280: And In His Corner...

As we wind down the #MagicCereal on this podcast and before Gregory Wilson returns to present his final comments, I thought it only appropriate to give voice to friends and business associates who know Greg best. They wanted to share their stories which radically conflict with those presented by the many who have already been given broadcast time to defend their accusations against Greg.

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Time stamps for this podcast:

00:03:00 - Dave Gripenwaldt talks about his 20+ year friendship and collaboration with Gregory on various projects and how they have worked together on Coffeehouse Conjuring and many other projects.

00:15:04 - Erik Casey (creator of "The Poker Test") and attests to the fact that he shared his idea for this with Gregory who offered nothing but encouragement that led to this effect getting marketed. And to this date, Greg has not accepted any remuneration for his assistance with the entire process (creative, marketing or otherwise). Erik is writing up the story on his blog which you can read by Clicking Here.

00:27:37 - Thom Peterson, The Amazing Guy, has been a long time friend of Greg's and seen and heard him in his creative mode. Thom talks about his experiences that attest to Greg's honesty.

00:41:44 - Danny Archer, business partner with Gregory in the Secret Source magic business, talks about why and how he became associated with Greg despite those who tried to dissuade him and tried to discourage him from going into business. Danny tells first hand stories about Greg's truthfulness, honesty and always choosing to do the right thing.

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Cologne, Germany - The global boom in mentalism has been taking place for a number of years. Many magicians are now incorporating mentalism effects into their performances. Many others are seeking information on how they can add mentalism effects to their shows. The Mind Summit catered to everyone from novice to expert who has an interest in the field of mentalism.

279: The Cardini Connection with Randy Pitchford

Randy Pitchford is the nephew of Richard Valentine Pitchford, who was better known as Cardini. More than just a familial connection, Randy is also a performer, entrepreneur and successful businessman. Randy is the CEO and President of Gearbox Software located in Frisco, Texas (a northern suburb of Dallas).

Randy purchased much of the Cardini collection from the 2013 Potter & Potter auction and put the bulk of the exhibit in a museum at the Magic Castle. His most recent purchase may have the furthest reaching impact in our community: he is the new owner of Genii Magazine.

Randy is building a home designed to be like Brookledge, the home of Bill and Irene Larsen in Los Angeles. He even plans to present regular shows for the public in his home not unlike the Bookledge Follies.

Magician Cardini performing in 1957

Cardini (Richard Pitchford) performing coins and cards for some lucky people on a cruise. This rare footage was shot by Dr. Morris Young, and hasn't been seen for 50 years. Edited and restored by Magicbymax Steven Max Droge Productions.

Borderlands 2 creator Randy Pitchford (President and Co-founder, Gearbox Studios) gives his keynote speech at the 2013 D.I.C.E. SUMMIT. Titled "Video Games Are Magic". Brought to you by Variety and Machinima. The D.I.C.E.

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Randy Pitchford was born in 1971 and Richard "Cardini" Pitchford died in 1973 so Randy has no recollection of his uncle. In this podcast, Randy talks about the acquisition of his Cardini artifacts plus some stories that were passed down to Randy from the family and friends. He also talks about his experience in his early years of performing at the Magic Castle and his personal relationship with the late Irene Larsen.

Also, he briefly talks about his recent acquisition of Genii magazine from Richard Kaufman; however, since the details have not been fleshed out, there are not many details to share. At this point, I understand that no change of any kind is envisioned for the immediate future of the magazine. Randy just wants to preserve this part of magic history and make sure of the longevity, viability and vitality of Genii far into the future so it can "live on forever."

Download this podcast in an MP3 file by Clicking Here and then right click to save the file. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed by Clicking Here. You can download or listen to the podcast through Stitcher by Clicking Here or through FeedPress by Clicking Here or through Tunein.com by Clicking Here. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here

Here is the photo taken by Michael Wilcoxen, the winner of the contest, with the framed Peau -Doux card he received as he has it displayed in his home.

This is the framed fan of Peau Doux manipulations cards (used by Cardini) that was presented by Randy Pitchford to David Copperfield. This is NOT the number of cards nor type of frame that will be sent to the winner of the contest (which is now ended). The contest here was for one framed card (probably without the brass plaque) and I'm uncertain of the type of framing that Randy will prepare.