One of my all-time favorites is Think-a-Drink. The proper title of this routine is Any Drink Called For, and has also been known as The Bar Act. I’ve been performing this routine in my shows for the past fifteen years, but it has existed in various forms for over a century. The trick is so old, it’s new again.
 

The father of modern conjuring, JEAN EUGENE ROBERT-HOUDIN performed its precursor, The Inexhaustible Bottle at his intimate theater shows in 19th century Paris.

In this early version of the trick, the magician poured a large volume of liquors from a single bottle – much greater than the bottle’s capacity.

I found the following historic details regarding The Inexhaustible Bottle on a lovely blog called Victorian Magic:

(quoted from Scribner’s Monthly, December 1880)

The Inexhaustible Bottle, which produces different liquors, and apparently in endless quantity, was first made popular in this country by Professor Anderson (JOHN HENRY ANDERSON, “The Great Wizard of the North”), and since his day has been exhibited by very many magicians. Of late years, it has been sold in the toy shops, and the public have learned that its effect is due in part to a well-known principle in physics, and in part to the wine glasses used, which are made so as to contain, at most, not more than a thimbleful.

The trick having become common and generally understood, conjurers began to look about for a means whereby something similar in effect might be produced, but by altogether dissimilar means. The result is a bottle-trick in which lager-beer is furnished in sufficient quantity to satisfy the thirst of a large audience. It is a very effective trick, and to it one well-known performer almost entirely owes his success.

It is only suitable for public exhibition, however, as the beer is pumped up from beneath the stage, and passes through rubber tubing, concealed in the dress of the performer, to the bottle held in the hand. The connection with the stage is made by means of a hollow boot-heel, and during the progress of the trick, the performer is unable to move.

This methodology is reminiscent of the traditional Japanese performance of mizugei (translated: “water art”), in which streams of water are sprayed into the air from specific parts of the stage, as well as from the tip of a sword, and even from an assistant’s head.

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The British magician ROBERT HELLER was so enamored by Robert-Houdin that he changed his name from William Henry Palmer to Robert Heller, since they both begin with the initials “R.H.,” and performed many of Robert-Houdin’s routines in his act. In the following poster (circa 1860s), Heller is depicted performing The Inexhaustible Bottle in the upper right corner.

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Here are some images of famous magicians who performed Any Drink Called For, and I’ll follow these images with more historic stories of the characters involved.

DAVID DEVANT, the great English illusionist and first president of The Magic Circle (in London) performed with a teakettle instead of a bottle. The teakettle was apparently used (in place of a bottle) at the suggestion of Devant’s wife. Here is a publicity poster (circa 1890s) advertising his performances at Maskelyne & Cooke’s Egyptian Hall in Piccadilly.

 

The following studio photograph depicts British magician OWEN CLARK, who performed at St. George’s Hall in London (and later toured America), and is included here with thanks to David Hibberd of the Magic Circle, London. I’m not certain which of these two similar images came first, but I suspect that it was Devant, who had a much higher profile than Clark.

I don’t know much about the following two poster images, which depict the Any Drink Called For act in a similar fashion to each other – with split streams of multi-colored liquids.

I modeled my own promotional photo on the “split stream” concept in these two posters. (Photo by Clay Patrick McBride)

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CHARLES HOFFMAN (1895-1965), known professionally as “THINK-A-DRINK” HOFFMAN, performed Any Drink Called For in American vaudeville houses and circuit theaters as a popular variety act.

Hoffman was sometimes promoted as “The Highest Paid Bartender in the World.” His main props included a small bar and several cocktail shakers, from which he poured any drink you could imagine – up to 80 in total during a single performance. There is a nice write-up of Hoffman in the highly detailed book Vaudeville, Old & New, An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America, Vol. 1.

Since his act was based on the theme of “prohibition,” a law at that time, audiences loved the fact that they were receiving alcoholic beverages, for free no less! He poured straight or mixed drinks, such as high balls, cocktails, liquors, zombies, coffee and ice cream sodas from metal cocktail shakers which were shown to be empty and from beakers filled with water. These were drinks that were merely thought of by his audience members.

Charles “Think-a-Drink” Hoffman

Charles “Think-a-Drink” Hoffman, on You Asked For It television show

In the December 1951 issue of The Sphinx, a trade magazine for magicians, an article by Jay Palmer entitled “From Keg to Kettle” described the progression of Hoffman’s career:

“Hoffmann’s reason for adding the peculiar prefix “Think A Drink” to his name is the following. When he first introduced his bar act, he used to ask the spectators to call for any drinks they wanted. This, as always occurs in performances of similar nature, caused an uproar in the theatre, scores of thirsty individual’s shouting their “orders”. Hoffman did not like the pandemonium created, and Dr. Tarbell (HARLAN TARBELL) suggested that instead of getting drinks called for, he should ask the spectators to think of any cocktail they fancied. As the idea appealed to him, he immediately adopted it, and added the “Think A Drink” to his surname.”

Bill Palmer (no relation to the author of the Sphinx article) claims that it was BURLING HULL, not Harlan Tarbell, who suggested the name “Think-a-Drink” to Hoffman. Hull’s name will resurface later in the story, as you will see below.

According to historian Milbourne Christopher, a rival Swiss magician named DE ROZE poured martinis, manhattans, beer, milk and soda from pitchers of crystal-clear water. And in fact, several other contemporaries of Hoffman (including VAL VOLTAINE, MYSTIC CRAIG, DELL O’DELL, DANNY DEW, and the Australian LES LEVANTE) performed similar acts, some which spurred high-profile legal battles.

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In the July 3, 1943 issue of Billboard magazine, the following article appeared:

DRINK-ACT PROGRAM GETS 4-WAY HOOK-UP

Hoffman, Volta, Maurice and Joan Brandon

NEW YORK, July 3 – The attempt of “Think-a-Drink” Hoffman to prevent alleged imitators from working has developed into a hour-cornered fight among magicians for the right to do the call-out-a-drink routine.

Latest development is the Great Volta retaining an attorney, David Godwin, to protect him against further onslaughts from Hoffman. Volta claims he lost two weeks’ work in Florida because Hoffman’s attorney had warned employers that only Hoffman had the legal right to do the drink act. (Hoffman won an injunction against Maurice Glazer in the Florida courts recently. Glazer also does a drink turn.)

Volta (BURLING VOLTA HULL) has dug up a June 1921 issue of a magicians’ magazine containing an ad of Boole Bros. Magic Shop, owned 60 percent by Volta, and which listed for sale a magic bar act. The ad describes the drink routine in detail and offers for sale the necessary equipment. Volta also claims that DeRosa revived the act in 1932 in Europe and brought it here after Prohibition.

Meanwhile, Maurice’s attorney, Simon Feinstein, says he is preparing suit against Hoffman, and Joan Brandon has entered the fight by having her attorney warn Hoffman that he will be sued if he causes Miss Brandon to lose work.

If you wish to read the legal case and its ruling, I’ve tracked it down on the web. Click here for the Dade County, Florida circuit court ruling, dated November 26, 1943.

—

Any Drink Called For has been performed more recently on television by British celebrity magician Paul Daniels, and by Las Vegas magician Lance Burton.

The trick has enjoyed a rich history, and I am doing my best to honor the past masters of magic by including it in my Chamber Magic^® shows at the Waldorf-Astoria. To date, I’ve performed this trick over one thousand times. I don’t think that I, or my audiences, will ever tire of participating in this “magical cocktail party.”

David Devant mural painting courtesy The Magic Circle, London

The post Think-a-Drink 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.

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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.

I recently acquired Malini’s advertising booklet at auction (circa 1926) and was delighted for two reasons simultaneously. First, it is an honor to own this historic memorabilia of a prominent magic figure. The booklet is in very good hands.

Second, the text of the booklet has confirmed that Max Malini stayed and performed regularly at the hotel where I’ve presented Chamber Magic for the last decade: the Waldorf-Astoria in New York.

In his advertising booklet, he includes four laudatory letters from prominent figures, including President Harding. Here is one of the inside pages, containing personal notes from General Pershing and Vice President Charles Dawes:

Malini’s Washington DC address as listed here is the New Willard Hotel. I presented my show Chamber Magic at the Willard earlier this year. How odd to find evidence that I’ve been following my hero’s trail, eighty-five years later.

And here was another nail in the coffin that surprised me even more still – a separate advertisement that claims Malini would be performing at Carnegie Hall in New York City. Guess where I’ll be doing my show on January 12, 2012? That’s right: Carnegie Hall. Read info about my upcoming performance HERE.

The advertisement states that Malini is “the conjurer with the smallest hands in the world, but who put magic on the map at the highest price in the world – $3.00 per seat.” In 2011 dollars, that equals $45.00 per seat – a respectable price.

If you scroll back to the image at the top of this blog post, you’ll see that Malini was staying and performing at the Congress Hotel in Chicago. Last week I was in Chicago for a private performance, so I stopped into the Congress Plaza to see what it looks like now.

Despite its wonderful location and attractive facade, the inside of the hotel has unfortunately “gone to pot.” It is the site of the longest hotel strike in the history of America, and considered a disgrace to Chicago.

That’s too bad, too, since I wanted to perform in another hotel where Malini had made his mark.

If you’re interested in reading about some of the hotels Malini performed at while living in Honolulu, Hawaii (just prior to his death), read one of my favorite blog posts HERE. I personally visited Malini’s last home, and stood in the garden where he died.

This article offers a very nice record of the unexpected final resting place of Malini.

For more on Malini, type his name into the search bar of my blog. There are more than ten articles I’ve written that offer additional stories I’ve uncovered in my research. I hope you find them as inspirational as I.

The post Max Malini’s advertising booklet, ca 1926 appeared first on Chamber Magic.

By Graeme Wood

www.thedaily.com

June 12, 2011

The most important rule of magic — other than remembering to check for rabbit-droppings before putting your hat back on — is never to perform the same illusion twice on the same occasion. The temptation can be excruciating: The trick has already proven its ability to fool, and the audience has proven its susceptibility. But the magician who gives his audience a second chance to catch him out always slips up eventually, especially if the audience includes an eagle-eyed fellow magician.

On Feb. 6, 1922, 27-year-old magician Dai Vernon broke this rule before the toughest of audiences: Harry Houdini. The bold gambit was one of the most storied events in the modern history of magic. Houdini, 47, was not only the world’s most famous magician but also its most famous debunker. He bragged he could figure out any illusion he saw three times, and he repeatedly proved second and third demonstrations unnecessary. Houdini had an enviable reputation as a card manipulator, and after diversifying into escape artistry, he had begun a third career exposing so-called “spirit mediums,” conjurers and seers. Some of the conjurers used elaborate setups, but Vernon challenged Houdini with nothing more than a blue-backed deck of Aristocrat playing cards.

Vernon was visiting Chicago for the Society of American Magicians gathering at the Great Northern Hotel. The honored guest was Houdini, who was in town debunking spiritualists at the Majestic Theatre and promoting his latest silent film. Magic had been practiced in the United States for over a century, but Houdini had revived it into a hugely popular spectacle, in effect making possible the careers of all 60 magicians present.

Vernon, by contrast, was a nobody. He was born in 1894 and raised in Canada, where he did his first magic at the age of 7. (He lived until 1992, and liked to say that his first six years, before he started thinking seriously about magic, were his only wasted ones.) By 1922, his obsessive devotion to sleight of hand had made him one of the finest card handlers in the world. But almost no one knew him. In fact, he was best known as a skilled artist, capable of cutting a recognizable silhouette out of black construction paper. He worked at New York’s Coney Island, scissoring silhouette portraits for beachgoers and practicing with cards between customers.

David Ben, a fellow Canadian prestidigitator and the author of Vernon’s biography, wrote that when another magician introduced Vernon to Houdini, the maestro rolled his eyes “as if [Houdini] were doing him a huge favor” by indulging an amateur. Vernon, however, proceeded calmly, handing Houdini a pen, riffling a pack of cards, and telling him to mark his initials on the ace of clubs.

Vernon then placed the ace of clubs underneath the top card, squaring the deck. A second later, he turned over the top card to reveal that the signed ace of clubs had risen to the top of the pack — an effect so striking and fast that when magicians perform it now, the audience typically isn’t aware that enough time has elapsed for even the simplest trick to be set up. The effect is now known as the Ambitious Card, since the signed card is seemingly irrepressible in its urge to rise to the top.

Houdini blinked. Could Vernon run the trick by him again? Vernon obliged with disarming slowness, as if to give the master every chance to correct the apprentice. This time, once the signed ace was inserted beneath the top card, Vernon even paused and tilted the deck so Houdini could see the face of his card sliding under the top card. He then squeezed the deck lightly, and again, the ace jumped back to the top of the pack, as if the top card had melted away.

This caused a minor roar, because the next iteration would be the third, and if Houdini couldn’t sniff out the technique, he would be the victim of his own boast. According to Ben, the assembled magicians urged Houdini to admit he was utterly baffled, but Houdini stood transfixed and demanded another chance. Vernon gave him his third chance — then two more tries, plus an extra performance just for Houdini’s wife, Bess. Houdini entertained and rejected theories (an extra ace, perhaps? But the card was signed …). After the seventh and final performance, the gathering broke up, and Houdini was forced to concede defeat.

The repeat performance was, for Vernon and Houdini both, a huge gamble. With each run after the first, Vernon hazarded his bragging rights. After all, he had already fooled the greatest magician in the world, and that would have been enough to make a reputation. As for Houdini, the ignominy of having been shown up by a no-name upstart could plague him for the rest of his life. Houdini would only have to endure that indignity for four years, though: In 1926, after a show in Montreal, he was gut-punched by yet another Canadian, Gordon Whitehead, and died soon after of peritonitis.

Vernon was henceforth billed as “The Man Who Fooled Houdini,” and he revolutionized magic nearly as thoroughly as — though much more subtly than — the master. Houdini awed huge audiences and taught magicians to be consummate showmen; David Copperfield is among his heirs. Vernon practiced before tiny audiences, producing shocking results at distances so close that his victims could only rub their eyes. Ricky Jay is among his best-known students today. For Vernon, the art of deception required not only practice but exploration: He spent the remainder of his life perfecting his technique and criss-crossing the continent in search of cardsharps and shameless cheats who had come up with sleights that would win poker games — or serve as good magic tricks.

For the last 30 years of his life, Vernon served as the resident card expert at the Magic Castle in Los Angeles, where variations on his routines are still performed by his many protégés. To see Steve Cohen — a well-known magician who performs to small groups at the Waldorf-Astoria in New York City — perform the Ambitious Card, watch the video that accompanies this story. Of course, unlike Houdini, you can watch it as many times as you like. Not that it will do you much good.

Graeme Wood is a contributing editor at The Atlantic.

Video Credit: Vivek Kemp

The post Hand of Fate – Card trick that stumped the great Harry Houdini appeared first on Chamber Magic.

If you’ve ever dealt a deck of Tarot Cards, you’re familiar with “The Magician” card. It shows a magician pointing up to the heavens with his wand, and down to the ground with his finger. He serves as a human conduit between heaven and earth, his wand serving to draw energy from the universe and to harness it for practical use.

I have a collection of magic wands – some of them quite tricky with built in gadgets – but only one  has the distinguished role of my “working” wand. It was custom-made to my specifications by master craftsman Thomas Wayne. (CLICK PHOTOS FOR DETAILED VIEW)

The wand is made of ebony, with sterling silver ends. The ferrule tips are made from the ivory tusk of a 4000 year old mammoth.

The designer, Thomas Wayne is a pool cue artisan from Alaska (which explains the mammoth tusks) and really outdid himself with my wand. His pool cues sell for upward of $20,000, due to the rare materials and his detailed workmanship.

Note the initials that he engraved in the ivory: SC (for Steve Cohen). I like the serpentine way the letters intertwine with each other.

Here’s a photo of the wand in action:

Photo by Roger Hagadone

And another:

Photo by Clay McBride

These days, many fans of the Harry Potter books own a prop magic wand of the type seen in the movies. You can buy finely handcrafted wooden replicas of Harry Potter’s wand at Alivan’s online store. I own one of their “Conjurer’s Collection” wands, and am quite pleased with it.

A magician’s tradition you may not be aware of is the “Broken Wand Ceremony.” This is the name of a ritual that is still performed today at a magician’s funeral. During the memorial service, the deceased magician’s actual wand (or a symbolic wooden replica) is snapped in half. The person administering the ritual often recites:

This wand without [name] is now useless. The magic that infused itself into the life of performing on this earth is now broken and joined with the magic of the eternal.

Unfortunately I have lost many dear magician friends over the past year – some of the true legends in the business. These include Charles Reynolds, Patrick Page, Bob Elliott and David Alexander. Their deaths have left a large void in the world of magic.

To end on a more upbeat note, one of my all-time favorite magicians Tom Mullica had a terrific idea using magic wands at his Atlanta magic bar, Tom-Foolery. Each year, he would “retire” his wand, and introduce a new wand. The new wand would be used for the coming year, and then be retired in turn. He started this tradition in 1975 and continued it through 1988. Mullica is currently auctioning his magic collection, and here is the display case containing eleven years worth of hand-painted wands, used in performance. Mullica’s wands were manufactured in India by the firm Tayade.

Oh, if wands could talk…

The post The Wand Chooses the Wizard appeared first on Chamber Magic.

I had an uncanny out-of-body experience this week. A gentleman from England sent me his uncle’s scrapbooks from the 1930s and 40s, and they were filled with memorabilia of a famous magician who worked for 18 years at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York. The magician’s name? Dr. Sydney Ross PhD.

He entertained aristocrats, dazzled celebrities, and stumped politicians – even several US presidents. For all intents and purposes, he was “The Millionaires’ Magician” of his day, and even worked in the same hotel as me!

Going through his clippings, photos and promotional material felt like I was reading about myself from the future. What a mind-trip!

According to his nephew, Dr Ross jokingly told people that his PhD was in “phinagling.” He must have been very good at it, since he was invited to entertain Franklin D Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt in the White House. More on that in a moment.

Ross’ specialty was close-up card magic, and he entertained tableside – by request only – at the famous Peacock Alley lounge in the Waldorf-Astoria’s main lobby. Here is his business card (note the bottom line that touts his long residency at the Waldorf):

Dr. Ross came to the United States from England in 1928, and found himself in a land of prohibition. He promptly got himself a job entertaining in New York City’s best speakeasies, including the now-famous 21 Club. He went to the Park Lane Hotel for a year when prohibition lifted, and then to the Club Trouville. Lucius Boomer, the famous proprietor of the Waldorf-Astoria was so entranced with Dr Ross’ work that he engaged him to work at the Waldorf.

He later worked for six years at the Rainbow Room in Radio City, Rockefeller Center, but headed back to the Waldorf-Astoria in 1943.

His signed scrapbooks included testimonials from Rockefellers, Fords, Chryslers, Edisons, Whitneys, Pratts, Wideners and Phipps. He was praised in print by Ed Sullivan (“The greatest card entertainer in town”), and lauded by Amelia Earhart (“Performing card tricks is certainly more difficult than flying!”).

Novelist Edna Ferber thought him incredible; Walter Damrosch called him the Paderewski of the Cards. And composer Sergei Rachmaninoff wrote, “Your tricks are marvelous.”

The New York Daily Mirror ran a cartoon titled “At the Waldorf” that included Dr Ross, looking much like a knave in Alice in Wonderland. The illustration was drawn by famed society illustrator Jacques Kapralik.

A dear friend of mine, magician Harry Lorayne, told me that he saw Dr Ross perform at the Waldorf when he was still courting his wife Renée. According to Harry, Ross would greet a couple at their table, wearing a white jacket and red cummerbund. He shook hands with the gentleman, and then kissed the woman’s hand, and continued kissing her, all the way up her arm to her elbow!

According to Ross’ business card, he lived at 800 Riverside Drive in Manhattan. This is a very nice apartment building (I’ve actually been inside, by happenstance) near the George Washington Bridge, at 158th Street.

Geographically, this address ties into a story I remember reading in the New York Times about a magician on the uptown subway in the 1950s. Here’s the story, submitted by an 80 year old reader in 2004:

Visiting New York, I boarded a subway car in Midtown, heading uptown to a technical meeting at Columbia University. I struck up a conversation with a man sitting next to me, and he informed me that he was the official house magician at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel. This unusually interesting revelation to an out-of-towner resulted in a lively conversation between us, terminated only many minutes later when he stood up to exit the car at a stop just before mine.

As he approached the door, he suddenly wheeled around and handed me my wallet and wristwatch. I had felt absolutely no physical contact whatsoever during the entire ride, but his warm and wise smile taught me what he must have generously thought I needed to know.

Later in his career (in 1950), Dr Sydney Ross performed informally in the Cascades at the luxurious Hotel Biltmore, now an office building next to Grand Central Station.

And finally, to the Franklin D Roosevelt story I promised at the beginning. On April 6, 1937, Dr Ross and his wife (and assistant) Zara had the honor of entertaining in the East Room of the White House in Washington DC. In addition to Roosevelt and his wife Eleanor, many important guests were present. The trick that most pleased the party on that day was the spirit painting production of the President’s own portrait. It was one of the highlights of a memorable evening.

After that night, Ross was happy to bring home signed photos of the President and his wife, each framed in wood from the hull of the Mayflower, as brass plates attest.

There’s an old saying that all artists stand on the shoulders of the giants who came before us. I feel honored to be carrying on the good work of the good Dr. Sydney Ross.

The post The Millionaires’ Magician circa 1928? Have I been reincarnated? appeared first on Chamber Magic.

Together with local magician Curtis Kam, I retraced the steps to many of Malini’s old haunting grounds.

Malini died on October 3, 1942. Here’s a photo of Curtis and me in front of Malini’s house, February 26, 2011.

Here’s a photo of magicians Michael Skinner, Allen Okawa, Dai Vernon, Pressley Guitar, Roger Klause and John Cornelius in front of the same house in 1982. This photo appears in the book Roger Klause in Concert, and was taken during a magic convention held in Honolulu.

Photo courtesy of Lance Pierce

According to Curtis, nobody has ever been invited past the front gate. I figured that since I’d come all this way, it wouldn’t hurt to go just a bit further and make an unannounced call. “Act first, apologize later.” That’s how Malini would’ve done it!

We walked past the entrance gate and approached the front door. Through the screen window, the current resident (a fireman who teaches surfing!) saw us coming, and came out to greet us. I explained that we were magicians, and asked if he knew that he lived in the house of a world-famous magician in the 1930s and 40s. He had no idea.

The fireman genially accepted my request to snap a few photos of the exterior of his house, and invited Curtis and me onto the property. (Click any photo to enlarge)

Here is a view of Malini’s house:

The front door:

And Malini’s garden, with the original stone wall.

The house is a modest single level residence located on a small hill close to Diamond Head crater. Across the street is a home that was, in the 1930s, owned by a member of the Chinese mafia. That neighboring home has a large basement that was previously used as an illicit gambling hall. This is a particularly interesting fact since houses in Hawaii typically don’t have basements (owing to the reality that they are on an island, close to the water).

The friendly fireman told me that he’s actually been inside the hidden basement. One can only imagine that Malini was also invited. Maybe even at the peak of its activity as a gambling hall.

Curtis and I retraced Malini’s steps to the local Elks Club lodge (Lodge 616) where he was a member, initiated on May 18, 1934. There is a lovely article on their website about a performance that Malini gave for the Elks Club. Of note is that Malini performed for 4000 attendees, as the opening act for Will Rogers.

Here is the entrance plaza of the lodge.

We continued on to two hotels that Malini is known to have performed at in his later years: the Moana Surfrider Hotel and the Royal Hawaiian (the “Pink Hotel”).

Moana Surfrider hotel, where Malini gave performances

Royal Hawaiian hotel, where Malini performed in the Monarch Room

Here’s a photo of the Monarch Room inside the Royal Hawaiian. This is the actual stage that Malini stood on to give performances.

The entrance to the Monarch Room:

Although Malini died in 1942, I’ve idolized him for most of my career, even emulating his business model (he used to perform at the old Waldorf-Astoria in New York City). Retracing his steps was very meaningful for me, and I’ll always remember this experience. A big MAHALO to Curtis Kam for helping arrange this very special trip!

The only equally memorable experience I’ve had was visiting Johann Hofzinser’s grave in Vienna, Austria. Magic Christian first led me to Hofzinser’s gravestone in the Zentralfriedhof cemetery, and then drove me around Vienna to all of the buildings where Hofzinser actually performed his salon magic shows.

Here is a photo from that trip, about ten years ago

Any success I’ve found in magic can be traced directly back to these two giants in magic: Max Malini and Johann Hofzinser. How fortunate I’ve been to be able to visit and pay my respects to them both.

The post A Visit to Max Malini’s House in Honolulu 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??

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After his career as a television personality in the U.K., he decided to become a professional painter.

Here is a gallery of some original Chan Canasta paintings. At the time I originally posted this (April 2010), they were for sale through a Belgian art dealer I came across online. The asking price was roughly $9,000 to $10,000 per painting. This dealer seems to have vanished, so I have no further information of how to purchase these paintings any longer.

CLICK AN IMAGE BELOW TO VIEW A LARGER VERSION. Note the artist’s signature at the bottom of each painting. Enjoy the vivid colors!

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In 1938, he attended President Franklin D. Roosevelt’s birthday ball in the Waldorf’s ballroom (seated with John Barrymore and Kitty Carlisle), and in the early 30’s he first met actress Agnes Moorehead at the Waldorf, who he later cast as Charles Foster Kane’s mother in his film Citizen Kane.

But his most amusing stay at the Waldorf-Astoria was in the late 1940s when he was afflicted with the chicken pox. As a practical joke, he kept two movie producers imprisoned in the Waldorf for three days, claiming that they were quarantined upon orders from the Port Authority of New York. He wouldn’t let them leave until they agreed to produce his latest film.

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. During World War II, he had his own touring magic show, the Mercury Wonder Show, that he presented for members of the U.S. armed forces. It was performed in a large circus tent, and his assistants were legendary actresses Marlene Dietrich and Rita Hayworth.

“My father loved magic and bought me a couple of big illusions when I was a young boy. In those days we had Thurston and all those great stage magicians. I started doing sleight-of-hand when I was 11 or 12. The first thing I wanted to do was the boxes (that’s what Thurston did). I loved Houdini but he wasn’t an illusionist; he was a challenger. He challenged the audience. He didn’t seduce them. He set up a kind of Olympic game and then won it at the end … he was dynamic … he had a kind of contempt for illusionists.”
(excerpted from an October 1985 interview in Magic Manuscript magazine)

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Here is a very powerful card magic performance that was included in the unaired “Orson Welles Show” filmed in 1979. I particularly enjoy his piercing gaze directly into the camera.

This segment was immediately followed by a compelling Russian Roulette routine.

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Welles performed magic on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson, on the Merv Griffin show, on numerous television shows, and in films, including Casino Royale. Watch this clip to see him levitate and vanish a woman in mid-air.

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Here’s a silly routine Orson Welles did with Lucille Ball. They perform the broomstick levitation.

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Orson Welles and Marlene Dietrich perform together for servicemen in this video:

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Finally, here is Welles’ concise explanation of how fraudulent psychics read your mind, using cold reading techniques. He is interviewed by David Frost (of Frost/Nixon fame).

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