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The Magic Word The Magic Word

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802: Dick Stoner - Trade Show Pioneer

At 93 years of age, Dick Stoner was a pioneer in performing magic at trade shows and a magic shop owner since the 1940’s. It is because of people like Dick that other magicians have been successful trade show performers. Certainly many of us are figuratively standing on his shoulders. But not only that, Dick has owned and operated Stoners Funstore in Fort Wayne, Indiana, since 1949. There are few brick and mortar shops that have been around that long.

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While attending the 2023 Abbott’s Get Together, I had the chance to sit down with Dick Stoner to record this week’s chat. He attends this convention somewhat regularly, but doesn’t stay more than a day, so it was hard to catch him. In this episode we chat about his magic store as well as his career as a trade show magician. He also reminisces about some of those with whom he worked like Johnny Thompson, Eddie Tullock Bud Dietrich and other trade show titans.

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. You can download or listen to the podcast through Stitcher by Clicking Here or through FeedPress by Clicking Here or through Tunein.com by Clicking Here or through iHeart Radio by Clicking Here..If you have a Spotify account, then you can also hear us through that app, too. You can also listen through your Amazon Alexa and Google Home devices. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here

Tagged with Dick Stoner, trade shows, Dick Ryan, Bud Dietrich, Johnny Thompson, Mike Rogers, Nashville Network, Ed Sullivan, brick and mortar, magic shop, Stoners Funstore, Eddie Tullock, Steve Allen.

November 16, 2023 by Scott Wells.
  • November 16, 2023
  • Scott Wells
  • Dick Stoner
  • trade shows
  • Dick Ryan
  • Bud Dietrich
  • Johnny Thompson
  • Mike Rogers
  • Nashville Network
  • Ed Sullivan
  • brick and mortar
  • magic shop
  • Stoners Funstore
  • Eddie Tullock
  • Steve Allen
  • 1 Comment
1 Comment
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623: James Holmes - The Cane and Silk Road

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During a recent trip to Branson, Missouri, to see a couple of the magic shows in town, I was pleasantly reunited with an old friend, James Holmes. The name is probably not familiar to, well…nearly 95% of listeners here on the podcast. But for a variety of reasons, you should know who this person is and what he has contributed and continues to contribute to our magic community. James has been around for a long time and I probably made his acquaintance in the 1980’s. He is the creator of the “One Handed Cane to Silk” among other things.

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This week, James talks about how he came up with the “One Handed Cane to Silk” effect and how he developed and marketed it. He talks about his close association with the late Fantasio as well as the late team of “Tom and Sherrie”. Unfortunately, piracy is a common thing in our community where unscrupulous “manufacturers” and dealers make and sell ripoffs of others’ creations. James talks a little about this and how it affected both him and Fantasio.

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. You can download or listen to the podcast through Stitcher by Clicking Here or through FeedPress by Clicking Here or through Tunein.com by Clicking Here or through iHeart Radio by Clicking Here..If you have a Spotify account, then you can also hear us through that app, too. You can also listen through your Amazon Alexa and Google Home devices. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here

Tagged with James Holmes, Fantasio, Lance Burton, cane to silk, David Ginn, Tim Starr, Tom and Sherrie, Bud Dietrich.

July 29, 2021 by Scott Wells.
  • July 29, 2021
  • Scott Wells
  • James Holmes
  • Fantasio
  • Lance Burton
  • cane to silk
  • David Ginn
  • Tim Starr
  • Tom and Sherrie
  • Bud Dietrich
  • Post a comment
Comment
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490: Shep Hyken - Be Amazing or Go Home

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Shep Hyken and I spent a lot of time together during the recent MagiCuba convention and he recently passed through Houston. We spent a delightful evening of dining and conversation and some of it was recorded here for this podcast. Shep has so much to say and you can find much of his content online through newsletters, podcast, tweets, online videos, and more. He is everywhere and al over social media. In this podcast, Shep talks about working at the Playboy Club when he was a teenager, then later moving from magic and trade shows to professional, keynote speaking, content marketing for magicians, and so much more. This is a gem of a podcast chock full of thoughtful material and sure to be a listener favorite.

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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. You can download or listen to the podcast through Stitcher by Clicking Here or through FeedPress by Clicking Here or through Tunein.com by Clicking Here or through iHeart Radio by Clicking Here. If you have a Spotify account, then you can also hear us through that app, too. You can also listen through your Amazon Alexa and Google Home devices. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here

Tagged with Shep Hyken, Bud Dietrich, speaking, trade shows, Playboy Club, Seth Kramer.

May 2, 2019 by Scott Wells.
  • May 2, 2019
  • Scott Wells
  • Shep Hyken
  • Bud Dietrich
  • speaking
  • trade shows
  • Playboy Club
  • Seth Kramer
  • Post a comment
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The Magic Word The Magic Word

A Podcast for Magicians, About Magicians, Hosted by a Full Time Professional Magician, Scott Wells

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IYKYK Happy Mother's Day. Celebrating our annual pilgrimage with Kathy at my side, in spirit.
Daily podcast reports on the Magic Collector Expo from Las Vegas featuring chats with talent, organizers, dealers, and registrants. #lasvegas #theorleans #magic #magicconvention #davidcopperfield #magicwordpodcast https://www.themagicwordpodcast.com/
Livin' it up in Las Vegas at the Magic Collector Expo. #magiccollectorexpo2025 #davidcopperfield #jeffmcbride #charlesgreeneiii
Join us for our very special 900th podcast episode this week featuring @dansperry who is universally known in the magic community having performed with The Illusionists and often appearing on television plus casinos, theaters, and stages around the w
Daily reports from the 4F convention in Buffalo,  New York.  The original close-up magic convention, invitation only, with some of the best close-up workers in the world. #ffff #fechtersfingerflickingfrolic #ffff2025 #cheektowaga #magicwordpodcast #m
Keith Fields and Lady Sarah - And the Winner is... I.B.M. co-chair of the Contest Committee, Keith Fields and his wife, the Lady Sarah, provide advice, suggestions, and reasons for entering contests. They also talk about their “Magic Soiree&rdq
David DaVinci - Vitruvian Magician - Thrillusionist, David DaVinci, has reinvented the classic style stage magician into a thrilling superstar of the stage. #illusionist #birds #birdmagic #magician #thrillusionist #parrots #ringling @thrillusionist
IYKYK Happy Mother's Day. Celebrating our annual pilgrimage with Kathy at my side, in spirit. Daily podcast reports on the Magic Collector Expo from Las Vegas featuring chats with talent, organizers, dealers, and registrants. #lasvegas #theorleans #magic #magicconvention #davidcopperfield #magicwordpodcast https://www.themagicwordpodcast.com/ Livin' it up in Las Vegas at the Magic Collector Expo. #magiccollectorexpo2025 #davidcopperfield #jeffmcbride #charlesgreeneiii Join us for our very special 900th podcast episode this week featuring @dansperry who is universally known in the magic community having performed with The Illusionists and often appearing on television plus casinos, theaters, and stages around the w Daily reports from the 4F convention in Buffalo,  New York.  The original close-up magic convention, invitation only, with some of the best close-up workers in the world. #ffff #fechtersfingerflickingfrolic #ffff2025 #cheektowaga #magicwordpodcast #m Keith Fields and Lady Sarah - And the Winner is... I.B.M. co-chair of the Contest Committee, Keith Fields and his wife, the Lady Sarah, provide advice, suggestions, and reasons for entering contests. They also talk about their “Magic Soiree&rdq
Moontower Comedy Festival: Genius + Poison Magic Week at the Hideout Coffee Shop in Austin, Texas #magic #zabrecky #derekhughes #nickdiffatte #comedy #austincomedy
David DaVinci - Vitruvian Magician - Thrillusionist, David DaVinci, has reinvented the classic style stage magician into a thrilling superstar of the stage. #illusionist #birds #birdmagic #magician #thrillusionist #parrots #ringling @thrillusionist

The Magic Word Has been recognized by FeedSpot as the # 1 magician podcast in the world. Thank you all for your support and for listening throughout the years.

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