496: Scott Alexander - Stand-Up Guy

Scott Alexander’s magic reached millions on NBC’s season six of “America’s Got Talent” where he advanced all the way with his large stage illusions. With articles in People Magazine and Nations Business, the Oprah Show took notice and Scott was invited by Oprah Winfrey to make a guest appearance on her show. Scott had the honor of headlining on the Las Vegas Strip at Caesars Palace for over seven years and 4,000 performances of large grand illusions fused with stand-up comedy magic. Scott’s magic has been featured on “Penn & Teller’s Fool Us” on the CW, The SyFy Channel, Discovery Channel and NBC. Scott has appeared in Paris on the world class and prestigious Le Grand Plus Cabaret Du Monde. Whether it be the intimacy of a close-up sleight of hand performance, stand up comedy magic, or the all out spectacle of a large stage show, Scott Alexander’s delivery is always lighthearted, somewhat irreverent, amazing, quick-witted and sure to leave you filled with wonder and laughter.

Scott Alexander talks about the development of MAJOKE, the parody of MAGIC Magazine that he helped produce, MAJOKE is probably the most hilarious, controversial, offensive and down right funny thing to come out in the magic world...ever! Similar to the "Weenie" parody of Genii Magazine a few years back, but nowhere near as reserved. We also talk about immediate gratification with immediate digital downloads like the new Magicflix, and the difference between males and females doing magic, the book he is writing on the life of Denny Haney, how he landed his job at Caesar’s Magical Empire,working with Penguin Magic, how he thinks and creates magic and so much more.

We also talk about his wife’s magic show. You can view Jenny Alexander’s promo video here: https://youtu.be/O-KQnN9uRv4

And here is the link to Denny Haney’s daughter’s movie we discussed: https://youtu.be/U42N6VT2USc

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Soctt Alexander’s “Bias Pad” is reviewed this week on the podcast.

Scott Alexander Lecture Notes Winner.jpg

394: David Charvet - History Comes Alive

David Charvet is a noted historian of our art and well-known for his uncanny portrayal of the late Harry Blackstone, Jr. David is not only a performer and historian, but an author of several books including biographies of Alexander, Willard the Wizard, Emil Jarrow and others. He has trouped with Stan Kramien and worked with many of the greats in magic showbiz. You can hear David's scholarly talk about Willard the Wizard that he gave to a select group at the recent T.A.O.M. convention by Clicking Here. His talk begins at about 00:27:00 into the podcast.

"Divided We Stand: The Story of Sawing a Woman in Half" at MAGIC Live! David Charvet recreates Harry Blackstone Jr.'s Buzz Saw Illusion. August, 2011 at the Orleans Hotel, Las Vegas. Assisted by Melanie Kramer, Bill Smith, Allen Bracken and Ron Anderson. Hosted by Mike Caveney.

Time Stamps for this podcast

00:05:45 - David Charvet talks about Harry Blackstone, Jr., Willard the Wizard, Ade Duval, Stan Kramien, Peter Reveen, Doug Henning, Mark Wilson, Emil Jarrrow, and more legendary greats from the past.

01:15:08 - Product Review "Fall" by Banachek and Philip Ryan. A psychokinetic Sharpie that falls of its own accord. Recommended.

01:21:30 - Product Review "Jumping Gem Pen - Eye Exam" by Jeff Prace. A cute use of the Paddle Move using a couple Bic Pens with writing on them.

01:24:38 - Product Review "Nitrate" by Cameron Francis. A variation on Max Maven's "B-Wave" that is a winner. A multi phase close-up, walkaround trick that I highly recommend.

01:27:14 - Product Review "Gift Card" byt Constantinos Pantelias - A "Gift Card" clipped to a playing card but when the paper clip is removed, the playing card has changed.

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355: Bill Smith - The Man Behind the Illusions

Former Long Beach Mystic, Bill Smith, has been a long time resident on Las Vegas and doesn't consider himself as a creator so much as he is a builder. He has seen a lot of magicians come and go. For ten years, he was a stage hand for Harry Blackstone, Jr. and traveled across the U.S. including his Broadway show. He also has some strong beliefs on building from original plans rather than building rip-offs.

As part of the Las Vegas Chronicles, one of the visits was to the illusion fabrication warehouse of Bill Smith's Magic Ventures where his crew was busy building props for upcoming shows. For more info on Magic Ventures, visit his website at: http://www.magicventures.com/

To hear our chat with Bill Smith, visit: https://www.themagicwordpodcast.com/scottwellsmagic/bill-smith

Bill Smith talks about his migration to "Sin City" as magic began to flourish. He talks about magic he has been involved with from Caesar's Magic Kingdom to the current big shows on the Strip. He also talks about working with Stan Allen in the magic shop in Los Angeles and his early attempts at building. Bill started out as a performer and gradually moved into building. He also chats about how he met Harry Blackstone, Jr. and how he starting working for him including a lot of behind-the-scene stories with Harry. Some of Bill's best memories are from his attendance at Abbott's Get Together.

We then have a good discussion about rip-offs of illusions, ethics, rights, YouTube, China, lack of creativity, and more. He now laments the lack of new, original illusions coming on the market today.