900: Dan Sperry - The Anti-Conjuror

With this episode we celebrate the 900th episode of The Magic Word Podcast. Every 50 episodes we like to present a special guest who is well known throughout our worldwide magic community. And who better for this episode than Dan Sperry. He was a regular member of The Illusionists who toured the major stages of the world from Sydney, Australia, to Broadway in New York City. He has headlined in nightclubs, Las Vegas casinos, and performing arts theaters. For many years he has appeared on Masters of Illusion television show as well as many other TV shows. Now residing in Florida, he continues to travel the globe, but when at home, he enjoys (believe it or not) performing for children’s birthday parties.

In this week’s episode, Dan shares his story of how he developed his act and his character. He tells us about his early journey as he worked with doves and learned from some of the true masters like Joseph Gabriel that developed into a residency at a casino in Las Vegas. He toured Canada with Murray Hatfield as he honed his dove act and began to settle into his Shock Illusionist persona. He also talks about developing his talking act that led to work with the Illusionists and television appearances.

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887: WInter Carnival of Magic 2025 - Day One Report

Thursday, March 6th

11:30 AM Registration Opens (Closing at 5:00 PM)
12:00 PM Dealers Open (closing at 6:00 PM)
1:30 PM Lecture: Tiffany Sauvage – “The New Georgia Wonder”
3:30 PM Lecture: Geoff Williams
7:30 PM Pure Gold Anniversary Show Matt STANLEY – Jeff HOBSON – Dan SPERRY – Stephen BARGATZE
9:15-ish Star-Studded “Teach-a-Trick” Session with Stephen Bargatze & Friends

Time stamps for this episode: this will be updated after I’ve gotten some sleep

00:00:17 –

883: Blackpool 2025 - Day One Report

Time stamps for this episode:

00:00:17 – We arrive in Heathrow Airport in London while awaiting other friends to arrive.

00:05:53 - Paul Stone was our host in LIverpool and rides with us on the train to Blackpool. He will be a presenter at the convention as he talks about Siegfried and Roy. You can learn more about Paul from our chat in Episode #715.

00:13:07 - Mumfo Marzouki is a listener to the podcast and resides in Saudi Arabia. He tells us what he is anxious to see here and why he came all this way just for the convention.

00:16:14 - Harry Merlin Piper, the 14 year old who won the Magic Circle Young Magician of the Year, and his father, Rodney James reside in Spain where he operates the House of Illusion. He offers a special deal to listeners of this podcast, so be sure to listen to this episode.

00:22:25 - Dave Magee, from Cancun, complains about the long line in the cold while waiting to get his registration packet. David is an accomplished mentalist and performer who worked closely with Johnny Thompson. You can hear more from David in our chat in Episode #593.

00:24:37 - David Plant is one of the members of the Blackpool Magic Club who organized this convention and is the first booth (stand) you see when you register for this convention. David gives us some history about this event during our chat.

00:30:54 - Tim Trono is a creator, consultant, and dealer who is now with Penguin Magic for the past 12 years and was with Murphy’s Magic for about 14 years.

00:36:18 - Roger Nicot recently passed away (just before the convention) and he was a dealer who was often seen at conventions around the world. He worked with Christian Schenk at Card Shark for almost 18 years. During that time, the two grew to be as close as brothers. In this conversation, Christian tells us about his last few days they were together and reliving memories of some of their happier moments.

00:42:27 - Uwe Schperlich, from Munich, Germany, tells us that regularly attends Blackpool. He gives his perspective of the convention and is not overly happy with having to choose between events to attend while missing others he wanted to see.

00:50:19 - Hugh Irwin is attending his first Blackpool convention and gives us a “first timer’s” perspective.

00:57:27 - Jay Mattioli is another of the presenters this year at Blackpool and tells us perspective of what he’s doing and what is in his lecture.

01:05:55 - My friend from Glasgow, Scotland, Peter McLanachan has been attending this convention and gives us his perspective of the Dan Sperry / Klek Ectos show. To hear more about Peter, please visit our conversation on Episode #152.

01:13:30 - Dan Sperry is one of the performers and lecturers and talks about his experience of getting booked for this convention. Dan was just heading out for the U.S. where he will be working at the Magic Castle and at Jeff Hobson’s place.