935: Wayne Alan - The Most Famous Magician You've Never Heard Of

Wayne Alan’s Washington D.C. experience ranges from working at the magic shop that sold magic tricks to President George H. W. Bush to magic performances in front of audiences in homeless shelters, parties at the homes of prominent Washington politicians, and several national TV appearances. He has consulted for David Copperfield and Criss Angel. He was one of the pioneers in the trade show magic field working alongside Eddie Tullock, Mike Rogers, and Dick Ryan, among others. In 1982 he was presented with a Gold Medal at F.I.S.M. in the category of Grand Illusion.

There is so much to cover in Wayne Alan’s life that we could have talked for much longer. But this conversation gives you a good overview, along with some great stories, about this professional magician who, in his early 70’s, is far from hanging up his top hat and wand.

This is the last week for this contest. If you missed out on entering the contest or you did enter but didn’t win but would like to have a copy, you can order one by sending him an email at wow@stevefriedbergmagic.com

Throughout the month of October, we will run a contest to give away a deck of Houdini Playing Cards designed by Past National President, John Midgley. This deck was designed to help raise money for the Houdini Memorial Restoration Fund intended to help repair the Houdini gravesite. Although this contest is open to all, postage will only be paid for winners residing within the U.S. Foreign postage will apply to winners outside the U.S.

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738: Ray Lum - MARVELous Craftsman

Magicians cannot perform without props. The equipment one uses on stage says a lot about the performer. And the quality and craftsmanship of a good fabricator can make any magician look like a million dollars on stage. Ray Lum is one of those fabricators who resides in Las Vegas and works with all of the greats and the soon-to-be greats. Inspired and mentored by the late Tommy Wonder, Ray Lum carries the tradition of fine quality magic props.

If you are more of a visual person, then you will enjoy this video of our conversation recorded via Zoom.

This week Ray Lum talks about his invention of the Gumball Machine (which he calls the “Lumball Machine”) and the controversy surrounding the dual creators coming out separately but not knowing about the other’s invention. He also talks about his friend and mentor, Tommy Wonder, and how they met and how Ray carries on the tradition of quality craftsmanship using new technology and materials.

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

Click on the graphic above to visit the convention website and learn more about who, what and where.

594: Sean Bogunia - Accidentally Creative

During a recent trip from Houston, Texas, to Michigan, I had the opportunity to sit down for an in-depth conversation with one of magic’s creative thinkers, Sean Bogunia. Although he might be best known to you as the creator of the Ultimate Dancing Hank (in a Bottle), he prefers for that not to be his seminal legacy. He has many other creations to his credit that are in the working repertoires of professional magicians and he has even more that he is working on to bring to the magic community. He is a performer and creator who has consulted with many top magicians.

The no assistants need Dancing HankBy Sean Boguniahttps://www.ultimatemagicproductions.net/store/p50/Ultimate_Dancing_Hank.html

In this week’s episode, Sean talks about a pivotal moment in his life that led him to follow magic as a full time professional and never look back. He also tells many “behind the scenes” stories about some of his creations and the people he worked with and some of those whom he showed his ideas. A usually quiet and reserved person, Sean opened his heart and soul in this podcast unlike he had ever done before. In fact, he states that this is only the second interview that he has ever given. This episode contains perhaps more stories than any other that we have broadcast. I am certain that you will get a lot out of this week’s “longer than usual” episode.

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

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