662: Jeffrey Alan - American Museum of Magic

David Copperfield’s museum is private and only open by invitation. In another part of the country, The American Museum of Magic (AMM) is open to the public. This week, Jeffrey Alan talks about the museum, its history, how it came to be, how it expanded and much more. Jeffrey is on the Board of Directors for the AMM as well as the I.B.M. He is also a full time performing magician in the Michigan area. If ever you are in the Midwestern U.S., then you owe it to yourself to visit this wonderful collection of our history’s treasures.

If you are more of a visual person, you can watch a YouTube video of our chat recorded over Zoom.

Jeffrey shares a lot of information about the history of The American Museum of Magic that brings our history to life. For more information, directions, and to make an appointment for a private tour, please visit their website at: https://americanmuseumofmagic.com/

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304: Gay Blackstone, First Lady of Magic

Blackstone. An iconic name that means "magic". Well, okay, it may also mean a winery...but for us, it means "magic".

The name conjures up perhaps the last of the big traveling shows from legitimate theaters to Broadway. And Harry Blackstone, Junior's widow, Gay, continues that tradition by taking "Masters of Illusion" on the road and bringing it to an even wider audience each week on the CW television network. After being the wife and assistant for Harry Blackstone, Jr. for many years, she is now a producer, director, consultant, lecturer and author. She has made a mark of her own not only with the "Masters of Illusion" show, but also with the many awards she has earned including being named one of "2007 Hollywood's Women of Distinction" plus being the President of the Academy of Magic Arts.

Along with Harriet Jacobson and Robbie Willmarth, Gay also owns and operates the magic-themed jewelry company, BJW Magical Jewelers, which is often seen in the dealers' rooms at magic conventions.

Gay Blackstone is more than the widow of Harry Blackstone Jr. She is also a television and stage producer, director, consultant, lecturer and author. She was president of the Academy of Magical Arts and was named one of "2007 Hollywood's Women of Distinction" by the Hollywood Chamber of Commerce.

On July 3, 2016, while attending the 88th I.B.M. conveintion in San Antonio, Texas, Gay Blackstone joined Scott Wells on the microphone to record a podcast for The Magic Word.

In our conversation, I learned that Gay was once one of the "Gold-Diggers" dancers on the Dean Martin Show before she met Harry. She also has some great stories about their summer retreats to Blackstone Island in Colon, Michigan and how important Abbott's Get Togethers are to her. She then talks about "Masters of Illusion" and a little about how the acts are selected. If you are interested in being on the TV or touring show, then first listen to this podcast.

Looking for that special item? Perhaps a customized jewelry item might be in your future. Check out BJW Magical Jewelers.

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217: The Good Old Days

This podcast may not be for everyone. If you are interested in magic history and like to hear stories about days and magicians gone by, then you will enjoy this podcast. It also notes the passing of some of the greats, particularly to Texas magicians and to me personally. I attended the funeral of long-time magician Doug Kornegay who was a Past President of the Texas Association of Magicians (T.A.O.M.) and Dean of S.A.M. Assembly #19. Many magicians turned out for his service.

And while there I spoke with Madeline and Eugene Willard, a couple children of the late "Willard the Wizard", who told me some stories of their famous father.. A few days following the service we learned of the passing of another T.A.O.M. President, Claude Crowe, who was the driving force behind the Texas Collectors group and a frequent attendee and presenter at the Los Angeles Conference on Magic History. Clause hosted our annual Texas Collectors meeting during the Austin Magic Auction which always takes place the night before the auction. Despite the inclement icy weather, Claude made the 80 mile drive to be with us that night.

And while searching through the internet, I happened upon a short recording I did with Aldo and Rachel Colombini. That recording is separate from the podcast as it resides on a server with AudioBoom.com but the link is provided below in this blog.

So I guess what I'm saying is to treasure the memories of friends and times gone by. But remember that we are creating new memories now because "these are the good old days".

The story of the Willard magic family, who presented one of the largest magic shows in the world in their own tent throughout the southern U.S. from 1880-1970.

00:01:12 - During the Texas Magic Collectors Meeting hosted by Claude Crowe the night before the Austin Magic Auction, Kent Cummins talks about the origins of the World Famous Magic Auction. This may have limited interest to a regional group, but it is nice to hear some of the names and dates Kent talks about in this talk. If your club is thinking about hosting a magic auction, Kent tells how Austin began which could be applied to your own local group. You will hear the voice of Claude Crowe introducing Kent at the beginning of his talk. We learned that Claude passed away 12 days later after this meeting.

00:32:31 - Noted collector of Houdini memorabilia, Arthur Moses, talks about some of his recent acquisitions among his 5,200 artifacts. He also talks briefly about Harry Houdini's brother, Hardeen. Arthur gave a brief presentation of some of his items that he talks about in this chat.

00:43:22 - During a memorial service for Doug Kornegay (Dean of the Houston, Texas S.A.M. Assembly #19), I spoke with Madeline and Gene Willard, two of the children of Willard the Wizard. They delighted me with many stories of their father's tent show. Near the end of our chat, we were joined by Walter "Zaney" Blaney who had some stories of his own.

listen to ‘Scott's Spotcast - April 26, 2011: Aldo & Rachel Colombini talk about their U.S. Farewell Lecture Tour with Scott Wells’ on audioBoom

I recently ran across a five minute chat I had with Aldo and Rachel Colombini in 2011. I had arranged what they prophetically called their "Farewell Lecture Tour". I think you will enjoy hearing our old friend one more time.