Hi there:
Nice to be back reporting on
the events and happenings here in Britain. Thereís
good news and thereís bad news and thereís sad
news too. The sad news is the death of one of
our most respected magicians, author, inventor
and historian, PETER WARLOCK. Here was a gentleman
who was respected worldwide for his services
given to magic and magicians. There will never
be another like him.
I first met Peter when, as
a boy, I attended my first magic convention,
held in Scotland. Peter was not only the main
attraction, but was guest of honor, lecturer,
close-up performer and gala show feature. His
act with his wife, Anne ìMagic Pure and Simpleî
was a sophisticated one. I can still remember
the Willow Paterned Plate, his work with silks
and those ëstill moistí carnations which he
used to produce and throw out to ladies in the
audience. Never did I realize that later I would
be very much involved with Peter, mainly with
the New Pentagram which he edited so well, corresponding
with him over 20 solid years, often weekly.
As I write I can see the 20 bound volumes behind
me. As a painter he had magical flair. Those
superb magical artifact pictures signed by himself,
are so rare now. I am so pleased Peter painted
one for me and as I write I see it on the wall
nearby. A lasting memory indeed. But of course,
we must not forget this manís other talents.
He edited several books, ìMagic of Pavelî and
the classic work "Magic of Robert Harbino."
As a magical inventor, writer,
lecturer, performer and indeed magical historian,
no one could be better. His last published contribution
appeared in the Christmas (1995) issue of Abra.
I know you will share with me when I say Peter.....
we shall always remember you and thank-you for
your valued contributions to magic. Our thoughts
are with his wife, Anne, and his daughter Elizabeth
(Mary).
More sad news as we write.
Past President of the British Ring (I.B.M.)
Alfred Gabriel passed away at the age of 90.
He was a very popular president and a superb
performer. Alfred scored heavily with his presentation
of the card sword and the vanishing silk which
reappeared inside the center of a scooped-out
apple. He was also an expert drummer and appeared
on many of the British Ring galas and in particular
helped competitors during competitions. He would
know just when to add that special effect. We
shall certainly miss Alfred. I call him "Alfred
the Great"!
The good news is that the Paul
Daniels series of six TV spectaculars "Secrets"
has ended and the verdict is that once again
he scored heavily. The name of the program is
named after his ënite-clubí and this is the
sort of atmosphere which comes over on the screen,
with trendy waitresses serving drinks, cocktail
shaker boys behind the bar counters, and people
dancing in the background. Paul does a lot of
magic, assisted by his beautiful wife Debbie.
Appearances in cabinets, levitations, even a
most weird headchopping routine with six ladies,
one of whom was Debbie. As the long blade falls
all five heads get chopped off...except for
Debbieís of course! Wait a moment, I forgot
to tell you the other five were dummies. That
got you worried for a moment!
Guests on his show, specially
round the tables (so, table hopping has really
arrived in Britain now!) were Bill Malone. He's
great. We had Eugene Burger, always great, still
plucking things out of his long fluffy white
beard.
Paul wrote to me and chatted
to me on the phone thanking me for my write-up
in one of the theatrical magazines. Paul has
been receiving a lot of bad press here. It is
getting so bad that editors are sending out
18 year old girl reporters demanding them to
write a bit on the star, and to run him down.
Now, if thatís not disgusting.....I just don't
know. One reporter in the famous national "The
Daily Express" wrote a whole page on how she
tried but couldnít in the end get an interview
from Paul. She asked him stupid questions and
he asked her to leave. The heading was "The
Day Paul Daniels Lost his Magic Touch." Sad,
isn't it.
WAYNE DOBSON IN THE NEWS
Our other TV man of magic,
38-year-old Wayne Dobson made an announcement
to all national newspapers so to stop rumors
amongst magicians and show-biz people that he
had Aids or was a drug addict. He told all that
he has been suffering from the crippling desease
of multiple sclerosis. "It won't stop me. I
will beat it" Wayne was reported to have said.
We just hope he will. I first met Wayne when
he was 13 years of age, and then, as a boy magician
he was appearing on one of the British Ring
(I.B.M.) shows of which I was emceeing. I remember
at the time someone telling me that this lad
will go far and he did. He has had his own shows,
complete series on national T.V. "My kind of
Magic" for some years now. He introduced a super
rabbit, RINGO operated from below with the cutest
antics. The patter flowed well between Wayne
and Ringo. We sincerely hope Wayne will be back
on our screens soon.
And while we are talking about
television, I've heard that Penn and Teller
are coming back to Britain to make a series.
Hope they don't. We would rather they stay in
your country where they belong. They got very
low ratings here when a poll was taken. I hope
they have other jobs to fall back into. I can't
see it lasting!
But one person I love from
good old U.S.A. is Max Maven or Phil Goldstein
- I really never know what to call him, except
to say that he is a good mentalist. He appeared
recently here at our British Ring Convention
and scored heavily with only two items. He's
back over here making another T.V. series for
HTV. Can't you guys get your own series on T.V.
over there? I'm only joking of course. No one
has asked me to have a T.V. series in U.S.A.
- that's for sure.
TRICKY RICKY
After U.S. magician Ricky Jay
made his appearance on a one-hour T.V. show
of his own (there I told you - they all come
over here) he burst out in front of the cameras
and told spectators to push off and refused
others. He came over bullyfied in a most dramatic
way. But his work with cards is superb. He certainly
has a very aggressive style.
Let's turn to the radio. Why?
Because I presented a couple of tricks on national
radio the other day. It was easy as pie. They
didnít see the steal and that color change went
down well. I even produced an elephant in the
studio. But seriously, folks, Radio magic is
hard to do. It can be done and has been done.
Many famous magicians over the years have used
radio as their media. JOHN WADE, is perhaps
one of our most well-known radio performers,
and Billy McComb has done his fair share of
radio magic in this country before he decided
to leave us and stay in the U.S. You see, some
do leave us and go elsewhere. John must have
done hundreds of broadcasts, even emceeing radio
programs. He would do tricks and one has to
say things like ìNow tell me what color you
see thereî when normally you would just show
it. Billy on the other hand....wait for it....was
a disc jockey, playing records on his weekly
show "Home with McComb," a title he adopted
later for his column in Magigram. You used to
switch on the radio and hear his Irish chatter.
He was good though.
My spot went well, with paddle
effects and a plug for a new book of mine which
came into the shops this Christmas (thats 1995)
simply called "Magic Tricks," in full color
with 200 photographs lots of magic and yes,
a hard cover and jacket. All for .....wait for
it.....$5.00. How can they do it? I note that
it was printed in Australia. I still don't know
how it can be done "under" as we call it....down
and under to be exact!
My company ABRACADAIR MAGIC
LIMITED has just been sued by a leading hypnotist
who appears on television. We published an article
written by a well-known performer with an error
and that got us into trouble. Always make sure
you have checked your facts!
Here's a bit of funny news
to finish off the column. A magician here in
Britain who lives in a council house (one not
owned by him but rented) did a silly thing which
got reported into the national newspapers. Although
most towns and cities no longer have wooden
telegraph poles, a few in the smaller places
do. He painted them overnight when it was dark.
When folks woke up the next morning and looked
out their windows, they all looked like giant
magic wands, black centers with white tips.
Now he has been charged for defacing council
property. And here's another genuine fun bit.
At the end of many of my shows I use one of
those banners, depending on what the event is
or what time of day it is. For example, I use
the GOOD NIGHT banner at the end of a show at
night...GOODBYE during daytime.....HAPPY BIRTHDAY
at the end of the kidís birthday show and MERRY
CHRISTMAS, obviously at Christmas. I dashed
to a show in the middle of July without careful
checking. Since most of my banners are similar
in appearance when folded with the wording inside
I took along the wrong one, and simply thought
that the wording was GOOD NIGHT. I came to the
end of the show, displayed the black velvet
banner ribbon inside. I ended the show by saying
"Thanks ladies (it was a large group of women)
it's been great being here and from me a very
(dropping open the banner) GOOD NIGHT." There
were a few sniggers - and when I looked at it
had the wording MERRY CHRISTMAS. I continued......."and
when it comes in December a very MERRY CHRISTMAS."
Remember, it was July! Until I write again There's
magic in the air..... from Ian Adair
