406: MagiCuba with Jon Stetson and John Rose

We are at the beginning of the magic convention season having had a great kickoff in Columbus, Ohio with the MagiFest. There are many conventions occurring around the glove that will attract thousands of attendees including Blackpool, MAGIC Live! and FISM. And there are other notable conventions that will be hosted that have long, rich heritages of being fun. But there is one convention that is planned for late 2018 that will be notable because of its unique location...Havana, Cuba.

In partnership with the Union of Writers and Artists of Cuba, Rose, a global marketing agency led by its founder and MagiCuba creator, John Rose, together with master mentalist Jon Stetson and in close cooperation with Bill Herz of Magicorp, the world's largest talent agency specializing in Magic, brings you the first international festival and conference of magic in Havana.

There are numerous conventions that could use attention and publicity to promote their event. But I feel that this will be a unique opportunity to not only see and learn some great magic, but also to travel to a destination that has literally been off limits to U.S. citizens for decades and to see a country while still in its "pristine" condition before tourism trade is wide open,

Early Bird Registration Rates Extended for Listeners of The Magic Word Podcast

The Early Bird discount ended on January 31st, but we have a special deal for our listeners. When you go through the convention registration process at http://magicuba.org/ be sure to put in the special discount code: themagicwordpodcast and receive a $100 discount now through February 28, 2018. Remember to have your passport information handy when you register.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:09:19 - Jon Stetson talks about mentalism and classes he teaches and the Mystery Lounge in Boston

00:30:20 - John Rose and Jon Stetson talk about MagiCuba

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400: David Berglas - International Man of Mystery, Part One

David Berglas has an affect on me.

Okay, that is corny. But it is true that he has influenced and inspired more magicians and mentalists in the world than can be counted. Not only has he changed how we look at magic, David Berglas has significantly changed magic on television.

The BBC called him the “Godfather of TV Magic”. Born in 1926, Berglas escaped to Britain from Nazi Germany at age 11. He first became interested in Magic in his 20’s and studied psychotherapy at university before becoming a professional magician in 1952. His groundbreaking TV show in 1986, “The Mind of David Berglas” paved the way for all others to follow up to this very day. He is the author of several books including, "The Berglas Effects" and "The Mind & Magic of David Berglas", among others. And he is an multiple award winner of several prestigious organizations and is the Past President of The Magic Circle.

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I was part of a momentous meeting organized by Spyros Melaris in 2002 when he arranged a dinner meeting with David Berglas and his wife, Ruth, with Banachek and his wife, Heidi, and me and my wife, Kathy. It was a wonderful, memorable dinner with Banachek sharing his spoon bending to David and magic talk late into the evening. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, no photos of that evening exist except those in our minds.

It was at that first meeting that we all became good friends and I am glad that we could get together again for this podcast where David talks about his beginnings in magic, work both in front of and behind the cameras on television and film, plus lots of stories about celebrated names of magicians, most of whom are long since passed.

Magicians' Valhalla

Although the list below is not exhaustive nor in any particular order, it does reflect the names of many well-known (and some lesser known) magicians, spouses and assistants who passed on in 2017. Some may not be as well-known to you, but they were my personal friends (hey, it is my blog!). If you are unfamiliar with any of these names, then it would behoove you to do a little online search of what these people have contributed to our craft. If you have someone you think was overlooked, then please post the name in the comments below on this blog.

Those whose names are highlighted were featured or interviewed here on The Magic Word Podcast. You can click on their name to revisit and listen to their voices again. David Oliver put together a video of some names and dates of passing of these (and others) in a YouTube video. Click Here to see that video.

Phil Messina

Daryl Easton (Martinez)

Bob Cassidy

Jim Zachary

Ed Thomas

Jessica “Shedini” Moore

George Kovari, Jr.

"Chuck" Kirchner

John Moehring

Eugene Burger

Tom Jones

Eddie Gibson

"Fast" Eddie Silverman

Kenneth Silverman

Paul Diamond

Peter Diamond

Steve Baker

Kevin King

Celeste Evans

Tim Glancey

Ian Ogilvy

Trevor Dawson

James Hamilton

Mike O’Dowd

Bill McIlhany

Michael Giles

Harold Greenbaum

Philip Morris

Ray Goulet

Lee Delano

Fantasio (Ricardo Roucau).

Deanna Shimada

Heidi Larsen

Johnny Fox

Happy New Year! I've got mine. Have you ordered yours yet? Click on the graphic above to visit Amazon.com and purchase your 2018 calendar while helping supprt The Magic Word Podcast. Or you can Click Here.to visit the Amazon.com site for more inform… — Happy New Year! I've got mine. Have you ordered yours yet? Click on the graphic above to visit Amazon.com and purchase your 2018 calendar while helping supprt The Magic Word Podcast. Or you can Click Here.to visit the Amazon.com site for more information. Thank you and Happy Holidays!

377: Day Four - 2017 MAGIC Live!

Final day of MAGIC Live! filled with more sessions and conversations with friends. One of the best things about this convention is the opportunities to visit with old friends and make new ones. Certainly that can be said about all magic conventions, but because this one is during the weekdays, more professionals can attend because they are usually working on weekends.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:00:16- Jon Stetson shares his favorite moments from the convention

00:04:04 - Lance Rich talks about this convention plus David Sandy's "Workshop" coming soon to St. Joseph, Missouri

00:09:01 - Kerry Pollock tells us what he has been p to recently and at 00:18:33 Brad Henderson tells us about puzzles.

00:26:57 - Brian Gillis was here for just one day so his experience was limited but he talks about the recent movie he was in.

00:25:34 - Joe Turner tells what he has enjoyed most from this convention

00:39:25 - John Shryock and I have not seen each other until this last day so he gives us a recap of his highlights from the convention plus what he has been up to recently.

00:44:40- David Hira gives us some of his highlights from the convention

00:54:25 - Marvyn "Mr. Electric" Roy tells us why it's important to celebrate our history

01:00:58 - Keith Fields and John Archer talks a bit about comedy

00:10:12 - Ray Anderson was one of the presenters during the General Session and here he talks a bit about one of his alter egos in "Esther's Follies"

01:14:44 - Stan Allen wraps up his perspective of the convention as we give him thanks for all he and his team have done.

01:21:48 - Scott Wells gives his personal wrap of the convention.

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.