727: Behind the Camera at Masters of Illusion Season 9 - Part One

A lot goes into the production of a television show, especially where magic is involved. Producing a show with one magician is hard enough, but imagine coordinating the schedules of dozens of magicians from around the world to produce a multi-week series plus a Christmas special! Gay Blackstone is the Executive Producer of “Masters of Illusion” television series which airs in the U.S. on the CS network. This coming season number 9 will kick off with the Christmas Special airing Wednesday December 14th. The actual series won’t begin airing until February 2023. The Magic Word Podcast had exclusive, behind the scenes and behind the camera access to the filming of Season 9. This week and next we will broadcast conversations with some of those that made this show happen.

As we take our “magic carpet” to Burbank, California, we are excited about the unknown adventures that lie ahead for the filming of this year’s “Masters of Illusion” TV show. This week we chat with a variety of people behind the scenes beginning with a few people in the audience. Ever wonder where these audience members and volunteers come from? That is answered this along with our chats with some of the performers back stage, in the hallways and in their dressing rooms.

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701: FISM Quebec 2022 - Day Five Report

Friday July 29th 2022

8:15-11:00 - Stage Contest
12:30 - 14:30: Close-up Contest

8:30 - 9:30: Bernardo Sedlacek

8:00 - 9:00: Brian South

8:00 - 9:00: Paul Gertner

10:00 - 11:00: Stéphane Bourgoin

10:00 - 11:00: Lisa Menna

10:30 - 11:30: Shawn Farquhar

12:00 - 13:00: Ekaterina Dobrokhotov

12:00 - 13:00: Jeki Yoo

14:30 - 15:30: Marc De Souza

16:30 - 17:30: Lee Asher

17:30 - 18:30: Michael Weber Experience

17:45 - 18:45: Alain Choquette

19:00 - 20:15: Spectacle - One Man Show: Dani DaOrtiz - Group A

Banquet Group B: 19:00 - 21:00

21:30 - 23:00: Close-up Gala

23:30 - 0:30: Chip Romero - Lecture about Doug Henning

23:30 - 0:30: Eric Jones

Time stamps for this episode:

00:00:16 - At the convention center, John Kaplan talks about this being his first FISM plus his first visit to Quebec despite being a Canadian citizen.

00:05:54 - Ed Ripley, a U.S. competitor, talks about his side of the story of why his act didn’t score well in the contests

00:11:11 - During a break in the stage competition, Steve Friedberg, a friend from Pennsylvania and frequent attendee at the F.F.F.F. convention, he talks about why he is enjoying this FISM event. As he says, although we all speak different languages, we all speak “Magic.”

00:17:16 - The afternoon competitions have ended and we chat with one of the funniest men on the planet, John Archer. He was on the bill of the previous night’s bill and talks about scripting the show.

00:23:28 - Mark DeSouza and Scott give a description of the people and acts in the stage competition.

00:39:43 - Peter Samelson and Scott cover the close-up contest (Marc DeSouza was a presenter and missed seeing the competition).

01:05:55 - Zabrecky hosted the evening show and now we get to chat with Benjamin Barnes who is attending his first FISM. He gives us his opinion of the event plus his projections of who might be the winners.

Click on the banner above to visit the FISM Italy website and register for the next convention. Do it now and save!

400: David Berglas - International Man of Mystery, Part One

David Berglas has an affect on me.

Okay, that is corny. But it is true that he has influenced and inspired more magicians and mentalists in the world than can be counted. Not only has he changed how we look at magic, David Berglas has significantly changed magic on television.

The BBC called him the “Godfather of TV Magic”. Born in 1926, Berglas escaped to Britain from Nazi Germany at age 11. He first became interested in Magic in his 20’s and studied psychotherapy at university before becoming a professional magician in 1952. His groundbreaking TV show in 1986, “The Mind of David Berglas” paved the way for all others to follow up to this very day. He is the author of several books including, "The Berglas Effects" and "The Mind & Magic of David Berglas", among others. And he is an multiple award winner of several prestigious organizations and is the Past President of The Magic Circle.

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I was part of a momentous meeting organized by Spyros Melaris in 2002 when he arranged a dinner meeting with David Berglas and his wife, Ruth, with Banachek and his wife, Heidi, and me and my wife, Kathy. It was a wonderful, memorable dinner with Banachek sharing his spoon bending to David and magic talk late into the evening. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, no photos of that evening exist except those in our minds.

It was at that first meeting that we all became good friends and I am glad that we could get together again for this podcast where David talks about his beginnings in magic, work both in front of and behind the cameras on television and film, plus lots of stories about celebrated names of magicians, most of whom are long since passed.

Magicians' Valhalla

Although the list below is not exhaustive nor in any particular order, it does reflect the names of many well-known (and some lesser known) magicians, spouses and assistants who passed on in 2017. 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 were featured or interviewed here on The Magic Word Podcast. You can click on their name to revisit and listen to their voices again. David Oliver put together a video of some names and dates of passing of these (and others) in a YouTube video. Click Here to see that video.

Phil Messina

Daryl Easton (Martinez)

Bob Cassidy

Jim Zachary

Ed Thomas

Jessica “Shedini” Moore

George Kovari, Jr.

"Chuck" Kirchner

John Moehring

Eugene Burger

Tom Jones

Eddie Gibson