900: Dan Sperry - The Anti-Conjuror

With this episode we celebrate the 900th episode of The Magic Word Podcast. Every 50 episodes we like to present a special guest who is well known throughout our worldwide magic community. And who better for this episode than Dan Sperry. He was a regular member of The Illusionists who toured the major stages of the world from Sydney, Australia, to Broadway in New York City. He has headlined in nightclubs, Las Vegas casinos, and performing arts theaters. For many years he has appeared on Masters of Illusion television show as well as many other TV shows. Now residing in Florida, he continues to travel the globe, but when at home, he enjoys (believe it or not) performing for children’s birthday parties.

In this week’s episode, Dan shares his story of how he developed his act and his character. He tells us about his early journey as he worked with doves and learned from some of the true masters like Joseph Gabriel that developed into a residency at a casino in Las Vegas. He toured Canada with Murray Hatfield as he honed his dove act and began to settle into his Shock Illusionist persona. He also talks about developing his talking act that led to work with the Illusionists and television appearances.

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891: Marvin Berglas - International Son of Mystery

We finish talking with a trio of officers from The Magic Circle (TMC) this week as we sit for a chat with the current President of TMC, Marvin Berglas. Not defined by being the son of the legendary “International Man of Mystery,” David Berglas, Marvin decided early to go his own way. Nealy four decades ago Marvin founded “Marvin’s Magic” which created magic kits that swept the globe The results are that he received the Gold Medal as winner of Toy of the Year in the electronic games category of the Independent Toy Awards and was awarded the coveted Outstanding Contribution Award in the British Toy and Hobby Industry in 2015/16. And as far as magic goes, he received the Outstanding Contribution to Magic award from the British Magical Society in 2014/15. And n 2016 Marvin was awarded The Maskelyne Award from The Magic Circle for services to magic. During 2017, 2018 and 2019 Marvin was the Vice-President of The Magic Circle and in 2023 was elected President of The Magic Circle.

This week Marvin tells us about his magic kit empire and how the business grew to international proportions. And although he came from a home where magic was talked about all the time, he tells us that he did not care to pursue a career like his father until later in life as Marvin’s Magic developed. He then got involved with The Magic Circle (TMC) and became one of the very few father/son Presidents of TMC. Find out in this episode who the others were.

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890: Katherine Rhodes - Minds Blown

The Magic Circle Past-Vice President and current Examiner, Katherine Rhodes is a powerhouse of a stage performer. She specializes in mentalism and has a unique take on how she creates and performs her show. Katherine also has her light aircraft pilots license (though we never got around to talking about that) and she frequently travels outside the U.K. to present her unique brand of mentalism. She has had long term residencies at venues where she has honed her craft over the years, and the proof is in the results.

This week Katherine Rhodes tells us about her unique perspective performing magic from the distaff side. There are not a lot of female mentalists in the world, but Katherine is one that reigns high among her peers whether male or female. In this episode she also talks about the Magic Circle and the examination process one must go through to belong to this prestigious organization.