390: Larry Becker - A Piece Of My Mind

Larry Becker is a legend in his own time. He is a master mentalist who blazed the trail for many who followed. As mentioned in the podcast, Larry was cool long before mentalism was cool. He and his business partner, Lee Earle, created one of the most successful partnerships in mentalism with their company "Mentalism Unlimited". Between them they created some of the most original material that is still used by top mentalists today.

Larry would like to be remembered for his "Russian Roulette: routine which had a real element of danger. This "possibility of death" at every show kept Larry on his toes and his audience on the edge of their seats.

Larry Becker's Mental Masterpieces DVD trailer performing his "Casino Royale".

In this podcast, Larry talks about his partnership at an advertising agency in New Jersey, meeting people like Cardini and Milbourne Christopher, his performance in the military, his move to Arizona, and the rise and fall of his partnership with Lee Earle.

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384: Two Fer - Neal 'n Bull

While at the IBM/SAM Combined Convention in Louisville, Kentucky, I recorded some extended chats with a couple friends that were too long to be part of the daily convention updates but too short to complete a full hour for the podcast. So, this episode for the first time brings you not one, but two excellent chats with world class magicians: Jonathan Neal and David Bull.

Vintage clip of Jonathan’s second appearance on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson.

A rare inside glimpse of a magical world- Marco the Magi's Production of Le Grand David and his Own Spectacular Magic Company in Beverly, Massachusetts, USA. Footage is from the Larcom theater and their second historic magic auction from this amazing ensemble.

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:05:58 - Jonathan Neal (Brown) talks about establishing a relationship with an audience, blocking and choreography on stage, plus how he developed his successful act and how he works towards excellence in every performance.

00:31:35 - David Bull a.k.a. "Le Grand David" tells us how he became known on the bill as "Le Grand David" plus some of the history of the theater troupe and how it began and ended and what David Bull is doing today.

00:57:52 - "The Ocbender" by Menny Lindenfeld available from your favorite magic dealer through Murphy's Magic Supplies. This is an unseen tool used by the mentalist/magician to make coins, spoons and keys seemingly bend "in the hands of your volunteer". Very well made gimmick and highly recommended.

00:57:52 - Product (Book) Review of "New Angle" by Ryan Plunkett and Michael Feldman published by and available from Magic, Inc. This book is a new look at a classic tool in the magician's toolbox: the Tapered (or "Stripper") Deck. New ideas, tips and routines that take this tool to the next level. Recommended for intermediate to advanced card workers.

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. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here

Please visit our sponsor, The Great American Magic Company

365: Day One - IBM/SAM Combined Convention 2017

This is the first of a five day series of podcasts from Louisville featuring conversations with convention talent, organizers, dealers and registrants. The intent is to bring you the sounds (and sights through the embedded videos and attached photos) of what's happening almost in "real time" so you have the next best experience of actually being there. .

This is not the "official" first day of the convention, but nonetheless, there were several "pre-convention" activities that happened and are worth recording for this episode which I will call "Day One".

IBM-SAM 2017 COMBINED CONVENTION SCHEDULE

TUESDAY, JULY 11
9:00 AM - 5:00 PM
Lance Burton Teen Magic Seminar - Jones
Ed Thomas Memorial Jr Magic Workshop - Beckham
2:00 PM - S.A.M. Endowment Fund Meeting - Willis
3:00 PM - S.A.M. Magic Center Meeting - Willis
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM - Registration Opens - Registration Area
4:30 PM - 5:30 PM - S.A.M. Caucus Meeting - Willis
3:00 PM - 5:00 PM - Registration Opens - Registration Area
6:00 PM - Red Carpet Event - Whitney Hall, Kentucky Center
7:00 PM - Louisville Premere: Billy Topit - Whitney Hall, Kentucky Center
9:30 PM - Midnight - Dealers Grand Opening / Autograph Session - Exhibit Hall

Time stamps for this podcast:

00:04:20 - David Salwak and Fielding West talk about the talent at this convention, both on the shows and the competition.

00:12:09 - Michael Perovich, from Los Angeles and a member of the Magic Castle, tells why he comes to the combined convention which allows him to see acts that aren't seen at the Magic Castle.

00:25:46 - Oscar Munoz, International President of the I.B.M. tells us about what he has accomplished over the past year as President and some of his highlights of what he has seen and done.

00:28:19 - Dal Sanders, past National President of the S.A.M., tells us what's going on with the S.A.M. Council.

00:33:08 - Richard Turner calls in to remind us of his debut on Penn & Teller Fool Us on July 13, 2017

00:34:57 - Q&A Panel discussion following the debut showing of "Billy Topit"

00:52:03 - Jeff Sikola, National President of the S.A.M., talks about what he feels were the highlights of the past year.

00:57:55 - Jason Andrews talks about the competitions that brought him to where he is today as well as his cruise ship work.

00:02:31 - Tommy Ellison (a Friend of The Magic Word) shares a story as an update from the podcast posted Feb. 27, 2014 and available by Clicking Here.

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. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here