643: Jody Baran - Stories from the O.G.

This week’s guest is affectionately called an “O.G.” because the commonly held definition for the “Old Guy” term means, “a slang term for someone who's incredibly exceptional, authentic, or “old-school.” Jody Baran certainly personifies that definition because of his decades of performances including years aboard cruise ships and 17 years performing in a hotel in Maui, Hawaii. His associations with some of the legends in our community have taught him a lot which he shares with us this week.

Jody shares lots of stories in this episode from his life that were taught to him by his friends like John Moehring, Lance Burton, Johnny Thompson, Channing Pollock, Jay Marshall and so many more. This episode contains more advice and wisdom than you can get from anywhere else. I think you’ll agree that this is a good one!

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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

"Fast" Eddie Silverman

Kenneth Silverman

Paul Diamond

Peter Diamond

Steve Baker

Kevin King

Celeste Evans

Tim Glancey

Ian Ogilvy

Trevor Dawson

James Hamilton

Mike O’Dowd

Bill McIlhany

Michael Giles

Harold Greenbaum

Philip Morris

Ray Goulet

Lee Delano

Fantasio (Ricardo Roucau).

Deanna Shimada

Heidi Larsen

Johnny Fox

Happy New Year! I've got mine. Have you ordered yours yet? Click on the graphic above to visit Amazon.com and purchase your 2018 calendar while helping supprt The Magic Word Podcast. Or you can Click Here.to visit the Amazon.com site for more inform… — Happy New Year! I've got mine. Have you ordered yours yet? Click on the graphic above to visit Amazon.com and purchase your 2018 calendar while helping supprt The Magic Word Podcast. Or you can Click Here.to visit the Amazon.com site for more information. Thank you and Happy Holidays!

364: My Week At The Magic Castle - 2017: Part Three

This podcast runs a little shorter than normal but provides a little local "color" surrounding the Castle. We first travel to Santa Monica to visit with Steve Spill and his "Magicopolis" (video tour below) then back to downtown Hollywood to Musso & Frank Grill which is known for their famous martinis. While there, we uncovered a lot of interesting stories about old (and new) Hollywood celebrities who frequent the bar/restaurant.

Since the conversations are shorter than normal, we have time to review John Bannon's "Move Zero" three DVD set which is for beginners and highly recommended.

Steve Spill, owner and performer at Magicopolis in Santa Monica, CA takes us on a guided tour of the building. For more information on his book, "I Lie for Money", be sure to listen to The Magic Word Podcast episode 218 at https://www.themagicwordpodcast.com/scottwellsmagic/steve-spill To hear the latest chat with Steve, live from Magicopolis, then visit: https://www.themagicwordpodcast.com/scottwellsmagic/364-my-week-at-the-magic-castle-2017-part-three available after 9:00 a.m. July 6, 2017

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:03:36 - Steve Spill drives us to lunch so we chat with him while he is driving from his theater, Magicopolis, in Santa Monica.

00:13:46 - Ruben Rueda has been a bartender at Musso & Frank Grill for 50 years and has quite a reputation.

00:23:10 - Sonny Bones, one of the servers at Musso and Frank Grill tells us some stories about the iconic restaurant.

00:28:33 - Bobby Caravella, AGM of Musso and Frank Grill expounds on several classic stories about Old Hollywood and those celebrities who have frequented and are frequenting the restaurant.

00:42:27 - Move Zero Vol. One DVD by John Bannon. Click Here for details.

00:50:34 - Move Zero Vol. Two DVD by John Bannon. Click Here for details.

00: 54:05 - Move Zeto Vol. Three DVD by John Bannon - Click Here for details