Lee Earle has been a leader and pioneer in the field of mentalism for decades. He recently came through Houston on his "Farewell" Lecture Tour where he imparted some of his years of experience in a concise two and a half hour lecture filled with advice and solid, commercial mentalism effects. Unfortunately, Lee has not created nor marketed many new effects over the past several years. Moreover, he has not been seen on the convention or lecture scene either. As a result, he is best known, remembered and respected by those "long of tooth". If fact, he said that perhaps 80% of those attending his 20+ lectures across the U.S. had gray heir. Too bad for this generation who missed out.
Lee has had a remarkable career having started out as a magician then transforming into a mentalist, which is the typical way people get into mentalism. He laments that actors and drama majors don't go immediately into mentalism and skip magic altogether thus not "tainting" them with "bad habits" that are hard to break in the performance of mentalism.
For those who are unfamiliar with Lee Earle's background, he was the secretary and membership chairman of the Psychic Entertainers' Association (P.E.A.) for a number of years. He authored the newsletter "Syzygy", produced and marketed several mentalism tricks along with Larry Becker under their company, "Mentalism Unlimited". He was the medium who developed and produced "Manifestations" in Phoenix, Arizona. And early in his magic career, he started the circuit for performing in large, upscale RV Parks across the southern part of the U.S.
The podcast begins with opening a can of Diet RC Cola then we get down to business. Lee talks about his experience of performing magic at Recreational Vehicle (RV) Parks across the south in the 1970's. He then talks about his transition from magic to mentalism and the stumbles along the way that made him more determined. Lee then tells us about "Manifestations", the seance he conducted from 1986 through 1989, some stories from the performances and its demise.
Lee concludes this podcast talking about his friend and business partner, Larry Becker, and their business "Mentalism Unlimited" which is no longer in business. The items remaining are being sold by Lee during his "Farewell" Lecture Tour which is helping him clean out his inventory following his move from Phoenix, Arizona to Atlanta, Georgia.
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Enjoy supplemental material from Lee Earle as he talks about the basic premises upon which mentalism is based. Plus he gives some great advice on use of sound (i.e. microphones, speakers, etc.)
