From an email press release:
2 June 2008 (Brighton,UK): The world’s first dedicated magic channel, TVMagicians, is launching on the UK’s premier IPTV network, PlayTV UK (from Global Digital Broadcast). Created for magicians, by magicians, the channel is helmed by Geoff Harrison, a foreign correspondent from the BBC who is also a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians.
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Crispin Glover stars in a remake of the 1970's horror film "Wizard of Gore." In the film, Montag the Magnificent (Glover) plays an illusionist who performs at underground venues, selecting female volunteers from his rave-like audiences. To their hysteria, it appears he's dismembered their bodies. When bodies are later found displaying the same wounds apparently inflicted during his performance on stage, investigators are baffled, and the chase to find the killer begins.
WATCH THE MOVIE TRAILER:
"Since he began performing on TV in 2000, many of his tricks - including a live game of Russian Roulette, a seance and claims he electrocuted a cat - have sparked anger amongst audiences," begins an article profiling magician Darren Brown from the BBC. "It's the way it works, if you do anything that might cause offence to some people, it all helps for the show. The journalists all ring up, I'm not complaining, it gets me in the papers," he said.
Seventy four year old illusionist & Escapologist Vic Odin came out of retirement for a tribute performance for Dolly Allen which was reported on by the Birmingham Mail. "Vic told his wife Louise, who is in intensive care in Russells Hall Hospital, that he did not feel he could go ahead with his stage appearance in tribute to the queen of Black Country comedy Dolly Allen. But Louise, also 74, told Vic he had to do it and could not let a packed audience down. Vic, who celebrated his golden wedding just nine days ago, bravely went ahead with his act, which saw him Cheating the Gallows in a spectacular trick involving him appearing to hang himself with a noose." Watch Video Here
As we all have sadly heard, comedian George Carlin has passed away at age 71. An excellent profile in The Independent provides an interesting magical connection: Born in New York in May 1937, Carlin was brought up by his single mother, who managed the New York office of the Philadelphia Bulletin. He discovered in childhood the power of comedy – or so he claimed – because his Aunt Aggie used to show him the Sunday comics sections four weeks ahead of publication. "I guess you can realise the power this gave me in the schoolyard – to be able to predict weeks ahead of time precisely the way Mandrake the Magician would escape from the lost cave... in the days before television, and when you're eight years old, it was power beyond belief," he said.
For anyone interested in the varied representations of magicians in literature, including the literature of the comic variety, Good Comics has posted an article that is worth a read which discusses DC's "Action Comics #1." Why is this notable? Not only because it was the first appearance of Superman, but because "it also includes the first appearance of the magician, Zatara, who would later go on to have a more famous daughter named Zatanna. Zatara was created by Fred Guardineer, who wrote and drew the story in this issue." For those unfamiliar with Zatara, in addition to being descended from a race of magic using humans in the DC Comics universe, "as well as being an illusionist, Zatara also had genuine magical powers, which he focused through speaking backwards: he could do anything so long as he could describe it in sdrawkcab hceeps ("backwards speech", spelled backwards). This helped distinguish Zatara from the numerous Mandrake the Magician knockoffs that cluttered the comics and pulp magazines of the day, although Merlin the Magician(Quality Comics) also had this attribute, and it was also given to him by Zatara's creator, Fred Guardineer." Which came first? Mandrake of course which first appeared in 1934.
From Robin Leach and his Luxe Life Blog we get details on Criss Angel and his determination to include an escape from an imploding building in the upcoming season of "Mind Freak." According to Leach, "Originally the July 23 debut of Mindfreak 4 was to feature a death-defying live “in real-time” broadcast from Florida. Instead the premiere will now be his attempt to “walk on water” out at Lake Mead just 30 minutes from the Strip. Then one week later, on July 30, Criss will attempt the insane “dice with death” live broadcast. Most of the details are still wrapped in total super-secrecy but Luxe Life has learned the TV-special will be titled Implosion. Cameras will be run inside a building where Criss will be “locked and secured” to show him right up until the moment of a massive explosion as the building is blown up. To add to the incredible danger it’s his first-ever “ticking clock countdown” within a timed and controlled 60-minute broadcast window."
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