T11 INSIDER #16 :: FUSE BLOWN

BROKEN WAND :: LOOY SIMONOFF :: BY PAUL DRAPER

Lewis Looy Joseph Siminoff (1928 2011)

After reading one of Looy's effects as a boy, L y assumed a mythical status in my brain Mac King

Looy is one of the nice guys in magic and one of the best kibitzers I ve ever met - Gary Darwin

Looy has a unique slant on things and is unfailingly generous -Jon Racherbaumer

Looy Simonoff is my mentor Paul Harris

Looy is the Dean of Las Vegas magicians Jeff McBride

Looy Simonoff was Prof. Emeritus of mathematics & logic at the University of Nevada Las Vegas where he had taught both Magic and Math for 35 years.

Looy was first a foremost a magic inventor and thinker. Magic effects created by L y have been performed on national television specials by Doug Henning, and in stage and close-up shows by Lance Burton, Mac King, Dan & Dave Buck, Paul Harris, Lee Asher and more. His most popular magic inventions include Earth Shoes (rock from shoe), the Flippant card color-change, Hamman ESP, and the Sooperman levitation. His work in magic can be seen in Apocalypse, Antinomy, Channel One, Magic for Dummies, and regularly in works by Harry Lorayne, Alan Ackerman, and Paul Harris.

Click to read more ...

KEEPING THE LEGACY ALIVE

"Once a year, as close to the April Fool’s eve anniversary of Eddie Fechter’s death as they can get, four professional magicians from two generations come together in Mount Calvary Cemetery." begins an article from the Buffalo News which remembers magician Eddie Fechter, former owner of the Forks Hotel and the founder of the exclusive FFFF gathering.

“You learned how to perform . . . That’s the real secret of magic,” said Harrison Carroll, one of the older magicians, of the craft that became his profession at the Forks.

The Cheektowaga place, with the giant pa-pier mache rabbit pulling a magician out of a hat in the front, was a bar and a kind of magicians’ clubhouse and training ground. Most traces of its existence have vanished. 

But the men who stood talking by the grave’s clumps of artificial flowers said they owe a debt to the world-class sleight of hand artist, who showed Carroll and others how to make a full-time living enchanting people with comedy and illusions.

READ THE COMPETE ARTICLE HERE

MEET KOZAK

In a profile of Kozak in the Press of Atlantic City entitled "Meet Kozak the magician, who might be the hardest working entertainer in Atlantic City," the performer discusses his discovery of magic as an adult:

At age 21, Kozak was in the U.S. Navy. He was 30 days away from being discharged when his job was switched to gate guard duty from midnight to 8 a.m. He was having trouble staying awake, so he chose a paperback book, "The Amateur Magician's Handbook" by Henry Hay, to read.

"I picked up this book, and it was like I was struck by lightning, and it was written in stone, 'That was my destiny.' That's what I was born to be. I just knew it. It was like an epiphany. I can't put it into words. I knew to the core of my being that's what I was supposed to be," said Kozak, who taught himself three tricks from the book during the next couple of weeks.

GHOST HUNTING MAGIC

Here's an interesting sneak peek at an upcoming episode of Ghost Hunters on the SyFy channel. Watch Dave Tango do a bit of coin manipulation with a poker chip. Kudos to Magic Newswire fan MagicJoe for sending this my way!

AT HOME WITH CHRIS KENNER

Today, I received an email with a link to an article from Las Vegas Weekly featuring a good friend of the Magic Newswire, Mr. Chris Kenner.  In the article, the magazine gets a rare look inside his Vegas home, including some of his collection of movie memorabilia. 

It begins with a Dr. No movie poster, which slides to the left to reveal a replica Batsuit. Slide that to the right, walk through the secret passage, and enter what Kenner calls “the nerd room.”

“I’m not ashamed to wave my nerd flag. We’re the alpha males now.”

A Raiders of the Lost Ark golden idol sits in the middle. It’s actually Kenner’s second idol. His buddy Jason stole the first one and replaced it with a bag of sand. “When I find a big enough sandbag, I’m going to steal Jason’s car,” Kenner says.

Kenner’s also got guns from Hellboy, Blade Runner, Logan’s Run and The Fifth Element; the metal detector-proof gun from In the Line of Fire; and the golden gun of James Bond fame. He’s got a Men in Black neuralizer, an Inception spinning top, a McLovin fake ID, a Ron Burgundy press pass and a bag of quarters from Ocean’s 11. And the list goes on.

HEMISPHERE MAG: MAGIC MAN

Thanks to our friends at Theory 11, I discovered this Hemisphere Magazine article on David Copperfield and Musha Cay:

He does now. Copperfield bought Musha Cay, 200 miles from Miami, about four years ago, renamed the waters around the island Copperfield Bay and set about overseeing its transformation into a singular top-shelf retreat. Now completed, it is in many ways like other exclusive resorts: The food is impeccably prepared, fresh and inventive, with ingredients tailored to a guest’s needs. There are Waverunners, handwoven hammocks and enough palm-roofed palapas to house hundreds of guests, though only 24 are allowed at a time, each paying roughly $265,000 a week. Unlike other luxury resorts, however, Musha Cay is rich in details that can only be described as Copperfieldian: spooky statues in the undergrowth, a hidden drive-in movie theater, a room that plays Gilligan’s Island in a 120-hour loop on a black-and-white TV, and a secret monkey village.

T11 #15 :: MONKEY ISLAND

NEIL PATRICK HARRIS :: AMA PRESIDENT

The AMA By-Laws and Standing Rules provide for the naming of a new President when a President does not finish his term. The Vice President is automatically named President. Accordingly, Neil Patrick Harris is President of the AMA until the end of his current term (March 2012).

At its regular meeting held Tuesday, April 12, 2011, the Board of Directors discussed possible replacements for the vacancy on the Board created by the resignation of Robert Lamoureux. Due to the number of possible candidates under discussion and the importance of this action, President Neil Patrick Harris suggested that the Board schedule a Special Meeting to be devoted entirely to interviews and a full and complete discussion by the Board. Although the AMA Bylaws state that a replacement be appointed at the next regular Board meeting, it was the sense of the Board that it should devote more time than was available on April 12, 2011 to reaching this decision. The Board scheduled a Special Meeting for April 27, 2011 for this purpose. Any Magician Member wishing to be considered for this position should send a resume to Rich Cowley, Secretary, to be received not later than April 20, 2011. CLICK HERE FOR OUR FIRST INTERVIEW WITH NPH:

 LISTEN TO OUR SECOND INTERVIEW WITH NPH:

RSS :: GET IT AT ITUNES :: ZUNE :: MP3 DOWNLOAD

CHASE GOFORTH WANTS YOU...

 ... to join him tonight in Las Vegas for the free screening of his "Hicksploitation" film "25K" during the National Association of Broadcasters convention! I've just returned from 8 hours sitting standby trying to catch a flight to join Magic Newswire podcast co-host Chase Goforth for the screening of his independent film "25K". Obviously, I didn't make it. Fortunately, he wasn't depending on me to help. But, if you are in Vegas, please do plan to show up for a free screening hosted by our friends Chris & Katie Kenner at the Rave Theater. Watch the following video then visit the 25K Facebook Fan page for all the details! 

Invitation from RotGut Studios on Vimeo.