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Milliard Grubb - A Man of Many Talents.
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To say that Millard Grubb has spent a lifetime in show business would be an understatement. Millard has spent what he says is “about three lifetimes” in his performing career. As the writer of this story, one word comes to mind regards to Millard’s story – “timing.” The uncanny, almost scary sequence of perfect timing regards to his development in magic and how he was fortunate to have several spring boards throughout his life – all of which pushed him further towards the path of success.
Millard’s first event was hosting a third-grade talent show during an open house at his school. “I got the performing bug at this time… it was exciting to be up in front of folks,” he remembers.
As is often the case, it’s usually an uncle that introduces a child to magic (or other family members). Millard’s uncle showed him a few tricks after which Millard started to investigate magic with what turned out to be the seeds of a passion. Having the chutzpa to perform on his own was impressive but Milliard was also fortunate when magician Ron Urban took him aside after a show and showed him the six-card repeat trick. Millard then marched down to the local department store where a magician was demonstrating a Svengali deck and bought one.
“Imagine the disappointment I had when I got home and found out that the ink didn’t really change on the cards,” mused Millard.
Millard performed in the public square in his hometown and also on a local television station his senior year in high school. He performed everywhere he could all through college, and thus formed the crucial and important foundation.
As stated above, about this time Millard’s timing was perfect as during college he met Ben Stone, manufacturer of high-quality magic. Ben Stone was a soft man who crafted the famous DELBEN line of magic products, some of which are available at Stevens Magic Emporium (thanks to Danny Garganus) who purchased the rights to the Delben magic line – check out the links below.
Millard worked with Ben for a while and met Ben’s friend, J.B. Bobo. It was because of Ben, that Millard started to concentrate on close-up magic, of course having J.B. Bobo around made it even harder for Milliard to have any chance at a normal life. A quality crafter of fine magic apparatus as well as a technician and mechanic surrounded him, if Milliard himself didn’t have self-awareness of the “timing” in his life, it didn’t mater – the die was cast!
After graduation from College, Millard attended graduate school, which gave him the unique opportunity to hone his skills performing at several restaurants in the Memphis area. He became well versed in dealing with people in all situations (no substitute for experience). It was at this time that Millard started to use the stage name of “Dave Harper.”
PHOTO “Dave Harper” Milliards other persona incorporates Magic, Hypnotism, Mentalism and more!
Millard’s studies continued academic, artistic and otherwise… Milliard realized early the need to be a versatile performer and again timing played a major role as he was trained by one of the country’s top medical hypnotists. Later, as a result of his studies and his friendship with Jack Dean, Millard developed an interest in mentalism. He created an act called “Miracles of the Mind” in 1977 and performed it at nightclubs, corporate affairs, and other venues.
PHOTO Milliard performing close up magic at a club.
After graduate school, Millard settled in the Chicago area and went to Magic, Inc. every chance he could. He learned from Jay Marshall (a man that was near and dear to all of us at Stevens Magic) and took magic lessons from the “voice” Eugene Burger. Millard performed as much as his schedule would allow him but did not make the jump into a full-time performer.
Millard had gotten a few breaks, though. He performed with Shari Lewis at Medina Temple in downtown Chicago. He hosted his own TV show on a cable network in Chicago. Millard also produced independent business videos for different markets.
PHOTO Millard taping one of many promotional/marketing program.
PHOTO Millard interviewing guest in preperation for a publicity stunt titled – The Great Escape!
Then when he got a chance to go on the road with his nightclub act, he took it. Millard traveled all over the Midwest with his mental program. He was happy doing what he loved to do and it was at this point when he experienced an epiphany of sorts – the satisfaction of being his own boss coupled with the rewards that come with performance was what made him most at peace with himself. But his career in show business was about to take a radical shift.
In the mid-1980’s, Millard started to work with Brian Flora, Docc Hilford, and Richard Webster. They had formed a loose business partnership called the “Delta Group” to produce programs for the business community. At this time, Brian produced a number of audio and videotapes to help performers get more shows (many of those DVD’s are still available and contain core fundamentals available through Stevens Magic).
FLORA DVD’S AVAILABLE AT STEVENS MAGIC
Millard helped in the production of these materials. He began to take a heavy interest in marketing because he wasn’t happy with what his agent was doing.
It was at this time that Richard Webster took Millard aside and showed him one of his “other” business cards. It said, “Richardo, the Magician. Children’s Entertainer.”
“It shocked me to no end to learn that one of my mentors in the mentalism field was doing kid shows,” Millard noted.
Richard then told Millard that he had made quite a bit of extra cash doing family entertainment and that Millard should do it too. Seeing that it was close to the month of October, Millard made 54 phone calls to local schools and booked 18 shows. The only problem was, Millard didn’t have a kidshow! But Millard did have wise council and quickly sought the help of Docc, Brian, and Richard, and was able to come up with a show.
This change opened a whole new series of markets for Millard’s performing and he began to develop different family-friendly shows for different venues. All the previous study in the different applications of magic entertainment, mentalism, parlor, comedy, hypnotism, and children’s magic – played important parts in the creation of his show.
Because Millard was booking all his own shows, his interest in marketing grew and he was able to study with some of the biggest names in the marketing world. In fact, in one of the “Biggest Blunders,” as Millard states, he TURNED DOWN a joint venture deal with international marketing genius, Jay Abraham. Fortunately, Millard has learned from his experiences and now is spending his time teaching other performers what he has learned from his years in show business.
Millard is also helping business owners make more profits by helping them grow their businesses without a lot of sales sweat.
Almost all of Millard’s performances are for private clients now. He custom develops a program for a client when needed. He has also written books for performers as well as the business community. I remember his Emergency Tool Magician’s Handbook sold like wildfire a few years back at Stevens Magic. Milliard has a great idea – he wants to help others make it faster than he did.
“If I can save someone time, if I can save someone effort, and help them grow into what they are supposed to do without all the heartaches I had to go through, then everything I produce is worthwhile,” Millard said.
If Millard’s life teaches you anything… take heed to what he says… you’ll be better off for it. Luck is often defined as when opportunity meets preparation. Milliard was hungry to be the best but he also desperately needed the support, consultation and guidance of performers that could help. For those of you that share his passion, but perhaps need professional coaching Joe Stevens states, “Millard Grubb is the swami extraordinaire!”
Keep your eyes open for more exciting projects from Stevens Magic and Milliard Grubb! Make sure you check back to see the important product launch and oh yea! For those of you that are subscribed to “Joe’s E-Mail Flash” you should be getting some free value added announcements you won’t want to miss!
If YOU DO NOT GET OUR E-MAIL FLASHES – CLICK HERE TO SIGN UP!
