Doug Henning^S Hour of Magic Tanker Breaks Apart
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PAGE FOURTEEN-B- MANCHESTER EVENING HERALD, Manchester, Conn., Mon., Dec. 20, 1976 ’ScotVs world- . ■ V ■■ ■ . i ■■ ■ ' ' j ' "r- '■ '•I '■ - d - - f 9 i ^ ■ The weather Inside today Doug Henning^s hour of magic Variable cloudiness, windy, colder Area news . .l-S-B Editorial ........6A today, scattered snow flurries likely. Oasslfied . 1S-14-B Family..........14-A High 25-30. Fair, windy, much colder two years in Europe and the United States researching Jiff 1 ComicsComics..........15-B..........15-B Obituaries ... 16A16 By VERNON SCOTT An illusion He painstakingly creates his own ledgerdemain. tonight, lows zero to 10 above. • Abby ... 15-B SporU..........4-7' B HOLLYWOOD (UPl) - When a guy says he’s going to "I’m really creating an illusion in peoples’ minds, not past and present magicians and their acts. Everything in this holiday season’s special will be new. Wednesday partly sunny, quite cold, tRiRTY-TWO PAGES make an elephant disappear odds are he's talking about fooling their senses. I just change the reality of the "Magic is a great theatrical art form,” he said. TM gives him ideas high In low 20s. National weather TWOSECnONS “Historically magicians followed other entertainment forecast map on Page 13-B. M iO d te b a i, CONN., TUKDAY, DE€EMBiR2L VOL. sobering up to dispatch a pink pachyderm. perception in an audience's mind. "It began to get difficult for me to think of original But when magician Doug Henning says he’s going to “Really, the secret of magic is psychological. Human trends but they stopped growing with vaudeville. When other entertainment moved into movie and television, magical things,” he said. "Then I discovered make an elephant disappear, he is sober and intent on beings are conditioned to perceive reality in a certain Transcendental Meditation. Since then I’ve been flooded making a real four-ton monster vanish as the highlight of way. I work on the conditioning so they can see the reali magic didn’t go along. That’s why magicians still appear in top hat and tails. with ideas.” his second television special Dec. 23. ty I create on stage. Magic died Henning keeps all his magic secrets to himself. He has Henning is the brilliant 29-year-old Canadian master of “To succeed, it’s necessary to use the power of sugges four full-time assistants who sign contracts not to reveal Tanker breaks apart legerdemain who brought "The Magic Show’’ to tion with the help of optical illusions and negative "Magic died as an art with Houdini and Blackstone. anything he does. It’s stipulated that they can never build did spill when the tanker split-27 Broadway more than two years ago where it still is suggestions.’ Magicians ended up playing kid parties and night clubs. props or perform his original magic presentations on NANTUCKET, Mass. (UPI) - A constantly battered the ship which miles southeast of Nantucket Island, playing to full houses. “I try to make an audience willingly suspend its belief. That was the state of things six years ago." their own or assisting other magicians. leaking Liberian oil tanker snared In was listing 15 degrees to the star a summertime playground. I make a theater piece out of magic with music and dan The most valuable lesson Henning learned in his two It is impossible to copyright a magic act because it not treacherous shoal waters off this board. Looks ‘rocky’ A bad winter storm with 50 knot cing so the audience is lulled into the proper frame of years of travel was from the ancient magician, Dai Ver a written document. Nor is it realistic for a magician to resort island for a week broke apart The skipper of the ship, George A slight, mustacheoed man with long hair and a winds and 20 foot seas was heading penchant for mod threads, Henning gives the appearance mind.” " non, 83, at Hollywood’s Magic Castle. patent his specialties. The patent office allows anyone to in a freshening winter storm today, Papadopouloss and several members "He taught me the difference between magic and sloshing out more of its cargo. toward Nantucket Shoals where the of his 38 member crew, were on their of a rock musician. study its files. tanker has been grounded for six Enthusiastic tricks,” Henning said. “It’s all in the presentation. Ver "Even other magicians won’t know how I do things on The Argo Merchant, stuNed with way to Boston at the time the ship But magic has been his bag since childhood. He started days. non said the first level of magic is a trick to be figured this show,” Henning said. “It’s all new and live with no 7.5 million gallons of heavy oil, ran split to appear at U.S. District Court making animals disappear with a turtle when he was 9. Henning, who brims with enthusiasm and a certain Dead birds, apparently victims of out. But real magic is a theatrical mystery to be tricky film or taped inserts. aground Wednesday In stormy to explain why the tanker wandered By age 13 he was using a boa constrictor, later moving on youthful naivete, almost singlehandedly has lifted magic oil spilled from a grounded tanker, experienced in wonder.” “1 don’t use cards or coins or work with rabbits. I’m weather that has stubbornly refused 10 miles off her chartered course. to lions and tigers. from its carnival-vaudeville image to new heights as have washed ashore at Nantucket "Doug Henning’s World of Magic” is his second NBC- trying to change the image of magic. I work with bubbles to improve. About 1.5 million gallons The 25-year-old Argo Merchant has "It took me a year to figure how to make an entertainment. Island and Martha’s Vinyard. An oil TV special. After his initial hour show last year the and flowers, and with fire, air and water, the basic in oozed out during the week, spreading been involved in at least 18 other elephant disappear," Henning said. "But the magic isn’t He won a grant from the Canada Council for the arts to slick 65 miles long had spread from in the props, like Taj the elephant. It’s in the magician. study magic and theater around the world. Henning spent network offered him a series. But the bright young man is gredients of life and mystery.” in a sheen on the Atlantic cicean for previous high seas mishaps since too much a perfectionist to give less than his best. about 65 miles south of the ruptured the tanker. 1964. Oil had been leaking from the 640- “As far as I’m concerned it is a See map on Page 5-A. foot tanker at the rate of 500 gallons potential catastrophe of major The Coast Guard said the bow of an hour, according to a U.S. Coast dimensions,” said U.S. Environmen Bethlehem mail load a e A4A. f# le OM. Bee. in. , ORDERAFesrne the Argo Merchant broke off at about Guard spokesman. More than 1.5 tal Proteotion Agency Director SHOP TOP NOTCH the midpoint about 9 a.m. and swung million gallons has leaked from the Russell Train after observing the delays Yule tree l*s?=ssr 1 FOODPLATTEh arpund to the right, apparently tanker since It went aground stranded tanker and the oil slick F o r Y o u r HolUaiy Kntertalnh remaining buoyant. Wednesday bn Nantucket Shoals, from a helicopter Monday. "It poses BETHLEHEM, N.H. (UPI) - The Christmas tree at A spokesman said the ship did not about 27 miles northeast of Nan risk, a very substantial risk, to PAY LESS “appear to be leaking profusely at tucket Island. valuable fisheries and vacation land the post office in this White Mountains village went up a this time,” although more of the oil Bad weather and rough seas had on Cape Cod and Nantucket.” little late this year. “ FOR HOLIDAY Postmaster H. Newell and his two part-time assistants just couldn’t get to it earlier because of the mountains of POODS! Christmas cards arriving from around the world to be hand-stamped with the Bethlehem postmark and cachet. TOP NOTCH W U eUM I nu.1 Last year, there were about 10,000 cards. This year CHRIST«ASmalOPJI. Athletic program critics there were more than ever because of news stories LOOK FOR TU SI SUNS. la rr U M I1B B TRAT NAVI KEN around the world about the special cachet — a picture of a R B N O i EVEN L O m TNAN ONN UIRREHOUSE PRICED rural mountain town, and the word Bethlehem. lONEVaTNATPRiaSI FOR EUEIl air views to school board The picture is hand-drawn in green ink on the rubber GRERTER SRUinGS' stamp and each card gets one whack. Come Christmas By SUSAN VAUGHN and the board promised to hear them students) out of trouble.” Day, there will be three sore arms for the post office Herald Reporter again this month. Edward F. White of 54 Ferguson staff. ^ a Comments on the state of The comments got angry and Rd. said "Manchester is the laughing “We donate our own time in some cases, or just find Manchester’s secondary school emotional at times as the speakers stock of the CCIL (Central Connec LADY BORDEN TUSCAN FARMS r e a l g o l d faster ways of doing other things," Newell said. "We are athletic programs at the Board of criticized various aspects of the ticut Interscholastic League).” and I C E C R E A M held to a tight, tight budget.