912: Diana Zimmerman - The Enchantress

Diana Zimmerman is an enchanting woman in every sense of the word: personality, charm, abilities, looks, intelligence, skill, and so much more. She has led a life of magic like few other women. And she is being recognized for her achievements by being inducted to the Los Angeles Times Global Magicians Hall of Fame on July 9th, 2025. Married at 19 to Dick Zimmerman, magician and creative genius, she performed around the world on television and stage with her one-woman performance. She traveled with a giant gramophone then later switched to a thumb tie and pick pocketing. She developed and still works with the Magic Castle Junior Program (which just celebrated their 50th year) and is the author of several books of fantasy. But she also authored the definitive collector’s edition of the Siegfried and Roy book.

Diana has so many stories that she shares with us this week including her early days working with her then-husband, Dick Zimmerman, then how Cary Grant encouraged her to form the junior program at the Magic Castle, and many stories about the late Siegfried and Roy. She was a close confidant to the illusionists and shares some “behind the scenes” stories from Little Bavaria to “the Incident” that ended their Las Vegas run.

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 Pandora and SiriusXM (formerly 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.

584: Patrick Thernes - Call Me Sir Pat Trick

Sir Pat Trick came on the radar of most magicians at the 2013 MAGIC Live! convention when the late Joanie Spina gave a presentation about developing a stage persona. By example, she showed a video of one of her students who had submitted a video then she introduced us to Patrick Thernes who performed a completely different act with a totally new character. The transformation was evident and it led to Patrick achieving his lifelong goal of performing at the Magic Castle.

Patrick Thernes is today a performing magician but not with the same act we saw. He has also scaled back his performances in favor of producing and consulting other magicians and theater owners/producers.

From MAGIC Live! introduced by the late Joanie Spina.

In this episode, Patrick talks about his work as a classically trained actor and his transformation from his “old” character to his new one. He also reveals some personal information about that new character that has not been told anywhere before.

For more information and to register for this online, virtual convention, please visit: NEMCA.com

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

348: Gary Darwin's Natural Selections

Gary Darwin has been in Las Vegas for over six decades when he first moved there in his teens. Since then, Gary has kept about every magic item he could put his hands on over the years. Some might call him a hoarder while others might call him a shrewd collector. Gary started his magic club 51 years ago and it's still going strong. He also talks about the evolution of Las Vegas from the days when the Mafia ran the town to when he (as a youngster) was a "manipulation magician" all the way to this day when several magicians rule the Strip. Gary has a mental repository of one-liners that he reels off with ease throughout our chat.

During my visit to record a podcast with Gary Darwin, he showed me around his home which is a magic museum in and of itself. You just need to watch your step so you don't accidentally step on some treasure. You can hear the podcast at: https://www.themagicwordpodcast.com/scottwellsmagic/gary-darwin

Please support our sponsor by clicking on the banner above to visit The Great American Magic Company's online store.

Order yours now from The Great American Magic Company.. Available March 20, 2017. With MOVE you cause the clip from a pen to detach from the cap and move along the body of the pen. You then magically restore the clip back onto the cap and hand the pen back out to be examined!!

Available now through The Great American Magic Company at http://www.thegreatamericanmagiccompany.com/