600 - Max Maven - Phil to Max

Called by MAGIC Magazine as one of the 100 "Most Influential Magicians of the 20th Century", Max Maven joins us this week for a chat. Max has appeared in nearly every magic magazine in the world and even on the cover of several. He is a noted mentalist and magician and recipient of many awards including The Allan Slaight Award for Lifetime Achievement. Max has appeared on this podcast from time to time when we ran into each other at magic conventions, but now at 70 years old, he has a little more time to spend chatting at length about what interests him.

This week we hear Max talk about some of his awards, his philosophy on performing, what kinds of books he enjoys reading, and even what color of clothes are in his closet.

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598: Tim Wise - The Genie is Out!

Las Vegas-based magician, Tim Wise, talks about 3-D printing, working with David Copperfield, leaving school to tour with Dennis Loomis, hosting Jeff McBride's "Wonderground", Abra.TV and more. Tim has so many stories that it was hard to keep this podcast to one hour as we could have easily spent the entirety of our conversation on any one subject.

Tim discusses how he came to become The Genie, thanks in large measure to Jeff McBride. But his humble beginnings in magic take him back to his teenage years when he basically “ran away with the circus” and pursued a career on the road touring with Dennis Loomis. Tim talks about that experience near the end of this episode that alone could have filled this whole episode with stories.

This week’s podcast video on YouTube.

569: Joe Stevens - Magic Dealer Trailblazer

Joe Stevens opened Stevens Magic Emporium in 1973 and over the decades has been a trailblazer introducing new ideas and concepts now ingrained into our magic landscape. His Greater Magic Video Library set the standard for professionally presenting magic instruction on video. He also created the GeMiNi Network in the 1990’s which was the forerunner of every magic forum we see and use today. He also instituted the Wichita Conclave that moved to Las Vegas where it became the Desert Magic Seminar with big dollar prizes and trophies from Siegfried & Roy. These are but a few of the innovations developed by Stevens Magic Emporium and they still thrive as a brick-and-mortar magic shop plus a successful online presence guided by the next generation of the Stevens family, Mark Stevens.

There was so much to talk about this week but Joe only had a limited amount of time to chat. So unfortunately we never got around to talking about the GeMiNi online magic forum that used to be a “dial-up” service in the early days of the internet. Some of that content is still available on their website, including some of my offerings. We also talked briefly about Nick Ruggerio, former co-owner of Collectors’ Workshop. Since we recorded this episode, unfortunately Nick has passed so I never got a chance to have him on the podcast.

600 - Max Maven - Phil to Max

598: Tim Wise - The Genie is Out!

569: Joe Stevens - Magic Dealer Trailblazer

The Magic Word