373: John Cox is Wild About Houdini

John Cox is passionate about one prestidigitator...Harry Houdini. You could say he is "Wild About Harry". At least he says that. For nearly seven years, John has maintained a daily blog about Houdini. Who would have thought there is that much information to be found on a daily basis about Houdini? Well, there is new stuff being revealed more regularly than you could ever imagine.

I first met John Cox when I was the "Medium" for the "Official Houdini Seance" in 2012 when we enjoyed the hospitality of our host, Arthur Moses, noted Houdini collector. You can hear Part One of our chat by Clicking Here and Part Two Here. We became fast friends because of not only our mutual interest in Houdini, but also Sherlock Holmes and James Bond plus an avid film fanatic in general.

While in Hollywood performing at The Magic Castle in 2017, I stopped by the apartment of John Cox, noted Houdini collector and blogger. Be sure to visit his blog at http://WildAboutHoudini.com for daily updates on all things Houdini.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:04:26 - John Cox talks about his obsession and his blog and some of the more interesting things he has posted over the years.

01:07:58 - Product Review of "Conjuror At The Table - A Master Course in Restaurant Magic" by Al James and available through Magic, Inc.

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Don't let the title of this graphic fool you. The correct URL is WildAboutHoudini.com

More information and to order your copy from Magic, Inc., click the image above.

372: Rick Wilcox - At Home In His Own Theater

Rick Wilcox has been a long-time friend and one whom I have been wanting to feature on this podcast for some time. I have known Rick for many years as a fellow "Four F'r" (from Fechter's Finger Flicking Frolic annual close-up convention) who helps Jimmy C with the A/V for the close-up shows. We have talked about being an illusionist versus a close-up guy, but Rick does both. I knew he and his wife, Susan, had a long-running illusion show playing in their own 500 seat theater in Wisconsin.

The Rick Wilcox Magic Show is now into its 19th season at the Wisconsin Dells and plays to packed houses throughout the tourist season running from Memorial Day through Labor Day but also playing during Spring Break and seasonal holidays. They compete with indoor/outdoor water parks, duck rides, zip-lining, go-carting, candy shops and other family attractions similar to Branson, Missouri but much smaller with fewer show options but with more family oriented rather than those Branson attractions that are geared towards the senior set. With all of the competition for the tourist dollar in a popular family destination, it is great to know that they recently won an award for "The Best Family Travel Destination for the State of Wisconsin".

Rick Wilcox Magic Theater, Wisconsin Dells, Wisconsin. Sneak peek 90 Minutes of pure Magic, Illusion and comedy. TripAdvisors #1 attraction Things to do Wisconsin Dells

Rick and Susan Wilcox talk about the daily chores of an illusionist who prepares each day for and evening show in their own theater, plus the problems with traveling with big illusions when on the road. They also talk about routining and scripting a stage show and how each illusion fits into the overall show as they constantly change the show each year and throughout the year. They discuss some of the challenges of finding, remodeling and maintaining a theater and marketing their show, some "horror stories" when things went wrong, and more.

Click on the graphic above for show information.

371: "Club Deception" by Sarah Skilton

As regular listeners of this podcast, you know that most episodes are chats with friends plus convention updates. I rarely post a podcast that is for self-promotion of a person or product. It is only if I think that the person or item is unique enough to warrant notice by our magic community. This podcast is one such episode.

There are countless magic books and DVDs coming out each year on tricks, technique, theory and marketing. But the number of interesting fictional novels is much less. "Club Deception" falls in that category. Many times in literature and film, the magician is represented as a villain or "sleeze bag" with few or no redeeming qualities. That is not the case with this book.

CLUB DECEPTION is Sarah Skilton's first adult fiction after publishing several young adult novels. Here is the synopsis of the book: Claire Fredericksson is the beating heart of CLUB DECEPTION, L.A.'s most exclusive magician's society. She's the Queen Bee of Magician WAGs ("Wives and Girlfriends"), and the real genius behind her philandering husband Jonathan's award-winning magic show, but her debilitating stage fright has kept her out of the limelight. Claire's life is upended by the arrival of two new women to the closed group of magicians' wives - Jessica, a young trophy wife with a secret, and Kaimi, an art expert looking for the long lost Erdnase papers by posing as a girlfriend. When a magician rivalry and a stolen routine erupt into murder, the women must uncover the truth and set things right for the man they love. With a cast of endurance experts, Vegas stage stars, close-up card handlers, and a pick-up artist or two, this glamorous novel weaves a tale of murder, fame, and many, many illusions.

"Glamorous, sexy, and full of more twists than a magic show, CLUB DECEPTION put Sarah Skilton on my insta-buy list!" - Katee Robert, New York Times bestselling author of The Marriage Contract

"This book unfolds like some of the best magic I have seen. It hooks you in at the start and takes you on a journey that doesn't make you feel like you were fooled, but rather experienced something truly amazing." - Jon Armstrong, the Academy of Magic Arts' Close-Up Magician of the Year, and co-writer of Smoke & Mirrors

During our conversation, Sarah mentioned a reference to "The Magician and the Cardsharp" which I erroneously attributed to John Scarne but was actually penned by Karl Johnson. You can hear a short podcast with Karl Johnson who was the guest on NPR's "Morning Edition" during their series, "Tales From The Underworld" back in 2006 on the podcast, "A Magician's Quest for the Perfect Card Cheat" that is Dai Vernon's search for the elusive cardsharp.

Her book is available through various places including Amazon.com where, if you use the link below, also helps support The Magic Word Podcast. But if you are interested in the audible book, then Click Here to visit that site.

Order your copy of "Club Deception" today through this Amazon Affiliate link and help support The Magic Word Podcast, too!

An inspirational book for Sarah Skilton's "Club Deception"