Walter "Zaney" Blaney's career has spanned well over 50 years. He is a creator, innovator, performer, engineer, politician and an all-around great guy and friend to thousands of magicians and non-magicians alike. Over the many decades of his professional career, Walter has appeared on many television shows that are now part of broadcast history such as the Mike Douglas Show, the Dinah Shore show, The Merv Griffin show and of course, the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. He has won multiple;e awards in magic not the least of which is being in the S.A.M.'s "Magicians' Hall of Fame".
Walter has been the subject of many articles, broadcasts and discussions. I spoke with Walter in 1996 about his history of his Ladder Levitation and his hoop that had several funny anecdotes behind its making and his performances over the years.
One of the earlier interviews was done "on the radio" in 1965 by his good friend, David Hoy as Walter was on his way to perform at Abbott's Get-Together. Perhaps David Hoy is best known among magicians today as the creator of the "Tossed Out Deck". But David contributed so much more than that to our magic community that you can read about elsewhere on the internet. In this famous (infamous?) radio broadcast, David hosted their mutual friend, Logan Pritchett (aka Doctor Zuko) as one of the guests that featured Walter talking about his "new" levitation.
00:01:18 - On January 26, 1996 Scott Wells interviewed Walter "Zaney" Blaney using a rather cheap cassette recorder. So please pardon the quality of the sound, but the content is golden. Walter talks about how he got the nickname of "Zaney" and the evolution of his famous Ladder Levitation/Suspension and the long history and problems with developing his hoop and funny (and sad) anecdotes along the way.
00:49:15 - During the I.B.M. national convention in Phoenix on July 17, 2013 I asked Walter to share the funny story behind the "radio" interview with David Hoy.
01:01:00 - July 1965 in Evansville, Indiana, David Hoy greeted guests Logan Pritchett and Walter "Zaney" Blaney on a radio broadcast hoax that has never before been available on the internet.
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Magician Walter "Zaney" Blaney's seven year effort to debut his Ladder Levitation Illusion on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. https://www.facebook.com/StillZaney This is part of a documentary series "Still Zaney After All These Years" . Tonight Show Footage courtesy of Jeff Sotzing - Carson Entertainment Group.
On August 15, 2017, David Copperfield paid tribute to Walter "Zaney" Blaney at the dedication of the Walter Blaney Exhibit at the David Copperfield Museum and Library of the Conjuring Arts in Las Vegas. (Produced by Timothy Drake) http://www.walterzaneyblaney.com
Magic & Martinis' Thursday
"Elevating" the art of the martini! Thanks, Walter.
