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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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.

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

141: Marc Salem - Piece of Mind

Star of stage and screen (well, small screen...television), Marc Salem stopped by for an extended chat about mentalism, world travel, building a show and the structure of a show, theatre work, celebrities he has worked with and known, and more. In particular, he shares some stories about his appearance on the TV show, 60 Minutes, stories from the stage perspective, stories about Uri Geller and more. This was an interesting conversation in that we seem to be "all over the board". It was difficult to keep a focus and get direct answers despite redirecting. It was kind of like trying to nail Jell-o to to the wall.

One of the interesting analogies he draws are the three types of spacial displacement: human years, dog years and entertainment years. He also talks about the dangers of making predictions, making meaning of our magic and lives, using psychology, how to get publicity, The 13 (secret mentalism New York group), and so much more.

Marc was low-key in promoting his book to the point of not even mentioning its title in this podcast. For the record, his book is "The Six Keys to Unlock and Empower Your Mind: Spot Liars & Cheats, Negotiate Any Deal to Your Advantage, Win at the Office, Influence Friends, & Much More". Whew! With a long title like that, it's no wonder that he didn't mention it in order to keep the podcast short. :) But for those who are interested, you can find it on Amazon. Just Click Here for more information on Amazon and to see an excerpt from the book.

If you are interested in hearing more from Marc or you have any questions about anything he mentioned during our chat, then please drop him a note via email to masalem@aol.com

Download this podcast in an MP3 file by Clicking Here and then right click to save the file. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed by Clicking Here. (please note: this RSS Feed subscription system may not work with Android systems). Remember, you can download it through iTunes. See the preview page by Clicking Here.

Magic (or is it "Mentalism") & Martinis' Thursday