Here’s the introduction that Eric Lange read to the sold-out audience heard before we walked on stage:

“Welcome to a magical evening at the Y!

“Tonight we’ll be “Looking for Magic with Steve Cohen,” who has delighted and mystified audiences all over the world.  He’s the star of Chamber Magic, the longest-running solo magic show in New York, presented each weekend in an elegant suite in the Waldorf Towers. His audiences include a who’s who of celebrities, royalty, and other notables.  A media favorite, Cohen was also the star of a sold-out solo show at Carnegie Hall and a TV special you will see excerpts from tonight, Lost Magic Decoded, that premiered on the History Channel in 2012.

“Cohen will talk about the making of the film with the film’s writer, director and co-producer Robert Palumbo, whose credits include documentaries for HBO, Showtime and National Geographic.  Steve and Robert traveled the world on their magic quest, so they have a few stories to tell!

“We’re honored to welcome back famed talk show host and author Dick Cavett, who will moderate their discussion.  What you may not know if that he began his own illustrious showbiz career as a magician!  The winner of three Emmys for the groundbreaking  “Dick Cavett Show,” he has also hosted talk shows on the USA, HBO and CNBC cable networks, is the co-author of two books,  and has appeared on Broadway and in feature films including Forrest Gump.

“So let’s welcome them all, and let the magic begin!”

Here’s how the event appeared on the 92Y website:

And here is the catalog advertisement. (See below) Nice company to be included with! On the same page: Nathan Lane, Oscar de la Renta, Dick Van Dyke, David Brenner, Andy Borowitz, Judy Gold, and Alan Dershowitz. The 92nd Street Y really brings in some major talent. Two weeks before my event, there was a Mel Brooks tribute, and the following weeks featured Martha Stewart, Marina Abramovic and General Petraeus.

The New York Times wrote a nice promo article prior to my event, and included a photo of me. I’m not a fan of this particular photo, but they had it in their archives (nicknamed “the morgue”) from when a staff photographer visited me at the Waldorf several years back.

In our greenroom, Robert Palumbo, Dick Cavett and me, waiting to be called onstage. Dick was constantly cracking jokes and made both of us feel right at home. (The Chagall painting I’m standing in front of makes it look like I have a severely inflamed ear. Ta-da! For my next trick…)

The projection monitor showed a good deal of “Lost Magic Decoded” – highlighting The Turk, Think-a-Drink, the Light and Heavy Chest, the Indian Rope Trick, and the Bullet Catch. If you haven’t seen the special yet, click HERE for more details.

Here are a few stage shots of us – we stopped and started the film so we could explain behind-the-scenes tales of what it was like to travel across three continents in search of ancient and little-seen magic illusions.

After a lively question-and-answer session (alas, no secrets were given away…) I performed one interactive card trick that everyone in the audience could experience in their own hands.

In all, “Looking for Magic” at the 92nd Street Y was a successful evening that will linger in my memory for years to come. Thank you to Dick Cavett and Robert Palumbo for joining me on stage (and in Dick’s case, adding “star” power). And many respectful deep salaams to Holly Peppe for all of her work in organizing this event.

Event photos (c) Joyce Culver

The post Finding Lost Magic at 92nd Street Y appeared first on Chamber Magic.

“Lost Magic Decoded” was praised by The New York Times (“baffling”) and USA Today (“jaw-dropping”).

The screening will be hosted by legendary talk show host Dick Cavett (click on his name to read his NY Times blog), and will include a discussion with the film’s writer/producer/director Robert Palumbo. I also plan to perform some live magic after the screening.

If you are in the New York area on June 2nd, I hope to see you there.

For details and to order tickets, CLICK HERE.

The event will be held at the 92nd Street Y, located on Lexington Avenue at 92nd Street.

Event time: 7:00pm

In India searching for the legendary Indian Rope Trick

The deadliest illusion in magic: the Bullet Catch

Performing the Light & Heavy Chest with a champion bodybuilder

The post Dick Cavett hosting “Lost Magic” screening at 92nd St Y appeared first on Chamber Magic.

Published: October 17, 2012

Some viewers will no doubt be annoyed at having been misled by the title of “Lost Magic Decoded,” a frothy special Thursday night on History, carrying as it does the implication that the secrets behind some legendary illusions will be revealed.

The post NY Times Review: Now You See It: Tales of Amazing Illusions appeared first on Chamber Magic.

Airdate: October 18th, 2012    9-11pm ET (check local listings)

LOST MAGIC DECODED will both shock and surprise you. If you have been a guest at my weekly show at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in NYC, you have never seen me in anything but a tuxedo.

But here I trade my tailcoat for traveling clothes and venture throughout the states and across Europe to India to hunt down legendary magic tricks. Once I determine whether they are real or fables, I resurrect each one for a modern audience.

Here is a synopsis of the show.

—–

In LOST MAGIC DECODED, master illusionist Steve Cohen tracks down, decodes, and resurrects some of the most thrilling and terrifying magic effects ever witnessed. Magic has a secret history, and it takes an insider like Cohen to gain access to the ancient incantations, secret sorcery, and mysterious contraptions that have shocked audiences for centuries. Can their secrets somehow be rediscovered? And can they thrill and shock today’s audiences like they once did?

Among the more than 10 Lost Magic effects resurrected in LOST MAGIC DECODED are four of the most legendary illusions of all time:

“The Turk”, a magical wooden man who first appeared in the 1780’s to shock and mystify the greatest minds in the world including Ben Franklin, Napoleon, and Edgar Allan Poe. Only one man has ever fully cracked the code of “The Turk”, and Steve tracks him down in modern day Los Angeles, to bring this terrifying illusion back to life.

“The Light and Heavy Chest,” an illusion made famous by Robert-Houdin, the father of modern magic, when he was summoned by the French government to put down an incipient revolt in the French colony of Algeria, by demonstrating that he could easily achieve total control over the strongest of the rebellious warriors. Steve must find his own method to control a modern-day strongman, stripping his power, and turning him from a crushing bodybuilder to a weakling with the strength of a 3-year old child.

“The Indian Rope Trick,” in which an Indian street magician, or fakir, levitates a rope out of a basket, sends his young son climbing up the rope until he disappears, and then climbs up after the boy to dismember him in the sky. The fakir eventually resurrects the boy before the stunned audience, creating what many call the most legendary magic effect in history. Steve travels the Northern India to track down the one man who is rumored to perform the effect today, to find a way to bring this dazzling piece of Lost Magic back to life.

“The Bullet Catch,” in which over 12 magicians have died since its first recorded performance in the 15^th Century. It seems impossible to even think about: how can a man catch a live bullet? Despite the advice of many magic experts and historians, and even a magician who survived the bullet catch, Steve is determined to join the pantheon of magicians who have caught a bullet and lived to tell the tale. In the shocking conclusion of LOST MAGIC DECODED, Steve Cohen risks his life by attempting to catch a live bullet.

Intertwining the fascinating history of magic with the thrill of the highest caliber magic performance, LOST MAGIC DECODED is a unique roller coaster ride into the deepest crevices of history and back again to the present day, where Steve Cohen proves that even the most mysterious of lost magic can be summoned and performed with as much power as when it was originally staged hundreds of years ago.

The post Announcing “LOST MAGIC DECODED” My upcoming TV special appeared first on Chamber Magic.

As with other Hermes silk twill ties, the repeating pattern is larger than you’d first think. It’s not a simple AB-AB pattern. If you look closely, you’ll notice different bends in each of the cobra necks. Also, the snake-charmer’s flute is raised and lowered at different angles throughout the pattern.

The swami on this necktie reminds me of the cover to a book that I enjoyed, The Rise of the Indian Rope Trick, by Peter Lamont.

(That swami certainly gets around.)

I bought this book at Powell’s book store in Portland, Oregon. Several years ago, I was in Portland for a performance and dropped into Powell’s in the Pearl District during a free afternoon. If you’re a book lover, this megastore is a step closer to heaven. It claims to be the largest independent used and new book store in the world. If you get a chance to visit, you won’t doubt this claim.

The Lamont book I picked up is a fascinating study of the legendary and controversial trick known as the Indian Rope Trick. Lamont argues that the trick is a spectacular hoax, and that through an odd set of circumstances – helped along by the power of the press – the world has been duped into thinking that this trick truly exists.

One of my favorite photos appears near the end of this book, depicting Alfred Hitchcock staring upward in skeptical disbelief at the rigid rope at his side. For a better view of this photo, please click the image to enlarge:

Looking back, this blog post was written in a stream-of-consciousness fashion: moving swiftly from a luxury necktie to a Portland bookshop, followed by a clever book and the Master of Suspense. Something for everyone, I hope??

The post “Charming” Hermes necktie, Alfred Hitchcock, and the Rope Trick appeared first on Chamber Magic.