THE
CUPS
by Mike Rogers
Everyone
who knew Dai Vernon could relate an anecdote.
Here's another.
When
entering into a conversation about the Cups
and Balls it is difficult not to include something
about Dai Vernon. For some it's even more difficult
to have any magic conversation without including
something about Cups and Balls. With the current
interest in the effect some readers who might
not have seen Vernon perform may enjoy seeing
a picture of his famous engraved silver cups.
Only two sets of these beautiful cups were made.
There is a rumor that three sets were actually
made, though I have no knowledge or documentation
of this alleged third set. It's hogwash and
one of those stories that make the rounds.
Some
may be curious as to why, or how, I would have
such a picture on file. Vernon and I never hobnobbed
together on a frequent basis though we were
best of friends for close to thirty years. I
would see him at conventions and quite often
at the Magic Castle after he moved to Los Angeles.
We enjoyed many meals together, several sessions,
and even shared a room once. I studied his methods
and his style, but I never personally studied
under him as others have. Moreover, I never
lived close to where he lived. So our meetings
would not be considered as frequent. Whether
frequent or not it was always great fun seeing
him. He was the most charismatic person I've
ever met and being in his presence was a pure
delight. He was also a bit forgetful and careless
with his magic props, and that's how I happen
to have this strange photograph.
Vernon
and I shared a hotel room at the Florida State
Magic Convention in Orlando back in 1974. The
Professor would retire about 3:00 AM and rejoin
the world around noon. I've always been one
to rise and get out of the hotel room rather
early. Hence, I would be out of the room long
before the Professor was awake. Quite often
I'd return to the room in the middle of the
day, about the time he was getting up, and he
would greet me with a rather funny phrase. He'd
say, "Well...I saw your bed was vacant, I saw
your bed was vacant." (Say that phrase in Vernon's
twangy speech pattern and you'll see why it
sounded funny.) In my life I have never referred
to an empty bed as being "vacant."
.....I'm
rambling, let's get back to the picture of the
silver cups. I've already mentioned that he
was careless with his props. He never seemed
to make an effort to protect them, or to even
recall where he last left them. During the four
day convention he left the cups openly about
the room. Any spot where there seemed to be
space was fine, normally on the foot of his
bed. No effort was ever made to hide them or
secure them in any manner. Dave Goodsell (MUM
Editor) and I spent many hours together during
the convention and we were both amazed at Vernon's
apparent lack of concern for protecting the
cups. So we posed them on the bed and Dave took
the photo. We did it just for the hell of it.
Vernon never new about the photo. I never told
him because I planned on using it down the line.
I used to make him special birthday cards relating
to his magic, such as a card depicting Tally-Ho
back design, and so on. I always intended to
make such a birthday card using this picture,
but alas, never got around to doing it. Today,
with computers, making such a greeting card
is a snap. Back then I did it all on copy machines.
The picture of the cups never came out well
on the copy machines of the period.
To point
up his heedless manner with the cups, a few
years earlier he forgot them when leaving a
TV studio in Atlanta. They remained unattended
until the next day. At the request of Art Zorka
both Vernon and I had made a joint appearance
on the Open Up late night talk show on Ted Turner's
newly formed Cable TV Network. The Professor
forgot the cups entirely. Fortunately they were
safely returned to him the next morning.
I'm certain
Bruce Cervon has more knowledge than anyone
regarding the in-depth history of these cups
and their current status. My point here has
been to simply relate an amusing narrative about
one of the icons of magic. I will mention that
the cups shown in the Dai Vernon Book of Magic
published by Harry Stanley are the same cups
pictured here. However, the cups pictured on
the dust jacket of the Vernon Chronicles series
are not the cups used by the professor.
