, 329 West 1750 North, Orem, Utah 84057 (801) 376-0353. [email protected]

Living Past National Presidents

Bradley M. Jacobs, Richard L. Gustafson, Roy A. Snyder, Bruce W. Fletcher, James E. Zachary, David R. Goodsell, Fr. Cyprian Murray, Michael D. Douglass, George Schindler, Dan Rodriguez, Dan Garrett, Donald F. Oltz Jr., Craig Dickson, Loren C. Lind, Gary D. Hughes, Harry Monti, Jann Wherry Goodsell, Warren J. Kaps, Ed Thomas, Jay Gorham, John Apperson, Richard M. Dooley, Andy Dallas, Maria Ibáñez, Bruce Kalver, Mike Miller, Mark Weidhaas, Vinny Grosso, J. Christopher Bontjes, Dal Sanders

ASSEMBLY NEWS

Society of American Magicians Monthly News

NOVEMBER 2014 Volume 104, Number 6

GO TO:

WWW.MUM-MAGAZINE.COM

and use the easy submission form to file your report

1

RICHARD TURNER LECTURES

NEW YORK,NY— After a brief September welcome meeting, Alan Garber and Ariel Stein were sworn in as new members. Our lecturer Richard Turner did not disappoint our members. With two spectators sitting on either side of his table, Richard baffled us his unique display of card moves, such as shuffles, controls, and culling techniques. The second, center, and bottom deals were highlighted with various poker deals. And most amazing of all, Richard turner is blind.

Members looked forward to the opening of the Queen’s Museum exhibit Behind the Curtain, which has a display of Irving Desfor’s magic photos of the 1939 and 1964 World’s Fairs, both of which had the participation of Parent Assembly magicians. The exhibit also has a banner from the Devlin collection. New member Patrick Davis was booked for walk-around magic on opening day. We look forward to the October 2 meeting with visiting guests Dave Bowers and ICE McDonald. —George Schindler

Parent Assembly 1 meets on the first Friday of each month at the Mt Sinai Goldwurm Auditorium at Madison Ave and E 98 St in NYC. Visit www.sampa1.com for more information.

2

FEBRUARY MEETING

SAN FRANCISCO, CA— Our meeting opened with thanks to our balloon twister, Rob Shapiro, who represented Assembly 2 at

the Oakland Magic Club’s annual interclub competition. The com-petition was a great evening of magic, dinner, and raffles; Rob did well against some serious com-petitors.

Our own meeting began with Corky LaVallee teaching us how to use a thumb tip to make a bill exchange.

For the magic presentations, Rob began by performing a version of Bank Night. Buzz Lawrence followed with three tricks, a book test, pushing a quarter through a solid piece of steel, and an unusual variation of the Diary Trick.

Hippo Lau used a school theme and put the names of classes in a bag. He then wrote a prediction on a piece of paper that Buzz held. When Walt pulled a class from the bag, it matched the prediction. Corky did a math puzzle/ prediction using the number seven.

Walt did two tricks, one being an interesting paper tear that he challenged the rest to duplicate. Few could. Using a clock face he predicted the number that Buzz would land on when he went around the clock three times. Stu Bacon put the names of a number of major league baseball teams in his baseball hat. He was able to determine that Hippo had drawn the Chicago Cubs.

Throughout the evening we all eagerly devoured the cookies that Corky’s wife had baked. —Stu Bacon

Golden Gate Assembly 2 meets the first Wednesday at 7:30 pm in the Community Room of the Taraval Police Station, 2345 34th Avenue. Contact Corky LaVallee [email protected] (415) 648-1382 for more details.

4

HOWARD STEVENS LECTURES

PHILADELPHIA, PA— Our September meeting featured an excellent lecture by Howard Stevens. Prior to Howard’s

lecture, President Eric Johnson and Michael Bonacci presented workshops on the subjects “Card to Impossible Location” and “Movement in Performance.”

We were very saddened by the recent passing of our good friend Brian Hurlburt. Brian, who was a longtime member of Assembly 4 and who ably served as our president last year, passed away in August after a short bout with cancer. A professional photogra-pher, Brian could often be spotted taking candid shots at our monthly meetings. Many of the photos that have appeared in these monthly reports over the years were taken by Brian. Although Brian never received credit for them in writing, this writer will be forever grateful to him for his selfless contribution to this magazine. Brian will be greatly missed for his enthusiasm and his many contributions to our organization. A full obituary will appear in the next issue of M-U-M. We were very fortunate to begin the year with an engaging lecture by Howard Stevens who has been performing close-up and parlor magic for over thirty years in restaurants, private parties, and corporate events. Howard has also had effects published in Apoca-lypse and the Trapdoor magazines. His lecture was chock full of “workers,” consisting of many fine card and coin effects in addition to some novel ideas featuring the use of sponge balls.

Howard taught and demonstrated many of his pet effects including The Strike Vanish using a wand to vanish a coin, a sponge ball, and other small objects. He then showed how to do the same effect using his necktie instead of a wand. Jack Stone was very impressed by Howard’s The Invisible Matrix, in which four quarters magically appear under four cards and then gathered under one card one at a time before returning to their re-spective positions in a mysterious way.

Donna Horn particularly enjoyed Sponge Ball Mania – a very visual sponge ball production sequence using a purse frame and a silk handkerchief. Donna was also impressed with Howard’s Spell-bound-type change called The Top

Change, which creates an astound-ing visible change of one coin into another while eliminating the traditionally difficult Spellbound moves.

The most beneficial aspect of Howard’s presentation for those who perform magic professionally either full- or part-time was his focus on how to blend individual effects into a cohesive routine. Altogether, it was a great lecture. —Peter Cuddihy

The James Wobensmith, Assembly 4, meets third Thursday at 7:00 p.m. at the Bustleton Memorial Post, 810 (American Legion) 9151 Old Newtown Road. Contact Eric Johnson (267) 317-5675 www.sam4.org/ for more details.

6

A FALL FULL HOUSE

BALTIMORE, MD— Our September meeting brought a full house and many guests. Joe Bruno got the magic rolling with his version of Steranko’s Follow the Leader. He tipped it and provided a handout, following with his Oil & Water. Tony Anastasi performed an interesting prediction with red and blue decks. Craig Feinstein bravely performed Pop Haydn’s classic Linking Rings routine. Jared Raitzyk brought a very old gaffed deck that had no instruc-tions; we all tried to figure it out (All Alike?). Guest Joe Castricone performed and tipped the card trick That’s It. Guest Ken Carle did the ever popular Hopping Half. Les Albert first had to ask if anyone in the room had a non-gaffed deck. Finally finding one, he performed and tipped his Think-Stop variation of the Clock Trick

Richard Turner

Howard Stevens baffles Reba Strong (l) and Archie Strong

Assembly News

and also two clean and simple Lie Detector variations. Howard Katz had a spectator select one of three different sweetener packets. He then vanished one of two coins the spectator selected, the coin mysteriously reappearing inside the chosen sealed packet. Magic Warehouse markets the effect.

Peter Wood introduced his silver dollars routine with a flash paper coin production. He then performed “the first trick that actually fooled his parents” (age eight), big nails through a sleeved balloon. Justin Miller was next with his OOTW variation with prediction kicker (Devon Knight’s Card Sight). Mark Wolfire followed with a card prediction he courageously (foolishly?) backed up with his own cash on the table (Henry Evans’s Art of Winning). He then caused Aces and Queens to mysteriously change their back colors (John Guastaferro’s Out of the Blue). Moving on to “thought projection,” Eric Hoffman did his non-ESP six-card version of Dan Tong’s Five-Card Mental Test. Mike Parkinson debuted his improved version of Forget to Remember, an interesting card prediction from Ryan Schultz’s Effortless Effects.

After announcing next month’s theme (“Tricks with Venomous Animals”) President Andy London performed an extremely fair-look-ing and puzzlfair-look-ing think-a-card. Joe Harsanyi located his spectator’s card under what seemed to be im-possibly difficult constraints.

Cardician Jeff Eline wowed us with the appearance of Aces one-by-one between Jokers. He then debuted his new Ace assembly. We all watched like hawks, burning his hands. But we had to conclude that what we had all just seen was...simply impossible! —Eric Hoffman

The Kellar/Thurston Assembly 6 meets every first Thursday at 8:00 pm at the Magic Warehouse, 11419 Cronridge Drive suite #10 in Owings Mills, Maryland. 410-561-0777. Contact Andy London [email protected], or visit www.baltimoresam.com for more details.

7

IF YOU WANNA HAVE SOME FUN, CLAP YOUR HANDS

OMAHA, NE— This month’s Omaha Magical Society meeting opened with President Tom Zepf explaining that our executive board will present revised bylaws and a slate of candidates for office at the next meeting. Jeff Sikora volunteered to head the nominat-ing committee. All nominees for office must belong to the S.A.M.

This month’s program was a

lecture by Barry Mitchell who teaches his audience how to behave and participate without their knowledge. Before you know it you’ll find yourself either talking or listening. He got our attention. Although I do not perform shows for children I found his techniques captivating and useful for all audiences.

He started by making things disappear, appear, and change with very simple instructions. From the start he explained how to make many of his props, and then proceeded to make it easier for some by offering those for sale at the end. Those who are skillful can make most of their own props. He also has a Facebook group that offers free videos.

Among other things he showed us “silk fireworks” from a rip-apart bag, a WOW (what others want) box and dream bags, from which all kinds of stuff comes out. For one effect he showed us how to make a special accordion fold that helps with the illusion. He demon-strated Buckets and Balls in which different-sized balls came out of apparently empty buckets. He also showed us for the first time a wand with a square cross-section. He ended the chock-full first part with how to fill your heart with dreams.

After awarding a door prize to Jane Beckman after intermis-sion he showed us how a magic worm could turn into a butterfly with a simple changing bag. He commented on his use of a “stand still” spot to be used by any as-sistants during his shows, plus the fact that he sometimes explains to the audience that what he does is not witchcraft. He tricked Tom Neddo into mentally finding three cards selected by the audience, and then explained that it’s good to use puppets.

Coming down the home stretch he showed his “loaves and fishes,” plus a frog effect and finished with a challenge of sorts in which the “strong man” could not lift what a weaker one could. All things con-sidered he showed us a complete magic show that captured the au-dience’s attention. }—Jerry Gol-manavich

The Omaha Magical Society

meets at 7 p.m. generally on the third Monday of each month at the Southwest Church of Christ near 124th Street and West Center road, right across from where Hooters used to be. Contact Jerry Golmanavich [email protected] (402) 390-9834 omahamagicalsociety.com for more details.

8

MAGICAL WARRIORS ST. LOUIS, MO— August 28, 2014 – Teach-in Night. We all enjoyed several videos, including Hans Moretti Cardboard box illusion. Columbus Smith taught a card in balloon effect. Steve Barcellona taught us good coin technique with his Two Coin routine. Greg Lewis taught us the fine art of rubber band effects with a rubber band vanish!

PNP Harry Monti taught us the fine points of basic sponge ball handling while demonstrat-ing with a ball produced from an invisible change purse, then dis-appearing from someone’s hand, only to reappear in his pocket! Chad Jacobs executed his Money Paddle routine changing coins to $200. Derrick Daniels performed an interesting card effect with Joey’s assistance. Dan (the Great) Todd, performed Barry Mitchell’s Magic Box with the assistance of Derrick, Joey, Jill, and Columbus, thus closing the evening of magic.

September 6, 2014 – Welcome Home Warrior Summit. We were invited to attend and perform for and entertain our returning veterans. Larry Minth, Adam Putman, Steve Barcellona, Dan Todd, Greg Lewis, Jason Stack, Joey Lortz, and John Davit all performed and taught magic to the veterans and their families.

September 11, 2014 – Magic on TV Night. Columbus Smith reached his five-year mark with the S.A.M. and was given a cer-tificate of acknowledgment. As part of the continuing components of our meetings, Columbus dem-onstrated a Chop Cup routine.

PNP John Apperson told us about the nicely made Morgan dollar imitation coins (for magical use only) that can be found online. Randy Kalin demonstrated the new magic app C4, with the assis-tance of Michael Long.

After watching some vintage magic on the big screen, Joey Lortz performed a four-Ace and four-King routine that rocked! Dan (the Great) Todd performed Ship Shape, a sponge letter-spell-ing effect, followed by Prediction, a new effect utilizing coins and cards, with an ending that is a cut above expectations. Our visitor performed a mental sensory effect and followed it up with a great card effect. John Davit provided us with some great feats of pres-tidigitation.

September 17, 2014 – Nathan Kranzo workshop. The workshop covered basic magic with coins, cards, and business cards – similar to his lecture but with more time for questions and practice. We all received The Grumble Grim and Old School Kranzo DVDs. —Dan (the Great) Todd

Assembly 8 meets at Mount Tabor United Church of Christ located at 6520 Arsenal in Saint Louis, Missouri 63139. Contact Dick Blowers [email protected] (213) 846-8468 http://Assembly8. com for more details.

17

WE’RE BACK!

SPRINGFIELD, MA— Our September meeting was themed “What I Learned Last Summer”; our members came ready to rock! Rich Pinsonnault started us off with a new effect called Holy Blank by Caleb Wiles. Joe Bednar was next. He performed Three’s A Crowd, a twist on an ambitious card effect using three Threes. Brian Dimmock showed us some of the fire eating he’s been practic-ing, but for safety reasons he had to show us video on his phone. Brian is now our club’s Resident Guy-Willing-to-Try-Out-the- Darker-Side-of-Magic-so-We-Don’t-Have-to!

Pj Pinsonnault performed the Diamond Deck by Diamond Jim Tyler. Our final performer, Peter Lennis (formerly Peter Leninis), opened with Envelope Impos-sible, a beautiful production of a deck from a flattened card-box. He then shared with us a trick he calls Force, in which any named card is shown to be the only odd-backed card in the deck. Finally, the deck was placed back in the box, the box flattened out again, and he ended how he began: clean.

This was a great start to our new year of magic meetings! Thanks to

Barry Mitchell and Assistant Tom Neddo

Assembly News

Rich Pinsonnault for hosting us at the magic shop! —Pj Pinsonnault

Assembly 17 meets a the RP Magic Shop 69 East Street Ludlow, MA Contact Rich Gilbert, President [email protected] for more details.

21

WAYNE HOUCHIN LECTURE

HARTFORD, CT— CCMA was thrilled to once again host a lecture by Wayne Houchin. Calling this his “No Blessings!” tour, he explained that his subject was the transformation of ideas. He began with the transformation of torn bills. One bill was placed in a spectator’s hand and held aloft. Another bill was first torn, and then placed in another spectator’s hand along with the torn piece. When the torn piece was moved to the hand with the first bill, that first bill was torn, and the second bill was now whole.

That was just the first of many amazing subtleties the Wayne taught us. In an effect called Random Drawing, three specta-tors closed their eyes and doodled on a pad. The completed “picture,” after being burned, showed up again in Wayne’s pocket. With that picture burned, yet another duplicate was found inside an envelope that had been handed to a club member before the lecture had even started.

In Helium, a balloon rose and fell on command. After many other effects, Wayne performed a needles-on-thread routine with a single needle that was a wonder to behold. It was a great lecture. —Dana T. Ring

Assembly 21 meets the 2nd Monday of every month (except December) at Angelo’s on Main, 289 South Main Street, West Hartford, CT Contact Dana T. Ring [email protected] (860) 523-9888 www.ctmagic.org for more details.

22

THE MAGIC OF M-U-M

LOS ANGELES, CA— The September 2014 Southern Califor-nia Assembly 22 meeting opened with a lesson in card magic. Assembly president Michael Perovich reviewed the five basic card sleights and then taught/ demonstrated one of them, the top change. Prior to the opening of the meeting, early arriving members had an opportunity to view some filmed performances by some of the greats from magic’s past. Mike will continue to feature these pre-meeting viewings in future months. The only item of official business was a first reading of the membership application for Bob Carroll, recently arrived in Los Angeles from Massachusetts.

The program for the evening, Magic from M-U-M, was produced and emceed by Vice President Kim Hallinger. This is an annual program that features the perfor-mance of magic from the pages of our monthly M-U-M. The show had eight performers, with the first two performing effects from their repertoires that did not originate in M-U-M. Opening the show was Bob Carroll performing Out of this Universe, first published in Close-Up Card Magic, 1962, by Harry Lorayne. Next up was Jim Callen presenting a nice stand-up three-card Monte using jumbo cards.

Matt Savin selected the December 2001 M-U-M and reviewed the Harry Riser column, The Riser Repertoire, to discuss the cor-ner-short card and its use. John Engman gave a nice performance of a stand-up coin trick using three silver dollars called Elbow, Knee & Neck by Daryl. Originally published in Spectacle, 1990, by Stephen Minch, it was republished in the February 2014 M-U-M in the Ebook Nook column. Kent Morgan presented a triple-effect, thought-reading routine called Numbers Galore by Floyd Shotts from the M-U-M’s Magic column in the May 1988 issue. Our sixth performer was Brian Regalbuto, who discussed and demonstrat-ed the use of a stackdemonstrat-ed deck. He used The Shuffled System from the High Road column by Mick Ayres in the August 2014 M-U-M. John Richmond presented A Slick Oil & Water card trick from the Share the Magic column, August 1996, and A Magical Magic Square by Ken deCourcy from the April 2005 issue. Closing the show was Jeremy Williams. Jeremy performed a card effect called “The End” from the column Card Stuff by Tom Ogden in the

December 1982 M-U-M.

This show was again a demon-stration of the fact that the pages of M-U-M contain a wealth of really good magic. —Steven L. Jennings

Southern California Assembly 22 meets the third Monday each month at 8:00 PM, St. Thomas More Parish Hall, 2510 South Fremont Avenue, Alhambra, California Contact Ed Thomas [email protected] (213) 382-8504 for more details.

26

TWO EXCELLENT

LECTURES!

PROVIDENCE, RI— The club was fortunate to have two great magicians stop by recently. Jay Scott Berry presented a fantastic lecture, performing and teaching some of his finest magic. He stressed the importance of per-forming live, as well as starting and ending clean. The consum-mate professional, he fooled us all while changing paper to money, and doing some amazing coin effects as well.

Reminding us that we should never forget to play, Jay presented a wonderful Ring and Ribbon routine. Ending the night with his Cloaking Device, Jay impressed everyone in attendance.

Steve Reynolds has a much different style, owing to the fact that he performs restaurant and bar magic. He offered plenty of advice related to interacting directly with patrons. Get into their heads, and use it to your advantage. And be sure to make the experience about them.

All of Steve’s effects are straight-forward and powerful. Learning from Marlo, Vernon, J.C. Wagner, and Doc Eason, Steve has put together a great collection of close-up routines. He advised us to “Let the spectator have a special moment, without distrac-tion.” Putting this into practice, he performed and taught effects that really drove his point home.

Thank you to Jay Scott Berry and Steve Reynolds for wonderful

lectures. While their magical styles are very different, they share a passion for magic, and the ability to both perform and to teach. —Chris Natale

C. Foster Fenner, Assembly 26 meets first Tuesday each month from September to June at 7 pm. American Legion Auburn Post 20, 7 Legion Way, Cranston RI Contact Jeff Smith for more details.

32

MENTALISM

MONTH

LYNCHBURG, VA— The theme of September’s meeting at the Hersy Basham Assembly as selected by our V.P./Program Chairman Mike Kinnaird was mentalism; a lot of the members already seemed to know that. Well, they might have read the meeting notice that was sent, but no one actually said how they knew.

Presentations of new effects were a bit low, but John Jennings did demonstrate Mental Die II, a nicely made brass item picked up from the dealer room at the national convention in St. Louis over the summer.

There was considerable discus-sion as to how we should vary our meetings so as to perk the interest of members and also to find new ones. It was decided to have ad-ditional dinner meetings at a local restaurant to see it that step might add variety and give members a change-of-pace to look forward to.

Therefore, on the third Tuesday of October our Assembly will meet at Charley’s Restaurant, 707 Graves Mill Road, Lynchburg, VA. For November, we will be back here at Tharp Funeral Home on Breezewood Drive. The plan for December is to have our annual family dinner meeting at a local restaurant (there is a good chance it will be back at Charley’s). The detail yet to be decided is what day and time the family dinner meeting will occur. Our plans for the New Year will be based on the feedback we get over the next several months.

Folks with an interest in magical entertainment are welcome to visit any of the upcoming meetings of Assembly 32. If someone decides to do so, it is recommended that such person get in touch with us in advance to verify the exact location. —John Jennings

The Hersy Basham Assembly 32 (often) meets the third Tuesday at 7:00 p.m. at Tharp Funeral Home, 220 Breezewood Drive, Lynchburg, VA. Contacting us ahead is suggested. Contact John Jennings [email protected] (434) 851-6240 for more details.

Wayne Houchin makes a point

Steve Reynolds offers a thorough explanation of an

Assembly News

35

A NEW SEASON BEGINS AGAIN

POUGHKEEPSIE, NY— We’re b-a-a-c-k from our summer vacation. President Joel Zaritsky enticed us with the offerings of what we can expect at our meetings later in the year. We opened our year with a perfor-mance and lecture from Jason Ladanye. Jason is from Albany, NY, just a short distance north of us. His short drive led to a great evening for all of us.

With the assistance of Frank Monaco and Ryan Dutcher acting as participants and straight men for Jason’s humor, he began his visual assault on the senses. He started off with being able to pick all the Aces out of the deck after the deck had been shuffled. The Aces then changed into Diamonds. Another effect has the picked card shuffled back into the deck, only to be found sandwiched between the Aces.

In perhaps everyone’s favorite effect, Ryan picked a card that was shuffled into the deck, which was then placed back into the card box. Ryan placed his hand over the box. A moment later his hand then pushed down onto the box, only to find that the box was empty, with the cards reappearing underneath the table, with his selected card being revealed.

These were but a few of the amazing effects that Jason beguiled us with. So much so, that I spent more time watching than writing, which explains the brevity of this report. Any assembly would do well to have Jason lecture for them. It would most certainly be worth it.

With the fall season rapidly ap-proaching, for those of us in the northeast it can be a magical time with the changing colors outdoors that can make people in the rest of the country jealous. For the more pessimistic it means that we are that much closer to winter. However, for the time being, let us ponder a thought that I recently read: “Autumn is the second spring, when every leaf becomes a flower.” —Darryl Bielski

Assembly 35 meetings are held at the Milanese Restaurant in Poughkeepsie, NY. Typically, meetings are held the 2nd Tuesday of each month, which begin at 7:30 pm. Contact Joel Zaritsky jizdds@ optonline.net (845) 546-1559 www.sam35.com for more details.

37

BACK TO SCHOOL NIGHT IN DENVER

DENVER, CO— What is more fitting than a back-to-school night for a September meeting/show with real live children? Children’s performer Chad Wonder put a call out to some of his birthday party clientele and we had a packed house. President Matt Brandt greeted everyone; Treasurer The Amazing Dave Elstun acted as emcee. First up was Chad Wonder. He pulled out plenty of wands and multiple handkerchiefs and even a thing-a-ma-bob or two. The children screamed with delight.

The best line of the night was when Chad asked if anyone could count to three in a foreign language and club junior member AJ shouted out I, II, and III Roman-numeral style. Lewis Peacock then took the stage and performed a laid back yet capti-vating anti-bullying peace that gave the youngsters something to think about.

Teacher and Magician Glenn Prioux brought in a little something for the older kids in at-tendance. He had the audience mesmerized with a class-room Math trick. Next up was Secretary (and teacher too) Connie Elstun, dressed in a rain-coat with some very funny science-magic Tesla style. Her time machine was met with roars of laughter from the adults and the children. Especially when she put her rabbit Mr. Edison in a time travel box and said she was sure Mr. Tesla wouldn’t mind. After a grand first half it was snack time!

Opening the second half was Inspector Magic with a some rhyming magic directed to our tiny guests in the front row. He had a guest “Sneech” that the children loved and did a clever performance with the help of little Ava, Even, and Hayden. Next up was Sergeant at Arms (and multi-talented card magician) Gene Gordon, who proved that a napkin that was compliments of Applebee’s could be very magical. He tore the napkin to create a lovely snowflake. And then while crumpling up the snowflake it turned into a real egg.

The last performer was national television celebrity Steve Spangler

and his three sons; he hysterically demonstrated what happens if you swallow gases like helium. And then he performed a card trick that had the chosen card exploding out of a Pringles can. He had a couple of reluctant volunteers, es-pecially when he told the audience (when pounding on his son’s back), “Don’t try this at home; you could die from this stuff!” —Connie Elstun

Assembly 37 meets at the Riverpointe Senior Center in Littleton Colorado. Contact Connie Elstun connie@ c o m e d y m a g i c b u n n y . com (303) 594-2555 www. milehighmagicians.com for more details.

38

BIG NIGHT FOR

PERFORMERS

KANSAS CITY, MO— Assembly38 met on September 16 with President Rod Sipe reporting on our August auction, and on Magic Week. RVP Shaun Rivera spoke on the Magic Summit.

The evening’s magic was begun by Trevor Korso, who talked to us about “Situational Magic,” that is magic that can be done impromptu with whatever objects are at hand. Then he did several tricks with whatever objects were at hand. He received a nice hand.

Josh Theno did money magic, catching coins from thin air and from on and about an assistant. His four-coin roll-out received a well-deserved nice hand. Josh’s twin brother Nicholas then produced cards and restaurant coasters from the air. Bob Goodin did what he called a very basic Chop Cup routine. It was a great lesson, in that it demonstrated how all it takes is “basic” done well to take it to the realm of the exceptional. Then it was John Hicks whose “Four Zombie Ace Assembly” was a most entertaining example of a carefully thought out and executed presentation.

Don Becker showed and demon-strated several pieces of vintage apparatus. The Thayer Dove Pan and Babcock Die Box sparked a lot of interest. Both are beautiful examples of the kind of workman-ship that marked (and still marks) the best in magic apparatus.

Shaun Rivera exhibited his usual mastery of card sleights with an effect that this scribe’s notes simply call “that turn up card thing.” Sorry Shaun, but we all know that in your hands “that turn up card thing” was excellent. Denis Burks did an eye-popping rope trick! A coiled rope suddenly transformed into a series of separate rope rings. It had to be seen to be believed, and even then

it’s still hardly believable. Our finale was Dr. Phil King’s mentalism show, during which he divined the amount of change that various assistants had in their pockets. The members made him explain it about a dozen times.

Good times followed at the Not Quite Five Star Bar and Grill, where this member was taught a new instant card change. He is devoting at least two to three minutes per day to working on it. —Don Beker

Assembly 38 meets at the Westport Coffee House, 4010 Pennsylvania Avenue, Kansas City, Missouri Contact Don Becker joydonbeck@ comcast.net (816) 886-6780 for more details.

52

TAOM MAGIC

SAN ANTONIO, TX— Sept 4, 2014, Brother John Hamman Assembly 52 held its monthly meeting at LaMadeleine Res-taurant. President Ray Adams called the meeting to order. We had eighteen present tonight, including members, wives, and guests. Welcome to Greg Solomon (Ed’s son), and welcome back to guests Matthew Orta and David and Nathaniel Pitts. Both David and Matthew will be audition-ing tonight for acceptance into Assembly 52.

This month Don Moravits presented Castaways by Mick Ayres, which was in the December 2013 issue of M-U-M. Don was the second member to share an article of interest in the M-U-M. Joe Libby volunteered to share an article of interest at the October meeting.

The theme for this meeting was Something You Bought at TAOM. Starting off the open performanc-es was Prperformanc-esident Ray Adams who produced canes from a coin purse. Doug Gorman followed with an effect called Open Prediction by Boris Wild, and Michael Tallon did a card prediction by Peter Duffie. Ed Solomon told a story first penned by Ernest Hemingway with only six words guaranteed to elicit emotion. Paul Amerson told a story about stranger danger using assistants David Pitts and Fran Gorman. John Murphy gave us a lesson in apples and oranges and Paul Mims performed a baffling card effect called Deeper Mystery.

Congratulations to our two newest members, David Pitts and Matthew Orta, who auditioned for acceptance into the assembly. David explained the principle of misdirection by using sponge balls, and Matthew did a very nice version of Dr. Daly’s Last Trick.

Our featured performer tonight was Sergeant-at-Arms James

Back to School Night was cool!

Assembly News

Dusek. He completely destroyed us all with his incredible sense of comedic timing and outstanding magic skill. After an opening card trick, he presented one of the most original and hilarious versions of the Professor’s Nightmare ever performed anywhere. And then while we were still doubled over with laughter, he dazzled us again with a Cups and Balls routine that contained original moves of his own creation. It was a great featured performance. Thanks, James, for a job well done. We are honored that you are a member of Assembly 52.

Door prize winners were Paul Amerson, Ray Adams, and Doug Gorman. Paul won the DVD East Coast Magic by Shawn Robison; Ray won collapsible dice; and Doug won a crystal goblet candle holder. Many thanks to Don Moravits and Barbara Adams for donating the door prizes.

Brother John Hamman Assembly 52 meets at 7:30 p.m. on the first Thursday of the month at La Madeleine Restaurant, located at 722 N.W. Loop 410. The restaurant is inside Loop 410 on the access road between Blanco Rd. and San Pedro. For more information, contact [email protected].

56

SEPTEMBER MEETING

DAYTON, OH— Our September meeting was held at my home on 9/19/14. We had twelve members and two guests present. Our guests were my fiancé, Michelle Slattery, and Jo Ann Kinder’s husband, Larry. We had a good business meeting and discussed the amount of magic that is currently on TV, such as America’s Got Talent, Penn & Teller’s Fool Us, Wizard Wars, and Masters of Illusion. We also talked about how it was international Talk like a Pirate Day and how several members scored a dozen doughnuts from Krispy Kreme for dressing and talking like pirates. We took a break for refreshments and then regrouped for our theme, Classics with a Twist! We had perfor-mances by me, Scott Miller, Oran Dent, Dave Davis, Fred Witwer, Millie Witwer, Paul Burnham, Hank Borchers, and John Love. A good time was had by all. —Matthew David Stanley

Assembly 56 meets in various locations. Contact Paul Burnham [email protected] (937) 474-0647 for more details.

59

SUMMER MAGIC

PORTLAND, OR—IT has been

a fast summer for most of us with all the usual summer projects and vacations. Also, we just had the annual S.A.M. picnic on August 10. Boy what a great turn out and way too much to eat. We had about forty people in attendance. We had eleven people giving us a show, including Whitney, Qi, John, Nicholas, Mel, Glen, Jay, Randy, Michael, David, and Riley. They all did a grand job of providing us with magical entertainment. It was a perfect time to socialize and Randy and his wife Myrna were gracious hosts. We had a splendid time and the weather could not have been any better.

Fall Swap Meet/September Meeting— As fall descends on us we started out the new season with our annual club swap meet. There was no shortage of magical treasures on display for sale, swap, trade, and giveaway. Props lined the tables and all who attended enjoyed the fun. Our September meeting was kicked off by President Mel Anderson at 7:46 p.m. One of the first things discussed was that we needed three members to head up the nomination committee for next year’s board. Our own Bob Eaton addressed the membership in regard to the Desmond Close-up contest next month.

Jay Fredricks presented procla-mation certificates signed by the mayors of Vancouver, WA, and Portland, OR, for declaring the last week of October as Magic Week. On this exciting night we had four guests; a new member, Steve Johnson, was welcomed with a unanimous vote by the member-ship. After a few other issues were discussed, the meeting was adjourned; all resumed back to the swap meet and the fun continued. We have a great line-up of events coming this fall; it is sure to be exciting for all who get involved. —Andy Turner

Assembly 59 meets at the Beaverton Elks Lodge 3500 SW 104th Beaverton, OR at 7PM. Contact Andy Turner [email protected] (503) 975-6139 samportland.org for more details.

77

PASSING

MASSAPEQUA, NY— Our opening topic for the new season of The Long Island Mystics is “Passing.” First was the passing of the gavel from PP Phil Levy to Dr. Mitch Goodkin, which included the presentation of the new S.A.M. president’s pins to each other. The second passing was that of our good friend Joe LeBue. The broken wand ceremony included

a minute of silence with the lights dimmed in the room. He was a pro and always gave his best at many of our meetings and shows. Finally we passed a few motions at the conclusion of our meeting in true Mystics fashion.

After the meeting we were very excited about our huge lineup of lectures for 2014-15 and who better than Kostya Kimlat to kick off this important night. He answered our questions regarding choices approaching tables for res-taurant work and speaking the lingo in getting work in restau-rants and corporate work.

Kostya showed his routines and held nothing back. His opening card routine absolutely floored us and when the explanation came, it opened a can of whoop ass to let us know that when it comes to culling cards, Mr. Kimlat is the master. Other effects that stood out were M&M Mentalism and a parlor stand-up piece called Who Killed the King, which is a jumbo card trick that Kostya created after learning something unusual about a card from the late Bob Elliot. Long-time member Harry Mandel explained: “Bob Elliot always was very helpful and generous to me and many magicians. One day I read an obscure article about a par-ticular card. Back in 1991, I said to him I think I have something that can fool you. I placed a card face down and said this is my pre-diction. I forced another card on Bob the exact way he taught me. When he turned over the predic-tion he was a little puzzled. Then I told him to look at what the card was holding. He was amazed. He said he never noticed that. I was happy I was able to teach Bob Elliott something. And now to find Kostya turned what Bob told him into a routine, I had to buy it in honor of Bob Elliott.”

Until next time, we will see you at the diner. —Lou Johnson

Long Island Mystics Assembly #77 meets at 7:30PM on the second Monday of the month at The Community United Methodist Church. For more information, check www.limystics.org Contact Lou Johnson loujohnson@ loujuggler.com (516) 978-7735 www.limystics.org for more details.

88

BARRY MITCHELL

LECTURES

ANN ARBOR, MI— After a dizzying flurry of magic picnics over the summer, our magi convened for the start of the fall magical schedule. After welcoming new member Carl Massie Jr., five guests were intro-duced: Chuck Kimbrough, Bernie Stevens, Joshua Wilde, Ken Drumm and Michael Robinson.

Our much-anticipated September meeting featured noted magician and lecturer Barry Mitchell. Barry’s “Think Different Magic Tour” promised “useable tech-niques and family magic” for all skill levels. He did not disappoint. Barry delivered a ton of practical effects, presentation tips, and prop construction advice within a tight two-hour lecture. There was something for everyone! The topics focused on silks, sponges (and not just balls) with a few non-traditional card effects, pole pro-ductions, and miscellaneous chil-dren’s’ routines thrown in for good measure. In addition to having his effects for sale, Barry generously went into great detail on how to make the props ourselves with simple materials available from local supply sources (think Home Depot and Dollar Tree). Judging from the activity at his table after the lecture, all the members loved his routines. It is noted that his unique silks are considered of the highest quality on the market and are priced reasonably.

Barry and his wife Tracy delivered a energy, high-impact, fun-filled lecture and it is highly recommended. The club magic show for the Faith Lutheran Church will feature Marvin Mathena, Jim Folkl, Karl and Bill Rabe, Bill Brang, Gordon Schott, Scott Kindschy, Jim Molnar, and Dan Jones. The theme of our November meeting is “Money Magic.” December brings our festive and always popular Christmas party. —Jim Folkl

PP Phil Levy and Pres. Mitch Goodkin passing a pin

Assembly News

Assembly 88 meets the second Wednesday of each month at Faith Lutheran Church, 1255 East Forest, Ypsilanti, Michigan. Contact Jim Folkl folkinimagic@ yahoo.com (248) 8514839 http:// www.aamagic.org/ for more details.

95

EMCEE MAGIC

VANCOUVER, CANADA—

The September 2014 meeting was held at the home of Steve Dickson. After all the members enjoyed a delicious BBQ prepared by Steve and Paddy, the evening of Emcee Magic or Bits began. This theme was chosen by Steve because he has a big theater gig coming up where he is privileged to be the emcee in an all-Asian magic charity production. Ray Roch showed a 3D card in which the card turned inside out in the hands of Tony Chris. Jens Henriksen did a rope trick involving two audience members.

RVP Canada for 2014 and Assembly 95 President Lon Mandrake performed an ESP effect, which, in emcee fashion, he said was to prepare for the next performer who is a mind reader. This used twelve members of the audience to decide whether a card is red or black, the cards placed in piles, and then Lon showed that the members did in fact separate the red from black. Dennis Hewson performed a rope-cutting routine, and his famous multiple knots on and off rope. Henry Tom showed a two-part rope trick, which he said can be used between two acts as a comedy rope restora-tion explanarestora-tion routine. Henry said to wait until the light comes on to show the next act ready, and then do the first part of the routine. Glen LaBarre did a repeat cut and restored rope routine, each time showing the ropes uneven and then starting again.

Glen added his idea to cut the gimmicked rope off of a spool of

rope. Rod Chow did the Princess Card Trick with a roll-out banner displaying images of jumbo cards. Anthony Young did a cal-culator trick with everyone’s cell phone, and was able to get the last number of each cell number and that person’s age. Anthony Young also showed a breakaway torn and restored fan. John MacMillan did knots off rope. Juan Garcia performed a one-handed knot, tying multiple times, and showed patter outs for the trick not working. Ray Roch did Dennis Hewson’s multiple knots on and off a rope. Jens did a routine with mini chicken figurines and a story of chicken thieves.

Tony Chris showed stupid hand tricks. Tony asked to borrow a pair of pants, but settled for a belt, which he used to do an impromptu rope through neck. —Rod Chow

The Carl Hemeon Assembly No. 95 meets the first Tuesday of each month at members’ homes. Contact Rod Chow rod@rodchow. com (604) 669-7777 www.sam95. com for more details.

99

PHIL SCHWARTZ’S MAGIC HISTORY MOMENTS

ORLANDO, FL— President Mark Fitzgerald gaveled the meeting to order. We had twenty-six present. Bev Bergeron did a presentation on impromptu magic with table knives.

Phil Schwartz, our resident historian, acclaimed author, and consultant on Floyd Thayer and other classic props, presented his “Magic History Moment #60.” Phil is also a collector of antique magic; this month he brought several props to demonstrate the development of a trick from prototype to working prop. The spotlight was on James Barton, who died in 1935. Because of his patter, he was known as “El Barto, the Conversational Trickster.”

In Barton’s time the Die Box was a well-known trick and a staple in Floyd Thayer’s line. Thayer made many improvements as well as using the principle in other themes such as the sucker sliding clock and cigarette package vanish. James Barton got the idea to do the sliding die box trick with a red billiard ball and he made a prototype. This was given to Floyd Thayer, who greatly improved the mechanism and marketed it. Phil was fortunate to locate and buy both original pieces and he brought them to show us! This was a real treat for us.

The monthly ring show opened with emcee Mark Fitzgerald doing a Lifesaver linking on a ring. Charlie Pfrogner was up next

with a prediction mystery. Dennis Phillips works as a public school substitute teacher and he showed several items that he carries in his suit coat to use in the classroom to maintain interest. One was a vanishing half-dol-lar. He also showed his method of

quickly changing the gimmick clip to another coat. He then showed an effect with a Bic pen. It floated up from the palm of his hand; he wrapped it in a paper napkin and it vanished. He explained how he made the effect by combining the method of the old P&L floating pencil with the method of Dave Powell’s vanishing pen.

Dan Stapleton showed many methods and enhancements to the classic Color Vision cube. He also showed an impromptu cell phone vanish. David Friedman had a randomly selected playing card appear in a matchbox. Greg Solomon treated us with an effect and then gave every person present a packet trick of Ian Adair’s – Butterfly Puzzle. —Dennis Phillips

International House of Pancakes, 5203 Kirkman Road Orlando, FL 32819 meets the third Wednesday of the Month 7:30pm Contact Mark Fitzgerald markaf1949@ hotmail.com http://www.ring170. com/ for more details.

104

104 GETS PROPPED UP FOR THE NIGHT

WITCH CITY,SALEM, MA— The new magic year for Assembly 104 began on September 3 with lighter than usual attendance, but ample enthusiasm. Among the missing were our magic teacher Len Lazar and Co-President Bill Jensen. Despite this, newly minted Co-President Rob Snider did a credible job of conducting a meeting that was fairly heavy on the business end. The fun end would more than compensate.

The emphasis of the evening was on our coming thirteenth annual convention on November 15. SAMCON promises to be an out-standing all day Saturday event. With the extra added attraction of manipulation artist Jad joining the roster of performers at the Double Tree Hotel in Danvers, Massa-chusetts, the day and night will offer something for everyone to enjoy. Jay Sankey will lecture and teach a master class the next day

at Diamond’s Magic, in Peabody. Christian Painter and wife Katalina will lecture and perform, as will family entertainer Oscar Munoz. At this writing, compeer Matt Blake is developing new, very special events just for kids, to supplement an already exciting day. The evening show, which is free for full conference attendees, will be open to the public for only $15 per ticket, four for $50. Our website is now open for PayPal ticket sales at www.sam104.com.

We agreed that the current popu-larity of summer magic programs on TV can only enhance public interest in our art. Inspired by the competitive creativity of Wizard Wars, in particular, it was decided to have the assembly take a crack at a similar challenge. Compeer Jim Loscutoff provided piles of odd and broken props. Two teams of magicians selected items from the lots, judges were selected, and the games were on. After a half hour of deliberation, the first team, “The Petting Zoo,” launched a series of hilarious routines, led by a loudmouth rabbit puppet that had taken control of compeer Buso-Jarnis. The second team, “The Misfits,” led by cheerleader Debbie O’Carroll, offered their own gallant mix of slapstick and magic as props tumbled here and there. By the end, “The Misfits” were voted the winners and tiny prizes were awarded. Compeer Vince DeAngelis has been doing a great job as the new proprietor of Diamond’s Magic in Peabody, our unofficial magic haven. For details on Assembly 104 and SAMCON please visit our website: www. sam104.com. —Bob Forrest

Assembly 104 meets on the first Wednesday of each month, September-June, 7 p.m., at the First Baptist Church of Salem, 292 Lafayette Street, Salem, Massachusetts. Contact Bob Forrest captainalbrightsq1@ comcast.net (339) 227-0797 www. sam104.com for more details.

110

WAYNE HOUCHIN

LECTURES

2014 RVP Canada & Assembly #95 President, Lon Mandrake

performs ESP with jumbo cards

“The Misfits” taste victory over shabby props - Assembly 104