394: David Charvet - History Comes Alive

David Charvet is a noted historian of our art and well-known for his uncanny portrayal of the late Harry Blackstone, Jr. David is not only a performer and historian, but an author of several books including biographies of Alexander, Willard the Wizard, Emil Jarrow and others. He has trouped with Stan Kramien and worked with many of the greats in magic showbiz. You can hear David's scholarly talk about Willard the Wizard that he gave to a select group at the recent T.A.O.M. convention by Clicking Here. His talk begins at about 00:27:00 into the podcast.

"Divided We Stand: The Story of Sawing a Woman in Half" at MAGIC Live! David Charvet recreates Harry Blackstone Jr.'s Buzz Saw Illusion. August, 2011 at the Orleans Hotel, Las Vegas. Assisted by Melanie Kramer, Bill Smith, Allen Bracken and Ron Anderson. Hosted by Mike Caveney.

Time Stamps for this podcast

00:05:45 - David Charvet talks about Harry Blackstone, Jr., Willard the Wizard, Ade Duval, Stan Kramien, Peter Reveen, Doug Henning, Mark Wilson, Emil Jarrrow, and more legendary greats from the past.

01:15:08 - Product Review "Fall" by Banachek and Philip Ryan. A psychokinetic Sharpie that falls of its own accord. Recommended.

01:21:30 - Product Review "Jumping Gem Pen - Eye Exam" by Jeff Prace. A cute use of the Paddle Move using a couple Bic Pens with writing on them.

01:24:38 - Product Review "Nitrate" by Cameron Francis. A variation on Max Maven's "B-Wave" that is a winner. A multi phase close-up, walkaround trick that I highly recommend.

01:27:14 - Product Review "Gift Card" byt Constantinos Pantelias - A "Gift Card" clipped to a playing card but when the paper clip is removed, the playing card has changed.

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. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here

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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.

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. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here.

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.

#201 - Murray Sawchuck - Celebrity Magician

Murray Sawchuck recently completed two and a half years at the Tropicana's Laugh Factory in Las Vegas. On December 20, 2014, he will begin a new afternoon show at Planet Hollywood's "Sincity Theater" along his wife, Chloe, and his partner, Lefty. Murray will add illusions to his comedy magic show plus bring in different aspects of his other appearances on television such as "Pawn Stars" and other shows.

During our conversation, Murray talked about his upcoming appearance on Hallmark's Home & Family morning talk show. After you have listened to the podcast, then be sure to come back to watch this video. The other two videos below are from a couple of his appearances on "America's Got Talent" (sic).

Murray and his baby Chihuahua Kahlua do a magic trick for the Emmy Nominated show Home & Family. www.murraymagic.com

Why is Murray considered a "Celebrity Magician"? Hear what he has done and what he is doing in and around Las Vegas and on television and determine for yourself if you think he deserves the title. Breaks happen, but as they say, "luck is when preparation meets opportunity." Murray works hard to find opportunities to promote his brand so you could say he is one of the luckiest guys in the business.

Among many other topics discussed in this podcast, Murray talks about how he got his first break to headline his own show in Las Vegas and how it evolved to the new show at Planet Hollywood. He talks about contracts, "two-wall" versus "four-walling" a venue in Las Vegas, working on "America's Got Talent", "Pawn Stars", "Wizard Wars", "Extreme Escapes", advice from Marvin "Mr. Electric" Roy, using social media to your advantage, and more. He also gives us an idea of what a typical day in his life is like. He also talks at the end about his favorite charity, Children of the Night", rescuing children from prostitution, which draws attention to one of the least visible charities out there. He is one busy guy!

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.

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394: David Charvet - History Comes Alive

217: The Good Old Days

#201 - Murray Sawchuck - Celebrity Magician

Magic & Martinis & Murray Thursday

The Magic Word