FINDING MY INSPIRATION : BY STEVE COHEN

Photo from Lance PierceOne of my heroes is legendary magician Max Malini. This morning I made a pilgrimage to his house in Honolulu, met the current resident, and was invited onto the property to take photos and stand in the Malini garden. It was, quite simply, a sublime experience.

Together with local magician Curtis Kam, I retraced the steps to many of Malini’s old haunting grounds.

Malini died on October 3, 1942.
Here is a photo of magicians Michael Skinner, Allen Okawa, Dai Vernon, Presley Guitar, Roger Klause and John Cornelius in front of the same house in 1982. This photo appears in the book Roger Klause in Concert, and was taken during a magic convention held in Honolulu.

According to Curtis, nobody has ever been invited past the front gate. I figured that since I had come all this way, it wouldn't hurt to go just a bit further and make an unannounced call. Act first, apologize later. That's how Malini would have done it!

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