631: 2021 Magic Collector Expo - Day Three

Saturday August 21, 2021

10:00am – 11:00am Dealer Room Open

11:00am – 12:30pm Expo Session #3 hosted by David Sandy with Richard Hughes, Gabe Fajuri and Les Arnold

12:30pm – 2:30pm Dealer Room Open

2:30pm – 4:00pm Expo Session #4 hosted by Lance Rich with Bill Schwartz, Retonio and Lance Rich

6:30pm – 7:00pm Cocktail Half Hour

7:00pm – 9:30pm Fabulous Las Vegas: Dinner & Show hosted by Mac King with Retonio and Natalie, Les Arnold, Lance Rich and David Sandy and closed by David Goldrake

Time stamps for this episode:

00:00:17 - Ron Anderson tells his heartfelt feelings about seeing the Copperfield museum

00:07:43 - Stan Allen talks about this convention and MAGIC Live which didn’t happen this year. Also, we mentioned the talk by David Charvet but had forgotten the name of the person who became “Alexander, the Man Who Knows”. The name we were trying to think of was Claude Alexander Conlin.

00:31:50 - Bill Smith is the organizer of this event and sits down for a short chat about this and next year’s event which will be in Austin, Texas

00:39:35 - David Elliott gives his experience of this convention and visiting the Copperfield museum

00:46:14 - Lance Rich talks gives a brief history of magic in Las Vegas then he and David Sandy talk about the Collector’s Corner they did online for the past year.

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375: Day Two - 2017 MAGIC Live!

A run down and recap of many of the second day's activities. Actually, this was the first full day and for me, it went long into the night with a special honor given to Walter "Zaney" Blaney by David Copperfield at his museum.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:00:30 - Stan Allen kicks off the convention by explaining the vision

00:08:46 - Trixie Bond weighs in on her viewpoint as a female magician

00:17:31 - Bill Herz talks about the Michael Carbonaro tour plus the new tour he is producing that features several top acts

00:20:40 - Arthur Trace tells about his experience at MAGIC Live and a recap of Richard Hatch's presentation on trying to discover the real author of "Expert At The Card Table".

00:23:50 - Harry Monti has been one of the most consistent performers of working at the Magic Castle, 53 consecutive years

00:32:51 - John McClenahan tells us why he bought Denny & Lee's Magic Shop in Las Vegas.

00:37:07 - Mark Holstein talks about highlights of the convention so far, plus working as the Stage Manager for Abbott's Get Together, then tells us his recollections of John Moehring and Eugen Burger.

00:43:09 - David Copperfield pronounces his love for Walter Blaney and why he respects him.

00:45:24 - Walter Blaney reflects on the night of being honored at Copperfield's museum.

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.

631: 2021 Magic Collector Expo - Day Three

375: Day Two - 2017 MAGIC Live!

355: Bill Smith - The Man Behind the Illusions

The Magic Word