The Magic Place
IMHO there is (was) only ONE Magic Place... and that was at 145
Wardour Street, London, W1-Ken Brooke's Magic
Place.
On a recent trip to London,
I had to go by 145 to see what was now at
that location (Ken had passed on years ago
and closed "The Place"). What I found was
The Zoo Studio.
I have no idea what the Zoo
Studio is, or might be, but it isn't "The
Magic Place." Not only was Ken Brooke at that
address in those days, but one flight up ("We
shared the Loo," Ken said) was the office
of Andrew Lloyd Weber and Tim Rice. Lot's
of real Magic came from that address.
Ken Brooke was an unusual
dealer in magic. He was totally honest, paid
the creators well for their efforts, wrote
the most comprehensive, practical instruction
sheets ever, and was one of the funniest,
best, demonstrators I have ever seen.
A practical joker, Ken would
go to any lengths for a laugh. My favorite
was the Wallpaper bit. Ken would go to Woolworths
and buy the ugliest, cheapest roll of wallpaper
he could find. He'd then go to a bus stop,
and when a Double-Deck London Bus arrived,
Ken would climb up the back stairs, stop and
let the paper unroll. He then beckon the people
getting on, to, "Come on up, it's ok you can
step on the paper, its just for my little
boy's room. What do you think? Do you think
he'll like it?" He would continue to motion
people to come on up the steps.
Most of the pros of the time
would "hang" at The Magic Place when in town.
You would almost always see someone like Fred
Kaps, Jay Marshall, Johnny Paul, Finn Jon,
Dany Ray and Paul Daniels there.
Paul was a student of Ken's
and will always credit Ken's teaching that
led him to his fame and fortune in magic.
Kaps and Jon would only let Ken market their
ideas, as he would treat them with respect,
make sure the quality was he best possible,
and sell them on an "exclusive" basis. This
is what led to Ken's bad health (he had a
terrible stroke and lost his ability to speak
clearly), worrying about the unscrupulous
dealers that would knock off his material
at the first opportunity.
Ken grew up in the streets
of Leeds in Northern England, and started
in the tailoring trade, but soon found he
could make more money pitching items on the
streets. He wouldn't sell something the "Punters"
(customers) couldn't do... hence no Svengali
decks, or Wonder Mice.
"If a man buys something
from me and when he gets home can't do it,
I can't justify selling it," he would say.
So, he sold the "Flick Book," a small book
that you could show with blank pages, or pictures
of birds, or stamps, whatever. Something anyone
could do.
Ken was funny about selling
something too hard to do to a customer. I
saw him on several occasions turn down a sale
when someone came in and asked for a particular
trick. Ken knew it was beyond the Punter's
ability so he'd say, "No, but here's something
you can do."
He also knew how to build
a sale. I remember one day a guy came in and
wanted to by trick A, and Ken wouldn't sell
it to him. He threw it in the trash! Then
the guy wanted trick B, same thing... on and
on, but then by the end of the day Ken had
sold him both and almost everything else in
the shop! He really knew how to demonstrate
and sell.
In addition to Paul Daniels,
Nick Lewin studied under Ken. Nicky just completed
a huge, successful run in Las Vegas and is
now working the cruise lines.
Ken was a great teacher.
Half of my act came from sessions with him
on the egg bag, linking rings, Chase the Ace,
the chop cup, and others. Ken used to close
with the multiplying bottles and he taught
the routine to me as well. I had a question
for Ken about how he got "off" at the finish,
as the table is full with 9 bottles, 2 tubes
and 2 glasses. It is pretty difficult to carry
it offstage. He said, "I just pick it up,
walk to the wings, stumble and nearly fall,
but don't drop anything."
This I couldn't believe.
I know the "false" stumble. Ken taught it
to me many years before (as well as the duck
walk and the crooked stance). But how to do
it with a table full of fragile props?
Ken said, "Here I'll teach
you." He picket up a tray with a teapot and
several cups, etc. (there was always a pot
of tea in the afternoon at Ken's), closed
the shop and we went for a walk in the neighborhood.
"Watch," he said, heading
toward a group of ladies. "Oooops," he said,
stumbling, almost falling forward on his face
with the tray. The ladies screamed, and jumped
out of the way. Ken "recovered" and kept right
on going. He did this half a dozen times and
when we went back to the Place, he said, "That's
how you do it. Practice."
Never did get it down.
One night Ken was about to
close and Del Cartier and his wife, Rhoda,
came in. Del was from New York, and a good
friend of Ken. Del was the "original" source
in magic for the Invisible Thread that Fred
Kaps used in the Floating and Dancing Cork.
Anyway it was decided we'd
all go to dinner. It was getting late and
Rhoda said, "You know Ken, in all the years
we've been coming here, we have never seen
you do a show."
Ken said, "Really?" and went
into the back room. About 10 minutes later
Ken came back into the Studio in his tux,
with his table and "The Act."
He then did his complete
act, Dancing Cane, Rings, Bottles, Sucker
Silk, the lot... for the three of us, as if
we were an audience of 1,000. It was amazing.
All the gags, bits and magic, like a real
show. It was! Ken was maybe the best I ever
saw with the dancing cane. Why? He DANCED
with it... a very funny, eccentric dance.
No one, no one even thought thread, or cared.
It was a very funny routine. He would finish
it, when doing a cabaret (dance floor) show
by throwing to a waiter off to one side, saying,
"Sell it."
On one trip to Ken's Ricky
Jay was with me. At that time Ricky was studying
the cups and balls and was talking about how
the Paul Fox cups were best because of the
size/shape. "The final load balls look bigger
than the cups," Ricky said.
Ken disagreed. "Size doesn't
matter," said Ken, "it's the change. I'll
show you." Ken grabbed his cups, closed the
shop and we went to the market and got three
very small lemons. We then went to the Dog
and Duck Pub, Ken sized up a table (with 3
couples) and went over. He started to do the
cups and balls (and believe me, next to Bob
Read and maybe Gazzo I have never seen a more
entertaining performance) and at the "Death"
(Ken always called the climax, the Death),
and Ken lifted the cups to reveal the three
small lemons, the crowed roared. Ken turned
to Ricky and said, "Y'see, size doesn't matter."
For years we could never
get Ken to come to the States. Finally, he
told me why. "I had such a bad experience
when I went over before. Harry Stanley (Ken
was working for Stanley's Unique Studio at
the time) brought me over to an IBM Convention
in Florida. I performed on one of the shows
and Jay Marshall and Al Flosso's agent, Mark
Leddy saw me. Leddy booked acts for the Ed
Sullivan show. Leddy said he wanted me to
fly to New York and do the Sullivan show.
Harry said I couldn't do it, I had to stay
with him in Florida and do a lecture that
night. It broke my heart, but I was bound,
by contract, to Stanley."
Some years later, however,
we were able to talk Ken into coming to the
U.S. to the Desert Magic Seminar, where Siegfried
and Roy had a party at their home honoring
Ken. It was one of the most touching moments
in magic I have ever experienced. Ken could
barely speak (following his stroke) but we
all knew what he was trying to say, and we
all just stood there with tears rolling down
our cheeks.
Ken had gone bankrupt years
before with a small magic business in Leeds,
and according to British Law (which I like)
you can never open another business until
you pay back all you owe. So Ken moved to
London and went to work for Stanley, and eventually
paid off al his debts, then left Stanley to
open "Ken Brooke's Magic Place," with Frank
Farrow as his partner and Jim Hooper (Nemo)
as his mechanic. I had the thrill of being
the "witness" to the signing of the agreement
with Farrow and Ken.
Jim Hooper was one of the
real unsung heroes in magic. Jim was a brilliant
mind. He was an engineer with the London Underground,
but found time to create and make props for
Ken. Many of the items called "Nemo" were
Hooper's creations. Ken also had one of the
great metalworkers doing reels, pulls, holdouts,
card swords, etc. by the name of George Hammerton.
Many say Hammerton's work far exceeded that
of Jon Martin.
So, Ken Brooke's Magic Place
is not at 145 Wardour Street anymore. It is
in the minds and hearts of those fortunate
enough to have had the opportunity to visit
there when it was "The Place." There is no
other Place anywhere like it.
