664: Dom Chambers - Cheers

We continue our tour “down under” for a second consecutive week featuring a chat with Australian magician, Dom Chambers. Dom finished higher in the AGT competition than any previous Australian competitor. Although he didn’t win the big prize, he did receive notoriety and a slot with The Illusionists for their New York appearance. He has also produced his own one-man play, “A Boy and His Deck” with a full show between him and a deck of cards.

If you are more of a visual person, you can watch a YouTube video of our chat recorded over Zoom.

This week Dom Chambers talks about how he came all the way to America to be on the national TV show, AGT, and his journey that began on Penn & Teller Fool Us. He also tells us several stories about his time in New York with The Illusionists, his preparation for his one-man show, as well as sharing his methods for creating new material.

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370: My Week At The Magic Castle - 2017: Part Four

This episode wraps up my week of short conversations with "Knights of the Castle" who were either performing with me that week or passing through and agreed to chat for a few moments. There will be additional, longer episodes devoted to longer conversations with some people in and around the Los Angeles area in upcoming podcasts.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:02:12 - Carl Christman, local California mentalist talks about his craft.

00:17:03 - Simon Coronel and Armado Lucero back stage of the close-up Gallery share some laughs.

00:26:20 - Paul Green chats with Scott in the lobby of the Magic Castle

00:30:28 - Martin Cox, from the U.K., was the Master of Ceremonies in the Palace of the Castle all this week and talks about his experience.

00:44:40 - chats with Jack Goldfinger, Bruce Gold and Jon Armstrong

00:59:45 - a wrap of the whole week by Scott Wells from the airport

279: The Cardini Connection with Randy Pitchford

Randy Pitchford is the nephew of Richard Valentine Pitchford, who was better known as Cardini. More than just a familial connection, Randy is also a performer, entrepreneur and successful businessman. Randy is the CEO and President of Gearbox Software located in Frisco, Texas (a northern suburb of Dallas).

Randy purchased much of the Cardini collection from the 2013 Potter & Potter auction and put the bulk of the exhibit in a museum at the Magic Castle. His most recent purchase may have the furthest reaching impact in our community: he is the new owner of Genii Magazine.

Randy is building a home designed to be like Brookledge, the home of Bill and Irene Larsen in Los Angeles. He even plans to present regular shows for the public in his home not unlike the Bookledge Follies.

Magician Cardini performing in 1957

Cardini (Richard Pitchford) performing coins and cards for some lucky people on a cruise. This rare footage was shot by Dr. Morris Young, and hasn't been seen for 50 years. Edited and restored by Magicbymax Steven Max Droge Productions.

Borderlands 2 creator Randy Pitchford (President and Co-founder, Gearbox Studios) gives his keynote speech at the 2013 D.I.C.E. SUMMIT. Titled "Video Games Are Magic". Brought to you by Variety and Machinima. The D.I.C.E.

Randy Pitchford was born in 1971 and Richard "Cardini" Pitchford died in 1973 so Randy has no recollection of his uncle. In this podcast, Randy talks about the acquisition of his Cardini artifacts plus some stories that were passed down to Randy from the family and friends. He also talks about his experience in his early years of performing at the Magic Castle and his personal relationship with the late Irene Larsen.

Also, he briefly talks about his recent acquisition of Genii magazine from Richard Kaufman; however, since the details have not been fleshed out, there are not many details to share. At this point, I understand that no change of any kind is envisioned for the immediate future of the magazine. Randy just wants to preserve this part of magic history and make sure of the longevity, viability and vitality of Genii far into the future so it can "live on forever."

Here is the photo taken by Michael Wilcoxen, the winner of the contest, with the framed Peau -Doux card he received as he has it displayed in his home.

This is the framed fan of Peau Doux manipulations cards (used by Cardini) that was presented by Randy Pitchford to David Copperfield. This is NOT the number of cards nor type of frame that will be sent to the winner of the contest (which is now ende… — This is the framed fan of Peau Doux manipulations cards (used by Cardini) that was presented by Randy Pitchford to David Copperfield. This is NOT the number of cards nor type of frame that will be sent to the winner of the contest (which is now ended). The contest here was for one framed card (probably without the brass plaque) and I'm uncertain of the type of framing that Randy will prepare.

664: Dom Chambers - Cheers

370: My Week At The Magic Castle - 2017: Part Four

279: The Cardini Connection with Randy Pitchford

The Magic Word