Int. Magic: England
Ian
Adair reporting from Britain......
Hi
there! Great to be back reporting on the
news from Britain. The great magical news
is that Paul Daniels, after 15 solid years
of presenting his own television show on
BBC, will be hitting our screens (and possibly
in the U.S. too!), during July with his
new "Secrets" show. The pilot of this was
screened several months ago and shown, and
was so well accepted that the BBC has taken
it further to release a complete series.
"Secrets" is the name Paul has given to
a nightclub. It's only a make-believe one,
but on screen it does look authentic. Specialty
acts appear, as well as Paul presenting
his magic. Ali Bongo is joined by friend
Ken De Courcy (the latter looking after
some of the script lines), as the advisors.
The super thing about number 1, is that
here we see Paul presenting his "best" magic
of the type which made him famous: paper
balls over the head, chop cup and the like.
Great stuff! Paul told me that he loves
the new format and there has been so many
people writing in the channel to congratulate
everyone on the production. That's a refreshing
change from the days he worked the usual
magic show. Here's hoping the series will
have a long run -- no matter what magicians
say -- it's always a great promotion for
magic in general.
Magic
Calendar
The
magic calendar over here is as busy as ever.
You would have to be a "real" magician to
attend everything. There's almost two or
three conventions or events each week, what
with conventions, dinners and events. I
attended a super convention which attracted
some 200 magicians in the holiday resort
of Bournemouth. I appeared there for the
first time, under the banner of ABRACADIR,
my new firm. Needless to say that with 40
years of magical dealing behind me, I'm
not really a "new boy" in the game. A very
good convention with Ali Bongo as the feature
lecturer -- boy he has some great stuff,
and the audience just lapped it up. Fay
Presto is fast becoming a good lecturer,
although I didn't approve of her methods
asking magicians "Do you know what a thumb-tip
is? Do you know what a folding coin is?"
etc. One little lad of 8 years of age put
his hand up to acknowledge the fact that
he didn't personally know.
An
evening at the Home Counties Magic Society
made me drive to their venue in Reading,
a complex place to get into. There I had
the pleasure of lecturing to 100 or more
magicians and the proceedings seemed to
go very well. A sad end to the evening,
for when I returned to the home of the organizer,
Keith Churcher, his house had been burglarized.
D
B Award
That's
the name given to the annual David Berglas
award. To receive it this year, was none
other than Ron Mac Millan, the noted magical
dealer, and in particular, organizer of
those special International Days of Magic.
He was awarded the DB award which in previous
years has been presented to magicians such
as Bongo, Warlock and John Fisher the TV
producer. The event was packed at the venue
in Birmingham and President of the Capital
Magic Circle, David Berglas told me that
the glittering occasion was one of the highlights
of the year.
Meanwhile,
I was driving again, this time to the city
of Portsmouth, the nearby homeland of the
late Louis Ganson and Will Ayling, two dear
people I miss so much. I had the pleasure
of lecturing to a very enthusiastic crowd
and then being honored by being awarded
the Lewis Ganson Memorial Award, as the
magician of the year. The late Ken Brooke
received it for the first time, so many
years ago, and so did Ali, Paul, Roy Johnson
and so many other famous names. Louis of
course, was one of the greatest magical
authors and tutors of our times and I had
the honor of knowing him closely more than
30 years. Will Ayling also assisted Louis
and appeared in many hundreds of photographs
in the books Louis produced on Vernon, Slydini,
Mailini, Ross, and others, mainly from your
part of the world. I was at Lewis's bedside
when he pass ed away and Will Ayling unfortunately
had a heart attack at the side of the road,
while driving down to North Devon, where
I live. Sad!
Geller
Conning The Viewers Again!
Uri
Geller was featured heavily in a new series
on television called "Beyond Belief." Whilst
I admire him, I just cannot accept him in
anyway. David Berglas tells me that he is
a "pleasant and kind person" which I do
accept, having known David for 30 years
now. But, it is difficult explaining things
when members of the lay public ask if the
material he does is genuine. Ok, he managed
to make thousands of watches and clocks
start up again, in the homes of viewers,
but just how many didn't actually start
is another matter and has never been discussed.
Think I will stick to the stuff discussed
in Tony Corinda's "13 Steps to Mentalism."
Which reminds us "Where are they now?" Where
is Tony Corinda and what is he doing? I
can tell you he is very much alive and according
to information I have been given, is no
longer in magic and hasn't been for quite
some time. One thing is for sure -- his
book will live on, for it has been accepted
as the mentalist bible.
The
shocking news over here at the moment is
that the firm once called the Supreme Magic
Company, launched 40 years ago by the great,
late Edwin Hooper, no longer exists. I was
honored to be a big part of this firm during
a 35-year period of my life. At one time
the firm employed some 30 people, having
its own print department, silk screen department
and printing and publishing its own magazines,
Magigram, New Pentagram and Alakazam! Over
those years I was to become a partner within
the firm, this lasting 15 years, and when
Edwin retired, the firm was bought over
by two businessmen, Paul Dupee and Brian
Head, then later by the Lamond family.
The
latter family obviously couldn't manage
the firm for it went into liquidation, its
name having to be changed to Excalibur promotions.
I was unfairly dismissed a year ago. It's
sad times for the company, equal to Abbott's
and Tannen's, certainly a firm with a huge
range of magical products. Edwin was a genius
and could think up ideas and write instructions
quicker and better than anyone I know. So
bitten by the magic bug was he that he just
had to open yet another magic dealing firm
under the name Edwin's Magic Arts, this
taking place some five years later after
retirement. Sadly too, this firm which he
left behind, has closed its doors too. The
stocks, I am told, have been purchased by
a magician and businessman from the city
of Liverpool. Both companies have fallen.
Luckily, my firm Abracadair Magic Limited
is the only new and surviving magical dealing
firm in this area.
Looking
ahead I am certainly looking forward to
joining Manfred Thumm at his Magic Hands
convention January 1996 where I will be
featured as a lecturer showing some 23 new
ideas of mine to the vast crowds he attracts.
It's one of the best and greatest conventions
around, and it's worth attending if you
can. Meanwhile Jeff Atkins, the capable
secretary and organizer of the famous British
Ring Conventions tells me that acts are
being booked for the fourth coming one to
be held in the seaside resort of Scarborough,
which is always a popular venue. We British
simply love seeing those U.S. Acts, all
superb, except for two I just cannot stand
... Penn and Teller. In a recent TV survey
where voting took place in front of 20 million
viewers, the duo was last on the list when
being considered as one of the best comedy
series on television. Their marks were so
low that it was laughable. Perhaps the duo
goes over better in the states, than here.
We weren't impressed at all, although some
British magicians would slap me over the
fingers for saying that. It really depends
what sort of humor you like. Throughout
the six-week series made for channel 4,
Penn and Teller, for a few cheap smirks
from the audience, repeatedly ran down Paul
Daniels and his wife Debbie McGee. They
did it for no reason at all. I believe they
give a bad image for the U.S. folks. Brash,
hard, rude and loud! That's about it.
Goodbye
Francis
The
recent passing of Francis Haxton has made
a void in the world of card magic in particular.
Francis was a true gentleman who, together
with Peter Warlock, now in his 90th year,
served us well with his brand of magic.
Francis could always come up with something
or other when being asked to contribute
for the Linking Ring on a yearly basis and
the number of articles he wrote for Peter's
Pentagrams was simply amazing. We often
wonder who could take their places.
One
man I worked with was the late Johnny Ramsay
from Ayr, Scotland. Ayr happened to be a
couple of miles down the road from my home
town of Kilmarnock and so, as a boy, I used
to travel there to see him, even thought
he was an old man in those days. I used
to visit his old grocery shop (old-fashioned
personal service -- not like those Supermarkets,
etc.) and watch him serve his customers
as well as trick them at the same time.
So often he would place six fresh laid eggs
into a paper bag (before all those fancy
containers were in fashion here) only for
the customer leaving the shop to find out
there were only two inside, the other four
had vanished! I still have a set of his
lovely custom-made thimbles, silver with
a red band around the base with the inscription:
John Ramsay -- Ayr. I believe he also had
the sets made with blue bands, but I have
yet to see one.
That's
all for now. I'll be back with more news
and views. Look after yourself. Remember
-- there's only one YOU in the world and
you are the best ONE. That's what I keep
saying to those young magicians who start
up and copy people like Paul Daniels. I
say "There's only ONE Paul D. in the world,
and he's the best one. Be yourself and you
may make it!
There's
magic in the air -- from MagicIAN ADAIR!
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