876: Chris Blackmore - Looking Back at Lahaina

Chris Blackmore was a regular performer in Lahaina, Maui, Hawaii, at Warren & Annabelle’s. That is, up until the devastating fire in August 2023. The fire destroyed homes and businesses and was responsible for the deaths of over 100 people. Lives were forever changed in an instant. Warren & Annabelle’s was a premier destination dinner theater that featured magic and was one of the highest rated, most visited sites in Hawaii

This week, Chris talk about his experience in Lahaina as the fires started, grew, and eventually overtook the city. His perspective as “boots on the ground” are chilling yet insightful. His recollections of the halcyon day of Warren & Annabelle’s are recounted here, too.

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 Pandora and SiriusXM (formerly 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.

832: Magic Collector Expo 2024 - Days One and Two

Tuesday, May 7, 2024

10:00am-4:00pm Registration Open

1:00pm to 4:00pm Dealers Open

4:00pm to 5:00pm Session #1 “Welcome To Long Beach”

5:00pm to 7:00pm Dinner

7:00pm to 8:30pm Session #2

8:30pm to 11:30pm Dealer Room Open

Wednesday, May 8th, 2024

9:00 am to 11:00am Dealer Room Open

11:00am to 12:30pm Session #3

12:30pm-5:00pm Dealer Room Open

1:30pm-5:00pm Mike Caveney’s Egyptian Hall

Museum (In The Queen Mary Boardroom) & Queen Mary Guided Tours

5:00pm-7:00pm Dinner

7:00pm-8:30pm Session#4

8:30pm-11:30pm Dealer Room Open

Timestamps for this episode:

00:00:17 – We take off from Austin for Burbank, California, where we’ll head to Long Beach and the Queen Mary for the convention then come back to Hollywood to the Magic Castle later and the awards presentation of the Academy of Magical Arts where I will be receiving a Special Fellowship for this podcast.

00:03:36 – Dana Daniels, one of the presenters who told some stories about working in Disneyland.

00:15:48 – Lance Rich, another of the presenters, told us a bit about his book “Neon Dreams” that was the focus of his talk last year. This year he spoke about “Neptune’s Sorcerers” which was about cruise ship magicians prior to the 1970’s.

00:22:42 – Les Arnold, one of the Long Beach Mystics, talked about his association with the club as a builder and performer

00:28:00 – Mike Caveney, one of the presenters gave us a quick recap of what was in his talk that I missed. It was about several of the artifacts in his Egyptian Hall and how he came about being the heir to the David Price collection.

00:32:22 – We kick off Day Two at breakfast with Peter Rogers, from Australia, and Dick Olson, from Texas, who are registrants at this event. They tell us what they have been doing and their reflections on this convention. It was Peter’s first Expo.

00:41:27 – Arthur Moses, Houdini expert/collector/historian/author, is a dealer at this Expo who talks about some of the things he has available. He talks about his new book that would interest those who are researching Houdini.

00:49:50 – David Charvet was another speaker at the convention who spoke about the Golden Age of Magic in Southern California 1893-1963.

00:57:00 – Chuck Jones was interviewed by Stan Allen on stage for the Expo. In this chat, Chuck recapped his life in this short chat. He tells some stories about his early television work.

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

783: Dana Daniels - Disney Deceptionist

Dana Daniels was one of the famous Long Beach Mystics when he was growing up in California and later found a career with Disney at Disneyland where he took on many roles before ending up in the Golden Horseshoe. In recent years, he and his bird, Luigi, have enjoyed the Hawaiian lifestyle as performers at Warren & Annabelle’s, a magic dinner theater in Lahiana, Maui, Hawaii.

As many of you know, a fire ravaged the island and destroyed homes and businesses across the island wreaking havoc, death and devastation. One of the businesses that was affected was Warren & Annabelle’s which burned to the ground. Warren Gibson, owner of the club, has started a Go-Fund-Me which is set up to financially assist the families of employees who have lost their jobs, homes, and everything. You can visit the Go-Fund-Me site by Clicking Here. Please help if you can with any amount of financial support you can give.

This week Dana talks about his magic roots as he joined the Long Beach Mystics and how they supported and helped him grow to the success he is today. He also talks extensively about his time at Disney and how his career careened and veered into many areas. Finally, Dana wraps up this episode talking about his involvement with Warren & Annabelle’s. This episode was recorded just 24 hours before news broke about the devastating fire, so it is timely and appropriate that you listen to his excitement and fondness for the club where he expected to work indefinitely.

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

876: Chris Blackmore - Looking Back at Lahaina

832: Magic Collector Expo 2024 - Days One and Two

Tuesday, May 7, 2024

Wednesday, May 8th, 2024

783: Dana Daniels - Disney Deceptionist

The Magic Word