PRESTO :: SIMON LOVELL

Previous Magic Newswire guest, magician and expert on the art of the con Simon Lovell pays a visit to the Magic Newswire for a special edition of the Magic Newscast. During this chat, Simon takes a moment to help us remember Earl "Presto" Johnson as a part of our ongoing memorial to this influential underground magician. Simon shares his memories, impressions and opinions on the magician that he had to meet simply because he was mentioned in the biography of infamous comedian Lenny Bruce. Simon will also be a guest on the first ever iTricks "Live Clinic" tonight at 9 PM EDT.

 LISTEN TO MY CONVERSATION WITH SIMON LOVELL:

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DAVID BLAINE -VS- THE ATLANTIC OCEAN?

The New York Post's Cindy Adams seems to have info on David Blaine's next stunt indicating that it will in some way be connected to the Atlantic Ocean. Reporting in a piece bearing the title "Ocean's Heaven for Blaine Stunt" she says, "This endurance artist, master magician illusionist does what no other human dead or alive does. Why, is something else. Tall, handsome, intelligent, well-read, he really should get himself a job. Like maybe be an accountant or something. But, anyhow, he makes money (I just saw him dining at the Waverly Inn) with TV specials as he breaks the all-time record of holding his breath underwater or the amount of swords swallowed -- and who the hell even knew there were such world records to break. And why am I telling you this? Because having hung already from a gyroscope, sealed in a tomb over the Thames 44 days, hoisted on a pillar 35 hours someplace, suspended upside down over the Wollman Rink, lain in a 3-ton water tank seven days on 68th and Riverside Drive -- what's left? The ocean. The Pacific isn't terrific, so whatever the thing is he'll attempt, look for it in the Atlantic." Does anyone remember David Swallowing swords? I sure don't.

IS DERREN BROWN EMBARRASED BY MAGIC

The Times Online published an interesting profile of Derren Brown today in which he seems to question his career choice in spite of being Britian's most famous magician and in spite of the success of his current touring show. "I’m always slightly beset by embarrassment about being a magician,” whispered Brown in the interview.  Battling larengitis, Brown conducted the interview over the course of several days.  “One of the problems with magic,” Brown says a few days later, his voice medicated back to its normal easy clarity, “is that it’s such a fascinating thing to do, but all the things that are genuinely interesting about it are things you can’t really talk about. You have to hold so much back. So because people know they’re being fooled and it’s just a game, after a while the act begins to grate. Which is why most magicians are loved for a while and then become figures of fun.”  In spite of occasionally questioning himself, Brown finds his career choice rewarding in many ways. “I was talking to a guy yesterday,” Brown says, “who told me that his mother, on the basis of the TV shows, had stopped going to psychics. And she was questioning her Pentecostal religious beliefs as well. Which was lovely to hear — I don’t mean that in a destructive way, I hope. But it does balance that worry that it’s all a bit silly and childish. If people are taking something away from it that applies to their lives then it makes it all worthwhile.”  READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE

THE MAGIC OF TONY CURTIS CONTINUES

The Jules Verne Adventure Film Festival and the Los Angeles Historic Theatre Foundation will host and evening of magic with film legend Tony Curtis On June 13th. "The Magic of Tony Curtis" will be presented at the Million Dollar Theater feature screenings of his 1953 film "Houdini" and the 1959 film "Some Like It Hot" with Marilyn Monroe. This will be followed by a VIP dinner with Curtis at the Los Angeles Athletic Club. During the event, Curtis Lovell II will be strapped into a straitjacket by Tony Curtis and will perform an escape much like one performed for a dinner function by Houdini who was formerly a club member. LISTEN TO OUR INTERVIEW TONY CURTIS:

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AN EXCERPT FROM THE 1953 FILM HOUDINI STARRING TONY CURTIS:

MAGICTALK.COM RETURNS!

In the early to mid 1990s, when the internet was still young,  Magictalk.com became the place on the internet for magicians to gather and discuss magic performance, business and theory. It was a great time for all and several discussions are still talked about today!

Over time, the principal players involved with MagicTalk were pulled away by other projects, and  MagicTalk slowly faded away and was replaced by other discussion forums.

A few weeks ago, John Pyka, one of the original moderators got a message from an original user of MagicTalk on Facebook. He was remembering some of the great times we had there, and said 'I wish we could haveMagicTalk back. John thought to himself,  'Why can't we?' Long story short, Big Daddy contacted Bryan Toder, the owner of MagicTalk and proposed a revival. Sensing the time was right, Bryan has agreed to let John bringMagicTalk.com back to life! Mr. Pyka has been gathering a new team of moderators and admins as well as developing several new features including incorporating the MagicNewswire.com feed into the news section. The team has also put together an archive of some of the material from the old MagicTalk.com.

 Click Here to visit the New Magic Talk and sign up today!

MYSTERY TRUMPS SECRETS THESE DAYS

Mike Weatherford posed an interesting question as an opener to his most recent column, "If a masked magician exposed secrets on a UHF station in the woods and no one cared, did they make a sound?"  Weatherford goes on to explore the impact, if any, of the current MM series on working magicians today. 

School lets out this week, and magicians are looking forward to their busy season. David Copperfield plans three shows each Saturday in June. A new one called "Amazed" starts at the V Theater June 16. And no one worries that MyNetworkTV (KVMY-TV, Channel 21 locally) devoted a whole spring's worth of Mondays to "Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed." 

Several Vegas Headliners comment on the series in the article:

• Las Vegas magician Rick Thomas' only beef is that "Secrets" comes on right after the straight-forward "Masters of Illusion," which featured him in a repeat last week. "I would have to tell you it's the most bizarre choice of programming I have ever witnessed," he says. 
• Flamingo headliner Nathan Burton says it's rare for anyone he meets after a show to mention "Secrets." 
• Mac King says, "To me it's never been about that anyway. It's about the guy."

Weatherfords conclusion? "A long time ago, a magician warned me the secrets of magic weren't near as much fun as the mysteries. Thank you, masked man, for proving him right."

READ THE COMPLETE ARTICLE HERE

EARL PRESTO JOHNSON

As mentioned in our recent interview with Dorothy Dietrich and Dick Brooks, there is an effort underway to raise funds as a memorial to Earl Presto Johnson who passed away in April of this year. Michael Chaut, Jamy Ian Swiss and Chris Capehart are working to put together a special show as a part of "Monday Night Magic." Here's a bit of rare video of Presto doing his cigarette routine. Enjoy:

ADAM MADA :: WONDER THUNDER 2

As announced earlier, the Magic Newswire is very excited by the addition of Adam Mada and his weekly radio segment on FBI Radio 94.5FM in Sydney, Australia to our podcast line-up. Adam was recently profiled in an article from Time Out Sydney in which he says, "What I want to do is totally stay away from any typical magic. I want people to assume that magic is just normal. It's not the same as elsewhere in the world, especially in live performances: we're just not up to date on Europe, there's so many venues to perform in, whereas in Sydney, you really have to sell yourself to venues and functions. It's a lot of hard work to get yourself out there and really, I only get booked by being seen somewhere. "

SPONSORED BY:

The Sorcery Shop • Maxello Magic • NY Magic Project
Street of Cards • Magic Show Builder • Listener Donations

LISTEN TO WONDER THUNDER #2:

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MNW #113 :: DIETRICH & BROOKS

Dorothy Dietrich is one of the world's foremost female magician and  escapologists. She was the first woman to catch a bullet in her mouth.  Dorothy  is also the first woman to perform a straitjacket escape while suspended hundreds of feet in the air from a burning rope  and has been referred to as on of the "eight  most noted magicians of the late twentieth century."  Dick Brooks is a world class entertainer of both comedy and magic and helped to found FAME which later became the Society of Young Magicians within SAM. Together, they created New York's famous Magic Townhouse and gave many magicians their first job during the fifteen years that it was in operation. Brooks & Dietrich now operate the famous  Houdini Museum in Scranton, PA.

LISTEN TO THIS CHAT WITH DOROTHY & DICK:

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MNW #112 :: STEVE BROOKS

Magic Cafe founder Steve Books joins me on this episode of the Spirit of Magic podcast. We discuss his early days in magic, the founding of the Magic Cafe website in the very early days of the internet and the many challenges and issues that he's had to deal with as they site has evolved over the years. In addition, we also discuss the launch of the new Tenyo Elite series of magic tricks and how that project came about.

LISTEN TO MY INTERVIEW WITH STEVE BROOKS:

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