912: Diana Zimmerman - The Enchantress

Diana Zimmerman is an enchanting woman in every sense of the word: personality, charm, abilities, looks, intelligence, skill, and so much more. She has led a life of magic like few other women. And she is being recognized for her achievements by being inducted to the Los Angeles Times Global Magicians Hall of Fame on July 9th, 2025. Married at 19 to Dick Zimmerman, magician and creative genius, she performed around the world on television and stage with her one-woman performance. She traveled with a giant gramophone then later switched to a thumb tie and pick pocketing. She developed and still works with the Magic Castle Junior Program (which just celebrated their 50th year) and is the author of several books of fantasy. But she also authored the definitive collector’s edition of the Siegfried and Roy book.

Diana has so many stories that she shares with us this week including her early days working with her then-husband, Dick Zimmerman, then how Cary Grant encouraged her to form the junior program at the Magic Castle, and many stories about the late Siegfried and Roy. She was a close confidant to the illusionists and shares some “behind the scenes” stories from Little Bavaria to “the Incident” that ended their Las Vegas run.

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884: Blackpool 2025 - Day Two Report

Time stamps for this episode:

00:00:17 – David Kaye, aka Silly Billy, was staying at the same hotel where I was, so we were able to chat about his experience of this event versus others. This is the only magic convention where he is a dealer, so he has a unique perspective. You can learn more about David from our conversation in Episode #567.

00:11:06 - Darryl Rose, from London, often attends this conventions and tells us what he most enjoys this year, like the Jonathan Goodwin lecture. You can hear more about Darryl in our conversation in Episode #558.

00:25:40 - From Charleston, South Caroline, Howard Blackwell, talks about his company that produced silicone manipulation balls. He has a business for sale if someone is willing to put some effort into an already successful product.

00:34:58 - Peter Nardi, with Alakazam, has been coming to Blackpool for about 24 years and gives us his perspective of the changes over the years.

00:45:12 - Jonathan Goodwin was one of the outstanding lectures of this convention. He was inspiring and gave us all a lot to consider for our own shows. We chat in this short chat about some of his philosophy of whether audiences believe the artist is in jeopardy. To hear more about Jonathan (prior to his tragic accident and just before the COVID lockdown), I think you will enjoy listening to our in-depth conversation in Episode #553

00:52:42 - Hannah Ammar is helping her husband, Michael, and tells us why she enjoy magic conventions in general and Blackpool in particular. Michael also joins us towards the end of this chat. You can hear more from Michael in our conversation in Episode #259.

729: David Goldrake - When His World Collapsed

On October 15, 2015 during a rehearsal overseas, David Goldrake’s double levitation illusion went horribly wrong. After his (now) ex-wife, Abbey, had levitated into the air, David then “floated” up behind her then suddenly he saw the floor rapidly moving toward his face.

In this episode and seven years after this accident, David feels a bit more comfortable talking about this life-changing moment, the things that led up to it, and suggestions to illusionists on how to be prepared and take necessary precautions.

We recorded this episode while in Atlanta, Georgia and attending the I.B.M. National convention this past summer. With so much other content that has been recorded and some that were broadcast due to their timely nature, our chat is a little late getting out, but the content and stories are timeless.

As we begin our chat, we talk about “video mapping.” David Goldrake was one of the first illusionists in Las Vegas to make use of “video mapping” which is in common use today. We chat about this before going into the story behind the tragic accident. David is quite frank and open about all the details including what happened, why it happened, the insurance for hospital bills, plus suggestions to others on why it is important to check your gear before a show and even rehearsals. David wanted to set the record straight because Joshua Jay reported Abbey’s point of view in his book, “How Magicians Think: Misdirection, Deception, and Why Magic Matters.” The story told in this podcast might be an alternate view of the accident and what followed.

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

912: Diana Zimmerman - The Enchantress

884: Blackpool 2025 - Day Two Report

729: David Goldrake - When His World Collapsed

The Magic Word