579: Ben Jackson - Catch Him!

Several magicians have wanted to or tried to create their own one-man show. Few have succeeded in our community and even fewer have had “legs” that allowed them to continue their shows on an ongoing basis. Of course one of the key ingredients is to live in a metropolitan area with high traffic from local patrons as well as tourists. So, for example, it would be harder to sustain a long-running show in Wichita Falls, Texas as it would be in New York City. Next…you must have talent, patience, fortitude, and…well, you need to listen to this week’s episode to find the “secret sauce” that Ben Jackson uses to create a market for his truly unique brand of magic.

Houston Magician Ben Jackson shares the story of Hines, the global real estate investment, development and management firm. Gerald D. Hines opened up a one-m...

In this episode, Jamie Salinas visits with Multi-Award Winning Magician Ben Jackson to discuss four walling your own show. Learn what four walling is and get...

Houston's most intimate theatrical experience hosted exclusively at Four Seasons Hotel Houston. Tickets and Information: BenJacksonMagic.com

Ben Jackson appears on NBC's TODAY Show as a guest magician for David Copperfield's segment, "Magic Mondays." Ben performed a customized piece of magic with ...

In this episode, Ben talks about entering and winning several magic competitions (including F.I.S.M.), performing on the NBC Today Show with David Copperfield, working and consulting for television and movie projects, plus other corporate work. But Ben also shares how he has developed his successful one-man magic show that has run for over five years in Houston.

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319: Day 3 - TAOM 2016

Schedule for Sunday, September 4

7:00 a.m. - ? - Grab ‘n’ Go Breakfast Bar – Ballroom Foyer
8:00 a.m. - 9:00 a.m. - Church Service - Ballroom
9:00 a.m. - 5:00 p.m. - Dealers Room Open - Beachcomber
9:00 a.m. - 9:30 a.m. - General Meeting – Ballroom
9:30 a.m. - 7:30 p.m. - 2017 Registration – Ballroom Foyer
9:30 a.m. - 11:00 a.m. - Lecture – David Stone – Ballroom
11:00 a.m. - 12:30 p.m. - Lecture – Cody Fisher – Ballroom
12:30 p.m. - 2:00 p.m. - Magic Luncheon – Kokomos
2:30 p.m. - 5:30 p.m. - Professional Close-up Show – Catamaran, Longboat, Outrigger & Kokomos featuring: David Stone, Danny Orleans, David Rangel, Stuart McDonald, Ben Jackson, and Doug Gorman
7:30 p.m. - 10:30 p.m. - Stars from Around the World – Ballroom Featuring Dal Sanders as MC with Danny Orleans and Jan Rose, Dal Sanders, David Stone and David Thomas
10:30 pm. - 12:00 a.m. - President’s Party – Kokomos
10:30 p.m. - 12:00 a.m. - Dealers Open - Last Chance

Trigg presents his unique blend of tech-magic for Masters of Illusion TV show and the legendary magicians Penn & Teller "Fool Us"

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:00:14 - Banachek talks about some of his latest adventures plus reminisces about working in the Corpus Christi comedy club and other T.A.O.M. conventions.

00:16:28 - David Thomas was the director of Six Flags theme park productions for many years and he tells us how he selected magicians for working the parks.

00:22:27 - We continue our chat with David Thomas following David Stone's lecture.

00:32:36 - Trigg Watson talks about performing for Pann & Teller Fool Us television show plus preparing for contests and other TV shows.

00:38:37 - Close-up competitor, John Dahlinger (with whom we chatted on the first day) won the close-up competition and we do a follow-up chat.

00:42:46 - David Stone was busy today with an early morning lecture followed by his "professional close-up show" then the evening's finial stage gala. He unwinds a little with us at the President's Party.

279: The Cardini Connection with Randy Pitchford

Randy Pitchford is the nephew of Richard Valentine Pitchford, who was better known as Cardini. More than just a familial connection, Randy is also a performer, entrepreneur and successful businessman. Randy is the CEO and President of Gearbox Software located in Frisco, Texas (a northern suburb of Dallas).

Randy purchased much of the Cardini collection from the 2013 Potter & Potter auction and put the bulk of the exhibit in a museum at the Magic Castle. His most recent purchase may have the furthest reaching impact in our community: he is the new owner of Genii Magazine.

Randy is building a home designed to be like Brookledge, the home of Bill and Irene Larsen in Los Angeles. He even plans to present regular shows for the public in his home not unlike the Bookledge Follies.

Magician Cardini performing in 1957

Cardini (Richard Pitchford) performing coins and cards for some lucky people on a cruise. This rare footage was shot by Dr. Morris Young, and hasn't been seen for 50 years. Edited and restored by Magicbymax Steven Max Droge Productions.

Borderlands 2 creator Randy Pitchford (President and Co-founder, Gearbox Studios) gives his keynote speech at the 2013 D.I.C.E. SUMMIT. Titled "Video Games Are Magic". Brought to you by Variety and Machinima. The D.I.C.E.

Randy Pitchford was born in 1971 and Richard "Cardini" Pitchford died in 1973 so Randy has no recollection of his uncle. In this podcast, Randy talks about the acquisition of his Cardini artifacts plus some stories that were passed down to Randy from the family and friends. He also talks about his experience in his early years of performing at the Magic Castle and his personal relationship with the late Irene Larsen.

Also, he briefly talks about his recent acquisition of Genii magazine from Richard Kaufman; however, since the details have not been fleshed out, there are not many details to share. At this point, I understand that no change of any kind is envisioned for the immediate future of the magazine. Randy just wants to preserve this part of magic history and make sure of the longevity, viability and vitality of Genii far into the future so it can "live on forever."

Here is the photo taken by Michael Wilcoxen, the winner of the contest, with the framed Peau -Doux card he received as he has it displayed in his home.

This is the framed fan of Peau Doux manipulations cards (used by Cardini) that was presented by Randy Pitchford to David Copperfield. This is NOT the number of cards nor type of frame that will be sent to the winner of the contest (which is now ende… — This is the framed fan of Peau Doux manipulations cards (used by Cardini) that was presented by Randy Pitchford to David Copperfield. This is NOT the number of cards nor type of frame that will be sent to the winner of the contest (which is now ended). The contest here was for one framed card (probably without the brass plaque) and I'm uncertain of the type of framing that Randy will prepare.

579: Ben Jackson - Catch Him!

319: Day 3 - TAOM 2016

279: The Cardini Connection with Randy Pitchford

The Magic Word