808: Daniel Garcia - Ideas Unlimited

Daniel Garcia is a highly respected magic creator and consultant. But he is an awesome performer in his own right, too! Daniel helps create magic for David Blaine, Dynamo, Cyril Takayama, and Dynamo, (just to name a few) for their performances on stage and screen and online, too.

Daniel talks this week about some of the celebrated magicians with whom he has worked, as well as how he comes up with his creative ideas. He has a system for developing these ideas that he shares in this episode. He also surrounds himself with other creative types like Blake Vogt, Alex Rangel, Brent Braun, and others who are titans of trickery in their own right.

Aha!: 10 Ways to Free Your Creative Spirit and Find Your Great Ideas

By Ayan, Jordan

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How to Fly a Horse: The Secret History of Creation, Invention, and Discovery

By Ashton, Kevin

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Big Magic: Creative Living Beyond Fear

By Gilbert, Elizabeth

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The Creative Act: A Way of Being

By Rubin, Rick

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Hail and Farewell

**to those in our Magic Community who left us this past year.**

In 2023 we suffered the loss of many friends who have passed away, but whom are not forgotten. Perhaps as we grow older, we are more aware of those who pass. But this last year saw the passing of almost twice as many as were listed in the magic obituaries of 2022.

Although the list below is not exhaustive, it does reflect the names of many well-known (and some lesser known) magicians, spouses, assistants and magic aficionados who passed on in 2023. Some may not be as well-known to you, but they were my personal friends (hey, it is my blog!). 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.

Those whose names are highlighted with a “hot link” were featured or interviewed here on The Magic Word Podcast. It was not my original intent when I began this journey to chronicle the voices before they left us, but I am so thankful that I did sit down with many of these friends for lively, and sometimes intimate, conversations. You can click on their name to revisit and listen to their voices again.

Joe Stevens

Scott Alexander

Bob King

George Kimery

Karl Fulves

Véronique Ross

Greg Koren

Maria Ibanez

Thom Peterson

Gloria Metzner aka Gloria Dea

Harry Lorayne

Dr. Edwin “Eddie” Dawes

George Silverman

Dan Witkowski

Milton “Milt” Page Larsen

Ricky D. Boone

Dan Garrett

Larry Becker

Darwin Ortiz

Dirk Arthur

Dick Gustafson

Leo Behnke

Graham Putnam

Jeff Lanes

David Berglas

Jack Delvin

Tom Craven

Micky Hades

Bill Goldman

Tommy Smothers

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

676: Ed Alonzo - In The Library

While I was in Los Angeles to work on “Masters of Illusion” TV series, Ed Alonzo found time to sit in the library of the Magic Castle to chat about his career. As a former member of the Long Beach Mystics and the Magic Castle Junior group, Ed launched successful careers as both a magician and an actor having major roles in many television series including “Saved By The Bell.” He also went on to work with Britney Spears on her worldwide concert tour where he interacted with her on stage in his character as a magician.

In this week’s episode, Ed covers a lot of territory in a short hour podcast. He talks extensively about the Magic Castle and his love and dedication to the clubhouse. He also talks about his time as a youth as he was trying to “find his character” when he was a member of the Long Beach Mystics and the Magic Castle Juniors. He tells how he transitioned into acting but never lost his love for performing magic, which he still does to this day having just completed the taping of Season Nine of “Masters of Illusion.” By the way, he talked about running for office on the Academy of Magical Arts: he won the election and is now on the Board of Directors. Congratulations, Ed.

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