791: Greg Frewin - Lions and Tigers and Birds, Oh My!

Greg Frewin is an award winning magician who has had a long and successful career, having once teamed up with Jason Byrne when they both had bird acts to currently performing in his own venue, “The Greg Frewin Theatre” in Niagara Falls, Ontario, Canada. He has appeared on dozens of television shows around the world and Las Vegas showrooms, too. He has even given a Royal Command Performance for Prince Rainier of Monte Carlo. He used to perform with big cats in his grand illusion show, which he is slowly turning over to his apprentice, Christian Mascia.

In this episode, Greg talks about his long and storied career that has taken him around the world on cruise ships, casino showrooms and Royal Command Performances that have won him accolades like First Place for the I.B.M., S.A.M. and FISM. He chats about working with birds and why he started working with large cats until he decided to retire that act. And speaking of retiring, he is slowly going into semi-retirement as he is turning over the reins to his theatre to Christian Mascia, whom we also talk to in this episode.

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

790: Steve Valentine - Quiet Confidence

Actor and Magician, Steve Valentine joins us this week to chat about something that is in the news: the actors/screen writers strike. As an actor, it directly affects Steve and he tells us what it is that the union is asking from from the studios. In the meantime, everyone is having to depend upon alternate streams of revenue while the industry is shut down until…well, who knows when. But the stakes are high and not only affect people like Steve, but also the movie and streaming viewing audience. Steve has appeared as a regular on the TV show, “Crossing Jordan” as well as in Robert Zemeckis films such as “The Walk” among other television bit parts over the years. Some of his television appearances include “House,” “Monk,” “Will & Grace,” and “Psych” just to name a few. He is also a regular performer at the Magic Castle and star of his own one-man show, “Life and Other Deceptions.” Steve has been featured on the cover of nearly every English speaking magic magazine in the world.

This is the Snoop Dogg video that Steve Valentine alluded to in this week’s podcast.

Steve talks at length about the importance of what the writers and actors are striking for and how it impacts the viewers, too. Steve talks about his career and how he had to separate his magic life from his acting life in order to succeed in Hollywood. He chats about how his one-man show is all about his life and career. He also discusses his “Magic on the Run” which he started during COVID and now has over 900 videos online that you can subscribe to by Clicking Here.

#204: 2014 Year of Magic in Review

It's that time of the year when we try to "put the band back together" and chat with members of the hosts from the MagicNewswire.com podcast, "This Week in Magic". Trying to get a time to arrange everyone's schedule is like "herding cats". So, due to work and health conflicts, this year we have David "Silly Billy" Kaye and Cameron Ramsay join Scott Wells to discuss what went on in the magic world this past year.

To supplement our chat about Magic on TV, here is a little up-to-the-minute information that I read on IndieWire.com after our chat:

"Magic is in the air, or at least on the airwaves. "Masters of Illusion" did well enough for CW last year to make an order for 13 more episodes materialize – and that's after being canceled by MyNetworkTV in 2009. It joins the network's other magic show, the British ITV production "Penn & Teller: Fool Us," as well as magic programs gaining traction on basic cable. TruTV's "The Carbonaro Effect" will be back for a second season, while "Wizard Wars" returns to Syfy in January for six additional episodes. Even shows that don't have magic as a focus are shuffling it into the deck: "American Masters" is kicking off a new season January 23 with an episode about master magician Ricky Jay, and Nat Geo's "Brain Games," regularly tosses a sleight-of-hand artist into the mix."

Of course this is from a personal perspective of the guest on this podcast and does not include a lot of things you perhaps found to be more relevant. But we hope you enjoy our chat.

Instead of bouncing all over the globe, we try to stay on topic with an agenda that includes: magic on television; live touring magic shows; magic conventions; notable passings, and; predictions for 2015.

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.

Magicians' Valhalla

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 2014. 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.

Aldo Colombini

Scott Lewis

Dave Madden

Montecore (S&R’s tiger)

Jeff Busby

Judge Arnold Drennen

Robert “Bob” Knigge

Robert L. “Bob” Bluemle

Stella P. Coward (wife of Noel Coward)

John T. Fedko

Robert “Bob” W. Klamm

Alan Alan