592: Romany - Diva of Magic - Dealing With It

From England, Romany talks about the arc of her career that brought her from the dreams of a young girl to seeing her name in lights on the grand stage. It has not all been a “bed of roses” and she has dealt with hardships, heartbreak and mental issues. From a nine to five job with British Telephone to performing the streets then to Las Vegas and cruise ships, Romany has had quite a life. Or should I say she “is” having quite a life as she is far from finished. One thing she did finish is her book, “Spun Into Gold” which is a nice promotional piece about her life but also containing advice for young girls like her who suffer(ed) from weight gain and shape issues that can lead to bulimia.

In the early part of this week’s episode, Max Maven drops in to give us his prediction of what we might expect in 2021 as it relates to Covid and “getting back into the world.”

In this episode, Max Maven kicks off the New Year with his prediction for 2021 regarding Covid. In the main part of this episode, Romany talks frankly about her bulimia and gives advice for young women to heed to avoid falling victim to this disorder.

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Romany shares her life story in this autobiography on the secret life of a female magician. Order through Amazon by clicking on this graphic and helping The Magic Word through their Affiliate Program.

Hail and Farewell

to magicians who left us this year.

2020 was not a kind year in general, but in particular, I had more magic friends pass away this year than any other. Perhaps it was the anxiety of the pandemic or the pandemic itself, or it could be that as I’m getting older, so are my friends. Although the list below is not exhaustive, it does reflect the names of many well-known (and some lesser known) magicians, spouses and assistants who passed on in 2020. 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 with a “hot link” were featured or interviewed here on The Magic Word Podcast. You can click on their name to revisit and listen to their voices again.

Roy Walton

Bob White

Fred Wood

Orson Bean

E. Raymond Carlyle (Ed Fowler)

Chuck Lehr

Dennis W. Wilson

Joan Lawton

Norm Nielsen

Harvey Rosenthal

Roy Horn

Nick Ruggerio

Louis Falanga

Brad Jacobs

Marvyn “Mr. Electric” Roy

Ramon Galindo

John Mendoza

Ger Copper

Howie Schwarzman

James “The Amazing” Randi

Ken Klosterman

Paul Cummins

Klingsor

Greco

Chuck Baker

Bob Rossi

Charles Pecor

Roger Siegel

Jack White

Walter “Zaney” Blaney

Matthew Field

David Maas

Bev Bergeron

Al Cohen

John Star

558: Darryl Rose - All Done With Kindness

Darryl Rose is one of the Council members of The Magic Circle (TMC). This week we talk about TMC, some of its history and about magic in the U.K. I had planned to chat with Darryl at this year’s F.F.F.F. convention where he has occasionally acted as emcee of the “Great Britain Show”. But since the convention was canceled for this year, we had to chat via Skype. This week we chat about magicians creating new material, new apps, new content and new ideas in this digital age. Darryl also talks about being a part-time professional performer while maintaining a full-time career in television where he has been awarded an Emmy! One of the interesting things we chat about is being on the other side of a “pitch” meeting for television He tells us the importance of getting your image on social media and on television, when possible. We talk about entertainment and magic in the U.K. and the differences between there and in the U.S. plus performing at weddings. And as an aside, we chat briefly on a health update on Simon Lovell.

Arturo Brachetti in a guest spot on John Fisher's 'The Best of Magic' from 4th October 1989. From The MagicWeek Video Archive http://www.magicweek.co.uk

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548: Jamie Allan - the iMagician

Jamie Allen is known as the iMagician and the “High Tech Houdini” who brings magic into today’s age using modern technology. His stage show is unlike traditional magic shows and even some of the classics in magic (i.e. sawing in half, sub trunk, and the zig-zag) have all been updated with original twists and video introductions that give some entertaining and historical background on some of those effects. He also uses Augmented Reality (A/R) to perform some of his close-up effects that are projected on the big overhead screens.

Jamie talks about what it’s like performing magic in today’s age with interest in high-tech and how he develops magic for today’s world and today’s audiences. He also talks about the “stigma” associated with performing on cruise ships ,traveling with a stage show, the changes in venues and audience’s tastes in the U.K. He also talks about the changes in the cruise ship industry as it affects magicians.

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