Genii Speaks Richard Kaufman Contact us by calling 301-652-5800, e-mailing [email protected] or surfing our website at www.geniimagazine.com

CHANNING POLLOCK is gone. For lay- required to perform his trick “One Face South,” described men, he vanished from their radar as a performer on p.22. Learn this, carry the props we’ve given you over almost 40 years ago when he suddenly retired in the past four months, and you will have a miracle that will 1969 at age 43. For magicians, however, every make your reputation—all without a single bit of sleight of time we see someone produce doves or do card hand. We also have a new version of the Square from manipulations, we are seeing someone doing a , an eye-popping coin routine from Reed poor imitation of the master. If ever there was McClintock, Jim Swain’s handling of the “10-Card Poker a magician who seemed like a god, it was Deal,” a wild illusion from Matthew Dowden with a rub- Pollock—unspeakably handsome and charis- ber band and a noodle (yes … a noodle), a great card matic, doing the most perfect dove productions and card transposition from Rob James which he did for me in Las manipulations imaginable, a superb performer and a gen- Vegas in February, and something from David Acer at the erous, humble man—a gentleman in every sense of the end to burn you up. • The elegant prose of word. Our coverage begins with a round-table discussion reappears with the latest “Language of Illusion,” where he moderated by Mike Close with John Thompson, Lance discusses Robert-Houdin’s “Ethereal Suspension” and Burton, and participating. In addition, I makes you feel bad for asking why they can’t get rid of the interviewed David Copperfield, and and second broom. • Jamy Swiss, Dustin Stinett, and David Patrick Martin have written tributes. All these gentlemen Oliver finish things up with a raft of reviews of the latest were close friends with Channing and it’s hard to imagine books, DVDs, and tricks. Enjoy. a better memorial issue. Norm and Lupe Nielsen gave us access to excellent photographs of Channing, as well as rare film and video footage which you will find in the arti- cle—most of this has never been reproduced before. Channing performed his entire act in a short film called European Nights, made in London in 1959. In order to give you a feeling for what his performance was like (and all it can be on the printed page is a ghost of the original), we are reproducing frame grabs of his act down the right side of the entire article. In order to devote most of that space to a full appreciation of his remarkable and original dove productions, I’ve had to severely abbreviate the stills of his card manipulations—but make no mistake: he was among the finest manipulators who ever lived. In addition Channing Pollock’s method for stealing and producing a dove is explained on p.74. The original (incorrect) descrip- tion has been rewritten by John Thompson and myself, and we have supplemented it with a flip book (p.77) for Genii participated in the World Magic Seminar Teen Contest in you to assemble which shows—with frame-by-frame Las Vegas this February by doubling the prize money donated photographs from European Nights—Channing producing a by . The teen stage contest winners were: First dove. Between the written description and the flip book, Place, $1,000—Sterling Dietz; Second Place, $600—Jayson you should be able to improve your own technique in short Morrison; Third Place, $400—Vinny DePonto. order. • We’ve been presenting excerpts from Jim Swain’s Tony Valentine novels to you pretty much every spring for After spending three days at the Blackpool Convention in the past few years—this year it’s a double header, with England (something you really need to see at least once in Deadman’s Poker and Deadman’s Bluff coming out within your life if you’re a magician), I went down to London for 30 days of one another. Not only do we present an excerpt some fun and, among other things, spent a day with David from Deadman’s Poker on p.42, but also Jim’s latest ver- Berglas. Late in the evening he did the most remarkable sion of one of his most famous effects, “Poker Inter- card effect I’ve ever seen. We were both standing and, change.” You can purchase both books through the ama- during a conversation in which he segued from normal talk zon.com links on the Genii Forum. • In addition to that, we into the patter for the trick without my realizing it, he stat- have an unusually long “” this month, in which ed that he would show me something I would never forget. Bob Farmer finally explains the crop circles with cards that He also asked me to remember everything that happened have been appearing in these pages, one each month (which I tried to do, though the genuine significance of this since February. No, they don’t portend the coming of would only become clear five minutes later). Then he aliens who worship a pasteboard deity—they are the props asked me to name any card. That’s it—just name any card.

10 GENII

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I named the Eight of Diamonds. He asked me to look at a THE LAS VEGAS china cabinet across the room and notice the drawers. He MAY 1 TO 7 Compiled by David Neubauer (FLICKING FINGERS) (www.dnmagic.com) indicated that I was to open the drawer on the right and in it Amazing Johnathan I would see several decks of cards—I was to pick up any one Close-Up Gallery Early: 7:00, 7:45, 8:30, 9:15 10 pm, (Dark Thurs.), Sahara of the decks, then close the drawer. I followed his instruc- Martin Eisele Jason Bird tions, removed one of the cased decks (there were about half Late: 10, 10:45,11:30, 12:00 The Shops in Desert Passage— a dozen in a pile in the drawer), and sat down at a table. He Stephan Kirshbaum Aladdin. Main stage, near the “V” was standing at least six feet away from me during this. The Parlour of Prestidigitation Theater, Thurs.-Mon. Various times from 1:15 pm to 8:15, Free Following his instructions, I opened the case and removed Early: 7:30, 8:45, 9:30 Jörg Alexander Bite (Vampire Strip Revue) the deck. It was face up. I turned it face down and placed it Late: 9:45, 11:15, 12 Antonio Restivo (fire manipulation) on the table as he requested. He then asked me to cut the Nikolai Friedrich 10:30 pm (dark Thurs.) deck and look at the face card of the portion I cut off—I did, Palace Of Mystery Stratosphere and it was the Eight of Diamonds. The hair on the back of my 8:30, 10, 11:15 Buck Wild neck stood up. Berglas was nowhere near me during any of Thomas Fraps, Helge Thun, Nathan Burton (as a redneck Ben Profane, Pit Hartling, magician), 7 pm covered shows this. With his permission, I looked in the other drawers to see Manuel Muerte, Gaston Mon.-Wed. & Sat. 9 pm Topless if there were other decks of cards stashed around the room MAY 8 TO 14 shows (Over 18), Sahara (Dark Fri.) … I found none. Don’t think I’ve ever been so badly fooled. Close-Up Gallery Lance Burton, Master Magician Early: Terry Lunceford 7 pm Tues.-Sat., As reported on MagicWeek.co.uk: Something Wicked This Way Late: Rafael Benatar 10 pm Tues. & Sat., Monte Carlo Comes wins the Laurence Olivier Award for Best Enter- The Parlour of Prestidigitation Collin Foster—Quicker Than The Eye tainment. London Theatre Guide reports: “The dashing Derren Early: Agustin Aristaran 4 & 6 p.m. (Dark Mon.) Late: Daniel Ketchedjian Comedy Zone, Plaza Brown … was presented with his statuette by Michelle Palace Of Mystery Tyas Frantz, Chris Karpiak, Collins, who will soon be seen in the West End in Daddy Jon Stetson Seth Grabel Cool. This latest vehicle for Brown’s unique mixture of hyp- Scott & Muriel Beacher's Madhouse 10 pm, nosis, psychology and sleight of hand saw Derren making his MAY 15 TO 21 Hard Rock audience act oddly with subliminal messages and doing Close-Up Gallery Haunted Vegas Tour & Show things with broken bottles that looked like they really hurt.” Early: Paul Green Robert Allen & Jac Hayden & Late: Derek Del Gaudio Zamora ,9 pm tour and show … The Laurence Olivier Awards, which are presented annu- The Parlour of Prestidigitation (Dark Wed.-Thurs.), Greek Isle ally by the Society of London Theatre, are the UK’s most Early: David Regal Illusionary Magic of Rick Thomas prestigious theatre awards and the highlight of the West End Late: Rafael Benatar 2 & 4 pm, Stardust (Dark Wed.) calendar.” The Olivier Awards are England’s equivalent of Palace Of Mystery La Femme Broadway’s Tony Awards. Terry Seabrooke Stephan Vanel, 8, 10:30 pm Hans Davis (Dark Tues.), MGM Grand I met Gene Maze very early in my magical life—in 1972, when George Saterial Comedy Magic Show I graduated from hanging around at Mike Tannen’s shop Circle MAY 22 TO 28 1 & 3 pm, (Dark Sun. & Mon.) Close-Up Gallery Harrah's Clint Holmes Theater Magic, and started going to his brother Lou Tannen’s shop on Early: Todd Lamanske Penn & Teller 1540 Broadway. I was a very shy kid, age 14, and mostly Late: John B. Born 9 pm, (Dark Tues.), Rio watched what others were doing. Early on, Gene made a real The Parlour of Prestidigitation V, The Ultimate Variety Show effort to introduce himself and swap magical ideas. He was Early: Torkova Jeff Hobson, Nathan and Sarah, extremely generous with his time and expertise and was a real Late: Tim Shegitz 7 pm and 9 pm, Aladdin believer in giving an honest opinion if someone asked what he Palace Of Mystery World’s Greatest Magic Show thought of a trick or sleight. Gene was a carpenter and painter Richard Forget , Joseph Gabriel, Murray Hatfield by profession, and when I started drawing he built my first The Majestixs, Kozak, Danny Cole, Ardan James, Shimshe. Derek light table. Originally from Boston, his earlier careers were as Magic Castle Information Roberts, Billy Fergueson & Chris a paratrooper and boxer—he fought under the name “Dancin’ Those with guest cards, Randall (pre-show). 6 pm Sat. - Bill Daley” and was a ranked welterweight (and I’ve got a and those who belong to Thurs., 8:15 Fri., Greek Isle. Dec. 16mm film somewhere to prove it). He was victimized, as were the IBM or SAM, are Xtreme Magic Starring Dirk Arthur admitted to The Magic Castle so many others in the fight game, by a crooked manager. He 2 and 4 pm, (Dark Fri.) with dinner reservations. Tiffany Theatre, Tropicana was a regular part of the Saturday afternoon crowd at the var- Please call 323-851-3313 Restaurants ious cafeterias and restaurants we used as meeting places. For for more information. Updates to the performing Eric Allan several years in the 1970s he was the secretary of the New schedule can be found at Outback Steakhouse, York City ring of the I.B.M., but after having his ring reports www.MagicCastle.com. (Green Valley), Fri. & Sat. regularly censored over the course of several years (no bad Jayden LaCross reviews, please), he gave that up. Gene lived in the Bronx with TGI Fridays, Wed. & Sun.

MAY 2006 11 his partner, Sam Shulman, and Sam’s mother. While Gene of his shows and traveled around the world with him—well, was in his late fifties, Sam died of AIDS—Gene was never that deserves special mention. David Copperfield’s father the same after that. When his sister, who lived in Santa Hy Kotkin died on February 23 at age 83, suffering from Maria, California became ill in the late 1990s, he moved out Alzheimer’s disease. Our condolences to David, not only there to take care of her. After she died he really didn’t have on the passing of his father, but our thoughts are also any way to get back to the east coast, and he supported with him and his mother, Rebecca, as she battles the himself by taking various jobs as a handy man. I sent Jason same disease. To learn more about Hy Kotkin go to England, who lived nearby, to do a story on Gene, but he www.rememberhy.com—I recommend you watch the found him to be quite secretive. Thinking back on it, even excellent video put together by Homer Liwag. though I knew Gene extremely well for almost 20 years, I don’t know much at all about what he did for the first 44 Not many close-up magic magazines make it to their second years of his life other than the boxing and paratrooper anec- year (some don’t even make it to their second issue!), but dotes—both of which fit into a sentence. Gene was very cre- Gene Taylor’s quarterly Antinomy has passed that landmark ative and loved to practice, but became nervous in front of and commenced its second volume. With writings by Jon a crowd. If you sat with him on Racherbaumer and Jamy Ian Swiss, and tricks by Max a Saturday afternoon and Maven and Josh Jay among others, you’ll find it feels just watched him deal perfect Bot- like home. The layout is improved and issue 5 comes com- toms, Seconds, and Centers, plete with a gimmicked “Oops” deck. If you like close-up you saw a master. His Center magic and fine writing, this is definitely worth your while: Deal was utterly natural and www.antinomymagic.com. invisible. At lectures, and on video, he fared less well. His Fantasma, The Magical Toy Experience, has just opened at false dealing was superlative. 421 Seventh Ave., second floor, just opposite Penn Station Much of his creative output was at 33rd St. in New York City. For more information call 212- published by (in two 244-3633 or visit Fantasmamagic.com large books in the Packet Switches series), and by me in Author’s Query: Jeff Pierce is, with ’s permission, The Gene Maze Card Book and compiling material for a book on “Card Warp.” He is accept- Gene Maze and the Art of ing submissions by e-mail at [email protected]. Bottom Dealing. A two-video- tape set was also produced by Department of Inevitable Corrections: Balsamo from France Meir Yedid (though all the writes, “I just read the Gregg Chmara article about Eric Buss books are out of print, the videotapes are available from and I want to make a little correction. Patrick Sébastien (and www.mymagic.com). Gene had gone through quintuple not Sebasrian) is the producer and presenter of a two hour bypass surgery this past fall and he died of advance prostate monthly TV show called Le plus grand cabaret du monde cancer on Monday March 13 at 77. He was certainly one of (The biggest cabaret in the world). It’s not The Patrick the most generous people I’ve ever met and encouraged Sebasrian Show in a place called Le plus grand cabaret du many young magicians throughout his life. Meir Yedid monde. This show features visual artists and magicians from memorializes Gene on p.21. • Word came through the Genii all around the world. Each month, there are at least two Forum that Phoa Yan Tiong passed away on March 22, 2006 stage magicians and Bernard Bilis doing close-up magic.” • at 79 years of age. He is best remembered for his unique James Freedman from London writes, “In the current issue and brilliant “Cut and Restored Silk” which uses one ordi- of Genii, Jamy Ian Swiss reviews The Magic of Paul Potassy. nary silk, an ordinary pair of scissors, and the spectator gen- In the final paragraph, referring to The Magic Circle’s uinely cuts the silk in half before it’s restored. Remarkable. Centenary Celebrations, your reviewer says, “Interestingly • We generally restrict our obituaries to magicians them- there were no lectures.” This is wrong. There were two sig- selves, however when the father of the world’s most famous nificant lectures at the Centenary event. magician dies—and he was someone who not only whole- delivered the Francis White Centenary Lecture and Jim heartedly supported his son but also saw an untold number Steinmeyer, the Centenary Lecture.” •

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