Here are some quotes from names you’ll be sure to recognize: David Copperfield, Juan Tamariz, Derren Brown, Andy Nyman, Teller, Siegfried, Eugene Burger,  Jeff McBride, John Carney, Jeff Hobson, Richard Kaufman, Roberto Giobbi, Dick Cavett, Patrick Page, Bob Fitch, Derek DelGaudio, Jon Racherbaumer, Simon Aronson, David Ben, Levent, Daryl, David Regal, Milt Larsen, Dani DaOrtiz, Richard Wiseman, Michael Vincent, Ken Weber, Harry Lorayne, Pit Hartling, Lior Manor, and David Berglas.

“A masterful performance. You can’t write a show like this. It can only come from performing night after night, listening to the audience. I loved it.” – DAVID COPPERFIELD

“I loved your act at the Waldorf-Astoria – especially the elegant atmosphere and classical style of the performance, not to mention the very strong magic!” – JUAN TAMARIZ

“Aside from his success, it is Steve’s charm and elegance which separate him from all but a tiny elite of world-class magicians. However, Steve is the only magician from that elite and highly-select group to take his show to an elite and highly-select audience. It is a true one-off: an intimate caprice of parlour diversion by an enthralling and consummate master.” – DERREN BROWN

“Chamber Magic contains some of the most elegant, skillful and truly baffling magic on the planet. Steve Cohen is an absolute master of his craft; he and the show are simply extraordinary.” – ANDY NYMAN

“Steve Cohen presents a handsomely balanced program of intimate magic in a legendary setting. It’s a pleasure to see an audience gasp in amazement over and over again.” – TELLER

“Without the need for large equipment and a whole team of assistants, Steve Cohen enraptures the audience for an hour and a half with nothing but his skill and personality. In the end, they feel like they have experienced a true magician.” – SIEGFRIED (and Roy)

“Steve Cohen’s Chamber Magic is a thoroughly entertaining show of wonders and marvels that really elevates the Art of Magic.” – EUGENE BURGER

“Steve Cohen’s ability to weave a world of wonders from such simple yet elegant properties is a lesson to not only magicians, but all entertainers. I don’t know where he can take the show from here; it’s about as close to heaven as you can possibly get.” – JEFF McBRIDE

“This is the way magic was meant to be presented: for sophisticated adults, in an artistic atmosphere. Cohen presents his amazing and eclectic mysteries with great charm and aplomb. Chamber Magic is engaging, entertaining and great fun.” – JOHN CARNEY

“Steve Cohen gives the most perfect presentation of magic I’ve ever seen in my life. I’m in awe of him, and I’ve seen them all!” – JEFF HOBSON

“A truly tremendous show. Steve Cohen works intimately with the crowd and performs many remarkable things that left us speechless.” – RICHARD KAUFMAN

“Steve Cohen has all it takes to be an outstanding magician: hands, head and a smile, as the Master Ascanio once defined excellence in magic. I have personally witnessed Steve’s unique performance in the equally unique Waldorf Astoria Hotel, and predict that if you have an affinity for magic you will immensely enjoy yourself.” – ROBERTO GIOBBI

“Every art has a lot of crappiness. There are some people who can paint. Most people can’t. Some can sing. Most can’t. Millions want to be actors, and thousands are. A handful of them are great. Some are quite good. And it’s always that way. The cream goes to the top. Here is a man at the top of that pyramid… Steve Cohen.” – DICK CAVETT

“A perfect parlour magic show. I honestly cannot suggest anything that would improve it.” – PATRICK PAGE

“The marvelous success of Chamber Magic is a tribute to your hard work, curiosity, inventiveness and high style.  You’ve created a character, a legend, and are certainly proof that hard work and imagination can pay off.” – BOB FITCH

“A wonderful show. Thank you for keeping magic alive in New York City.” – DEREK DELGAUDIO

“Steve Cohen strategically converts the elemental aspects of mystery and manners in a very modern way. Combining the wonder-and-wizardry of technology with the aboriginal roots of magic, he makes everything happen in the intimate atmospherics of a salon. Be prepared for every kind of astonishment to spontaneously erupt!” – JON RACHERBAUMER

“Steve Cohen’s show combines the charm and elegance of Hofzinser’s exclusive parlor with the mystification and fun of 21st century cutting edge magic–all performed by a master and a gentleman. We enjoyed a thoroughly deceptive and delightful evening.” – SIMON ARONSON

“As a performer, there are many things I admire about Steve Cohen – his technical prowess, his timing and his boundless energy. As a producer, having engaged Steve and his Chamber Magic for Luminato, the international festival of creativity and the arts, there are things that I admire even more – his professionalism in performing and promoting the show, and the response of the public who kept coming back for more.” – DAVID BEN, Artistic Director, Magicana

“A flawless show, 10 out of 10. Steve Cohen is a fabulous entertainer and the modern day Max Malini.” – LEVENT CIMKENTLI

“Chamber Magic is a genuine magical experience. Pure and simple, it’s an entertaining evening of beautifully performed, mind boggling mysteries that I’ll never forget! Bravo.” – DARYL

“Steve Cohen’s Chamber Magic is an elegant delight.” – DAVID REGAL

“A modern day Max Malini.” – MILT LARSEN

“Fantastic work!” – DANI DAORTIZ

“Really really impressive. If you enjoy strong magic in an intimate setting, Steve Cohen’s show is simply a must.” – RICHARD WISEMAN

“Let me begin by saying, I love Steve Cohen, I love him as a person and also as a magical artist of the highest calibre. When these two elements are combined, you have an experience that captures the true essence of magic and a magical performance. I have seen Steve’s show Chamber Magic three times, twice in London and most recently at its home in New York City. This show is an enchanting magical experience. What makes it work is Steve’s grace, charm, humility and technical mastery of his craft. This is a rare commodity in today’s magical climate. I am happy for Steve and the success of his show; he has elevated the class and dignity of magic in the tradition of Hofzinser and Robert-Houdin.” – MICHAEL VINCENT

“One of our stars, raising the level of our art.” – KEN WEBER

“Steve Cohen is one of the best magicians I know. Fooled the h*ll out of me!” – HARRY LORAYNE

“The choice of material, the structure, the performance itself – the whole show carries a great message for magic.” – PIT HARTLING

“For the uninitiated layman everything Steve Cohen presents in Chamber Magic must seem totally impossible and could easily convert anyone to believe in the paranormal. Few other entertainers are able to create the kind of intimate and mysterious atmosphere that this evening offers!” – DAVID BERGLAS

“One of the best mind reading shows you will ever see.” – LIOR MANOR

“Typically you see magic either one-on-one (“close-up” or miniature magic) or far away, on a stage, where the magician works with big gadgets, armies of secret assistants, blinding lights, and smoke generators. Steve Cohen performs at an engaging, human scale, for perhaps seventy-five guests, in the parlor of a suite at the Waldorf. He works in the style of a soiree at the home of some Vanderbilt or Rittenhouse, where you might expect an evening of light opera but have lucked into an expert magician. This is an immensely satisfying way to experience classic conjuring. It’s a group experience, so laughter and applause come naturally, but you’re close enough to reach out and touch it. So you know what you’re seeing is the result not of stage machinery but of art.” – TELLER (in the New York Times)

“One of the best performances on the Letterman show EVER. Steve, you did a fine piece of (difficult!) magic for one of the most challenging people on earth and you came out BLAZING!…BRAVO!” – JEFF McBRIDE

The post Copperfield, Tamariz, Derren Brown, Teller (and more) on Chamber Magic^® appeared first on Chamber Magic.

MALINI-ESQUE IMPROMPTU MAGIC IN GARDNER’S ENCYCLOPEDIA

[Published in Genii Magazine, November 2015, page 67]

In the early twentieth century, Max Malini made his reputation performing impromptu tricks for members of the upper class. He sidled up to socialites and policy-makers in upscale hotel lobbies and presented a cascade of off-the-cuff miracles that compelled them to visit his ballroom show.

As I’ve modeled much of my own career after Malini (he too performed at New York’s Waldorf Astoria), I often hunt for quick Malini-esque tricks and stunts that make a strong impact on discerning crowds. Martin Gardner’s Encyclopedia of Impromptu Magic is full of such items, and I’ll share a few that have served me well.

The Jumping Cigar Band has been in my repertoire for decades – it’s quick and visual, and audiences of all ages are surprised when the cigar band (or borrowed ring) jumps from your first to second finger, and then back.

Malini’s “Three From One” is sensational – you borrow a coin, split it into two coins, and then split one of those again into two coins.

The Magnetic Cigar that clings to your fingers is wonderful (with two methods given, but I prefer the one with the straight pin), and the impromptu methods for Torn and Restored Bill, when combined together in the style of Leipzig, form a healthy routine.

Finally let’s not forget the Malini “Button Biting” effect. I keep a case full of various styled buttons, with different colored thread, in my close-up kit for when I spot a matching button/thread combination.

The post Malini-esque Impromptu Magic appeared first on Chamber Magic.

Some of these people are alive, others no longer with us. Some are famous, others not so much. The beauty of mentorship is that you don’t necessarily have to meet your mentor face-to-face, nor even live during the same time in history. Many of the people who inspired me were alive a century before I was born! By reading classic books, old newspapers, and magazine articles, I’ve tracked down stories about their lives and work that continue to motivate me to become a better entertainer.

My “big three” mentors are Max Malini, Johann Nepomuk Hofzinser, and Jean Eugene Robert-Houdin. Each of these giants will be featured in coming weeks. You’ll also read about contemporary figures like Harry Lorayne and Albert Goshman, non-magicians Danny Kaye and Sammy Davis, Jr. and even fictional characters like Willy Wonka.

How do mentors inspire? They set examples, helping us imagine how we too might solve a particular problem. By seeing the world through a mentor’s lens, we can learn more about them, and about ourselves, at the same time.

Ready? Let’s begin with my number one greatest inspiration:

MAX MALINI

(Via Thirteen.org, photo in Ricky Jay collection)

Imagine this. It’s 1905, over one hundred years ago. You’re attending a fancy charity event at a Park Avenue apartment. Looking around, you recognize boldface names from the newspaper’s society column – Vanderbilt, Carnegie, and Astor. Anyone who is anybody seems to be there. A short, gruff looking guest arrives suddenly at the door wearing a thick overcoat. His odd appearance draws the attention of the room. Without speaking, the stranger pulls a hand drill out from his coat, walks to the wall, and drills a hole in it. Wood shavings from the wall fall to the ground in a pile at his feet. He reaches into his pocket, removes a metal hook, and sticks it into the freshly bored hole. At last, the odd man doffs his overcoat, and hangs it on the hook. He faces the crowd and announces in a gravely, thick Eastern European accent, “Ladeez and genteelmen, goot evening. I’m Malini the Machician.”

For the next several hours, Malini baffles the guests with impossible-looking sleight of hand tricks, and seemingly unplanned miracles. At the end of the night, after gathering his sizable paycheck, Malini walks to the front door, removes his hanging coat, pulls the hook out of the wall, and leaves. To everyone’s amazement, the hole that was drilled in the wall is now gone!

This story, a true one told to me by a relative of Max Malini, is one of many that demonstrates the extent of his brilliance. His performances were the stuff of which legends are made.

From Steve Cohen collection

Born in Austria, Malini emigrated as a boy to the United States in 1887 or 1888, settling in New York City. Working at saloons on the Bowery for tips, he began a new life with nothing but his skill and quick wit. Eventually Malini rose to the pinnacle of show business, making (and spending) several fortunes in his lifetime. During his career, Malini entertained several U.S. Presidents, gave command performances in Buckingham Palace, and received gifts from monarchs in Europe and Asia.

After traveling the world, he lived and performed in the original Waldorf Astoria hotel, located on 34^th Street and Fifth Avenue in New York (the current location of the Empire State Building). In one of his signature tricks, Malini produced a solid brick from inside a borrowed hat. This brick was placed on display in the lobby of the original Waldorf, presented in a glass display case. A museum card at the front of the case read: “Brick produced from an empty hat by magician Max Malini.” Given my own personal fascination with Malini, I was determined to locate this brick so that I could use it in my own shows at the Waldorf Astoria. Alas, it was lost during the demolition of the original hotel.

Over the years, I’ve tracked down other Malini materials for my own personal collection, including Malini’s business card, a ticket to one of his public shows, a rare advertising booklet, a playing card he handled in performance, and a hand-signed portrait. I was also delighted to hold Malini’s gloves and shoes when I visited David Copperfield’s museum in Las Vegas.

Holding Max Malini’s opera gloves, at David Copperfield’s museum

During a trip to Hawaii, I made a pilgrimage to Malini’s house in Honolulu, stood in his garden, and retraced the steps to many of his old stomping grounds. I even stepped onto the stage where he performed, at the Royal Hawaiian hotel. Click here for an in-depth photoessay.

What is it about Max Malini that fascinates me? Why do magicians still speak reverently of Malini today, nearly 75 years after his death?

In my opinion, Malini personified some ideal characteristics of what a magician should be. Here are some lessons he taught me:

Rare photo of Malini, signed to Nate Leipzig (courtesy Johnny Fox collection)

TRAVEL LIGHT, BUT ALWAYS BE READY

Malini carried no visible apparatus, but produced or borrowed objects as needed for his performances. Even the tables he worked on were borrowed from the hotel or club where he appeared. Once asked by another magician about his approach, Malini replied, “Vot the hell you vant to cart all dat junk around for? Do it de easy vay.”

Malini made his reputation outside of the theaters, performing close-up tricks in private clubs and lobby lounges. He was always loaded with something to produce, whether a red brick or a head of cabbage. Before a show in someone’s private home, he would stop into the kitchen and load his pockets with various fruits that he would later reveal under cups or inside a lady’s purse.

That’s the first of Malini’s lessons – travel light, but always be ready. Instead of performing the classic Cups and Balls with specially balanced silver cups manufactured for the sole purpose of this trick, Malini borrowed three kitchen glasses. Instead of balls he used three medicine bottle corks. A butter knife became his magic wand. In front of the audience, Malini covered each glass with a square of newspaper so that nobody could see inside. He proceeded to perform the trick, apparently “off the cuff.” The impromptu nature of the props made his practiced handling that much more disarming to the audience. They had no chance of seeing him manipulate the pieces of cork as they jumped among the cups. And the fruit he had previously stolen from the kitchen made a surprising appearance at the end: one lemon under each cup.

(Courtesy of Ken Klosterman)

FOCUS ON SHOWMANSHIP

Malini was not a particularly talented manipulator, or a crack card man. However, according to David Bamberg, Malini was a master showman: “Some of the card moves I saw him do were the crudest things imaginable, but no one noticed as his acting ability covered up for him.”

Roy Benson agreed that Malini was a superb showman – on par with Houdini even – who had a fine sense of the dramatic and never hesitated to use it. Malini could dramatically build each trick to a startling climax.

It’s possible to take the smallest trick, the vanish of a gold coin from within a folded sheet of paper, for example, and expand it into a great mystery. The mechanics of the trick itself may not be particularly intricate, but the lead-up, the presentation, the audience by-play must be engaging and fun. When Malini sat with a crowd, something was always happening: a funny story, an amusing compliment, an impromptu game of dice. He kept audiences on their toes, by changing up the moment with seemingly irrelevant stories that would have a big payoff at the end.

Here is some verbatim patter that Malini used during his stage show, immediately before vanishing a large bowl of water:

“Dis trick vot I am going to do now I vos teached in China. I don’t need no big stage and a lot of assistants and fancy scenery to do it. I admit I ain’t Chesus Christ but I’m better dan a lot of oders vot call themselves machicians.”

What a character! If I were in that audience, I know that I’d be on the edge of my seat.

This reminds me of advice given by David Berglas: when performing magic, “the order of importance is personality, presentation, and finally the method.” The one thing on this list that can’t be taught is personality.

AIM HIGH

Malini was an unabashed gate-crasher. Dressed to the nines, he walked uninvited into private clubs, found the most important person in the room, and introduced himself as the greatest magician in the world. Malini quickly performed some fascinating tricks and ingratiated himself to the high-ranking member and his friends. Invariably they would invite him to stay at the club for supper and drinks. This often led to invitations for him to perform privately at their swanky homes and mansions. He repeated this modus operandi in Hong Kong, Shanghai, Buenos Aires, San Francisco, Chicago, and across Europe. It clearly worked for him.

Early in my career I took Malini’s behavior to heart. When I was twenty-three, I scheduled weekly visits to the Peninsula Hotel, one of New York’s most elegant hotels. Each Wednesday I sat in the bar lounge, chatted with other patrons over a few drinks, and showed them magic – free of charge. Nobody invited me there, and it was not a paying gig. It was simply my way of emulating Malini’s self-introduction. Some of the people I met in the lounge politely asked me to leave. Others, however, booked me privately for high-end events in castles, and on private islands. This was an eye-opener! I was suddenly launched into a world I had only imagined. The management of the Peninsula eventually got word of my unauthorized appearances, asked me to stop, and called me in to speak with their manager. Instead of being reprimanded, he introduced me to the Catering Director, who booked me for dozens of corporate shows and weddings at the Peninsula, thus launching my career as a society entertainer in New York.

WAIT A WEEK

While Malini performed stage shows for audiences of several hundred people, his specialty was performing at a bar or table. David Bamberg writes: “Much has been written about his misdirection, but for me he had something that surpassed that. He was never in a hurry and would wait patiently his chance to spring unawares.”

Malini allegedly once had a conversation with another magician about misdirection. The magician wanted to know how Malini, with his tiny and pudgy hands, was able to execute a secret card sleight without being caught. Malini explained, “You vait until they look up.” The other magician asked what he would do if the audience didn’t look up. What would happen, he asked, if they continuously stare at your hands? Malini answered, “You vait a veek!”

While this legendary story may be apocryphal, it illustrates the need to be vividly aware of your audience. Each audience member is a living, breathing individual, looking at a different spot, from a different angle, with the intent to “catch” the performer. If the magician places focus on his own hands, and the importance of the props he’s holding, so will the audience. They have no choice. The key is to make the performance about something larger. If you present something that is more engaging, the audience will look away from your hands, naturally. Because they’re human. And humans are interested in other humans. In Chamber Magic, nobody catches my sleights because each move is executed when the focus is elsewhere. I “vait” until someone responds to a question that everyone wants to hear. I “vait” until someone stands up to move next to me. I “vait” until a joke’s punchline registers, since the audience can’t laugh and pay close attention to my hands at the same time. If necessary, I’ll vait a veek and a half.

BE BOLD

It takes guts to pull off the kinds of tricks that Malini was known for. He threw a glass of whiskey into the air, and it vanished mid-throw. He yanked a button off of someone’s jacket, and later magically reattached it. He got into people’s personal space and didn’t feel guilty about it. One of Malini’s card routines described in The Vernon Chronicles explains that he would grab a spectator by the shoulders and adjust how they were standing, while performing a secret move at that exact moment. He wasn’t scared or deferential to his audiences. And it didn’t matter who he was performing for. When appearing before the King of England, he was instructed to bow deeply and address the leader as “your highness.” In his inimitable way, Malini skipped the bow, came in close to share a cigar, and called the King, “Royal Mister.” This brash attitude broke the ice, and allowed Malini to engage the King on his own terms.

I recalled this story when I performed for the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia, in New York. The Saudi liaison told me that if the Crown Prince gets tired, they would give me a signal to stop at once. The liaison asked me how long my performance would be. Typically, the show runs 60 minutes, but I figured that since we started late I shouldn’t go on too long. The liaison suggested I aim for 20 minutes, and see how the Crown Prince liked it.

I was given a brief lesson in protocol, and was instructed to address the Crown Prince as “Your Majesty.” And, I was instructed not to walk within ten feet of his throne.

By the end of the night, I had performed for 55 minutes, and was standing 18 inches from his nose.

Conclusion

In order to yield maximum growth in the shortest amount of time, it makes sense to model yourself after someone who has already achieved the goals you desire. In my case I wanted to become a successful drawing-room and private entertainer, so I modeled my career and my magic after Max Malini, the greatest of them all.

The next routine I’m adding to my show was refined and popularized by Malini: the Blindfolded Card Stab. It is a masterpiece of magic and showmanship that I can’t wait to share with my audiences.

On a more personal level, I had the rare opportunity to stand in the garden where Malini died, and later tracked down and interviewed the man who held him in his arms as Malini took his final breath. While Malini has passed on (dying in 1942 in Honolulu), his spirit is still alive each time I step on stage. He is my role model and shining star of the type of magician I strive to be.

Next week: CHARLES BERTRAM

For further study, I recommend the following books and magazines.

1. Malini and His Magic, by Dai Vernon. Edited by Lewis Ganson
2. Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women, by Ricky Jay. Chapter 6, “Max Malini: The Last of the Mountebanks”
3. Genii Magazine, November 1999. Issue dedicated to Malini
4. Genii Magazine, October 2012. Issue dedicated to Malini
5. The Annals of Conjuring, by Sidney W. Clarke. Pages 356-357
6. Roy Benson By Starlight, by Levent and Todd Karr. Pages 426-428
7. Stars of Magic, “Vernon on Malini.” Pages 150-157
8. Illusion Show, by David Bamberg. Pages 186-189
9. The Sphinx, many references throughout the entire run of this magazine
10. The Malini Story, published in The Conjuror’s Magazine, Walter B. Gibson.
11. Okito on Magic, by Theodore Bamberg. Pages 38-41, and 90-92
12. “We Knew Max Malini,” narrated to George C. Kaplan. Hugard’s Magic Monthly, Vol. 9

I’ve also written numerous original articles about Malini on this blog:

1. Max Malini’s Advertising Booklet, ca. 1926
2. Max Malini and Two-Gun Cohen
3. Max Malini Newspaper Article – San Francisco Call, May 18, 1912
4. A Visit to Max Malini’s House in Honolulu
5. Max Malini’s Calling Card
6. Did You Know? Magicians at the Waldorf, 1902~present

The post MAGIC MENTOR MONDAY: Max Malini appeared first on Chamber Magic.

by Antonio M. Cabral

M-U-M magazine, November 2011

“What is a true secret? Something that is there for everybody to see—and one recognizes it, the other doesn’t.”

—Lao-tse

Magicians and secrets have a funny relationship. The normal people who comprise our audiences watch us perform miracles and cannot begin to imagine how a person might learn the requisite techniques and other arcane knowledge to accomplish the impossible. Magicians on the other hand know all about the vast oceans of literature (in print and on film) obsessively detailing and documenting the history and lineage of all these bizarre, clever and wonderful ideas. They know you can walk into a magic shop and buy whatever you like without having to fight a dragon or some other kind of mystic wizard’s trial. They worry that their audiences will run home after watching a performance and look for the explanations on YouTube. The “secrets” are out there, if you care enough and know where to look. And yet, magicians and laymen can look at the same “miracle” and both be mystified—if for different reasons.

For example, many close-up magicians know the story of Max Malini’s famous production of a brick or a block of ice from under a hat as recounted by Dai Vernon in Stars of Magic. Vernon was tasked with watching Malini over the course of an evening’s dinner performance to try to pin down the little man’s sleight-of-hand secrets—in particular the the block-of-ice-under-the-hat trick. Throughout the full evening’s meal, Malini never left the table. Malini then proceeded to perform the trick and “…when Malini lifted the hat, a block of ice the size of four fists lay in the center of the table […] Vernon swears to this day that ‘The little bugger had no time to load up.’” While the regular audience members wondered how the ice got under the hat, Vernon was dumbfounded as to how the ice got to the table at all. A bribe to the waiter proved unsuccessful, and they never found out from where Malini had procured the ice.

On the other hand, whenever Steve Cohen performs the trick as the opener of his exclusive Miracles At Midnight show, the source of the block of ice is somewhat less of a mystery. The show is his second as part of his residence at the über-opulent Waldorf-Astoria in Manhattan. The kitchen at the Waldorf-Astoria is located on the second floor and takes up the area of a full city block. “They have a huge walk-in freezer, and they’ve let me have a whole shelf in there just for blocks of ice for this trick. I used to go down myself to fetch the ice, but it gets so cold in that freezer that our arrangement now is that I simply ring down to the kitchen and they run one upstairs for me at the beginning of each show.” Of course. Everything’s easy once you know the secret.

But while Steve’s audiences—like Malini’s—are astounded at the appearance of the ice under the hat, magicians marvel at something else. They don’t marvel at how the ice appeared under the hat or how the ice got to the table, but at how Steve Cohen himself has managed to “magically appear” in residence at the Waldorf-Astoria with not one, but two elegant, high-end magic shows—one of which costs $250 per person. For close-up magic! And coming this January, Steve will be premiering a stage show at a local Manhattan venue named Carnegie Hall. Compared to those “miracles”, blocks of ice and bricks under hats might as well be the old stretching thumb trick your uncle does…

“I remember once hearing one of my younger brothers telling his girlfriend my story […]—I was born, I was talented, I got into piano, I had this neat place and I worked with Miles Davis. He left out this GIANT part which was the STRUGGLE!”—Keith Jarrett

Steve Cohen’s success is unparalleled. His client list reads like a listing from Forbes—in large part, because it IS. Then there’s his residence at the Waldorf-Astoria, where he performs two elegant and exquisite evening shows of classical parlor conjuring. Chamber Magic is his now well-known, eleven-year-running weekend parlor show, and since 2010 he’s added Miracles At Midnight, a $250-a-head evening of close-up performed only once a month and billed as “The World’s Most Exclusive Magic Show”. And like many of magic’s great secrets, the secret to Steve’s success is hidden in print. He’s detailed much of the story of his journey from young birthday party magician to The Millionaire’s Magician in his 2008 Genii Magazine cover feature, his interviews with The Magic Newswire website, and his own book for the lay public, Win The Crowd. And Steve still receives enough emails from eager magicians wanting to set up residence performing at swanky hotels (because “it worked for THAT guy!”) that last year he put a very frank post up on his Chamber Magic Blog addressing these emails in general. It’s titled, “How NOT to start your own one-man show” . And in it, he explains some of the secrets to his success.

Put in magician’s terms, Steve’s success at the Waldorf-Astoria boils down to a lot of “pre-show work”. While his identity as The Millionaire’s Magician is a relatively recent creation, he got his very first experience performing for the “upper crust” at age 17, performing for the Rockefeller family on their estate. During his four years living in Japan, his connections made from attending Cornell led to him performing weekly at the 5-star Park Hyatt Tokyo. He was already an experienced and successful performer when he decided, with the help of his creative partner Mark Levy, to reinvent himself and his repertoire as “The Millionaire’s Magician”. He’d already had an act when he decided to put together his first Chamber Magic shows. He’d already been performing his Chamber Magic show every week for many months in other venues before approaching the Waldorf-Astoria. Also, by his own admission, it took two years of self-support and losing money on the show, and three or four before he’d proven the show successful enough to the hotel that they began to help promote him. So, in the same way a mentalist can point to any random audience member and appear to instantly pluck their secrets from their mind, Steve Cohen is an “overnight sensation”. Easy, when you know the secret. No one can simply waltz into the Waldorf-Astoria and put on a magic show, anymore than one can really pluck thoughts from people’s brains

And Steve’s not the only one tipping his mitt on the Internet. Marketing guru Seth Godin, on his own blog, put together a succinct-yet-insightful five-point list of how Steve has achieved the success he has (“Giving away a magician’s secrets”). Points One, Two, and Four are savvy marketing skills. Number Five on that list is “He’s very good at his craft. Don’t overlook this point.” And while Chamber Magic and Steve’s existence as “The Millionaire’s Magician” are very much the result of intelligent and  focused marketing efforts, when all is said and done sustaining that image involves being a consummate performer. When you watch Steve perform, it’s impossible to overlook the fact that he’s very good at his craft. He ought to be by this point; he’s been performing magic professionally since the age of 10, is a veteran of Tannen’s Magic Camp, and has performed his Chamber Magic show alone by his own estimation over three thousand times. If you watch closely, you can see all of that experience manifest in his three shows: Chamber Magic, Miracles at Midnight, and the brand-new, upcoming Theater of Wonder.

Chamber Magic

When Steve set about creating Chamber Magic, he’d already had to reinvent his repertoire to fit his image as The Millionaire’s Magician. Tricks he’d been performing successfully for years got retired as Steve now focused on tricks that spoke to wealth and affluence—tricks with real diamonds, $100 bills, gold…your standard everyday household items. When the time came to create Chamber Magic, he knew he wanted to create an evening of elegant, refined magic that harkened back to the Viennese salons—a stylistic choice that was a good fit in the venues he aspired to and spoke as much to the “lifestyles of the rich and famous” as any choice of props. More importantly, thought, Steve knew what kind of show he didn’t want to do.

Around the time Steve was conceiving Chamber Magic, his friends were telling him about the great success Ricky Jay was having with his evening show, Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants, an evening of nothing but card tricks. Without even seeing the show, Steve immediately knew that trying to launch a similar evening of only card tricks would invite inevitable comparisons—“apples to apples”—and Steve wanted to offer something exclusive and unique. While Chamber Magic does open with a selection of flourishy sleight-of-hand with cards, once he’s established his skill Steve deliberately moves away from sleight-of-hand. While 52 Assistants wears its sleight-of-hand on its sleeve, Steve wanted a show of close-up and parlor magic seemingly devoid of any sleight-of-hand whatsoever.

On the other side of that coin, while Chamber Magic features some very powerful mental magic, Steve didn’t want a full evening of mentalism, either. He’s not a mentalist; he’s a magician who can read minds. So the show would ultimately be a fine-tuned mix of prestidigitation (like the opening card tricks and the Malini Ice Under The Hat) and more inexplicable mysteries (linking wedding bands, an astounding presentation of the Rising Cards, and the aforementioned feats of mind reading). The program states that the show begins with “Precision technique which has no equal” and ends with “An enigma of the highest order”. A well-crafted crescendo of effect to be sure—but it doesn’t stop there.

Point Number Three on Seth Godin’s list is “He intentionally creates an experience that is remarkable and likely to spread.” Thanks to Steve’s decades of experience as a performer, Chamber Magic was designed with that idea firmly in mind. Steve recalls a conversation with Jeff McBride about what an audience wants to take away from a performance of magic. “His answer was they want to be able to say ‘It happened to ME!’” In Chamber Magic, Steve manages to squeeze every drop of audience involvement out of his act—not just participation, but involvement. Take for example one of the opening effects, a bit of mind-reading with cards. Steve has someone from the audience remove a handful of cards from a shuffled deck and proceeds to divine each and every card one-at-a-time as the audience concentrates on them. Where most performers would perform this with a single person while the rest of the audience looks on, Steve has the first person focus on a card, divines it, then has that person pass the cards to another member of the audience. This continues until all the cards have been divined. While the normal audience marvels at how he could possibly know what card they’re each thinking of, the real trick is getting each audience member to think, “I could be next!” Even the initial shuffling is done not by one, but by several members of the audience. Magicians like to refer to their audience members as “spectators”. Steve recognizes the importance of not allowing his audiences to simply “spectate”.

This thinking permeates the entire evening’s performance. For his signature performance of Think-A-Drink, each and every member of the audience writes down their favorite drink. Even though only five or six drinks are eventually poured, the entire audience of fifty or more people feels like their drink of choice could have been next. In a recent performance on tour at the Beverly Wilshire hotel in 2010, Jason Segel (of How I Met Your Mother, Forgetting Sarah Marshall, and The Muppets) assisted Steve with Think-A-Drink. He was offered any choice of drink, with every opportunity to change his mind, and when Steve began pouring the chosen drinks, the 6’ 4” comedian’s reactions were as loud and boisterous as any he’s delivered on TV or in film—and genuine. And that’s the whole idea: to make the audience feel like they could’ve dictated the outcome—”that they could’ve affected the show.”

Another key factor to the way audiences experience Chamber Magic is laughter. Steve’s rule of thumb is that every couple of minutes (if not once-a-minute) there needs to be a laugh of some kind. Not knock-down, fall-over-yourself comedy—because that’s not Steve. But Steve finds that some kind of laugh or joke along the way helps everyone to relax and enjoy the experience with each other. By the time he gets to the end of a performance and is into the finale—his version of Juan Tamariz’s Total Coincidence—he asks the audience, ‘Should I STOP, or CONTINUE?’. In the performance I attended, everyone was laughing and shouting together ‘CONTINUE!’ “It really brings the whole audience together.”

Even the strict dress code is in place to enhance the experience. “When people have to get dressed up for an evening out, it makes them feel like they’re experiencing something special. Even the trip through the Waldorf-Astoria to the suite where I perform gives the feeling of something unique. Everyone feels like they’re sharing something important.”

It’s this kind of thinking that’s allowed Chamber Magic to enjoy a very successful eleven-year run, one Steve plans to extend to twenty, and then retire the show. He’s only mentioned that part in a few places, but from the beginning that’s been Steve’s plan for the show—a forward piece of thinking that will no doubt leave a few folks disappointed in nine years.

Miracles At Midnight

What more could any magician ask for beyond a show as distinctive and successful as Chamber Magic? Where does one go beyond the penthouse? Enter Miracles At Midnight. In 2009, David Kaye (aka Silly Billy) went to see Steve’s Chamber Magic show. After viewing Steve’s performance, David’s business sense for all things magic kicked in, and he made the suggestion that Steve ought to have “a luxury show” to offer his clients. After the high-end experience of Chamber Magic, what could possibly count as a “luxury show”? “This was in the middle of a recession!” But Steve liked the idea, and the result was Miracles At Midnight.

Performed only once a month in the Waldorf Towers, Miracles At Midnight is an exclusive, expensive, and late evening of intimate miracles. Where Chamber Magic is a parlor-style performance for a typical audience of 40–50 people, Miracles At Midnight allows Steve to indulge in his love for close-up magic for an audience of no more than twenty. “Because of the high price [$250 a ticket], the size of the audience is smaller than Chamber Magic, so I get to do the kind of close-up tricks I love but that don’t quite fit into Chamber Magic.” This includes items familiar to most magicians like Coins Across, and the Newspaper Tear. Speaking about the Newspaper Tear, Steve was initially reluctant to include the routine because of its popularity with other performers (again, avoiding the “apples to apples” comparisons), “…but the reactions it gets are too strong! It’s such a powerful trick.” Steve combines these more intimate tricks with some favorites from Chamber Magic. And like Chamber Magic, the key to justifying the $250 per ticket for Miracles At Midnight is creating a unique experience for all involved. To that end, another feature of this show not found in Chamber Magic is a segment where the audience is invited to bring up their own belongings and personal items, whereupon Steve performs miracles with those very items. Of course, to really “improvise” would risk doing something less-than-spectacular, and Steve will not let that happen. “It has the feeling of improvisation, like I’m making up the tricks on the spot. Of course, certain objects trigger certain tricks for me, like a jazz musician follows the chords and has certain ‘licks’ and can always come back to the form of the song. But for the audience it’s like I’m creating something for the first time, right in front of their eyes.” Steve also notes that most audiences tend to offer up the same objects (keys, jewlery, etc.), so he never has to worry about being confronted with anything particularly bizarre or unusual.

Which is not to say spontaneity doesn’t rear its head on occasion. On one such occasion, one of Steve’s guests was Dr. Ruth Westheimer. For the “improvisational” part of the show she offered a tube of lipstick. Steve proceeded with a trick similar to the Ashes On The Palm that he does whenever someone offers lipstick. With a twinkle in his eye, Steve asked the noted sex therapist, “Dr. Ruth, I’d like to perform something called a ‘penetration effect’. Would you like to see that?” Which of course delighted both Dr. Ruth and the rest of the audience no end.

Far from being prohibitive, the price tag and exclusive nature of Miracles At Midnight have attracted an equally high-end audience. Noted conductor and pianist André Previn celebrated his 80^th birthday in attendance at Miracles At Midnight. Whenever people bring up the late start time of the show, Steve tells them that an eighty-year-old man came and stayed awake through the whole night—and enjoyed himself.

Theater of Wonder

Where does one go beyond the penthouse? In January 2012, Steve will debut Theater of Wonder at Carnegie Hall. The story behind the inception of this new show is in many ways a textbook example of the world Steve has created for himself, although again, as a “secret” there’s not much to it.

One of Steve’s clients, patrons, and good friends is renown classical violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter. The September 2008 Genii Magazine cover feature on Steve recounts how, at a private performance in Switzerland, Steve followed his staple performance of the Himber Linking Finger Rings by linking a violin bow onto the strings of a violin and presenting the object to Ms. Mutter as a souvenir. This is how fast friendships are made. In 2010, the two were having lunch and Ms. Mutter stated that she firmly believed that, as someone she considers a “world-class artist”, Steve should have a much wider audience. She pointed out to him that while he could certainly stick to his 20-year plan and continue to enjoy success, it wouldn’t allow him to grow as an artist. Her advice? “Think BIG!” And by way of example, she pointed out “Look at me: I’m playing Carnegie Hall tomorrow night.” Rather than wonder what he could accomplish that as big as playing Carnegie Hall, Steve took her literally. “I called my creative partner Mark Levy and said, ‘I want to play Carnegie Hall. Are you in?’ He said, ‘Absolutely.’”

(Steve is actually no stranger to Carnegie Hall. He’s performed there several times before—backstage. Whenever Anne-Sophie Mutter has played there, she’s invited Steve to perform for her guests after the concert upstairs in the Maestro’s Suite.)

Of course, no one simply walks into Carnegie Hall and starts performing magic—any more than they can simply walk into the Waldorf=Astoria and put on a magic show. Luckily, through his performances Steve had a contact at Carnegie Hall who arranged for them to tour the facility to get a feel for the venue. First step was to head to the main stage—the Perelman Stage in the Stern Auditorium. This is the stage people picture when they picture Carnegie Hall, open since 1891 and seating 2,804 people. Mark walked out into the center of the house and Steve walked to center stage. Once in place, Steve held up a playing card. “It looked like a postage stamp.” It became readily apparent that the sheer size of the hall would present significant problems for a performer used to working in more intimate venues. “2,800 is all right, but those last four are on their own!” Moreover, Carnegie Hall won’t allow any performer to hang projection monitors to aid visibility, killing the possibilities for any kind of close-up material.

Carnegie Hall also has strict regulations governing what performers are allowed to do on stage. Nothing can be done with fire, nothing with livestock—which would kill 90% of most large Vegas-style illusion shows. Most restrictive for Steve: nothing with liquid. That means while Steve could have a bottle of water with him onstage, his signature performance of Think-A-Drink gets left behind in the suite at the Waldorf. If all this sounds like an opportunity to dust off the Zig-Zag and the Substitution Trunk and hire some of the Rockettes to get sawn in half, consider that any and all onstage assistants would need to be provided by the union, which would drive the cost of the show up nearly $400,000. That’s a vastly expensive difference for a man who’s made his world-class reputation as a one-man show.

It would be tempting for any performer to reconsider, give up and try to find another venue more accommodating to the magician’s repertoire. However, any other venue isn’t Carnegie Hall. In truth, Steve did reconsider and find another venue, and that venue was…Carnegie Hall. Carnegie Hall features three stages: the aforementioned Perelman Stage, the more recently-built Zankel Hall and the Weill Recital Hall. The Zankel Hall was constructed in 2003 and seats 600—a more manageable size, but built in a more modern, austere “shoebox” style. It’s a beautiful hall for a modern jazz performance, but it doesn’t say “Chamber Magic”. The Weill Recital Hall, on the other hand, seats 300 while looking like a miniature version of the Stern Auditorium. With gilt-accented columns, ornate drapery, and crystal wall sconces, not only is it exactly the sort of backdrop Steve is accustomed to, at 300 seats it’s also an audience size he’s performed for many times before. Suddenly, the daunting expanse of Carnegie Hall becomes an almost bespoke fit for Steve’s brand of Victorian-flavored, classical conjuring. (Note: if you’re interested in “touring” the various spaces for yourself, carnegiehall.org offers virtual 360º panoramic views of each of the three different spaces that allow you to scroll around if you were standing right in the middle of the halls themselves.)

Now that he was comfortable in the space, what would Steve put into this new show? Steve is understandably reticent about the contents of the new show, but one thing it definitely will be is entirely new. He’s still contractually subject to the same performance restrictions, so Think-A-Drink is still out. There will be some mind reading (a strong way to play to a large audience), but again Steve does not want to mount a full-evening’s performance of mentalism. So for the first time in a number of years he gets to create a wholly new show. With 11 years of performing Chamber Magic, though, Steve feels he has a terrific advantage in envisioning the shape, rhythm, and flow of a succesful show. In fact, he’s managed to devise a unique framework for Theater of Wonder, running from the beginning moments of the show, providing a connecting thread for all the effects and culminating in a truly grand finale. On top of which, it draws from all aspect’s of Steve’s experience, resulting in a very personal presentation. Steve told me that when the idea came to him and he fleshed it out, he was so excited by it that he actually jumped up and down. For now, though, until Theater of Wonder debuts in January, the details remain…a secret. But not for long after, as with a 300-seat capacity and a 30,000-person mailing list, Steve fully expects the show to be sold out by the time this article sees publication. But the plan afterward, if the show proves successful, is for Steve to tour with the show, cross-promoting the stage show with performances of Chamber Magic in suitable venues in different cities.

The secrets of Steve Cohen’s success aren’t all that secret. Then again, they’re not all that easy. Like the most difficult sleight-of-hand, the “answer” may be simple, but only after years of  experience, dedication, and attention to detail. There’s a  joke that’s likely been in the mind of every reader since they started reading this article. It’s a joke about Carnegie Hall that scientists have proven to be older than the hall itself:

A man gets into a cab in New York City and asks the driver, “How do I get to Carnegie Hall?”

The cab driver replies, “Practice!”

It shouldn’t surprise anyone that after years of success, Steve will find himself onstage at Carnegie Hall. And he should do well. After all, he’s had plenty of practice.

The post Society of American Magicians’ magazine cover story, November 2011 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.

The ceremony was held in the Frank Sinatra dining room, and pictures of many old-timey stars (also Friars) lined the wall: George M. Cohan, Milton Berle, Johnny Carson, Jerry Lewis, and of course Frank Sinatra.

I’ve been told that Max Malini was a member of the Friars Club and that he used to relax at the clubhouse because he didn’t constantly feel the need to prove he was a magician to everyone by performing.

At the induction ceremony, I was coerced into doing a brief performance which was warmly received.

Here is the certificate new Friars receive. Note the signatures by Jerry Lewis (abbott) and Freddie Roman (dean).

The club president Michael Gyure handed over a welcome packet, and snapped a nice photo with me.

The Friar who invited me into the club is Paul Ginsberg, a magician himself. Here’s a nice photo of the two of us, ironically standing in front of the “Friar of the Year” sign. Somehow I don’t think I’ll get that award my first year…

My other sponsor was none other than the dean, Freddie Roman.

The ceremony was a delightful experience, and I felt surrounded by warm, genuine people. I look forward to getting involved in the Friars Club and meeting even more of the members.

(Photography by Friars staff photographer Richard Lewin)

The post Newest member of the legendary Friars Club: Me appeared first on Chamber Magic.

I turned to the woman next to me and asked for one of her earrings. She was hesitant to remove one of her diamond studs for a magic trick. She thought I might damage it. But when our host nodded his approval, she allowed me to remove it.

“The Flying Earring Trick!” I announced, holding up my hand to silence the guests. The glittering diamond earring rested in my left palm, shining in the light from the chandelier overhead. I slowly closed my hand into a fist, and explained that I would make the earring fly – invisibly! –  from one fist into the other. All of the guests looked at me with skepticism as I opened my left fist: empty. They craned their necks in closer. I then opened my right fist: also empty. The lady’s face turned pale.

“If the earring didn’t fly into my other hand, it could only have gone one other place.” I pointed to her ear, and her hand darted upward. She screamed in shock as she discovered that her earring had reappeared pierced in her earlobe.

It was several minutes until everyone calmed down enough so that dessert could be served.

—

When I first wrote up this story for my book Win The Crowd, several magicians asked me if this trick was fictional. I’m proud to say that this trick is a real item in my repertoire, and I often perform it at my exclusive monthly show, Miracles at Midnight. The original title of the trick is “Pierced” but I’ve changed the blocking and theme of the trick to suit my style. In its current form, it reminds me of the type of impromptu miracle that Max Malini might have performed.

And I’ll always remember the host and his amazing Victorian townhouse on the Upper East Side, with old-fashioned gas lights out front.

Here are some interior photos of the same townhouse – one of the most stunning in Manhattan.

I’ve been invited to some incredible homes, both in and out of New York. Here’s a list of some places you may have met me.

The post The Flying Earring Trick appeared first on Chamber Magic.

Thank you to Richard Hatch for finding this article online and bringing it to my attention.

I particularly enjoy the reporter’s description of the tricks Malini performed for the Police Chief, detectives, and judge. The article gives a glimpse as to how Malini marketed himself. He would roll into town, perform for dignitaries and other important people, and invite a newspaper reporter along.

This article from the May 18, 1912 issue of the San Francisco Call (p. 13) was at the top of the page, sandwiched between articles concerning the Board of Education, and a bribery case against a Los Angeles attorney.

I have other Malini articles in my files that I plan to upload soon. Stay tuned.

The post Max Malini Newspaper Article- San Francisco Call, May 18, 1912 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.

The photo above is with Jason Segel, and here’s a photo of me with Chris Williams:

I presented a total of four Chamber Magic^® performances at the magnificent Beverly Wilshire hotel – a Four Seasons property. I am humbled that I received four standing ovations.

Outside the Beverly Wilshire hotel

At the front entrance

Here is a view of the showroom where I presented the shows:

And here’s the sign directing people to the show:

The staff of the Beverly Wilshire ranks among the best I’ve ever worked with. Thanks for welcoming me back for my third visit at your hotel!

I remember how difficult it was to sell tickets to my previous two runs in Los Angeles (back in 2005 and 2007). This difficulty stemmed mainly from the fact that I was a relative unknown in LA at that time. Despite having an established show in New York, it was an entirely different matter to draw enough interested people in a new city. Especially since I didn’t have a marketing budget, then or now.

This year, however, all four shows sold out before I even left New York. This was an interesting phenomenon to me. (The same thing happened last week in Boston.) Most ticket sales were through word-of-mouth; I didn’t do any media appearances to promote the Chamber Magic tour. I guess there is enough momentum from my NY Times article and Late Show appearance earlier this year. Whatever the reason, I can’t tell you how blessed I feel. It’s thanks to supporters of the arts, like you, that artists can continue to be creative for a living.

The night before my shows, I had a great dinner with an old friend at Asia de Cuba in the Mondrian hotel. After that, we went over to the world-famous Magic Castle in Hollywood.

One of the highlights of the evening was spending time at the bar with Milt Larsen, one of the founders of the Magic Castle. I was surprised to find that he has been closely following my career. He told me that he considers me to be “the modern-day Max Malini.” That was a mighty fine compliment, especially since his father knew Malini himself, and Milt had met Malini growing up. I don’t know if I could ever fill those shoes, but it was an honor to be viewed this way.

I’d love to return to the Beverly Wilshire soon. Other cities have been beckoning, though. It seems that there is a lot of interest in Chicago. Should that be the next stop on my tour??

The post Back from Beverly Hills appeared first on Chamber Magic.