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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864: Michael Campion - Coming Into His Own

In our second installment in this “Month of Boo'“ on The Magic Word Podcast, we feature a “family friendly” entertainer, Michael Campion. He is a young “heart throb” for adolescents who watched the five year series “Fuller House” online where he starred as the character, Jackson. It has been six years since we last visited with Michael when he was then just 16. Today his interest in magic has come to the forefront and he is currently performing on weekends in a one-man show at Beetle House in Los Angeles called, “Haunted Mystery Show of Magic.” Tickets are available by Clicking Here. The reason we revisited with this young man is to discover his journey from a family entertainer to a magician who is now featuring a seance as part of his show. Michael is not the first actor in Hollywood to have a love of magic and performing and balance it with his acting career. Another one who comes to mind is Steve Valentine.

Many who listen to this episode are much older than our guest this week. But there is a lot to learn from as Michael Campion shares his insights and journey to write, develop, find a venue, and market his one-man show. It shows his determination and will hopefully inspire other listeners to follow their dreams to produce their own shows.

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