Teller (of Penn & Teller) was kind enough to write an endorsement of my Waldorf-Astoria show. A few years back, he visited together with Dick Cavett. It was a great night. After the show, we talked extensively about Groucho Marx, Richiardi, and Slydini. Teller expertly performed a Slydini coin vanish, making my silver dollar disappear in the purest fashion.
Here is the full text of the quote that Teller […]
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Yoda visited Chamber Magic at the Waldorf last night.
Andy Nyman, my old friend and a truly wonderful man, brought him along. Of course, Yoda came in the form of his inventor, Frank Oz. He’s also the man behind the Muppets: Cookie Monster, Grover, Fozzie Bear, Bert, and Miss Piggy. After the show, we had drinks together at the Bull & Bear. What a thrill. During our conversation, he grunted in Cookie Monster’s voice for me, but I didn’t ask him to speak like Yoda. It just didn’t feel like the right thing to do.
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Last night renowned sex therapist, Dr. Ruth Westheimer visited me at the Waldorf for my late show, Miracles at Midnight. During one part of the show, I magically pass one solid object through another. I call it a penetration effect. Last night, in a moment of inspiration, I asked Dr. Ruth to assist with this trick. I looked at her and asked, “Dr. Ruth, would you please help me with a penetration effect?” She answered, […]
Read the full post »I was surprised to see a mention of my performance on Tuesday night in The Daily Beast website today.
Read the full post »I was invited to entertain 125 guests last night at a private dinner celebrating Comcast’s new ownership of NBC Universal. All the heavy hitters of the two companies were there, including Jeff Zucker (NBC president), Ralph Roberts (Comcast founder), and Brian Roberts (Comcast CEO).
Read the full post »Orson Welles was no stranger to pranks, as we know from his 1938 broadcast of War of the Worlds that drove America into a frenzy. It should be no surprise, then that Welles was also a keen magician and remained fascinated by magic throughout his life. […]
Read the full post »NBA coach Phil Jackson came to my show last night. After the show was over, we took a couple of photos. I look like a shrimp. Fact is, he is 6 feet 8 inches tall. He has a great sense of humor, and is a cool guy. The next night, Phil Jackson was in the […]
Read the full post »A recent guest at my Waldorf show introduced himself as a relative of the great old-time magician, Max Malini. According to the gentleman, his great aunt’s second husband was Malini. A few weeks later, he sent me a piece of memorabilia from their family scrapbook – Malini’s calling card.
This image was drawn by the world-famous tenor, Enrico Caruso.
Read the full post »This art exhibition by Austrian designer Stefan Sagmeister is very clever and inspirational. The artist mounted 7200 bananas onto the wall, each at various levels of ripeness. It’s a Lego-like building environment, and the greenest bananas contrasted with the yellowest ones enough to spell out words: “SELF CONFIDENCE PRODUCES FINE RESULTS”
Read the full post »Once you’ve flown on a private jet, there’s no going back. I just landed in Cancun, on a Bombadier Challenger 605. And it’s all thanks to card tricks. My flight bag is loaded with six decks of Tally-Ho cards, a purseful of antique silver dollars, one red silk hanky and two false thumbs. Try explaining […]
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