International Brotherhood
of Magicians
Founded in 1922 by
Len Vintus, Gene Gordon,and Don Rogers.
HEADQUARTERS OFFICE
INTERNATIONAL EXECUTIVE SECRETARY
Sindie Richison
13 Point West Blvd., St. Charles, MO 63301 (636) 724-2400 • FAX (636) 724-8566 [email protected]
I.B.M. Website: www.magician.org
INTERNATIONAL OFFICERS BOARD OF TRUSTEES
INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT
Shawn Farquhar
21885 River Road, Maple Ridge, B.C., Canada V2X 2B9 (604) 936-1234 • [email protected]
INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT ELECT
Joe M. Turner • [email protected]
INTERNATIONAL VICE PRESIDENT
Terry Richison
INTERNATIONAL SECRETARY
Don Wiberg
10472 Brookridge Creek Dr., Frankfort, IL 60423 (815) 464-0414 • [email protected] INTERNATIONAL TREASURER Charles Arkin [email protected] EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE Oscar Mu˜noz • (956) 781-8442 Becki Wells • (540) 463-5406 Bob Patterson • (703) 490-1222 Ken Cook • (248) 643-7089 Scott Hood • (905) 849-5677 Roger Way • (919) 272-6465 PAST PRESIDENTS
Dr. Richard O. Mossey, Royal H. Brin, Jr., Earle Christenberry, Jr., Bill Pitts, Jr., Dr. William A. Wells, Donald E. Wiberg, Dr. William E. Spooner, June Horowitz, Edward A. Morris, Michael J. Gorman, Jim Nagel, R.J. Obie O’Brien, Dr. Jep Hostetler, Ken Klosterman, Bev Bergeron, Abb Dickson, John R. Browne III, Jack K. Greenberg, Michael Stratman, David Sandy, Tony Wilson, Roger Miller, Fred Casto, Joan Caesar, Jack White, Rolando Santos, Vanni Pulé,
John Pye, Bill Evans
LEGAL ADVISOR
Bill Evans
EXECUTIVE EDITOR • BUSINESS MANAGER
Samuel Patrick Smith
Post Office Box 27, Eustis, Florida 32727
E-mail: [email protected]
ASSISTANT EDITORS
Dale Salwak, Rolando Santos, C. Dennis Schick
ASSOCIATE EDITORS
Malcolm Campbell, Gary R. Frank, Jason Goldberg, Scott Humston, Chip MacGregor, Dr. Steven Schlanger
RING REPORTS EDITOR
T.J. Shimeld
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BJ Hickman
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Phone: (603) 970-1045 • E-mail: [email protected] WEBMASTER Simone Marron E-mail: [email protected] WEBSITE EDITOR C. Dennis Schick E-mail: [email protected] GRAPHIC DESIGN
Jessica Friend, Matthew Sharpe, Régis Sudo
PRODUCTION AND ART SERVICES
Tony’s Studio
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OFFICIAL PHOTOGRAPHER
Michael Messing
PROOFREADERS
John H. Doyle, Tony Dunn, Carole Greenberg, Jack Greenberg, Roger Miller, C. Dennis Schick, Dr. William A. Wells, Don Wiberg
THE LINKING RING (ISSN 0024-4023) is published monthly by the
International Brotherhood of Magicians. Office of Publication, 13 Point West Blvd., St. Charles, MO, 63301, for members only. Annual dues, $60.00, includes $20.00 for 12 issues. PERIODICALS postage paid at St. Louis, MO and other places. ©2015 by the International Brotherhood of Magicians. All rights reserved under international and Pan-American conventions. Reproduction of THE LINKING RING magazine in whole or in part is forbidden without prior written permission. For airmail, address changes, and other official business, contact our International Executive Secretary (see above). POSTMASTER: Send address changes to THE LINKING RING, 13 Point West Blvd., St. Charles, MO 63301.
22
OUR COVER: MIKE POWERS
Read all about one of the world’s top experts on card magic, Mike Powers – The Linking Ring’s own “Card Corner” columnist. And don’t miss his One-Man Parade!
28
DO THE SPIRITS RETURN?
If they did, it would certainly be to a place called the Morbid Anatomy Museum in Brooklyn, where a new Howard Thurston exhibit opens this month.
31
THE MAGIC OF JACKSONVILLE
Learn comedy, stagecraft, and amazing magic during this year’s special interest lectures at the I.B.M. Annual Convention. Simone Marron reports.
34
COMMITMENT AND PASSION
Dr. Steven Schlanger profiles Past International President Roger Miller’s years in magic and service to the I.B.M.
37
TRUE TO FORM
The Fellowship of Rotarian Magicians is a small but dedicated group using magic to serve others and brighten their corner of the world.
38
MY TIME TRAVEL EXPERIENCE
Dennis Schick explores the nineteenth century through the Victorian Popular Culture database – available free to I.B.M. members who receive The Linking Ring.
42
THE FASCINATIONS OF MAGIC HISTORY
Why attend a magic convention where very little magic is actually performed? Jason Goldberg reflects on The Yankee Gathering experience.
Columns
20 FROM THE EDITOR
21 THE PRESIDENT’S PAGE 48 POLISHING THE RINGS 52 CUTTING UP JACKPOTS
Departments
47 THERAPY OF MAGIC 50 YOUTH TRIVIA CONTEST 103 HOCUS IN FOCUS 112 BROKEN WAND 117 RING REPORTS 159 APPLICATIONS/ REINSTATEMENTS
Trick Section
67 MIKE POWERS PARADE 88 THE CARD CORNER 92 WAYS AND MEANS 94 NUMISMAGIC 97 SIMPLE DIVERSIONS 99 EXPERT AT THE TECH TABLE 101 SITUATIONALLY YOURS
Miscellaneous
22 PICTURES FROM THE PAST 40 IN MEMORIAM: AMY DAWES 55 TVP PROFILE
56 RING EVENTS 63 WINTER CARNIVAL 66 SICK & CONVALESCENT 161 INDEX OF ADVERTISERS
28
31
42
Volume 95 Number 4 April 2015
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In his book, Past and Present, the great historian Thomas Carlyle wrote that a per-son who “actually and earnestly works” always has hope. A genius with an insa-tiable appetite for work, Carlyle was well acquainted with the joy found in a labor of love.
Throughout history, the most creative among us have thrown themselves with complete abandon into their fields of fasci-nation. I think of Thomas Edison at his “invention factory” in Menlo Park, New Jersey. So intent was he on unlocking the mysteries of nature that Edison often worked through the night with his equally absorbed and dedicated team.
I see Charles Dickens, immersed in his work – standing before the mirror in his study, reciting dialogue between charac-ters to see the expressions each would make when speaking; then, dashing to his desk and taking up a quill pen to preserve his ideas in ink.
Whether a labor of love is a hobby or vocation does not matter. It is not money, but a desire to contribute, to perform with excellence in an area of compelling inter-est, that inspires dedication. This the world does not always understand.
The indefatigable Albert Schweitzer, pouring himself into work, studies, and music, was advised, “You can’t burn the candle at both ends.” Schweitzer replied, “You can if it’s long enough.” The light created by his labors of love beamed brightly into his ninetieth year.
Is it possible to become so infatuated with one’s fascinations that health, as well as social and family obligations, are neg-lected? History says yes. Yet we have
examples of people deeply engrossed in work or avocations who also live healthy, balanced lives. In some cases, though, the credit goes to a supportive family.
We see Carl Sandburg in his upstairs study in Flat Rock, North Carolina, stomp-ing his feet on the floor in frustration to notify his boisterous family below that he requires absolute silence while he writes. In old age, Sandburg admitted that without his wife Paula to keep him on course, “I would have been a bum.” Called by one biographer “a serene, deeply contented woman, fulfilled, sparkling with vitality, rejoicing in her life,” Sandburg’s wife is rightly credited for much of his success. Yet without his own intense passion for writing, the stories, poetry, and masterful biography of Lincoln would not have seen the light of day.
Labors of love are not, of course, restricted to intellectual pursuits. My grandfather, a South Georgia farmer, worked more than sixty hours a week until shortly before his death at age ninety-seven. He continued not from necessity but out of love for his calling. One day in the field, well into his nineties, he bent down and scooped up the soil in his hands. “I love the smell of the earth,” he said. He had found his life’s work, and he followed it until the end.
While Carlyle was teaching the blessed-ness of finding one’s work, his friend, Ralph Waldo Emerson, was writing along similar, if more forceful lines. “To be your-self in a world that is constantly trying to make you something else is the greatest accomplishment,” he wrote. “Dare to live the life you have dreamed.”
It’s a small world, but I sure wouldn’t want to paint it. For years, I have used this funny expression and thought nothing of it, other than it made people smile. These past few weeks have made me rethink what I’ve been saying.
Yes, the world really is small, and the magic community is even smaller. I took a moment to count the number of magic friends I have as a direct result of the I.B.M. and discovered it was too many to count. Many I have known for years, while others are relatively new. Most are from other parts of the world, and some I am unable to carry on a conversation with due to language issues; but they all love magic, and somehow we are able to communicate and share our love of the art.
In the past two weeks, I have been to Hungary, Austria and Russia; and I write to you today from Bulgaria. I speak about a dozen words in each of these languages, yet I was up most of the nights talking and performing with magicians and really understanding what we were discussing. I talked so much at one point I lost my voice!
Three nights ago, while in Moscow, I peeked out through the curtains from backstage to view my audience and saw what could only be described as the perfect
doppelgänger. No, I don’t mean the
ghost-ly kind, just a perfect double for a person I have known for many years. When it was my turn to take the stage, I made a point to walk over to him just to see, up close, how perfect a duplicate he was, only to discov-er I.B.M. membdiscov-er Don Greenburg from Pittsburgh sitting in the crowd – in Moscow! The world really is small.
My time in Hungary was awesome. The convention by Joker Magic was a ton of fun. I had lunch with the TVP for the coun-try, Gabor Szabo, and was treated to a tour of the city by FISM champion Soma. We were having so much fun, he forgot to pay for parking and ended up with a hefty fine!
In Austria I was thrilled to visit Ring 240, and my host and TVP, Robert Busina, was so kind. Robert and I were having so much fun, he parked in the wrong place, and when we returned, the car had van-ished – thanks to a tow truck! The local members of Ring 240 really are proud to be part of our organization. You can feel the pride when you arrive at the beautiful Kalanag Salon, their own private theatre where they do shows for the public. Out-side, on the wall of the cafe that houses the Salon, is a brass plaque with our emblem announcing to the world, the home of Ring 240. I would suggest anyone visiting Vien-na make certain to visit the Ring. They are a warm and welcoming club.
Now I am in Bulgaria where we don’t have an I.B.M. Ring, but that will soon change. Jordan Belev, aka Dani Magix, is a young and energetic magician with the new goal to form the first I.B.M. Ring in his country. He believes, and rightly so, that for his fellow countrymen to grow, they need to see outside their own walls. He can see the value of this amazing mag-azine, including the information it can deliver to his fellow magicians and the exposure it can give them. Too often, magic publications feature only the huge names of magic; and most often, have arti-cles centered on one particular region.
This dapper expert in card magic also had a lesser-known interest: he loved the history of the Old West. With a fascination about such figures as Jesse James, he built a collec-tion of Western ephemera and memorabilia. Who was he? Turn to page 160 for the answer.
President’s Page
– from page 21This is not the case with The Linking Ring. Sammy Smith is amazing. He does his best to find interesting stories featuring magicians from around the world – and our past – to enlighten, entertain, and educate us all.
Finally, I want to draw attention to a new benefit of membership: Access to every past issue of The Linking Ring using “Ask Alexander” from the Conjuring Arts Research Center for free. This feature alone is worth your annual membership fee. If you haven’t tried this new benefit of membership, do it today! I would personally like to thank the trustees of the Endowment and Development Fund for this tremendous new addition to the many benefits of being an I.B.M. member.
And now, I’m off to meet the future members of the I.B.M. in Bulgaria. After a few days here, I am headed for home where Lori and I will celebrate our twenty-sixth anniversary of the day we told the world we’d love each other until the end. After that, we have JAMs in Los Angeles, Atlanta, and St, Louis, so I hope to see you at one of the stops along the way.
Until next month, keep well and busy.
International President Shawn Farquhar in Moscow.
24 www.magician.org The Linking Ring April 2015 www.magician.org 25 BY DR. STEVEN SCHLANGER
Box, Chinese Sticks, and a Drawer Box. His first magic book was Henry Hay’s The
Amateur Magician’s Handbook. Mike had graduated high school and gone on to col-lege at Notre Dame, teaching himself how to back palm cards and to classic palm coins. Though he gained proficiency in these and other techniques, he acknowl-edges that he had only one routine back then: the old coin disappears and reappears behind your sister’s ear trick. Nonetheless, his passion for magic continued unabated.
In the early 1970s, Mike saw Doug Henning on The Tonight Show and recalls that Henning’s performance had a major impact on him. He was astonished by the close-up effects that Henning performed – Matrix and a Copper-Silver transposi-tion in particular. Mike had become a teacher, and during Christmas break, he visited some friends in New York City.
I
n the foreword to Mike Powers’ book Top Secret Stuff, Jon
Racherbaumer advises the reader to “Experience Mike’s vision
quest.” If you will pardon the pun, those four words speak volumes
about this multi-talented man. Mike is a magician, an artist, a teacher
now retired, and a musician. Moreover, he is very much a visionary,
a life-long learner who describes his years in magic as “a journey.”
And what a fine journey it has been and continues to be.
Many of you know Mike through his monthly column in The Linking Ring. “The Card Corner” is where you will find his work along with his many talented con-tributors. Mike certainly knows his way around a deck of cards; he has “the chops” as some would say. But the journey he took to get to this point in his life is a tale worth telling.
Mike remembers seeing The Magic
Land of Allakazam as a youngster, and then years later, seeing a guy pitching Svengali decks. He remembers begging his father to buy him one of the Svengalis and how he used it to amaze his friends right up to his years in college. (Mike reminds us, at that point in the 1960s, people were not familiar with TV Magic Cards.)
Mike joined the I.B.M. in high school, and in addition to his trusty Svengali Deck, he was the proud owner of a Die
In the
Corner
24 www.magician.org The Linking Ring April 2015 www.magician.org 25
In just days, Mike stumbled upon anoth-er piece of good fortune. He was in a local grocery store, and a man was doing ciga-rette magic for the guy behind the meat counter. Mike approached the fellow, inquired about lessons, and the man sug-gested he call Dick Lutz. Dick Lutz turned out to be the perfect teacher for Mike. He was knowledgeable, versatile, and skilled. Before long, Mike was developing his own proficiency with cards and coins. Lutz also shared some books with Mike, includ-ing two of Frank Garcia’s: Million Dollar
Card Secrets and Super Subtle Card
Miracles. He also shared Ever So Sleightly by Martin Nash; and while Mike readily mastered Garcia’s work, he found the Nash book especially challenging. But Mike was up for the challenge and before long, Lutz turned Mike on to the works of Ed Marlo.
Again, Mike diligently worked his way through ever more challenging lifts, shifts, changes, and moves while also hearing the names Racherbaumer, Aronson, Solomon, Draun, and D’Amico. Not long afterward, he knew it was time to go to Chicago to meet this circle of magicians who met with Marlo every Saturday.
As Mike tells the story, it was Saturday, November 18, 1978. He had gone to Magic, Inc., and in walked Ed Marlo. Mike introduced himself and asked Marlo if he would be willing to answer a couple of questions. Marlo, whom Mike revered, suggested that he join him for lunch, and a stunned Mike Powers climbed into Marlo’s car. Mike admits to being intimidated by such a legendary and accomplished magician; but once they arrived at the restaurant, Mike demonstrated one of the things he had learned about the Pass from reading Marlo’s Magazine, Vol. 2. Marlo gave Mike some pointers, but best of all, he treated Mike “like a peer.” Then Marlo proceeded to blow Mike away with a couple of tricks. Much to Mike’s great He describes “stumbling upon” Tannen’s
Magic Shop, a fortuitous moment if there ever was one, when one of the demonstra-tors showed him Ronay’s Sympathetic Aces. He had already purchased an Invisible Deck and some flash paper; but by the time he was through witnessing the ace routine, he walked out of Tannen’s with a smile on his face and not a dollar in his wallet.
The Invisible Deck was a hit that week at a New Year’s Eve party, and the flash paper was an entertaining way to celebrate at midnight; but when Mike got back to school and tried to learn Sympathetic Aces, he struggled. The effect called for an Elmsley Count and a Jordan Count, and the instructions were confusing. Mike realized that if he were to successfully do the trick, he would have to devote hours to practice. And that’s exactly what he did. He worked and worked with those cards, and when he finally felt he had mas-tered it, he showed it to his wife. She was blown away and Mike was elated. “I was hooked,” he recalls, because he was now free from depending on a trick deck for his
Mike Powers performs at Obie’s 4F Convention in Batavia, New York, April 2014. PHOTO BY DALE FARRIS
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for him, the stars were actually there! Dai Vernon, Slydini, Johnny Paul, Jimmy Grippo, and many other fantastic magicians, includ-ing young upstarts like Michael Ammar and Daryl were all in attendance.
Mike was also writing and pub-lishing along the way. His first book, Powerful Magic was pub-lished in 1983. In 1990 he released his first hardbound book, Top
Secret Stuff. This exceptionally rich text not only demonstrates Mike’s creativity and talent with cards and coins, but it also shows how gifted he is artistically. Mike did all of the writing, all of the illustrations, and even did the typesetting and ads. As he said in the introduction to this wonderful work, it was liter-ally an “in-house” project.
fortune, they spent an hour alone together before “the crowd” (Simon Aronson, Dave Solomon, Steve Draun, Jack Pyle, Frank Shank, Bill Malone, and others) arrived.
After this momentous visit, Mike spent time with Marlo on a number of occasions and also became friends with many of the other guys. He remembers getting phone calls from Marlo and recalls the richness of their conversations. Mike notes that when Marlo died in 1991, it was the end of an era.
Another significant moment in Mike’s journey in magic occurred at the 1980 Desert Magic Seminar.
Mike was walking through the res- Mike and Maria in a publicity photo, circa 1995. Top: Mike and Maria enjoy some free
time at a Fechter’s Finger Flicking Frolic convention. DALE FARRIS PHOTO Bottom: A 1980s stage performance.
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In closing, Mike notes that his journey in magic has been greatly satisfying. He met his wife, Maria Schwieter, a magician held in high regard in her own right, at the 1993 Abbott’s Get-together. Together, they have made many friends in the magic com-munity over the years. Maria is a graduate of the Chavez School of Magic where she studied under Neil Foster, and she has been invited to the 4F (Fechter’s Finger Flinging Frolic) Convention on multiple occasions. Mike remembers the time Jon Racherbaumer told him, “Spouses don’t always appreciate that magic is a disease.”
“Well, if magic is a disease,” Mike observed, “my wife and I have a pretty bad case of it!”
Dr. Steven Schlanger is a retired educa-tor and longstanding member of the I.B.M. He is also the author of the children’s book, The Magic Act: A Mystery by S. Roy
Stevenson.
Day of Magic and then perform for a week in the close-up room at the Magic Castle. It was at the Castle where he had the good fortune to spend time with Larry Jennings. Again, Mike was treat-ed as a peer, and Jennings generously shared his ideas, including some things that at the time were “underground.”
In 2006, Mike published Power
Plays, another impressive tome. Power
Plays was voted “Book of the Year” on the Magic Café website and was run-ner-up in the Magic Industry awards. All of Mike’s books have been commer-cially successful, and all have sold out. Good news for all of us – he is currently
working on a new one. Mike describes this as his first attempt to perform
the Zombie.
Author photo from Mike Powers’ second book, Top Secret Stuff.
28 www.magician.org The Linking Ring April 2015 www.magician.org 29
BY DR. STEVEN SCHLANGER
Spirits Return?
Rory Feldman’s extensive Thurston
collection will be the basis of a
nine-month exhibit at Brooklyn’s Morbid
Anatomy Museum.
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A
items, and ephemera is coming to one of New York’s newest and most unusu-al museums, The Morbid Anatomy Museum. “Do the Spirits Return?” will focus on the great Howard Thurston and include a vast array of memorabilia from the collection of Rory Feldman. The sub-title for the exhibition is “From Dark Arts to Sleight of Hand in Early 20th Century Stage Magic,” which promises to be an exploration of “the intersection of spiri-tualism, life and death, demonology, dark arts, and stage magic.”
The Morbid Anatomy Museum in Brooklyn, New York, has garnered a great deal of interest and attention. You can tell from the name of the museum that this is not your usual collection of art and arti-facts; and that’s exactly the point. The Morbid Anatomy Museum specializes in the kind of materials and objects that will pique the interest of many a magician, and not just those who lean toward the more macabre side of our art. The museum houses a large collection of curiosities as well as a research library replete with thousands of books, photographs, works of art, ephemera, and artifacts relating to the history of medicine, natural history, death and society, and more.
For those of you who might think this is not your kind of museum, think again, and particularly in light of the anticipat-ed Thurston exhibition. The relationship between magic and the world of spir-its may very well be at the foundation of what we now know today simply as magic, and there are those who argue that our art is deeply rooted in shamanism and other early religious practices. Thurston (and others) themed many a show and performance around the notion that
spir-our contemporary stage magicians. While we magicians know the inner workings behind our effects and illusions, we still strive to conjure up the notion in our audiences that magic and mystery are alive and well.
For early twentieth century magicians, this was very much the practice. A sam-pling of posters announcing Thurston’s performances frequently contained images of ghosts and demonic figures whispering into the great magician’s ear. Like many of his contemporaries, Thurston cultivated the impression that dark forces were at work in his shows, in part capitalizing on the public’s fas-cination with mediums and spiritualists. While the name of Houdini still resonates loudly, part of the focus of this exhibit is to remind the general public of Thurston’s extraordinary popularity in years past. (Readers of Jim Steinmeyer’s book about Thurston, The Last Greatest Magician
in the World, know well how prominent
Thurston was in his day.)
Rory Feldman is a magician, a collec-tor of magic, an hiscollec-torian, and an author. He has the largest collection of Thurston memorabilia in the world numbering over 50,000 individual items. He was on the cover and featured in the February 2010 issue of The Linking Ring and was also the subject of an article in our journal celebrating his efforts to preserve Green Lawn Abbey, Thurston’s final resting place. He has been featured in multiple articles in The New York Times and also been written about in M-U-M, Magic
Magazine, Genii, and the Yankee Magic Collector. More than likely, you have also
seen photographs taken of items from his extensive collection. In fact, images
30 www.magician.org The Linking Ring
site at www.roryfeldmanmagic.com.) Mr. Feldman’s collaborations with William Rauscher can also be found on DVD and in print, and you may have seen one or more of the many television programs on which he has been a consultant.
The Morbid Anatomy Museum is a non-profit organization that grew out of a blog started by Joanna Ebenstein that focused on the history of objects, artifacts, and ephemera that in some ways fell through the cracks of time. Over the years, Ms. Ebenstein built up a substantial private collection of esoterica dealing with medi-cal history and funereal rituals among related areas of study, and with the help of others, created the museum. The museum is now open to the public six days a week and in addition to its exhibitions there are weekly lectures and workshops on a vari-ety of topics.
Hopefully, the arcane nature of the museum in general and the Thurston exhibition in particular, will rouse your curiosity. The exhibition will run for nine months starting on April 11, 2015 and will be accompanied by public pro-grams relating to the collection and other topics. The exhibition will feature differ-ent themes selected from Mr. Feldman’s enormous resources.
Magicians should also be aware that the Morbid Anatomy Museum will also be holding a symposium September 18 through 27 titled the Congress for Curious People. The symposium, which will be highly interactive, will again have magic at its core. For more information about the exhibition and the museum
please visit the website at
www.morbidan-atomymuseum.org.
By the way, the title of the upcoming Thurston exhibition comes directly from one of Thurston’s posters that asks: “Do the Spirits Return?” Well, in a sense they must because The Morbid Anatomy Museum and Rory Feldman will be bringing back the spirit of Thurston starting on April 11.
Dr. Steven Schlanger is a retired educator and longstanding member of the I.B.M. He is also the author of the children’s book, The
Magic Act: A Mystery by
S. Roy Stevenson.
The exhibition will feature material from Mr. Feldman’s enormous resources.
April 2015 www.magician.org 31
Six-Pack Lectures
A
popular staple at the I.B.M. Annual Convention is the series of lectures known as the Six Pack – six lecturers pre-senting simultaneously in six different breakout rooms. Each lecture takes place twice. Attendees can select two of the six offerings: one in the morning and one in the afternoon.This year the Six Pack offerings include sessions that teach comedy, creativity, stagecraft, and amazing magic.
Eric Buss says that he loves to lecture, as long as he doesn’t have to lecture about chemistry to MIT students. He says that was a very awkward afternoon that he would like to forget. He apologizes to the
BY SIMONE MARRON
of Jacksonville
entire chemistry department and reminds them that bologna is highly fl ammable. Eric prefers to lecture to magicians. He actually prefers not to call it a lecture – it’s more of an informal chat about magic creativity, character development, improvi-sation, as well as a few routines performed, taught, and sold. But since that’s way too many syllables and words, he’ll call it a lecture. Eric discusses many different methods and formulas for creating origi-nal magic and adding theatrical strength to your act. It’s a casual atmosphere, and questions and discussions are always wel-come.
John Shryock’s comprehensive lec-ture is taught in a “let’s have fun” manner
April 2015 www.magician.org 31
would like to forget. He apologizes to the
Eric Buss
April 2015 www.magician.org 31
April 2015 www.magician.org 31
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ed in a behind-the-scenes look at a touring illusion show, you will fi nd what you are looking for here.
Paul Cummins will present his “FASDIU” lecture. FASDIU is an acro-nym for “From a Shuffl ed Deck in Use,” meaning that all of the card magic taught in this lecture may be done with any deck, anywhere, at any time. Paul Cummins has been performing and honing these routines and tricks for over forty years. The rou-tines will range from nearly self-working, or sleight-free, to others that are a bit more advanced. Come and learn some devastat-ing impromptu card magic!
Suzanne the Magician will be pre-senting her lecture on restaurant magic. Suzanne has been performing in this venue for over three decades. She will share the this entertaining and informative session
are topics ranging from act structure to the proper use of various sleights and stage presence. John will share several of his favorite card and coin effects with you, as well as his “Ring to Walnut” that he per-formed on the David Letterman show.
Ted Outerbridge’s “A Day in the Life” lecture teaches the inner workings of a large touring illusion show. He shares a few bulletproof routines that he uses for media appearances on television and radio. The logistics of a touring illusion show are discussed, including the set-up, running, and striking of the show. Ted’s thoughts on marketing, making the most of media appearances, the creative pro-cess, and originality will be of interest to all. By focusing on the small details
www.magician.org The Linking Ring
Paul Cummins
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you a different way of looking at entertain-ing. Also in this lecture, during his “Worse Case Scenario” section, “ICE” will present and teach some effects that will get you out of a diffi cult situation.
All of these lectures sound fantastic, and it will be a diffi cult choice for most of us to pick only two. There will, of course, be plenty of other lectures from some amazing performers that you will have the opportunity to attend both during the day and at night. The Jacksonville I.B.M. Convention is shaping up to be a stellar event. If you have not yet registered, be sure to do so at www.magician.org or call the I.B.M. Headquarters Offi ce at 1-636-724-2400.
dos and don’ts that will help you get and keep work in this industry. You will learn how to increase your tips, the importance of forging a great working relationship with the servers, and how you can make yourself a necessary addition to the res-taurant team. Learn how to increase your bookings for private events. If you work restaurants or have a desire to do so, don’t miss this invaluable opportunity to learn from Suzanne, one of the most knowledge-able restaurant workers of the present day.
Our sixth option is Kenrick “ICE” McDonald, National President of the Society of American Magicians. His “Drop the Mic Moment” lecture asks, “Do you know when your audience has reached their maximum entertain-ment potential? Do you know when you should leave the per-formance area for both stage and close-up, or when you still have work to do?” He will show
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TheLinkingRing
VOLUME 85 NUMBER 7 JULY 2005Roger Miller
INTERNATIONAL PRESIDENT
2005-2006 PHOTO © 2004 H. RICK BAMMAN
FRONT COVER 6/15/05 11:30 AM Page 1
BY DR. STEVEN SCHLANGER
Commitment
and Passion
W
hen asked what started his interest in magic, Past International President Roger Miller spoke about growing up in Wathena, Kansas. His parents were in the entertainment industry, his mother was a singer, and his father was a musician. But once the magic bug bit Roger while in Cub Scouts, he realized that he was “more magical than musical.”Roger loved performing and at the age of eleven adopted a stage name, “the Great Rogero.” To this day Roger still has the cardboard suitcase that he carried his props in as a little boy. “Prestidigitator Extraordinary” is written on the side – a moniker that still fi ts this remarkable man.
As Roger’s interest in magic evolved, he had the good fortune of meeting Faucett Ross. Ross lived in St. Joseph, Missouri, which is just fi ve miles across the Missouri River from Roger’s hometown. Roger remembers seeing Faucett Ross perform. As Roger puts it, this was the fi rst “real magician” he had ever seen. He still can recall sitting in the front row during one of Ross’s performances and being asked to assist. Ross was also active in a local magic club that Roger eventually joined. It was inspiring to be in the presence of such a well-known and accomplished perform-er, a man whose mentor was the great T. Nelson Downs.
Roger became a pharmacist after col-lege, but his love of magic continued unabated. He performed for the local Kiwanis, the Scouts, churches, and schools. But what makes Roger’s life so magical has been his service to com-munities far and wide. Roger has been a member of Rotary International since 1964, giving freely of his time and energy to promote goodwill worldwide. Roger is also a member of FORM, the Fellowship
of Rotarian Magicians, a group that links magicians throughout the world because of the passion they have in common for all
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positively to their communities and the world as a whole.
Roger joined the I.B.M. in 1960 and is a member of the Order of Merlin Excalibur. He continues to be an active member of Ring 129. He was the president of Ring 129 in 1967 and again in 1987, and he jokes that when 2007 rolled around people said, “Well, it’s been another twenty years so it’s time for you to be president again.” Roger declined, but not for any other reason than his role in the I.B.M. had evolved into a very signifi cant commitment.
In 1997 Roger became the treasurer of the I.B.M. As the story goes, Bill Tadlock, the sitting treasurer, decided it was time for a change and the Board of Trustees sought someone to fi ll the position. Past International President David Sandy, also a resident of St. Joseph, Missouri, had known Roger for years. In David’s opin-ion Roger was the perfect candidate; he had the acumen and character to take on the responsibility. The Board agreed, and Roger readily proved that he was the right choice.
Over time, Roger moved up through the hierarchy of the organization, becom-ing International Vice President in 2003 and later International President for the
2005–2006 term. It was a wonderful time for Roger in part because of the opportu-nities to visit Rings in different parts of the world and to advance the core of the I.B.M.’s mission: “To promote the art of magic, to facilitate the exchange of magi-cal ideas, and to promote harmony among those interested in magic.”
Top: Performing at a special needs school in San Jose, California. Bottom: Promotional photo from the 1980s.
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for the opportunity to host a coming FISM), Spain, Sweden, Canada, and the United Kingdom. But best of all for Roger was that the experience brought him in contact with others who share the same passion for magic. He developed many friendships along the way and, in doing so, fulfilled his responsibility as that year’s leader of the International Brotherhood.
Once he had finished his Presidency, Roger did not sit idly by. He went back to being the treasurer from July 2009 through July 2014. Also, in 2011, he and David Sandy co-chaired the Eighty-third Annual I.B.M. Convention in Dallas. They dubbed it the “Reinvention Convention,” introduc-ing the idea of havintroduc-ing smaller workshops on a variety of topics, a practice that con-tinues to this day. And as with all Past International Presidents, he is a member of the Board of Trustees responsible for guid-ing our organization into the future.
humorist.” At one point he combined his pharmacological background with magic, creating shows that combined health and humor. He still performs shows for a vari-ety of groups and organizations, including McDonald’s when they open new restau-rants in the vicinity of his home. Roger notes with a smile that once when he was scheduled to perform at a local church, the sign outside said, “Soup, Chili, and a Real Magician.”
And a real magician he is, because Roger manages through his genial per-sonality and love of magic to transform the world around him and make it a better place. From the I.B.M. to Rotary to every magical endeavor, Roger carries a smile on his face and a can-do attitude in his heart.
Dr. Steven Schlanger is an Associate
Editor of The Linking Ring. Reach him by e-mail at [email protected].
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Realizing that they shared a passion for magic, they decided to form a fellowship under the auspices of Rotary International. There are many different types of fellowships under the Rotary International umbrella; the one constant is that they come together around a particular topic or interest and give partici-pants opportunities to share ideas and make friendships.
FORM currently has twenty members from six countries. That may seem like a small number considering that there are 1.2 million members in Rotary. And yet it is interesting to note that of those twenty members, three have received Rotary’s highest honor, the Service Above Self Award. It is hoped that by spreading the word through this article other Rotarians who share the same interest in magic will consider becoming members of FORM. Of the current members of this fellowship, about a third are professional magicians. The rest are hobbyists or collectors and several are I.B.M. members. One notable member of the fellow-ship is none other than Past International President Roger Miller.
Jim Lang is the current president of FORM and a past president of I.B.M. Ring 59 and its current treasurer. Over the years Jim’s commitment to Rotary has been exemplary. He is a Past District Governor of Rotary District 7980 in Connecticut and is the recipient of the Citation for Meritorious Service from Rotary International. Jim has also been a professional magician for over thirty years, performing at venues including schools, libraries, parties, cor-porate events, and of course, Rotary functions.
It makes a lot of sense that people like Jim Lang and Roger Miller are passionate about both Rotary and magic. Both endeavors are predicated on connecting with people and having a positive impact on society. Rotary International, like the I.B.M., is a highly diverse orga-nization. It is also the oldest and second largest service club in the world. It was formed in Chicago in 1905 and gained international status when a Canadian club was chartered in 1915. Today, there are 1.2 million members who come from 197 countries worldwide with slightly more than half being in countries other than the United States. The men and women of Rotary come from all walks of life, united by one primary mission, to make the world a better place through service projects that build on community needs and interests.
Rotary’s signature project has been to completely eradicate polio from the face of the planet. Working with the Gates Foundation, the CDC, and the World Health Organization, Rotarians have accomplished their mission in all but two countries. It is a remarkable achievement and one that demonstrates why support for the efforts of Rotary is so important.
If you are interested in learning more about Rotary International please visit its website at www.rotary.org. If you are already a Rotarian and wish to join the Fellowship of Rotarian Magicians (FORM), you are encouraged to either contact Jim Lang directly at
[email protected] or to visit their webite at www.rotarianmagic.org. Dues for FORM are $15 a year, the cost of which goes primarily to maintaining the website and the publication of a newsletter through which members can share their biographies, tricks, news, resources, and more.
In a world as complicated as ours, it is reassuring to know that there are so many people trying to have a positive and lasting impact on today and tomorrow. The members of FORM, though few in number are doing exactly that, using their skills as magicians and their desire to serve, to brighten whatever corners of the globe they occupy.
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By C. Dennis Schick
ornate letters, VICTORIAN POPULAR
CULTURE. Listed down the middle are
four major subjects, whetting my appetite as I read each one: (1) Spiritual, Sensation
& Magic, (2) Circuses, Sideshows & Freaks, (3) Music Hall, Theatre & Popular Entertainment, and (4) Moving Pictures, Optical Entertainments & The Advent of Cinema. I have an interest in
all of these, so where to start?
Across the bottom of that first page were helpful tabs: Introduction, Contents, Further Resources, and Help. I followed the “jump in and look around” advice and clicked on the first one. More options: Introduction, Nature & Scope, User Guide, Essays, Participating libraries, and Editor’s Choice.
Under Introduction is this explanation of the site: “An editorial resource for
the study of popular entertainment in the nineteenth and early twentieth cen-turies. This innovative portal invites users into darkened halls, small back-rooms and traveling venues that hosted everything from spectacular shows and bawdy burlesque, to the world of magic and spiritualist seances.”
The “Contents” tab gives an alphabeti-cal listing in chart form of Titles, with Author, Date, Document Type, and Section for each one. There are one hundred and eighty-seven pages of these. Also there is a search bar in which to enter a specific topic of interest. I typed in “advertisements with magicians” and received a long list of
The Sphinx magazines. Yes, every lead I
followed led to what I was looking for. I decided to try another search: “Houdini.” Up came the results, with a notice: “This search generated more than 500 hits. Would you like to refine your
R
ecently I had such a marvelous time travel experience that I must share it with you. A similar journey awaits any member of the I.B.M. who receives TheLinking Ring in either digital or printed
format.
As such a member, I am privileged to have free access to a rich treasury of infor-mation in the Conjuring Arts Resource Center’s Ask Alexander databases,
including nine decades of The Linking
Ring, going back to 1922. This is because
of the generosity of the I.B.M. Endowment and Development Fund, which pays for the privilege.
Of course, the primary reason for making this arrangement was to allow I.B.M. members instant access to all back issues of The Linking Ring, as well as past I.B.M. Convention programs. But a fringe benefit is access to other data-bases at Ask Alexander, as well. And that’s where I had my time-travel experience.
I logged onto the I.B.M. Website (www.
magician.org), went to my personal dash-board and clicked on the second item, “Access to The Linking Ring Collection.” That took me to the Ask Alexander open-ing page. I pulled down the Browse tab to get to The Linking Ring archives, but went too far and clicked on the other choice there instead. It is called Victorian
Popular Culture. Now what the heck is
that?
I was going to retrace my steps in order to get to the magazine, but decided to do what an early computer guru friend advised me to do to learn something new – I “jumped in and took a look around.” Boy, am I glad I did!
The opening page says, “Adam Matthew Digital presents a Portal for,” then in large,
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search criteria?” So I re-entered “Bess Houdini.” Eleven sources appeared. The first one was a pamphlet with the title: The
Houdini Messages; the facts concerning the messages received through the medi-umship of Arthur Ford.” Given were the Author, Date, Place of publication, Topics, Source, Collection, and the Document Sub Type. I clicked on the first one, and it gave me a long passage of text, with the word “Houdini” highlighted in yellow through-out.
Could I stop? No! I tried one more: “Linking Rings.” Again I got a message saying there were more than 500 hits. Among the sources were: The Sphinx magazine; Modern Magic: A Practical
Treatise on the Art of Conjuring, a book; Wehman’s Wizards’ Manual; and Light: a Journal of Psychical, Occult, and Mystical Research,” a periodical. Also, the
cover of each item is shown.
Next I moved to the “Further Resources” tab and found yet another listing of choic-es: Exhibition-moving pictures, Video, Audio (Music Hall), Gallery, Chronology, and Popular Searches. I clicked on sever-al just to see where they went, and in one instance got so lost that I had to start over to find my way back to the original list.
Each click was a new adventure, and I
had to force myself to move on, reminding myself that I was researching the research process, not some specific topic.
I tell you all this in order to (1) show you the detail the records go into, and (2) to encourage you to do your own exploration.
from, and why? I went back to my search engine and typed in “Adam Matthew Digital.” I was directed to their website. There I found that “(The) Adam Matthew Company publishes unique primary source collections from archives around the world. (Their) award-winning collections span the social sciences and humanities and cover a multitude of topics ranging from medieval manuscripts and Victorian moving images to ephemera from the 1960s and confi-dential government documents. (They) collaborate with leading libraries and aca-demics throughout the world in order to produce powerful research and dynamic teaching collections.”
Adam Matthew Publications (www.
ampltd.co.uk) was started in England in 1990 by two men who named it after their sons. They had a passion for preserving history and making it widely available. The company grew into a successful microfilm publishing business with over six hundred titles. They published their first digital collection in 1998. In 2007 they founded Adam Matthew Digital to focus solely on the development and production of digi-tal collections. And that’s how I accessed them. In 2012 the company was purchased by the SAGE Company, but it remains an independent subsidiary of SAGE. The company has offices in both the United Kingdom and the United States (Chicago).
Well, I’m back from my time travel to the nineteenth and early twentieth cen-turies. I wanted to stay longer, but I have a deadline to turn this in. Now I know – and you know – that an intriguing journey awaits the click of a mouse. Remember what makes it possible? Membership in the I.B.M. with access to The Linking
Ring – that’s the ticket!
C. Dennis Schick is an Assistant Editor of The Linking Ring and editor of the
“It is hard to believe that British Magic’s most respected couple are no more.” These words, written by a fellow magician, per-haps capture best what all of us felt upon learning of the passing of Amy Dawes.
For more than six decades, Amy and Eddie Dawes seemed omnipresent and invincible. They attended, performed, and lectured at hundreds of magic conventions around the world, made lifelong friend-ships, collected magic, and produced an astonishing number of articles and books on the history of our art that will be read and appreciated for generations to come.
Their award-winning Victorian Conjur-ing Act – “Only Make-Believe: A Plethora of Prestidigitation” featuring Professor Bluffman and Madame Patrice – was described by one reviewer as a “brilliantly devised, coloured blend of baffling effects with many original touches, presented with superb stagecraft.”
“True collaborators in all things,” said their younger son, Adrian, at A Celebration of Her Life on January 12, they shared “a passion and focus.” Eddie had said as much at their Golden Wedding Anniver-sary in 2000: “Whatever I have managed to do in Magic would never have been possi-ble without Amy’s wonderful support.”
The youngest daughter of Roger Dunn and Jane Rogerson, she was born March 16, 1929 at Sheriff Hill, Gateshead, Glas-gow, and later attended Gateshead Gram-mar School. On September 1, 1939, however, like many children, her school-ing was interrupted by wartime evacuation to Northallerton. She came back after a few weeks, only to be evacuated again in
IN MEMORIAM
AMY DAWES
March 16, 1929 – December 30, 2014 By Dale Salwak
Amy and Eddie Dawes, 2014.
Eddie and Amy Dawes in Charles Bertram’s 1903 Renault.
the spring of 1940 as the Tyne-side industries and shipyards were bombed. She wasn’t able to return home until eighteen months later in 1942.
At seventeen, she left home again to study at the Yorkshire Training College of House Craft in Leeds. There at a social event on November 29, 1946, she met Eddie, then a biochem-istry student researching for his Ph.D. and for whom (in those hungry times of rationing), said elder son Michael, her “access to sources of food, as a cookery student, was doubtless an added attraction!” They were married on December 19, 1950 at St. John’s Church, Gateshead.
Upon graduating as a Domes-tic Science teacher she taught at
a variety of schools including two of the toughest in Gateshead and Renfrewshire. It is there, according to Adrian, that Amy honed her survival skills: “the Medusa stare, the one that rendered all resistance futile and all excuses redundant; and the Smile, the one that comforts, encourages and inspires one to strive to do one’s best.”
In 1963, when Eddie was appointed as founding Reckitt Professor of the new Bio-chemistry Department at Hull University, they relocated to Anlaby where she later became a Chief Examiner for Domestic Science for the Joint Matriculation Board. All her adult life Amy was generous with her time and organizational talents. For over twenty-five years she was involved with Action Medical Research, a charity helping disabled and developmen-tally challenged children, latterly as Chair-woman. From 1971 until the mid-1980s her training and talents went on display as the Costume Designer for dramatic pro-ductions at Hymers College.
She also served as an Honorary Vice-President of the Hull Magicians’ Circle, helping for over forty-eight years to organ-ize their annual Dinners and, for fifteen
Amy Dawes, creator of the act, “Magic Ragtime.”
Eddie and Amy Dawes performing in 1963.
years, creating the magic-themed table decorations. Her exceptional hospitality in their home at Dane Hill to over 4,000 visit-ing academics, students, members of the magic community, friends, and family is
The Fascinations of
Magic History
Reflections on the
Yankee Gathering
By Jason Goldberg
Photos courtesy of Gary R. Frank When an international and eclectic
group of magic history devotees came together late last year, magic’s deepest roots were investigated, some mysteries were laid to rest, and thoughts about the future of our art were pondered. The occa-sion was the New England Magic Collec-tors Association (NEMCA) convention, known as the Yankee Gathering, held November 6-8, 2014, at the Doubletree Hotel in Westborough, Massachusetts.
It admittedly sounds odd to attend a magic conference where very little magic is actually performed except during the evening shows. No one was seen with so much as a deck of cards in the hallways. Why attend? What draws us together? For some, it’s the collecting side: the admira-tion of the attenadmira-tion to detail in a carefully constructed prop, the colors that still pop in a lithograph, or the feel of an old book in our hands, all indicating promises of a strange mystery or adventure about to be witnessed. For others, it’s history and the hidden story behind a trick or character. It may be the opportunity to revisit our child-hood: I saw someone purchase an early Mysto magic set because it was the same model as the first one they had ever owned. It’s also a chance to daydream, if perhaps a little romantically, about a life on the road, gathering mud in the wheels between each show. For others, it’s a chance to do research for upcoming shows by exploring
the past; knowing what happened a hun-dred years ago can influence tomorrow evening’s show and be important to under-standing what the face of magic will look like a hundred years from now. As David Haversat, one of the organizers, noted, maybe we just attend “for the art of it.”
The Yankee Gathering has a format sim-ilar to all magic conventions: talks, a deal-ers room, and performances. Being a gathering for collecting and history, an additional room was added for exhibits, and time was carved out for an auction. In between, there was plenty of time to jaw-bone and compare notes. As usual, the con-versations at the bar usually lasted well into the early morning hours. The Gather-ing also brought together a very unusual assortment of characters. At breakfast one morning, I noticed that a photographer, full-time magician, biologist, dentist, and window specialist were sharing a table. At lunch, we might pick over long-lost scrap-books of vaudevillians and marvel at the hectic pace of their traveling schedules.
Yankee Gathering XV was held in honor of George and Sandy Daily, and they kicked off the festivities with a lecture on Mildred and Harry Rouclere, performers from the 1890s. Echoing the theme that past performances pave the way for the future, the Roucleres not only were novel in that they gave Mildred top billing, but in the fact that their assistant, Major Jumbo,
was given a major role in the show, helping to lead the way for African Americans in enter-tainment.
Michael Claxton also cov-ered the theme of diversity in one of the best lectures of the weekend. For the last eight years, he has been researching Dell O’Dell, a very strong (liter-ally and figuratively) and cha-rismatic female performer from the early 1900s, and one of the most popular and complicated performers of her day. He received his book hot off the press at the Yankee Gathering! Mr. Claxton’s talk was a strong blend of humor and erudite research about a performer who curiously hid much about her past during her lifetime. Sur-prisingly, his lecture and book have given me much to think about in my office, where diver-sity in employment is a critical
issue. I’ve often wrestled with how my magic interests should connect with my professional career, and Michael has given me something new to consider.
Bill Rauscher also had a new book he discussed. Silent Mora may have been, well, silent, but Bill certainly wasn’t. His talk was another hit of the weekend and perfectly captured both the era of the times Silent Mora performed in, as well as the flavor of the act. Bill has written seventeen books, and his reflections on writing fueled some interesting insights into the psyche of a researcher. As Bill said, writing gives the people you’re writing about the chance to take over your mind for a little while, and gives someone who’s unknown the opportunity to come out of the shad-ows. I’m not certain if Bill was talking only about writing, or whether he was offering additional insights as to what hap-pens when we as magicians take the stage and adopt a different persona, allowing the act to become us for a little while.
The organizers did a great job ensuring
Mildred and Harry Rouclere.
Silent Mora.
that the talks covered a wide range of top-ics. Everyone who collects has some story about how they acquired their collection or how they found a great piece. Such was the
theme of Phil Temple’s talk; he was sin-cerely emotional as he talked about what it was like to work with the objects he has found over the years. In an era where many newcomers to magic are learning from the Internet (and hopefully from the I.B.M.!), Gabe Fajuri put forward a hypothesis about the most vital magic shops from the 1860s to the 1960s and their contributions to our art. Terry Roses followed with a lec-ture that could only be described as over-whelming as he reviewed the seemingly inexhaustible number of devices that gam-blers have used to cheat at cards, dice, dominoes, and other games, even bingo. Terry’s talk, and the demand for his servic-es by casinos and law enforcement, offered vivid proof that understanding magic his-tory (and its allied fields) is vital to not only magical entertainment, but even to protecting today against criminal fraud.
The last day of the Gathering featured three lectures. Dr. Eddie Dawes shared some of the highlights from his work on
John Henry Anderson, “The Great Wizard of the North.” Through his new research, Dr. Dawes set the record straight on a few of the more sordid details of Anderson’s life by examining a detailed history of his relationships. Georges Naudet spoke about the conjurer in nineteenth century popular imagery, and whether magicians were more commonly seen as popular perform-ers or as petty thieves. I wasn’t sure what to expect when I saw “The Magic of Ronald McDonald” on the bill, but Steve Thomas gave a surprisingly touching and funny talk about his career in magic and his thirty years of portraying Ronald McDonald, offering insights for anyone interested in performing full-time or for companies looking to use magic as part of their public outreach.
In a first for the Yankee Gathering, each evening featured a performance, not just one as has been the case with past Gather-ings. Tom Ewing, the master of cere-monies did a masterful job warming up the
crowd, not to mention one of his spectators, especially when he kept pouring Irish whiskey from a Lota Bowl into an endless sup-ply of shot glasses with the refrain, “Let’s have another!” Larry Stangel, Mike Caveney, Leland Faulkner, The Gustaf-sons, Torkova, and Doc Swan all took the stage over the course of three evenings, each demonstrating a very different style of performing, but all based in some way on magic’s history. The Gustafsons recreat-ed a lovely silk performance from Ade Duval, showing an act that probably hadn’t seen the light for decades. Mike Cav-eney shot a selected card in mid-air, Torkova astonished the crowd by mysteriously filling bowls with oranges, and Doc Swan carried a spectator on his back while he walked barefoot on broken glass. For three days, each evening offered at least
one show that would fit someone’s taste. Of course, it wouldn’t be a collector’s weekend without something to collect. Objects were on display in an Exhibits Room, the Dealer’s Room was always busy, and the auction and flea market gave participants a chance to search for bar-gains. The Exhibits Room offered a num-ber of rare collections for viewing, including items from Houdini, Robert-Houdin, McDonald’s, and Silent Mora. I attended the Yankee Gathering four years ago, and it seemed that the auction offered a wider array of items this year. More pieces were available that newer collectors and those of more modest means could acquire. While many of the higher end pieces did not make their reserve, such as a Kellar poster that failed to sell at $2,000, there was spirited bidding on other items. Whether this is a quirk in the economy or some sign of the future of the magic market is unknown. While some collections have
certainly increased in value over the years, it is also apparent that most NEMCA mem-bers collect because of a fascination with magic more than as an investment. They know their history and, more importantly, they all genuinely want to share that knowledge.
As I did last time, I left the Gathering with many new friends and a list of new ideas for my upcoming performances. The organizers deserve congratulations for continuing to put on a great weekend. The Yankee Gathering is an invitation-only meeting, but that doesn’t mean it’s impos-sible to join. If you would like to join us in 2016, please e-mail David Haversat at
[email protected] and ask to be added
to the invitation list. In the immortal words of Tom Ewing, “Let’s have another!”
Jason Goldberg is an Associate Editor for The Linking Ring. Contact him by e-mail at [email protected].
PHOTOGRAPHS BY ALEXANDER BARTOLE, WITH PERMISSION OF LLF
So far in this series of articles, I have been looking at the effect that your magic has on patients, yet there is another set of people that we need to keep in mind – the families of the patients. We often forget how stressful things can be for the parents and siblings of a seriously ill patient.
Ronald McDonald House Charities is a significant support mechanism for the these families. Ronald McDonald Houses provide a home for out-of-town families to stay near their children while they are being treated at a nearby hospital.
Recently, Rick Del Vecchio, a Past I.B.M. Ring Coordinator, Past TVP, and Past Ring 45 President, sent me a story about a special young magician, Jolie Harley Dreiling, at Ring 45 who is giving back to the families of seriously ill children in Miami.
It’s Monday night, and the Little Light-house Foundation is providing pizza, soda, and ice cream to the residents of the Ronald McDonald House in Miami. The
“We often take for granted the very things that
most deserve our gratitude.” – Cynthia Ozick
(continued on page 98)
residents include parents and their chil-dren, all of whom are patients at Jackson Memorial Children’s Hospital. In addition to the pizza dinner, they will be entertained by “The Princess of Magic,” Jolie Harley Dreiling.
A Miami Beach resident, thirteen-year-old Jolie Harley Dreiling is an honor stu-dent at Ransom Everglades where she excels in French and plays the tuba. Jolie is also a champion dog handler, having won numerous ribbons throughout the USA showing her three Chinese Crested show dogs, Ace, Trooper, and Hercules.
Jolie, a member of the Syd Bergson Ring, I.B.M. Ring 45, often performs for the Little Lighthouse. Her favorite trick is making smiles appear on the faces of the children, parents, and staff.
The Little Lighthouse Foundation (LLF) is a non-profit charitable organiza-tion that positively impacts the lives of ter-minally ill children and financially