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.

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."

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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 ende… — 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.

265: Scott Hollingsworth - Tales from the Island

For nearly 25 years in Houston, Texas, the Magic Island stood as a beacon for the public to see professional magic in a elegant setting. And in the epicenter of it all was Scott Hollingsworth. Scott was there from the beginning as one of the house magicians and later became the Entertainment Director. During the time the Island was open, nearly every professional and part-time professional magician performed there.

In April 2015, the Houston Chronicle.com digital newspaper posted a link to an earlier blog posting here on The Magic Word that rejuvenated interest and hope that the building would soon be opening. It played on the earlier article in Chron.com in May 2012 that quoted the owner as saying that he had hopes that the Magic Island would reopen by Christmas. In his defense, he didn't say what year, so it could reopen by Christmas some year though my doubts loom large that it will ever reopen and resemble anything that it once was.

In this podcast, Scotto (as he is affectionately known) tells about the history of the Magic Island, the builders, owners and creators of the edifice, some of the "characters" who performed there, stories about the psychics, and more.

Join Scott Wells as he takes a guided tour with Scott Hollingsworth, Entertainment Director of Houston"s Magic Island. Unfortunately the Magic Island closed after Hurricane Ike came through on September 13, 2008. Fortunately this guided tour gives a glimpse into what was once a most regal place for magicians to perform and a delight to all who visited.

Click on the graphic above to see photos of the Magic Island as it appears in 2017.

Scott Hollingsworth sat down to chat on this podcast before we set up for a video shoot of his upcoming DVD. Jamie Salinas brought in six cameras and several lights into my home and I had friends and neighbors come in to enjoy an "evening of magic featuring Scott Hollingsworth". So now the performance is "in the can" and we have yet to produce and shoot the explanation part of the DVD which is hoped to be ready for sale in January 2016.

Send out Magic holiday cards from the beauriful Taschen book. 100 postcards based on some of the posters from the Steinmeyer book, MAGIC. Order today through this link and help support The Magic Word.

Great reading for the holidays or anytime. Order Steve Spill's book and enjoy some great stories about magicians written by a magiian who has seen and done it all.

Start your online holiday shopping early. Order John Gaspard's newest Eli Marks magician mystery novel and support The Magic Word through this Amazon affiliate link.

213: Chicago Magic Bars & Lounges

Chicago has a rich history of magic bars within the city limits as well as in the outlying areas. The "hay day" of magic bars in Chicago ended around 1998 with the closing of the last magic bar. But Joey Cranford and John Sturk are pumping new life into an old concept with the new nightclub/theater called "Chicago Magic Lounge". This will be a recreation of the early 20th century, prohibition era lounge one night each week on the upper part of Chicago.

Bill Weimer is a local magician who was an integral part of the Chicago magic bar scene from the 1970's through the 1990's. He worked seven of the nine or so Chicago-land magic bars. He has a lot of stories about these clubs in their glory days and in fact, wrote a book about his experiences called "Now You See Them, Now You Don't".

00:03:18 - Joey Cranford and John Sturk talk about the newest venture that will open on March 5, 2015, The Chicago Magic Lounge. They talk about their vision of the Lounge and what they hope will happen. They will also encourage local magicians to come and hang our and create a "magic lab" where performers can try out new stuff.

00:40:56 - Bill Weimer talks about the history of Chicago-land bars from his perspective of one who has been there and done that having worked at seven of the nine or so magic bars within the city's boundaries over a 20 year period. Bill wrote the book on bar magic entitled "Now You See Them, Now You Don't". In this podcast, Bill shares some of the stories from his book and his perspective as a working performer.

Order your copy of Bill's book at his website http://www.magicbarbook.com/