865: Michael Rangel - Queen Mary Medium at Large...Ship

In the middle of this “Month of Boo,” we are getting much more serious about “things that go bump in the night” as we feature a Magic Castle member who regularly performs seances aboard the Queen Mary. This grand old ship sailed for 31 years before being permanently docked in Long Beach, California, operating as a passenger liner from 1936 to 1967. Michael’s seance is called “57 Ghosts” which runs sporadically throughout the year, but five nights a week now through November 3, 2024. For more information, Click Here.

We begin our chat discussing the loss of a mutual friend, Greg Arce, then go on to talk about other seance venues and how Michael got involved with and focusing on the Queen Mary. He shares several stories from the Queen that are, no doubt, also told with much more detail during the seance.

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583: Aiden SInclair - Illusions of the Passed

This Halloween season we travel to Colorado to visit the “Stanley Hotel” where resident magician and medium (at large), Aiden Sinclair presents bizarre magic with a decided twist. You may recognize the Stanley Hotel as being the inspiration for Stephen King to write “The Shining” that was later produced into a blockbuster movie. Not only does Aiden perform his “Illusions of the Passed” (yes, that is spelled correctly) at the Stanley, but he also presents seances at the haunted Winchester House and aboard the equally possessed Queen Mary. These venues provide the perfect backdrop for the spooky performances presented by this “reformed” magician. And by “reformed” I mean…well, you will have to listen to this week’s episode.

Welcome to Illusions of the Passed! A Theatrical Seance at the Historic Stanley Hotel. Join master Illusionist Aiden Sinclair for an evening of mystery entertainment!

Aiden Sinclair performs an impromptu show for an unsuspecting audience in the lobby of the Stanley Hotel.

Master magician Aiden Sinclair stops by the KCAL9 studio to discus the new show aboard the Queen Mary called "Illusions of the Past, Legends of the Queen Mary" and gives KCAL9 anchor a Halloween surprise she'll never forget!

This week Aiden Sinclair shares the incredible story of his journey from the life of a true con man, his incarceration and rehabilitation as he entered the world of bizarre magic. It was a back-story shared on “America’s Got Talent” [sic] that, along with his talents and magical skills, led him to progress rather far along the path to the finals.

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

400: David Berglas - International Man of Mystery, Part One

David Berglas has an affect on me.

Okay, that is corny. But it is true that he has influenced and inspired more magicians and mentalists in the world than can be counted. Not only has he changed how we look at magic, David Berglas has significantly changed magic on television.

The BBC called him the “Godfather of TV Magic”. Born in 1926, Berglas escaped to Britain from Nazi Germany at age 11. He first became interested in Magic in his 20’s and studied psychotherapy at university before becoming a professional magician in 1952. His groundbreaking TV show in 1986, “The Mind of David Berglas” paved the way for all others to follow up to this very day. He is the author of several books including, "The Berglas Effects" and "The Mind & Magic of David Berglas", among others. And he is an multiple award winner of several prestigious organizations and is the Past President of The Magic Circle.

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I was part of a momentous meeting organized by Spyros Melaris in 2002 when he arranged a dinner meeting with David Berglas and his wife, Ruth, with Banachek and his wife, Heidi, and me and my wife, Kathy. It was a wonderful, memorable dinner with Banachek sharing his spoon bending to David and magic talk late into the evening. Unfortunately, to my knowledge, no photos of that evening exist except those in our minds.

It was at that first meeting that we all became good friends and I am glad that we could get together again for this podcast where David talks about his beginnings in magic, work both in front of and behind the cameras on television and film, plus lots of stories about celebrated names of magicians, most of whom are long since passed.

Magicians' Valhalla

Although the list below is not exhaustive nor in any particular order, it does reflect the names of many well-known (and some lesser known) magicians, spouses and assistants who passed on in 2017. 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 were featured or interviewed here on The Magic Word Podcast. You can click on their name to revisit and listen to their voices again. David Oliver put together a video of some names and dates of passing of these (and others) in a YouTube video. Click Here to see that video.

Phil Messina

Daryl Easton (Martinez)

Bob Cassidy

Jim Zachary

Ed Thomas

Jessica “Shedini” Moore

George Kovari, Jr.

"Chuck" Kirchner

John Moehring

Eugene Burger

Tom Jones

Eddie Gibson