Plto/o: I ),n,ll Liir.ttll ttrt'1u1, ttf' ,\lq1!ttttrt.

The Assassin of Cloom

@ 201 2 Mike Cauenel
81,Akx Palna of
Spectral Lfotion
Glenda/e, Califarnia.
(Oppo:i te) Calf e j g/i
r t tg.

P holo: iln n d e // B reTi tt a.

caYeneY

W ndgr s
 Mike Caueng lYondersby Mike Caveney
@ 2013 Mke Caveney's Magic Words
All tights reserved. No part of this publication may be reproduced, stored
in a retrieval system, ot tansmitted , in any form or by any means,
electronic, mechanical, photocopying, tecording ot otherwise,
without the permission of Mike Caveney's Magic Words.
mcmagicwotds.com

Libtary of Congress Control Number: 2013904726

ISBN: 9780915781.476
Printed and bound in China
Published by
Mke Caveney's Magic Wotds
Pasadena, CA 91103
USA
?
mikc cevenel/
Wcn grs
the long, slow procesl of

creoting mogic for the reol world

lllike (oveney

photogophy by Bill loylor

published by

Mike Coveney'l lllogic Uordl

Dorodeno, (olifornio
 (0llTEllIt
Forewotd 1.1,

Introduction 15
Preface 19
The Long Beach Mystics 23
Giant Thimble Production 23
The Substitution Barrel 35
Itade Show Act 43
Amazing Mechanical Medin 44
Split Dect 49
Crystal Card Catch 50
Anverdi Key Chest 53
Jumping Straw 57
The Nailed Card 61.
The Benson Plunger 67
Two, One, None 83
Coin Vanish 89
Out Own Wotst Enemy 94
Money Machine 99
Impromptu Linking Coat Hangers 109
Linking Coat Hangers 1.1.7

Lubor Die 1.27

Lie Detector 1,35
Halloween Catd Stab 741
The Phome Book 151.
Idiot Rings 1,59
The Powets of Darkness 1,71,

Impromptu Powers of Darkness 1.87

Serious Laughter 1,95
Chinese Pipes 201
Nind Reading 209
Ten Dollar Bill Tdck 21,9
Bill in Cigar 239
3-ArmJuggling 269
CoffeeJuggling 281,
Magic Paper 297
Bow & Attow 345
Scissots, Coat, Silverwate & Chicken 373
Billy's Chicken Trick 41,7
The Chicken Chronicles 423
Mastering the Ceremonies 439
 Mac I(ing

ike Caveney is a big fat hypocrite. You've heard the saying

"Yariety is the spice of life." Well, Mike's favotite saying is
"Consistency is the spice of life." He claims he doesn't like
change. But spend even one day with him and you see that's iust not
ttue. One of my favorite v/ays to spend my weekend off is to hop in
the car and drive to Pasadena to hang out with Mike. During those
weekends I've seen him: build a treehouse and a deck, build a magic
prop, make a folding coin, advise a best-selling author, write a best-
selling book of his own, lay out a book, install zn att conditioner in
one of his rental property apartments, be a loving husband, run a half
matathon, give amaztngly perceptive advice to other magicians, and,
of coufse, do a magic show.
About that magic show. Mike has done every kind of magic show
there is. He's done trade shows, after-dinner banquet shows, illusion
shows, close-up shows, large-scale galas, parlor shows, and master of
cetemonies work. And he's been fantastic at all of them. So, in away,l
guess Mike is correct. Consistency is the spice of life. Mike is consist-
ently fantastic.
Another thing Mike does consistently is pay attention to what mat-
ters. In the tricks and routines he explains in these volumes you'll gain
powerful insight into what matters when developing and presenting
magic. There are tricks Mike does now, and tticks Mike did 30 years
ago. Now, if I put the tricks I performed 30 years ago in a book it
would be pitiful. Granted,I'm not an old geezer like Mike, but still,
),ou catch my drift; the tricks most people come up with in their teens
and earl1, twenties shouldn't necessarilr. be preserr.ed in ptint. But
these books contain Nfike's entire trade-show act from more than 30
(appo:ite) 201 I Laninato yeafs ago. To give )'ou some idea how good Mike v/as at trade shows,
FestiuaI, Toron to, Ca nada.
Pboto: Dauid l;inte// coufteg'
this is the act that paid for those apartments where I rn'itnessed Mike
of Magicana. installing an air conditioner.

T1,
Mac King and tbe author at tbe 1998 taping of NBCir \7odd's Greatest NIagSc TV rpecial at
Cauar! Palace, l-as lz'egat.

And the tricks get evefl better over time. Virtually every trick Mike
has performed ovet his marvelous careef is here, including many of
the forgotten tricks he resurrected for the biennial Conference on
Magic History. One of the remarkable things about sitting down and
teading these books from covef to cover to cover to cover is gaining
some sense as to how Mike's thinking evolved over his iife in magic.
And not only do you obtain an appreciation of how Mike's think-
ing has progtessed, you also ate taken on a step-by-step journey

t7
 through just how the methods and
presentations for the tricks them-
selves have evolved ovet the course
of their existence. To me, this is the
most valuable part of this book; by
describing the various methods he
has used for TheBill in Cigar, The
Magic Paper, The Bow and Arrow,
and The Scissors, Coat, Silverware
& Chicken, and explaining in detail
why eadier approaches were dis-
carded in favor of newer, simpler,
and more deceptive ones, Mike
)tike ffirs a htist on bis Cffie Jagling roatine dring thi: l n: L'egas perfarnnnce teaches us not tobe afratd to cori-
I ttaking the tral holding tbe pitcher and g/ass foat n'qneious/1 tltt'atglt the air. tinue searching and thinking even
when we have a good, serviceable
method. Inaway it's comforting to rcalize that these amazingperfect
toutines you've seen Mike perform didn't spring forth from his brain
fully formed; they've grown and changed over the coutse of their
lives, and have gotten mote deceptive and more entertaining.
So, because akid in Californta worked at Owen Magic andJohn-
son Products, hung out with the Long Beach Mystics, watched Bud
Dietrich talk about trade shows,listened to Marvl,n Roy and Chan-
ning Pollock, got interested in the history of magic, and did a bunch
of magic shows, he became Mike Caveney. Mike's journey won't be
your journey, but if vou read all this stuff Nfike's written, and put even
a fragment of it into practice, mavbe you cari at least save yourself a little
time. And even if vou never do any of these tricks, you'll at least absorb a
tad of how one of magic's great minds learned to think about magic. Plus,
you'll really enjoy vourself. Because this is a consistendy great book.

Mac I(ing - December 201,2

1
 Regardless of how you interptet the title of this book, you are
correct. \Tithin these pages you will find all of the magic that I have
spent the past fifty At the same time, you will
years wondeting about.
learn the tiniest details surrounding the many wonders that I have
ptesented for lay audiences around the world thtoughout my career.
I always wanted to be a magician but, truth be told, I had no inter-
est in becoming famous. As luck would have it, both of these wishes
came true. My main objective u/as to fi.nd a way to hang around with
the greatest magicians in the world. E arly on I discovered that these
guys spend a lot of time backstage in theaters and in the back rooms
of magic shops. The discovety of these two clandestine meeting
places is still a vivid memory.
I was twelve years old when I visited my fitst real magic shop -
Owen Nlagic Supreme in Alhambra, California. Located about seven
miles ftom my house, it was well within bicycle distance and riding
to Owen became my Satutday rttual. The business had recently been
purchased by Les and Gertrude Smith but the founder, Cad Owen,
had stayed on.
The nondescript building that housed this magic factory was situ-
ated between an alley and restaurarlt on the edge of a residential
^
neighborhood. Pushing the front door open sounded a Chinese gong
that effectively announced one's anival. To the right was Gerttude's
office, to the left and in front of you were showcases filled with the
most beauttful apparatus to be found anywhere. There wete wooden
boxes of evety size and shape on display. Some were made from exotic
woods with hand-rubbed, natural finishes while others were beauti-
fully painted using those classic Owen designs and colors. There were
metal tubes, bowls and strange looking pots made from aluminum,
copper and brass, each polished to a mirror-like finish.
I thought all magrc looked like this. Eventually I would learn
otherwise, but for the time being this was the center of my magrcal
world. In the far left corrrer of the showroom there was a door that
opened into the shop. This physical barcier sepatated a place where
magic could be purchased from a wodd where magtc was created.
Any time an employee passed through that door there was a momen-
tary clear view into that othet world. The door was capably guarded
by alarge Getman shepherd named Robin Hood, but by positioning
myself in the "sweet spot" I was able to catch tantahzingglimpses of
Cad Owen, Les Smith and Fred Rickard with half-finished miracles
in their hands. One day the door swung open and I caught a glimpse
of Channing Pollock who was picking up the double Sawing aLady
in Half illusion that I would soori see him petform onTbe Ho@wood
Palace TV show. On another occasion I spied Marvyn Roy standing
next to his half-finished Gid in the Light Bulb illusion. As fantastic as
the showroom was, I longed to step into that other wodd.

l. om
The other life-altering event that occurred during my twelfth year

m
ai .c
co
was the discovety of Milt Larsen's ltl Magic!show at the \Tilshire
gm ic
Ebell Theater. My dad bought two tickets for $2.80 each and we sat in
the balcony. For the f,rst time I found myself in a real theater with a
c@ ag
real band in the pit and famous magicians from atound the wodd per-
gi am

forming on stage. There u/as nothing about the experieflce that didn't
appeal to my core being.
ma in

Access to the backstage ateawas down analley thatran along the

ve ch

Ieft side of the theater. By walking pattway down this alley one could
lo 52

get petilously close to the large load-in door that led directly back-
stage. I found myself standing in this alley, watching people come
to w.

and go. And just like at the magic shop, each time that door opened,
ww

I caught a glimpse of heaven. These two doors, one in a nondescript

building in Alhambra and the other, half-way down an alley off of
\X/ilshire Boulevard, separated me from everything I wanted out of
life. If I became a magtcian, I could walk through both of them.
It is a fortunate 1ad who discovers his passion at a tender age and is
able to confidently begin his journey down life's path.
I am pleased to report that both stoties have happy endings. My
telentless visits to Owen Magic finally paid off when I was invited to

f
oin the staff in the back room for a cup of tea. No coffee breaks at
Owen, it was always tea. Eventually Les Smith asked if I would be in-
terested in learning to polish metal. "Yes" came the answer before the
question had fully cleared his lips. Les swept all of the sawdust from
under the table saw over to the polisher and fashioned a huge pile

t6
 lnrBorucrnn

ditectly below the two buffing wheels. For the life of me I couldn't
f,gute out the purpose of this mound but didnt want to risk giving
my inexperience by asking, "\fhat's that for?" He showed me
^w^y
how much polishing compound to use on the coarse wheel, how
much pressure to apply, then how much buffing compound to use
on the buffing wheel etc., etc. I picked up a dove pan and statted in.
Within a short while, my conf,dence was soaring and it was at that
momeflt that the dove pan was stripped out of my hand and embed-
ded itself into the pile of sawdust. The first time this happens, it
startles the hell out of you. I detected my co-workers chuckling as I
retrieved the undented pan from the sawdust and resumed my task
albeit with slightly less confidence. After m^ty Saturdays of diligent
wotk I picked out a Signed Card in Balloon as payment along with a

l. om
m
gleaming Welsh Rarebit Pan that had been polished to a fine sheen by

ai .c
co
youfs tfuly.
gm ic
One Saturday around Christmastime we all retired to the break
room for the usual spot of tea. A rack held a collection of teacups each
c@ ag
with an employee's name carefully painted on the side; Les, Gertrude,
gi am

Catl, Fred, Lou, Gtacie, along with a few blanks fot guests. On this
ma in

day I was handed a cup adorned with my name. It was like seeing my
name on the marquee of the Palace Theater. I had arrived.
ve ch

My goal of walking through that backstage door at the Wilshire

lo 52

Ebell Theater would require many more years of hatd work. In 1981
I achieved one goal by appearing on the lti Magic!show but by then
to w.

the show had moved to the Variety Arts Theater in downtown Los
ww

Angeles. It wasn't until 2000 that I was asked to host the Academy of
Magical Atts Awards Show that was to be held at the Wilshire Ebell
Theater. Sitting in my dressing room on the third floor I looked down
into the a1ley below Thirty-eight years earlier I stood in that alley
and dreamed of becoming a magician so I could walk thtough that
stage door. On this night I would be master of ceremonies as Marvyn
Roy and Carol,Johnny and Pam Thompson, Ed and Nancy I{eener,
Gaetan Bloom, Silvan, and John Gaughan received awards from the
Academy of Magical Arts. Throughout the evening from center stage
I gazed up at those tu/o seats in the balconl, that my dad and I had oc-
cupied. The plan I formulated at age twelve had worked to perfection.

I
 l. om
m
ai .c
co
gm ic
c@ ag
gi am
ma in
ve ch
lo 52
to w.
ww

I'{orbert Ferri, Juan TamaiT, Johnry Tbonpton, Tina Lenert, the aathor, Paru Thompson, Miguel
in Granada, Spain.
Puga, Tommlr Wonda", l-,uis Bolano. Curtain call at tbe 2003 Hocu: Pocus Festiual
 sf
E&
stL

N{ike Caveney

hen Tina and I moved into our current house tfl 1984 we didnt
know the f,rst thing about Crafstman Style atchitecture. We
fust knew that this home spoke to us like no other. Over the
years u/e have learned a great deal about the Craftsman Style and its
re ctrorl to Victorian

l. om
accompanying philosophy. Tutns out it was a

m
architecture that had emanated from England and flourished during

ai .c
co
the lattet half of the nineteenth century. In America
gm ic we enjoyed Stick Eastlake and Queen Anne from
roughly 1860 - 1910. Today these st1,le homes are
c@ ag
widely known as Gingerbtead due to the exces-
gi am

sive machine-cut decorations that adotn them or as

ma in

Painted Ladies for the various paint colors that are

used on theit extedors. The Arts and Crafts style
ve ch

(founded by William Mortis, also in England) was a

lo 52

reaction against the effects of the Industtial Revolu-

tion. It fosteted a return of the individual worker
to w.

and encompassed not just atchitecture but futniture,

ww

tile, pottery, rugs, metal wotk and gtaphic arts. The

belief was that since you need beams to hold up roofs
and legs to hold up tables and chairs then why not
make their basic design beautiful thereby eliminating
the need for finicky decorations. And why not allow
the dignity of the materials whether they be wood,
clay, fabrtc or metal exist as natural decorations. Simply
put: Iet form follow function. By the time this way of
1906 Craftsman Sgle horze in Pasadena, Calfornia.
thinking reached Pasadena, Cahforntait had become
Pltoto: Bi// Ta/or
the Craftsman Style.
Though I didn't know it at the time I can noril/ see that my
^ttrac-
tion to this phiiosophy eventually carcied over to my magic act. As a
birthday pafiy magrcian I took pride in the atay of nickel-plated tubes
and btightly painted boxes that I hauled into people's homes. My
upholstered toll-on table and Chinese-otnamented props ptovided a
blaze of color. Slowly but surely all of that color faded away until today
I ptesent basically a black and white act. Agatn, this wasn't a conscious
decision, just a slow evolution. As this book will reveal, my proPs
became ordinary objects with instantly recognizable shapes such as a
coffee pot and cup, a cigar, envelopes and lighter, a bow and arrow,
a roll of toilet paper, pztr of scissors and a bat stool. You'te tight,
^
that's not much for an audience to look at.In fact basically, it leaves
just me, the main thing I would like them to remember anryay.
The decision to wear a houndstooth coat was a huge steP towards
defining my onstage chatacter. This led to a houndstooth caruying
case for the toilet pape\ a houndstooth blindfold for the Bow & Ar-
row routine, a houndstooth bag for the Juggling Arms and a distinc-
tive pair of black and white shoes. This costume combines the same
colors (ot lack of color) as a formal tuxedo and yet I never look like
anyone else in the room. Its not that I'm dressed better than my audi-
ence, I'm just dressed differently. Even my chicken is decked out in all
white feathets.
The point here is not to suggest that you eliminate all color from
your act or use only otdinary objects as props. If you did, my act
would look like everyone else's. On the contrary,I encourage you to
add color to your petformance and use magic tricks and illusions of
all sorts. My goal is to simply make you think about each decision that
you make. I heattily agree with Joel Hodgson who says the diffetence
between professional and amatett magrcians is the number of attis-
tic decisions they have to make. An amateur makes just a few while a
ptofessional makes hundteds. If you can explain the reasoning behind
each of your decisions you are well on your u/ay to becoming a profes-
sional entertainer.

ZO
Stage door at tbe Londan Pa//aditn, Dec. 8, 1996. Pltoto: Tina ltnert.

Chrtt tltitnbh and ro//-ott table, ltiglt
,l ,rf c/as.r, circa 7 966.
to become a member of
f, t age sixteen my singular gozl u/as
2
f lteenage magic club called the Long Beach r\Iystics. Having seen
ltltheir annual show, ItsAma{ngfor a couple of years,I knew that
I would need a realact (not just a suitcase full of tricks) to be accepted
as a memb er. That ),ear Milt Larsen's It': Magic! show featured Tony
N{arks, and his thimble routine fascinated me. I decided to create a
manipulation act of my own using thimbles.
In high school wood shop I turned a giant thimble that measured
about a foot high. To avoid unrvanted questions I told the teacher and
anyone else who asked that it was a wastebasket. The ptoduction of
this large solid object would be my big finish. A finelooking roll-on
table, another wood shop project, solved the ptoblem of where to hide
the thimble during my act. The thimble (covered by a hood
made from a colored silk streamer) hung from a hook on the
back of the table. A top hat sat on top of the table. A very
long silk streamer was produced from a small bag and as
the bag was tossed into the hat, the thimble was stolen into
the gathered streamer and produced. To my sixteen-year-old
mind it seemed like the perfect crime.
After one show, a magtdnn far wiser than myself asked,
"Why do 1'ou use a such big table to hold up a hat?" Con-
vinced that I had completely fooled this guy I said, "\flell
if 1,es must know, it's because that's where I hide the big
thimble." He just stared at me till he was sure I fully com-
prehended how tidiculous m1, statement was. Of course that
was the reason wh1, I needed a big table, but what was the
audience supposed to think, that the only thing that could
support this eight-ouflce top hat was a massive twenty-
pound table? It suddenly dawned on me that m1'method fot
scltoo/ tt'ood
concealing the giant thimble u,as pathetic. I needed to exam-
ine the problem not through a magrcran's eyes (what obiect
\\ioulcl be big enough to hicle a siant thimble) but tht'oursh a lar-man's
eves (s,hat sort of table s'or-rlcl r-ou krgicalh' urse to sLIPPort a top hat?
T1-rc anss,er to the lavt-nan's qllcstion I cliscor-crcd et ()s'en )Iagic Sur-

preme. It sas thcir Surpren-re llaslclan's Table thet sct mc back S22.50.
I remember thc price becar-rse it s-as thc nost I had cr-er spent on a
prop ancl it s-asn't c\-cn a tncli. I{erc \\-2s 2 simple centcr-post table
u,ith a half-inch t1-iick top that lool<ecl perfecth-comfbrtable holclins
Lrp a top hat. \bur coulcln't l-iar-c hidclen a resular thin'rble in this tablc
lct rlonc l gilnt .,nc.
Nos- to the magician's c1-restion: s-l-rcrc do I l-iiclc t1're giant thimbie?
I startecl br-instelljng a steei l-rook rn tl-rc back eclgc oitl-ie tablctop. I
enr-isionecl mr-richt hancl slicling in flom the sicle, catchins hold of
the loop that u-as attachecl to the thimblc ancl glicling au-ar-. To ar-oid
(lL.Jl1 I lrt' l) otr /ltt f)rtt/ tt'ltlt
/ I tt .ql rrrr I I l.ti lt It /t, l.ti l l t t lt l.t i t l
t t

har-ins to mo\-e thc thrrnble backri-arcls slightlv to discnsaqe it tiorn l.ttr rt rl kr rtl.tltl.
tl-re i-rool< befrrre mor-ing ar-ar fiom thc tablc, I purt a t:athcr se\-crc
,,'1.1'1t 1 .,p 1),,,4 1,,l.l,,1f t,r,njtt;
bcnd in the steel 1-rook. Tlris allos-ec'l the thirnblc to bc ren-ior-ecl anci ql t r t t I I l.t I t t t It I t l.t t r r.1i r r.q r.u t t l.t o o k
r
f)

carried as'av u-itl-r just one sm(x)tl-r mo\-ement. , ot trzrl lt1 i /k.- i/t1'ttr/(t l.)0()1.

ltrdience tiew after tbe thimbk
: ;:
been Prodaced leauing no
-,.t;t of its bidingplace.
lar Lone Drncl Mwnct
The hiding place was created by a thirty-six-inch silk that was laid
over the tabletop. Most of it hung off the backside (right over the
hook) and a little of it hung over the ftont. Even though it was cate-
fully placed into position, it appeared as if it had been carelessly tossed
on the table. Even though the hook was covered with silk, the thimble
could still hang on the hook and be completely hidden ftom the front
by the folds of silk.
At the end of the act I would toss the bag into the hat, shove the
hat off of the silk (as I stole the giant thimble) and then pull that large
silk off the table adding it to the streamer in my right hand. I immedi-
ately pulled a handkerchief out of my breast pocket and added it to the
growing collection of silk. It appeated as if I was gathering up every
handkerchief in sight. I was now in the advantageous position of hav-
ing eliminated the hiding place before the audience v/as even aware
that I had been hiding anything. All was in readiness for the produc-
tion of the big thimble but the time was not tight. If I produced the
thimble immediately, the spectators might be able to draw a line ftom
the large object directly to the hiding place that existed
iust a moment before. Some time misdirection effectively
etased the line between the cause and effect.
My solution was to place one hand into the mass of
silk, act like I was going to produce something spectacu-
lat, then reveal a normal-size, ted-jewelled thimble on my
finger. This tiny production from a huge mass of silk was
viewed as gag.I looked at the thimble a bit disappointed
^
myself and suddenly turned the red-jewelled thimble
into a red silk handkerchief and a shower of silvet glitter
flakes. This handkerchief was then added to the handful
of silk and then the giant thimble was ptoduced. Just be-
fote I rx,'alked off, I pushed the handful of silk into the hat
and set the giant thimble on the table. All that remained
on stage was a skeleton tabie and gtg rrttc thimble that
^
towered over the hat. There was just no place it could
have come from.
The transformation of the ewelled red thimble into
f
a
red silk handkerchief and a showet of silver glitter flakes
posed another ptoblem. How do I get rid of the red,
jewelled thimble after rthad apparently fs6t transformed
 i,l/it,rytrr,u
Ntw [*|,rl,ry

into red silk handkerchief and a showet of glitter flakes. The

a
ansv/er was to do nothing. The thimble would rem tn on my 3 rsrltt^c
fingertip. The silk and the thimble were connected b1, a three-
inch piece of clear fishing line. The holdet'was a combination silk
winder and thimble holder. The silk was folded into a long strip
and silver flakes were sprinkled into the folds. The silk was then
rolled around the silk winder with the fishing line making the final
revolution. Inserting the thimble into the holder held everything in
place. This gimmick was pinned to the giant thimble cover.
As I reached into the handful of silk m), f,ngers curled atound the
silk as my index finget was inserted into the thimble. Pulling down
released the silk and the thimble from the holder. $[hen my hand
came into view, only my index finger was extended and the audience trlSHLINE
saw only the red thimble. To execute the transformation all I had to HOLDS
sltK,,
do was open my flngers as I waved that hand in the air. As the silk
\
unrolled, a shower of silver flakes fluttered to the floor. The corner of
sitk (which couldn't get more than three inches from my hand because
of the fshing line) was caught by -y fingertips. The silk (and the Tlte.re tltree illurtmtions 11,

thimble which remained perched on my index fingertip) were added Eic Lutis arefruru ng,
98 / baok Nlagicomedr'.
to the mass of silk in my other hand. The thimble never did disappear,
1

(top) Tbe thinbh is teiltered

it was just overwhelmed by the sudden of the much larger to the ltandkertbief 11, a
^ppearance
red silk handkerchief and shower of glitter. pien of f.sltline. (center) The
ginnick that ltald: the rolled
I am pleased to report that the considerable work I devoted to my si/k and tbe thirubh. (bottont)
thimble act paid off when, after auditioning for the club and then Tlte rol/ed silk and tetltered
tltinble are /oaded into tbe
of ahazingreally), I was sworn
passing the physical agility test (more
gintnick.
in as a member of the Long Beach Mystics. I quickly discovered that
the club was short on politics and rules and long on getting up on
stage and performing. The one rule they had was that as each mem-
ber turned twenty-one yeats of age thev were to leave the Mystics and
become a member of the Long Beach IBM ring. This singular rule
was universally ignored by virtually every member. Today, with most
of us in our fifties and sixties, few of us are IBM members but v/e still
travel the world in varying-size packs of Mystics.
The highlight of eachyear was our annual lt's AmaTing show and
everlr membef's goal was to secufe a spot on this public showcase.
The path to achieving one of these coveted spots was to perform at
the monthly meetings, comPete in our various contests, and become a

team player by contributing to other members' acts. Each of us wanted

t6
 [at Lme Dnut Mwrc

to be the very best we could be but the over-tiding

goal was to preseflt the best show possible.
This camaraderie continued offstage when the
Mystics marched (matched is the u/rong word;
TIIE I,ONG BBACE
MYSTICS
participated) in a numbet of parades. Their reputa-
!stdt
tion received a boost tn 1977 when the group was
rT',s invited to petfotm at Abbott's Get Together in
Colon, Michigan. Thirty-five years latet a group of
AWZIT'{G Mystics tetutned to Colon where aging members
presented a fuIl-evening show
Even though the Long Beach Mystics ceased
to exist in 1985 the bond between generations
of members has never waned. At the 1996 SAM
convention held at Bally's Hotel in Las Vegas the
Mystics wete invited to ptesent The Last Great lt's
Ama{ngShow.Members reassembled from all over
Programsfrom some of the ear! IV!$ic showt. Eacb the country to participate in this grand club effort
l,ear a tpecial gaest was inuited to ap?ear on our show. and for that one day we were all teenagers again.
In 1968 (below left) oargaestperfornerwas Steue
)Iartin (1es, that Steue Matin) and in 1969 (below
ight) ourguest was Dale Salwak.

,roorrt
,frdr@ ,,'oT.o;go,.,,*
Scprrm6ar2e
1969

r;-
^H
fiAZING :.:..'
#h,*

E.er UNy BULUY

aIAq th
NObE rcX JNEPf,SN

gpool.r 4..t.
AN FreEK

-i"'ddf

8&
dDb nbgt lxlclttssrox
scld cu6, r.f6e
E' Uu'
h6
'd

U
Mn Aunw Wonnnt
CCCCCCCCC
@
On two occassions the Mystics were asked to LONG BEACH
perform in every showroom at The Magic Castle
for a week. Once ag tn the response was so over- N/IYSTICS r-!r?SFi}flt:P,
whelming that acts had to be rotated in and out
FBESENT
of the vatious shows to accommodate evefyone. -?{lE/*}Dfr
Trrrc I-r1.sr tG R re a.r
Close examination of the programs reproduced on
these pages will reveal some familiar names who
are today performing all ovet the world and others
who have excelled in other areas of magic.
EB'S
(R ight) More than ten lears after the clab disl:anded the memlters re-
grotped en masse for one f nal show at Ba/!'s Grand Hotel in lts Vega:.
(Behw) This pragraru was giuen to euery visi167" 1o tbe Magic Castk daing
tbe week of Jnne 9, 2001. g* Blu,t's 0nunnm f,sos
Lls Yrels,l{rvmr =f
Ju,r I0, 1008
TT HOSTS:
$TAlllIJJil eP frfnn fi,ilffirr
F TTOHMOII, DIRIOTOR:
lru lurlr

il; suppryor@ahvePorsr,-""-'-'-
r STARRING:
* Victor 6 DiarnonJ
*.Ia.a,es Ea,niltor.
* Randy Pryor
* Lrs Anrust s & Cs,
* Dana Daniels
t'a ' e"" ""
[ii""Ji
* ffiuilJltil[
riJL "" -..--r-rersMtom19T6b

* tr0lt IltDtII0lt
* SttUEIel.u
* Ibdd Bohhins
* IYIark,Kalin gJinger
SPEOIII. Tf,lilf,S T0: Alex Arndd, Allen Bnd<cn,
latcr Burton, Dah Clun6 Bob (oupc,Sue Enidror1
Dick [ostcr, Jrnn Goodsell, lichrrd Hughel,
Dmilr llaruhall, Hank ilocehouse, J. Spelr,
Sundarcc lideo, J.L lhompson, and llichael Webu.

Ihc long Scrth ilytticr rould like to retognire the latc Jim Conlq
ZO
lu flming mrny o[ their "li't lmuing" thowr and ttrrnk hir lon,

cocococcc
Tom, lor grrcioudy proriding 6lm dipr lor todayi rhow.
 Tar Lmo Dracn Mwnc

*^f,t*t*T;Y,n-9fl!!L,T_"_,
FRI
l5

w.C. FIELDS BAR

-.
r&uAy _ SATURDAY _ 8:OO _
PARL9YT-9. PRESrrDrcrrArroN tz:OO
I
FrlRLy SHOWS AT 7:3O _
8:lS _ c:30
Literate
leav prstidigitator
-Inis Bay Area JAMES t and awp.

ro
charmer r
"nt.r,tn
you
"ii
,;ffS.."* *s,fl?^,m#,ko_YHn"
LATE SHOWS AT t0:30 _
u:30 _ l2:0O
*ff:"i::lf:
Shov times sn6 p.,1rm..,
a.eriesof
Warped and

lfixlt, . tMagc Dinner

encs &ound
silbiect to chan&c
noti.e
'|ithout

The second take-ouer of tlte l,Iagc Canh fu the Long Bearlt liiics took place Janaary 1 0-1 6, 201 1.

My goal in desctibingpart of my thimble act is not to inspire

aflyofle to perform a similar act but rather to demonsttate how all
magicians need to build a foundation of magrcal knowledge. Reading
books and magazines will create a reservoir of magic principles that
can be used throughout one's life. \Working in a magic shop (if thete
are left at the time of publication) provides a chance to famtharize
^ny
oneself with a wide r.arietl of effects that 1'ou may never intend to buy
or actually use in youf act. Watching as many performances as possi-
bte will provide an opportunity to examine why some ate good, some
are great, and some are bad. Studying these performers will allow you
to examine their methods and the thinking that was used to create the
vatious effects. You wiil learn to tell the difference between a simple
and well thought-out method (or as Alan \Xrakeling Put it: an elegant
solution) and a method that suffers from a lack of development.
The lessons I learned starting as teen ge thimble manipulatot and
^
Mn Gvnrv Wonont

throughout my career have been invaluable as I developed nerv effects

and routines. You will in the chapter on the Silverware & Chick-
read
en routine how the flrst method fot hiding the chicken was based on
the lessons I learned while trying to hide a gtznt thimble. And how
the ultimate solution for disposing of the chicken load bag was based
on the thimble-to-silk transformation.
The purpose of this book is flot to provide you with forty minutes
of new mateial but rather to increase lrour foundation of magical
knowledge and to demonstrate the long, slow process that is required
to cfeate new maglc routlnes.

In 1971 I heard through the grapevine that the guest speaket at the
next meeting of the local IBM Ring in Long Beach, California would
be Channing Pollock. Yeah, I couldnt
believe it either. And even
though I wasn't a member of the IBM, I couldn't risk not going. \X/hat
if he actually showed up? Along with a few of my Long Beach Mystic

Alarryn Ra1, the aatbor, ChanningPollock.

10
 Hr Lorlo Dnu Mwrto

buddies I arrived at the meeting on the appointed night and when

Channing Pollock u,alked in we were dumbfounded.
Channing delivered an impromptu talk about his legendaty c^reer
and then asked if there were anv questions. The three of us, along
with a spotting goods salesman named Carl Beck (who later became a
Las Vegas headliner under the name Carlton), had plenty of questions.
\When the president of Ring 96, Vic Trask, finally adiourned the meet-

ing most people left. \We applied a full-coutt Press on Channing and
allowed our Q&A session to move onl1,2s far as the door. After all,
how many times does an opportunity like this present itself? If Chan-
ning had allowed it we would ptobably still be standing there, but he
didn't. Eventually he said, "\(/ell, this has been an interesting evening,
so why don't we continue this conversation next week at my house."
Finally, mercifull1., one of us managed to grunt, "Okayi' and we left.
It didn't seem real until the following Monday night when Cad
Beck's station wagon carried the five of us (Stan Allen had ioined out
gtoup) up into the Hollywood Hills and we actually walked through
the ftont door of Channing and Cori Pollock's beautiful home. We
drank cheap red wine and talked for hours. It was grealI felt like
lightning had struck twice, having spent tw-o evenings with the
world's greatest magician. Then came the knockout punch. Channing
said, "Okay, next N{onda), night, we are going to talk about..." I didn't
even hear the end of the sentence. Next Monday night!
For about a year, the five of us piled into Cad's station wagon and
drove to Channing's house ever)r Nfonday evening. Of course we
talked about magic, but it was much more than that. Besides helping
us become better magicians, Channing wanted us to become good
people. He wanted us to visualize our futures and then show us how
to achier.,e those goals. Some weeks he atanged for a guest speaker,
one of his friends, to come in and hold court. \We spent a raucous
evening with Ricki Dunn listening to hilarious stories and invaluable
advice that are gained onll' through a lifetime of performing.
One evening we listened as Alan \X'akeling dissected a magtc act
like a surgeon might. He actuallr'drew a graph showing the proper
pacing of an act. He explained horv 1'our opening must immediately
capture the audience's attention and then build. At a cettatn point
the pace retreats, gir-ing the audience a chance to catch its breath and
relax. The pace then starts buildingagarn and rises er.en higher than
Mn Gunw Wonnmt

before, and then, another break so they can process what they have
seen. This would be the place to insett yout slowest effect. If you were
a singer, this is where you would sing the ballad. Then a steady build
to the big finish. Alan played a populat song by Drana Ross and the
Supremes and suddenly, everything Alan had been saying became
crystal clear. It was as if the composer had used Alan's graph to con-
stfuct the song.
Anothet time we enjoyed performance right in Channing's
^prtvate
living room by the incomparable Frakson. This was the ultimate dem-
onstration of it's not what you do, but how you do it. Of course his
tricks were great (Coin Pail, jumbo Card Rise, Vanishing Bird Cage,
cigarette manipulations) but his charm was palpable. The smile, the
accent, the delight that spread across his face when the magic hap-
pened had made him an international star

Another magical star that all of us Long Beach Mystics looked up

to was Marvyn Roy-Mr. Electtic. This was a time when speciality
acts ruled the wodd and working in Las Vegas ot Paris represented
the pinnacle of success. Marvyn, who had grown up in Los Angeles
just like 'we were in the process of doing, had achieved intetnational
fame with his unique light bulb act. Duting his career he benefitted
ftom many mentors including Ray Muse, AIan Wakeling and Bobby
Voltaite. Matvyn knew the value of inspiring the next generation of
magicians and he never hesitated to attend a Mystic meetiflg in order
to give us guys a pep talk. \Thenever possible we would travel in packs
to see him and Carol perform at their various Southern Caltfornta
engagements and after the show Carol would graciously pack up the
act while Marvyn held court with his boys.
Young people need many things while growing up. They need true
friends, they need good teachers, and they need something or some-
one to inspire them. Some kids make do with one or two of these in-
gtedients. I was luckiet than most. As a young Mystic and for decades
beyond, Channing Pollock and Marvyn Roy served as my inspiration,
teachers and friends.

17
 iii.'1fiil6 #Na irlwws

II"hih Bob Hope peforned ot .rtage )like Catutey, Janu Haltihon, 5'tatt Allel atd Stet'e Htrnp/stE'
ta/ked s/top n'it/t )larryt Ro1 backshge ir 1969, Pltato: Banl Cooper.
 remember exactl)/ whenI thought of this trick. In July 1969 I v'as
!
lin Paris and went to the Lido for the first time. All of the v^rtety
I u.,. or.r. great but ofle (an act I had never heard of before) simply
stole the show: Siegfried & Ro1,. Of course today when we think of
Siegfried & Ro1. u/e focus on their illusions with wild animals but back
then their act consisted of a flawless dove routine, Substitution Ttunk
and the Lion Cage with the added kicker of a black panther emerging
ftom the trunk. It was as fi.ne a magic act as I had ever seen.
A few davs latet I was in Btussels, Belgium and while in mlr hslsl
room I grabbed a piece of paper and drew a picture of abarcel along
with a method for escaping. A batrel is a much simpler container
than a trunk with far fewer cornefs and thus fewer places to conceal
tr^p door. This is the idea I brought back to m), friend and fel-
^
Iow Long Beach M),stic Stan Allen, and we agreed to form an act
together with this illusion as our closing effect.
One great advantage to living tn alatge metropolitan area.
such as Los Angeles is that anlt|-rirr* ),ou could ever need or
want is available r,vithin a thirtl-minute drive; even a ba:rel fac-
torl'. Rooke Cooperage specialized in steel drums but still had
some old-world coopers on staff who built wooden barrels.
We picked out a beautiful 50-gallon oak whiskev barrel and much to
the salesman's surprise Stan jumped inside, knelt down and pulled his
knees up to his chin. "It's prettv tight in here." \With everv move Stan
slid further toward the bottom of the barrel where there was even less
room. Soon it u/as so tight that he could barell'catch his breath and
-1h0ru) Oiginal dmling: aJ' Tlte I could see that the barrel had turned into a sort of straitjacket. In a
trlfiittrtion Barrel on Bnrc.re/s Hihan
\
panic I tipped the barrel or'er on its side so Stan could pull himself
titiloileU, circa 1 969.
to freedom. From this near disaster w-e iearned that the diameter of
r)pposite) Stan A//er ail )Iike Cat'eue1 the barrel at its widest point must exceed the distance from your hip
:rr*nt tlteir net' i//trsiott at ilte 7 969
Lr,try Beaclt ll,:tic.r'It's .\mazing rfurr:
to )'our knee and 5O-gallons does not accommodate a six-foot-one-
P l.t t, tc, :' fo n), O'Ke|'e. inch bodl'. Er.entualh'the salesman directed us to a 55-gallon brandy

1q
Mtr(trrittry Wonont

cask made out of Hickory wood that was half submerged in

the mud outside. That extra 5 gallons provided the room we
needed but this barrel would need a full restoration.
Refinishing the exterior of the bartel provided us with
plenty of time to contemplate the effect we wished to create.
Like Siegfried & Roy, we would not take the time to have
the barrel examined by a committee from the audience. Our
thinking was that if the exchange was fast enough it would
impossible even if thete had been a tevolving door in
^pper
the side of the batrel.
Barrels designed to hold liquids (like brandy) have a hole
drilled through the side for a bung or stopper. When it's
time to serve the liquid, the stoppet is removed and a faucet
or t^p is inserted into the bunghole. The hole in our brandy
cask measured about two inches in diameter and we drilled a
Sanding off yarc of age expous tbe beautful bickory
matching hole directly opposite this existing hole. A wooden
wood of tbis 55-gallon brandl cask.
pole (measuring one inch in diametet by fout feet long) could
be inserted through the front hole and out the back hole. With each of
us holding one end of the pole the barrel could be easily lifted off the
foot or off the dolly that catried it onstage from the wing. The pole
would then serve as an axle around which we could spin the barrel in
order to demonsttute th^t it was empty and all the sides were solid.
As you know, the wooden staves of abarcel are held in the tradt-
tional battel shape by a series of metal bands. Therefore one of these
ubiquitous bands became the perfect place to hide the evidence of our
trap. The second band was about eight inches down ftom the top of
the bartel. A line was traced along the top and bottom of the band's
edges and then it was removed. The top section of the barrel was
sawed off with the cut beginning directly above one of the bungholes.
The saw cut into the lowet of the two lines and as it continued around
to the opposite side (ditectly above the other bunghole) the cut line
angled up slightly so that it finished between the two lines. The same
cut'was made atound the other side of the bartel. The bunghole below
where we started cutting became the back of the bartel and the op-
posite side was designated as the front.
When the metal band was teattached to the upper section, the cut
wooden staves covered half the width of the band at the front and
were flush with the bottom edge of the band at the back. The top

16
 hr lupyrunn llrrppn

section was set back on top of the batrel being careful to match up
each of the original staves. The metal hoop effectively covered the
saw-line and held the top section (trap) in petfect alignment.
This trap v/as attached to the batrel Proper using a large straP
hinge mounted on the inside of the bartel. It was countersunk into
the wood at the back of the bartel and because it was necessary for the
pivot point of the hinge to protrude through the back of the barrel,
a piece from the bottom of the metal band was cut away. This posi-
tioned the pivot point outside the barrel and prevented the trap from
binding as it openedfull ninety degrees. Because the pivot point of
a
the hinge was visible from outside the barrel it was painted black to
match the metal band. Inside the barrel on the side opposite the hinge
thete was a hook-and-eye latch that held the trap closed when the bat-
rel was revolved on the pole. During the perfofmance the barrel was
set on stage with the hinge-side facing uPstage, out of the audience's
view
The frame of the curtain cabinet u/as constructed from electtical
conduit tight-weight metal pipe). The curtain hung on large metal
(a

rings that slid easily along the front curtain rod. The cabinet stood on
four caster wheels that allowed it to be effortlessy pulled fotward to
surround the barrel and then shoved upstage out of the way a momerlt
1 969 pab/ici4t pidare for later.
D o aglas dz A Ile n fea tu i ng
their Strbsinior Barrel i//tr-
The wooden lid had three hasps that enabled it to be secutely
sion. Photo: Jasper l{utler. Iocked to the barrel. The locks and hasps in no way intetfered with
the opening of the trap.

To save time the pole was preset through the centet

of the barrel. As the barrel u'as lifted up and carried
downstage it was turned sidewavs. A good hard push
sent the barrel spinning around the pole. With our free
hands we v/ere able to slap each side and the bottom
demonstrating its soliditr The barrel'was set down with
the front bunghole facing the audience and the pole was
remor.ed. Stan jumped inside and disappeared down into
the barrel as I placed the lid on top. After the locks were

17
fastened in place I picked up the key that was hanging from a metal
ring (actually a single ring from a set of five-inch Linking Rings).
Stan's f,nger emerged through the hole providing me with a conveni-
ent place to hang the key ring. The ring was in fact not hanging on his
finger but from a small finish nail that had been driven pat way into
the barrel just above the hole. By holding his finger against the
top of the hole and moving it back and fotth he was able to
swing the ring back and forth. This bit of business provided
evidence that Stan was indeed inside the batrel and it kept
the key temporarily within the audience's view and out of out
reach. Stan's other hand had aheady unhooked the lock
on the trap and was teady to push it open at exactly the
tight moment.
I pulled the curtained cabinet forward until it sut-
tounded the barrel and stepped inside. As I pulled the
curtain closed Stan could hear the metal rings
slide along the cuttain rod and the stage
light that had been visible through the hole
was extinguished. This was his cue to pull
his finger back into the barrel and push
the trap open as he stood up.ITith Stan
positioned toward the teat of the bartel
there was room fot me to step up or1

the exposed edge of the barrel towatd

the ftont. Ftom the chest up I was
clearly visible above the front curtain.
It appeared to the audience that I had
climbed up onto the barrel and was
standing on the lid. I was actwally positioned
eight inches lower than I should have been (due
to the trap being raised) but this fact was not
to the audience. While still holding
^pparent
the trap open, Stan stepped out of the barrel
as I counted, "one... two".
We now found ourselves in that most
desitable situation. The audience believes
that at the count of "three" the trick
will commence and they can statt

38
 Tn luwrrwnn Dr,pprL

their mental timers to see how long this escape is going to take. The
image they have in theit mind is that Stan is locked in the barrel rn'ith
his f,nger sticking out through the hole and that I am standing on top.
This does not even resemble the true situation. The truth is that 90%o
of the work necessary to accomplish this trick is already done.
After countiflg "two" I pulled my feet together and dropped
straight down into the barrel. When my feet hit the bottom I bent my
knees and continued down into a crouched position. I kept one of
my hands above my head so I could help guide the trap (which Stan
immediatety tipped forward) accutztely and quietly into its closed
position. At the same time the index fnger of my opposite hand was
inserted through the hole. While still closing the trap, Stan's other
hand was aheady reaching for the curtain. When it was snapped open
the audience saw the tid of the barrel still locked in place, my finger
presumably holding up the key ring and Stan walking forwatd out
of the cabinet. He retrieved the "key riflg," unlocked the locks and
removed the lid, allowing me to leap out of the barrel.
As we rehearsed the routine the switch became veqr f251' rilre even
came up with a different presentation to help point up the speed. In-
stead of hanging the key ring on Stan's finger I took it into the cabinet
with me. Standing on top of the bartel I held the ring over my head
and on the count of "two" I tossed the ring into the air. As it went up,
I disappeared behind the curtain. Stan was able to sflap the curtain
open and catch the key ring before it hit the ground. The flying key
ring gave the audience something to watch during the one second of
the routine when there was nothing else to watch but we eventuzlly
stuck with the ring on the finger bit.
Thete was one ptoblem, howevef, that we nevef contemplated and
that was the fact that we were both white guys, standing six-feet one-
inch tall, with dark brown hair,weartng black tuxedos. The fact that
we wore different colored shirts did little to reinforce the fact that
these tu,o guys actuall), changed places. Siegfried & Roy did every-
thing thev could to look as different as possible while we seemingly
did evervthing we could to look like identical twins. I can imagine the
audience thinking... "!(/hat happened?"
That being said, I liked the trick when we built it in 1969 and I
(Opp o :i te) Lo ng B e a clt $i cs'

1 9 69 lr's Amazrng S hou'. ^,b, still like it today. It was included in my 1981 book Magicome$tbutI
Photo: Tory O'Ktrrt. wouldn't sa1, that this led to a run on brandy casks. One magician who
 Ilt [upnrunn Drrnpn

did recognize its value was my good friend and fellow Long Beach
Mystic Mark I(alin. Mark recently revived the illusion and when he
and his beautiful wife Jinger change places, no one asks, "\Thathap-
pened?"
Many years ago Mark was doing three shows a day at I(nott's Berry
Farm & Ghost Town, a popular amusemefltpark here in Southern
California. In keeping with the ghost town theme, the trashcans locat-
ed in front of the theater tesembled wooden barrels. This would have
been fine except for their unique design. On more than one occasion
the audience watched Mark close his act with the Substitution Barrel
only to walk outside to see a m^tflten nce man emptying a trash can.
The top of the barrel (down to the second band) was raised up and
the plastic garbage bag was removed. A new bag was inserted and the
ttap closed; an exzct replica in method and effect of Mark's closing
illusion. The only saving grace u/as that audiences don't generally pzy
attention to trashcans, maintenaflce men dont pay attention to magic
shows, and magicians love having gre t story to tell from their life in
^
the trenches.

(Right) Eue5, tine a Knott's Berry Farnt

trash can is enptied, tlte Stb:tiltrtiat
Barrel illtrion it exposed.
Pbata: Tina ltnei.

(Oppo:in) )Iark Kalin and Jinger atitb

their S trbstitution Barrel.
Phota: kS. Hooper.

4t
 .f
* I
,..
1;)
tb

4-
r.l

ll'brkiry a le/econttttlittrtirtns .rhon' dtritry tlte ear/1' / 970.r. Pltolo: .\'tet'e ,\[cKa1.
 y mqor in college was television and radio production though I
had no intention of pursuing either of those fields upon gradu-
ation. I was determined to make m),living in the magic busi-
ness butwasn't quite sure how. The thought of performing for drunks
in a nightclub at midnight didn't hold much appeal. Remember, this
was at a time before Doug Henning single-handedly created the magic
boom wtth Tbe Mogrt Show on Broadwal, and before the explosion
of comedv clubs across the countrl'. Options for a l.oung magician
seemed limited. Or so I thought.
Tiwo 1.eats into m\r college education I spent the summer dtiving
across the United States with ml, brother Rob in his 1958
Volkswagen bus. To sa,v it was a budget vacation is an under-
statement. \We traveled, slept and cooked in the bus fot five
weeks. M1'onlv stipulation was that I had to be in Colon,
N{ichigan on August 19 for the start of Abbott's Get To-
gether because I had been booked to perform m)'thim-
ble act. I have fond memories of sitting backstage with
Senator Crandall and Dornl', the stage manager,watching
NIike Caldwell open the show r,vith his famous front flip.
This grar.ity'defi.ing, earth-shaking stunt is the only
thing mt'brother remembers about the entire show.
The next afternoon in Colon's elementarv school
Bud Dietrich gar..e a lecture on performing magic at
industrial shows. I sat in the bleachers as Bud laid my
future out before me. As I walked outside into Co-
lon's hot steamv air I felt like I finallr'had something
that I could direct mv magical efforts tor,vard. Bud became a

good friend who was alwavs helpful and encouraging to a )'oung man
who r,vanted to join his ranks.
Upon returning home I still had tu'o vears left at California State
\ei/ F'osterftaltrred n5' tltinb/e act on

tl.te cat'er of 'I-ops nngaiitte, Decettber

Unir.ersitv at Long Beach. During the next summer I got a job work-
/ 970. P1tono' 11,,, Hanring ing in the magic shop at I(nott's Berrv Farm where I met an outgoing
Mtuhvnw Wonomt

close-up magician named Steve Mcl(ay. \We hada fun summer selling Surnmerof '71 Mike (in C1p:1
nstume) producet Denise Cancino
magic to toutists while planning the cteation of our own company,
from an Owen Magtc Doll Hoase
Magical Ptomotions. Can't imagine where we got our name though in the magic sbop at Knoltl Berrlt
Matk Wilson did have a company called Magical Ptoductions. Rather Farnl Clpyt Camp.

than selling individual magicians to companies Magical Ptoductions

specialized in large-scale presentations that featured customized illu-
sions designed specifically for atrade show situation. \We decided to
offer both: an amazing illusion that featarcd a live magician. \We spent
most of our spare time and all of out money that summet building the
Amaztng Mechanic al Merlin.

The cabinet was divided into two sections. On the tight u/as an
atay of electronic circuit boards and on the left a fantastic mechani-
cal do-nothing machine made up of gears, cams, pistons and other
moving parts. I call it fantastic without reservation because we had
nothing to do with its creation. A mechanical engineer with abilities
far beyond ours built the machine around a set of right-angle mitrors.
At enormous expense we purchased ftont-surface mirtots (the silver-
ing on the front of the glass). This means that there is no glass (and
therefore no distortion) between the physical object and its reflection.

44
 Tpr,or faow Acr

When a. gear was placed at a 45-degree angle tight next to the mir-
ror it was verv easy to believe that the teeth of the teal gear and the
reflected gear were meshing as they turned. If a rod was positioned
perpendicular to the mirtot it appeared to extend all the u/ay to the
back of the cabinet .If an upright piston rod had reverse printing on
the backside the words would be not be visible from the front. The

(Aboue) What we uisualiqed tn our

ntinds. Artpork: Pau/ Batler

(B,igbt) Mike poset in the alntost

conp le ted An a Ting Me ch a n i ca /
Merlin. Pboto: Steue MRa1,.

4\
Mwr hvqurv /lnt,pr,r

The machine an tbe left is

buib aronnd the ruirrors. To
tbe igbt are thefake elec-
tronics. Photo: Steue McKay

rod in the reflection however would different from any other

^ppear
rod due to the legible writing running down its length.
A horizontal black stripe tunning across the middle of the mirror
compartment from front to back is visible in the photo above. The
reflection of the side stripes makes tt r as if the stripe continues
^ppe
across the back of the cabinet. This simple black line dtamatically ac-
centuates the depth of the cabinet. You can see the difference by look-
tng^t the photograph on the previous page that was taken before the
Iine was added. The first time I remembet seeing this stripe ptinciple
used in coniunction with a mirror was in the Mystic Vanishing Box
(miniature Protean Cabinet) that was part of the Sneaky Pete Magic
Set I teceived as a kid. I revisited this effective optical enhancement
thitty-fout years later when I built the basket for my Del Adelphia
Egg Bag.
When a magician stood in the space behind the mitrors his totso
seemed to be perched directly above the machinery. AI1 of the moving
parts seemed to be operating the half man that was resting on top of
the cabinet. The AmazingMechanical Medin (Steve or myself) could
perfotm magic andf or demonstrate a product. We were convinced
that our genius device would take the business world by storm and we
would soon be dazzhng audiences wotldwide.
A frequent customer to the I(nott's Berry Farm magic shop ended

46
 fBrrtlr luow Ao

up being our first trade show client. He loved the idea of delivering
a corporate message using magic and dutifully came to see our "ulti-
mate device." He was very complimentary toward our ingenuity and
hard work and then said something like, "How bout if you boys iust
do the magic without the machine?" Fade to black.
Of course he was right. The A.mazing Mechanical Medin'was a

huge and heavy and delicate and imptactical machine. We reluctantly

hauled our creation over to Owen Magic Supteme and showed it to
o$/ner Les Smith who was quite impressed with the mirror illusion.
Ultimately we traded our prop to Les fot some custom built equip-
ment that was far more suitable fot trade show work including a table
that had a jumbo Crystal Card Catch built into it. This practical prop
was built by then-Owen empioyee Bill Schmeelk who today heads
Wellington Enterprises, a company that specializes in custom-built
illusions.
Three months aftet graduation I did my fitst trade show and stayed
Our new trade shou table caald
be uslonirydfor eacb netv rlicnl.
in the business for the next ten years. From the very beginning Steve
Photo: Steue McKE. and I knew that working a trade show was a one-man job but we
thought it would be advantageous to learn the business
together. Aftet a couple of years we agreed to split our as-
sets, divide out clients, and wotk ofl ouf o'u/n.
The table produced by Owen Magic was perfectly
suited to trade show work. Built into it was a sliding cover
that could be locked closed thereby preventing anyone
from touching the props when I was awa1, ftom the
booth. A set of plastic letters allowed the company's name
to be applied to the front of the table suggesting that I
was actualll, part of the company ruther than just a hired
hand.
I normalll, opened m), show (iike so many trade show
performers of that time) with the Linking Rings. This is a
loud and flashy stage trick that can safely be perfotmed in
a close-up situation. Just the noise was enough to get some
folks to stop walking and then handing someone a sin-
gle ring or a chain of two effectiveiy forced them to stay.
Once a small crowd had formed others came over to see
what thev were missing.It's amazing what a curious lot we
humans are.
0ATA ltl''00Elts
Btxgu

If there were few folks walking the floor I would use close-up Once tbe monel landed on tbe table
and the soand wa: banped ap tbe
magic to gather a crowd. The close-up that I perform today I leatned
crowd was locked in.
under fre on trade show floors around the country. I leaned toward
proven classics: Miniature Invisible Deck that was switched out fot
Bro. Hamman's Micro Macfo, McDonald's Aces, Ambitious Card,
Card to Wallet, and whatever else I happened to be playing with at the
time. I would say there is no better place to learn the classic force than
at a trade show
Once the crowd was deemed sufficiently latge I would use two
techniques to lock them in. I would ask the spectators to all step in
a little closer as I turned up the volume slightly on my sound system'
I always marveled at how that slightly-enhanced volume effectively
blocked out all other distractions and locked in the spectator's attention.
Amplified sound at a trade show can be very tricky. If a neighboring
booth f,led a complaint about excessive sound or that your crowds
were blocking the aisle, the show management had the power to close
you down. I always went out of my way to make friends with my
neighbors knowing that my survival literally rested in their hands.

40
 lprlmlnoitl Acr

The other technique involved money. A ttade show floot offers

plenty of distractions. People waiking down the aisle are bombarded
with sights and sounds that are begging fot their attention. Most live
petformers can grab their attention momentatily but holding their
attention long enough to deliver an entire sales message is the teal
trick. I found money to be a petsuasive lure. On one side of a Himber
lTallet I carried a one hundred-dollar bill (during the 1970s $100 was
vety effective bait) and on the other side a giant one-dollat bill that
had been folded to fit.

ri-tE Splii *t{H

For alay audience of catds that has been chopped in half

a deck
is an extremely unusual and funny looking prop. Bob Haskell's Split
Deck is exactly that with eachhalf card being a roughed pait with the
top half-card being a force card. In the normal handling one half of
the deck is spread and a spectator is invited to touch one of the halves.
The selected card (pait) is separated and one half of the force card is
set dou/n in front of him. Then the other half of the deck is spread
and a second spectatof is invited to touch a card. He too has a ftee
choice because any card he touches will be a fotce card. As before,
this pair is separated and the selection is set down in front of him.
When the selections are shown they ptove to be two halves of the
same catd.
I introduced the deck by saying, "I tecently asked a fellow to cut
this big deck of cards and before I could stop him he pulled out a
meat cleaver and cut it right in half. I didn't argue with the fellow
because he was holding a meat cleaver." I pulled out both halves of
the Split Deck and spread each half showing that it was a
^pp^rendy
normal deck that had been chopped in two.
Holding up the hundred-dollar bill I would explain, I'ae been trying to
giue this mlneJ awE all dry withoat success. I guus picking matching habu out of thi:
duk is harder than I thoagltt. So thefolks here at [name of company] haue granted
me No longer will1ou haue to select mahhing haluu. I
permission to change the rules.

am going to giue this mznu dwdJ 'f someone can pick an1 two halues that don't rnatcb.
Thatl rigpt, there are fffl-zne wa)s to win and on! one wa1 to lose.

49
 The hundred bucks u/as returned to the wallet, the wallet was
closed and placed on the table.
The f,rst selection was placed into my breast pocket where it re-
mained in view of everyone. And now the second ha$ Cboose wise! fltoa
After giving them ample opportunities
want to win the monel in the wallet.
to change their mind, the second half was settled on. Finally the two
halves were shown and miraculously they were seen to be a perfect
match. Once agatfi,I kept the money.

The effect of having a selected card appear

between two sheets of glass that have been
rubber-banded together is very strong. Normal-
ly it requires a rather strange looking piece of
apparatus but we were able to have the mecha-
nism (a springJoaded lever that ejects a jumbo
card up through a slot in the tabletop) built into
our table. During most of the act this slot was
covered by the close-up pad and during the
performance of the Crystal Card Catch it was
covered by the metal upright that supported the
pieces of glass. The polished aluminum upright
was kept in a holder under the table. At the start
of the routine the close-up pad was pulled back
about an inch so that two pegs on the bottom Otrr rnston-btri/t tab/e bad tbe CU,s/a/ Card Catch ruecbantsnt
brih into it.
of the upright could be dropped into corre-
sponding holes in the tabletop. The glass plates were freely shown
and, as they were placed into the upright holder, two pins were fotced
between the sheets of glass. These pins imperceptibly held the bottom
corfier of the glass apart about a sixteenth of an inch. This narrow
opening was positioned directly above the slot in the tabletop. Then
a white cloth with a black border was laid ovet the glass plates. The
black border made the cloth smallet than it actually was. The
^ppeal
bottom edge of the cloth didn't actually rcach the tabletop so if you
were watching that space, and didn't blink, you might actually see the
card fly by. But I made sure they weren't looking thete.

50
 lpr,rlr lnow Acr

(Abot'e) 'I-lte .lp/it Deck ard Cp,sta/ Card Catclt prot'ed to be a gaod

corubinatiott.

'tlte rlotb cou/d baL,e lung a// the t,a;, don,n to the table top bat I
@fi)
preferred to /eat'e solrc lPeil qdce and sinQ!' dirert their alletttion an,a1
f"on tbis gap n,lten tbe card u'a.r tigercd.

When the mechanism was triggered the jumbo card shot straight
up out of the table and became lodged between the glass plates. This
jumbo card matched the Split Deck's force card and it had a blank
back that allowed us to print the company name on the back. The
problem of the audible "click" produced b,v the mechanism being trig-
gered was solved in an extremely low-tech manner.

Ercr it rr c/ose-tp .ritmtiol

tlse C5'sta/ Card Catcb t'itlt
s too d rep e a le d t'i en'i rg.r.
Mtr Gvnw i/ononr

The trigget w.as a cord that extend-

ed to the back of the table and passed
right across the inside corner. nfith-
out having to look, my fingets could
feel the corner of the table, dip inside
and press the cotd against the cotner.
This f,red the card and produced the
"click." During a line of patter such
as, "The odds of choosing two match-
ing halves are a million to one." On
the wotd "million" I would toss the
boxed deck into the au and it landed
on the table with a
,.TH\X/AI(".That
"TH\7AK" always covered the "CLICI(".
At the end of the Split Deck I would say, lJa/ onfi did I knowlow were
going to pick matcbing halues, I knew thel would be the lforce card]. I also knew

1ou wouldn't belieae me so I broaght some proof, It s right under tbis cloth. I'm
surprisedloa didn't notice it before. Sealed up between these two sheets of glass is
the lforce card].
The cloth was removed revealing the matching card.
Batfor being sach a good sport I'm going to giuelou the monel in the wallet
anlwdJ.
The wallet was opened to the other
side and the giant dollat bill was
pulled open and given away.
Jast remember whereloa got it. R,XO,U
Here I would lift the glass plates
out of the upright and flip them over
revealing the name of the company
and indicate who they could talk to
for more information about their
products ot services.
I used the Split Deck/Card Catch
combination for a few years but even-
(top) The soand of tbe deck landing on tbe tabh couered the vand
tually found myself working repeat of tbe Cry:tal Card Catcb mechanism being trigered.

dates fot the same companies. For

@otton) The blank back of tbe jambo card was pinted with the
this reason, and fot my ou/n sanity, I comPanJ) ndrue.

started seatching for a new ciosing effect.

57
 lprlw lnow Acr

, .t.,1 -'1r",- .:"il'',!,

One thing I learned about trade show routifles is that they have to
withstand multiple viewings. It often seemed as if some of these busi-
nessmen had nothing else to do other than go watch the magic show.
That was just one of the reasons why I decided to make Anverdi's I(ey
Chest the new finish to my pitch. I notmally steer clear of electronic
apparatus but in this case I made
afl exception. The few times it
failed to work as planned the ptob-
lem could always be traced back to
operator error. The effect is basi-
cally the Seven I(eys to Baldpate
and it lent itself to my offer of giv-
ing away one hundred dollars. The
keys wete kept in a plastic box with
a sliding top. This box normally
sat on the table neat the chest but
I didn't like having another object
cluttering up my stage. It couldn't
be discarded because the position
of the sliding top determined if
a key would or would not open
the chest. When the top was slid
open to a specific point a transmit-
ter inside the box would send a
radio signal to the treasute chest
instructing it to allow the next key
to open the lock.'When the lid
was mol,ed out of this position, no
key would open the box. I care-
fully mounted the key box inside
m), table. It was positioned so that
(top) Key are sltoun u.,ithoripinted ke1, tags. Ant'erdiJ clercr aethad a/-
puforta the ruuline tvithout et'er torcltiry tlte cltest or tlse kg's.
lowed me to
the lid could be opened enough
that I could drop keys into it but
(Bottoru) Moanted inside tlte tal.tle is ilte box lo ltold tlte ke-1s. Slidingtlte lid
none of the keys would unlock the
all the ua1 to the left actit'ated ilte hnrsnilter. Tlte shirg risible at tlte left is
the trigerfor tbe Crystal Card Catrlt. chest. When I was down to one last

55
key the iid was slid open as far as it could go (until it hit the side of .\'utt ltere i.r tfu t4 lnrgirg rtlf tbe
/od1's kq'.'l'lte Kg' Clte.rt in ilr prt-
the table) putting it in the correct position to send the signal. People
lirttrs pltolo.t rul tty, ltrk-trf cltest.

standing at the sides could see into the table and see that the box was 'l'ltt ltltre Kt1 Cht.rl .reet lttrt (rrtt

filling up with ket's as the routine progressed. It seemed perfectly logi- urlitr t er.riott tttdt 14' Andrvrrli)
i.r ilte ont I treed itt lttndred.r of
cal when, w'ithout er.en looking, I slid the box oPen a bit further near per-fbntarrr. I ltale mt idet n'14' I
the end. trlt torrtl-tit4q tl.te ltax ar il.te key.

The one small addition I made to Anverdi's chest was to add

springs to the hinges. Now rvhen the lock was unlocked instead of
having to reach over and lift the lid to show that it was unlocked, the
lid would automaticalll'spring open. This would simultaneousl-v indi-
cate that I had won the contest and cue the applause.
I used fir,e ke),s, and tied to each one was a tag printed with a mes-
sage or sales point. As each kev was shown and laid on the tabie I was
 lpnm iuaw ircr

able to talk about the message that it carried. The keys were always
referred to by theit tag names.
When the company was giving away little tchotchkes I wouid lock a

bunch of them inside the treasure chest. And lastly, the hundred-dol-
lar bill and the giant folded bill wete loaded into the Himber Wallet.
\When my crowd was deemed sufficiently latge I would invite them to
move in a little closer, tufn up the volume, and bring out the money'
They were hooked.
The tteasute chest v/as set on the table and the lid was closed. I
held all five keys by the tags and then used one key to lock the box
(any key would do so).
I will lock ap this treasare chest and I'm boping tbat no one ruoticed which ke1
I used to lotk the chest because that is the same ke1 that unlocks the chest. I'm
going to pass then key out to people in our aadience and whoeuer gets the ke1 that

unlocks the chest wins tbe monel in the wallet. That's igh[ one luc,bg person is go-

ing to go home with this cash. I'll leaae the monel right here and I wantlou to keep
Jlar eJe on the wallet. Arything happens to tbe monel and itlyurfault. lYe can

tell these key apart because each one has a dffirent tag on it. For instance this one

sqr....
This is when I would show each tagand talk about the message
that was printed on it before I set it on the table.
Now since I am the one putting ap the monel I tbink it s onltfair tbat I shoald
baue at least one chance to winAnd I'm happl to take the ke1 that /10 olte
it back.

else wants. After a// oflou haue madelour choices I'll take the leftouer key

One at a time four spectators were invited to select a key and as

each one did I again commented on the tag message. Once all the
choices were made I offered to trade my key with any of the ke1, hold-
ers just in case they were having second thoughts. Whether they did
or didn't always resulted in plenty of laughs. Once ever)rans was happy
I left my key in full sight on the table. One at time each contestant
^
would step forward and try their key while I agatn talked about the
sales point printed on their tag. Hope tutned to resignation as each
key failed. Between trials I would check the wallet to make sure that
the money was still there and give my waliet-watcher the eye. \When
there was one spectator left I would again offer to trade keys. When
they did it made the finish even stronger. Finalh'their ke1' failed to
open the chest and all e,ves immediateh, turned tov/ard my key.
IYell, since none oflour key opened the box' that means that m1 ke1 has to be

55
Mur (avnw fl/otnnt

the right one s0 De don't eaen haue to try it. Bat I want to thank euerlonefor stick-
ing around so I could telfuou a bit about [the prodact]. Iflou baue an1 qaestions

pleasefeelfree to ask an1 of our salesmenfor more information.

No one moved an inch. Someone usually said, "Yeah, I've got a
question. Lets see if your keywotks." I always dragged this out fur-
ther than was riecessary. Noloa don't understand. Since thue key didn't
work that mearus this HAS to be the right key It soon became apparent that
no one was leaving until my key opened the chest. Ok,foryoa non-be-
lieaers. I don't euen want to touch m1 key By now I had dropped the fourth

spectator's key into the box and slid the lid open. Yoa pick ap m1 ke1
andyu put it in the lock. Tarn it all the wa1 around to the rigbt. The lid dra-
matically popped open. IYell what dolou know, I win again. You know Ifeel
bad winning back m1 own rulne). How 'boat f we diuide wp the mortel between
tbefour ke1 holders? That wq euerJzne is a I had opened
winner By now
the Himber Wallet to the opposite side and temoved the large bill. I
accused the wallet-watcher of falling down on the job as I handed the
giant bill to the person who opened the chest. Then each participant
got a tchotchke out ofthe chest.
Occasionally people would hang around after the show and finally
say,"Carr I try your key?" I would of course let them and they would
wander off shaking their heads. More often than not they would be
back for next show and when there were iust two keys left they would
blurt out, "Try your key next." They were convinced that it was the
last key that always opened the chest. I would stutter and stammet
and ptotest and then fi,nally relent. When my key still worked they
would stagger off until their next theory was fully formed. The next
time they would lift the chest up off the table and try the key, think-
ing that the location of the chest had something to do with it. That
was the great thing about Anvetdi's I(ey Chest. I never had to touch
anything on the table. The chest could withstand countless viewings
and disprove every theory.
At one electronic show out booth wasin the farthest teaches of
the convention center and it took houts for anyone to f,nd us. The
comPany executives wefe tfying to figure out a way to genefate some
excitement about what was going in our booth. I suggested that we
actually do give av/ay mofley and for the rest of the week instead of
being filled with tchotchkes the treasute chest was filled with silver
dollars that I g ye aw^y by the handful. Money rcally does talk.

56
 Jumpltte Srnnw
In 1998 I was a

l*;rr.This isn't
lgooa exercise,
theory of taking a proven ttick and disguising it to look like a brand
new ttick.
Austtalia's Charles Waler cteated a stage il]usion called Ttansmog-
dfication whetein aboy in a standing position is wrapped up in a large
cloth. Upon unwrapping him, the boy has transformed into a gir1. The
aftet-dinnet vetsion of this effect involves a cloth napkin and a knife.
The knife is tolled up in the napkin and upon pulling the napkin
open, the knife is found to have changed into a spoon. Both tricks are
good and both are accomplished using the same clever method.
Technically, both effects are ttansformations but no one teally
thinks that the boy is transformed into a gict any more than they
believe that the molecules of the knife rcananged themselves into the
shape of a spoon. The audience is mote likely wondering where the
boy (or knife) went and where the gitl (ot spoon) came from. In the
Jumping Straw, nothing vanishes and nothing appears so the sPecta-
tors are less likely to be looking for a hiding place. A sttaw is removed
from its paper wrapper and both are rolled up in a napkin. When the
napkin is pulled open the strav/ is found to have "jumped" back inside
its wrapper.

let Up

Due to the nature of this routine and the items tequired for its
performance, it is best suited to a restaurant tfter the dtinks have zt-
tived. Unbeknownst to your dining companions you must secure ari
extra strav/ and, sutteptitiously in your lap, tear an inch of the paper
wrapper off of one end. This should be done well in advance of the
petformance. Fig. 1.

57
lrlwr (tvnw Wotont

Before any mention is made of your perfotm-

ing a trick, spread your napkin out on the table
in front of you with the prepated straw hidden
underneath. There are undoubtedly many clever
ways of accomplishing this but the best stratagem
is to just do it when no one is looking. The straw
should be parallel to the back edge of the table and
the napkin should be positioned diagonally with
one corner hanging off the rear edge of the table. Fig.l A one-incb piece of wrapper is tornfroru one end.

Ideally, the hidden straw should be in line with the

left and right cotners of the napkin. Leaving a few
wrinkles in the napkin will help camouflage the
straw hiding undetneath. During this set-up make
note of which end has the wrapper torn off.

Ftg. 2. Tbe straa is inJront of tbe duplicate straw underneath napkin.

When the beverages are delivered to the table
take a strau/ and tear an inch of wrapper off of one
end. Only when you are removing the straw ftom
the wtapper do vou direct everyone's attention to
it. "Hey, this is one of those jumping stra\r/s. \Watch
this." The stfaw and the wrapper are set onto the
napkin directly in front of the hidden straw under-
neath. Make sure that the torn end is pointing the
same direction as the hidden straw underneath.
trig.2. trig. ). Tbe hidden stran,and uitible shaw dre wrapped in tbe napkin.

With yout fngers in ftont and your thumbs be-

hind, pinch both straws together and begin tolling
them toward the front of the table. Figs. 3.
Continue rolling until the rolled up napkin rolls
ovet the ftont corner. The ftont cotner will reap-
pear behind the toll and become the new back
corner. The former back corner will flip over the
top of the toll and become the new front corner.
Fig.4.
Fig. 4. Continae u.,rapping until the tul coruers change positions.
By transposing these tw.o corners you have

50

I'ig. 5. The transposed napkin corners arc ptrlled
L'Q. 6. Tbe tan strau.'s dild il)t"dPPerc ltarc cltanged p/rtres.
LQ. 7. I'be hidden $rua' and lrapper are n'added tp
.;tl a.ride.
)umnm frpnll
effectively turned the napkin upside down. By
pulling the front and back corners aPzfi the n^P-
kin will unroll revealing the previously hidden
straw inside the u/rapper. Figs. 5 and 6.
The still-sep^rate straw and wraPper will be
hidden beneath the napkin. If you pull the nap-
kin open sharply the top straw will iump a few
inches up into the au, making it zppear as if this
open.
straw jumped back inside the wrapper.
As you hand the straw to a sPectator, pinch
the hidden straw and loose wrapper thtough
the napkin and fold them in half as you slightly
crumple the napkin and set it aside. Fig. 7.
After a suitable amount of time the napkin can
be placed in your lap. Eventually the duplicate
strav/ and wrapper can be extracted ftom the
napkin and slipped into yout pocket so that ulti-
mately your napkin can be left on the table clean.
\Well, not clean, but ungimmicked.
o=--B
it tbe tapkit and
59
 Iur l{nIuu (nnu

or a 1995 close-up show in Germany I Put together this tou-

tine that included anidea from my friend Greg Manwating. It
was Greg (the talented atist who illustrated the edition of Dai
Vernon's Revelations that I published in 1984) who gave me the idea
of performing the Invisible Deck using 52 decks of cards. I liked
this suggestion not just because it was crazy idea, but also because
^
it completely changed the standard effect. Instead of being a mind
reading effect, it became an impossible guessing game where a specta-
tor miraculously beats the eflormous odds against him. Reworking
another old classic ttick and combining the two resulted in a different
and memorable toutine.
The opening trick of my act vras sticking a qtr^tter to my forehead.
This isn't rcally a trick at all; the coin just sticks to your head unless
yout skin is as dry as toast. It does look silly but it is hardly gre t
^
ttick and the lack of audience re ctTon will prove this.
First, a sinple trick thatlou can all try at home. It's a coin that sticks tolour
head. No, it's not a magnetic coin sticking to a steel plate in m1 head. That would
be too eas1. Tbis is magic. Sometimu it takes a whilefor the ffict to sink in. Thel

haae allotted me fifteen minutes for ru1 show and I'm prepared to use all of it riglt
here.

The false explanation is what turns it into a real trick and ptovides
a laugh. In the standard version of this trick, a large narl is soldered
onto ofle side of the coin. This nail coin is held in finget palm and, as
you remove the ungimmicked coin from your forehead and drop it on
the table, it is Bobo Switched for the nail coin.
Ob forget it. I can't belieue I'm getting a splitting headache.
I liked this opening because this is how a complete idiot might
accomplish this trick if he knew absolutely nothing about magic. It
would be an effective method but the audience doesnt believe for a

second that this is how you actually did it.

In ordet to incorporate this coin into my next effect I had to make
a totally different version of the nail coin. A tecess was machined into
Mn Gvnrv Womnt

the back of a quarter just big enough and deep

enough to hold three vety powetful alnico mag-
nets. \$7hen the magnets were epoxied into place
they were exactly even with the surface of the coin.
trig.1.
A roofng nail is made of steel and has a huge
flathead, which made it perfect to use with my
nail coin. The head of the nail was sanded smooth
to provide maximum adhesion to the magnet and Ftg. I Tltree ilnJyetl are enbeddedfu.rls n,itlt the back of the cain.

its latge size completely covered the magnets. The

magnets held this nail so frmly in place that the
gimmicked coin could be confidently dropped into
a spectatof's hand.
As the nail coin was removed from my pocket
the nail was gripped between my middle and ring
fingers which allowed me to slide the coin off the
nail. Once the coin was removed ftom my fore-
head it was replaced on the nail head and momen-
F'tg. 2 T/)e nagnetic coin is rep/aced on tlse nail head.
tarily displayed to the audience. Figs. 2 and 3.
Then the coin is dropped on the table and the
nail is tevealed. Fig. 4.
I carry that coin witb me beruase it's a lackl min. lYho-
euer touches it is guaranteed to haue good lack. Oh, I don't
expectlou to belieue mq so I'll proue it. Is tbere someone

bere who woald like to participate in a good luck experi-

ment? Good. Herq hold onto m1 luckl coin. Sarefiyu will
belieae me if one oflour own is able to demonstrate a stroke

of anbelieuabfi good luck. Arelow a card playr? Ftg. ) Tlte reassenbled cain is c/eatfi shou,n.
From an old leather doctor's bag 52Invisible
Decks are poured onto the table which generates
an audible reaction. Fig. 5. The decks that tumbled
to the floor arc retrieved and retutned to the pile.
This is 52 decks of cards and each deck has one card
reuersed in the niddle.
Any deck is picked up, the cards are removed
from the box and spread. Near the middle one pait
is separated showing that apparcntly just one catd
is revetsed. The audience is allowed to see this t-tg. 4 The nail coin is dropped on tlte table.

67
 hrllutro (rlpo

card, then, leaving that card reversed, the cards

are squared, returned to the box and the box is
tossed back onto the pile.
There is a dffirent card turned apside-down irt eacb
deck. 52 decks... 52 cards. First, I will shtffie the cards.

Both hands are used to turn the decks over

like you are turning soil in a garden. During this
mixing process make sure that the sample deck
Fig.5 52 decks are poared onto the table. that was used to show a reversed card is thor-
oughly lost in the pile.
I need someone to name out load, one plajrug card. You si6 name a card. Fiue
of Spades. A fne choice. And so we don'tforget which card was named, I'l/ wse this
ofie as d reminden

The effect I wanted to achier.e here was to aPParcntly nail a catd

to my forehead using the nail coin. The slightly complicated method
I ended up using involved a steel deck of cards. They are sold under
the name of I{ing and they acnnlly are playing cards that have been
printed on thin pieces of metal. They are meant to be used on a mag-
netic playing sutface which ailows games to be played in moving cars
or planes without having cards sliding all over the place' Just looking
at them, you would never know they are steel.
A simpier method would be to have a small bit of magician's wax
on the tail (magnet) side of the coin. After the nail is detached ftom
the coin, the wax will allow the coin to be stuck to the middle of any
playing card.
The ICing deck or a regular deck (depending upon which method
you are using) is removed from your pocket and the named catd is re-
moved. This card is pressed against your fotehead but make sure that
it doesn't stick. One method fot this is to allow some of your hait to
get trapped between the card and your forehead. If the catd does stick
you cafl force it to drop off by raising your eyebrows or wrinkling
your forehead. After faiting a couple of times to stick the card to your
forehead you suddenly get a better idea.
Let me borrow that lackgt coin.
Taking the nail coin from the spectator you make it look iike the
nail is forced through the face side of the catd and ptessed flat agarnst
the card. \What you actually do is grip the nail between your middle
and ring f,ngers and then slide the coin off the magnet using yout

61
Mn Avnrv Wononr

thumb. Yout thumb remains on the coin as the

other hand slides the face-up card between the
coin and the nail. In this position the coin is
above the card and the nail is hidden under-
neath. Fig. 6.
The coin is slid to the middle of the card and
then two things happen together. Yout right
thumb nail is snapped off the edge of the card
producing an audible CLICK and the coin is Fig. 6 The thttrub pashes the min off of the nail head.

pressed flatagainstthe centet of the card.Frg.7.

The desited illusion is that the nail was
pushed through the card. The magnets in the
coin are strong enough to hold the nail against
the steel card. While you can't show the back-
side of the card due to the fact that the nail head
would show, you can hold the shaft of the nail
between your thumb and index f,nger and spin
the card. This is a vety convincing subtlety that
Ftg. 7 Tbe nail is apparent! pashed tbrougb the card.
reinforces the idea that the card has been im-
paled by the nail. Fig. 8.
After the spinning move the nail shaft is
detached from the back of the card. This is ac-
complished by tipping the nail over 90 degrees
which breaks the magnettc The card
^ttractton.
is raised up to your fotehead and yout closed
other hand (still holding the nail) acts as aham-
mer and strikes the coin. Fig. 9.
You will have no trouble keeping this card Fig. 8 .lpinning tbe nail creates tbe ilkrsion tbat tbe card is inpaled.
(and coin) on your forehead for the remainder of
the trick. Of coutse every one's skin is diffetent
so if this proves to be a problem, raise the card
up in front of your mouth then, as your other
hand moves your hair out of the way, touch your
tongue to the back of the card. This u/etness
should hold the card in place.
Not only is this card a constant teminder that
the selected catd is the Five of Spades, but the
sight of the nail apparently holding the card to Ftg. 9 Apparent! bamrueing the nail coin into m1 bead.

64
 hr llutm hpp

my head was a constant remindet that they were watching an

idiot. Fig. 10.
The hand holding the nail picks up the I{ing (or regular)
deck ofcards and deposits both in your coat pocket
Oh, here clme: mJ) headache again. OK mlfriend, one deck in this
pile has the Fiue of Spades reuersed in it. Yourjob, asing onfilour new!
acqaired lack, is to fnd it. Pick up ary one of those decks and good luck.
The spectator picks one deck at random and you should
always give him a chance to change his mind. If they do throw
it back and choose a different deck you can add afl extt^ bit of
Ftg. l0 Sffiringfor ry art. business. Pick up the discarded deck and say...
Oh, wouldru't it be terrible ifloajust tbrew back the winner?
Remove the cards, sptead them out and separate any P^tr that is not
the Five of Spades. After showing this card put the deck back into the
box and return it to the pile.
Sofar so good. He has eliminated all of these decks
and selectedjast one of 52 decks.
Hold the open doctor's bag just under the
table's edge and sweep all of the temaining decks
into the bag. Fig. 11.

The matbematical odds ofpicking the rigbt deck are a

million to one. OK, itJ one in 52 but still,1ou'ue got to be

pretfl darn luclg to pick the deck with the Fiue of Spades

Fig. 1 1 Chan ap the stage lxfore retealing the ruatching cards. reuersed. Of course toacbing m1 lucpt coin reduces those

odds to 50/50. You either did oryoa didn't.

Duting the previous line casually retrieve the nail from your pocket
and with the nail shaft held betrveen your fingers it is still possible
to take the selected deck, spread through the cards and separate the
p^u th^twill teveal the face-down Five of Spades. The face-down
catd is removed from the deck and the deck is tabled. \With considet-
able effort the hand with the nail pries the card off of your forehead.
Because of the magnetic attrzctton it is a simple matter to reattach the
nail to the back of the card allorving you to once again spin the nailed
card as you teveal the reversed card in rrour other hand. Needless to
say, the two cards match, proving that the lucky coin has done its job.
Magicians found this trick to be hilatious, not because of the gags,
but because I was willing to haul around 52 decks of cards for one
trick. Laymen found it just flat out amazing.

65

Peform ing T be Be n so n
in Lund, Sweden October 2008
P boto : Arto Ai ra ksi n
in my 81) and it
ectufe e afound I
ay abo omponents.
Roy Benson's routine originally appeared in print rn 1948 in the
SAM's parent assembly newsletter and within a few weeks it reap-
peared in Btuce Elliott's wonderful Phoenix magazine #1,56. Elliott
later tagged Benson's routine onto the end of his Cups and Balls chap-
ter rn Classic Magic 0953) but it wasn't until 2006 that Levent
Secrets of
expertly dissected this routine (and all of Benson's other magic) in his
comprehensive and inspiring tome Rol Benson fut Starlight.
It was Dai Vernon who always encouraged students of magic to
explore and question magic's rich literature, even that which had been
wtitten by the finest practitioriers of the art. This, he suggested, is
how magic evolves. I found Vernon's advice to be liberating, knowing
that it was OI( to tweak, edit and adjust routines that had served theit
creators very well for many years. It was with this mindset that I ap-
proached "It's Magic," which was the original name of the toutine we
know today as The Benson Bowl.
Benson's original toutine featured three visible sponge balls with
a foutth ball that'was never seen. I decided to simplify the routine by
eliminating one of the visible balls, resulting in a routine with two vis-
ible balls. Years latet, teading Rol Benson b1 Starhght,I learned that
^ftff
Roy had come to the same conclusion and reduced the visible numbet
of balls to two.
There are a couple of moves in Benson's routine that bothered me.
They are reminiscent of moves I learned from the desctiption of Dai
Vernon's Cups and Balls in The Dai Wrnon Book of Magic. Neat the end
of Vernon's routine he exposes a false placement as he explains that
it onl1,looks like he transfers the ball from one hand to the other.
He goes on to explain that as a cup is lifted, this ball is added to the
P hr nge r
balls that were alreadl, underneath it. I realize that the spectators will
e n. be fooled by many parts of the routine and that the f,nai large balls
6t
lrfutt Avnn Wonnnr

or fruit will come as a huge surprise but I also think that the spec-
tators will walk away believing that the secret to the trick involves
false transfers and secret additions. The reason they will think that is
because this is what the magrcian told them. They will surmise that
usually the magician did the moves fast enough or clever enough so
that they didnt catch him but one time he showed them exactly what
he was doing. The problem for me is that we really are doing false
transfers and secret additions. My preference is to not offet them this
line of thinking.
In the two-ball version of the Benson Bowl that is described tn Ro1
Benson @ StarlightRoy picks up a ball and while placing it into his other
hand he clumsilv acts like he is stealing it out. Then, while tutning the
bowl mouth down on the table, he acts as if he is clumsily loading the
ball into the bowl. He soon reveals that he acttally did place the ball
into his hand and that nothing was placed under the bowl. The ptob-
lem for me is this: the spectators will selectively remember your poor
execution of these sleights but not the fact that you later disproved
their assumptions.
Audiences cannot be expected to remember the exact order of
every sequence ofour routines. I know this to be ttue ftom years
of testing. Immediately after a show I will often ask a spectator to
describe exactly what happened during one or more of the routines.
Even though the effects can be easily described in a few wotds it is
astonishing how inaccurate their recollections can be even minutes
after the fact.I am reminded of the newspaper reporter who aftet
seeing my arm juggling routine and LinkingCoat Hangets u/rote
in his review, "Mike Caveney juggled coat hangers." To ptovide
a 1.000/o accutate description, a spectator would have to know the
secret to the trick, but it is still amazinghow many important details
they leave out or how many inctedible fabrications are added. Usuai-
ly their description is far more amaztng that what actually happened.
I prefer to riot provide them with any explanation for how the
trick was accompiished even rf that method is not the one I was us-
ing. If a spectator is presented with an explanation for how a trick
is done, they really dont cate tf that is the method that was actually
employed. Therefore, I always avoid having explanations (false or
otherwise) be part of my presentation. And with all of the above in
Ro1 Benson was the complete package -
trem en do ki llfu l, extre m e /1 reatiue,
usllt s

mind, I set out to create the Benson Plunger. and uerlfunnl. Photo: Matice Selmour

60
 The Benson Plunger is good examPle of taking a Proven
effect and disguising rt so it appears to be a new trick. It was
Duke Stern who suggested that Benson's original bowl and
wand could be replaced bv a plunger and its handle. I don't
believe that Duke ever tried this himself but rvas just throw-
ing out an idea. It rvas an idea that appealed to me on manv
ler.els. In buling a plunger at mv local hardware store I got
luckr'. I
settled on a model that had a short handle (designed
for sinks :izLthrcr than toilets), thinking that it rvould make a
more suitable magic wand. Because I was worried that some
people might find this prop to be unsanitarv I used a black
Sharpie to write a price onto the inside of the plunget. This
suggested that this particular plunger had not yet seen active
dutr'. \{'hat I did not vetrcalize was that the unique design
of the plunger would allow me to enhance Ror"s alread,v ef-
-l'ltr
trttiretv//1' /ot'rd l)trkt .\'ltnt.
fectir-e method.
This plunger had a pronounced lip around the bottom
inside edge of the bowl. I soon discovered that this lip rvas exactlY the
right shape and size to effectivelv grip a two-inch sponge ball. Fig.1.

'I'lte
FQ. / /ip itt thr plrtgrr.l)tti/itttt'l
il.tt rr.te rll ilte rttte-ol.,r,rd prirtiP/e.
Mur Gvnw Wmont

Even better was the fact that the retained ball extended slightly be-
low the bottom edge of the bowl. This meant that if the bowl was slid
iust an inch or two across a tablecloth or close-up pad,
the ball would be dislodged from its hiding place. It was
a petfect recipe fot the one-ahead principle. By having a

sponge ball concealed in my hand and merely grabbing

the plunger rim, the ball was almost awtomatically loaded
into the lip. Fig. 2.
Now the plunger could be held by the top and set dain-
tily onto the table. At any time the plunger could be lifted
straight up to show that thete u/as nothirig on the table
underneath. Then, as the plunger was set back down, it
could be surreptitiously slid an inch ot so across the table
sutface thus teleasing the bal1. The next time the plunget Fig. 2 The act of anscrewing tbe handle prouides the
perfect couerfor loadinga ball into the plungen
was lifted, the ball was revealed. With this powerful
methodology my disposal I now needed to create the
^t
proper moments to load the balls.

*iilrkT fifill+fYl&H

Many years ago I visited Albert Goshman's home in Lake View

Tetrzce, Californta and toured the sponge ball shop in his gar^ge.
As you might expect, it was a mess and I had no trouble spotting the
washing machine that was used to dye the balls since the once white
appliance was flov/ a bright shade of red. LaterI visited his much
larget shop in a commercial building. A1bert always cut his sPonge
with a hot wire cutting about eight balls ttme out of a rcctangalar
^t ^
bar of sponge. SThen his sponge empire was threatened by a machine
cteated byJim Ravel that produced sponge balls using sharp cut-
ting blades Albett did what was best for his business. He purchased
Jimmy's sponge ball business and shoved that cutting machine into
the cotner of his shop and never even plugged it in. And just like that,
Albett's domination of the sponge ball wodd was once tt\ secure.
^g
Secute until theJapanese came along with theit super-soft sponge. But
the one quality that no one else could dupiicate was Aibert's unique
personality. Going thtough customs and immigration at number
^fly
of airports I saw him generate howls of laughter and amazement as

70
 Albert Cosltntan knett' tltat tbe /illst ttiliqtte hotse-u'antitggfl be nt/d bitry
tr ))nr bir talettt. Here be i.r peibrning his tradettnrk act in tt5' library'.

sponges appeafed in the hands of these otherwise sefious govefnment

agents.
Getting product into foreign countries to sell was always a chal-
lenge. For me the problem wasn't iust bringinglarge quantities of
coins across international borders but bringingJohnson Ptoducts'
coins that in some cases were hollow and could be opened if you
knew the secret. N{ore than once the folks in customs thought they
had apprehended the head of a drug smuggling ring. Albert didn't
have such problems. Before lea'n'ing for an overseas convention he
would go to the Salvation Armv and bu,v a cheap dish for quar-
^
ter and a big old suitcase. Back home he would pack hundreds and
hundreds of sponge balls into the suitcase with the dish right in the
middle. He would have to sit on the suitcase in order to iatch it closed.
One can onlv imagine the scene at customs when the agent would
open this suitcase setting off an explosion of bouncing sponge balls.
Albert would explain that the dish had great sentimental value and
he couldn't risk having the airiine break it, thus the extreme pack iob.
The agents were undoubtedh'thinking, "this plate looks like it came
from the thrift shop" as thev struggled to cram hundreds of sponge
balls back into the suitcase and send Albert on his war'. Upon reaching
his hotel he rr,'ould unfold the sponge bail boxes, place four balls into
Mwr Avnrv li/otrlnt

each box and then toss the dish into the trash. By demonstrating his
sponge ball routine in his dealer booth he never failed to sell all of his
merchandise and usually found a buyer fot the suitcase as well. Arriv-
ing home empty-handed meant that Albert had had a ptofitable trip.
Oh how the magic world misses Albet Goshman.
During one of my visits to Albert's shop he gave me a big bag of
assorted balls, and for the Benson Plunger routine I selected three
2-inch balls.

Originally Roy Benson finished his routine by producing

a doughnut undet the bowl but latet he decided that having
a sponge ballappear in the spectator's hand was the strong-
est moment and dispensed with the doughnut. Having grown
up watching Don Alan's nnces on the Ed Sullivan and
^ppe
Johnny Carson Shows and seeing him finish routines by pro-
ducing a gra'nt riut or that lump of coal, I knew I wanted to
finish with a large surprising object under the plunger. At a flea
market I found alarge Excedrin tablet made out of plaster that
iust fit undet the plunger. Today I use a similar looking Ex-
cedtin tablet made out of plastic. It satisfies all the conditions
required by a fi,nal production item due to its size, shape, color
and weight being dramatically different than a sponge ball.
To set up for the routine the Excedtin tablet is pushed about
half way down into the Leftrcar pants pocket. The pocket is
Fig. ) 'I'be expoud ha/f of the giant Excedrin
tight enough to hold the pill securely in this position and the tablet in nry backpocket is couered b1 nry coat.

coat effectively covers the pill from all sides. Fig. 3.

The classic method for vanishing any small object consists of thtee
steps. First: place the obf ect ftom one hand into your other hand. Sec-
ond: create the moment of magic during which the object supposedly
vanishes.Third: open your hand to prove that the object has indeed
vanished. In the eyes of alayman, steps ofle and three are things that

77
thev themselves do on a dailv basis. Even babies, without anv practice
or knowledge, can pass an object from one hand to the other while
opening and closing their fingers around it. To the la1'ln":..an these two
steps are thotoughlv unremarkable. It is step two, the moment during
which the object supposedll, r,anishes, that thev believe requires the
skill and knowledge that vou have spent vears acquiring. That is the
step that theyr ryi|l scrutinize in an effort to discover how the object
disappeared or where it went.
Of course rve know differentll'. Step one is the "move" that we
strive to perfect through constant practice. \We have all seen magicians
who are so proud of their technique that the1, all but challenge the
spectators to detect anvthing fishv during their false placement. And
because their execution of the "move" is so perfect thev jump straight
to step three to prove that the object is gone. These magicians have
come to the conclusion that step tu,o is superfluous. As quaint as it
might seem, that snapping of the fingers or tapping with the wand is
of enormous importance. To the layman it is the most impoftant step
but onh, if we make it so. \We magicians can effectiveh'dictate which
step of the process is the most essential through our presentation. If
step one is executed while we are speaking and looking at the audi-
ence, no particular attention will be drawn to the aPParent transfer of
the object. Then if ',ve lean forward, stare directlv at our closed hand
and tap or snap our fingers to create the magical moment, the audi-
ence will believe that thev witnessed the magic. Opening our now
emptv hand will simplv prove that thev witnessed it.
Remember that our job as iliusionists is to create illusions in the
minds of our spectators, not to prove how quick we are with our hands.
In Rgr Benson fu, Starligbt Ler.ent goes into great detail when teaching
the ball vanish. It is basically the same r.anish that was used by Don
AIan and while I never saw Ror-Benson perform live I did work a
couple of trade shou,s rvith Don Alan and saw first hand that this ball
r.anish u,as 100%o effective. But that didn't stop me from analvzing the
vanish of a single ball and coming up u'ith mv own r-ariation.
I alwavs start these investigations the same \r'a\': bv holding a ball
in mv left hand, placing it into mv right hand, closing mv right fingers
around it and then moving mv left hand arvar-. Since this is what I am
supposedh'doing, this is what I viant to duplicate during the false
transfer.
Mur Avnw WonorBt

On Page 387 of Ro1 Benson fut Starliglttthere ate a series of photogtaphs

that illustrate Benson's false transfer. Photo 14 shows the moment that the
dght hand has exited the left hand having supposedly left the ball behind.
The right fingers are extended as they reach for the wand but half of the
right index finget is mysteriously missing. It is curled inward for no aPPar-
ent reason. In fact it is, along with the thumb, holding onto the stolen ball.
I know that this odd appearance exists for the briefest of moments but
nevertheless, there it is. Of course this book wasnt around when I origi-
nally worked on my ball vanish but I found it very
intetesting to study dudng the writing of this book.
With a sponge ball being such asmall,light-
weight obiect it seemed that the most naturalway
to hold it was to hold it lightly between the left
thumb and index fnger. It can be cleady dis-
played with the other three fingers either open
ot cuded into a fist. This is the way I always hold
and display the ball throughout the routine. Fig. 1.
Once the ball is carried to the right palm Fig. 1 The u,a1 in wbich the ball is dirplq,ted throughoat the routine.
the spectators clearly see your right fingets curl
around it. When yout left hand moves away and
nothing temains between your left thumb and
fotefinger it is obvious that the ball has been left
behind in the right hand. \fith a slight modif,ca-
tion those moves can be duplicated while steal-
ing the ball out of the right hand.
Hold the ball between your left thumb and
index f,nger. As your left hand moves toward
Fig. 2 In this photo tbe thnnb and index fnger haue released tbeir gnp
your right palm yout grip on the ball is secured
on tbe ball in order to show how tbe midd/e and ingfngers al:o grip the
by pinching your thumb and index fingertips ball at the left hand ruoues toward the rigbt hand.

together. At the same time your left middle and

ring fingertips also grip the ball by placing the middle fingertip next
to your index finget and the ring f,ngertip next to your thumb. Fig.
2 rs an exposed view of this gtip with the thumb and index fngers
removed.
The larger movement of your left hand moving to the right covers
the much smallet movement of your fingers. Your left index and mid-
dle fingertips press the ball into your tight palm. Fig. 3.

l4
 iup Drmon PruwB

As soon as your closing right fngers obscure

Ftg. 3 An exposed uiea of tlte Ui
Fp. 4 The ightf.ngers obscare tlte
f tryer grippitry the ba//.
balljtr:t befaru tlte stea/ is nnde.
the spectators' view of the ball (Fig. 4) your left
middle, ring and little fingers snap closed into a
f,st carrying the ball with them. Fig. 5.
The ball remains hidden frst behind the
closed right fngers and then behind the curled
left fingers. The snapping closed of the left fin-
gers occurs iust before the left hand moves away
from the right hand. The spectators will see your
left thumb and index finget emerge empty ftom
beneath the right fingets. Fig. 6.
If you actually place a baII from your left hand
into your right hand you will see the correct
tempo that this move should be executed. There
is no reason to rush afly part of it and there is no
reasofl why, you or the spectators should be look-
ing at your hands until you arc rcady to perfotm
step t$/o, the magic moment.

I(eep in mind that I am left-handed and

that these instructions can easily be switched
for right-handed performers. Begin by load-
ing the Excedrin pill into your back left pants
pocket as described earlier. Two sponge balis
-Pfu. 5 The left f.ngers urrl intt'atd carp,ing the ba// n'ith tltent tn vour front left pocket and the thitd ball
^re
is in your front right pocket. To ensure that the
sponge balls stay securely in the rim of the plunger
I sometimes put a tiny bit of water on them befote
the performance. Just enough dampness can wotk
wonders. The plunger should be kept out of sight
so that its sudden appearance comes as a surprise.
The routine should be performed on a close-up pad
or tablecloth to insure that the ball releases when
the plunger is dragged across the sutface.
Fig. 6 The left tburub and indexf ryer orc reett ta be ettQl-t' as /hg' ntot'e
dil'aJ.

7'
 Remain standing during this routine and ask a spectator on your
left to assist. Begin the routine bv explaining that this is the oldest
trick in magic and that tonight ),ou will be using a recreattofl of the
original apparatus. That's u,hen the plunger is brought into view and
handed to the spectator for examination. Since evervone instantly
recognizes tt as a standard plunger, little inspection is necessary.
Since everyone has one of these devices at home thev already know
what it consists of. This is the benefit of using famlliar objects. As
the plunger is being looked at, one sponge ball is removed from each
pocket, they are clearlr, shown and then set on the table slightly off to
the right. After setting them down I alwavs clap my hands together,
which is a subtle wa)'to prove that m1, hands afe empty without hav-
ing to say anything.
The zzost important item of a// is the magic wand. Without the magic wand

there is no magic.
Begin rummaging through ),our inside coat pockets,
outside coat pockets and pants pockets in search of the all-
important magic wand. The expression on vout face tells one
and all that you have forgotten it. \While vour hands are in your
pants pockets the third sponge ball is thumb palmed in the left
hand. Just as panic is about to set in 1,ou get a bright idea. Pick-
ing up the plunger handle with vour right hand and gripping the
rubber rim with your left hand you begin to unscrew the handle.
You have apparenth, decided that this wooden plunger handle can
temporarily flll in for your pov/erful magic wand. While unscrew-
ing the handle your left fingers press the palmed sponge ball into
the tetaining lip.
with )/our right fingers grip-
Set the handle on the table and then
ping the top of the plunger set it down onto the table without dislodg- 1977 Geni cot'erfeakrres tbe fnish
ing the ball. In doing so, keep the mouth of the plunger tilted away to Tbe lJenson Plunger.

from the spectators to prevent them from catching a glimpse of the

hidden ball. At this point the plunger has been examined, your oth-
erwise empty hands have set two balls onto the table and yet you are
comfortably one ahead with a third ball secretllr retained inside the
plunger.

if
 Explain to the audience that vou are going to disregard the first
rule of magic that sa)'s "Never tell r-our audience in ad".ance what
is going to happen," therebv making vour job e\ren more difficult.
Explain that vou are going to place one ball into your right hand and
then you will tap that hand with the magic wand. Nfatch 1'our actions
to these words as vou clearlv displav a ball between ),our left thumb
and index finger and then place it into the palm of vour right hand.
Close your fingers around the ball and remove your left hand, leaving
the ball behind. These moves should match exactly the moves that
vou will use momentarilv to steal the ball out of 1'our right hand. You
have just demonstrated exacth'rvhat it looks like when vou transfer a
ball from vour left hand to vour right hand.
Continue explaining that vou will then tap l,our hand with the
magic wand (do so) and then tap the plunger (do so). The ballwilldisap-
pearfrom m1 hand and reappear on the tal:le right there. Put the wand under
your right arm and lift up the plunger with vour left hand being care-
ful not to dislodge the ball ),et. Point to the spot on the table that was
under the plunger. I'/lplace the p/anger rigbt oaer lhat spot solou can't see the
moment that it arriues. This line is intended to make the plunger seem
less important. It is mereit, acting as a cover to hide the spot where the
ma.glc will take place.
It is important that vou knou,'exactl)'where the ball is inside the
plunger. Revoh..e the plunger so the ball is at the back, closest to
)rourself or, if vou imagine a clock face, at the six o'clock position. In
this position, u'hen the plunger is set down on the table and slid an
inch backward, the ball rvill automattcalll' roll out of the rim. You are
now in that most desirable situation of having the trick about to begin
while the first ball is alreadv under the plunger.
Because vou have described the effect in advance the spectators
know that vou are about to place a ball into vour hand and make it
disappear. Consequentlv, thev be w'atching vour everv morre like a
"vill
hawk. Proceed exactlr' as vou did before and once again verl'deliber-
atelr'place the ball into vour right hand. This feeling of laboratoq'test
conditions creates a cettain amount of tension. Take the wand in 1,6ut
left hand and smack it against vour right knuckles. The impact should
Mwr Gvnrv Wotont

make a nice loud CRACI(. The tension is suddenly broken as

you drop the wand, take the ball back into your left hand and
shake the pain out of your right hand. Fig. 7.

OUCH!You don't baue to tap it qaite that bard. Yout audible

grimace will elicit laughtet in the same u/ay that someone
slipping on abanana peel does. It is impossible to remain
hyper alert while you're laughing so, during this break in the
tension, you replace the ball into your right hand, this time
executing the ball vanish move.
Pick up the wand and lightly tap first your right hand and
then the plunger. Open yout tight hand showing that the
ball has vanished and then lift the plunger to reveal the ball
Fig. 7 Like sltpping on a banana peel, it's alway
undetneath. Fig. 8. fannl athen it happens to soruebo$t else.

Using your right hand place the wand into

your outside jacket breast pocket as you explain,
lVe can do it in reueffe too, watch me make it disappear
The audience assumes yov arc talking about
making the ball disappear. Hold the plunger
trig. 8 The ball uaaisbufranltonr hand and appean under the plungen
by the top in your right hand and re-cover the
ball. Even though yout left hand is concealing a

ball you can close that hand tnto a fist and extend your index
finger. Lift the plunger straight up with your right hand and
at the count of "ofle" poke the ball with your left fingertip.
Replace the plunger and then immediately lift it again count-
ing "two" as you poke the ball again. This time the plunger is
lifted up near the wand that is protruding from your pocket.
Fig.9.
Cover the ball and immediately lift the plunget again this
time hanging it on the end of the wand. Your left f,nger pokes
the ball as you say, "three." By repeatedly poking the ball
trig. 9 On tbe coant of huo the plunger @proacbes
you have directed all of the attention toward the ball and the
the handle.
audience is anxious to see what is going to happen to it. Your
now empty right hand moves back toward the ball and then
gestures as you say, "Gonel" It is the plunger that vanishes, not the

7E

Fig. / 0 On the count of lhree the planger is hung on
tltr ltandle and Eparenlfi L'dnishes.
Fry. / 1 Dtring the largb the phrnger
leli l:and and tbe ball is once again loaded inside.
Fig. 12 Mouingl,lt/rjdcket utt of tlte n'tg,positians-yorr @t ltand next
lo the fnal load inltoar back pocket.
hr\rmot Pwnwp
ball. Fig. 10.
The rest of the audience instantly sees how ridiculous you
look with a plunger hanging off your coat pocket but for a
momeflt the spectator to your left will be startled by the sud-
den disapp eztaflce of the plunger. As het head turns to look
up at you she too will see how ridiculous you look.
flou're going to watch that clonl1 we'llforget the whole thing.
IWell
Acting like the spectator has figured out your trick you re-
move the plunget from the wand and place it into your left
hand. It is held by the rim with your fingers on the inside and
your thumb on the outside. In this position your fingers can
press the palmed ball into the rim. Fig. 11.
As you're doing this, lift and display the first ball that ap-
peared under the plunger and then set it back onto the table
and cover it with the plunger. Pick up the second ball with
your left hand and place it into your left front pants pocket.
IYe'll make this balljump twice asfar,from ml pocket to the planger
Lift the plunger to show one ball underneath and as you
re-cover this ball drag the plunger backward, dislodging the
hidden ball,
Hand the wand to the spectator and ask her to tap once right
here indicating your pants pocket. To facilitate this your left
is taken inta tlte
hand pulls lrour iacket out of the way. Fig. 1,2.
Moving your jacket conveniently positions
)rour left thumb and fingers right next to the Ex-
cedrin tablet that is protruding from your back
pocket. The pill remains covered by your co^t as
),our left thumb rolls it up out of the pocket until
1,our fingers can grip it. Fig. 13.
After tapping )rour pocket the spectator is
instructed to tap the plunger. You are about to
reveal some very strong misdirection that will
effectivelv cover )rour loading the Excedrin tablet
into the plunger.
 In lifting the plunger up with vour right hand, tip the front
up first while at the same time striking the two sponge balls
with the back rim. Your goal is to cause the two balls to roll
forward or off to the right. Fig. 14.
As soon as thelr have tfaveled a short distance look at the
spectator and congratulate her,You did it.The goal is to have
the audience's eyes follow the rolling balls and then shift to
the spectator. This will provide plenty of cover to load the pill.
As soon as the balls start rolling, your tu/o hands approach
one anothet. Your palm-down left hand is covering the pill. As
soon as your hands meet, the left hand turns palm-up and the
LtQ. I 3 An exposed t'ien' of' tlta tltnnb ro/ling tlte
plunger is set over the pill (or whatever final load you have set- hxrudin ltrb/e/ otrt al' tlte pocket.
tled on). Fig. 15. Your right hand is norr,' free to retrieve the two
balls and set them directly in front of you.
This load move is a good example of Tomml, rWonder's
theory of ditection as opposed to misdirection. Instead of
creating an artificial moment whose only task is to distract the
audience's attention away from something, it is far better to
examine each routine and find an existing event that will com-
mand their attention. Your secret move can be executed during
this naturally occurring moment without feat of detection. In
this case the audience is anxiously waiting to see if there are
now two balls under the plunger. It is their decision to direct
their undivided attention toward the plunger.If at that moment
Ftig. 14 Lrpon Qt'ting tlte phrryer ilte ltack edge ltit.r
you did something to make them look away ftom the plunger tlte tu,0 .rponge halk.
they would feel like they had been distracted against their will.
It is far better for the spectators to believe that thev are looking
where they want when they want rather than being guided by
the magician.
The plunger (with the Excedrin tablet hidden inside) is set
off to the right so it is out of the perform tng zrea. Before pro-
ducing the big pill it is advisable to insert some time misdirec-
tion. By allowing the plunger to sit in the middle of the table
for time without an)/one coming near it, the eventual appeat-
a
ance of the pill will be that much more The time mis-
^mazing.
direction is the result of your performance of the next phase.

F'ig. 1 5 As tbe halls ro// acro.r.r tlte ttthle tlte ltand.r

neet and ilte p/trttgtr is .ret onto ilte Excedin.
 iltr |lrnnn PrumrB

Ask the spectator to extend her free hand flat onto the table
with her palm up and fingets open. As she is complying with
this request pick up one of the balls with your left hand and
apparently place it into y-our right hand. The ball is actually
retained in your left hand as desctibed previously. There is no
reason to direct attention to this seemingly famihat action. The
second ball is picked up between the left thumb and fotefinger
with the other fingers closed into a fist around the hidden ball.
Fi3. 16 Tl:e ball is held direct! ouer the base of her
:litrltlt.
At this point I always include a subtlety that I leatned from
Peter Samelson and even put into print when I published Pe-
tet's excellent book Theatrical Close-ap (1984). It is a quick subtle
way to make the audience think exactly what you want them to
think. You are going to dtop the sponge ball into the specta-
tor's outstretched hand but she is not going to catch it. The ball
will bounce off het hand and roll onto the table. It is clearly
iust one ball and the audience will assume that the spectator
was supposed to catch it since it dropped from just a few inches
above her hand. The spectator feels terrible that she has messed
up your trick and in her mind is begging for another chance.
You quickly retrieve the ball and place it into her hand where it
is crushed by her now death-like grip. This innocent little hic-
I .':. I - Tltis aill ruake it intpossiblefor her to catch
:; . iu//.
cup in the ptoceedings convinces the audience that there really
is just one ball in the spectator's hand and it is highly unlikely
that this spectator will open her hand befote she is asked.
Accomplishing this could not be simpler. You do tn fact
hold the ball about three inches above the spectator's hand but
not over her palm where there is avery good chance she wouid
catch it. Fig. 16.
Instead it is dropped onto the heel or base of her thumb
where it is impossible to catch. What looks like a routine catch
will always result tfl error. Ftg. 17.
^n
Quickly retrieve the ball with your left hand and say, Ilo,lou
must bold tbe ball tigbtlt as you press the two balls together. Fig. 18.
Press both sponge bails into the spectator's hand and this
F/5. 18 Retieue tbe ball and te// lter to "bold it
ligltl/1," ailoo add tbe second ball.
time her fingers will snap closed like a rattrap, The whole
 Mtttt Gvnrv Wononr

sequence takes less than three seconds and it accomplishes

plenty.
Using the magic wand give the knuckles of your right hand
a medium smack, not like you did before but hard enough to
Iook (and sound) uncomfortable. Then you approach the spec-
tator's hand and let the tension slowly build as you decide how
hard to rap her knuckles. Of course you eventually give them
the softest possible tap. Open yout hand showing that the ball
has vanished and have her open het hand ovet the table so that
the two balls will not bounce off the table. Fig. 19.
Anyone who performs sponge ball magic knows that this
FU. l9 Hauing a setond ball appear in tbe specta-
is positively one of the strongest tricks that you can do. Later
tor's hand prouides arnple tinze misdireftion.
when she is telling her friends, "Yes but it appeared right in my
own hand!" this is the trick she is talking about.

During the previous phase the plunger sat quietly in the

middle of the table whete nobody mentioned it and nobody
came near it. Picking up the pace nou/ your left hand retrieves
one ball and executes the ball vanish as it is apparefltly placed
it into your right hand. The left hand then picks up the second
ball and places it (along with the palmed ball) into your left
pants pocket. Using the wand, tap your right hand and then
the plunger. Open your hand showing that the ball has indeed
vanished.
Itl gone, didloa ue itjamp tbat time? You look confuud. Haue I
giuenlou a big headache? Herq take one of theu beforeya go to bed and

callme in the morning.

Lift the plunger revealing the big pill. Fig. 20.
That is the patter I use for the Excedrin tablet. You can see trig. 20 A mnsiderable amoant of rtme passes
before tbefna/ load ruakes its appearance.
that just a couple lines of patter can justify the appearunce of
the pill. I suggest that you find a way to make your fnal load
(whatever it is) a logical conclusion to the rourine.

OZ
 this routine that appeared in my book Magt-
!
ined that the f,rst phase was inspited by a
I
I Bilis perform while visiting Patis on my way
to Vienna for the FISM Wotld Congress. I went on to say that the
second phase I learned during a trip to Japan but failed to mention
who showed it to me. Today, more than thitty yeats later, I have no
recollection of either encounter which goes to prove just how faulty
ouf memories can be. The book does mention that Bernard's trick
appeared in his first book, Clue-wp, French Stlle (1976), but in rereading
his description I found that the effect u/as the same but the method
was quite a bit different. So, with thanks to all who contributed to its
development, here is a quick impromptu trick that can be performed
almost anywhere.
Any two coins can be used for this routine but, that being said, two
half dollars are ideal due to their size and weight. The accompanying
photographs show a cloth-covered table but you will find the moves
far easiet to execute when performed on a hard surface. And keep in
mind that I am left-handed and all of the moves
can be petformed iust as effectivell, with the op-
posite hands.
Two coins are tossed onto the table. One of
the coins is positioned about eight inches in front
of the other and slight\, to your left. Fig. 1.
The rear coin is then covered with your left
hand and the forward coin is covered with 1,6u1
right hand. Bv positioning the left thumb un-
Fi_q. / Thepositioniryaf tlte cains is ttitica/.
derneath the left foreflnger it will be completely
obscured from the spectator's view. The tip of this thumb should be
in contact with the rear edge of the coin. Your right fingertips should

A1
be touching the front coin but the heel and paim
of this hand ate raised slightlv off the table' In
this position there is a covered pathwa), between
)rour two hands. The exact position of each hand
is critical and is shown rnFrg.2.
Immediatel), ),ort left thumb tip kicks the coin
forward with enough force that it slides out from
under the left hand. Fig. 3 illustrates how the left
thumb remains unseen and the coin has come to Ftig. 2 Tba rigltl n'i.rt pralide.r roler.fbr tlte s/iditg cdn.

rest next to the forward coin. The right hand has

been eliminated for clarity.
Due to the careful positioning of y6lr1 hands
the moving coin is not seen by the spectators.
Your right hand presses down onto both coins
and then both hands begin to slide apart in oP-
posite directions Fig. 4.
As the hands are sliding apat the left hand
is moved forward until it is even with the right Fig. ) The ight hand /to.r futt reuorud to.rhon'iltefino/ rts/ittgplace oJ'

hand. Don't lift your hands to reveal the transpo- tlta kicked cair.

sition until you have created the magical moment

either by sal,ing something or making a siight
movement with your hands. The magical moment
should never be overlooked in any effect. In this
case it indicates the exact instant when the coin
vanishes from under one hand and reappears
under the other hand, or so the spectators are Ied
to believe. So create the magic and then tilt both
hands up, revealing that the coin has traveled F'fu. 4 Spectatot:s lr/iet.'e ilLere is one coin tnder eaclt ltatd.
across. Fig. 5.
It should be noted that your hands are in the
position shown in Figure 2 for only a brief mo-
ment. As soon as your hands assume the posi-
tion shown, the coin is kicked fotward and they
immediatell' separate. Thete simply isn't time
for anyone to flotice that for an instant the space
between your hands'was covered by your right
wf1st.
Fig. 5 Once ilte ltands are appo.rile ane onotlter, tlte tttogica/ ttttnett/
acrtrr.r and ilte lntnspo.rition i.r ret'eo/ed.
 This is a perfect foliow up to the two-coin
trick just described. Let me showloa how that works

withlast une cli?x. Iti a good exanPle of the hand being

qaicker than the ey.lYahh.

t'Q. 6 'I'lte /eli ltand tih.r tp expaling ilte
One of the coins is eliminated and the other
cain. is positioned on the table toward the left so it
can be covered with your ieft hand. This hand
is tilted up like the cover of a book exposing the
coin. Fig. 6.

Your right hand approaches and covers the

coin. As it starts to slide the coin to the right
your left hand tilts back down torvard the table
top. The spectators will get a brief glimpse of
the emptlr space on the table just before your left
hand covers it. Fig. 7.
Ftg. 7 As lbe igltt ltatd slide: tlte coitt to tlte i3ltt' tlte spectulor.r see

tltptl, spoce ililder t'l)e leJi ltatd. In a momeflt you are going to duplicate these
exact moves but leave the coin behind. The left
hand appears to be resting flat on the table when
in fact the right side of this hand is raised slightly
off the tabletop. This is to accommodate the
arcival of the coin that is about to slide under it.
Your other hand is resting flat on the table with
the coin under the right fingers. Fig. 8.
Your right little finger is touching the right
Ftg. 8 The ighl band is abott to propel ilte cr.,itt mrrts.r tbe taltle.
edge of the coin. The coin is now propelled back
across the table by means of a sudden ierk of
vour right hand, particularll, the right little fnger.
The idea is for the coin to travel at the maximum
speed with the least amount of movement bt' the
right hand. Fig. 9.
The coin zooms across the tabletop and comes
to fest under t,our left hand. It travels so fast that
the coin is almost invisible but not quite. The im-
pression is that you wanted it to be invtsrble. And
Ftg.9'tbe coin flies across tLte lable j'ottt otte ltatd 1o tlte t,tlter.
in the lt/ink of an e1,e the coin trauels to the other hand.
Both hands are tilted up tevealing that the coin
is once again under ),our left hand. The specta-
tors are underwhelmed since they saw the coin
scoot across the table. Didya see itgo?Yoa did?
Wellyu mast not haue blinkedlzar eJes likeloa were

suppoud to. Let me tr1 it again. Fig. 10.

You now duplicate the previous moves while

Ieaving the coin behind. The fleshy part of 1,our
left palm just below the little finger is posi- Fig. 10 Spectaton are nal nrrpised to see tlse cait under),otr @l band.

tioned so it is touching the left edge of the coin.

Fig. 11.

As before the right hand approaches and as

the right fingers cover the coin the left hand

begins to tilt down but this time, due to its
contact with the coin, it is able to slide the coin
with it. As the left hand turns palm down onto
the table it moves a couple of inches to the left.
At the same time the right hand apparently Ftg. /1 Tlte /fi ltandpresses the edge of tlte coin against the table.
slides the coin back over to the tight side. Figs.
1,2,1,3,1,4.
The success of this move relies entitely on
the timing. The spectators see the coin on the
table, your right fingers cover it and move back
toward the right and for just an instant they
see nothing where the coin used to be. That's
because the left hand moved the coin slightly
to the left and masked its presence by tilting
Fig. l2 \bur rigbt hand dPPedrs to s/ide t/te coin an'E.

Fig. 13 \bnr left hand ti/ts orerjutt enargls ta hide lhefact lhat tlv coin Fig. 14It sbot/d appearas tltorgltl,our rigltt ltrtnd orce again slid the
ncAed behind. coin orer tol,aur igltt.

E6
 lwo,0m,llom

Ftg. 1 5 The igbt hand now pretends lo kick tbe coin across tbe table. Ftg. 16 The spectators thinklor are kiddiry antilyt raiselour hands.

over it. With your hands now widely sepatated your right hand makes
another sudden kick toward the left as if you were proPelling the coin
agaln. Fig. 15.
\flait a moment and then tilt both hands up revealing that the coin
has again ttaveled across but this time invisibly. Fig. 16.

This classrc coln vanish can be used as a nice tag to the routine if
you are performing while seated at the table. After the transposltlon 1s
revealed you telax and drop your right hand into 1'out lap. Then, as an
after thought, your left hand app^rendy picks up the coin by sliding
it off the back edge of the table. The coin is s cretly allowed to drop
lnto your trght hand, which is poised below the table edge.
Herq it's simple, tr1 itloarself.
Duting this line,lean forward as if you're going to place the coin
on the table near the spectator. Your tight hand moves forward the
same distance under the table. Then as your left hand feigns the ac-
tions of tapping the edge of the coin against the table and then snaP-
ping it down against the tabletop, your right fingers actually do tap
the coin against the underside of the table and then snaps it against
the surface. Precisely coordinating these moves will create the desired
sound. If both hands slide a ferv inches closer toward the spectator
(one above the table, one below) the auditory illusion of the coin being
under your left fingers will be enhanced. Raise your left hand off the
table, revealing that the coin has vanished.
Oopq not with that coin. Here, try thts one.

at
Mwr Avnw Womnt

Pick up the coin that was discarded after the first phase of the tou-
tine and again teach forward with your left hand. Instead of disposing
of the coin by sliding it off the back edge of the table (as you did with
the first coin) I prefer to classic palm it as the left hand moves for-
ward. You can again snap the coin under the table against the tabletop
as you set it down. They have aheady seen you vanish one
^ppa;rendy
coin by doing this, so when you sptead your f,ngers and raise your
hand revealing nothing underneath, they have no reason to believe
that this coin didn't completely disappear as well. Don't be in a rush to
drop the classic-palmed coin into yout lap or pocket. The first vanish
(a complete vanish) serves to teinforce the second vanish (an apparent
vanish). While the effects in this multi-phase routine are simple and
direct the fact that the methods arc varied will ptevent the spectators
from teconstructing the exact steps that produced those effects.

00
 l've known r in
I tqzo. er.k es he
l*orrld ,tuy and
discussed. I'm sure it was Tim who showed me this coin vanish and
Tim tecently informed me that he learned it from Bob Trenary who
was a math teacher at Colon High School. Bob claimed that the trick
could be traced to Professor Hoffmann's time but a search through
my library turned up nothing similat. I added the reproduction that
provides an equally baffling conclusion.
This impromptu coin vanish and reproduction can be performed
with any type of coin and remember that though I am left-handed
these moves can easily be performed with the opposite hand'

The coin starts out in the left hand with the bottom edge clipped
between the thumb tip and the middle phalanx of the middle finger.
Figs. 1 and2.

Fig. 1 The spectators' uiew shoa,s the coin lteing held in tltis :ligltt!' Ftg. 2 In t/sis petforner's ileu' the coin is seen jast L,eforcltour /eft thamb
odd grip. slidet it onto tlte back of ltorr igltt hand.

09
Mwr byrwv Wcy,r,ty

Fig. 3 It appears as tbouglt ilte cain is p/aced inlo tlte iglttpa/ttt. Fig. 4 Tbe /eft index f nger s/ides down to tbe base of the igbt thrtmb as
tlte @l tlttrnb pins the coin againstltoar ight hand.

The right hand approaches and the fork of the thumb is slid into
the fork of the left index and middle fngers, which places the coin
against the base of the right thumb. Fig. 3 shows the audience view
while Fig. 4 shows the tear view.
The left thumb pushes the coin off the middle finger and holds it
against the base of the right thumb. The left hand remains motionless
as your other hand revolves until the right palm is facing the specta-
tor with your tight fingers closed around your left fingers. Duting this
move your left thumb pushes the coin around the base of the thumb
and onto the back of your tight hand. In this position it appears that
your right fingers are wrapped around the coin. Fig. 5 shows the audi-
ence view while Fig. 6 shows the rear vrew.

Fig.5 Tbe igbtf.ngerc appearto close arotrnd tbe coin. Ftg 6 If tlte coin is pressed against a dab of saliua on the back of loar
hand it ni// rentain secarell, in place.

There are two options to keep the coin in this position on the back
of your right hand. First is to keep your right hand tilted up as far as it
will go and allow the coin to rest on your wrist as it leans against the
back of your hand. If this seems a bit too precarious, try this addition.
Before beginning the performance, hold the back of your right hand

q0
 {ow Vnsu

in ftont of your mouth and cough. It is the polite thing to do and it

affotds you the opportunity to lick the back of your hand. Now when
the coin is ptessed against this wet spot it will stick to your hand. The
left hand nou/ moves away from the right hand without allowing the
spectator to clearly see that your left hand is empty. Figs. 7 and 8.

Fig. 7 The sPectators aregit'en a s/tgltt!,ohsnrred fieu,of the left hand. Fig. 8 Tltis is llg tbis tick is perfornted on!'Jbr people standing direct[,
in J)'ont oJ'
1,0u.

As you slowly open your right hand revealing that the coin has van-
ished suspicion will shift to your still partially closed left hand. Fig. 9.
Now open your left hand completely revealing that the coin has
indeed vanished. Fig. 10.

Ftg. 9 Firn ilte ight ltand is shou'n enQl,.

Ftg. 10 Tlten tlte @i ltand it opened lo

prot'e that tlte coin has indeed unislsed.
Mwr Avnw WonorBt

Fig. l1 The hands are rubbed togetlterprouingtbat t/te coin is gone.

Turn yout left hand over and rub the palms of yout hands across
one another. Fig. 11.

Then turn your left hand so the emPty palm is once again facing
forward and cleady show both hands empty.

As your hands swing around slightly towatd the right, clasp your
hands together with your left fingers wrapping around the bottom
side of your right hand. In this position your left middle andfot :1,ng
f,ngertip can coritact the bottom edge of the coin and pin it against
the back of your right hand. Fig. 1,2 shows the audience view while
Fig. 13 shows the rear view.
Now give your hands a slight shake as if this is what will cause the
coin to rc^ppear. Pivot your hands opefl as if you ate opening a book
but retain the coin pinned against the back of your right hand. As
your hands reach the fully open position the sPectators will have a

Fig. 12 It appears as thougltloa'ue ruere!1 cla:pedloar hands together. Fig. 1i Yolr haue actaal! pinned the coin against the back of ytr band.

97
 @tVanrtt

Fig. 14 Tbe bands open to reueal notbing inside and then thel imnedi- Fig. 15 As the hands open and close, tbe coin remaint pinned to the
ate! clote. back of tbe ight hand.

Fig. 16 Daring afew up and down sbaket the coin is allowed to slip Fig. 17 The nin slides down into the left fngers and then into tbe bands.
inside the capped hands.

clear view that both are empty. Figs. 14 and 15.

As soon as your hands rc^ch this open Position immediately pivot
them closed. During another shake of yout clasped hands, ailow the
coin to slide down onto your left fingers afld in
between your hands. Fig. 16 shows the audience
view while Fig. 17 shows the tear view.
Shake your hands a few mofe times as your
arms swing back toward the left and yout hands
revolve until the left hand is palm up. During
these movements the spectatof has a clear view
of all sides of yout hands. Finally your hands are
once again opefled like a book tevealing that the
Fig. 18 lYhen the hands are opened a second ime the coin lta reappeared. coin has reappeared. Fig. 18.

2I

91
Mrc Avmv {i/nrnnl

t least once every generation the art of magic is attacked by a

new band of exposers. \X/e've certainly suffeted our fair share in

recent decades with the book Bzg Secrets and the Masked magi-
cian on television not to mention the Internet in general. A check of
Amazon Books teveals dozens of copies of Big Serets selling for $0.01
plus $3.99 postage. You heard me - one cent. Author William Pound-
stone can honestly say he wrote a book that isnt worth the papet it's
ptinted on.
Of course all magtctans hate it when outsiders invade our sacred att
and divulge ouf secrets so they cafl pay their rent for a few months.
Quite frankly, it makes my blood boil. The part that bothets me the
most is rrot that the public will leatn how our tricks wotk but that they
will discover just how simple our methods teally arc.Many of them
are disappointingly simple. Granted some of out tricks (Anvetdi I(ey
Chest, Hole in One, Dr. Hooket's Rising Catds) are amazinqly clever
and anyone would be knocked out upon learning theit secrets but
most of our tricks utllize the simplest of methods. \X/hen ptesentation
and showmanship ate stripped av/ay those methods simple at
^ppear
best and disappointing at v/orst. From the front row Teller's Red Ball
is one of the most astonishing things you will ever see but if you stood
next to Teller duting the performance you would say, "Really? That's
all it is?"
Many years ago (befote they were famous Las Vegas stars) Penn &
Teller wete performing in Hollywood and working hard each day to
sell tickets. Their Cups and Balls with clear plastic talk
cuPs was the
of the magic world. A number of professional magtctans cried EXPO-
-IURE and threatened to picket the theater. Penn pleaded with them
to show up and even offered to supply the picket signs. The magicians
didn't seem to understand that Penn & Teller wete working vety hard
to put bodies in those seats and now the magicians wete going to

94
 1uB 1wn Wopv [mirlv

make sure that television cameras and newspaper repofters knew that
something big and important was happening inside the Las Palmas
Theater. (Actualty something big and impottant was happening, but
that's another story).
With all of that in mind, I wrote this editorial for MAGIC maga-
zine (November 1998) and since some things never change I thought
it was due for a reprint.

One morning, tight in the middle of town, a sly fox cut a small hole
in a fence. Above the hole he wrote, "Magic Trick Exposed - Look
Herel" On the other side of the fence he placed a "Packing Case Es-
cape" with the trap door hanging wide open. Up in a tree, a wise owl
looked on and hooted, "l7hoooo c res."
The fox ignoted the owl and started inviting all the other animals
to look thtough the hole. He would show that old owl that every crea-
ture cares about magic secrets.
In due time, the fox discoveted that offeting free magic secrets was
not that easy. Most animals, it seemed, had better things to do and
hurried right past the hole. Some paused, looked at the fox, stared at
the hole, then looked back at the fox and walked away. They werent
about to fall for his scam, whatever it was.
Eventually, the fox stepped up his ballyhoo. "Houdini's famous
trick exposed," he yelled, "right through that hole." Still nothing. He
called the newspaper office and gave them the exact location of the
hole, which if you looked through you would see how a magic trick
wotked. His hot tip was greeted first by a long silence, then a dial
tone.
A turtle lumbered over to the fence and peeked through the hole.
"Looks like some hooligan broke into your box and made off with
your trick." And with that, he ctawled away. Jhs fox just shook his
head.
Later, a youflg sparrow flew over and landed in the hole. Anxious
to learn Houdini's secret, he peeked through. "That's not a magic
trick," he protested. "That's a box with a hole in it." As the sparrow
flew off, he chirped back over his wing, "Rip off!"

95
 Mur (avnw Wonnnr

"These arc the stupidest animals I've ever seen," the fox thought.
"I was clever enough to figure out this trick and these creatures are
too dumb to understand it." He glared at the owl that continued to
vocalize up in the tree.
As the fox retreated across the road and cuded up in the shade, he
noticed a turkey wearing a top hat wobble over to the fence and peek
through the hole. Suddenly, the turkey staggered back from the fence,
his hat askew, his feathers btistling. He looked around to see if any
other animals were watching, then stole another long, disbelieving
Iook. A terrif,ed exptession crossed his face as he hutried down the
toad and vanished atound the corner.
The next motning, the fox passed by the fence and noticed that
someone had wtitten in red paint, "Do Not Look Through This
Hole." Then he noticed the top-hatted turkey crouching behind a tree
stump acfoss the road. The turkey looked annoyed as various animals
stopped and peered through the hole, hoping to see whatever it was
they weren't supposed to see. "Cafl't they read?" the turkey wondered
aloud. Emetging from his hiding place, the turkey marched across the
road and, right in broad daylight, painted a giantt^rget on the fence,
using the hole as the bull's eye. He then added a huge arrow that ex-
tended ftom his sign, right down to the hole. By noofl, a small line of
animals had formed.
By three otlock, a gaggle of top-hatted turkeys had gathered. Some
cauted placards that said, "Don't peek through the hole or you'lllearn
out best secret." Others wete chanting, "If you peek, you're a jerk.
If you peek, we're outta wotk." There were other turkeys stationed
at each end of the road, watning animals about the hole that they
shouldn't peek through. Before long, officials were forced to dispatch
a centipede to help ditect traff,c. The fox was surprised and delighted
as he watched an array of animals standing in the sun for an hour, just
so they could look through the hole.
Due to popular demand the fox was forced to cut a second hole in
the fence. On the other side of hole number two, he unlinked some
metal rings by hack sawin g gap in one of them. A line of curious
^
critters formed within minutes.
\X/hen a cub reporter from the newspaper arrived to see what all
the commotion was about he was confronted by the top-hatted tur-
keys. They explained to the cub that these secrets'were precious and

96
 1uB 1wn Wnr [mnv

belonged to them. They even produced membership cards to Prove

it. If the general animal population so much as glanced through those
holes, thek art form, their very lives, would be ruined. The cub scrib-
bied futiously in his notebook while a staff photographer focused his
camer^ on the animals lined up at the hole. As the cub was about to
leave, he asked about the precise location of the fence. "It's on Main
Street in the middle of the village," the top-hatted turkeys shouted in
unison. "You cafl't miss it." And with that, the publicity floodgates
had opened. The headline in the following day's PaPer read: "Turkeys
Plead - Don't Peek Thru Hole." The accompanying story included a
map pinpointing the location of the fence, a photograph showing a
long line of animals, and z picture of the acrual packing case. Readers
weren't satisf,ed. They wanted to see it with their own eyes and soon
lines of animals reached all the way to the woods. Sute, they all agreed
that what awaited theit prying eyes on the other side of the fence was
disappointing, but no one wanted to be the or.ly anrmal in the village
who hadn't seen it.
In a final,last-ditch effort, the top-hatted tutkeys pooled theit
funds and hired a skywriting hawk to scrawl across the heavens in
billowy white letters, "Main Street Fence - Secrets Revealed - Don't
Peek." The lines swelled as animals from neighboring forests arrived
in dtoves.
The fox now spent most days in a den across the road, watch-
ing the crowds of animals milling around. "They stupid," he
^rert't
thought. "They're just curious animals doing what animals aiways
have, and always will do; they're satisfying theit curiosity. The only
stupid ones are those top-hatted turkeys."
Funny, but that old owl was right after all. And in the end, those
tutkeys just outfoxed themselves.

9t
I 975 publidfl pboto taken fut legendary Ho@wood photogr@ber Jobn Reed.
 ! started using a stool as a magic table

! probably seems like an odd choice fo e,

lit -rd. perfect sense. This was a tim

folk music clubs that would eventually turn into comedy clubs. There
would certainly be comedians thete but the headliners were musicians
who came out, sat on a wooden stool, and sang arltl-war songs. The
club I frequented was the Ice House in Pasadena,California (the old-
est comedy club in America and still going strong) and even though I
was drawn there to see acts such as Steve Mattin, it was hard to miss
all of the wooden stools on stage. I was not yet old enough to wotk
at the Magic Castle so if this was going to be my venue, then work-
ing off a stool seemed perfectly logical. At that time, m1, act consisted
of Cut & Restored Rope, jumbo Invisible Deck, Money Machine and
the Linking Rings. All standard tricks but all good tricks too. At this
earl1, s12gs of my development I didn't u/ant to worry about whether
my tricks'were an)r good. With this tepertoire I could at least be as-
sured that m1, routifles wete being constructed on a solid foundation
of proven magic.
At an unfinished furniture store I purchased a basic wooden stool,
After removing the wooden seat I built a more functional top that
measured 14 inches in diameterby 2]/z inches thick. The stool top
was made to hinge open, revealing a circular storage space inside.
\fhile this space was extremell,limited I was able to fit my four
Linking Rings, the jumbo Invisible Deck and the roll of paper for
the N{oney N{achine. A shelf made out of Lexan plastic was added
underneath the seat. Bv making this shelf out of clear plastic the stool
retained its normal see-through appe rafice. After staining and flnish-
ing the wood and cor.ering the top with Naugahyde, it looked like a
first class bar stool while in fact it was a \ref\r pfactical magic table.

E9
Mwr Avrnw Wonornt

Without rcahzingit, this stool may have been my first foray into
the use of ordinaty looking objects as magic props. Even though this
stool had clearly been customtzed for my act, rt was still a famlliat
looking object that raised little or no suspicion. Eventually I would
make this a hard fast rule for any object that made its way into my act.

Both the effect of the Money Machine and the

principle it depends ofl are very old. Reproduced
here is an engraving from Albert Hopkins' Mogrt
published rn1897. During the 1950s Bob Haskell
tutned the rollers upright and had Merv Taylor
produce a .very populat version. By the early 1970s
these original Haskell machines were already
collector items and that's when my friend I(irk
ICrkham decided to produce a Money Machine
that was virtually identical to Merv Taylor's. I was
aw^re that a cheap plastic model had been zvatlable
for yeats and that the method was widely known

r00
 (L4, 1955 adJor t/.te

lI e rr TE, /6 v- 2 a de ) [on e1'

llaclti t e a L'ai la ble di rect!,

*"T)'8*tv u!,G,f.ffio. j'0ru Haske/1.

(ltigltt) PubliciS sltat oJ-

Bob Ha:kell taken 12,
C lt i cttgo i g"ea t ilteatti ca /
photogapher lIauice
Sel'notrt:

V
7 ,ous
lous I'o';
- bur
tI

ond th" '"'sll'^-,., sr

,oJ"il;;;rfikk
but for some reason, the idea of a machine that could priflt money
stiil appealed to me. I knew that it viould have to be the routine rather
than the m)rstery that spelled success or failure.
Even at this eady stage of my m glcal development I was striving
to make my magic appe^r logical. Of course magic effects by their
very nature are illogical but that didn't mean that my patter and pres-
entations had to be illogical. This was one of the first routines whete
what I claimed was happening could not possibly be happening and
yet, miraculousll,, what the audience was seeing proved my outlandish
claim to be true. N{y words made me sound like an idiot but my ac-
tions made me look like a genius. I would return to this presentational
stfategy lnan1r times in the future.
One thing that appealed to me about this N{onev N{achine was how
the rollers started out white and after rolling a dollar bill through the
machine, the bill turned blank and the rollers turned green, as if they
had absorbed the ink off the bill. Logical yes, but in realitv completely
ridiculous. I decided that in my routine I would ink the roliers, print
some money and then run out of ink.
in the N{agic Cas-
N{ost of m1, performances of this trick took place
tle's old Wine Cellar which during the earh' 1970s was the "big room."
That room can best be described as a parlor situation and I think that
this effect is best suited to that size audience.

rl
Mwr Avnw Wottppl

Obtain a stack of btand new one-dollar bills from the bank. These
bills appear to be hot off the press because basically they ate' And
because the bills are btand nev/, they all have the same date. Note
this date and temember it. Five one-dollar bills are formed into a
continuous strip by taping their ends together using narrow pieces
of dull transparent tape. This tape, ironically
called Magic Tape by the 3M Company, becomes
invisible when it is rubbed down. To the end
of this strip of bills tape a novelty three-dollar
bill. Back in the 1970s it was common to hear
something odd teferred to as being "as queer as
a three-dollat bill." Today this phrase has taken
orr an entirely different meaning and I would not
include it in this routine. Fig. 1.
To the tight end of this money strip tape a Fig. 1 In arder of aPPearailce:

piece of white papet. This is the piece that is going to give the imptes- f.ue one-dollar bi/ls, a three-
dollar bill, tbefade-out bill and
sion that the ptinter is running out of ink. To create this illusion cut f.nalj a lengtb oJ blankpaper.
off about one inch from the left end of a dollat
bitl and rubber-cement it onto the left end of the
white paper. Ever-narrower pieces off the bill are
pasted next to the one-inch piece with ever-wider
blank spaces between them. The result is that,
from a distance of a few feet, it apPears that the
image is fading away. Of course today, with scan-
ners and Photoshop, a perfect fade-out bill could
be made using a computer. Fig. 2.
\Watning: It is illegal to ptint US currency for fun or profit' Fig. 2 Tbe tbree dollar bill is
prueded into tbe rallers b1 nry
Beginning with the blank end, this long strip is rolled into the a ntiq t a ted fa de-o u t bi II wbi cb
Money Machine. After the last bill in the sttip disappears into the was made b1 nntingerer ltar-
rower strips of a dollar bill and
tollets, a single dollar bill is fed in closely behind. Then lastly, a dollar-
ghting tberu onto blank paper.
bill-size piece of blank paper is rolled in. The goal is to have the last
bit of roller turn white iust as the last end of the blank paPer disap-
pears into the tollers. Making this come out Perfectly tequires a lot of
unrolling, adjusting, and re-rolling but once you hit the mark exactly,
you never have to do it again.

t0z

Fig. 3 A dollar-bill-:iryd blank
tablet was carried in a wallet.
Monrv Mnutm
At a local printer have a pad of blank paper
cut down to the size of z dollar bill with the glue
along the end. I catried this bill-size pad in a
conveniently sized leather wallet that would also
hold extra new one-dollat bills that wete tequired
for the reset. Fig.3.
The toll of paper is glued together four inches
from the end. When the roll is placed onto the
spindle the end of the paper can be inserted between the two rollers.
By turning the knob on top, it appears as if the roll is unwinding as
the paper is apparently ctanked through the rollers but in fact, the roll
is not turning at all. The illusion of movement is quite deceptive.
The final ptop is alarge pau of scissors. Fot some reason these
scissors have become a key ingtedient in many of my routines; Bill in
Ciga4 Linking Rings, Linking Coat Hangers, Walking I(not, Silver-
wate and Coat. In this routine the scissofs afe carted in an inside coat
pocket while the wallet is in the opposite inside pocket.
The money machine is introduced as a recent creation and to dem-
onstrate it you will need to bottow a dollar bill from someone in the
audience. Take a bill from a gentleman who is seated as close to you as
possible. Looking closely at the bil1, say the date that is actually on the
strip of bills.
Oftentimes after the show, audience membets will ask to see the
spectator's bill and anyone who looks at the date will see that it actu-
ally is the same as the date on the bortowed bill. After miscalling the
date, sniff the bill.
Hmmm,I can stillsmell the mint.
Coins are produced at the mint. Bills are printed at the Bureau
of Engtaving but these facts do not prevent this line from getting a
iaugh. Then, picking up the money machine...
These rollers haue been coated with an ink-absorbing solution, so f I insert the
bill between the rollers, tarn the knob on top, the image of the bill is absorbed onto
the rollers. Ob, tbankloafor the bill.
As the bill apparently passes thtough the printer the rollers change
0l
Mn Avnw Wonomt

Figs. 4 d, 5 As tbe borrowed bil/ is cranked throtgh tbe Monel Machine the rollers cbangefron wbite to green

from white to greeri. Figs. 4 and 5.

Tteating the now blank piece of paper as if it were still worth a

dollar, it is returned to the gentleman with the attitude that riow you're
even. This always produced alaagh at the gentleman's exPense -
literally.
Now f there was somethingl wanted to ba1 that cost one dollary I'ue made it
uerl simplefor m1ulf,
The money machine is set down and the wal-
let is removed from your coat and opened.
Ilast rip off a piece ofpaperfrom the pad... rrP off a
dollar billfrom the gerutleman in the audience... place the

paper between the rollers and turn the crank. I get a nice

fresh, a nice crisp one-dollar bill.

As stated, a piece of paper is inserted into the
machine and a bill is ptinted. Fig. 6.
Aftet the bill is printed, set the money ma- Fig. 6 Thir newfi-pinted bil/ ruries tbe same date tbat was nitcalled
earlien
chine down, pick up the wallet and start moving
toward the gentleman. It appears as if you are going to return the bill
to him but suddenly you stop and say,

And I want to thankloa :irfor that one-dollar bill.

During that line the bill is placed into the wallet and the wallet is
retutned to your pocket fot another laugh.
Now lets sa1 I wanted to bu1 something that costs more tban a dollar I could

start crankingpieces ofpaper throwgh tbis macbine but that could take all da1 so

I'ue solued that problem with adding macbine paper

Remove the toll of paper and slip it over the spindle.
Tbe roll ofpaper gnes ouer tbis spindle, the end of the paper is inserted between

104

Fig. 7 Tbe illu:ion of the blankpaper beingpulled throtrgh the rollers is
pedect
Ftg. 8 unfortunatefifor the rpectator tbe rollers haue run oat
Fig. 9 Tbe spectator receiuet afvshlt
Monrv lflnant
the rollers, aligning it with tbe image of the gentlemanJ dollar Then I turn tbe
crank and I get a dollar If I tarn the crank more, I get more than a dollar The
moreJoil turn, tbe moreJoil edrn.
Crank out five dollars in a tow and then stop.
Don't wonl si6I hauen'tforgtten aboat the dollarl owe
yu. Infact I'llpint up a brand new oneforloa rigfit nou
Turn the knob but the next bill that appears is
the three dollar bill. Fig. 7.
IYait a second, a three-dollar bill... that's queer Must
be a loose gear in there. Let me tr1 again.
Continue to turfl and the fade-out bill appears,
followed by a few inches of white paPer. Fig. 8.
Oh,Iforgot to explain. On! so mary bills can be
printed before I haue to re-ink the rollers.IYoaldyu bap-
pen to haue another one-dollar bill?
Having learned this lesson the hard way, the
man declines to donate any mofe money to the
cause.
No problem, I'lllwst cat one offfrom the beginrting of
the roll, infact these should bejust aboat dry now.
The machine is set down and the scissots are
of ink.
removed from the pocket. Because the strip of
tape holding the bills together is so nartow I am
able to cut the bill off leaving the taped edge be-
hind. This leaves a completely ungimmicked bill
that is retutned to the gentlemafl. Fig. 9.
During the years that the Money Machine
v/as part of my act, I became very comfortable
performing the routine and eventualiy, stopped
thinking about it. Years (actually decades) Iater I
pinted dollar bil/. was discussing the routine with m1, friend Luis
de Matos in Portugal and Luis pointed out that I
had stopped thinking too soon. He was right.
If
the rollers really were coated with an ink-absorbing solution they
wouldn't turn solid green as the bill passed between them, they would
instead pick up a reverse impression of a dollar bill' The front of the
bill would appe^r on one roller and the back of the bill ofl the other.
It was so logical, how could I not have reahzed it? Luis eventually had
t05
Mur (wnw WonmBt

two full-size rubbet stamps made that produced the reverse image
of both sides of a dollar bill. I'm sure it was much easier to get these
stamps made in Portugal than it would be in the United States. The
Sectet Service frowns on any device that teproduces the image of out
money, even if it is a reverse image.
To make this fat more realistic money machine the rollers need
to be approximately two inches in diametet. This allows the impres-
sion of the bill to wrap once around the roller as it would in an actual
printing press. The green ribbon would be replaced by a three-inch-
wide piece of white ribbon. The first 6J/z rnches on each side of the
white ribbon arcleft blank, then six impressions of the front of the
bill are stamped orr one side and six imptessions of the back of the bill
are stamped on the back. Following the sixth impression a fade-out
bill is stamped on both sides of the ribbon. The fade out impression
can be created by inking up the rubbet stamps and then wiping off
more and more ink as you pass a cloth ftom one end to the other. The
goai is to leave one end of the stamp fully inked znd gradaally reduce
the ink until the opposite end is clean. By stamping the white strip
with the stamp in this condition, a fadtngimage is produced. Fol-
lowing the fade-out bill is a length of blank white ribbon. The strip is
wrapped around the rollets in the standard figute-eight pattern with
the ends then petmanently attached to the tollers. Revolving the roll-
ers gives the illusion that one image is going atound one roller while
the other image is going around the other roller. Of course today the
entire money sttip, including the fading image, could be ptoduced on
a computer and ptinted on a piece of cloth.
No*, the audience sees the image of a dollat on the printing
^pPeat
rollers as it vanishes from the gentleman's bill. They see inked rollets
going round and tound as blank paPer Passes between the "inked"
rollers and ptoperly printed bills emerge. Even though the pattet
sounds completely ridiculous, the money machine is actually accom-
plishing everything that is being claimed. This conversation with Luis
teminded me of Dai Vernon's sage advice, "Dofl't stop thinking too
soon. A routine is never finished, it can always be improved."

06
--:Z-.J

Half Done, \bsenite lr'a//e1,

Calfornia, 1996.
Plsoto: Rob CaL'ene1'.

at

Perfonr i ng the I rupro nQ tu
Linking Coat Hangers in
Land, Sweden Octaber 2008.
Pboto: Arto Airuksinen.
hen I was fifteen years old I met Merlin Eifett who was a won-
derful character and dedicated magician. Within a ye r of our
meeting he would become president of the Pacrfic Coast As-
sociation of Magicians. At his home one night Merlin showed me his
clever idea for linking together two ungimmicked coat hangers. This
was my first brush with coat hanger magic, a simple idea that would
play a huge tole in my future magical life. The gimmick was a piece
of stiff black wire and befote the evening was thtough he had given
me one. I loved the idea and started experimenting with thinner and
thinner pieces of wire and then adding some moves to enhance the
illusion that the hangers were indeed linked. Eventually I purchased
the rights from Medin and matketed my version of the Impromptu
Linking Coat Hangets.
The gimmick is made from piano wire, which can be obtained
from some hardware stores and online. It is sold in three-foot lengths
and is avarlable rn avariety of thicknesses. I use .015" diameter but the
ttick can be petformed with even thinner wire. Be watned, however,
as the wire gets thinner, the handling becomes increasingly difficult.
The original gimmick was painted black but the constant rubbing of
the hangers against the gimmick caused the paint to wear off. This
problem was solved by applving Gun Blue (available in gun stores) to
the raw steel wire. This caused a chemical reaction that tutned the
silver metal to a midnight blue color. This was aperfect system when
I was making only a few gimmicks for myself.
\When I started to produce these gimmicks in larger quantities I
took the wire to a metal finishing compan)r and had a thousand pieces
at a time treated with black oxide, which is another chemical Process
that turns the surface of the steel black. The advantage of a chemical
reaction over paint is that with black oxide there is no thickness added
to the wire and no outer coating to wear off. The three-foot piece of
wire is cut into thirds and each l2-inch piece is bent into the shape
shown in Fig. 1.
09
Mwr Avnrv Wommt

Fig. 1 The gimruick is nadefroru a 12-inch piue of .01 5" piano wire. Fig. 2 The {g-7ag md is tucked behindloar belt batkle.

The bent tip on one end points up while the zig-zag end points in
the opposite direction.The zig-zag end is slipped behind your belt
buckle, allowing the long arm to stick straight out in front of you.trig.2.
By bending the arm over to one side the bent tip can be slipped
into one of your belt loops. It can temain undetected in this out-of-
the-way position fot houts. When its service is required it is a simple
matter to pull the end out of your belt loop with your thumb.
The gimmick is most diffcult to see when the arm is pointing
directly into the spectatots'eyes. Thus, if you are standing on a stage
the gimmick is bent at a slight downwatd angle. If you ate working in
a dimly lit bar or lounge with people very close up, the arm should be
bent at an upward angle. Since this illusion depends on the gimmick
not being seen by the audience, the background that is directly behind
the wite (yout clothes) is of paramount impottance. Datk clothing
ptovides an effective backdrop but best of all is a shirt or iacket with
a busy patterfl. The better the backdrop, the less critical your lighting
becomes.

When performing for alarge gtoup, with some distance between

myself and the audience, I use white coat hangers which tend to show
up better. In more intimate situations with spectatots right on top of
me, black wire hangers work f,ne and tend to cre te a more convinc-
ing illusion.
The coat hangers are held by the hooks, one in each hand. By hold-
ing the left hand hanget above the right hand hanger you will be able

il0
 _l

Ltlp ) 'l lr lrnl lif of ll.tL ///i.k flt.t.tt'.t il.trorr.ql.t il.tt trfbLt- I iy. 1 l//lirtglqx rt/ ll.r /rn'tr l.t,rtt2rr d/tl f)//tl.)it/,!ll.tt trfptr
l',ttr, , r', /f,, t, //', /,,tt , t l.,,rtr!t t. 1 1,,111i1tif iti,t/,; /1, i//tr;i,,rt.
1,,1t1.1.

to pass the bent tip of the simmick through {1rst the upper: hanget
(Fig. 3) and then the lol er hanser.
The los-er hanser is los-ered dos-n until it is resting on the s-ire.
Fig.4.
Then the upper hanger is slid fors-ard until the
lou,er hanser is pinned asainst the bent tip. Throuah-
out the r:outine \-ou must maintain this pressure
asainst the bent tip. Bv lettins go of the lorver hanger
it s-i11 ss'ing back and for:th cleatins the illusion that
the ts'o hansers ale linked. Fig. 5.
Even though the tips of the l-rangers must remain
pre-ssed asainst the bent tip at all times this does not
mean that the bent tip has to remain stationan'. Be-
left hand can mo\-e
cause the s-ire is so flexible, vour:
the upper hanger up and dos-n or back and forth,
s-hic1-r subth suggests that there is nothing attached
to tl-re hangers.

1"1. ) lltt l//rr:)ut i: ttltrttrrl b1 l.ttrlrrg lltt

/rn r t l.,rr tt
<t t' -t t'i t t:< btrik trnrl /iftl.t.

The tbllos'ing ts-o mo\-es con\-ince the audience that the 1-iansers
ar:e indeed linked. Bl t\\-istins vour:1eti l-rand in a clocks-ise direction

the los-er l-iangel s-i11 start to slide fiom lefl to risht alons the bottom
Mn (wnw Wmonr

side of the upper hanger. I(eep the gim-

mick parallel to the floor. Fig. 6.
The upper hanger continues to
revolve 180 degtees, resulting in the
lower hanger sliding all the way over to
the opposite corrier where it v/ill freely
swing back and forth. Fig. 7.

With your tight hand grab the toP

corner of the lowet hanget right next to
the bent tip of the gimmick. Raise the
opposite end of the lowet hanget up un-
ti1 the long side is neady parallel to the
floot. From this position you will be able At a lecture Mike demonstrates tbe dreaded 'Floating Coat
Hanger" b1 not maintainingpressure against the bent tip
to pull the long side of the lower hanger
of tbe ginnick. Pboto: IYendell Breqina.

Ftg. 6 Twisting the tpper hanger in a ilockwise direction Ftg. 7 As tbe upper hanger continaer to tarn, tbe lower
caases the lower hanger to slide along tbe long side of the hanger slides all the wa1 to tbefar end.
upper banger.

ilz
 lmpBompru Ununo 0n llnorBt

Ftg. 8 Usinglour right band turn the lower banger antil Fig. 9 Continae pulling tbe loa,er hanger touard the right
the book is at the bottom andlou can plll the long side until the left end i: touching tbe ginmick.
stra$ht ouer tbe gimnick toward tbe ight.

along the wire gimmick. Fig. 8.

Continue pulling until the opposite
end of the lower hanger is against the
wire gimmick (Fig. 9), then release your
hoid on the lowet hanger aliowing it to
swing back and forth. Fig. i0.

Grab hold of the lower hanger with

your right hand and push the two hang-
efs tou/ard one another. An opening
will form where the hangers ovedap. In
this position the hangers are no longer
in contact with the bent tip. Move both
Ftg. l0 L"et go of tbe lou'er ltanger, alloairg it to tu,ing
hangets awaSr flsr,rr you until they are
back andfortb on tbe gintnick. clear of the gimmick. Fig. 11.

t1
Mur Gwnw fl/otonr

Fig. 11 Pasbingtbe bangers toward one anotber allowslott to moue tbenz Fig. 12 The bangerc $i/l appear to be linked as thel are moued awal

forward and euen tbougb tbq, are both clear of the gimnick tbe spectators fron the girumick.
still belieue thel are linked.

It would be possible at this point to seParate

the hangers showing that they ate unlinked but
since all of the attention is focused right whete
the gimmick is located, this is flot recommended.
Instead, continue rubbing the hangets against
one anothef as you taise them (and the audience's
attentiori) up toward your face. trig.1,2.
Once their attention has been relocated far
from the scene of the crime, you can safely allow
the hangers to slowly melt apart. Fig. 13.
Fig. 13 OnlJt wben tbe hangers reach at least sboalder leuel doya ruagi-
ca@ unlink tbem.

Disposing of the gimmick could flot be easier

since the gimmick is essentially invisible. Duting
the applause both hangers are held in one hand
with your atm relaxed in ftont of you. In this
position you will find that your fingers are right
next to, or touching, the wire gimmick. \Tithout
looking, take hold of the gimmick, pull it out
from behind your belt and set it (with the hang-
ers) on a table or in your case. Fig. 14.
Fig. 14 Once the lick fu ouer tbe bangers are held momentarify at waii
This routine is most effective when presented leuel. Onceloar fngers feel the gimmick it can be surreptitioasfy remoued
in someone's home and the coat hangers ate taken fron behindyrr belt and pat awal atitb the hangers.

ll4
 lnppompru Lnnno [onr l]rrterBs

right out of the homeowner's closet. On occasion I have invited a

child up to help me demonstrate how easy magic can be. He is given a

pa:r' of coat hangers and told to do as I do.

Hold tbem b1 the hooks, rub the ends together and tben letgo of tbe bottom hanger

\7e both follow these instructions but upon letting go, my coat
hangers are linked and one of his falls on the floor. I unlink mine and
say,
Oh, I must haue giuenloa the wrong ones.
\We switch coat hangers and do the same thing ag tn and as before,
mine are linked and his are not.
It dou take a bit ofpractice so take these home, keep working on it and before
1ou know itloa'll haue euery coat hanger in the hoase linked together in a chain.
This ptesentation is a good lesson in spectator maflagement. The
goal is to keep the young fellow's attention focused on his two coat
hangers rather than on yours (where the gimmick is). You can use
your free hand to point out where he should be looking while at the
same time masking his view of the gimmick.
Occasionally, when hosting a stage show, I would perform my
other Linking CoatHanger routine in the fitst half and then after
lntefmlsslon say,
During intermission I ouerheard some people discussrng tbe Linking Coat
Hangers and saggesting that thel must be trick hangers. I am here to tellyu tbat
this is absolwtefi not true and I'll proue it.
Then aboy was invited to the stage and we did the impromptu rou-
tine. Rather than conflicting with each other, the two similar routines
actually enhanced one another.

5
 'ti:

!
t is used the Linking Coat Hang-

!
ers fiy years arid yet, somehow, I am
I stil oat hangers. This has to be the
ultimate proof of my theory that says if you disguise a classic magic
trick with different props and then create an original routine you will
have set yourself apart from all other performets and in the eyes of
laymen you will have cteated a brand new magic trick. The Linking
Coat Hangets is the ttick that taught me the value of this theory. My
actBc (before coat hangets) consisted of the Cut & Restored Rope,
jumbo Invisible Deck and the Linking Rings. Once I saw the Pou/er
of trading rings fot coat harigets, I traded juggling clubs for manne-
quin atms, made the Bill in'Wallet into the Bill in Cigar, the Gypsy
Thread into Magic Paper and so on.
As a teenageg after studying the Linking Ring moves rn The Dai
Wrnon Book of Magic,I was anxious to obtain a coPy of Dai Vetnon's
Slmpbory of the Rings.In the introduction Lewis Ganson states that
ptiot to the publication of this manuscript Vernon taught his routine
to just four friends and each of them "adapted the routine to suit
their own styles." I decided to follow in the footsteps of the Profes-
sot's friends and adapt the routine in an effort to create a style.
One school of thought regarding the Linking Rings is that
thete is no magic if members of the audience don't examine the
dngs. I understand the thinking behind this theory but have
never accepted it as gospel. One of the most magical toutines I
have evet seerr'\r/as Richard Ross' vetsion of the rings. Silent, slow and
nothing was examined but the magic was extremely powerful.
9 83 M-U -M naga{ne feataing
Eventually the numbet of rings in my routine was reduced ftom
1

the Linking Coat Hangers.

six to four: one key ring, a single, anda chain of two. My fnai routine
couldnt have been simpler. Link the key and single together and then
take them Link the other pair together and, if convenient, hand
^p^rt.
them out for examination otherwise just hang them on my arm. Ctash
Link the key and single and then link both paits together into a chain

V
of four. Then I would unlink the rings one at a time. In an obscute
book written by George Blake (Comedl Magic,1,966) I found a routine
called The Perverse Rings. George's idea was to have the key ring
become linked to the buttonhole of your jacket. Then, in an effort
to ftee the ring, you would pick up a pair of scissors that would also
become linked onto the ring. I liked the idea of the magician losing
control of the magic.
As my routine was taking shape I had a fottuitous lunch with three
friends: Alan Wakeling, Don Bice andJohn Gaughan. \When I men-
tioned that I was working ofl a ting routine Alan suggested that when
the last two rings refuse to unlink I should pull out a hacksaw which
suddenly becomes linked onto the ring. I immediately loved the idea
and Alan gtaciously bestowed it on me.
Soon I was closing my the Linking
^ctwith
Rings featuring the hacksaw finish.
Pete Biro is the one who found the heavy
gauge aluminum coat hangers and suggested
that I do my Ring routine with hangers. I
obtained a quantity of these hangers and
started experimenting.
The first change was made during the
construction of the key hanger. Rather
than having the normal gap that has to be
concealed by your flngers thtoughout the
routine I made it more like Jetry Andrus'
Linking Safety Pin where the cut ends of
the key are acttally touching. By having
these ends perfectly aligned it wasn't neces-
sary to keep the gap covered. The key could
be safely held at any point without fear of
exposing the gimmick. I developed a han-
dling that allowed the other hangers to link
and unlink from the key with ease.
My frst inclination was to just perform TbeJaruots Ho@aaotl tbeatrical pbotographer John Rud thot tbis pubtici/
my existing Linking Ring routine with coat pictttrc in 1971'

hangers but I soon discovered that certain

moves v/ere not possible with a coat hanger. Other riew moves were
developed that could only be executed with coat hangers. A step-by-

tio
li0
 Lnrna 0n llr,nr,rBs

step description of the entire routine will not be included here because
in order to attempt of the moves you need a gimmicked set of
any
coat hangers (which are still avatlable on my website) and they include
a detailed explanation of the routine in both DVD and printed fotm.
Reproducing it hete wouldn't be fau to the mzny magicians around
the wotld who have purchased the routine.

It will only succeed if the audi-

has often been said that a magtcian
ence cares about his magic. Why should an audience care if you are
able to link and unlink steel rings that you bought a m glc shop?
^t
The short ans'wer is, they shouldn't. Trading
in my magic shop rings for an object that
evefy single spectator has dozens of at home
in their closets made all the difference. The
ofle thing that we all have in common is
that our coat hangers seem to multiply at
will and the more we have, the more eas-
ily they tangle together. This shared ttait
is horv I got them to, if not care, atleast
identify with what I was doing. That's when
the routine became less about mysteriously
linking solid objects together and more
about me raising coat hangers at home and
the spectators gettiflg tangled up in theirs.
Audiences immediately warmed up to this
presentation and before long I was the
coat hanger guy. I can't tell you how many
people have come uP to me over the yeats
and explained how when cleaning out their
in
closets they got hopelessly tangled up
coat haflgers and how they ended up talking
Iol,r Reed tlten recorded the trursitior f'on LirkiryNngs ta Linkiry Coal and laughing about my act.
rT,rtt3ett ir 1975. Some magicians arc -very guarded about
their magic, never showing or discussing
anything with other performers for fear that their ideas will be stolen.
Ever since m), teenage years in The Long Beach N{ystics I have taken

q
 E / Catuina Ca//ege, 1 975.

the exact opposite approach. If I

had never talked about or Performed
my ring routine for any of my friends I might still be doing Vernon's
Symphony of the Rings. But because I kept my eyes and ears open
and actively sought out advice from my peers I was able to develop a

trademark routine.
\Xihen I originally offered this routine to the magtc community I
tried to make it as self contained as possible thus it was limited to iust
the four coat hangers and the hacksaw. But as Dai Vernon did in his
Slmphory of tbe Rings manuscript, I too encouraged my customers to
keep thinking and make the routine their own.
For my own act I created a finish that was quite a bit more elabo-
r^te thafl what u,as described in the instruction book. I will describe it
hete in order to demonstrate how to transform a f,nal trick into a real
closing number.
 Lnuta An tiltrnrirBt

Since I had always used a large pak of scissors in my act (Money

Machine, Cut and Restored Rope, Bill in Cigar) I decided to incorpo-
rate George Blake's idea of getting scissors linked onto the coat hang-
er. After using the scissors eatly in my the blade would be tucked
^ct
behind my belt buckle and there they would sit, in full view, through-
out the performance. The audience got so used to seeing the scissors
sticking out of my belt that their Presence became unmemorable.
I begin the routine by saying, I raise coat hangers at home in m1 closet

and I'ue had these two euer since thel were nothing bat little paper clips. These
Fig. 1 Tbe netal chp attacbed to
few wotds concisely establish the ptemise and suggest the preposter-
uppermo$ babl hanger is aisible at
it extends out of tbe clmparttnent. ous notion thatpaper clips are actually baby coat hangers. With this in
mind I made a chain of baby co^th^ngers. The
hanger at ofle end of the chain had a latge clip
attached that could easily eflgage the full-size
hangets. The hangers in this chain were carefully
stacked and concealed in a compartment with
the clip extending to the outside. Fig. 1.

The hanger opposite end of the chain

^tthe
was loosely attached to the stool with a strong
loop of fishing line.
The compartment was fotmed from a single
piece of sheet metal by bending it into a U-
shape and then covering it with black felt. The
compartment u/as used as a shelf thus diminish-
ing the fact that it doubled as a hiding place.
Throughout my act the four coat hangers hung
frorn a peg at the top rcar of the stool. In this
position the long side of these hangers passed
right by the clip. And finally, I added small caster
wheels to the legs of the stool. Fig. 2.
Near the end of the toutine I unlinked two
hangets from the key and as I hung them on the

Fig. 2 Stool seetr ftnru behind a.,it/t tlte banget"s banging on t/te peg, tbe
bab1, bangers loaded in the contpaitnent artd caster wbee/s on tbe legs.

7t
lrlur (avnw Wonont

peg I snapped their long sides into the clip. Fig. 3.

After the hacksaw was linked to the key the
third hangerwas unlinked and it too was hung
on the peg.
Then my atterition teturned to the task of
ttying to unlink the hacksaw. Finally, defeated, I
gave up. The handle of the hacksaw was held in
my right hand and the hook of the key was in my
left. And dont forget that the handle of the scis-
sors v/as still sticking uP out of my belt. Fig. 4.
Fig. ) As tbe cltain-of-nt'a t retarned to tbe back of tlte stool thel are
During the last line of patter my left thumb
:n@ped into the clip on tbe balry coat hanger cbain.
pressed the key open so that the short arm could
slide through the scissor handle. Figs. 5 & 6.
By letting go of the hanger I could spread my arms out in a "ta-dl"

Fig. 4 (Aboue leJt) At this point the arns are relaxed in front of rue

bemase tbe tick is apparent! ouer. Daing tbe fnal line of pauer n1
left hand slow! approaches tbe bandle oJ the scissorc.

trig. 5 (rigbt center) I'ue used a clr,Pk of dffirentfnal lines, one of

them being, 'Tf ltoa d like to wake up with a smile onlottrfacq go t0
bed witb a coat hanger inlour moutb." Upon uling tbe last word, ru1
thumb pashed tbe ke1 open and invrted tbe arm throtgb the scissort
bandle.

Fig. 6 (Right) I then let the hanger slide down antil it is hangingfrom
tbe .rci.r.ror bandle.

77
 Lnune (on lliltornt

pose and by doing so, the scissors were pulled

out of my belt. Fig. 7.

The scissors v/ere seen dangiing from the

key hanger which in turn was dangling ftom the
hacksaw. Fig. 8.
This surptise call back to the scissors always
produced laughter and because the trick was ob-
viously over, applause as well. Switching the hack
saw over to the left hand freed my right hand to
pick up the three hangers hanging on the back
Fig. 7 The left hand its bold on the coat hanger, allowingthe
releases
of the stoo1. They would be lifted off the peg
igbt band to pttll the scissors outfrom bebind tbe belt.
and moved straight back which pulled the entire
miniature chain out of the compartment.
\With arms raised I would take a couPle of steps to the left thus
creating the final pose. Hanging from the saw in my left hand
was the key coat hanger but because of the design of the key I
didn't have to worry about exposing the gap. Hanging ftom the
key hanget were the scissots. Gripped in my right hand wete
three coat hangers that wete clipped to a five-foot chain of baby
coat hangers that in turn were attached to the stoo1. The baby
coat haflgers provided a call-back to my opening line about rais-
ing coat hangers from paper clips. The sudden t^nce of this
^PPe
wall of hardware was riot only sutprising but it also looked ridicu-
lous.
At the end of the perfotmer normally walks off stage
^n ^ct
and the curtain closes ot, lacking a cartain, a stagehand enters
and removes the props to the wings. In less formal settings
it usually falls to the performer to clear away his props and is
anything more anti-climactic than foliowing one's big fnish by
Fi3. 8 This odd lookingcbain wat
tol ltotv the routine was Ja$oie clearing the stage. Instead of the audience's final tmage being you van-
:o ud bat it did prouide a comical ishing c ge full of doves it is of you crawling around on the dance
iiltlt. ^
floor picking up cards. That was the beauty of the pande of hangers.
As I
started walking stage left with my arms fully extended everything
on stage followed me. With the saw, hanger, and scissors actiflg as the
cowcatcher, me as the engine, the chain of hangers as the train and
the stool as the caboose, it was quite a sight.
Very often I served as master of ceremonies on these shows so I
would have to return immediately in order to inttoduce the next act,

171
Mttr Avnw WonorBt

which always felt like a bit of an anti-climax. After seeing my big fin-
ish the audience got to listen to me talk for another minute or tu/o.
During a week at the Magic Castle I was able to turn this untheattical
moment into an asset. Tifla was waiting in the left wing as my lit-
tle train pulled into the station. As soon as I disappeared behind the
curtain she would take the three Linking Coat Hangers from me and
continue pulling the same speed as I took off running like a bat
^t
out of hell. I ran straight up stage, behind the back curtain and back
downstage in the stage right wing. Then, iust as the stool was about to
disappear into the stage left wing I would step out onto the opposite
side of the stage and say, How'bout a nice handforMike Caueruel? It's not
that the audience was fooled by -y reappear^rrce but the level of their
surprise was indicated by the huge reaction it never failed to generate.

(Aboue) Tbe ridiculoas srune at the end of n1 act. As I u,alked of stage all of nry props followed.
(Opposite toD At m1 hading ann disappeared bebind tbe cartain Tina took tbe coat banger, saw and
scissorcfrom rue.

(Opposite center) As I disappeared behind tbe cartain she took the tbree hangersfrom rue and continaed
palling the stool at the sarue speed.
(Opposite bottom) fust before tbe slool disappeared behind the cnrtain I (as tbe erurce) appeared on tbe
other ide of tlte stage and called ntlself backfor a bow.

74
 ln 1976
ke's Magic Place in Lon-
don, I n though the instructions
!
I clearly eck's version of Lubot
Fiedler's Lubor Die (The Gozinta Box) I it as The
always referred to
Dtiebeck Die. But after recently spending a memorable day with Lubor
Fiedler and expetiencing f,rst-hand the breadth of his sheer genius, I
now refet to it by the name under which Lubor himself frst offeted it
to the magic world, The Lubor Die. Bob Dtiebeck's contribution was
to make the box into a large die and add a frnal shell that turned the
die into a Chinese-style box. Both of these are worthy additions but
they paie in comparison to the genius of Lubor's otiginal invention.
I loved the absurd logic that the effect demonstrated: a large die

was placed into a case that a few seconds earlier was inside the die.
It served as the opening to my act fot many years and I still use it on
occaslofl.
I(en Brooke's instructions went into great detail on how the pieces
of the die and case were stacked and positioned on a table.I thought
surely there must be a way to perform this routine strictly in the
hands, without the use of a table. That handling, along with a few sub-
tleties, is my only contribution to the routine.
Over the years I wofe out two I(en Brooke props not because of
the perfotmances but because they were made from vinyl plastic and
couldnt withstand the ttavel. Eventualiy Ihad a skilled toy designet
(Randy I{impert) construct one out of a stiffer and more durable
plastic. The toletances u/ere so close that it was necessary to drill four
ttrly holes through the top and bottom of the die and the bottom
^ff
of the Chinese box to allow the tight-fitting shells to slide aP^rt.I(en's
dies were always red but since the standard classic die is white (and
because white looks bigger on stage) we made the die white. The box
inside is supposed to be a canying case so this box was covered with
natural wood contact paper leaving a wide border around each side.

177
It;'ith Ken Brooke at Kel Brookei ,\[ryir Phru in I-ordc,r, -lrr/1' / 976, a lirttt ty'ttt Ktt n'a.r con.rid-
ered tfu f nest denor.rtntlor it ltagtc.

The wood gives the appearance of a strong u/ooden box and the black
border plays an important role in the overall illuston.
This description is mainlv for those who own a Driebeck Die or
Gozinta Box but others might be interested to see how I attempted
to m^xtmlze the illusion of the die being large and the carrf ing case
being small. The box and die were alwavs assembled the same way;
with the bottom (Chinese s,vmbol) of the case facing me as it slid into
the inner portion of the die and then the lid of the die slid on with the
single spot facing me. This way I of
alwal,s knew where the bottom
the inner box was. I will explain the moves as I do them but keep in
mind that I am left handed.
 ;':#rP irii

Il:'ith Lubor Fied/er

Egl,ptian Hall
at'

A[asetn. At a cbild
Ltrbar renenltercd
seeingKarlini in his
natit'e Auslria.

I wanted to start lut tun@h with d brand new trick. Something that nzne d
Jlil haue neaer seen before. So I :topped lry the magic shop...
The laugh this line never failed to elicit always
surprised me. I suppose it is funnv to laymen that
a m gtctanwould go to a magic shop in search of
a trick that no one else owned.
I spotted this large wbite die.
The diagonalll, oppotite corners of the die are
held between the palms of your hands and the
die is spun providing a clear view of all sides.
Fig. 1.

It looked like apretl,good trick so I told thefel-

low bebind tbe counter that woald like to ba1 one and
Ftg. 1 Die is di:plEed on all sides b1' spiniltgit betn'een tbe palns. I explained to him that I trauel around quite a bit so I
Mn Cwrnw Wonons

would need a carryting case to carryt it in. He told me that

tbe case was included so I said, "Great, where is it?" He

said it was inside the die. I said, "Yoa keep the carrying
case inside the die?" He said, "Yeah, we keep it in tbere to
proturt it." I see. If,/ell, be opened ap the die, reached inside

and pulkd out a small wooden box.

The die is held by the bottom in the left hand

with the ofle-spot facing you. Your right hand
slides the outer die shell off and hangs it on your
left little finger. Fig.2.
Your right hand slides the box out of the die Fig. 2 81 holdingthe die with the one-spotfacingloa, tbe intide box will
alwEts fis in tbeproperposition.
and sets it in the bend of your left arm. The
bottom of the box (Chinese symbol) is against
your chest and the box is held in place by the left
forearm. Fig. 3.
This frees up your right hand to reassemble
the die by removing the outer die shell from your
little finger and replacing it on the inner die shell.
Because yout left thumbtip extends about an inch
up from the bottom of the inner shell, the outer
die shell will slide down and come to rest on the
thumbtip.
The right hand then retakes the box with the Fig. 3 It it tbe combination of yur lihh fnger acting as a hook and
thumb on the bottom and the fingers on the top. loarforearm acting at a tbe/f tbat allow tbe table to be elininated.
The box and die are held side by side to compare
their relative sizes. Tipping the die and box fot-
ward slightly will help hide from the audience's
view of the Chinese character on the bottom of
the box. Fig. 4.
Now euen I could see that the little wooden box woald
neaer bold the large white die.

In this position the die looks considerably

bigger than the box. The six-spotted side of the
die will be facing the audience and even though
the outer shell is being held up, the spots
^ppe^r
to be in the proper position. The bottom row Fig. 4 Thh performerl uiew shows the left thamb tip holdiag ap the
outer sbell af tbe die making the die look runtiderab! larger than the
of spots is actually positioned along the bottom wooden box.
edge of the shell but with an inch of the inner

ri0
L i3. 5 The sPztr 0t tlte die appear as tltel' .rltotld and tlte re/alire :i1,es Fig.6In hand/ingthe n'ooder box, ilte baltott (Cltitese g'rubo/) i:
,; lltt /l,a abject.r are rast/1,dfferent. ah'a-y's kept tunted an'a1'-f)'attt ilte ,tttdienre.

shell showing below these spots the die appears normal. Fig. 5.
But I didn't rE arything and he didn't sa1 dnJthing. He just opened up tbe

Contptin3 tlte re/atit'e .riqe.r
, l()07 perfornance in )luniclt,
C. nlatty. Phato: Tltoruas Frap.r.
box, took the die, dropped it inside and Pat on the lid.
Now the die is turned upside down and set into the bend of your
right arm. Yout right forearm holds the one-sPot side of the die
against vout chest. In this position the inner die shell will slide the fi-
duritrg
nal inch down into the outer die shell and vour right forearrn can helP
shield this movement from the audience's view. Fig. 6.
Mtt (wrnw Wonons

Fig. 7 It is daing the opening of the box tbat the inner die shell :/ide: Fig. 8 Tbe tiry b/ack dot next to n4, right tburubtip is one of the air
the inch into tbe outer die sbell. hales tbat a//oa,s tbe sbe//s to :/ide @an.
f,nal

The bottom of the box is placed onto the palm of your left hand with
your thumb on the side nearest you and your fngers on the opposite
side. The right hand is now ftee to remove the outer shell of the box.
Fig.7.
The outer box shell is hung onto your left little finger. Then yout
right hand cuds inwatd and grips the end of the upside-down die by
placing your thumb on the bottom of the die (nearest the ceiling) and
the little fnger on top of the die (nearest the floor). Fig. 8.
With this grip the die can be slid down into the box. Fig. 9.
Then the outer box shell is tetrieved from the little finger and te-
placed onto the box. Fig. 10.

Fig. 9 Tbe bottoru of tbe die isfacingme as it is inserted into tbe box. Fig. l0 Then the oater shell is replaced on tlte box, conpleting the ffict.

17
 LupoB Dtr

The reassembled box sits on your outstretched

left hand as the audience rezltzes the impossibil-
ity of what just occurred. Fig. 11.
Of course the lid of the box stopped about an
inch short of completely covering the inner box
but because the inner box is black, the eye per-
ceives it as part of the black border outlining the
entire box.
So I startedfor bomq and I'm thinking, thatl impos-

sibk. So I got off the bas, I went back to the magic sbop
' 'll-tt
| audience needs a uoruent here to absorb that uhatjust bap- and it was gone. In its place wa! d Chinese laandrlt. Then
.:. i ttdeed inpossible.
I remembered. He told ne that the instructions to the trick
were inside the box. IYhat he didn't tell me is that thel
were written in Chinese.

The right hand gtips the outer box shell from

above and by pressing the right index f,nger tip
through the hole in the top of this outer shell the
shell can be separated from the Chinese cube.
Pig.12.
The outer box shell is hung on the left little
f,nger so you can spin the Chinese cube between
your palms thus showing it on all sides. Fig. 13.

') '['ltt
topper to the efibt (Bob Diebeck': addition) is to remat'e
ThatJ wbl I can't do this trick,I am szft).

::.r.;l.tel/ reuealingtbat the die has changed into a Cbinue b/ock.

And here is the punchline to this stoty. After

performing this routine for over thirty-five yeats
I fnally saw a video of Lubor demonstrating his
Lubot Die. The entire routine was accomplished
in his hands without once relying on a table. So
perhaps I did create a simplifed handling of the
Driebeck Die but it now appears that I didn't
think of anything that the originator hadn't al-
rcady thought of himself.

"&
; I )'I'lte black borders on each side lfectiLe!' corcea/ tltefact that tlte
-,, .;lv// is not conQlete[t caL'eiilg tbe inner block.

11
-{ r- .lt
 he origin of my Lie Detector goes back over thirty years and I'm
afuaid that many details have faded from my memory. Here is
what I know for sure. First, my friend Jim Olsen built the
^PP^-
ratus for me around 1982.The beautiful woodwork outside conceals
m^ze of tadio-controlled electronics inside that I don't begin to un-
^
derstand. Second, fot no good reason, I've nevef performed this trick
even once.
It's diffcult for me to claim this idea as my own though I can't
for the life of me think of where I might have seen it. A quick search
through Bill I(alush's AskAlexandet database reveals that the lie de-
tector premise existed long before mine was built. In 1985 I published
Martin's Miraclu and it featured a wealth of commetcial magic from
my pal Martin Lewis. The f,nal item in the book is Martin's Improved
Lie Detector. It could be that Nlartin and I discussed this effect long
before the book was pubiished. Matin's device was designed to be
perfotmed close-up on a table top. My goal was always to ptesent it
as a stage routine. In tecent years there have been a number of radio-
controlled Lie Detectors available on the magic matket' Perhaps it's
not surprising that electronics genius I(erry Pollock created his own
radio controlied Lie Detector that looks like a metal detector. My
ftiend Steve Walket in Australia has been perfotming the Lie Detec-
tor for mafiy years with great success and recalls f,rst reading about it
in Martin's Miracles. Regardless of whete the original spark came ftom
hete is what my idea turned into.
I would explain that I had invented a new kind of lie detectot that
could perceive the truth just by hearing the sound of one's voice. The
audience saw a natufal wood box with a front made from ttanslucent
red plastic. To demonstrate its capabilities I would say, TodE is Tues-
dal,bur_l would name the wrong day. Immediately the front of the

115
 Mtt (wmw Wownt

Lie Detector box would light up with little light bulbs inside spelling
out the word LIE and aloudbtzz would sound. I'm uerl prowd of tbi:
inuention and I should be since I spent ouer $50,000 deuehpingzl. Suddenly the
screeri would again indicate LIE and thebuzz would sound. \Tithout
hesitation I would continue talking. IYell at lea:t,ff5,000. Again the light
andbuzz would go off. OK, I made it out of an old garage door opener bat
whatJ important is that I'ue had a lot of interestfrom the FBI in lYasbirugton
D.C. Again the detector would go off. Immediately I would change
my story. From tbe local police departmerut. LIE . lVell I did catcb the kid wbo
stole m1 newspaper

To demonstrate the true value of the invention I would propose that

we carry out a mock murder. Then, by using the lie detectot, we would
identify both the murder weapon and the victim. A toy gun, a meat
cleavet and a noose were set on the table. One spectatof was selected
as the would-be murderer with a grandmothedy type being high on
the list of possible candidates. The lady was asked if she had ever
committed a murder before. After her (hoped for) negative response
I would say, A likefi story.I would then explain that after covering my
head with a black bag and turning my back to the audience she was
to pick up one of the weapons, walk into the audience and indicate
which spectator would be her victim by simulating a murder. Simulat-
ing being the ke1 word here. Jast remember this is all in the interest of scienn. She
would then replace the mutder weapon on the table, mix up the three
weapons if she wanted, and then indicate that she was fnished.
I would remove the blindfold; turn around and by asking a series of
yes-ot-no questions the lie detector would correctly identify the mut-
der weapon and the victim. I think this process could generate many
laughs but solving the murder is not the point. The demonstration
merely proves that the lie detector can indeed detect a lie. Aftet the
demonstration is over the device is set off to the side on another table
or ori the floor and I would go on with the show
During my Bill in Cigar routine I could say, Don't worr1, nothing is go-
ing to happen tolour one hundred-dollar bill. Suddenly the lie detector lights
up and the sound has changed to a intermittent siren. During the Bow
and Arrow routine I say, Yoa must remember at all times, I'm an expert, I
rueuer miss. Again the detector lights up and the siren sounds. During

the Scissors thtough the Coat I could say to the gentleman, He1,1Iove
lour tie. LIE. You get the idea. It is the residual effect of the lie detector,

t56

Tbe control pane/ on tbe bark
after the original demonsttation is over, that is the real value. Imagine
walking off stage the end of your show and after the applause has
^t
subsided your lavaliet microphone is still on and the audience hears
you sa)r, Boy that was a great azdience and the lie detector that is still sit-
ting on the stage gets in the last word - LIE ,BTJZZ.I reahze that for
many performers this would be a horrible thing to say, but for a card-
carrying idiot, this line is made to order.
On the back of the lie detector there are three switches. The first
tutns the battety power on and off. \X/hen the center switch is in the
up position the Iight bulbs illuminate the word LIE. When it is in
the bottom position a loud tone sounds and
when it is in the middle position both the
lights and sound are acttyated together. The
switch on the right chooses either a pulse
sound (up position) or a continuous tone (bot-
tom position). It is an eas)'matter to surrepti-
tiously alternate between variations
even during a petformance.
I can't imagine that anyone would
try to build this prop today with the
number of commetcially avaiiable
versions aheady on the market but
what might be of use is the blindfold
technique I developed.
it sintple enotgl-t to opetnte l1'larcl: a/one. I have always been amused by
the great lengths that magicians go
through to blindfold themselves, sealing off their with half dol-
eye s
lars, adhesive tape, bandages, bread dough and steel masks. In any
situation other than a rrlagtc show if You wanted to Pfevent someone
from seeing somethiflg )'ou would tell them to turn their back. So
startiflg with this low-tech method for eliminating one's sense of sight
I set out to find a wa.y to see with mv back turned.
solrrrtot was equalll'low tech but it did require the addition of
N[1,
a simple blindfold. This trick blindfold is a dealer item consisting of
a black bag composed of three layets. One outer side and the inner
wall are made of black satin while the other outer side is made from a
black matenal that can be seen through. The result is a bag with two
compartments inside. Fig. 1.
\':
Mur Awnw Wonont

When demonstrating it on a spectator his head is

placed inside the compartment that is impossible to see
thtough so he can honestly testify that the blindfold is
100% effective. $7hen pulling it over your ov/n head the
other compartment is used allowing you to see through
the front. This is the standard method of operation and is
how I used it in the Halloween Card Stab (prg. 141). But
for the Lie Detector I wanted to have my back turned.
The handling couldn't be simpler. You turn your back
to the audience (or in this case to the table with the mur-
det weapons) and then you pull the blindfold bag over
your head. The difference is that the transparent wall of
the bag is against the back of your head and you actually
can't see out the front. As soon as the bag is in place you
reach up and momentarily grab the two top corners, turn
Fig. 1 The tuto lalers at the left
your head in either direction as far as you can, and then let go of the are satin and opaqae. The lEer
corriers.Figs.2&3. on tbe ight i: a black nesh
material that it transParent.
Yout grip on the corners will prevent the bag from moving as your
head spins around. You will now be looking over your shouldet and in
this positiofl you can cleady see through the back of the bag. Remain

Fig. 2 Your slight rEositioning of tbe bag will obscure tbefact tbatya Fig. 3 A plastic bag reueals bow tbe bead is turned as tbe top corners are
tarnlour bead. momentai! held. IVARI'Ifi'{G: 81 perforning this trick with a plastic
baglou will expoy tbe method and/or die of stffication.

is this position as the spectatof picks up a weapon, "murders" her

victim, and then returns the weapon to the table and mixes it with
the others. You will be able to see every step of the action. Once the
crime is completed, grab the top two corners of the bag, immediately

rJ0
 ltr Drrccrop

turn your head so it is facing forward (away from

the table) and pull the bag off. Frg. 4.
It will r that you were facing upstage the
^ppe
entite time. Now you can ask a series of questions
about the weapons and the victim and either ac-
tivate the lie detector or not based on your newly
gained knowledge and the spectator's resPonse.
WhenJim Olsen built this prop he used eady
1980s electtonic components and, needless to
say, things have changed dramatically over the

- :;.1 To rernoue the blindfold, regrip the rurners, turnloar headfor- decades. About fifteen years I had I(erry
^go
;.;,i, and lift tbe bag off. Pollock update the electronics and he was able to
gte tly reduce the size and weight of the batteties and the size of the
tfansmitter. I'm sure the unit is due for another update now.
\7hite I was blindfolded and the murdet was being committed I
would secure the small transmitter in my hand. When the blindfold
was removed I would casually fold it up and just hold it in the same
hand as the transmitter, thereby disguising the fact thatl was pressing
the transmitter button with my fingertip. Figs. 5 & 6.
Another option would be to sew the transmitter into a small pocket
in the blindfold thus enabling you to handle the blindfold much more
casually. Today miniscule transmitters are everywhere in our daily
lives. As soon as anything happens remotely a modern-day audience
is going to scrutinize you carefully in search of the source of the
transmission. The ideal method of operation would be to have a toe

Ftg. 5 Thefolded blindfold conrcak tbefact tbatlou are also bolding tbe Fig. 6 Expo:ed rieu, of the transmitter that woald nortrta@ couered b1
trdfiwtlter. yurf ngers.

119
Mur(wnw Wononr

switch operate the transmitter and a power switch located in your

pocket or on your belt. lfhen the time comes to demonstrate the Lie
Detector you would merely turri on the power switch and then with
your hands cleady empty, the device could be opetated imperceptibly
by your toe.
A final note on the murder weapons. My gun, meat cleaver and
noose were all made out of plastic or tubber and looked funny nther
than threatening. In today's world, depending on the news of the day,
certatn people might considet this whole premise to be bordeting on
poor taste but those are just the kind of people that I think could use
a good conk on the head with a plastic meat cleaver.

t40
 he first time I ever sa'w Tina Lenert she was a table in Judy Cart-
er's act in the Haunted Wine Cellar at the Magic Castle. Judy was
successful comedy magician in those davs and yes, among
^vety
other things, Tina served as a table in her act.Ttna (as a mechanical
mime) would bend over at the waist and Judy would set a candle and
other items on her back like she was setting the table. You had to be
there. I'm sure it was seeing Tina as a table that inspired this bloody
version of the classic card stab.
The Left-Handed League was a secret organizatron of petform-
ers who were good at keeping secfets. The fact that we were also all
left-handed was merell, a coincidence. Hatry Anderson, Martin Lewis,
Turk Pipkin,JayJohnson, Tina Lenert and I composed the bulk of the

T lt e l-.eft-H a n de d l-.eaga e ga tlt e rc

i t t S cottsdale, A i ryna for fott

petformances in 1987.
@ack roa) Harq' An,\t,to,r,
)like Cauenel aith chicken,
Tina Lenert, Turk Ptpkin.
(Front roa) )[atit
Leu'is, Jal'

Jobnson.

4
Mtu (wnw Wonmt

membership. The League's most tangible byproduct

was lYenii magazrne (1982) the infamous parody of
Cenii r.r,agazine.
The Bubonic Players constituted the under-
ground thespian wing of The Left-Handed
League and occasionally we would show up in
some distant city to petform, but mostly we kept
to ourselves. On numerous Halloween nights
during the late 1980s we teuotized The Com-
edy & Magic Club in Hermosa Beach. I was
never sure if ov/ner Mike Lacey actually hired
us or simply didn't have the manpou/er to
evict us from his club. We all assumed cov-
ett identities so as not to taint out otherwise
squeaky-cle^fl replrt^tions. With the help of a spectacular plaid
suit (a gift from my good friend George Goebel) I assumed the tole
T h e l--eft- H a n d e d I-,e agu e's
of Bill Toob, a typically obnoxious magic club member who stepped
parodl of Geni rztaga4ine
ftom the pages of lYenii magazine.In the guise of Mr. Toob I can re- and tbe Magic Cattle proued so
member conducting a drawing for valuable prizes (state lottery tickets popnlar that it was actually sold
in tbe Magic Cattlel gfi shop.
that had been pre-scratched to save time) and also walking thtough
the audience during a black-out wielding z chain saw (with the chain
temoved) that belched exhaust as I rewed the engine to ear-splitting
Ievels. I can't say if the audience was scared but I recall being terdfied.

Programsfrorz the 1986

and 1988 Halloween sbows
at Mike l-^ace1l Corzedl
dz Magic Chb in Hernou
Beach, Calfornia.

4t
 llauowtrn (r,po frr,p

One year Bill Toob decided to perform the Malini

Card Stab. I refer to it as the "Malinr" Card Stab so
the reader will be famlliar with the basic effect, all the
while knowing that Max Malini would be horrifed
to have his name associated with such a Presentation.
The images that statted switling around in my head
included Ttna acting as a table, a hunting knife that
was plunged into said "table," afld blood,lots and lots
of blood. The final effect looked like this.
Tina, dressed in white overalls (sold at paint stores
for about $8), w-as our stagehand and thus was anx-
ious to please the perfotmers who continually barked
orders ather. Bi1l Toob, who cared only about his
own act, barked the most often and the loudest.
IYbere are m) cards?
Tina catied a jumbo deck on stage, not because it
was het job but because Mt. Toob had forgotten to.
F!. / As Tina pitks ap a dropped card I nistake ber These ouer-siryd cards will allow some ofloufolk: in the
i't;k /br tbe table. back to see what tbe beck is going on up here.
A spectator seated directly in front of the stage se-
Iected a card.It was shown to one and all, returned to
the deck and the deck was shuffed by the spectator.
Merefi rtabbingloar card with a hunting knfe woald be
worth the price of admission bwt attempting thisfeat whik
blindfolded wowld certainll warrant a generlas tip foryoar
performer And that's wfuiI do it.

I eliminated my sense of sight by pulling a black

cloth bag over my head. As I agarn shuffed the cards
one card slipped from the deck and landed on the
floor. The ever-helpful Tina reached down to pick it
up iust as I bellowed,IYhere the hell is n1 table. Mistak-
ing her for the tabletop I spread the catds out on het
back. I then introduced a large hunting knife and used
the tip to continue spreading the cards atound. Fig. 1.

Suddenly I plunged the knife into the sptead of

cards (and Tina's back) and impaled one card. Iflhen
this proved flot to be the selection I tossed it av'ray
Fig. 2 Tbe fr:t stabbed card prutes to Lte tlte u'rang one. (Fig. 2) and asked for another chance. This time

41
Mwr (twnrv Wonont

Fig. 3 The knfe b $abbed into the table ight up n Fig. 4 I :earchfor tbe rtissing table anaware tbat il
the handle. has nanpled to the fioor

the knife sunk into het back tight up to the

handle (Fig. 3), which caused Tina to stagger
around and then crumple at my feet. Fig. 4.
As she staggered I was frantically search-
ing for the table that had suddenly gone miss-
ing. Pulling off the blindfold tevealed cards
all over the stage and a dead assistant at my
feet. Fig. 5.
\When I hoisted up her lifeless body the
audience could see the knife blade protrud-
ing ftom her abdomen with the selected catd
impaled on its point. I was completely oblivi-
ous of the fact that het overalls wete coveted
with blood but was thrilled that I had stabbed
the correct catd. Fig. 6.
Othet than for an adult Halloween audience
I can't imagine anyofle perfotming this tou- Fig. 5 A semnd ago I was doing a card tick. Now
tine as wtitten but in that specific situation, it there it a dead bodlt at m1 feet.

144
 is pretty terrific. The blindfold (desctibed in
the ptevious Lie Detector routine) is a mar-
keted item that consists of three layers. One
outside layer and the middle layer ate made
of black satin and are oPaque. The other out-
side layer is a black mesh material that you
can see through. To prove that it is an effec-
tive blindfold slip it over a spectator's head
making sute that his head goes between the
two layers of satin. He will confrm that it is
pitch black inside and that he can't see any-
thing. \When putting the blindfold on your-
self make sufe your head goes between the
satin and mesh layers with the mesh tou/ard
the front. This will allow )'ou a clear view of
everything in front of You.
Perhaps the most important element (at
least to the assistant) is the protective shield
Ftg. 6 HeJ, look at tbat, tlte hick u'arked afer al/.
that is worn underneath the overalls on her
back' A piece of heavl' sheet metal was bent
into a curved shape so it effectively covered Tina's back and sides. The
end of aheavy stfap u/as secured to one side of the metal shield. After
the shield was positioned on the her back the other end of the strap
was passed through a slot in the opposite side of the shield. Pulling
on the strap cinched the shield down
tight to her back and Velcro tabs held
everything securelf in place. A power-
ful magnet was Permanentl)' attached
to the center of the straP. \When the
shield v/as strapped on, this magnet
v'as positioned right over her midsec-
tion. Fig. 7.
The entire back of the shield was
covered with a piece of quarter- inch
pll,wood and the bottom half of the
u,ood was covered rvith an eighth-
inch-thick piece of rubber. In the act
Fig. 7 5.ltot'n beru is lbe proteclire truttt/ sltield, n'rtadet
ltackboard, and polej)rl ndgttd ztl ilte stmp. of spreading the cards out on her back
Mw Awnru Ulampt

Ftg. 8 The black nrbber on the lon'er ltalf oJ' tlte shield at- Ftg. 9 T/te ht'o s/satp points on tlte sat'ed-of kntfe can be
lott's a card to be inpa/ed on tlte tip qf the knfe. $abbed into tlse trpper (ruoden) /talf af tlte :bield.

I could feel the edge of the shield and thus I knew exactly whete the
rubber and wood-covered areas \r/efe located. Fig. 8.

Also required are two matching knives with six-inch blades. Us-
ing a grinding wheel I dulled the edge and point of each knife. I did
this for safety reasons but if you really want to be safe... don't do the
Malini Card Stab on someone's back.
One knife had the blade cut off leaving about three-quarters-of-
an-inch of metal. Using a grinding wheel I ground this metal stub
down to two sharp points. Fig. 9.

The blade that was cut off was cut^g ln to a length of three inches.
This three-inch knifepoint was welded to a piece of eighth-inch thick
steel measunngll/rby 21/, inches. When this
steel plate came into contact with the magnet
(even through the overalls) it was very difflcult
to remove. Fig. 10. FU. 10 A three-inch piece
The selected card is obviously forced and the of kntfe blade is we/ded to
a snall steel plate. Daing
simplest v/ay to accomplish this with a jumbo
the petforruance, tbis stee/
deck is to use the technique favored by the great p/ate is couered b1 tbe
jambo card.
Jos6 Frakson during his Rising Card routine. He
would spread the deck, allowing the audience
to see that all the cards were different and then,
as he approached a spectator in the audience, he
would locate his fotce card in the middle of the
spread and say, "'Would you please take one?"

i46
 'lntowtrn 0Bo lrnp

Note that he did not say, "\$7ould you please choose a card?" Ott, "...
take one" he would literally hand the person the force card. Almost
like a Classic Force at gun point. The spectator assumes that he is sup-
posed to hold this specifc card while the rest of the audience believes
he had afree choice.
A duplicate of the force card is impaled face up on the knife-blade
gimmick, which is inserted p^ttway down into the back pocket. Fig.
11.The coat covered this somewhat dangerous gimmick. Fig.1'2.
My back pants pocket was fairly tight so when I tucked the half-
knife in behind the card it remained protruding up out of the pocket.

Fig. 1l Tlte card is easl to gzb sinu tlte protnrding knife Fig. l2 Tlte caat ffittite!, ltidu the card and kntfe girunick
blade prercnts it j'on sliding dontt into tlte pocket. runtil it is needed.

This allowed me to steal the half-knife

and impaled card together. The regular
knife was tucked behind my belt on the
left side.
A rubber ear slrrings (Fig. 13) filled
with stage blood was positioned upright
in the right pocket of the overalls. If the
overalls didn't have pockets then a slit was
made where the right pocket would nor-
mallr. be, allowing the assistant to reach
through the or.eralls and into the pocket
Ftg. 1 ) The assislant nust bll'e ?ttt' d.c($ /0 ily rrbber ur of her pants underneath.
t,tinge tbat conlains stage b/aad. After the card had been "selected" and

4i
Mwt Awnw Womnt

the deck returned to me I donned the blindfold and

gave the catds one more shuffle allowing one card
to drop to the floor. As Tina bent over to pick it up
I immediately started spreading the deck out on her
back. Not wanting to spoil the trick, Ttna froze rt
this position.
Removing the knife from my belt I used its point
to continue moving cards around on her back until
one card was isolated on the rubber surface. The
trick blindfold allowed me a clear view of eve-
rything in front of me. I stabbed the knife point
through this card and as I lifted it up the audience
informed me that it was the wrong catd.
He1, f tbis wds eas) euet)lne woald be doing it. Ciue me
anotber chance.
Duting this interaction with the crowd I re-
moved the wrong card from the knife blade and,
Fig. 14 A: n1 right arm relaxes at tbe edge of tbe
turning to my left, tossed it into the audience. Dur-
nbk (tinQ tbe switch af kniues is mada
ing this turn I stole the half-knife and impaled card
from my back pocket. As I turned fotward agatnl
made sure that these items remained hidden behind
Tina. She took the card-knife gimmick in her right
hand and immediately attached it to the magnet
since in this position it remained out of sight. This
fteed het hand so she could secure the rubbet
syringe. I continued to push cards around her back
and off her back clearing a space above the wood
section of the shield. Then my armloweted down
to the edge of the table and the switch of knives
was made. Fig. 14.
As my right hand (now holding the half-knife)
shot up and then came down shatply onto the
shield, impaling the two points into the wood, the
real knife was dropped into my pocket. Fig. 15
cleady shows the half-knife but this is not seeri
duting the performance due to the speed of the
Fig. l5 Tbe h.vo knife points are painted toward
hand. nryulf as the hand it raised and on! duing its
Fig. 16 shows Tina beginning to coilapse onto the downward plunge does the knfe assame this position.

i40
 lii,uirwim iapn irlrr

trtg. 16 The kniJe ginnick with the inpaled card is Fig. 17 The hae professional alaals stikes his on'n
alreadl in place. proPt.

stage with her back toward the audience which provides a clear view
of the knife in het back. !flhile her front side was facing upstage she
squirted blood onto her overalls. I searched fruitlessly for the sudden-
ly missing table and then removed my blindfold only to discover that
a murder had taken place during the performance of mv card trick.
Confusion turned to glee when I lifted Tina up and revealed that I
had succeeded after all. There was the selected card impaled on the
knife blade. To finish, the corpse was removed from the premises and
the show contiflued. Fig.17.

r49
 lnrs p
I-
til ;
erly prepared.I rcalize that what makes magic "impromptu" is the fact
that it is not prepared but I firmly believe that the best impromPtu
magic is carefully prepated. Proof of this theory is exhibited dudng
every impromptu performance by Spanish master JuanTamarrz. Jtan
will go to any lengths to Iay the groundwork necessary to perfotm
amiracle thatappears to be spontaneous. At this p^tty inJapan,I
spotted a table whose tablecloth reached all the way to the foor. Tina
managed to sneak under the table without being seen and fot the
first time we performed this prediction effect. The Phome Book was
added later.
I have always referred to these impromptu effects that are suggest-
ed by one's immediate surroundings as environmentalmagic Or put
another way; when life serves up alligators, make Gatorade.
I am reminded of a gtgl did with my friend Bill Herz tn 1994 on
board the histotic Orient Express in Switzetland. A corporation had
rented the entire train to take a gfoup of important clients on a one-
day trip. !7e strolled through these beautifuily restored train cars per-
forming close-up magic in competition with the breathtaking scenery
visible through the windows. Shortly before this engagement David
Copperfield had floated and vanished a uatn car from the Otient
Express on his TV special. He also performed a version of Bob Hum-
mef's miraculous Catd on Window. As you know, Iaymen always want
to talk about what they have just seen on television.
During the return trip to Montfeux, after the sun had set, we were
speeding across the Swiss countryside. After consuming a sumPtuous
dinner, guests were lounging and chatting in the various cars. One car
was fitted with a massive confetence table that ran the length of the
car.It offered an ideal location to perform close-up magic fot alarge

1
group. As we roiled along I thought about what a topical routine the
Card on Window would be in this unique situation. And then, for no
reason, the train stopped. I didn't know the reason for the
^pp^rent
stop nor how long it would Iast but I wasn't going to miss this golden
opportuninr I quickl,v found a candle, scrapped some wax from its
side and smeared a tin1, bit onto the face of a card. As I jumped off the
train I tore a corner off of the card and prayed that the train wouldn't
start rolling until I was safely back on board. I stuck the catd to the
window of the conference car iust behind the edge of the curtain so it
'wasn't visible from the inside. I breathed a sigh of relief as I climbed

back onto the train. A few minutes later the train resumed its iourney.
With nothing but blackness outside the windows the guests were all
engaged in conversation and I don't believe that any of them remem-
bered that we had momentarily stopped. The trap had been set.
There was no reason to rush my performance because we still had
quite a while before we reached out destination. Eventually I wan-
dered into the conference car and peeked behind the curtain. There it
was, patiently waiting for the opportunity to create an unforgettable
moment of wonder. By now Bill and I were well known as the wan-
dering magicians so it was easy to gain everyone's attention and begin
a set. I positioned myself on the other side of the table ust opposite f

the curtain. To finish I performed the Ambitious Card but this time
with a forced card. Rathet th^fl have it apper in a LePaul Wallet (as I
had done earher in the day) or stick it to the ceiling (too low) I tore off
a corner which was then switched for the pteviously torn cotner. The
torn card was shuffled into the deck but that missing corner made it
easy to cut the selected card to the bottom of the pack.
l{ow if tbe card rose to the top of the packloa would actualfi see it the moment
that it arriued.
The pack was held in full view, atttacting the crowd's undivided
attention. They couldn't believe that they were actually going to see
the card arrt-ve on top. This provided the perfect opportunity for
Bill to pull the curtain open thus revealing the duplicate catd outside
and then remove himself to the far end of the car. There it was tight
across the table from me and not a soul was looking in its direction...
yet.
Unfortanatefi, I can't do that trirk. But instead ofiast another trick, I thoaght

I would fnish lry performing a bona fde miracle. lYahb the cards.
 iitf ltl,;ttt'isAt

The first line btoke the tension and allowed everYone to smile and
relax. I used this opportunit), to Palm off the selected card. Then,
much to evefyone's surprise, I sprung the cards across the table and
against the window. All of the cards dropped to the floor except for
one with a missing corner that was stuck to the glass. I asked the spec-
tator to peel the card off of the window and make sute it was his.
He said, "I can't, it's on the outside."
IYell then open the window s0Jla can reach oat andget it.
He said, "I cafl't, the window doesn't open."
He held his corner up to the card and through the glass every-
one could see that it fit perfectly. It took a moment for the enormity
of what just happened to register on these big importaflt corPorate
goons. It's moments like this that remind us why we become magi-
cians in the first place. It just doesn't get an)r better.
Youfolk: enjol the rest ofloar trip.
This is one of my favorite examples of environmental magic. Each

ll"bi/e:peedingacross tbe.\'r'iss cotnlryside on tbe OientExpre.rt ilte se/ected crtrd appurud on ilte
oh:ide aJ' a n'indon' tltal didr't opet. Pltoto: Bi// Heq

q*
lrlwr Avnw Wotomt

element of the effect, that the card was on the outside of the glass,
that the window didn't open, that the train was moving at ahtgh rate
of speed, added enormously to the mystery. Thete is certainly no new
technology being used here but a standard trick petformed under the
ptoper conditions can register as a miracle. I have since learned that
David Berglas performed a similar effect with a card appeating on the
outside of a porthole on the p ueen Eliqabeth 11 during
tr^nsadaflttc
^
voyage. Oppottunities like this can help build your reputation and
should not be ignored.
After performing the imptomptu prediction trick tr'Japan I con-
tinued to think about its possibilities and eventually came up with the
Phome Book. \7hi1e I have always loved this ptop I nevet teally found
a good use for it outside of demonstr^ttng the powet of misdirection
during my lecture. During the coutse of the prediction ttick I was able
to hud what appeared to be a hefty telephone book far out into the audi-
ence and watch panicked spectators desperately trying to get out of its
way. I found the tettif,ed look on their faces to be endlessly amusing.
The phome book is a telephone book that is made out of foam rub-
ber. Step one is to catefully remove the cover of the thickest phone
book you can find. Whethet it is the Sflhite Pages ot Yellow Pages
doesnt matter as long as it is at least three inches thick. Next, obtain a

piece of foam rubber th^t is the apptopriate colot fot your cover, either
white or yellow. There ate diffetent densities of foam so pick a piece
whose side most resembles the appearance of the side of a phone book.
The foam is cut to the same thickness, width and length as the cover-
less phone book. Stotes that sell foam rubber can usually cut it to size
Fig. 1 Tbe one loose page helps
but you can do it youtself by using an electtic catving knife. Really. larn a block oJ foan rabber into
Using contact cement that has been formulated to wotk with foam a flltingpbone book.

rubber, glue the block of foam onto the inside

spine of the book cover. Fot added effect remove
tv/o pages from the teal phone book. One page
is glued entirely onto the top of the foam block.
The other page is glued on top of this page but
only along the left edge. By opening the book's
cover you will see f,rst a loose page and turn-
ing this page will teveal the page attached to the
foam block. Fig. 1.

This loose page is what I call the convincer.

154
 Tar Pgomr Doot

The audience sees me toss a rcal phone book to a sPectator in the

front row so they know I'm crazy enough to do it. When the phome
book is hurled into the audience the air flips the cover open and that
loose page flaps freely in the wind. This rustling piece of papet con-
firms the spectators'worst nightmare. "This guy actually threw a
phone book as far ashe could into the audience and someone is going
to get hit by it." The desire to see who see who is going to get clob-
bered by this identified flying obiect is irresistible to all human beings.
The result is just about the strongest misdirection I have evet seen. As
all eyes are following the atc of the book anything that happens on
stage will go completely unnoticed. And that brings us to the predic-
tion trick.

This phone number prediction was used to demonstrate the Pou/er

of misdirection. If the main physical requirement (a sizable table
draped to the floor on the front and both sides) is aheady Present,
this could be performed in the real wodd, but bringing in such a table
would look vety suspicious. The more difficult requirement is getting
an accomplice under that table without being seen. Tina was always
my accomplice of choice and it was always a challenge to secretly get
het under the table. Before a magtc lecture begins the usual situation
has audience members chatting, the lecturer walking in and out of the
performing space setting props on the table or on the floor behind the
table. Its not that the audience can't see these PfeParations it's just that
they are so uninteresting that they don't register on theif conscious
mind. I would also have Trna cany out a few assorted ptops. She
wouid either set them on the table or lean down and set them on the
floor. On one of her trips behind the table she would ctouch down
and stay down. During this disappe^rtng act I would always watch
the audience and I could tell that no one noticed a thing. It was Tina's
idea that the Phone Number Prediction be the opening ttick of the
lecture. She got this idea one dat, while sitting under a table.
Also on the table were a black marker, a blank piece of Paper or
white cardboatd, an empq'cigar box, and a real phone book sitting on
top of the phome book. The cigar box was Pre-set by opening the lid

51
Mtu (awnw Womnt

Fig. 2 Tbe rabber bandgoes around tbe box bat anderneath the lid. Fig. i The rubber band hold: the lid openjust enough so the hidden
astistant can easi! inurt tbe prediction.

and placing a rubber band around the box from end to end. Ftg.2.
\7hen the lid was closed, the rubber band held the ftont of the 1id
open about an inch. Fig. 3.
The box was set slightly overhanging the back edge of the table
with the open side facingupstage. Under the table Tina had a piece of
paper and a black marker.

A phone book containing more than a tbousand pagu, each page containing
more than 500 phone numbers, making a grand total of ouer two million dffirent
numbers. You sir; take this phone book.
I would use these fake statistics no mattet how big or small the
book was. The audience knew I was making all of this up but it still
impressed upon them that the book contained many numbets. I
would then toss the book to someone in the ftont row. I easily landed
the book right in the spectator's lap but the fact that I would do this
surprised mzny people in the room. That's a pretty big book to be
tossing atound but no hatm was done.
Afteryou baue conuincedlourself that it is an ordinary pbone book, open it
to an1 page and dropyar fnger onto arly place on that page. Arelou touching a
pbone number?
If not, have him move his fnget to another part of the page or to a
diffetent page entirely.

156

Fig. 4 When all eles are on the foant book
tlte cigar box.
[ur Plomr Doot
Ifloa are happlt witb that choice I wantlow to read out loud the first tbree
drgits of the number
By now you have picked up the blank cardboard or paPer and un-
capped the marking pen. \X/rite the three digits on the PaPer.
And now tbe lastfour digits.
ITrite these down as well and then read off the entire phone num-
ber. This is for the people in the back who might not be able to see
your writing but also so Tina can double check her "prediction" under
the table. She then folds her p^per into fourths and waits fot the
proper moment to load it into the box.
Manl mind readers baue performed this experiment with one phone namber
so todEt I will attempt the impossible. Predixing two phone numberl How abowt
slmelne in the back this time.IVE in tbe back.
By now I have picked up the phome book and as those last words
are spoken, two things happen simultaneously. I
hurl the book (Frisbee style) as fzr as I can and
Tina rcaches up and pushes her folded prediction
into the cigar box. Fig.4.
The misdirection created by the fying book
is far more than is needed but the point is still
made. People arehorr.f,ed as they wait to see
which poor sap is going to get struck by the
book. Tina's cue to load the prediction is the
audible gasp produced by the audience. The fitst
person to reahze that the phone book is actually
tbe prediction is laaded into
a four-ounce block of rubber is the guy who gets
hit by it. I make my way to him as quickly as Pos-
sible as I am saying...
If,/hatJ the matter? I said FOAM book, notphone book. It's a FOAM
book.
On the way back up to the stage I bonk someone harmlessly on the
head with it allowing everyone to see that it is actually made of fozm.
OK, we'll do the experiment with just one phone number This cigar box, which
bas been infall sight sinceyu frst entered the room, is hermeticalfi sealed.
As I pick up the cigar box I squeeze the lid closed and hold it
bottom-side tou/ard the audience. My free hand pulls the rubber band
awalr f16rr1 the bottom of the box and as I say the words "hermetically
sealed" I let it go. SNAP! This subtlety convinces people that the box
5/
Mwr Gvnw Wotont

is indeed bound by a rubber band and it never occurs to them that the
Iid can freely open and close because the band passes underneath it.
The rubber band is removed from the box and holding onto the lid al-
lows the box to fall open. In this position the audience can clearly see
the folded paper inside.
Atly prediction, written howrs ago.
To the man in the ftont row holding the teal phone book say,
Sir, please approach tbe bench, remoue n1 prediction and anfold it.
I take the book from him and toss it on the table as I pick up the
paper with the selected number written on it. The paper is held up for
all to see as the spectator reads out loud your prediction.
Years ago, during a lecture at the Magic Castle I decided to see just
how strong this misdirection rcally was. Resting on an undtaped table
was an open-topped box. A thtead was attached to the stage right, top
edge of the box and it extended into the stage left wing. Tina was in
this wing with her blank paper, black marker and a three-inch-square
box with a ribbon to tie atound it. Once she had wdtten the number
down, the papet was folded up and placed into the little box. The lid
was placed on and the ribbon was tied around it. Mounted to the lid
was a small metal hook made from a paper clip that allowed the box
to slide freely along the thtead. Ftom her vantage point Tina could
see the momerit I thtew out the foam book and that was het cue to
taise up her end of the thread. The box started its slide for life across
the stage and when it bumped into the right edge of the large box she
Iet go of the thread and the iittle box dropped into the big box. Late1
when I reached into this box to get my prediction, I unhooked the
little box from the thread and brought it into view The ribbon was
untied and the prediction was revealed as before.
The reaction that followed our explanation of how the prediction
got into the large box led me to believe that not a single petson had
seen thelittle box sliding across the stage. This is of course a terrible
method for a mind reading trick but a great way to demonstrate the
power of misdirection. My hope now is that someone takes the phome
book idea and develops a good commetcial routine.

50
 lsewherein this book I have wtitten about how much easier it
is to create a presentation for an effectwhen your chatacter is
akeady well defined. To ptove this point I wondeted how my
character (, gry who's ineptness is always saved by some incredible
luck or an astonishing occurrence) might present Richard Himber's
Linking Finger Rings (actually created by Persi Diaconis). The result
was a routine that retained the powerful mystery while at the same
time seemed to have gone hortibly off course.
I explain to the audience that...
Tbe old Chinese trick of linking steel rings together is one that I don't perform

for two uery good redszns. First, penetrating solid steel throagh solid steel is uery
dfficuh to learn and secondll, those trick rings are realll expensiue. Bat I haue
mastered the art ofpassing a ring made of shghtb softer metal througb a kngth of
cord. It's rtillpretfl impressiue and not nearl1 as nois1.
Just those few sentences tell the audience everythiflg they need to
know about me. I don't do the Chinese Linking Rings because it's
really hard and really expensive. How pathetic is that? I do, however,
have another version of the trick that is easier to
do, less expensive and doesn't make alot of noise.
After hearing this "build up" the audience's expec-
tations will be tepid at best. But before long, when
something goes wrong and one of the
^pp^refltly
borrowed rings ends up linked to the other bor-
rowed ring, theit low expectations will be teplaced
by complete astonishment. And the magician,
r^ther than accepting the credit for perfotming a
miracle, is instead apologizing fot messing up his
pretty good trick.
Required are a Himber Ring, a matching un-
gimmicked ring,a borrowed ring,a gimmicked
hacksaw and a 42-rnch shoelace ot piece of cord.

,9
Mwr Gwrv tJ,lrlilfr'Lp.l

The rings shown in this demonstration are called Ghost-

ly Linking Finger Rings made byJoe Porper. In this version
the trap opens only inward and it locks closed. David Regal
recently produced a beautiful set of Himber Rings that
consists of a locking ring, a magnetic ring and a matching
ungimmicked ring that is perfectly suited to the Idiot Rings.

Like the hacksaw that is included with my sets of Linking Coat

Hangers the teeth on this one have been removed by running the
blade back and forth across a grinding wheel. If you own any hack-
saw you will know that the blade is held in place by inserting two
pegs through corresponding holes at each end of the blade. Then,
by tightening a wing nut, one peg is pulIed a.wzy from the other thus
holding the blade securely in place. I took my saw to a welder and had
all of the moving parts spot-uielded in place. Since case hardened steel
(which is what the saw blade is made from) canriot be welded, I bolted
the end of the blade furthest from the handle to the frame. Like al-
ways, the hole in the opposite end of the blade still dropped over the
tiny steel peg thus preventing the blade ftom moving up or down. Fig.
1. But the spting steel blade can easily be pushed open. trig.2.

trig. 1 rtte :tee/ peg ttot* ttte toose end of ttte b/ade secare/1, in ptace. b'tt it ti.,i//
::1,:;::fr:::;;:l,l,,j;,,,;,,;:,?;,t;r:!,;:_ff O:::,;:f

60
 f;1i;i ,ii#6.i

\When the blade is releasedit automatically snaps back into place

and once ag tn assumes the appearance of a normal hacksaw. This
hacksaw possesses the properties of a locking key ring. It can be
linked to or unlinked from any object yet is able to withstand close
visual scrutiny.

Sorry, I mean stooge. \WhenI worked with Orson \Velies he always

called his stooges mules and ever since then... so have I. No offense
was meant. It probably came from the fact that the mule did most of
the work while the mule dtiver (the magician) got all of the ctedit.
As in most Himber Ring routines a ringhas to be planted with a
mule before the show. If 1,ou have an arlonymous friend in the audi-
ence who will not be suspected of collusion you can iust give him or
het the gimmicked ring. In the more likely case when this isn't pos-
sible you will plant the ungimmicked mate to the Himber Ring on
an ordtnary yet trustworthy sPectator. Planting this ring by no means
requires you to let the mule in on the secfet to the trick. Your explana-
tion to him can go something like this.
"In one of my toutines I'm going to bortow a couple of finget rings
from people in the audience and you would be surprised b1,fis* mafly
rings, because of their enormous size or crazy desigr\are unsuitable
or worse yet by the number of people who can't get their rings off of
theit fingers. So as a backup plan I would like vou to wear this ring on
your finger so that if I run into a ptoblem I can borrow it as if it be-
Ionged to you. I might not need it, but iust in case. And whether I use
it or not, don't mention to an1r6n. that you agreed to help me out. Oh,
and after the show, I do need the ring back as it has great sentimental
value."
This provides the spectator with a perfectll'logical explanation for
why he has been recruited and removes any suspicion from the ring.
And it also reminds him that the ring is not a free souvenir. You do
v/aflt it back later. I don't say aflything about examining the ring be-
cause telling a spectator that he is free to examine it is basically telling
him that there is such thing as a trick ring. And since he doesn't know
what the effect is going to be, what would he be looking for anvway?
 ,,".,lii.L
I

Reach into 1,6s1pocket and temove the ring and cotd. While you
pull on the ends of the cord to prove it is solid, the ring remains
threaded on the cord and hidden in your left hand. Ask the audience
to hold up their hands so you can see their rings. As you walk among
the ctowd look at a number of different rings. Tbat's a bit small and
I'm not sare people could see it and that one is so big I'm not sure I coald lft it.
Eventually work your way to your mule. Hauelou got a ring there I could
use? Yq that one looks perfect. While still holding both ends of the cord

take his ring (the ungimmicked ring) and thread it over the end of
the cord in your left hand. Once you become famrhar with the han-
dling you can always use your opposite hands. Allow this ring to slide
down into your left hand. Fig. 3. The borrowed ring is then pinched
between your fingers and thumb and the gimmicked ring is allowed
to slide out of your hand. Fig. 4. Both photos are exPosed views from
the performer's side.

Ftig. ) As the borron'ed ing s/ides don'n intol,otrr band it is pinclted Ftg. 4 It is the gintnicked ring tbat is alloa,ed to slide out of lour band
beln'ee n 1'011 s 711 x2 b an d fi nge rs. and doa,n to the center of the cord.

The gimmicked ring slides down to the middle of the cord and
since the two rings are identical in appearance, no suspicion will be
aroused. Your right hand (still holding one end of the cord) reaches
over and grabs the other end of the cotd below your left hand and as

the cord is carried au/ay, the borrowed ting slips off the end. As you
hold the cotd (and ring) high in the left hand surreptitiously
^rr,your
drops the ungimmicked ring into your coat pocket. As you continue
 to walk through the crowd sa1,,

This is s0 amd<:fng that I knowlou're going to want

to see it at least twice so I bad betterget a second ring.
Approach alady and ask if her ring is a fam-
ily heirloom or if it was a preseflt from someone
special. I(nowing that the ring has sentimental
value makes the routine more meaningful for
everyone. Slip het ting over the end of the cord
and allow it to slide down to the middle with the
Himber Ring.
Topreuent the ringsfrom escapingofofthe cord the
ed:J wElI will tie the ends together
i .\' bielded fu, -1,0u
r f nge r.r, tlte daa r i n ilse Hi n be r N tg is p r s lted The ends of the cord are tied together and
dttd tl)e ing is tn/inkedfi"on tlte cord.
then both hands momentarily take hold of the
rings. While commenting on their beautl, s1
uniqueness you unlock the door in the Himber
Ring but leave the door in the closed position. In
this condition both rings can hang on the cord
without fear of detection. The rings are slowll,
lowered into your outstretched and cleady empty
left hand. Using )rour fingers as a shield )rou push
open the door and disengage the ring from the
cord. Fig.5.
Once it is off the cord your index fingertip

', 6 Orru tlse ingi.rJ)'ee,-1,our indexf.ngettiP rtldPr olJ the card creat- can pull down on the loop and when it pops free
- .1.,t tlttgica/ nonent. (the magic moment) itwill appear as if the ring
penetrated through the cord momerlt. Fig. 6.
^tthat
Immediatell,,vour left fingertip is inserted
through the Himber Ring and 1,our hand is
opened out flat. This displav allows the audience
to see that, other than the ring on your finger,
vour hand is empfi'. Fig.7.
The audience clearll, sees that the ring did
penetrate off the cord but close scrutinization is
avoided because vou immediateh'move onto the
next phase.
Eaen tbougb the second rale of the nagician's code sals
:. - T-l.ti.r disp/rg, c/earl, .rbol'-r iltal otru rittg lta.r peretroled olf' attd tlte
.r itt! i.r.ti// threaded an t/te rord. "neuer repeat a trick," III do it again. The frst rale being
Mwr Aurnw Womrpr

"neuer r€ueal the magician's code."

The position of the Himber ting in ),our left
hand shifts so it is clipped between the fingers
as shown in Fig. 8. Note that the door has been
located and pushed open.
The lady's ring is once again lowered into the
hand holding the Himber Ring and the rings
are momentarily massaged together but nothing
mofe. Raise the cord to reveal that the lady's ring
has not penetrated off.
becaase it's easier than the Chinese LinkingRings Fig. 8 Tbis gip frees up
ltour tburul.t so it can assi$ in linking tbe two
Just
ings together
doun't mean itJ eas1. Let me try znce mzre.

Lowet the lady's ring into yout hand agaln

and immediatelv link the Himber Ring onto it.
Fig.9.
As soon as the tings are linked the door must
be closed and locked.
Uh oh.I%hat the heck? Oh czme zFt, tbis can't be

happening.

The cord is raised revealing that the gentle-

man's ting is now linked to the lady's ring. Of
course we know that it was the Himbet Ring that
penetrated off the cord and then onto the lady's Fig. 9 Once lbe itgs are linked the door must be closed and locked.

ring and in a moment it will penetrate off of the

Iady's ring and therefote all of the suspicion lies with that ring. But the
audience doesn't know any of that, nor should thel'. \7ith some well-
placed lies we can reditect some of the magic (and suspicion) to the
lady's ring.
Those two rings are actaalfi linked together (Addressing the lady) Didlou
see that mabm? Your ring linked itnlf riglt onto that gerutleman's ring. Has it eaer

done arytthing like that before? And areJzil sure tbat islour ring? IYelfuoar ring
tick. I'm not sare what to do next.
certainll spoiled ryt
By metely telling the audience that it was the lady's ting that ac-
complished this miracle we have made it the star of the play. The
gentleman's ring did indeed melt through the cord but it was the lady's
ring that then penetrated through his ring. Both rings performed
magic but the lady's ring surely accomplished a fx more astonishing
trick.

164
 [+ril $lgol

This is one of those tricks where the magic is sustained. It's not like
a production or vanish where one second nothing has happened and
a moment later the trick is over. Hete the impossible condition can
continue for as long as we want. These two rings have nevet been in
this situation before and in a few moments the spell will be broken.
But right now, people are witnessing the impossible so don't rush it.
Give them a chance to look at znd feel the magic.
Fortunatefi onfi one ring has to be sacrificed to get them apart so we need to

determine whose ring is the most ualaable.

In appraising the two rings the crowd will most often cast their
vote for the lady's. Much fun can be generated during this discussion
during which you casually reach into your coat pocket and pick up the
ungimmicked ting. You don't need this ring just yet but now is a good
time to relocate it to a more convenient hiding place. As you reach for
the hacksaw, set the ring down where it remains out of sight.
It looks like itl ananimoasfor the /ad1's ring, all exceptfor one gry (indicat-
ing the mule who loaned you the ring).
Duting this by-play you are holding the saw in your left hand and
the cord loop in the right hand. Your arms are relaxed in front of you
with your hands in close proximity. nflhile the audience's attention is
focused on the two spectators push the saw blade open iust enough so
the loop can be threaded onto the blade. If you have propedy man-
aged the audience's attention, no one will notice this covert action.
Don't call attention to this new predicament just yet, instead have the
audience slowly realize what has happened. I love being the last one to
find these things out. Figs. 10 & 11

FQ. 10 Duinga s/igltt turn to tlte leJil,otrr ltands approacls otte aratlter FQ. I I Tltis :ide aJ' tlte sal' is lteld anrg'fr0ru tlte atdience as1'our index
.tuti/-y'otrr igltt index f nger is in position to prclt opet the blade. ftgerptrtltes tlte blode apen atd tlte cotd ispassed tltrotgb tlte opening
 After the cord is linked onto the
the saw blade your hands separate to
reveal the effect. Fig.1,2.
Oh great! It appears to be contagiozs.

(To the lady) Thi: isn'tltour hacksaw lry

an1 cbance? Don't worrlt I can fx this.

Insert 1,our right hand through

the hacksaw frame and hang the saw
on your wrist. This frees up both
hands so you can untie the knot and
remove the cotd from the saw. Figs. F'6. 12 Gndm//1'1'6x1" bands not'e dpdrt r0 tbat it s/oa.'!' daa'ns on tlte
.tPeclat0ff tltal tlte cord loop i: linked onlo ilte sau.
13 & 14.

Fig. 13 \btr latk ltas cltanged j'an ltatittg Fig. 14 \'bt aigltt also try holding both ends in
tlte ittgs nagica/1, peteltnte lbrotrylt tlse cord to l,orrr igltt hand and regripping the cord dircct/1
sone lton, tr n li r ki ng tben. altot'e tlte ing.r. Either nEt, tdre lilurt be taken.

Cate must be taken as you remove the cord from the saw since it must
all be accomplished using just your left hand. As your left hand returris
the saw to its original hiding place it picks up the duplicate ring.
Hold all of the rings in your hands, allowing the ends of the cotd
to hang down. It should appeat as though you are examining the rings
to see if there is some way you can get them apart while in fact you are

ii.
 Itr,riltllr:r

doing exactly that, unlinking the tings. Fig. 15.

You now have three separate rings in your
hand, the gimmicked Himber Ring, the ungim-
micked Himber Ring and the lady's ring (which
is still threaded on the cord). Finget palm the
gimmicked ring in your left hand,
Thue rings haue defied nature fut linking themselues

together so we will wse a dffirent scientifc principle to get

them apart.

Ask the lady spectator to hold out her hand

Fi3. / 5 A: soon as tbe gimmicked
: liryerpalrued in the left hand.
ingh anlinkedfrorn the ladl': iagit palm up. both the ungimmicked ring
P1ace
and the lady's threaded ring onto her palm and
keep them covered until her f,ngets have closed over them. Everyone
should believe that the two rings are still linked. Fig. 16.
Hold those rings tigbt eruoagh solou don't drE then but loose enoagh so that I
can pull tbis cord back andforth.
Start pulling the cord back and forth. Fig.17.

Ffu. l6 (Aboue) The two anlinked rings renain couered by,),oar igbt
)tgn until the /ad1's hand has closed around tbent.

Fig. / 7 (B,igbt) Tbe ends of tbe cord are pal/ed l:atk andfoth tltrorylt
:l;t Lttb,'s band tbas creating beat whichloa sugest nill unlink tlte irgs.

That, asltow know, caasesfriction... andfriction cdares heat.And blgenerat-

ing enoagh heat one ring should melt rigbt throwgb the other ring. Doloafeel tbem
getting warmer?
Have the lady open her hand, and by lifting up the ends of the
cord, the audience will see that the lady's ring has unlinked itself from

6i
lrlttr (wnw Wonont

Fig. 19 Tbe anlinking of the tuo rings @parent! bappens in the

spectator's hand.

the gentleman's ting. Fig. 19.

To the lady that is left holding the ungimmicked ting you say, IYould
Jla agree that that nan's ring rnelted right throughloar ring?
off the cord and then trade rings with her. Walk over
Slide her ring
to the mule and hand him the ungimmicked ring.
Is tbat the ringlou handed mejust afew moments ago?

Because of how this question is worded he can aflsu/er honestly that

1t 15.

IYell that's not the trick I wanted to showlou brtt at least it was quiet.

60
Nonttr/esu,ereinrolyeddtitgOrcotll-'e//e:'f/ntittgoJ'TlteCl'pg'Thread.OtAtgrsl 27, 198/ n'esltot
til'en\'-tu,a takes J'or Orsotti rtfinislted telet'isiott nngir sptciol. Pbrtlo: Titto Leterl.
Pe(bnting tlte Paa.'en of Darknels in Lund, .lu'eden October 2008. Pltofo: Arto Airaksinen.
 t eatly Magic Collectors \Weekend in Chicago during the
^rL
1970s I sawJay Marshall perform a toutine known as the Powets
of Darkness. After just ofle phase of this three-phase routine, I
already loved it. The effect was that a metal ring penetrated through
a spectatof's arm and through a pencil. The audience saw exactly hou/
the trick was being accomplished but because the sPectator's eyes were
closed, she was completely baffled. Later Jay told me that the routine
had been marketed by Tony Corinda in England and that Magic Inc.
had purchased the rights.
I bought a set and discovered that the original routine marketed
in 1958 by Tony Corinda was created byJon Tremaine. Years eaiier
Corinda had encountered avariation of the ring on atm effect but he
failed to mention where he had seen it. Upon reading his description
it was clear that he was referring to Eugene Bernstein's Sprit Grip
described in Greater Magic 0938) which achieved a similar effect using
a technique diffetent ftomJon Tremaine's.
The Tremaine/Corinda routine consisted of two phases that uti-
lized a total of thtee separate rings, two ungimmicked and one key
ring. The routine was performed sitting down with the magician and
spectator facing one another. One of the rings was concealed under
a cushion on the magician's chair and the key ring was under a news-
paper on a table positioned behind the spectatot. This seemed like an
awful lot of equipment to accomplish a simple ting penetration' And
during the course of the demonstration, the split in the key ting was
freely shown to the audience. As a big far. of the Linking Rings this
exposure of a gap that could easily be coveted with one finget, both-
ered me. For the first phase the spectator \I/as asked to place both of
his elbows on his knees. The directions stated that "under special con-
ditions, the routine may be performed whilst both stand." Petform-
ing in a standing position seemed far better than having both parties
seated but thelr never explained how the spectator could comfortably

I
Mwr Aunw Wonont

place his elbows on his knees in a standing position.

The Magic Inc. instruction booklet included a third phase that was
inspired by a stunt Billy McComb had seeri two laymen preseflt at a

party.Jay Marshall f,guted out a way to simplify Billy's idea into a one-
man vefslon.
I practiced all three phases and petformed the routine exactly once,
at a meeting of the Long Beach Mystics. But this one petformance
convinced me that I wanted to pursue this routine.
I began by getting two heavy aluminum coat hangers (the same
kind I used in my Linking Coat Hangers routine) and stretching
them into a square shape. I would soon discover that this square coat
hanger with a hook was the perfect object with which to perform the
Powets of Darkness. By replacing the round ring with this straight-
sided object, a number of devious new moves were possible. And
hiding the gimmicked hanger became as easy as hanging it on my coat
collat. By always facing the spectator, the hanger hanging down my
back was hidden from het while remaining clearly visible to much of
the audience. The frnal change involved the gap in the extra hanger.
Instead of making a small gap (similar to a key ting in the Linking
I cut a
Rings or the gaffed ring in the original Powers of Darkness)
huge three-inch gap in the hanger. During the performance I never
attempt to cover this gap using my hand. The gap is merely held
outside the range of the spectator's peripheral vision. The fact that the
audience can always see it and the spectator c n never see it just adds
another layer of humor and mystety.
A new routine consisting of four phases quickly took shape. I be-
gan with the McComb /Marshall phase wherein the hanger penetrates
the spectator's afm. The second penetfation is accomplished under
more stringent test conditions, and the third phase seems even more
astonishing to the volunteer. The audience sees that each penetration
relies on diffetent techniques and misdirection. After each penetr^tton
the spectator is invited to examine the coat hanger. In the final phase,
the hanger penetrates off of orre arm and onto het other atm. Though
I was inspited by the original Tremaine /Corinda routine, none of their
phases in my version and because my fitst phase is based on
^ppea;r
the McComb/Marshali idea, I did purchase Magic Inc.'s rights to the
Powets of Darkness fromJay Marshall.
Since first developing this routine nearly thirty yers ago I have

VZ
 larPowrw or Dr,tttrmst

constantly tweaked and imptoved the p^tter, which is so critical to

a successful performance but thefour phases have remained un-
changed. Following a performance in England back in the 1980s a
fellow came backstage and was vefy complimentary aborx the routine.
I thanked him and then he introduced himself. It was Jon Tremaine.
His kind words and encoutagement meant the wotld to me then as

they do now.

As previously mentioned, I use co^th^flgers that have been fabit-

cated from silver aluminum rods measuting a quarter-inch thick. Two
hangers are sttetched out to a squafe shape. On the hanger that has
the three-inch gap cut into it I apply cleat epoxy to the twisted sec-
tion in order to keep the two halves togethet. The two cut ends of
this hanger ate rounded off with a file. On occasion I have created on
the spot a set of Powers hangers out of regulat wire coat hangers. For
a small group they play just as well and theimptomptu nature of the
props provides au of spontaneity to the routine.
^n
Any time you bring a spectator onto the stage to assist in a routine
you are relinquishing a certain amount of conttol. They have the pow-
er to damzEe youf presentation just as they have the Power to elevate
it to the next level. If they desttoy your routine the blame can usually
be placed squately on the perfotmer's shoulders. You may have picked
the wrong person. Your instructions to them may not have been total-
ly clear. You may have embarrassed them and they were simply paying
you back. If the thought of this scares you, you might be wise to step
away ftom the Powers of Darkness for now. In no other routine will
you be so totally at the mercy of a spectator from the audience.

Thelob of ary magician is to makelou belieue that certain things happen when

infact thel don't bappen at al/. You'ae beard the expression, "The hand is qaicker
tban the ey." IWell itl not, bat people belieue that it is when we fool tbeir sense of
sight. I fnd that most magicians ignorelowr other senses so tonight I'm going to

t1
Mwr {wru*'ilr:tr'rr.i

attempt to fool someoneJ senses of touch and hearing b1 eliminating their sense of
sight.

I always choose a woman. It just seems like they are oPen to the
idea of being fooled in front of everyone more so than men are. Look
for someone who has been actively reacting to the show. Her reaction
to the various phases is what is going to sell this routine to the audi-
ence. For reasons that will become obvious, I prefer a woman with
bare arms and a simple hairstyle.
After asking her name, (we'll call her Tommi) begin with this state-
ment.
Yoa are the most importad person here tonight, and I'm not kidding. I am

going to be askinglou to periodicalfi closelour eles and when I do,1ou must keep
tbem closed antill ra)Jla can open them. Iflou openlour eles at the wrong time,
there is no magic, the show is ouer and we allgo home.

As you can see, you have placed quite a bit of responsibility and
pressure on the spectator. You want her to reahze that she does in fact
have the power to spoil the entire demonstration.
Bat, flou keepyar eys closed andfollow m1 simpk instradionsloa will
be completefi amaryd fui what happens. And it will be wonderfal. (Turning to
the audience) Yoafolks on tbe otber hand will not be anaryd bwtlou will be

amused.I sa1 that becaaseltow aregoingto see exact! how tbese fficts are being
accomplisbed. In fact I'm going to needloar help tf I'm going
fool Tommi. to

You teally do rely on the audience to help you fool the spectator
and because this is a tole that the crowd has never filled before, you'll
f,nd that they participate with great enthusiasm. Turning again to
Tommi:
I promise I will not embarrasslou in anlt wEt. Infact, iflour eles are closed

andltou hear the audience krghiog, thel are not laaghing at1ou, thel're kughing
at me becaase I'm an idiot. (To the audience) Right?
At least for me, the answet is always a resounding, "Right!"
Yeah, a little qaick on the answerfolks. So itl realfi a matter of trast. (Again
to Tommi) I willtrastloa to keepytlr e)es closed andfollow m1 simpk instrac-
tions andloa mast trust me that I won't embarrasslou. And ff we both do our
1obs, it wi// be ama{ng and amasing. And don't worry4lourjob realfi is simpk.
If you have done your job correctiy, Tommi now believes that
she will not be embarrassed, that she really does need to follow your
instructions to the best of het ability and that if she does, something
wonderful will happen.

t7t
 Infax, right now we'lltr1 a little testjast to showloa how simple it rea@ is.
So Tommi, face the aadience, drms atlours sides, and closeloar Ees. Areloar eles
tightfi clo:ed soloa can't see anlthing?
As she is answering this question, go thtough the motion of
punching her in the nose but stop your fist right in front of her face.
Her failure to feact to this sudden "punch" convinces everyone that
she truly can't see.
OK, I belieae that Tommi is telling the trutb and that she can't see anlthing.

Keepyar eys tight! clued. I know it's dark in there bat please don't open them

antill sE it's OK. AllrightTommi, openloar e1es.

During the time that her eyes are closed you retrieve both coat
hangers. Fof me, the circumstances of the performance determine
where I pick them up from. They might be on a table, in a case, in a
bag, hanging behind a prop onstage, or brought on by an assistant.
The audience watches as you hang the gimmicked hanger on your
collar and how it hangs down your back. The ungimmicked hanger is
then placed over your head, comiflg to rest on your shoulders with the
hook in front. You must be in this position, facing the lady, when she
opens her eyes.
I\ow that wasn't so bard was it? Tommi, dolou see anlthing dffirent ap here?

Eventually she will notice and point out the hanger around your neck.
She's got eys like a hawk. Look at that, iti a coat hanger bent into a strange
shape. (Hand hanger to lady for examination) I hang it ouer the heater one

night; it got soft and stretcbed out. IYhen it cooled off in the morning I coaldn't euen
bend it And most important of all, it doesn't come apart does it?
back.

So far, Tommi has learned that nothing bad happens when het
eyes are closed and she has examined the coat hanger that is about to
penetrate through her arm.

For the time being we'llput that coat hanger right back where wefound it,
around m1 neck. And ae dre readlforphase one. Turn toward me and hold both

front ofJ,ou like tbis.

arms oat in
Position her hands palm down and about three or four inches
Touch vour fingertips to het arms and slide them down het
^Part.
arms till thev come to rest on the backs of her hands. Repeat this

i7d
ii j
 band.r.

action twice. Figs. 1 & 2.

Tommi,I azz goingto moue mJ fngertlp: downloar drmi antilthel come to
rert 0n the backs ofloar bands. You willfeel ry fngertips as thel slide downloar
I :al feel tbem becauselou wznI
arms. Jee them becaaseJzar eJes wi// be closed.

Tommi, I wantlou to closeloar eltes.

\il/henevet the spectatof's eyes are closed, there are two different
story lines unfolding. Thete is what she believes is taking place, based
on rvhat she can feel and hear. And there is what is actually happen-
ing, which the audience can clearly see. At the moment she closes
het eyes your fingettips should be touching het arms rcady for their
f,nal trip down to her hands. Start sliding your hands but with only
the right little finger and left index f,nger touching her arm. As they
near her hands, extend your right thumb as far as you can to )/our left.
Your right little finger should remain in contact
with the back of her left hand while your right
thumb reaches over to your left f,ngertip. Fot
just a moment both your left fingertip and right
thumb are in cofltact with the back of her right
hand but by the time they stop sliding, your left
fingertip has been removed and its place has
been taken by your right thumb. The spectator
will believe that both of your hands are touching
her hands, urraware that a substitution has taken
place. Fig. 3.
Without hesitation, )rour ftee left hand lifts Ffu. ) LYhu slte expeiences the .ranefeelirg liilt lter e1,s.r c/osed, slte

the ungimmicked coat hanger up over your head dsril/t/e! tltat the .rante actior ba.r heen rcpeated.
 'l'lte
I i1. 1\btr-fl'ee @l ltail rertot'e-r il.te ltatger.l)'olt trrotttd.yotrr reck. FQ. 5 @i ltand tlter lo.r-re.r il rtttlo-y'orrr @t' arnt

and tosses it up your \eftarm to a point near 1,ep1 elbow. Fig. 4 & 5.
Your left hand then immediatell'teturns to a position just above
her right hand.
Noat keepingllar eJes closed, tarn both ofl,our hands pa/m up and grab onta

nt1 wrists. That's right, grab nry wrists and hold on good and tight.
As her hands start to tutn, allow your left fingers to regain contact
with her right hand and vour tight thumb returns to a position above
her left hand. As she grabs onto )'our \r,rists she should be convinced
that she never lost contact with either one of vour hands. Fig. 6.
I will need a little rzobilitl because I haae to lift this coat hanger //p luer nU
head and a little cirurlation in the hands would be nice floa can spare i/.

During this lineright hand mimes the action of lifting the

1,our
hanger up over vour head. Fig.7.

)'Q. 6 A: .rhe trrnt.r ber ltorrl.r ot er dfid ltabi rt1' n'ri.rt.r .sl.tt i.c trrtob/t t'o Fp. 7'ilp ittrt3t il l.ter ttind i.s ilt,tl I alt rentorilgtlte nal ltarger.f)'ttttt
ttl/ tltot I rephnd t4' tigltt thrnb t'itlt ru-)' fii n'ri.rt. trottttd lt) ttetk.
 At the completion of this action ),our right
hand catches hold of the hanger and moves it
onto her right arm without allowing it to touch
her skin. Fig. 8.
OKTonm| keep those ey tightj closed as I taploar
arm with tbe coat banger. You can feel that, right? Cood,
that's where the magic is going happen on the count of
three. One, two, tbree, apenlour e1es.

With her still holding both of your wrists vou

tap the side of the hanger against her right arm.
Of course she believes that it is the outside of the Fig. 8 U"ith lter e-1es c/osed .rlte is trttab/e t'a te// il' lter arnt i.r lring
tapped b1 tlte otrl.ride or in.ridt oJ the coat ltanger.
hanger hitting her arm, unaware that it is actually
the inside. It is the straight sides of the hanger
that make it impossible to tell which part is actu-
ally touching het. She of course confirms that
she can feel it. You tap again during each count
and on thtee you toss the hanger so it sort of
spins onto her arm. \X/hen she opens her eyes the
coat hanger is in an impossible location. Fig. 9.

It went rtght through)lar arm. (And then to the

audience) Didn't it?
This is where the audience gets to help you
fool Tommi and they will shout out in unison, f-tg. 9 Con:idet'inglltat slte n,as ristra/ilitrgit lter nind there i.r no n'a1'
"Yes." The audience loves being not only let in the caal /taager corr/d be /inked at'otrd l.ter arnt.

on the se cret, but being made pa:t of the secret.

During the audience reaction tell the lady to again examine the hang-
er. Her mystified expression and re-examination of the coat hanger
will provide the promised amusement.
Thatl pret{t weird isn't it?
If all of your instructions were followed carefully it's more than a

little weird.

But it realfi wasn'tfair I meanltour eles were closed, I was saling hold this
do that. You didn't realfi know what was going on. I'// tellyu what. This time I
wantloa to grab hold ofthe coat hanger right there.

| '.7. 10 Once lterel,e.r arc clased1,611
;, d /elt /ike D,lten 1,sx ht,isted the han,qer Ltack and l'0ft/t in lter ltand.
. '2 1 1 \btr rolunleer doesn't tza/i7e tltat
':,,:/ 180 desreer.
I il. 1 2 In her ntind-1otr
'ron l.ter hand.r.
Your left hand is holding the coat hanger bv
the middle of one side with the hook at the bot-
tom. Have her grab the middle of the opposite
side that is nearest her with her right hand.NIor.e
),our left hand back and forth so that the coat
hanger twists back and fotth in her hand. Fig. 10.
l{ou, euen ifloar eJer were c/osed,ltoa'd knou exact!,
wbere that coat hanger is uoaldn't1zn? ")'er." OK, hold
onto it antill drkJztl to releaseloargrip and tben let me
take itfromlou. Bat not before, and closelonr e1es.
l,anl lterlo rentenbern'ltat il /aoked During these instructions, as vou continue
to swing the coat hanger, she will see and feel
the smooth metal turning back and forth in her
hand. As soon as her e)'es are closed vou adjust
vour grip on the hanger b,v holding the corner
above her hand in your left hand and the hook
below her hand in vour right hand. Continue
twisting the hanger but now moving it a little bit
further to the right than to the left. The specta-
tor will not notice this variation. Continue this
exaggerated twisting to the right until the hanger
has rer.olved almost 180 degrees without touch-
t/-te caat ltatger lta-r totaled a
ing her afm. No\[, unbeknor,vnst to her, the side
held by her hand will be closest to vou and the
opposite side will be closest to her. During these
moves \rour patter continues. Fig. 11.
lJow I wantlou to hold outlour leJt band and p/ace
lourpalms togethe4 likeyu're praling, uith the coat
hanger in betweenl,our hands. And nithl'oar Ees ttgbt!,
closed, I wantlou to loosenlotrgriplust ruotgb so that I
can pull the coat hanger aatfroru betueenl,our hands.
As vou're pulling the front side of the hanger
out from between her hands be careful not to
touch her arms with the back side. Fig.1,2.
ThatJ right. Let rue baL,e tlte ltanger lsul as soon as
are pulling ilte coal ltanger coltp/etel1' nl tt1'
ya feel it slip oat ofl,oar hands, claspl,our ltands tigbt[,
tagether That wa1 iltere is no cltance I cauld sneak it back
otltoltsxlY 6Y72.
 To make sure she does eractlr- s'hat lou ask
(Fig. 13) \-our instr:uctions must be r-erv cleal.
Sometimes confusion on the part of the specta-
tof can lead to her opening her er-es. Not ma
liciouslr- but simplv as a \\-av of sar-inu, "I \\'ant
to help vou but I don't knos- s-hat t-ou mean."
Continuallr- remind her to keep her er-es closed
and make r-our instructions es precise as possible.
Tonuai, keep tbose e1,e.r closed bectrtr.re I aru qoirtl to
torrch the caat honger lo-1'orrrJ-oreltectd. Natt' dott'/ be

.rtorl/ed. )-atr n,i//.lbe/ lhe nrcla/ ogain.r/-yotr lted. Cat I ),:. l) fu ttrrrf)rl ttrtl lrt lotril.t iil.ttt'0f l.)(t (tDilt n'iil.t il.tt l,,rtt.!,r'.

;,orr Jie/ iltot?

Durins these lines the hanget around her
arm is held in vour left hand. Your right hand
remo\-es the gimmiclied hanger from t'our collar
and genth-touches her forehead rvith it. Failing
to warn hel that this tap is coming s'ill surelr'
cause her to open her er-es. Fig. 14.

'l'1.)(
. 1 20 10 \rt./orn(tttL( 0f Prntt't'.s r,f l)trkttt.s.s
itr .\Iitlt|gtrt. l)ltotr,: ll 1'rtIr// Brt';lrr,t. Iti,q. I1 (,lt't f/t'tt/1' of l'ttt ttit q il.trl.)'otr t/t1' t!0i/t.! lo lorrtl.t l.trt fin'lturrl.
 :'l"r'; irnUf,* W ilii4it;fl

The next move is risky and not absoiutely necessary but very con-
vincing for the spectator. After touching the gimmicked hanger to her
forehead it is held flat side parallel to the floor and then dropped. Just
prior to dropping it you must remind her again to keep her eyes closed
and then the moment it hits the floor, another reminder such as,
Keep those eys ttghtljt closed. Oops, eles closed, that was mlfault. Ilust
dropped the coat hanger I'll get it.
This is the moment when she is most likely to open her eyes due to
the fact that she believes something'went v/rong and you might have
to start over. The t'wo commands to keep her eyes closed that bracket
the sound of the hanger hitting the floor should succeed in keeping
them closed. Another strateglr is this. When the hanger is on its way
to the floor, your right outstretched fingers move quickly to a point
a few inches from her eyes. Ifthe sound ofthe hanger crashing onto
the floor results in her opening her eyes for even a second, this mo-
mentary blindfold will obstruct her view. As soon as you are certain
that het eyes have remained closed, tetrieve the hanger ftom the floor
and return it to its position hanging down your back.
If you notice that she did open het eyes for a second, don't panic.
Because she is factngyou, there is a good chance that the audi-
ence didn't see them open. And because it takes a moment for one's
eyes to focus and she didn't really know what to look for or where
to look, she might not have seen aflything except your outstetched
hand.
When this move works perfectly (which it usually does) it provides
very convincing evidence that the hanger ts far away from her two
hands that are tightlv locked together. She must be thinking, "OK
clumsy, now let's see you link it onto my arr.r,." AII the while you have
been ver1, careful not to accidentally bump the other hanger against
het arm. With the gimmicked hanger safel1, back on vour collar, you
can feturn to business.
If I np this arm,lou canfeel that? And thenlour other arm,loa canfeel that?
OK, three taps, thati when the magic bappens. One, two, three, openlzxlr eJtes.

Rtght through)zar arm. (Turning to the audience) Didn't it?

During the preceding, the top side of the hanger is tapped against
one arm. She belier.es it is the bottom of the hanger that she feels.
Then the hanger is carefulh, maneuvered around her clenched hands
and onto her other arm where it is again tapped. Count to three and
then spin the hanger onto her arm as she opens
her eves. Fig. 15.
The audience rvill again respond vocalh'that
the hanger did indeed penetrate through her
arm. During their reaction ask her to agatn check
out the hanger. She has norr,'examined the coat
hanger three times. It is time to bring in the
flngef.

'l'he
I tg. / 5 rotlitre i.e de:igted so thtt earlt pettetnttirn aJ ilte /ar!'!
anl l.s tlore iltpres.ritv tltat tlte pret'iatr.r detuottsttzttiott.

Take the coat hanger back from her and hold

it by the hook in vour risht hand.
\br aru doing so ale/l that ue are going to attempt
flat onlour head.
pho.re lhree. P/acel,our @i hand

Nlanr- women are verv pafticulaf about the ap-

pearance oftheir hair. Ifit has been spraved and
pinned into a perfect coif thev might be reluctant
to flatten it out with the palm of their hand. This
is the reason that vou selected someone with a
ven'simple haitstvle. Fig. 16.

\bt see uhat1,e11'trts done? Lisingloar arm,lour neck

andlour head,1,s1,1 have created an itnpenetrab/e circle.
As /ong rtsltesl keepyar hand tight againstloar head, ftQ. 16'l'he cortt bar3er lba/ slx hos exatttited tltree tine is lteld infll
there is n0 DdJ I coa/d link this coat banger aroandlour si!.tl dtrirytbt explttraticttt o.f' r/ta/ i.r abor/ lo happen.

arm, right? (She will agree). l.Vron! There are two

methods I can use. I can either breakloar drm' 0r) I can cut oflour head. l{ow
we al/ agree tballtotr haue created an impenetrable circle usittglour arm, head and
neck. Andl'ou haue assured eueUtlne that this is a solid coat hanger Voaldyu
like to see rue link tbis coat hanger ontoloar arru?
For some reason, even after listening to the two possible methods,
the spectator alwat's saYS "\'es."
OK, ruhicb ntelhod wouldloa like me to use?

Her response will reflect the fact that she now realizes she has
made a gfa\re erfor.
I baue goad nea.'s. There is a third metbod that is much less painfal hut witb
this metbodlou must closelour e1tes. Close them ttghtfi and do not open them till
 Tiirlawm ar itnpwrr

I telllou to. This is the spot where the coat hanger will
penetrate tbrougbyar arm. Three taps, that's when the
magic happens.

\7hen her eyes close you take the hanger into

your left hand and begin tapping it against her
right forearm. Yout right hand rettieves the gim-
micked hanget from your collar. Ftg.17.
The cadence ofyour tapping does not change
as the gimmicked hanger takes over ftom the un-
gimmicked hanger. The ungimmicked hanger is
'the aninternrpted mdence of
L fu. 17 10117" Tapping conuinces ber tbat the then hooked onto yout collat. Now the counting
-o,rl batger sbejust sau' is the sane one tbat penetrates througlt ber arru.
begins andat the count of "one," the side of the
hanger is again tapped against her forearm. Before counting "t'wo,"
pass the opening in the hanger over her wrist without letting it touch
her. Fig. 18.
The tap on the count of "two" is made using the inside of the
hanger. At the count of "thfee" the hanger is moved down her right
arm and tossed onto her shoulder. Fig. 19.

Li3. / 8 The gap in tln coat hanger is passed ot'er her adst bil a// slte Fig. 19 In tltis position it is itupo:sibhfor lter ta ve the gap in the gint'
-,rlt is tlte :teadlt tapping. nticked coat hanger.

Rrglt througlt)lu/r arvl again, didnl itfolks?

The audience nou/ knows the drill and u'ill respond accotdingly.
When she opens her eyes the opening in the hanger will be behind
her shoulder, well out of the range of her peripheral vision. At this
point she ma1, or may not reach over with her left hand and take hold
of the hanger. I like it when she does but you have to be very careful

U,I
Mrc (austw Wonamt

that the opening in the hanger remains out of her line of sight. To
guard against her moving the hanger whete you don't want it, yout left
hand is poised behind her shoulder very near the coat haflger. If she

does take hold ofthe hook, your left hand can grab the back ofthe
hanger and prevent a disaster. If she takes hold of the hanger it will
appear as if she has once it a cursory
ag trr given
examination. Give her a momeflt to rcaltze that
the coat hanger is indeed around her arm and re-
mind her to keep her right hand flat on her head.
I'll moue the coat hanger riglt up here so it is around
lour neck and then we'lltry one last experiment that has

neuer been attempted before.

The hanger is moved from het shoulder, up

her arm, (Fig. 20) ovet her head and onto her
shoulders, all the while keeping the opening out
of her periphetal vision. The hook is now at the
front and the opening is along the right side of FU. 20 Keeping tbe gap in tbe banger ont oJ herpuipheral uision tbe
her neck. caat banger is noued up her arru, ouer lter bead and aroand ber neck.

Tommi, holdywr left arm straigltt oat tolour side and closelour e1es.

As soon as her eyes are closed,

retrieve the ungimmicked hanger
from your collar with yout left hand.
Immediately reach all the way around
behind her and thread the hanger
over her left arm. Fig.21,.
Move it all the way up to her shoul-
der but be careful not to touch her
with it. During this long reach, refratn
from speaking. You want your voice
to always come from the same spot
Fig. 21 In reacbing behind her I ruornentai$ stop speaking and I'n carefitl nlt t0 ac-
near her right side.
cidenta$ bnntp ber arm with tlte coat hangen
ThatI good, keepyur e1u closed until I
tellyu to open them. Tommi, do me afauor andpatlour left hand onyur bip.
Canyu fndloar hip?

104
 IupPawm aF DAtt(firtt

Because you retrieved the coat haflger from

I-ig. 22 81 ntoting the coat ltanger rp near lter sltotrlder :lte is hss like!'
lo accidenta//1 LunQ into it' a:
f'Q. 23 AJier repeated!, btnQiry lter arn a'itlt tlte ginnicked coal
lnttger)totr then carefitl!'pass the gap our her n'tist.
your collar and threaded it ovet her arm so
quickly, het arm was extended out to her left
for only a .very short time. It is almost like you
changed your mind and suddenly decided that
her hand should be on her hip instead.
It's not unusual for the lady to move her arm
around a bit before it finally comes to fest on her
hip. It's almost as if she has forgotten where her
hip is located. So until het hand is safely planted
on her hip you must be very careful to not allow
slte p/aces her band on her /tip.
the ungimmicked coat hanger to touch her arm.
Fig.22.
And while your left hand is being ever so
careful with the ungimmicked hanget, your right
hand has taken hold of the hook of the gim-
micked hanger and is making sure she can feel it
around her neck.
Yoa canfeel the coat hanger aroandlowr neck, right?
"Yes." I'm jast going to moae it luerJ)zxlr head and onto
Canyu feel that?
Jo/./r arm. "Yes."
As the coat hanger is moved uP over her head
and onto her arm you make sure she can feel it
by bumping it against her neck, wrist and arm.
The opening in the hanger is then passed over
her right wrist without allowing the hanger to
touch her skin. Fig.23.
OKTommi here's what itfeels like when the coat
hangerpasses tbrougbyur right arru, throaghloar neck
and ontoloar left arm. Openlour eles and check it out.

Tap this gimmicked hanger against her right

arm, ag tnst her neck and then, while you afe
hanging this hanger back on )rour collar, taP the
ungimmicked hanger against the left side of het
neck, then her left arm and finally drop it onto
her forearm. Fig. 24.
Ftg. 24 Tap her igbt arn, nerk and /ef artu, Jimll droppitg tlx lnnget Of the four phases this penetration, off of
arn asl'ot returt ginnicked ltanger to1'otr ru//ar.
onto her left tlte
one arm and onto the other, is perhaps the most

0i
lfiw {tt.mrly.firursii

amazing. The spectator will be completell, baffled as she remor.es the

coat hanger fromhet atr-:, and examines it one last time.

If your presentation was successful, much of the credit belongs to

your volunteer and now is the time to show het 1,sg1 appreciation. Ask
the audience to give her a big round of applause as she returns to her
seat.As she steps out of the petforming arca her back will be toward
you. Use the few momeflts that she isn't looking at you to openly re-
move the gimmicked coat hanger from behind your back, boldly show
both hangers to the audience, and then put them a\May out of sight.
Yout audience gettiflg one flnal view of the gimmicked coat hanger
and your volunteer missing ityet agatn will generate one final laugh.
Your goal throughout the routine is to make the volunteer feel like
a hero and not like a victim. The final line of patter is designed to
enforce that tdea.
Well, I belieue I was sligltt! arzrtlstng bat Tommi,10il were ama{ng. Euerlone
else saw the trick batlou are the onlt one who experienced the nagic
I sometimes use this routine in a formal show but I find it best
suited to a situation where many people in the audience know each
other,like at aprivatep^rty. These people will love the idea of helping
you fool their friend and they will relish the thought of not telling her
how any of it was accomplished.
On a cruise ship many acts present their full show early in the week
and are then asked to do a short spot on the final evening's show.
Early in the week passengets have not had time to socialize and form
new friendships but by the end of the cruise there ate large groups
that have become well acquainted. This is the ideal time for the Pow-
ers of Darkness.
I would never attempt this routine orl a group of kids though I
have met at least one performer who claims he has great success with
it in kid shows. He is a better man than I. Not would I try tt for a
crowd that has been drinking heavily, especially if the lady volunteer
has had a few. Even if you u,ere fortunate enough to avert a disaster,
they wouldn't temember it the next day artyway.
I have performed the Powers of Darkness in the Parlour at the

t06
 filrPowiBt ar Dr,wmrt

Magic Castle with great success but always for the early shows, nevef
during the late shows when the crowds have had perhaps a few too
many.
Because the Powers of Darkness is completely different from any-
thing an audience is likely to have seen (unless they have seen Paper
Balls Over the Head) it is an ideal routine to have in your arsenal.

fter a couple occasions of being asked to perform my Pow-

ers of Darkness routine and not being able to find one single
coat hanger anywhere, I came up with this impromptu version.
Required are two pieces of rope, each measuring approximately 56
inches in length. Soft white magicians' rope is best but cord or even
string will also work. Tie one piece into a loop but as you do, allow
one of the ends to extend only an inch or tv/o past the knot while the
other end extends a good four or five inches Past the knot. Eithet an
over-hand knot or square knot can be used. Fig. 1.

trtg. 1 ll"ben \'itrytlte rope itla a laop

orc erd is $i /oryer tltm tlte atlter.

07
lilurAunw Wotont

To pre-set for the toutine, remove your coat and pass your right
hand through the loop. Failing to put your arm through this loop
will result in a vety embartassing fnish to the toutine. You will need
to secure the loop up your sleeve so that the bottom of the loop is
positioned about three inches up ftom the end
of your coat sleeve. You'll know it's in the cor-
rect position if you can easily reach up this sleeve
with your left hand and grab the loop. Securing
the rope in place can be done either of two ways.
Hanging the knot over the top edge of your
sleeve will prevent the loop from accidentally
sliding down into view ptematurely.trig.2.
Or, with youf coat off, you can place a rub-
ber band around your uppef atmand then, after
insetting your arm through the loop, tuck part of
Ftg. 2 Hangtng tbe knot ouerlour coat sleeue wi// preuent the kopJrom
the rope under the rubbet band. Adjust the tope sliding doun lour sleeue.

so that the lowermost part is a few inches above

your wtist (Fig. 3) and then put on your coat. The rubber band will
prevent the rope ftom prematurely slipping down your sleeve. Begin
with the other piece of rope in your pocket and you're rcady to go.

Fig. 3 An alternatiue authodfor rcnring the

loop inloar sleeue i: to slip paft of tbe rope
tunder a rubber band.

00
 lnppomwu Dowrw oF DAptuE t

I haue discouered a most anasaalphenlltlenon that works on! ander the most

spectfic conditions. Tbe prop: required couldn't be simpler: a human arm and a

length of mpe. Tbe rope I'ue got batfor some reaszn, this experiment doesn't work
it onlour arm.
0n mJ) arm. Perhaps we coald tr1
Retrieve the piece of rope from your pocket and toss it to someone
in the audience. A lady or gentleman will work but make sure your
volunteet has bare arms. For this description, we'll assume you've
selected a woman.
The experiment also won't work f I do it, solou will baae to do all tbe heault
ltfting. Not to worr1. I'll showlow exartfi what to do and the job coaldn't be easier

And the last condition is that all of us get to watch batlou do not. That': right'
ya will haue to carry out the whole experinent withlour e1u cloud. Iflou peek
e!.)en lnce, I can guarantee that it won't work. Bat iflou do exact! as I sE,1ou
will experience a true miracle. Readl to giue it a tr1?
During this explanation, take the tope back from the spectator and
tie the ends together, duplicating the look of the other loop; with one
end short and one long. Have het tug on the looP to prove that it is
solid.
Shake.
Extend your right hand as you say the word and the
tady will automatlcally shake hands with you. But you
dont let go. Fig. 4.
If,/ouldyu agree that as long as we maintain thi: grip, and f we
don't antie that knot, it would be impossible to link this loop arowrtd
lour arm? "Yes." Actaalfi, there is zne waJ). If one of us stepped

I g. 1 'I-be knot is positioned at one side,
.:(r il)e [Pect.ttot"s (|ril.
into tbe loop and somebow squeeTgd our entire bo@ through it, and
tben palled the loop up ouer our bead, we could do it. Butfrank!, I
don't see that bappening, at least not withoat a struggle. But thatJ
as tbe kop is laid wh1 m1 discouery is so astonishing. If we /,t:el0/,/r arm andlou don't
peekloa can accomplish tbe impossible.
!7hi1e maintaining your gtip on the spectator's hand, lay the loop
over her wrist. Position the loop so the knot is not touchinghet arm.
She will see and feel two sides of the loop lying over her wrist'
As I sq/, "Lift and drE," I will ltft tbe rope ap about fue inches and then
tlrop it back ontolour drril. Then itlltoar turn. As I sqt, "Lift and drE" again,

109
t'-ig. 5 fi"itlt lbe spectalor n'atcltittg,-yorr gab ltt,ld aJ' botlt FtQ. 6 A: iltt ktop i: tzti.tad tp.fbrr rtrJit'e inclte.r .rlx.liel.r
sides oJ' ilte h.'op. ilte rope nrltbint tgain.rt tltt-fi'ant trrd lnck af' her n'ri-rt.

tlsingJzilr left hand,ya do exact! tbe same

thing. That's a// there is toit butloa mrlrt d0

it exactfi as I'ue described or it won't work.
Clear? "Yes."
As you're explaining what must be
done, demonstrate b1r 12[it * both sides
of the loop in )rour left hand (Fig. 5)
raise them up four or five inches (Fig.
6) and then drop the rope back onto her
wrist. Fig. 7. I-i.q, 7
-tlten
t'lte /aop i.r drapped htck onla lter t'ist.
IYoaldya like to tr1 it once withloar eles

open? "Yes." OK, go abead. Take the rope,

raise it ap and droP it.Perfect. It's likelou'ue

been doing this allyur life. Closeyar eles and
remember, no peeking.

As soon as her eyes afe closed, reach

up your right sleeve and pull the dupli-
cate loop all the u/ay out onto your tight
wrist. Fig. 8.

fti3. 8 On* lter e1v.r are clc,sd ilte dtp/icate rape tltat i.r
a/ready /aoped arotnd-1'otr igltt artr i.r ptr//ed oti aJ
-yotr
.r/ett'e.
Ftig. 9 tltis grip litlt-yatrr /e/ lttttd a//tn'.r il.tt /ool> to ltt I'iS. /0'l'lLt /t,op i.r ltorvd ottlrt lxt'trnr n'iil.tt,trl d/lon'iilg
lte/d apen a.r n'idt a-r po:-rilt/e. tl.tt ropt lolotrlt ber rkit. \btrr il.tttttb and itdexJitrgtr
tlten tukt l.tokl ol tl.tt oilttr /oop.

Quickly position the knot so it is lying on toP of vour wrist. You

will now pick up this loop using a grip that will hold the loop open
as wide as possible. Trap the rope iust to the left of the knot between

)'our left ring and little fingers and the heel of 1'our hand. At the same
time pinch the loop and the long end betv/een vour index and middle
fingertips. The loop is held open as as possible. Fig. 9.
"vide
Vithyur g,es ttghtt, closed, I'//proue that nothing happens athen I ryt iL Ltft
and droP. Nothing.
During this explanation, the loop in t'our left hand is carefullv
passed over the ladr"s right hand. During this move do not allow the
rope to touch her skin. Your left hand is lowered down until vour in-
dex linger and thumb can pick up the loop
that is lr'ing across her u,rist. Fig. 10.
During the lift and drop maneuver that
she is norv famlliar r,vith, a sr,r,itch w-ill be
rfl made. Lift both of the loop off her
sides
rvrist (Fig. 11) and then, as the linked loop
rs dropped onto her w-rist, the original loop
is snatched arvar'.

-I'lte
Fig. / / origitto/ loop i: /tfed qll ol lttr n'ri:t.jrr.rt a.t

1'o t rlelt o tt.slrzt ltd p rt ri o tr.t /1'.

 Ftg. ) 'llte .rpectutor n'i// elczlti(r lil'l
Ftg. 7 2 After tlte v'ilclt is ntade the /aryend sltould be 1 letryilts of' rope
lal,itrg ot'er tlte tap af lter n'isf. jrr.t a.r sl.te did b(bre.

The spectator will feel rope move up both sides of her wrist and
then drop back onto her wrist. The switching of the ropes during this
demonsttation is undetectable. The loop around het arm should have
landed with the long end lying over the top of her wrist. Fig. 1,2.

If an adjustment is necessary it can be made after the switched-out

rope now in your left hand has been tucked into your pocket.
Now itlyur turu. Ltft tbe rope and ,lroP it. Openyar eys.
In grabbing hold of the rope she will encounter the loop and the
long end but will believe that she has the two sides of the loop just as
before. trig. 13.
She lifts the rope four ot five inches (Fig. 1fl and then drops it
back onto her wrist. Fig. 15.
You immedrately grab the knot and pull itto a position far away

Fig. / 4 Belieiltg tltat .rlte is lto/ding both sides af the Ptg. 1 5 Lifiry ail druppirg tlte rope n'i//Jee/ exact!, tltc
aigina/ /aop :/te a'ill lift up the rope. !d/t,/e d.r it did prvriot.rl,.

|:i
 lmppomwu |lou,tpt ot Dr,ptttttt

from her wrist. Upon opening her eyes

I want her to see just one strand of tope
lying over her wrist and have no possible
explanation as to how it became linked
onto her arm. Fig. 16.

It went right througltllar arm, didnl it?

As in the other routine, "didn't it" is di-
rected toward the audience who will chime
in with an enthusiastic, "YES!" At the
conclusion of this foutine yol are in the
Fig. 16 Before the opens her eles the knat is slid down to a perfect position to shake yout assistant's
point Jar awal froru her wist.
hand in thanks for her help.
In a casual situation it might be inappro-
pflzte to suddenly put on a jacketjust prior to your demonsttation. In
this case the duplicate loop can be pre-set under yout shirt sleeve. Ot,
you can take things a step further.
From inside your shirt, tuck one end of the loop down your sleeve
until it is iust above your elbow. The rest of the loop is allowed to
hang down inside your shirt. Gravity will do a fine job of holding it
in this position. You can evefl put your coat on over this setup. When
you afe teady to begin the demonstration you can take off youf coat
and roll your shitt sleeves up to your elbow. All of this is seen as your
being more than fair but it actually places the duplicate loop within
easy reach.
And if we continue up your arm, there is one flnal possibility. If
your are wearing a T-shirt there is no reason why the duplicate tope
can't be looped over your right shoulder with half of it hanging down
your back and the other side hanging down your front. In this posi-
tion, just the weight of your shirt should hold the rope in position.
Now, at the appropriate time, you reach right up the short sleeve and
pull the loop all the way down your right arm and proceed as before.
It seems stfange but the spectator is likely to think, "\Well, he couldn't
have used his sleeves because he didn't have any."

.&

91
 In 1991. my pal Stan Allen told me that he had to either discontinue
his Inside Magic newsletter and get out of magic publishing altogethet
or step up to a monthly magazine and become a full-time publisher. I
of coutse recommended that he hang it up knowing full well that he
would ignore my advice and start a glossy, full-color, monthly maga-
zine. You're welcome.
As a premium, Stan proposed a book of tricks and essays that
could be obtained onl1, by shelling out thirty bucks for a subscription.
The list of contributors is prett)r impressive even by todav's standards:
Eugene Burger, I(azuyuki Hase, Richard I(aufman, I(enichi I{uroki,
Tomo Maeda,Jim Steinmever, Michael \7ebet, Tommy Wonder and
N{ax Maven. I do remember giving the book its name (Square One)
but I have no recollection of settiflg the type or lal,ing it out but the
title page claims that I did. N{y other contribution was an essay on
performing magic in a comedic st1,'le, and after rereading it I find that
everything that bothered me tu/enty plus 1,ears ago still bothets me to-
dav. Thus, here are my slight\, updated thoughts on Serious Laughter.

couple of years ago I peeked into a recentllLpublished textbook

f\
performing comedy magic. The first piece of adr.ice that
fJ""
I I jumped off the page v/as, "Another good teason to do comedy is
because it's easy" I closed the book, slipped it back onto the shelf and
tiptoed out of the magic shop.
Why would someone write that? Does this gu)r get a commls-
sion every time some goon crushes a collapsible beer can against his
head? Does he understand the difference between laughter caused by
cler.er material delivered by a cleady established character and laugh-
ter coerced from an audience through embarrassment and relief?

:i r'
1"
Mwr (ti.rt,rv //ottprpt

Embarrassment ftom having to watch some guy stuff wtinkled hand-

kerchiefs down the dress of a crimson-faced woman and relief from
the fact that his act is almost over and they have thus far escaped the
dreaded call to "assist."
I envision this author standing on the end of a dock, yelling down
into the water. "H.y, you fish. Come on up here on the dock where
breathing is easy." My advice to all of his readers and to all those f,sh
is the same: Don't do it. You will die a slow wretched death.
How many times has an uninspired act been defended with, "Well,
he got plenty of laughs" or "Hey, he's working." I don't buy that logic.
At my house we're constantly laughing at my cat, so does that make
him a comedic genius? No, he's a moron.
I think it's important to understand the distinction between "get-
ting laughs" zfld "getting laughed at." It's like the difference between
an old iady handing you five dollars for helping het across the street,
ot dragging an old lady into an alley, sticking a gun in her face, ar,d
demanding her purse. You're going to make some morley either way
but there is an element of finesse missing from the second approach.
And whether you choose to rip off one old lady in an alley ot
an entite audience in a theater, where is the gratific tlon? Aftet the
mugging do you say to yourself, "rWel1, anothet good night's wotk,I
feel great." You haven't rcally done anything that anyone holding a
gun couldn't have done. It may come as a shock to some, but if my
neighbot stuffed hankies down a woman's dtess in front of a group of
stfangefs, there would be laughter. So when you do it, it doesn't make
you special. It just means you've spent some money at the magic shop
and the other people haven't. Of course you also run the risk of being
upstaged by some guy putting a lampshade on his head and eliciting
bigger laughs without having spent a dime.
You have all seen comedy magicians who do tricks as they tell
jokes. Some of them arevery good. Good magicians and funny co-
medians. When they heat a funny new ioke, it can be in theit th^t
^ct
night. You can always spot these performers because you will be tell-
ing their jokes the next And the iokes will still be funny because
day'.

they stand on their own, having no relatiofi to the magic that was per-
formed. In fact, if you learned all his jokes and all his tricks, there is a
possibility that you could do his act and do it well. That is a dangerous
act to have, particularly if it's a good act. An act like that is fodder for

t96
 lrwout LNolruB

sticky-tongued stand-up wanna-bes.

Then there is the kind of act th^t can't be stolen; afl that is
^ct
based on a personality and an attitude. It's not only what they say, but
also how they say it. It's their body language; the way they look and
how they react in various situations. You can always spot these acts
because the next day you will be describing their act and fnally you
have to say, "!7e11, you just had to be there."
People will funny jokes were and you can't
ask what some of the
tell them because there weren't any jokes. Out of context the lines
don't mean anything, but when taken as a whole, they arc hilarious.
Every line of patter, everl the really funny ones, in some way advanced
the plot. The routine was obviously written for a certatn person with
a cefiain style and personality. If someone else delivered the same
lines they would fall flat and there is a vety good reason for that. The
originator not only knows what to say, they also know what to think.
I(nowing what to think is much more difficult to steal. One needs
only to consider Jeff Hobson or Mac I(ing and then imagirle someone
else presenting their act. It's scary.
Some people def,ne "writing patter" as thinking up what to say.
That's wrong. Thinking up what to say is "thinking of pattet." \Wtiting
p^ttet means writing it down. Those who don't usually justify their la-
ziness by saying, "I like it to sound spontaneous." Right, spontaneous
and bodng. If you are David Williamson, OK, wing it. Everyone else,
write it down. How can you afford not to wtite it down when evefy
word, every syllable can make or break a line.
MCs are the frst ofles to spot an act with no sctipt See if you can
tell which of these two acts is sctipted. MC to act #1.: "How long are
you doing?" "Twelve minutes." MC to act #2: "How long ate you do-
ing?" "Oh, fifteen or twenty minutes." Act#2 usually foliows that up
with, "...and if I'm rcally killing 'em, I might thtow in the Rings."
WARNING: Devising and writing routines is really hard. In fact tt
is the hatdest thing I can think of. In comparison, learning a proven
routine verbatim out of a book is really easy. And you can learn a lot
by petforming proven toutines in front of real people. Some people
make a cateer out of it. But after you have learned the basics of per-
forming magic, don't you think that continuing with a monkey-see-
monkey-do type of act is sort of like buying a book, taking it home
and retyping the whole thing. Sure, no errors, perfect margins - but

97
doing something original must surely be more rewarding.
And being original is a cinch. Anybody can do it. The challenge is
being original and good at the same time. Magicians seem to have a
thing about otiginality. As soon as they see anything original they fall
all over each other ttying to slap the guy on the back. They never stoP
to think if it was also a good idea. How many times have you seen
somebody win a ttophy for an original idea that was also a terible idea?
You realI1, don't need that many great ideas fot an act. \X/e all know
people who have succeeded with just one. OI(, so it wasn't theit first
'When
idea, but that's still encouraging. It's not out of reach. a baseball

playet gets a hit every third trip to the plate, he's batting .333 and he's
a star.It's the same thing in magic. If every third idea you get is a hit,
you'llbe a star too.
Def,ne your own petforming style and personality and the obvious
restraints of that stage persona will dictate how a new idea should be
developed. One thing that a cleady defined character will provide is
a guide to what you shouldn't do. These discoveries are just as impor-

tant as finding out what you should be doing.

Everyone knows that the only thing u/orse than watching some
nerd ttying to be Mr. Cool is watching some Poor slug who has no
idea who he is up there trying to be the ffazy, wacky, zany l{rng of
I(omedy. Audiences can sense insincetity like a shark senses blood in
the water and both can end up Pretty messy.
You'll have a much bettet chance at success if you first take an hon-
est inventory of yout t^w matertals. \)flhat do you look like? How do
you normally act and speak? If the answef to these questions is "nor-
mal," that's fine. Normal people can be vety funny. In fact, people
fnd it much easier to identify with a normal-lookingJoe as opposed
to some ctazed lunatic. By playing "Everyman" it's easy for an audi-
ence to imagine themselves in your piace; ptedicaments are funny as
long as it's someone else who's in them.
If your p^ttet is clever and you treat your audience intelligentiy,
they'll thank you for it. A performer who tries to be funny by acting
stupid sometimes finds out that he is the only one in the room who is.
And the last rule is that thete are no rules. No one can tell you
how to be funny. If there were unbreakable rules, then either Robin
\X/illiams or Buster I(eaton would be funny, but not both.
Everyone has to stand up there and get beat up. Eventually you will

rq0
be able to throw a punch as well as take a punch. Or mat'be, vou'll
end up punch drunk. Just gir.e it your best shot and at least you'll be a

contender.
 atrick Albanese is a very clever fellow. He was aheady a long-
time magician when he got a iob as host at the Magic Castle.
By watching hundreds of maglcrans during his Castle stint he
leatned what it took to be a good Performer as well as what made an
act bad. When he told me that he was starting to work on his owfl act,
I remembered an idea that had been percolating in my head for years.
I knew that Patrick had the ability to build this challenging prop and
this way I would get to see if it really wotked.
In the BilI in Cigar chapter I explain how I first met Terry Sea-
brooke at the 1,974IBM convention in Little Rock, Atkansas' Ten
years later I pubtished his book, which to this day temains one of our
best selling titles. I remember having a conversation with Tercy about
what he should call his book. I said, "No matter what you call it peo-
ple are going to refer to it as Seabrooke's book" so we decided then
and there that this would be the ttde, Seabrooke's Book.
In that book, hiding on just one Page, there is a trick called The
Pipes and Plugs. It was an idea using the Chinese Sticks thatTerty and
Pete Bito had worked on. The round sticks were fitted with plastic
faucets and the tassels were replaced with sink stoppers. Here was
a perfect example of taking a Proven, classic effect and disguising it
with a new face and routine. But, thought I, how cari someone hold
tv/o watef faucets in theit hands throughout a routine and never tutn
them on? The fnish just had to include'water pouring out of the fau-
cet into a bucket. Not iust one pipe-full, but a LOT of water. One only
has to think about the Long Pour Salt Trick and the fantastic effect
created by the seemingly endless production of salt. Now imagine the
impact on an audience created by an inexhaustible reservoir of water
A claric tick (Cbine:e gushing into a bucket from a water pipe held in your hand.
Stick:) witb a neu'Jaru falcets My first thought \il/as to have some kind of bladder (like a hot
and sink stoppers) with a
watef bottle) concealed under yout clothing with a hose that could be
kilhrfnith (a ueruitg!, endless
quantil of water). hooked up to one pipe. Squeezingthe bladder with your arm would

ZO
lrlwr Aww Wrww+t

force water down through the tube and out of the pipe. It sounded
simple enough so this is the idea I gave to Patrick. He liked it and set
off to make the props.
Patrick doesn't just dabble with proiects, he pours himself into
them. I received constant updates. The proper faucets were impossi-
ble to find. You can't "conce l" a hot watef bottle under your clothes
without looking like you retaTnrng u/ater. Chinese Stick technol-
^re
ogy was not designed to be watetproof. One by one each problem
was attacked and solved. The perfect faucets were fnally located at an
outdoor plumbing supply store. One Chinese Pipe would be switched
for a duplicate urater-spouting pipe and the hot u/ater bottle would
be concealed undet a yellow ratncoat. The ptesence of the r^tncozt
was justifed by saying, "For home plumbing repairs you need three
things, a monkey wrench, a copy of Plambingfor the Complete ldiot, and
one of these." The last item was a yellow taincoat, which generated
images of burst pipes and water spraying everywhere. Besides getting
a good laugh this gag successfully justifed the cover for the secret
u/ater supply.
After the usual pulling of the plugs up and down, back and fotth,
one of the sticks would be placed into an inside pocket in the ralncoat.
Later when retrieving it, the duplicate pipe was brought
^pparcniy
into play. Now the faucet could be turned on, the bladder squeezed
and water would pour out of the pipe and into a bucket on the floor.
In an effortto attatn maximum realism Patrick used real rubber
stoppers (instead of the Styrofoam ones suggested in Seabroooke's Book)
and real beaded chain. They looked gteat but produced added weight
and friction to the Chinese Stick mechanism. The pipes had to be
tilted way up before the weights started to slide. Patrick's solution to
this problem was to install a small reel at the back end of each pipe.
The line from the reel was looped around the chain inside the pipe.
The tension in the reel was almost, but not quite, strong enough to
pull in the chain. The pipe needed to be tipped up just slightly before
the reel and the weight working together could pull in the chain. The
result was a set of Chinese Sticks with a hair trigger. Tipping the pipe
even slightly would start the plug on its upward journey.
One day Patrick called and said he was ready to show off the ftuits
of his labor. "Perfect" I said, "Mac I(ing and I are up in the ttee
house. Come on over." The first performance of the Chinese Pipes

t07
 {wrrDtpr;

took place eighteen feet up in a \ff/illow tree for an audience of two'

We marveled at Patrick's realistic looking and ingenious set of pipes
as well as his raincoat.It was actually two raincoats that had been
Velcroed together with the requisite plumbing concealed in pockets
between the two layers. There was a pocket to hold the hot watet bot-
tle, another pocket to hold the duplicate pipe, which $/as connected to
the water supply by a rubber tube. \We sat through the Chinese Stick
portion of the routine anticiPating the big wet f,nish. Then, the mo-
ment of tfuth. Patrick turned the handle and water trickled out of the
faucet. It was underwhelming.
People have spent their entire lives turning faucets on and evefy
single time the watef came gushing out under pfessufe.'Water just fall-
ing out of a faucet didn't look right. There was no escaping this truth
so u/e told Patrick what he mostlikely akeady knew but didn't want
to face. "The water has to be under more pressure than iust vour arm
squeezing a hot water bottle."
The next time I saw Patrick v/as at the Magic Castle where he was
debuting his new act including the Chinese Pipes. Additions to the
coat included a compressed air canister that resided in a pocket under
the right arm with avalve that could start and stoP the flow of air.
Another pocket at the back of the coat held two metal watef bottles.
Figs. 1 and2.

FQ. / A second rainruat held in place 11' I'ehro tabs (fectit'e! ltid a// Fig. 2 Thi: exposed riett'oJ' tlte ittter mincaal sltou's tlse aircanisterin
o1' the internal phrnl.ting, of n'lticlt tltere u'as p/etrfi'. tlteporkel on tbe leJi and tltt ttt'o t'ater tanks in t'be centerpocket. At tlte
jtr igbt is tbe billdag c/ip tbat turns tbe reel atlacbed lo tlte drutt'sling
ifia a /ockirg rtel.

741
Mtr Avnw Wonomt

A piece of plastic tubing delivered compressed ait to each water

tank and the ptessure forced water out of the bottles where it merged
into a single hose. This hose entered a thitd pocket that held a dupli-
cate Chinese Stick. Pattway through the routine one stopper malfunc-
tioned and this pipe was placed into this inside coat pocket. Patrick
then discovered that the drawstring on his raincoat nou/ controlled
the stopper. Pulling the knob on the drawstring taised the stopper
and soon the two drawstting knobs u/ere actirig as mysteriously as

the stoppers. The drawstrings'were actually t$/o separate sttings,

each hooked up to a reel. A bulldog clip turned one of the teels into a
locking reel. \7hen the pipe was supposedly retrieved from the pocket
it was actually the duplicate pipe hooked up to the water supply. The
section of supply hose that extended from the pipe to the edge of his
coat was hidden by Pattick's wrist.
Putting ofl this ratflcoat turned Patrick into a walking bomb. If the
system blew, he would be soaking wet in an instant, but by the time the
ait canister had blown itself out, he would most likely be bone dty.
It was a huge relief to fi.nally see The Chinese Pipes in ftont of an
audience. Technically it worked fine but there was no getting atound
the fact that this r^7ncoat, fully loaded, weighed in at about nine
pounds and no matter how casually it was handled, tt"felt" suspicious.
If the audience suspected that the u/ater was coming out of the rain-
coat, they would be satisfed that the mystery had
been solved. Details arc of no importance to an
audience.
This method sounded great on p^per but the
rcahty u/as that it just didnt fly. It felt like this
was "a" method but not "the" method. A new
idea occutted to me a couple of weeks later in,
of all places, the shower. Perhaps tutning on the
faucets and having w^ter hit my face was just the
jolt I needed. I called Patrick and explained my
latest idea. I wish I knew to avoid these
^way
costly and time-consuming steps in the creation
of a new toutine but I don't.
The raincoat was eliminated. Instead he would
Fig. 3 Bxidu beinga logicalplace to carrylourplambingtools, the tool
enter carrytng a toolbox similat to the kind a chest eliminated the raincoat and obscured the audienceJ uiew of the

plumber might c tty. Fig. 3. water sappfi hook-ap.

t04
 AtnarPtpa

This toolbox contained every-

thing; the three pipes, the watet
supply comPressed air
^fld ^
canister. Fig. 4.
The water suPply would be
equipped with a coflnector valve
that protruded through the front
of the chest. To the right of this
valve was a threaded valve that a
bicycle pump could be connected
Fig. 4 lYitb tbe Chinese Pipes remoued tbe phtmbing intide the toolbox is clearfi sbown. Tbe to in order to refll the au canis-
latge black container is the water suppfi and the light-colored container is the compressed air
tet with compressed ait. Next in
itl)tfften
line was the on/off switch for the
air canister. Fig. 5.

A rubber hose would run

Ftg. 5 Protruding tbroagh tbefront
:tpp!
connection on the left, the biclcle
from one wrist, up the sleeve,
under the coat and down a P^rLt
leg ending at the ankie. Two of
the pipes would contain Patrick's
improved Chinese Stick mecha-
nism. The third would be hollow
with a connectof valve ptotrud-
ing about three inches from the
of the toolbox (whicb tbe aadience neuer sees) is the water
back end of the pipe.
pamp ualuefor reflling the air canister in the
center,

ord at tbefar ight h tbe on/off witcbfor tbe air mnister. Upon enteririg, the toolbox
would be set on the floot right in
front of your feet. As you leaned
over and opened the chest, you
also pulled the end of the tube
from your pant leg and snapped
the end into the pressure valve
on the front of the box. The
chest itself screerls this from the
audience view. Fig. 6.
Ftom the toolbox (which
presumably contains all of yout
Ftg. 6 Before the frn ptpe is brought into uien' tlse sqp[ line is pulled
pant plumbing tools) you remove the
fron inide tbe leg and connected to the water supp!, t'a/ue.

two Chinese Pipes and begin the

ZO'
Myr Gwri'lflcr-lp,i

Ftg. 7 ltr logtca/ n set t/se too/box atltorrl'tt, FiS. 8 Wltile reacbing into the loolbox- lhe uah.e is palled oat of lour
a,lteru it ffirtit'e/1' ltides ilte rvater bose. tleet'e and connected to tbe tltird pipe.

routine. Fig.7.
At in the routine one of the pipes is retutned to the
one point
chest. A moment later, while apparently tetrieving the pipe you actu-
ally pull the valve out of your sleeve and connect it to the third water
pipe. Fig. 8.
It is now safe to turn on the pump and
bring this third pipe into view. The pump
forces the water out of the teservoir, up
the tube, and into the pipe. When the
faucet is turned on you get a stream of
water that resembles the streams that
people have become accustomed to all
their lives. Fig. 9.

Of coutse there would also have to be

a bucket on stage to catch the running
u/ater. nfle initially considered installing
Fig. 9 'Inrning on tbe faacet re/eases a steadl, stream of water tbal
into this bucket a pump that would de- grrsltes otrt underpressarc,just /ike an1, real.faucet.

liver water up a clear tube that terminated

at the spout of the faucet. When the pump was turned on, the water
would run up the tube and then back down around the outside of
the clear tube. It was basically the "impossible object illusion" often

206
 AtwrPpn

displayed in store windows where a fatcet disgorged unlimited quanti-

ties of water. Eventually we decided that audiences would recogntze
out illusion as exactly that and turned our attention to the toolbox.
Thete wete mydad problems to solve but Pattick once again at-
tacked the ptoject with a vengeance but soon after he got Pafi
^
in a long-running play that effectively took him away from magic.
Eventually, I inherited the fruits of Patrick's considerable efforts and
I still stand amazed at his ingenuity and tesourcefulness in turning
'Sfith
this "pipe" dream into reality. so many of the ptoblems aheady
solved I considet this idea to be a diamond in the tough just waiting
fot someone to finish the routine and bring it to the stage.

707
 his idea came from ttick that Hal-ry Andetson and ven-
catd
^
triloquistJayJohnson preseflted on a television talk show. Harry
blindfolded himself by placing a bag over his head and then
allowed the host to select card. Because the card was freely shown to
^
the audience, Jay was able to see it too. Then Jay, speaking fot H^rry,
announced the name of the card using a ventriloquial voice.
Jay has been a good friend for many years and when he, Tina and I
worked a week together at the Magic Castle we decided to try a full-on
demonstration of second sight. Out plan was for me to be blindfolded
on stage withJay holding a microphone up to my mouth. Tina would
be in the audience holding up items belonging to spectators. \We fg-
uted after one of two items, the audience would catch on to what was
actually happening. \We would move onto a couple of gagitems, f,nish
with a big laugh and that would be that.
\We completely miscalculated the effect and it was allJayJohnson's
fault.
After the first show the Magic Castle's entertainment director (Jack
Goldf,nget) came backstage and was cleady baffled by our new mind
reading act. Some people wondered if there was a peePhole in the
blindfold while others marveled at Tina's mastery of a vetbal
^pparent
code. The routine generated few laughs and ended wrthpuzzled ap-
plause.
The problem stemmed from Jay's extraordinaty technical skill as a
ventriloquist. Even with the audience sitting just a few feet away and
Jay speaking for three or four minutes, they simply didn't susPect any-
'I-ina ltnert, Ja1 Jobn:on and thing. Even the jokes that were designed to expose the method didn't
I present Nind Reading at tbe
smarten them up, nor did the fact that immediately following our
Magic Castle in 201 2.
Pboto: Derek Hrgbu. mind readiflgactJ^y performed fifteen minutes of ventriloquism. His

209
Mur Avnw fl/ontint

opening line was, Come back later in the week and Mike will readlour mind
wbik I drink a didn't help. Some folks told me later that
glass of water.It
during the drive home they suddenly thought, "\(/ait a minute! That
was JayJohnson naming those itemsl" So we did get a reaction but it
occurred on the freeway long after the curtain closed and miles away
from the Castle. Nobody benefits from a time-delayed teaction.
For two nights we wrestled over whether the act should be played
straight or strictly fot laughs. Jim Steinmeyer suggested that we do
both. Here is the routine that we settled on for the remainder of the
week.

When I asked for the blindfoldJay enteted and explained to me

that the blindfold was missing. After having a minor fit I spotted a
trash can left over ftom Tina's Cleaning Lady act and in what I be-
lieved to be a stroke of genius, decided to use that as my emergency
blindfold failing to consider the fact that tt would make me look like
a complete idiot. At the end of the act I removed the trash can reveal-
ing that the missing blindfold had mysteriously found its way around
my head. The cloth blindfold was made from the same houndstooth
material as my coat. The cloth was wtapped around a 11/z inchby
24-rnch strip of flexible plastic and sewn into the standard blindfold
shape. Fig. 1.

Ftg. I Tbe Velcro tabs alloat tbe siry of the blindfold to be arfuned quitkl and easi/1.

The plastic strip allowed the blindfold to maintain a Proper citcular

shape and Velcro tabs on the ends of the blindfold allowed the size
to be fully adjustable. I wanted it to slide easily onto my head but not
slide down past my nose and ezrs. Fig. 2.

zl0
 lltm Praum

Fig. 2 The plastic stip held the

blindfold open so that m1 head
cotrld slide straight into it when
I pat on the trash run.

The trash can blindfold was not chosen because it was aheady pat
of Tina's act. It was determined to be the petfect prop for a variety of
reasons and thus, it was logically worked into Tina's act. First, a trash
can ovef your head looks funny. Second, it does act as avery effective
blindfold. Third, it does alter the tone of one's voice thus justifying
the odd sounding voice used by J"y.Fourth, it provided a means for
introducing the cloth blindfold as a surprise finish.
A spting metal clip was pop-riveted onto the inside front of the
can. Fig. 3. The front of the blindfold was slid under this clip. Wrap-
ping a piece of gaffers tape around the front of the clip provided in-
creased friction that helped hold the blindfold securely in place. Fig. 4.

f,S. S (tft) Tu,a PoP

riuets bold tbe clip to the
side of the trath can.

Fig. a @d)t) Cafen

tape on tbe clip proildes
extrafiction to hep
bold tbe b/indfold in
place.

I
Mur Avrnw WonorBt

On top of the blindfold I placed a wrinkled piece of paper and on

top of that, assorted pieces of ttash. This arrangemeflt allowed the
trash to fall straight out of the can onto my head without getting hung
up on the blindfold. \X/hen I did put the can over my head, the blind-
fold was in the perfect position to slide right ovet my head. One tug
on the pointed end of the blindfold easily released it from the clip.

Mike: Dolou like mind reading? Euerybodl's doing it. It's tbe hottest trend in
magiclow know. And in an ffirt to remain at theforefront of ourfeld I too haae

deueloped ml pslchic abilities to an extraordinary degree. To demonstrate I want

yufolks to reach intoyurpockets and purses and remoue an1 personal item... a

comb, cell phone, a bill of some kind, key or an1 other itemya might haue. I will
be tboroagh! blindfolded and Tina will pass amzngJlrl and hold aploar objects. I
will tben pslchicalfi identtfl each and euerl item.

Tina would move into the audience and begin to collect obiects in a

basket including a bill of some kind and a ceII phone.

Mike: If m1 assistant could bring out the blindfold.
Jay entered c rytngnothing. This was the first time that he was
Afnr anwilting! enpling ttte
trasb can on nryself I place the
seen by the audience and because of how I referred to him they just emergeltc) blindfold ouer nt1 head.
assumed he was an assistant. Undet his breath Jay sard,IYe don't haue the Photo: Derek Hlghu.

blindfold.
Mike: l%hat doyu mean we don't haue the blindfold?

IYhat happened to it? For crying out loud, there must be some-

tbing back there. Here, hand me that bucket.

Jay handed me the bucket thatTtna had used earher

in the show and left sitting on the stage.
Mike: Perfect, a /6-gauge steel blindfold, impossible to see

throagh.

As I started to put the bucket over my head trash

pouted down on me. Looking into the wings I said to
Bryan Lee, our wonderful stage manager, Oh clme ofi
man,J)01/ coald'ue enptied the trash.

I put the now-empty

can over my head while Jay
removed a handheld microphone from the stand and
held it near my mouth but outside the can.

717
 The hrst object was chosen at random but Tina made sure thatJat,
could clearlv see it.
Ttna )Iike the l[agnifcettt, cctil)10il identif, lhis alject?
Using perfect ventriloquial technique, Jav named the obf ect in a
slightlv mutfled r-oice. Because no one had er-er heard me speak while
mv head u-as inside a trash can, ther- accepted this r-oice as mine. Tina
mor-ed onto the second random item.
Ttna And ltol.' abofi lhis one, canl'ou do it?
Because of hou' Tina changed the rvording of her question each
Mur Awnw Wonomt

time, the wise ones in the audience statted to susPect that we might
be using a verbal code. This ploy further directed their attention away
fromJay's stationary lips as he named the second object. SinceJay was
supposedly setving as a human mictophone stand, he acted slightly
disintetested in the proceedings and casually looked around the audi-
ence.
Trna: And what am I bolding now please, cdnJza name this as well?

Jay named it. Tina next held up the cell phone.

Trna: And what is this?

Jay: A cell phone.

Trna: And what network does it use?

Jay: ThatI mming in a littlefuqTl.

Tina: ATdy'T, tbat's correct!(Big laugh every show)
Ttna: And nzw laer on this side, what is this object?
Before each show we planted an emPty beer bottle where it was
easily accessible to Tina. The penultimate object was always this bottle.

Jay: This is uery drffcult. This is tbe most dfficalt one of all.
Tina: I'll giueyu a hint. It starts with a B.
Jay: Yes I know, that's wh1 it's dfficuh. OK, no gaarantee but let me giue it a
try, a bottle of been
Tina: That's correct, a gottle oleer

Each show this inside joke elicited a big laugh from iust one or tv/o
people who were aware of the factthzt "gottle o'geer" is how abad
ventriloquist two pesky "B" words, "bottle of beer." The
says those
last object was always a bill.
Tina: And fnalfi how about this object?

Jay: A bill.
Ttna: And wbat is the denomination.
Jay would name the denomination of the bill.
Ttna: And canJlu tell us the serial number?
Jay would rattle off eight completeiy tandom digits and a lettet.
Ttnz: Is that correct sir?

Tina lowered her handheld microphone to her side making it look

to the rest of the audience like she was holding it up to the spectator's
mouth. Changing to a loud squeaky voice, Jay would say, Yes!
Trna: Ladies and Gentlemen, thatl Mike the Magnificent, the Pslchic maruel.
\When I temoved the ttash can ftom my head the audience was

surprised to see that I was now wearing the missing blindfold. As I

714
 Ntno Patirne

Rentouingtbe nnsb cat reueals the ruising blindfold. Pboto: Derek HtShu.

temoved the blindfold,Jay spoke in the same muffled voice he had

used for me.
Jay: Ifound ry blindfold!
Mlke: Jay
Jay: I foand rzry blindfold!
Mike: I%e're done witb tbe mind reading Jay
Jay: It was on n1 head the whole time.
Mike: TbatJ enoagb Ja1t.
Jay: I shoald haue looked there first.
Mike: STOP! Go getloar act readll
During this exchange the audience could clearlv see that I was not

7t
ll- ltb both ol' t4 liliillb/h rerttotvd iltt ttrdielte lturs "14"' t'oice btrl c/ear/1' see.r tltat I on rat tlte
rtne .rpukitry. Pltctlo: l)erek Llt@.te.r.

speaking those lines. It slowl,v dawned ofl them that they must be
coming from Ja1, and that they had not onhr been bamboozled by an
incredible ventriloquist but that the gu), $/ith the trash can on his head
hadn't said a word during the entire demonstration.
Mike: Tbati how we read minds in the 2/st centary - b1 oatsourcing.
 lltnoNturc

And while I didnt say a wotd during the psychic demonstration I

did use hand and arm gestures to emphasize the words thatJay was
saylng.This choreogaphy furthet convinced the audience that I was
the one doing the talking. This routine provided me the opportunity
to stand at center stage and not say a wotd fot three ot four minutes.
It was acfiially quite peaceful inside that can But I must warn you;
this routine wiil only work if you have a microphone stand th^t carL
speak ithout noothing his litz.

Foiling to prepore it preporing to foil.

utLA borketboll coorh John lliooden

7].7

(OpPoiite)'f he Ten Dollar Bi//
Tick in |\[uniclt, Cernatg\
2007.
Photo: Tbomas Fraps.
he roots of this routine go back to Edwatd Victor's Eleven Catd
Trick, f,tst published in booklet number 6 of lWillane's Methods For
Miracles. Victot's routine involved a pack of cards and one spec-
tator who dealt eleven cards onto the magician's hand. Upon check-
ing the cards dealt it was discovered that the magician held only ten
cards. The spectator provided an additional card and another count
revealed that there were still only ten cards. Another catd was added
and still there were only ten. Next the spectator counted the cards and
he verified that there were indeed only ten. Three cards were added to
the stack making a total of thitteen but two were immediately handed
back to the spectator leaving abalance of eleven. A count revealed
that there were still thirteen. Trvo more cards were returned but this
time ten cards remained. One mote card was added to the stack and
frnally the magician counted the proper number of cards - eleven. The
packet was handed to the spectator who was asked to deal six cards
onto the magician's left hand and five cards onto his right hand. The
six wete dealt without incident but only four cards remained for the
right hand. The trick was "abandoned" due to an insufficient numbet
of cards.
The method involved a series of false counts and the ability to shift
three cards from the counted packet in one hand back onto the deck
in the other hand. It is certainly an interesting concePt for a routine
but for an audience that is not completell'sober andfor willing to do
some math, it is a minefeld.
Gene Gordon was the first to take what was basicall), a close-uP
card toutine and turn it into a stage trick by replacing the cards with
dollar bills. Gene retained Edward Victor's technique for surrepti-
tiously shifting three bills (cards) from one hand to the other. This
move is difficult with cards and seems nearly impossible with bills es-
pecially if subjected to repeat viewings. Gene's method for disposing
l9
Mur [wnw Wonomt

of the second stack of bills was to have the spectator set them down
on the table. Not very mysterious but it got the iob done.
Gene reahzed that the otiginal Eleven Card Trick basically did not
have a flnish so he added an additional effect wherein a marked bill in
the stack ultimately vanished and reappeared sealed inside an enve-
Iope. The various false counts and number of bills that vanished were
identical to Victor's original routine.
The great Fred I{aps had the same idea of perfotming the effect
with bills after seeing Mike Skinner perform Edward Victor's Eleven
Card Trick rn1974 in Monte Carlo. Mike Skinner showed Fred how he
deftly shifted the catds from one hand to the other but Fted felt that
attemptirig this move with bills was ill advised. He was determined to
create an improved method fot secretly disposing of two small stacks
of bills during the course of the toutine and not surprisingly, his solu-
tion was simple and elegant. Fred also added a second sPectator to the
presefltation and he made a slight change to one of the counts near
the end of the routine. All of this, combined with Fred's consummate
acting skills, transformed what had been a close-up trick into a rou-
tine suitable for the stage.
A Fred I(aps petformance of this trick piqued Trevor Lewis' inter-
est and the two great magicians spent houts discussing its fine points.
On at least a couple of occasions Fred explained his Eleven Bill Trick
during lectures and later he wrote up the entire routine but it wasn't
published until after his death in 1980.
During a 1977 visit to the home of Trevot and Val Lewis in Holy-
head, Wales Trevor taught me the Eleven Bill Trick. I temember being
s'worn to secrecy at the time but today, more than thirty-five years
later, anyone canlearn Trevor's routine in his book Routines Matter
In analyzing the routine I decided that, fot my taste, it was too con-
fusing. During the routine the total number of bi1ls changes from ten
to thifteen, then back to ten and to understand the effect it is neces-
sary for the audience to add and subtract numbers. Equally confusing
is the factthat sometimes you are handed one bill, other times three
and sometimes the magician hands two bills back to the assistant.
But the thing that I found most peculiar was the number
eleven.
-
\fhy eleven? Our whole numbering system is based on ten. \When you
heat someone count up to tefl it is very easy to believe they are fln-
ished counting. It just feels like they've reached their goal. But when

170
 Tt Drtu.rp lrtit [Btcv

someone counts up to nine it's easy to feel like they've left you hang-
ing. You are waiting for them to finish and say "tefl." I would love to
know Edward Victor's feason for choosing eleven 2s the numbet he is
trying to reach.
After considering all of these thoughts I decided to make my target
number ten and reverse-engineer the toutine ftom there. Every time
I, or the spectatof, count the bi1ls our goal is ten. Each time, we come
up one bill shott. Aftet every count one bill is added to the stack.
\When the spectator counts the bills one last time, he still ends up with
nine but four more bills have vanished. This script seems much easier
to follow even if you have a drink in your hand.
I always wondered why Fred I(aps decided to employ the help of
two spectators when both Edward Victor and Mike Skinner used a
single assistant in their versions with playing cards. Perhaps he relied
on the act of turning from one spectator to the other to provide mis-
direction during the steal of the bills' For m)' simplified version of the
trick I elected to use iust one spectator.

Seventeen bills are required and I wouid sug-

gest you obtain brand new bills from a bank.
If 1,ss get bills with consecutive serial numbers
you will be able to easily stack the bills in the
same order before each performance. Because
of the precise fold in each bill this is the only
way to ensufe that the stack is exactly the same
each time. The onl1, way to break the bills in is
to count them from hand to hand dozens and
dozens of times. They are nearly impossible to
count individually at first but over time you will
Frcd Kaps peforrus bis E/et'en Dollar be able to push them off the stack one at a time with ease. A light
Bi// Ttick on Bitish teleL'ision.
dusting of fanning powder can also work wonders.
Fred's solution to the bill disposal problem was brilliant. All of
the bills in the stack are individually folded in a Z shape. Each bill is
folded into thirds with each fold pointing in the opposite direction,

ltl
Mrc Gwrv #stttttt

thus the name Z-fo\d. Fig. 1.

With the stack in counting position, someone

standing on your left is able to read the writing
on the top bill. The valley fold is furthest from
you while the mountain fold is nearest 1,o11.
On two occasions duting the routine it is
(Abore) Ftg. 1 Eaclt bill isfo/ded into
necessary to obtain a thumb break above the
tltirds in tltis corfgrution.
fourth bill from the bottom of the stack. To fa-
cilitate this there is a black mark in the upper left @elon) Ftg. 2 Tlte nnrkt are t'i.rible in
tlte nntgin of tltefouth and tentb bills.
margin of the foutth and tenth bill from the top.
The two marked bills will end up in the proper
position during the counting sequences. Fig. 2
il t

shows the stack spread to the right which reveals

\\l
\
na
r\t!
the marks in the left margins.
,'I

The proper grip for counting the bills is similar to a dealer's grip
with cards except that the faces of the bills are held perpendicular,
r^ther than parallel, to the floor for maximum visibility. \)flith the left
hand holding only the lower half of the stack, the upper half remains
in full view of the audience.
I used the breaking-in process (counting the
bills over and over agatn) to develop the precise
technique I would use to legitimately count the
bills. Later, I developed a false count that dupli-
cated this action exactly.
To begin counting, the left thumb is pianted
squarely on George Washington's face (assuming
you ate using one-dollar bills). The top bill is piv-
oted out to the right until the upper left cotner
is about even with the upper right corner of the
Fig. ) Pefonuer's uien'of thefrst lill beingpiuoted off the stack asing
stack while the lower left cotner is still in contact the left thunb.
with the heel of your thumb. Fig. 3.
From the audience view, alarge urangular section of the bill is
visible at this point. Now the right hand approaches and the bill goes

7t7
l-Q. 1 Peforner's L'ieu' of ilte f rct bi// beitry ltenl ltackn'at'd as it is Fig. 5 Sputatori ilen,oJ' theJiM bi// beittgcorrnted.
tt//ed ot'er the left thunbttp.

between the thumb and index finger, which grab it right about at the
upper (valley) fold 1ine. The right hand rolls tov/ard you as it begins to
pull the bill straight back. By turning the right hand in this mannet,
the upper half of the bill is bent back over the left thumb tip to ninety
degrees.Figs.4&5.
As the right hand continues moving away from the stack, the lower
half of the bill is dragged over the left thumbtip. It is at this point that
the audience will momentarily lose sight of the bill. The sound pto-
duced b), the paper dragging over your thumb is crucial to the effec-
tiveness of the false count. Figs. 6 &7.

Fig. 6 A: tlte bi// continrut to be draged atvr the /eft tlnntb tip it Fig. 7 Spect,rtat'i t'ien'ol' tlte bill a: tLte corrlt' ls rcarfi' cotttpleted.
u an e n ta i l1t di s app e a rc ft'o n I /t e sp e ct a to r's s iglt t.

ili
l'tfir aurruv wowrpt

Fig.8 b holdingtbejrct-cotnted bi// betneen tlte tlttrnb and ntiddle Fig. 9 Tlte second bi// is ptshed (J the np of tbe stack and tbe ight
fngerslour indexfngu'isfru to take tbe next bi//. index f ryrhold: it against tlte back af the frst bill.

Fig. 10 Pefornter's uiew of tlte frct bi// being laid on top of tbe second Fig. / 1 Eaclt sutcessite bill i: coanted the rdille u.t)t ltith tbe cadence
bi// whicb is then pulled ouer the left tharub ip as tbe caant is ruade. rentaining cotrstant and the soand reinforcing eacb count.

At the end of the count, the single bill is once again upright a few
inches directly behind the left-hand stack. As soon as the bill clears
the left thumb, the righrhand grip is adjusted by pressing the middle
and ring fngers against the thumb, theteby holding the bill in place.
The right index finger is now free and can be extended. Fig. 8.
The right hand agatn approaches the stack as the next bill is pivot-
ed to the right. The audience should get a clear view of this bill before
it is taken between the right thumb and index f,nger and pulled back
off the stack. Figs. 9, 10 & 11.
It is the slight pressure of the left thumb against the stack of bills
that produces the all-important sound of the bill scraping over the left
thumbtip. As you count through the entire stack the sound made by
each bill creates a steady rhythm.

174
 [ra Dwnp Dtu lptcv

There is really very little difference between a legitimate count and

the false count. Three separate elements will be utilized to deceive
the viewer. The sound created by each bill and the steady rhythm, as

aheady discussed, and lastly the visual image. Count three bills into
the tight hand and then pivot the fourth bill off to the side. As before,
the right thumb and index finger take hold of the bill at the fold. The
three previously counted bills are between the right thumbtip and the
fourth bill. The right hand tolls toward you iust as it begins to move
away from the stack but this time the left thumb
presses more firmly against the stack holding the
angled bill in place. As the left thumb pulls the
bill back to its original position the right index
fingertip is dragged across the upper third of the
bill creating the all-important sound. Fig.12.
'When
the right thumb and forefinger come
free of the bill, the bill instantly snaps back into
its formet upright position fr.at agarnst the stack.
Two forces, wotking together, cause this to hap-
pen. First, the left thumb is pressing against the
Ftg. l2 Daring tbefalse coant the nand is prodaced fu drugtry the
bill and second, the left-hand grip causes the
igbt index fnger ouer the bill a: it is palled back onto tbe stack.
stack of bills to curve slightly against the left
fngers. The exposed half of the stack is basically
flat but the lower half is bowed by the grip. This
curve in the bills helps them snap back into an
upright position. Fig. 13.

By the time the bill snaps back, the left thumb

has realigned it with the stack. Care must be
taken that the bill is not pulled so far to the left
that it extends past the left edge of the stack.
Regardless of whether the count is legitimate
or false, the rhythm nevef changes, the sound
FA. 1 3 The bill is snapping back onto the stack due to pressrrc 11, tlte produced by the bill sliding over the f,ngertip (or
left thanb as we// as tbe boa, in tlte stack teated 11, the left-hand gip. thumb) never changes, and the point at which
the bill disappears from the spectators'view

171
Mwr Aww Ulowrp-:

never changes. Many words and pictures have been used to explain
.very simple maneuver. In practice the
the details of u,hat is basically
^
difference between a normal count and a false count is minimal. I
reahze that other magicians use different techniques fot false counting
money, but this is the one that works for me. N[y advice is to find one
that works for you and stick with it.
Any time I have to count money to pay for something in the real
wodd I always throw in three or four false counts. Not only is it good
practice in a close-up situation, it's really fun, especially with large
denomination bills. If the expression on their face is one of disbelief
when I say, "I(eep the change," then I know I've nailed the count.

On two occasions during the routine it is necessary to conceal four

bills in yout left hand and deliver them secretly into coat pocket.
^
The Z-fold in the stack of bills is what makes this possible. \flhen the
first eleven bills were being counted into Fted I(aps' hand, he held a
thumb break between the bills. I prefer to use that thumb to maintain
the bills in a relatively neat pile, therefore in order to obtain the neces-
sary break, I rely on the marks I have placed in the matgin of two
bills. When the spectator is finished counting ten bills, I look at the
stack and say, Thatl ten dollars? In that shott amount of time I am able
to siightly fan the stack to the tight and spot the mark on the foutth
bill from the bottom. As the stack is resquated
my left thumbtip is inserted between the fourth
and f,fth bills ftom the bottom.Fig.l,4.
Both hands prepare fot the steal by assuming
a vety specific grip. The top edge of the stack lies
along your left index finger. Your left thumb is
separating the six upper bills ftom the four lowet
bills. The right index finger is underneath the
stack in line with the mountain fold (closest to
you). The rear edge of the stack lies against your
tight little finget and yout right thumb rests on
top of the stack opposite the right index fnger. Fig. / 4 Tbe botton few bills are spread anil the mark is spotted and a
During the resquaring action your hands should thatnb break is taken aboue thefoarth billfron the botton.

7t6
 ItttDntir.p &r' it.c

il)torr:rattc lly assume this grip. Fig, 15.

Then, without hesitation I say, Becaase I notice

yu still haue :ome monel left oaer Dulng this phrase,

my attention shifts to the money in the sPecta-
tor's hands and the audience's attefltion follows.
This is the perfect moment to steal thebllls. Hang
on to tbat monel because all we needfor the demonstration

are ten dollar bills. During this line the right hand
moves fotwatd. The valley and mountain folds
force the fout bottom bills to fold in the propet
-. l; The break is retained as the spread is sqaared and tbe stack is manner. As the left index finger slides along the
.; iu tlte prescribed gip in preparation for the steal.
underside of the six bills, the four bills (below the
break) folded between the left
^re ^utomatically
fingets and the back ofthe tight fingets. Figs. 16,
17 & 18.

16 This expoud uiew sbows thefoar bills as tbel star"t tofold ander Fig. 17 Tbe left tbanl-t slides down the top of tbe stack as the /eft index
;!nk. fnger:lides along the bottoru of the stack as thefatrr bills arefolded.

Fig. 18 Jan pior to the stea/1ou tarn

:light! Xward tlte sPectator, thus conceal-
ing the ntouefrotn the audiencei L'ien'.

t\i
Mn Avnrv Wonom

The right hand will be unable to move further when the right index
f,nger runs into the left hand. As the tight hand is temoved, the fold
is completed. The left thumb holds the stack in place and also presses
the folded packet of four bills into left finget-palm position. Fig. 19.

Fig. 19 Once tbe right hand b re-

moued the lefi thunb pruses tbefour
Jolded bills into fnger-paln position.

In the original toutine this next move felt very messy with the right
hand crossing in front of you to pick up the money and handing it to
the spectator on the right, then te-crossing in front of you to tetrieve
the open wallet which was immediately placed into the left hand. This
illogical move facilitated the disposal of the folded money but in the
eyes of the audience, it didn't make any sense. I also didnt like the fact
that the wallet and the counted bills came together, even fot abrref
moment, before the wallet was returned to the pocket. A very simple
change in the handling cleaned up this problem.
At the beginning of the toutine, when the tight hand first removes
the seventeen bills from the wallet, the left hand closes the wallet and
places it under your right arm. By holding your right elbow against
your body the wallet will be held in place as the spectator counts ten
bills onto your exterided right hand. As these bills are being squated,
the bottom four bills are stolen into your left hand. The stack of six
bills remain in yout right hand as your left hand (with the finger-
palmed packet of four bills) takes the wallet from under your arm.
As the wallet is delivered to your pocket, the fout folded bills remain

770
 lit i.utn fitu iptw

concealed between your fiflgers and the v/allet. The packet of bills is
left behind in your coat pocket with the wallet. \X/ith this handling,
the wallet and the stack of bills never come near each another.

Sorry to be the bearer of bad news but this trick doesn't have a

f,nish. It just sort of stops. Different performers have addressed this

ptoblem tn varrety of ways with vatying degtees of success. I will de-
^
scribe two finishes that I have used though neither one is a slam dunk.
My reward for teaching this routine to my
friend Luis de Matos in Portugal was that the
enormously talented graphic designet, Vanessa
Ytana, designed and ptinted a. glafit nine dollar
bill for me. It measures six by, fourteen inches
and if American currency included a nine-dollar
bill, this is what it would look like. It is a wonder-
ful conversation piece and makes a perfect gift
for the child who assists me.
My seventeen prepared bills ate kept in a
Himber Wallet and the othet side of the wallet
Fig. 20 The giant bill isfolded arcordion s\le lith the top and ltottont contains the nine-dollar bill folded accordion
layrs being iligbt! wider tltan tbe other sections. style (as explained in the Bill in Cigar). Fig. 20.
It is inserted under the flap, back side up so
when it is removed from the wallet the front of
the bill will be factng the floor. Fig.21.
During the fnal phase of the routine, the bills
are counted into the open wallet that is resting
on my outstfetched hand. When I am once agatn
left with only nine bills, I close the wallet and
stare suspiciously at the child. "I thought I rec-
ognized you... it's Sticky Fingers (child's name)."
Stepping behind the child I reopen the wallet to
the other side and remove the folded giant bill
keeping the top edge pointed toward the audi-
Ftg. 21 Thefolded bill is inserted ander the fap in the Hiruber Uh//et.
The stack of seuenteen bi/ls is in tbe other side of tlte t.,allet. ence. The end of the giant folded bill resembles a

ilg
stack of bills. Fig. 22.
Reaching around their head, the big bill is
held right in front of the child's face .I ask him or
her to blolv on it and as soon as thev do, I tip the
bill up and snap it open. In a flash the bill covers
his entire face. The child can see that it is a giant
bill and raising the bill reveals a big smile.
The second option for a finish isn't so much
a climax as it is a transition. I simpll' sav that ap-
parentlv l didn't bring enough mone)'so let's trv
doing a tlick using some of the child's father's )tQ.22 By lto/dlngiltt ud3e rtl' il.,e f'o/ded li// trnnrrl tl.tt tttrdierte it
rr.rttttlilo tl,v .rhtck ol' lti //.r.
mone\'. The child who assisted me returns to his
seat and sends his dad up on stage. This is alwavs amusing because
nou, the kid gets to see hou, his father does as a rrraglclan's assistant
while dad is rvorrf ing about the fate of his mone)'. So the end of the
Ten Dollar Bill Trick becomes the Bill in Cigar routine.
 lrn Dour,p Du lpru

The seventeen prepared bitls are in one side of the Himbet \Wallet,
face up and in numerical order. The folded nine-dollar bill is loaded
in the other side of the wallet. Thete should be some kind of identify-
ing matk on the outside of the wallet so you can always open it to the
desired side. The wallet starts out in your inside right coat pocket.

Ladies and Gentlemen, it is tinefor a public seruice annotlncement. Aslou

know, the streets of (name city I am in) are teaming witb uillains, scallawags
who will cheatlou out oflour hard-earned mzneJ. I haae been asked to giue a shorl

demorustration on how to keepfrom being swindled becaase being careful is not

enough. You must also be wise to the tricks of the short-change artist. Now in our

dramatic recreation I will plalt tbe role of the anscrupwlous con aftirt and plaing
the part of the unsaspecting tourist will be thisyang man rigbt here.

When ever possible I use a child as my assistant. Any boy or girl

who is old enough to count is fair gzmo
Hi, what slour name? Bobfu. Bobfut I pickedya becauselou haae an honest

face and I need someone I can trust because this demonstration uses a large sum of
m0neJ.

The wallet is taken ftom the inside coat pocket and the seventeen
bills ate temoved. The wallet is placed under the right arm and then
the bills are sptead into a wide fan and shown to the child.
Don't worr1, I'll suppfiloa with all the monryyu will need, a stack of one

dollar bills. Hauelow euer Jeen so muclt monel?

Any answet will do. If the kid says, "yes" You suddenly look a bit
dejected and say, Oh, one of those rich kids. IYell Bobb1, to a straggling nagi-
cian this is a lot of money
If he answers,"flo,"Olf clarseJlu hauen't. On[t a wealtbl magician woald
haae this kind of monq. Bobblya are going to be the banker You're in cbarge of
all this muneJ r0 take the mone! temporarifi tbat is, andfrom that stack of bill: I
wantltoa to count onto m1 hand, one at a time, ten one-dollar bi/ls. Go ahead.

71
Mn Gvnw liononr

The stack of bills is handed to the child so, as he counts them into
your hand, they will be facing the proper direction, face up with the
top of the bill facing right. Once he has started counting, turn your
attention to the audience and continue talking.
TbatJ rightfolks, sometimes the personlou least expect will tum oat to be a

htghfi skilled sbort change artist. Batloa'ue got to get up prettl ear! in the morn-
ing to put zne luer on old eagle-ey Mike. That': right. I'ue been around the block

afew tines. How we doingBob@? ThatJ ten. Good.

It is dudng those last few words that you slighdv sptead the stack
in your hand, sight the mark on the fourth bill from the bottom and
then take a break above this bill as you re-square the stack. The other
marked bill that was previously tenth from the top is currently on top
ofyour stack.
I noticelou still haue rlme mzneJ left ouer
Deliver this line as you turn slightly towards Bobby and once this
Iine has shifted the attention to him, fold the bottom four bills into
yout left hand.
Hangon to that monel because all we needfor tbe demonstration are ten one-

dollar bills.
This is where the two hands separate with the right hand taking the
ten bills (actually six) and the left hand (with four bills finger palmed)
moves toward the wallet under your tight arm. The wallet is placed,
along with the folded bills, in either your tight inside coat pocket ot
your outer left coat pocket, whichevet is most comfottable.
And now a simple demonstration that uses exactfi ten one-dollar bills.
The six bills in your hands ate counted as nine. I usually make the
false counts at three, five and sevefl. As the ninth bill is pulled ftom
your left hand you ate surprised that thete isn't one more.
Jast a second.

Acting as if the mistake mayhave been youts, immediately recount

the bills using a quicker tempo but with the same tesult.
It's an honest mistake. Bobfu's a little fierulus up here and those ligbts are uery

bright.
You now believe that the mistake was Bobby's and you're providing
all kinds of reasons to explain what must have caused it.
Bobb1, I'm a buck short. Could I just borrow zne nzre dollarfromlou? I'll pa1
yu back.

He hands you one more bill and you very cleady drop it from a

717
 lrn Dounp Dulptct

height of six or eight inches onto your stack.

Nine plus one eqaals how mach? He says, "tefl." That's rigbt. He s quick' A
...
simple demonstration using exactfi
Now count the seven bills as nine with the false counts coming at
three and five.
SE, didn't1ou giue "Yes." IYell I'm still a buck short, let me
me a dollar?

haue one more. You'ae got to get up pretfl earfi in tbe morning to put one zuer 0n

ol' Mike the Magnifcent.

A second bill is taken from the boy and dropped onto your stack.
Nine plus one makes?
\Without hesitation he says, "Ten."
Like aflash. Doloa rzind {I check?

Very often the child will say, "Yes" meaning OI( but I say, Oh,1ou
do mind. Then they will corfect me and say, "No, it's OK."

Count the eight bills as nine with the false count coming at three.
(Of coutse the false counts can be executed whenevet you like)
Exactfi what time didlou get up this morning? Hey I didnljustfall off tbe
tarntp truck,folks. No wqt, that happened montbs ago. Let me haue one more bill.
That biil is again dropped onto my stack. Your suspicion of Bobby
is mounting with each missing biil.
Thankya, professor Nine plus orue makes? "Tert." So say tbe buman calcw-

lator Mind if I checkloar matb Mr (or Miss) [Jniuac?

The nine bills ate legitimately counted as nine.
Yow think itJ me doru't1ou? No way this is nine dollars. Bobbl,yu take the
nine dollars and count them out right tbere where we can all see tbem, but this time
I an pajrug attention.
\7ith your left hand take the four dollars out of his hands and give
him your nine dollars. As he counts the nine dollars into yout right
hand, you count along with him.
You see, it rea$t is nine dollars. ThatJ wbl I carry those extra bills with me.
Insurance. That's what separates mefrom tbe run-of-the-mill schlamp.
You have just announced that you are a schlump but, thankfulllr,
not an ordinary schlump. During these lines hand the four dollars
back to the assistant and then slightly spread the stack of nine bills.
Sighting the black mark in the margin of the fourth bill ftom the
bottom, take a break above it with yout left thumb. The stack is re-
squared and you again turrr towatd the assistant.
How mucb monel doloa haue left?

711
Mttr Avmw Wononr

As he is counting his bills steal the four bottom bills of your stack
into your left hand. You are about to use logical gesture to sug-
^very
gests that your left hand is emPty. \X/hen he says, "Four" your right
hand takes your stack leaving the finger-palmed bills in your left.
The left fingers close against your palm which folds the four bills in
half. The left thumb comes down on the folded packet and holds it
in place. As your four left fngers are extended
straight out and separated, the top edge of the
packet should flot be visible to the audience be-
t'ween your fngers. This perfectly natural gesture
not only emphasizes your response to his answer
but it subtly suggests that your left hand is empty.
Frgs.23 & 24.
Ya hauefoar
After this emphatic gesture your left hand
relaxes and drops to your side. When you can
feel your left thumbtip touching your left index
fingertip your hand is in a natural position. Im- Fig. 2) This guture entpbaiTes the nanber of bill: tlte cbi/d i: holding
ulsile sintrltaneans/1 strgutittg lbatloar band is enQj.
mediately your right hand is extended.
And this is how mach?
The assistant (as well as people in the audi-
ence) will say, "Nine."
Nine plus foar equals.. .
Yout eyes look skyward as you attempt to
solve this impossible mathematical problem in
your head.
Carry the three...
Eventually the child or someone else will say,
"Thirteen."
I would haue fgared that oat' I was just double check- Fig. 2a Jilrt ltefore extendingl,nr/rngers tbelfoltt the packet in harf
mg mJt answer again so tlte tbuntb can hold tlse packet in place againstloar band.

This is further proof that everyone in the

foom is smartet than you.
Let me see if I baue an1 more uiloneJ.

Your left hand enters the pocket that has the wallet and the palmed
bills ate left behind as the wallet is removed. Be catefui that the wallet
doesn't accidentaliy drag the original stolen bills out of yout pocket.
Using only your left hand, flip the wallet oPen to the empty side.

7\4
 lrn Dourrp Dnluct

Tbat's all I'ue got, thirteen dollars. But thatJ more than enoagh for this simple
demonstration. Bobb1, we'll start ouer. Pat all the mzneJ together
The money in your right hand is added to the money in the assis-
tant's hand.
You take tbe thirteen dollars and, from that stack of bills, I wantloa to count

into m1 hand, not nine, but ten one-dollar bills. OK? And f it works this time,
Jtltl cdn eueru keep the extra three bucks. Fair enougfi? OK, go abead.
The wallet is now layingopen on your extended right hand. As the
assistant couflts the bills onto the wallet, you count along. When he
runs out of money on nine, freeze. This time three bills have vanished
so he will either shrug his shouldets, or check his pockets ot some-
thing else.'Whatever he does it will generate a solid 1augh, so don't
step on 1t.

I regret to informyu that tonight's demonstration has been cancelled due to a

lack offunds.
Then slowly it dawns on you.
IYait a minute, I recogniqe thatface. It's Stickl Fingers Bobb;1, the Fastut
Haruds in the lYest.
During this line square up the pile of bills and close the wallet on
them. Then, stepping behind the assistant, reoPen the wallet to the
other side and slide out the giant bill keeping it patallel to the floot.
The wallet is returned to your pocket. Reaching around his head, the
bill is held directly in front of his face.
IYellpardne6yu might as well take m1 last ruirue dollars so blow on that stack
of noney

The ends of the bill ate taken one in each hand so that when he
blows on the giant bill, you can pull it open with a snaP right in front
of his face.
And there it is, m1 last nine dollars.

Nine appatently separate dollars have tutned into a nine-dollat bill.

The assistant is escotted off the stage with not only a wonderful sou-
venir from his time ori stage but the feeling that he was the star of the
trick. Of course everyofle knows that the assistant didn't do anything
tricky but he still gets the credit for outfoxing the m glct^rr eYery
^t
tufn.
&

755
Mn Avnw Wotnnr

Every professional magician I know has a recurring nightmare

where they show up in some far-off city for a show only to discover
that their luggage didn't arrive. What now? No props, no clothes and
'We
you're on in a few hours. usually wake up in a cold su/eat and are
relieved to discovet that the whole thing was a bad dream. In April of
2007 tt'wasn't a dream, it was a nightmare.
I had been booked to on a show tn a theater in Tenerife in
^ppex
the Canary Islands. This archipelago is under Spanish rule but it lies
southwest of Morocco off the v/est coast of Africa. There is no easy
u/ay to get to Tenetife ftom Los Angeles. The direct route is Los An-
geles, London, Madrid, Gran Canarta and then find your way north
to the city of Tenerife as best you can. When you miss your first flight
out of Los Angeles the trip gets even trickier.
After untold hours in airplanes and airpotts I was met by my friend
Miguel Puga in Gran Canaria, not a day early as I had planned but a
few hours before show time. After a long wait in the baggage areal
was told not to worry as my bags would most likely atrrve the follow-
ing day. The other acts booked, Miguel and Ines Fuentes ftom Spain,
could easily put o11 a frne show without me but I was determined to
fulfill my commitment. I could have gathered up enough local money
to perform the Ten Dollar Bill routine but it is much easier with bills
that have been properly broken in. Fortunately at home I had slipped
into my pocket the wallet containing my bills. I also btought along
one of my gimmicked Bill tn Cigar cigats. If I could find thtee enve-
lopes, a marking pen, a cigarette lighter, a dinner plate to burn the
envelopes on, a roll of toilet paper, safety pins, bobby pins and a few
other odds and ends I could also do the Bill in Cigar and Magic Paper
routines. Not exactly the act that I had planned on but these three
routines would give me the 20 to 25 minutes that I needed. Miguel's
coat neatly fit me so that became my costume.
As it turned out this show was part of a comedy festival and thus
tt a very young crowd. The audience was dressed very casu-
^ttracted
ally and so was I. In most countries it is the young people who speak
English so my monoJingual ability was not the problem that it might
have been. The reactions from the young boy who came uP to help

b6
No stit, tro act, anrl),sx)'e or in h),0 horrc. A nagiciani n.'ctnl ntiglttnare tn'ned to rea/i4' in 2007
n,lten I arired in Teneife in ilte Cana5, Islands.

with the Ten Dollar Bill trick could riot have been better and burning
up a stranger's money or trying to convince People that ordinary toilet
paper is actually very special magic Papff is universally funnlr. Under
trying circumstances, I was satisf,ed with my reception.
\When you miss a flight the airline assumes that you have decided
not to take this trip and they automatically cancel the rest of your
tttnerary.I spent the next three days trying to book a flight home at
enormous expense. My bags (and act) fnally arrived at the hotel a few
hours before I left for the airport to fly home. The stress that accom-
panied this show has long since faded and I now have nothing but
fond memories of my trip to Tenerife. But the lesson learned from
this unpleasant experience is that having an emergency act that fits
into your carry-on bag (and can pass through TSA screening) is very
^
good idea.

!)l
Tbis 1975 p*blici! pboto indicates that I sabstitated a cigarfor a wallet within months of pmcbasing Seabrookel lYallet
Pboto: John Rced.
 ln 1.975 the I.B.M.
A-.rica got i d
lr.,d
I his Burned BiIl in
Williams' original version of this trick in their June 26, 1954 issue but
Seabrooke had cleady made it his own. I, and dozens of othets that
^t
convention, purchased Seabrooke's marketed version of the trick. The
idea of borrowing money from a spectator and then accidentally burn-
ing it up is just a grezt premise. You dont have to be a patticulady
funny person to get laughs out of this situation but a great Presenta-
tion can turn it into a careermaking effect as Tetry Seabrooke so ably
proved.
Like most othefs from that convention, I returned home and tried
out the routine as written though I can honestly say I never barked
like a seal onstage. It wasn't long before I substituted a crgar for the
wallet. I liked the idea of giving the spectator some collateral for the
Ioan of his money and of course the larger the bill the more ridiculous
the cigat appeated as collatetal. Then later in the routine, after insist-
ing that we were both at fault for destroying his money and that the
collateral should be shared equally, the cigar was broken in two and
the borrowed bitl was discovered inside. A nice bit of twisted logic.

AtJohnson Products I constructed a cigar-Ioading device out of

brass and soon aftet, the Bill tnCigar routine became a staple in my
act. Fig. 1.
\7hen I published a book of my magic in 1981 called Magicomedl,I
included this routine for one simple reason. I was convinced that after
seeing the considerable effort required to make the cigar-loading gim-
mick, not to mention a complicated, gaffed ctgar for each performance,

719
Mttr Avnw Wotonr

Ftgs. I The ctgar loader is .teen emP1t on the lefi

and r.,itlt a giruruicked cigar installed on the igltt.
The aiginal illnstrations fron Nlaglcomedy are
reproduced ltelou,and on tbe opposite page.

no one would go to the ttouble. Here is my original description

of the cigar loader complete with Eric Lewis' wonderful illustra-
tions.
e H/NG€

"Since the bill is signed, it must be loaded into the cigat

during the performance. The loading device is what makes this
possible. Mine is made ftom sheet brass and is soldered to-
gether. It is a good strong piece of apparatus that required quite
some time to make, but I'11 never have to make anothef one. I
have always felt that a prop you can rely on 100o/o will lead to
a much more confdent performance. The completed device is
pictured in the illustration.
"The gimmick consists of two basic parts: the loading fun-
nel and the cigar holder. The bottom of the funnel is a piece
of brass tubing of a slightly larger diameter than the tubing
used in the cigar. Growing out of the top of this short tube is a
flattened funnel. The back of the funnel has a large safety pin
permanefltly attached to it. The funnel unit itself is attached to
the holdet by means of a hinge. The hinge can be opened by
lifting up on the funnel but a tubber band keeps it held in the
closed position.
"The length of the cigar is such that when the metal end of FR.ONT

740
 Dru n ?r,r,p

H/NG€ the cigar is inseted into the bottom of the funnel, the
bottom of the cigar rests snugly into the base of the
holdet. The rubber band keeps the funnel held secure-
ly against the holder, which prohibits the cigar from
falling out. The final illustration shows the loader with
the cigar in place.
"Oflce the cigat is loaded, you metely have to grasp
Ru86€R the cigat and pull it away ftom the holder. You will be
BNND
pulling against the tension of the rubber band as the
funnel pivots up. As the bottom end of the cigar cleats
the base of the holder, it v/ill easily slide free. Pin the

PR€PNR€D holder inside your coat so that the funnel is near the
d onR inside breast pocket."

5'DE
ytEw
And if the cigar loader didnt scare teaders off, I was sure that
making a gimmicked cigar for each performance would. The main
ingredient (besides a rcal ctgar) is a piece of brass tubing 5/8 inch in
diametet and 2-7/8 inches long. I made up two dozen of these tubes
so I could pfepare twenty-four cigars at a ttme.
You wili also need some brown paper that tesembles the PaPer that
cigars are rolled in. That means thin, easy to teat, and a suitable color
of brown. A visit to afl store will reveal a number of good possibil-
^rt
ities. This paper is made into rectangles measu:rrng3r/zby 6'/, inches.
Rather than cutting the papet with a pau of scissors it should be torn,
which leaves a ragged or fuayed edge on each side. When this edge is
ultimately glued down to the outside of the cigat it tends to blend in
and disappeat better than a clean-cut edge.
One real cigar is sacrificed for the cteation of each gimmicked
cigar.I buy the cheapest stogies I can find - I(ng Edward, 50 to the
box. You can certainly teuse the I(ng Edward cigar band but many
years ago at alocal flea market (a great place to find potential magic
props) I discovered a box of beautiful ted and gold cigar bands and
the brand name was Bank Note. Nevet once has a sPectator noticed

74
Mur Avmw #aror*i

this but I still love the irony of his bill reappear-

ing inside a cigar called Bank Note.
One of the advantages of living rnalarge
city like Los Angeles is that virtualll, everything on
earth is avallable within a thirtJr-minute drive ftom my house.
You just have to know where to look. Thirty years ago in downtown
Los Angeles I found a guy who $/as still hand rolling cigats and from
him I purchased a huge box of cellophane cigar wrappers. So big that
I expect to run out of shows before I run out of wrappers.
After obtaining a sharp knife and some rubber cement you are
ready to make a cigar Take I(ing Ed-
ward out of his cellophane wrapper and
catefully femove the band for use later.
The tip from one end of the cigar is cut
off leaving a nice flat end. Fig.2.
The entite cigar is coated with
rubber cement. One entire side of the
brown paper is also coated and after that
has dried, half the width of the other
side is similady coated. And lastly, the
entife exterior ofthe brass tube is coated Ftg. 2 One end of tbe cigar is squarcd (f b1 catting it witb a tharp kntfe.
with rubber cement and all elements are
left to dry.
To assemble the pieces, the brown
paper is placed on the table with the
entitely cemented side up. One end of
the btass tube is positioned at the edge
of the paper and the cut end of the cigar
is pushed tight agarnst the opposite end
of the tube. The half-coated side of pa-
per is directly undet the tube and cigar.
Now the paper is rolled tightly around
Pig. ) After the cenent ltas died an a// of the coated sarfaces the brass tabe and
the tube and ciga4 forming a fake crgar
cigar arc rol/ed tp inside ilte paper.
with one half being hoIlow. Fig. 3.
As the rolling is completed, the
half-glued side of the papet will adhere to the opposite side. It will
be necessary to rub off any excess rubber cement. The cigar band is
cemented around the brass tube end of the ctgar.Ptg.4.

74t
 Then the tobacco end of the cigar is
cut with the knife to the desired length.
Fig. 5.
If this cigar were snapped in half, it
would automaticallv break at the point
where the tube and the tobacco meet.
Lastl1,, the finished cigar is inserted into
the cellophane wrapper, tobacco end
first. NIv u,fappers are longef than neces-
I ig. 1'|'lt lund ilnt tu.r.vtt'ed.f)'olt tfu ari.qind cl.q:tri.r rcltr:ntud otlo tlte sittt-
sarv so I cut the top end off leaving the
nirk-ed cigtr near tl.te top oJ' tlte bm.rs tthe.
u/rapper about a half-inch longer than
the cigar. This half-inch end is tucked
down inside the open end of the btass
tube. Fig. 6.
After explaining how to construct
the cigar loader and gimmicked cigar in
Magicomedl l assumed that the amount
of work required would scare off virtu-
allv everybodv. I was wrong. Over the
Years, mofe than a few heartt' souls have
Ltig. 5 'l'l.te
ctgtr i.r cti lo tlte de.rired /eryilt b1' ctrtlilg ol/' parl o-f' ilte tolurco-ettd. sought me out and proudlv showed off
'l.lte
de-rired /eng/b n'i// be delerniled 14' ilte tigtr ltlr iltof l.a.r.1'et t'o fu tntde. the cigar loader thel'handcrafted. A1l of
them get full marks for effort but I hope
bv now thev har.e all learned w'hat I
finall1' rcahzed: the cigar loader is totallv
unnecessarv. This is another fine exam-
ple of the axiom, "Don't stop thinking
too soon," of 'A routine is ner-er reallv
flnished."
After making mv cigar loader I just
automaticallv pinned it into mv coat so
that the cigar could be loaded in the
L;tq.6 7b cantp/efe ilte cigtrinrti it tolucro-erd fittt ittltt il.tt ce//oflttrt trt'dP?(r, t//l
same urav I used to load the u,allet. I had
tlte n'npptr olf' ltu/f' ttt lnrlt dltot'e il.tt trd tnd ltrtk ilt ctrt ttd ittrt iltt lop o_l lltt
hm.r.r ltrhe. bill ts,ice rvhen using
ahvavs folded the
the s,allet but in order to fit the bill into
the cigar it needed to be folded four times. It didn't make sense to fold
a bill that manv times just to fit it into an envelope so the handiing
was altered.
Mur Gvnw Wommr

Aftet the bill was signed by the spectator I took it from him and
satd, I fold the bill once, I fold the bill twice, forming it into a tiryt packet. In the
time it took to say this line the bill was folded three times. The think-
ing being that in a banquet room or theater the audience c^n't clearly
see the folded bilI, therefore, my words lead them to believe that the
bill was nov/ one-quarter of its original size (about 21/z by 11/z rrrches)
when in factit was half that size.
Laterlwill descdbe how the bill was extracted from the envelope
but once it was secured in my left hand, I handed the envelopes to the
spectator and said, Putyurfeet togethe6face the aadience, place both hands
behindloar back and shrffie the enuelopes. To illusttate what I meant, I put
my feet together, faced the audience and placed both of my hands be-
hind my back. With my hands (and the botrowed bill) now safely out
of sight, there was plenty of time to fold the bill a fourth and frnal
tlme.
The hand with the palmed bill would enter my coat, load the bill
into the cigar and then bring the cigat into view because that's how
magicians always loaded cards and bills into our clever little wallets. It
bothered me that my hand was "dirty" as it entered my coat andthat
no matter how fast the bill was loaded, thete was always a hesitation
before the cigat (or wallet) was brought into view.
Eventually I rcahzed that the time to load the bill into the cigar
was when my hands were behind my back. rJflith the spectator busy
shuffing the envelopes behind his back, rro ofle was chasing me. I had
all the time and cover that was necessary to do the dirty wotk. To ex-
plain how I accomplished this it u/ill be necessaty to desctibe another
A completed
change that was made to the cigar gimmicked cigar

, ri; "i(4X ii:l':

From the time I was doing Owen's Coin in Ball of l7ool in my

bitthday party shows I have always liked the effect ptoduced by a nest
of boxes. To alay audience, the thought of a borrowed object tutning
up inside the smallest of four ot f,ve boxes is iust incomprehensible.
With that in mind, I decided to add another layet of mystery to my
burned-bill routine by putting the cellophane-v/rapped cigar inside an
aluminum tube. At a ctgar stote I purchased some fancy cigars that

744
 Dtu tn 1oaB

came packaged in exactly this kind of container.

Before describing how the lid of this tube was gimmicked I will
explain another problem that I discovered by listening to the audi-
ence. During the toutine, when the cigar is handed to the spectator,
I sometimes saw and heatd audience members pointing and whisper-
ing to each other. They believed that somehow, that tube was going
to contain the guy's money instead of a cigat. Whenever this behavior
occurred I always wanted to stop, unscreu/ the lid and say, "Look,
you'te u/rong, see, thete really is a cigat in there." Of course that
wasn't afl option. These skeptics'were now far less interested in the
burning envelopes believing that the money was alteady, somehow,
inside the tube.
By teplacing the aluminum tube with a cleat glass tube the audi-
ence would be able to see that the tube did indeed contain a cigar the
moment it came into view. The cigar stote did sell expensive cigars
in glass tubes but I used a piece of clear plastic tubing with a clear
plastic hemisphere glued to one end. By using plastic I never had to
worry that the tube might bteak and I could thread the open end of
the tube. Problem solved. Now the audience could see that there was
a cigzr inside the tube before they had a chance to think, "I wonder
what's really in there?"

During my years of employment atJohnson Products I had made

hundreds of Stacks of Halves and Quartets. These were the pivoting
stacks wherein a trny rod extends down through one side of the stack
and holds the coins together. The rod was actually a long rivet that
was tight enough to hold the coins in place but lose enough so they
could be pivoted around the rod if desited. I used this technology to
fabricate a cap for my cigar tube.
Using a metal lathe atJohnson Products I turned out a few diffet-
ent models, the first one out of black Delrin plastic and anothet one
out of aluminum. The lower pat of the cap was threaded so it could
screu/ onto the cigar tube. The hole through this section was slightly
smaller than the diameter of the cigar. This prevented the cigat from
dropping out when the tube was inverted. Fig. 7.

t45
Mur Avnw Wonont

The top of the cap was a separ^te piece that was

riveted onto the upper lip of the thteaded section.
The top end of the rivet was counter-sunk into the
top of the cap. This allowed any part of the rivet
that extended above the sutface to be filed flat.
The tightness of the rivet was carefully adjusted
so that the top would remain firm1y in place,
but with some effott the top section could be
revolved 180 degrees. Once the proper tightness
was achieved, a thin cap was machined and glued
onto the top thereby obscuring the rivet. Just like in
Stack of Halves. Fig. 8 & 9.

Fig. 7 (ilpper pboto) Tbe inteior of tbe cap with the iuet head uisible on tbe ledge tbat preuents the
cigarJromfallingout of tbe tube wben tbe r@ is open.
FA. 8 (hft) The cap in the cloud position as it appears to the aadience.
Fig 9 (igbt) Tbe cap witb the lid piuoted open readl for the bill to be loaded into tbe cigar.

The length of the cigar was such that when it

was insetted into the piastic tube, the top of the
brass tube was level with the top of the contain-
er. In other v/ords, just below the top of the cap
was the opening into the cigar. Fig. 10.

Fig. 10 Tbe cellophane-wrapped cigar is inside the tube witb tbe cap
screwed on top. The lid is in the open posiion readl to accept the bill.

146
 Dru n 1onB

The bill could be inserted through the opened cap, pushed straight
into the cigar and then the cap could be pivoted closed. A holder
was needed to secure the cigar tube behind my back and as usual the
simplest ansu/er was the right one: my belt. The lid of the cigar tube
was pivoted open and then the upside-down tube was tucked behind
my belt at the middle of my back. The open end of the tube was po-
sitioned an inch or two above the bottom edge of my coat. After the
final fold was put into the biII it was a simple matter to locate the open
end of the tube, push the bill all the way into the ctgar and pivot the
lid closed.
For many years I would steal the tube out of my belt and hide it
behind my wrist as I teached into my coat to apparently temove the
cigat from my inside pocket. It seemed apity that even though the
loading of the bill was completed, my hand was still dirty as I reached
into my coat. At least it was uritil I devised...

This improvement added one final layer of mystery. I believe that

the addition of this gimmick allows you to even fool people who are
famrhar with the original method ot who have seen the routine a
number of times. Compared to many of the gimmicks in this book
this one is quite easy to make. It consists of a piece of brass one-inch
wide and 23/+ inches long. It is bent into a U shape but slightly off
ceriter so one side is longer than the other. A slot is cut into the end
of the long side and then all of the corners ate tounded off with a file.
A long piece of black, flat elastic 3/8 inch wide is threaded through
the slot. The end is folded back on itself and the two layers are sev/n
together. My elastic is cut to a iength of 28 inches but yours could dif-
fer depending upon your height. At the opposite end, another piece of
elastic, this one measuring one inch wide by 4 inches long, is sewn but
this one is perpendiculat to the long piece. Velcro tabs are sewn onto
the ends of this short piece of elastic with one of the tabs inset from
the end by about 3,/+ of an inch. W.hen the Yeicro tabs are stuck togeth-
er, this inset will produce a3/o inch flap that can be used to quickly
pull the Velcro open. Fig 11.

ut
Mut Gvnw Wonont

Fig. 1 1 On tbe left is tbe sbort elastic pierc with Velro

tabs tbat bold the cigar abe. Tbis is sewn to the long
elastic strap tbat terruinates at tbe brass clip.

To prepate for a performance, before put-

ting on your coat, the btass ciip is slipped over
the bottom edge of yout belt neat the middle of
yout back. The stretched elastic keeps the clip
ftom slipping down off the belt. The short piece
of elastic is stretched around the cigat tube and
the Velcro tabs make sure the tube is gripped
tightly by the elastic. The tube (now attached to
the long piece of elastic) is brought uP over your
right shoulder from back to front. The cigar tube
hangs down yout front and is passed between the
nght arm and body from front to back. Pulling
the cigar tube down to belt level pulls the elastic
Fig. 12 The brass clip is slipped ouer the bottom edge of tbe belt. The
tight. The cigat tube is moved around to yout back
elastic is stretched up ouer tbe sboalder wbere the tabe tben passes betuteen
and the bottom end of the cigar tube is tucked up Jzttr arm and ight side. Fina@ tbe tabe is serured ap ander the belt.
undet the belt with the cap facing the floor. The
pivoting top of the cap is in the open position.
Fig.1,2.
After putting your iacket ofl you can adiust the
height of the cigar tube so it is an inch or two
above the bottom edge of the coat. When you tell
the spectator to put the envelopes behind his back
and shuffle them, you can demonstrate by putting
your own hands (with the palmed bill) behind
yout back for abrief moment. This is when the
biII is folded one last time and then loaded up into
the cigar. Fig. 13. Fig. 1) Thir expovd view shows tbe bill being loaded ap into the cigar

240
 Duu ?erlp

Fig. 14 After the bill bas lteen loaded into the cigar the top of the cap is Fig. 1 5 The cigar tube i: pllled fru fron the belt allowing the elastic to
piuoted clo:ed. carrl it up toloar cbest.

Figure 14 shows the cap being pivoted closed. Then the cigat tube
is pulled out from under the belt and released. Fig. 15.
The elastic carries the tube uP betweefl your right arm and side
to a point roughly by the inside coat pocket. The finished position is
shown in Figure 16, agatn with the coat removed.

Fxg. 16 Withyar enpq left

handya can reach intoloar I
coat, pall tbe Vehro tab open

and apparentlt remoue the

cigar tabe .froru loar pocket.

This delivery system provides the cleanest possible handiing. After

stealing the bill from the enveiope all three envelopes are handed to
the spectator and he is instructed to put his hands behind his back
and shuffle the envelopes. You demonstrate by putting both of your
hands (and the folded bill) behind your back. The cigar is quickly
loaded and sent on its way toward the right coat pocket. As the next
line is delivered to the audience, your hands emerge from behind yout
back. A subtle way to show your hands emPty without calling undue

749
Mw Gunw //st,t.nt

attention to the fact is by clapping them togethet. One good clap is a

gesture that comes naturally and it implies, "OK, here we go" but sub-
consciously it suggests, "His hands are empty, otherwise he couldn't
clap them together."
Then, for the first and only time during the routine, the left hand
reaches into the right side of the coat, pulls on the elastic tab that
releases the Velcro and immediately emerges holding the cigar tube as
if it had been sitting in the coat pocket ail the while.
I ver1, much like the idea that the collateral is brought into play
while the spectator is apparently still holding his money behind his
back. Introducing a wallet this early in the routine could easily cause
the spectatof to think, "Wallets are where you keep money. I'll bet
that guy's money is in there." But a clear cigar tube is nothing more
than what it appears: a cigar in a tube. The collatetal is slipped into
the spectator's bteast pocket where it temains in view throughout the
routine. On many occasions he has playfully pulled the cigar out of
his pocket after the money u/as apparently burned. In the old days,
when I had only a cellophane-wrapped cigar, this was avery real
problem, especially if he turned the cigat over and saw the folded bill
inside. Now the cigat is safely sealed inside a plastic tube and no one
has ever stumbled onto the pivoting cap.
I have been perfotming a version of this trick longer than any
other routine in my fiearly fotty yeats. As you have now read, the
^ct -
method has gradually changed over those years, as have the lines. But,
the toutine evolved long before my onstage character had fully devel-
oped and the toutine was never overhauled to fit my cufrent chatacter.
Call it laziness but when a routine achieves this level of comfott, it is
very hard to make radical changes. Perhaps this means that the tou-
tine, as wtitten, is more generic and will suit a wider range of per-
formets. You can be the judge.

It occurted to me that the reason evefyone uses four envelopes in

their Burned Bilt routine is because that's how m fly Terry Seabrooke
used. Shortly aftet I asked myself the question, "What makes four en-
velopes bettet than three envelopes?" I started using three envelopes.

/r0
 Nlanv of the envelopes produced todav are securitv enveloPes with
printing on the inside. Something about this ink makes them verv
difficult to burn. W''hen I found a good old-fashioned enveloPe that
burned iike a cheap envelope should, I bought a huge supp\r. Nline are
gfeen and measure 61/z bv 3-5/8 inches. White Papef is cut into fect^n-
gles the size of dollar bills and then folded in half twice. Fig. 17.
Two envelopes are sealed closed with a folded piece of paper inside.
The third envelope has part of its bottom edge cut off' Looking at
the envelope from the flap side, the slit begins about an inch from the
bottom left corner and extends to the right two inches. Fig. 18.

f;g. / 7 Dt,//ttr-.riry piere.r ol poper tre-fb/dd inlo qildtt(tr uttd .seu/t'd t;lg. 1 8 I-lr.l'o/r/el bi// tt'i// be itt.rtrlt'd ittlrt tlte ettt'e/ope tnd -r/t'ti3l.tt orrl
ittt'o lbe hto tlt3itttltirk:ed ut'e/ope. il.ti.r tptrittg.'l'l.tt tLird.l'o/ded ptper i.r l.tiddet ttt tltt-fir rl3ltl tttd.

In this routine nothing is written on the enve-

lopes that might conceal a slit in the front or back
surface so hiding the opening along the bottom is
the best method. The gaffed envelope looks just
like the other two from the front and back. Anoth-
er folded piece of paper is placed into this envelope
but flush up against the right side. In this position
the borrou,ed bill can be inserted into the envelope
w-ithout exposing the folded paper to the sPectator.
This envelope is not sealed.
During the routine this envelope is held in the
left hand u,ith the flap side facing vou. The right
-I-hi.r hand inserts the folded bill into the envelope
Itlg. 19 t'ien'ol il.tt li// lteirtgittserltd ittto iltt ttttt/ope i.s ttlttt il.tt
spectatctr i.r a//on'ed lo .ree. directlv across from the slit. Fig. 19.
Mn (mtw Wotpnr

Fig. 20 The folded bi// i: pusbed into tbe enuelope and out throrgh tbe Fig. 21 As the enuelope slides into tbefork of tbe thamb the bill wil/ be
:lit in tbe bottom, wbere it it cliPPed bJ tbe left tbarub. bidden asyu lick and teal tbe fap c/o:ed.

At this point the spectator is allowed to verify for the audience that
the bill is actually going into the envelope. Once he does, I ask him a
direct question, "You can verify that the bill is inside the envelope?"
When his eyes meet mine the bottom half of bill is pushed straight
through the slit and into the left hand. Ftg.20.
The left thumb grips the bottom half of the bill in a sott of thumb
clip so that the left hand can extract the bill from the envelope. The
envelope is then given a qaarter turn counter-clockwise and re-
gripped with one hand on each end. The envelope is insetted between
the bill and the left thumb. Fig. 21, shows the envelope befote it has
slid all the way to the left. In the final position the bill is covered by
the envelope on top and the fngers on the bottom. In this position
you can shuffle the envelopes by sliding them one at a time off the top
of the stack and adding them to the bottom without revealing the bill.

Everyone who burns up envelopes during a botrowed bill toutine

needs At a junk shop I found something
pl^ce to contain the fite.
^
called a silent butlet that seemed perfect and I have used it ever since.
Its actual purpose is to hold ctumbs that have been brushed off of a
tablecloth. Converting it to a flrebox meant that four iittle feet had to
be added in order to hold the bottom (which gets very hot) off of the
floor. These feet ate btass cap nuts that have been screwed onto short

tt
 |lttt m [rcan

Fig. 22 Tbis rustamiryd silent butler has

tinl brasfeet and afa/se boltont that
rests:ligbt! aboue tbe botton of the box.

bolts that pefletrate the bottom of the box. To prevent the bottom
from becoming excessively hot, a false bottom was added. A piece of
aluminum was cut slightty smallet than the interior of the box and it
is held up off of the floor by the fout bolt heads that secure the feet.
This false bottom can easily be removed and cleaned after each show.
trig.22.
The tid of the box, as it turns out, can also be a great asset' A
large percerftage of my performances take place in hotel balltooms or
banquet rooms and by law the ceilings of these rooms are sprinkled
(no pun intended) with smoke detectors. When one of these anno1,-
ing devices goes off, your show is over despite what you tell hotel
management. \X/hen my perfotmlrlg area is directly below one of these
sensitive gadgets or the ceiling is particularly low, ot the room is on
the small side, I can kick the lid of my silent butler closed and greatly
diminish the amount of smoke.

The ptepared cigar in the gimmicked tube is clipped to my belt as

previously described.
The three envelopes are stacked flap-side up with the gimmicked
envelope on the bottom. The stack of thtee is placed into the left side
coat pocket with the short side down and the flaps against my body.
This careful positioning allows me to pull the stack out of my pocket
and not have to search for the open flap.
Also in the left coat pocket is a cigarette lighter. Mine is black but

tl1
Mur hvtnw //r,t,orpt

only because, genetally speaking, ever14fting in my act is eithet black

or white.
A regular parr of scissors is pointed-end down in a partitioned
section of my left inside coat pocket. You can read more about these
scissors and pocket in the Silvetware & Chicken routine. Clipped to
this same pocket is a matking pen.
The siient butlet is on the shelf undet the stool rvith the handle
pointing downstage.
At the end of this routine I give the spectator a giant dollar bill
because it punctuates the finish and because he earned it. A number of
subtle changes were made to the image before they were ptinted but
from a shott distance it looks very much like a giant one-dollar bill.
The sudden of this bill puts an exclamation point on
^ppe^rance
the routine so there can't be even the slightest bit of fumbling. Using a
customized accordion fold facilitates the opening of the bill. The giant
bill (which measures 6-3/4 by 16 inches) is accordion folded into five
layers about 3 inches wide except for the front and back layers that arc
31/z tnches wide. This means that the right and left ends of the bill ex-

tend half an inch beyond the othet sections, one on each side. Fig. 23.
These extended ends are very easy to gtab and the bill can be
snapped open in an instant. Fig.24.
The folded bill resides upside down in the right rear pants pocket
with the front of the bill facrngaway from you. It protrudes from the
pocket a couple of inches so that tt can be easily grabbed with your
right hand, btought up in front of you (thereby turning it right-side up),

Fig. 23 Thegiant bi// itfo/ded accordion s\,le uith the top and bottont Ftg. 24 T'hue extended ends can be quick!, and easi!,grabbed aitboat
layrs extending:/tgl:t1 bqond the otber /a)terc. fanbling or et'en /ooking at the bi//.

154
L'-Q. 25'I'ht dP?urzt/tc( af' lbe g,iottt ltill i.r .ro srddett tltat ili alttt.rt a tirk it it.re/J.

and pulled open using both hands. It happens so fast that it's almost
Iike a production. Fig.25.

A gentleman is invited to the stage and positioned to the tight.

After the formalities. ..
IU like to tr1 and experiruent asing some folding monry so Bob, pull oatloar
wa//et,1our monel clip, let's see whatloa'ue got.
While the spectator is remo\.ing his mone)/ I steP toward the audi-
ence and deliver the next line to them.
The larger the denoruination, the rnorefan we're going to haae.
This line is meant to cover the time it takes him to remove a bill
but it also iflstructs him to remo\re the largest bill he has. The line gets
a laugh but it is absolutely true; the larger the bill, the funniet the rou-
tine will be. Laughs can be generated b), the gentleman's bill regatd-
less if it is a one or a hundred.
Putloar ruallet awE and hold up the billlast like that so thefolks in the back
can memoriry the serial naml.ter.

I gaze towatd the back of the room and reahze that this plan isn't
going to work.
I'ue got a better idea. Take tbis pen and right across theface af that bill I want

1ou to write Bob,1oilrildlile.That wa1 we'llbe able to recogniry this billif rue see it
...arwhen we see il again.

Sal,ing "if" instead of "when" plants the seed that his bill could be
Mn Gvnw Wononr

in peril. The pen is retrieved and retutned to the pocket.

Hauelou done that? You haae signaturiTgd the bill, corect?
Yes I say signaturized. When he responds "yes," snatch the bill out
of his hand.
That's iilegal.
The bill is held up and displayed to the spectators sitting in the
front row. The people in the back who couldn't see the signature as-
sume that the people in the front can see it and that is proof enough
for them.
Look at that, big black letters ight across the front, Bob.

Then showing the bill to Bob

^ga:rn...
You would recogniry tbat billiflou saw it again, right? Don't holdloar breath.
Ifold tbe bill once; Ifold the bill twice, forming it into a tiry packet.
The bill is actually folded three times during this line and it ends
up held in the right hand.
Bob,I wantloa to keep zne eJe on the enuelopes.
On the word "envelopes," the three envelopes are swiftly removed
from the pocket. The folded bill is moved to the left hand where it
is momentarily held between the left little and ring fingers where it
remains in full view.
I haae three enuelopes. Two of thue enuelopes contain a blankpiece ofpape6

folded upjast about the siqe of a twentl-dollar bill (name the value of what-
ever bill was borrowed).
The two ungimmicked envelopes are placed undet the left arm.
It is into the tbird arudfnal enuelope thatl shallplaceywr signed twenfl-dollar
biil.
The bitl is re-taken by the right hand and inserted partway into the
enveiope.
I wantlou to uer{1 that the bill is inside the enuelope, correct?
Hold the envelope so the spectator can clearly see that the bill is
halfway into the envelope being cateful not to expose the folded pa-
per that is also inside. The spectator will tespond, "y.t."
And I don't wantlou to worry about the mzne). No sense in both of us worry-
I'll tellyu what.
ing aboat the monell In fact,
During these lines the bitl is pushed through the slit and then sto-
len into the left hand. The left end of the envelope is slid between the
thumb and the bill, effectively hiding it.
Arything happens tolour twenfl-dollar bill and I'll be more than bappl t0...

716
 Nu tn 1anp

By the end of this line you are licking the adhesive on the envelope
flap but you havent stopped speaking. The result is that the wotds are
unintelligible. The spectator is left wondering, "You'll be mote than
hrppy to what?" The two envelopes under your arm are retrieved by
the right hand.
All seriousness aside, rf arllthing happerts tolour twenfl-dollar bill I will be

more than bappl to replace it with a nice, crisp twenfl-dollar bill. Fair enough?

(After he agtees) Good. Three enuelopes, two of tbem contain a blank piece of
pape4 the third a signed twenfl-dollar bill.
The three envelopes are mixed slightly being careful not to expose
the bill in the left hand. The envelopes are taken in the right hand as
the left hand drops natutally to your side.
Bob, take these enuelopes, putlourfeet togethe7face the audience, pwt both
bands behindlour back and shaffle the enuelopes. Mix them up so that neitherlou

nor I know wbich one contains the money

During these lines you demonstrate exactly what you mean by put-
ting your own feet together and your hands behind your back. Once
there, the bill is folded once more, inserted up into the cigar, the cap
is pivoted closed and the cigat tube is pulled out from under your belt
and released. During these various maneuvers keep in mind that no
one is chasing you so don't panic. In the words of UCLAs legendary
basketball coach, John \foodefl, "Be quick, but dont rush." Another
strategy you can use during this series of actions is to lean back and
sneak a peek at the spectator's hands as if you'te trying to keeP track
of a cettarn envelope. His mixing and your peeking behind his back
help to dissipate the attention ftom what's actually happening
^way
behind your back. Once the cigar tube has been released, your hands
return inconspicuously to your sides.
Now, I can't uery well take Bobl monel without frst putting ap some collat-
eral, right?
The beginning of this line is when you ciap your hands together fot
emphasis while allowing yout hands to be seen empty.
for Bob I baue with me tonight a cigar of equal ualue.
IYell luckg
Your left hand enters the right side of your coat, pulls open the tab
on the eiastic band and emerges holding the cigar tube.
Arything happens to the monel,yu keep the cigar
The cigar tube is slipped into the spectator's bteast coat pocket
where the upper portion of the tube temains in view throughout the

N
:
I
i

t
Mwr Avnw Womnt

routine. On more occasions than you might imagine, I have discov-

eted that the spectator's breast pocket is sewn closed. Perhaps it is a
new jacket ot perhaps he iust never bothered to remove the stitching.
W'hatever the teason, this is a perfect opportunity to garner some
laughs by apparently deviating from the sctipt.
Bob,lourpocket healed rtp. lYhat is this, a rental coat? Doya haue to haue it
back b1 nidnig\t? Yoa lookgreat in itPdl,I thinkyu should ba1 it.

On these occassions I slip the cigar into his shitt or paflts pocket.
Step forward and extend your right hand out to your side' You want
him to hand you the envelopes but he doesn't reahze rt.
Three enuelopes, two of them contain blank paper, the third, a signed twentl-

dollar bill.
There is an uncomfortable pause hete as you stop speaking but
continue to stare forward with your hand extended. Finally, turn to-
ward the spectator.
The enuelopes, Bob. Yoa're a little slow deliaeing those enuelopes. You don't
workfor the doyu?
post ffice
Finally he tealizes why your hand has been extended and gives you
the shuffled envelopes. This cheap shot at the United States Postal
Service still produces a laugh. The spectator usually answers that
he doesn't work fot the post office, at which point you can ask what
Iine of work he is in. It's not difficult to genetate additional laughs by
comparing the amount of money he had to his line of wotk- Occa-
sionally he will be an employee of the post office and then the laughs
ate Lutomatlc.
Now we will fnd out if Bob is a good sport. You get to pick one of the three en-

uelopes and belieae it or not, the enaelope tbatyu free! select will contain the signed
twenfl-dollar bill, sirualating real magic. The question is, Bob, canlou do it?
Make the spectator enthusiastically confrm that yes he can do it. If
you're working fot a corporate group, continue with...
Ladies and Gentlemen, it's confdence like that that made (name of com-
pany) great.
The three envelopes arc fanned out and the spectator is invited to
select one. Pay no attentiofl to the envelope with the slit in it because
choosing that one has never posed a problem.
Go ahead Bob tbe cboice islours and remember frrt imprusions are alwals best.

He selects an envelope.
Like a magnet he goes right to it. Unbelieaable. Changeloar mind?

250

Barning tbe enuelopes at tbe
San Diego Sports Arena.
1975 Pboto: Ed Ja:tirc, Jr.
Nu tn ?r,nB
Here you act like you knew which one had the money and then
send a mixed signal by asking him if he wants to change his mind. If
he doesn't, that's f,ne. If he does ttade envelopes...
Like a magnet, he goes right to it. Tuck that enuelope intolourpocket and
that leaues me with two enuelopes. Bob hold outlour hand likeyu're a maitre d'.
SE ahhhh.
Good, apon tbat hand I place a little box.
This is a stupid bit of business that just amuses me. Pick up the
silent butler from the stool and set it with the handle pointing uPstage
on his outstretched hand. !7hi1e your hand is still on the handle say,
Sa1 ahhhh. The spectator, believing that you are talking to him, com-
plies and says, "Ahhhhhh." Yout response is, Notlou Bob, the box.You
then slowly open the lid and say, Ahhhhh,E. It looks like you're asking a
patient to open his mouth wide and the box complies.
Because Bob had afree selection, thatfrees the magicianfron an1 responsibili$.
The two envelopes ate held in yout right hand, fanned out so they
are both clearly visible. Your left hand removes the lighter from the
*
at-
h
T/te barning enue/ope it aboil to be p/aced inlo the silenl bttler he/d fu, the spectator. Municb, Gerruan1, 2007. Photo:'Thoruas Fraps.

left coat pocket and immediately lights one of the envelopes on fire.
The lighter is returned to the pocket and the envelope that is not
burning is taken in the left hand. The burning envelope is extended
towatd the sPectator.
Nothing to worrlt about Bob thereJ still time to changeloar mind. You can pat
this one inlourpocket.
You become slightly flusteted when you suddenly reahze what a bad
idea that is. Light envelope numbet two off of the burning envelope.
The right-hand envelope is dropped into the silent butler and then you
immediately lift the box off the spectator's hand.
Just see thatlou get twentl bucks wortb of kaghs out of this thing.
Then, staring intently at the burning envelope in your left hand...
Look at the pretfl green flame in there. I don't remernber seeing that before. I
sball set this blaqing inferno right ouer here under the sprinkler slstem. IYhat a

fnish.

260
 Du tn 1aB

\fhile the audience is reacting to this last line I am looking uP at

the ceiling so that I can position the burning envelopes on the floor as

far away ftom the sprinkler heads as possible. On one occasion I set
off a f,re alarm in a hotel balltoom and believe me, there was noth-
ing funny about it. No one believes they are in danger, but the hotel
management always clears the toom anyway and the ptemises are
thoroughly checked. Eventually the ctowd is allowed back in but only
one guy still cates about the money and no one cares about the trick.
Now let us reaiew what has taken place. On BobJ instructions I haue barned

these two enuelopes.

Duting this line tub your hands together as if you're warming them
ovef a campflre.
Oru this side, two enuelopes haue been burned. Oaer here a gentleman from the

aadience has been burned. lYait, not sofast. Yoa'ae still got an ertuelope inlour
pocket. Pull out the As quick! as possible tear it open.
eruuelope.

By this time you have stepped forward and are speaking animatedly
to the audience.
Reach inside and pull out the twenfl-dollar bill. Open it up and make sure in

)0r/r lwn handwritingllnr ndme is written right across the face. Then hold it up so
thefolks in tbe back can see that it is the uery same twentl-dollar bill.
All of this patter is designed to keep you busy while the spectator is
tearing open the envelope, removing and unfolding the white P^P:L
You can always tell when the paper comes into view by the audience's
reaction. You ate the last one to learnthat things have gone awry
when you finally look over and see the spectatot holding the blank pa-
pet. Your fitst teaction is to stamp out the fire and kick the lid of the
silent butlet closed. Then stare the spectator fot an uncomfortably
^t
long time. Finally you blurt out...
You picked the wrong enuelope! Now tbue people don't think I can do this trick.

Your right hand gestures that you want another bill as you say...
Giae me another twentl (or whatever denomination was used).
And then to the audience...
I'/lproue tolou that I can do this once andfor a/1.

Your request is usually greeted with a shrug and never with an of-
fet of more money. Take the blank paper and the torn envelope from
him.
That waslour last twentl? A fne kettle of sqaid.
Suddenly you remember thathe is supposed to keep the blank paper

16
 Mur Gvnw Wononr

and hand it back to him.

Oh,1oa keep this, that'sywr recerpt. This whole thing is tax deductibk. You
write it all off, And there's realll nothing to worryt about. Don't1ou remember the

momentloa came up here to help me owt, didn't I sa1 that tf arlything at all hap-
pened tolour one-dollar bill that I would be more tban...
By now either the spectator or the audience will be informing you
that it was actually twenty dollars. Sometimes the spectatot will jok-
inglv say, "It was a hundted-dollar bill" to which you reply...
It was twenfii lous1 dollars. And didn't I sE tbat tf arytthing happened toloar
twenfl-dollar bill, that I would be more than happlt to replace it with a nice, crisp
twenfl-dollar bill? (He agrees) And thenyud (He agatn agrees).
be happl?

Turn, walk over to the still smoking silent butler and pick it up. The
audience begins to understand exactly what you mearit as you open up
the box and look inside.
That's about as crisp as I caru get it, pal. (Thank you Ron Anderson for
this gag) It's not a prettl sight. I'll telllou wbat, Bob. First tbing tomorow I
wantlou to go down to tbe bank. Jast explain thatlou were outfor an euening of
entertainment, and thatlla gdue a perfect stranger... well I don't know how perfect
he was... a twentl-dollar bill. And he burned it ap, didn't he? And allloa and

yarfriends did was laugh like cra71, right?

By now you have scooped aII of the ashes out ofbox and into
the envelope. It is safe to set the silent butler down on the stool seat
because of the heat-absotbing false bottom inside. Sometimes the
envelope is the one with a slit in the bottom but it doesn't matter. It is
catefully folded into a neat little package.
Then I wantlou to hand then this lucfui enuelope and thel will telllou exactll
what to do with b.
Hand him the envelope, stick your hands in your pockets and wait.
During this long, pregnant pause nobody is quite sute what to do. The
audience doesn't know if they should applaud. The spectator doesnt
know if he should leave. You dont know what to do because you
loused up your trick. I fust love this uncomfortable silence. Finally,
mercifully...
Bob,I don't like the wElou're handlingthis whole ugfi mess.I meanloa came

down bere tonigltt to haue a good time right? (He always says yes) IYell good

times cost money You act as thougb fault thatyu picked the wrong enue-
it was ml
lope. OK, I admit I'm tbe dumml who burned up tbe money but bel the one who
gaue twentl bucks to a dumm1. There's on! one wEt to handle this, we're going to

767

Ftg. 26 The end of tbe cellopbane wr@per is snbPed zff asing this
large pair of scistors, whih the open end of tbe cigar remains couered
1'oar left band.
of
Fig. 27 As tbe cellophane wrapper is :/id
ilot ex?ose the open end of tbe tabe.
Dru n ?etrp
haue to share the blame. But in that case we mast dbl share the collateral.
Pull the cigar out of his coat pocket and hold it up in full view
A cigar hermetica$t sealed in art airtight glass tube. Airtight. Listen, I will
break the seal.
The tube is held in yout left hand right up to the spectator's ear and
as the cap is twisted off make the sound of tapidly escaping air with
your mouth into the microphone. Pffi, as if trying to convince them
that the tube was indeed hermeticaliy sealed. The audience isn't fooled
fot a second and the laugh is guaranteed. The
cap is dropped into yout right iacket pocket and
the tube is then taken by your tight hand. The
cigar is dumped out of the tube into yout left
hand with the left f,ngers hiding the open end of
the cigar.
Look at that, thry think of euerything. Sealed in cel-
lophane to keep in the...
As you smell the cigar you're trying to think
of the word aroma, but you can't. Aftet a suffi-
cient pause, continue.. .
...t0 keep it in.
Yout right hand removes the scissors from
your pocket and begins to snip off the cello-
phane on the ungimmicked (tobacco) end. Fig. 26.
It won't be long now. That's what the rabbi said.
b1 I love this line. Dai Vernon, however, did not
approve of it and told me so. Of course you have
to gauge your audience but my expetience is that
those who shouldn't get it, wont and those who
do get it think they are so clever for getting it. I
Ioved the Professot, but the line stays.
The spectators assume that the other end
of the cellophane u/rapper is also sealed closed
when rn fact it is metely tucked into the brass
tube. When the wrappet is slid off the cigar, the
tucked-in cellophane slides out of the tube with-
out disturbing the signed bill inside.Fig. 27.
I willremoae the cigarfrom the cellophane, break it
the cigar, care is taken to
right down the middle andya get to choose the half tbat
t61
 Sntpping the urap-
per oPen in Municb,
Cernnnl, 2007.
Photo:'fbontas Fraps.

)0n want. lWait a minate, tberei still a green leaf in the

middle of that stogie.
The scissors are replaced in your pocket and
the cellophane u/rapper is slid off the open end
of the cigar and dtopped on the floor. At all
times the open end of the cigar remains pointed
away from the spectator and covered by the left
fingers. The cigar is snapped in half right at the
junction of the brass tube and the tobacco.
trig.28.
Once the cigar has snapped in half the two
halves are not separated but rather angled to
ninety-degrees. As the cigar is moved toward the
spectator your left little fngertip enters the open
end of the tube and pushes the bill forward until
about half an inch extends out of the opposite FiS. 28 Tlte cigar i: snapped in half ight at tltejanction of the brass
end, It will appear to be emerging ftom the tube and tlte tobacco.

"i
,t, t
 llttt n ?r,np

Fig. 29 The little fnger tip srrrEtitioasfi pasbu the bi/l aat af the tabe. Ftg. )0 The bill energe: ju:t enough n tbe spectator can grab onto il

middle of the cigar. Figure 29 shows the little finger pushing from
below while Figure 30 shows the bill protruding ftom the middle of
the cigar.
Catch hold of that little green corner and pull it right out of the middle of the

tobacco. It looks like a twenfl-dollar bill.

That line paints important pictute in the audience's mind;
^vety
that the bill is actually part of the cigar and that it is being pulled right
out of the rolled tobacco leaves, That's what you want them to think
and since they can't clearly see what is happening, they have only 1'our
words to guide their thinking. To make this effect a ttry bit better I
am willing to tell a white lie for which I may spend all of eternity in
Hell. It's atrade off. My act is full of lies and each one constitutes a
thin layer of mystery. Pile on enough of these layers and eventually ths
cumulative effect in the spectator's mind will be far gte ter than what
actually transpired.
Open it ap and zf tbat bill basyar narne written across theface we haue noth-

ing less than a miracle. Same one?

You nevet touch the bill. He pulls it out of the tube and while he
is unfolding the bill, dtop the two halves of the cigat into the siient
butler. \When he verifies that it is his original bill, take it ftom him and
clearly display it to the audience.
Mwr Avnw Wotnmt

I doru't belieue that mlse$ the uery same twentl-dollar bill.

Turn slightly ftom left to right giving the audience a good look at
the face of the bill. As you do, your tight hand drops to your side and
just before you face forwatd ag tn, pull the folded jumbo bill from
yolr rear pants pocket. The bill is held edge on to the audience (so
there is less to see) as it is raised up to your left hand. Once there, it
is turned face toward the audience, the left fngets (still holding the
signed bili) immediately grasp the left side of the jumbo bill and pull
it open. This is flot supposed to be a trick but because the butned-bill
effect has just ended and the audience's guard is down, m^fly are com-
pletely surprised by the sudden appemaflce of this giant bill.
Both bills are handed to the spectator and all of the applause is
directed to him as he teturns to his seat. I iike to have a few lines
between routines to give the audience a chance to relax and to let the
effect sink in. After the spectator reaches his seat...
Another ntisfed castome6 got his twenfl-dollar bill back and made a buck on
the side. Bob, after the show I wantloa to go out to the bar and lry tbat giant bill
down on the bar. Tell them Mike sentlou and thel'll tbrowloa right out of there.

The Bill tn Cigar is one of the longest toutines in my act, running

eleven to twelve minutes. As with all of my routines there are two
goals that I hope to achieve. During the performance I hope to elicit a

vartety of immediate reactions including laughter, applause, and gasps

of amazement. My other goal relates to what Paul Daniels calls the
"Talk about in the car going home factor." During the show I m hop-
ing that everyone has plenty of laughs and fun but I want their tide
home to be tortute. I'm hoping their conversation goes something like
this, "How in the hell did that guy's bill get inside that ctgar? Not to
mention the cellophane wrapPer and glass tube. The cigar was in the
guy's pocket the whole time and the magician bately touched the bill.
It doesn't seem possible."
My goal is fot the spectators to feel so tottured by this memory
that they will want to see my act zgain.I'm sute this goal was instilled
by Gene Andetson's def,nition of a commercial act which is "An act
that alayman will pay to see agair.." The key word here ts "agalrr."
People will sit through all kinds of drivel once just to see what it is
but I believe that gettiflg them to pay to see it again is the mark of a
teal pto. Duting these second and third viewings the audience will

766
 Dru ttt len

notice mote and more of the layets that I have invested so much time
and effort in. This is why the simple Bili in r$7alIet was turned into a
vetitable Nest of Boxes involving a gimmicked cigar, plastic u/raPPer,
and Plexiglas tube.

\[lhy join the novy if you (0n be o pirotel

tteve Jobr

767
 hough I leatned to juggle when I was seventeen years old I never
dreamed I would become an acttzl iuggler. My practice time was
not sPent mastefing five, six znd seven balls but fathef on off-beat
skills such as thfee badminton rackets of two tennis balls and a tennis
tacket or alarge bal1, a small ball and a short stick. The thought of add-
ing juggling to my act never entered my mind until one fateful night.
I remembet being tertibly sick in bed, finally falling asleep and then
having the strangest dteam I have ever had. I imagined myself confus-
ing the concept of "two-hand juggling" with "juggling two hands." In
my dream there were full-length atms with coat sleeves that matched
my own coat, z long rubber nose that protected my o$/n nose, and
me trying to get through security with sawed-off arms. In the
^lrPott
middle of the night I woke up in a cold sweat, found a piece of paper
and wtote down everything I could remember' In the morning when
I looked my rrotes, it was like teading a script. I had dreamed the
^t
entlfe foutlne.
Never once, before or since, have I had a similady productive
dream so I can't really recommend this as a viable way to develop new
matertal. Perhaps the lesson to be learned is to always be open to new
ideas whereever and whenever they might As Louis Pasteur
^ppeaL
once said, "Chance favors the prepared mind'" But heed this warn-
ing from my friend Harcy Anderson who said, "I(eep an open mind,
but not so open that your brain falls out." For those trving to create
magic, perhaps the best advice is this proactive suggestion byJack
London, "You can't wait for inspiration, you have to go after it with a
club."
It wasn't long before I had fabticated a set of iuggling clubs that
'I7e1, what's sofnntry? I'm looked like mannequin arms complete with coat sleeves that matched
trling to teathlou people haw to
the coat I was wearing, a wristwatch, and a big diamond ring. The rou-
jagle." Michtgan, 201 1.

Photo: Dauid l:insell. tine developed into a juggling lesson where I would prove to everyone

169
Mur Avnw Wonom

Lang Beach M1$ix'Itt Amazing Show at age nineteen.

in the audience that simple two-hand juggling was easy to learn, lots
of fun and good exercise. Early on I discovered that pulling the first
two arms out of the catrying bag u/as a ctitical moment. It was at this
instant that the audience realtzed that I v/as not going to use my tv/o
arms to juggle, but I was going to juggle two arms. If their immedi-
ate reaction to these arms was laughtet, I was in good shape for the
temainder of the toutine. If they gtoaned, and viewed tt as a bad play
on words, I was in ttouble fot the next six minutes.
Not wanting to leave this decision entirely up to the audience, I
developed a technique that basically pushed them into the desired
teaction. I would rcach into the bag and grab two arms as I asked the

770
 This was the first routine in my act in which sound effects became
an important factor. Each demonstration of the single revolution
(throwing the arm up and having it revolve once before catching it)
and the double revolution, u/as accompanied by a short drum roll and
then drum beat when I caught it. During one throu/, the hand comes
around and smacks me in the face and falls on the floor. This miscue
is accompanied by crashing metal, which, though an illogical sound,
punches up the gag. This routine taught me that sound effects and
music can add gready to an and I have added recorded sound to a
^ct
number of othet toutines in my act.
Aftet being struck in the face by the hand, I halt the proceedings
momentarily to put on my "nose guard." This is ari extra long rubber
nose that, presumably, will protect m1r ns5s in the eveflt of another
miscue. In theory this makes perfect sense but in practice it is just
plain stupid and that is the essence of what this routine is all about,
not being afratd of looking stupid. Again, the nose is treated with the
utmost seriousness and it's th^t contradiction that makes the whole
thing funny. The same could be said about Steve Martin's trademark

When teacbing tbe art

of 3-anrjaglingufefl
a lwals rurues /irst. Protecl
JOilr n0se.

Photo: Tbonas Fraps.

 1-Apn Juaeuna

artow-through-head gag. An arrow on the head of a prop comic, who

is leaping around the stage pulling an endless number of gagitems
out of a trunk in an effort to be the life of the p^rty, is the furthest
thing from funny. But Steve u/as a notmal looking guy, dtessed in a
nice suit, who just happened to wear afl through his head like it
^rrow
was a perfectly normal thing to do. It was the incongruity that made it
funny.
In my dream the third hand was black so I made up and used a
black hand for marry years. As times changed, so did my third hand.
I ttied a foot, (it didnt make sense to me either). I tried a pirate hook
with the line, "Every act needs a gimmick, this is my hook" which
usually elicited a unanimous groan. Eventually I settled on what I call
Liberace's hand; a matching hand with a ruffled shirt cuff, a gatdy
coat sleeve and a big diamond ring.
I dont tell any iokes during the three-
As with all of my routines,
hand juggling lesson. Everything I say and do is directly telated to the
subject and hopefully advances the plot. Even when I suddenly re-
member a story that I want to tell the audience and teposition the rub-
ber nose to the top of my head, it is all petfectly logical and on topic.
I explain how confused I was when I got to the aitpott and saw a sign
that said, "Illegal to c rry arms aboard plane." This stoty makes no
sense unless the person telling it is an idiot who, by chance, has three
arms in his suitcase at the airport. It is character-based humor. They
are lines that, on their own, are flot the least bit funny, but when deliv-
ered by the idiot with the suitcase they can produce genuine laughter.
A side benefit to character-based humor is that another performer
cant steal it. Unless that person is willing and able to steal your entire
stage persona, he is robbing an empty safe.
This routine served me well for a number of years. For my perfor-
mance at the 1978 Abbott's Get Togethet the routine u/on the Senator
Crandall Award for Comedy. In 1981 during t}l-'e lt's Magic!show the
Holfiwood Reporterprblished this review of my act,

Also stopping the show was M.C. Mike Caveney, whose

btzarce blend of comedy and magic makes him one of the
funniest magicians in America. His "three-hand juggling" is
not to be missed.

u5
lrlttr (wtw Wonnmt

Mike and Rath Crandall pose witb

the Senator Crandall Awardfor
Comedl fthe p/ate from bit 6-Card
Repeat, a pair of Crandall's glaxu,
a cbrome plated thamlt tip, and
some of his aniqne tuirted cigdr, as
the Senator bimself looks on.

In looking at old still photos of the juggling routine it was obvi-

ous that viewers had to use their imagination to petceive my arms as

being extra long due to the fact that tight in the middle of the arms
my bare hands wete visible. Eventually it dawned on me that apau
of houndstooth gloves would solve this problem. My supetJong arms
now extend all the way from my shouldets down to the iuggling atm
wrists and the illusion is complete. This was a case of a small change
making a huge difference.
Having zv^rtety spot (ArmJuggling) that I could include in my act
helped set me apat ftom all other magicians. Thete u/as never a ques-
tion that there might be another act on a show with something simi-
Iar. You might think that appearirrg on a show with another juggler
would be a ptoblem but in fact the exact opposite is true. I remember
following Anthony Gatto (the greatest jugglet of his generation) on a
show in Las Vegas by saying, "I know that looks difficult but it's really
not that hard once you know how." This preposterous statemeflt went
a long way toward establishing me as an idiot and Anthony's incted-
ible act was the perfect lead in to my silly iuggling lesson'

U6
 1-ABn )uoeute

In deference to the performers who have purchased this routine

and those who may putchase it in the future, I am not going to in-
clude all of the patter here. But the Arm Juggling toutine taught me
a, gre t deal about constructinglr:-,y \When I f,rst came uP with it
^ct.
(atound 1977) my closing routine was the Linking Coat Hangers. An
addition I had made to the coat hanger routine allowed me to get my-
self, and all of my props, off the stage in a funny and efficient manner.
At the time, it seemed like the petfect finish. As I became more and
more comfortable with the Juggling routine (in the next-to-closing
spot) it became the funniestp^rt of my listening to the audi-
IYorking at Milt I ^arsen's
^ct.By
Malfair Masic Hall was like ence I eventually reahzed that the Coat Hangers couldn't follow the
in time. From tbe
going back Arms.
live masic to the cbairman up
in the box lo lhe peiod archi-
It was during a week-long engagement at Milt Latsen's Mayfarr
tectare, it was alway a tbill. Music Hall in Santa Monica, Cahforniathztan o1d British come-
dian set me sttaight. Ben \X&igley was a
veteran comic who featured jokes, bits
of pantomime, and eccenttic dancing
in his act. He always finished with an
eccentric dance routine accompanied
by the Music Hall's 3-piece band and I
never tired of watching Ben from the
wings or ftom the front of house. One
night I asked him why he always fnished
with the band playing and him dancing.
He leaned in close as if he was about to
divulge the true secret of show business
and said, 'Always f,nish with a song,
lad." And by gosh, he was right. It's
not by accident that at the end of every
movie ever made the music swells and
then the credits toll. Music is a powetful
tool that can enhance arry act. It can be
used to boost the energy at the end of
an act and thete is no better way to say
"The End" than by playing some appro-
priate music. Ben's sage advice pushed
the juggling routine to the end of my
^ct
and the coat hangets into the closet.

tn
Mwr tnvmw l':ilr,t.pr.t

Ptrb/icilt pictrre circa 1988. Photo: Robin Yatng.

Having expressed my feelings about incorporating music into a

talking magic act, I would like to mention two instances where the
exact opposite (complete silence) is the perfect answer.
Long before I ever worked with Richiardil saw him perform at

i-l i;
 I if,-ry,';,r;0it,+f

a New Yotk City nightclub called

The Village Gate. This was a small
establishment where the audience
sat extfemely close to the stage.
During the Razor Blade trick,
dramatic music played as Rich-
iardi demonstrated the sharpness
of each blade and then placed it
into his mouth. Finally, a length
of thread was placed into his
mouth and "swallowed." At
this point, Richiardi was up
on the stage and the specta-
tors wefe at a safe distance in
their seats. Suddenly, in an
instant, everything changed.
Richiatdi jumped off the
stage and stood just inches
from the front tables. At
the same instant, the music stopped. You could
The press genemlfi found hear a pin drop. He took hold of the thread and started to pull. As the
this pictare far ruore
fitst razor blade emerged from his mouth there was an audible gasp
interestingthan f I had
actaa@ beenjugling. from the audience. As he moved thtough the ctowd he leaned right
into people's faces as each successive blade emerged from between his
lips and each one was greeted with another gasp. I reahzed that the
audience was supplying their own sound track. The music we heard
ea{ter was certainly dramatic but nothing was mote dramatic than
hearing the honest teactions of the bewildered spectators. The addi-
tion of this silence was sheer genius.
The othet time I saw this technique used was in Teller's brilliant
Shadows routine. Using a dagger, he cuts through the shadow cast by
leaves and petals of a rose and, miraculously, the real leaves and petals
drop to the floor. As each leaf and each petal falls, the audience pro-
vides the perfect sound track in the form of untestrained disbelief.

irq
 ln 1967 the
lrr.,r-^l s I did
'o",o,u;;;);:;:;,,,,, !-,,r, team
Bill'[a1'/sv;n
created b1'
with the greatest acts gathefed from all the circuses throughout the
1ee6'
Soviet Union. The headline act was Igor I(o with his fantastic illu-
(Be/ou)'tl:is 1891 nett.'s- sions but anothef actthat stuck in my mind was Nicolai Olkhovikov
paper aticle descibes
u/ho placed two glasses of water into two hoops and then swung them
,atr/Cinqreurt/ii
ltoap
petfontunce oJ' the around his head and tossed them over his shoulder without spilling a
andg/ass tick. .lrnn thct he did all of this while
rncntinn that
T)irl IT mention
drop. Did
,li standing on the back of a galloping horse? It was
astonishing to say the least and, surprisingly, not
original with Mr. Olkhovikov.
In April 1793 George l7ashington visited
Ricketts' Circus in Philadelphia and watched
Bill Ricketts stand upright on the back of a
galloping horse and swing a hoop around
his head with a glass of wine petched inside
the hoop. Nearly a century later, in an 1'891'
newspaper artrcle, Paul Cinquevalli, con-
sidered by some to be the greatest iug-
ilr\l gler who ever lived, explained how some
extremely difficult stunts occasionally
elicited tepid applause while other rela-
tively simple tricks ptoduced wild ex-
citement. As an example he explained
, how, "whirling a hoop
hooP in my right
hand with a glass of water balanced
' inside its rim, and passing two balls
ball

Ifl1
tE
Mn Aww Wononr

4g7. Swinging tloop and Glass of Water.

The seeminglyvery difficult feat

of swinging a glass of water inside
a wooden hoop, without spilling a
drop, can be easily accomPlished
by anyone without any Practice.
Price, comPlete, $3

Adfron an ear!, 20th rcntary Martinka Magic catalog.

Early in the 20th century the Martinka catalog

included a similar juggling trick with a couple of
important differences. The hoop was attached to a
short piece of cord which was held onto throughout
the petformance and the glass dtopped into a tecessed
space. The catalog description states, "...cafl be easily
accomplished by anyone without any practice." Thanks
to the generosity of Paul Daniels I have one of those
otiginal antique hoops and despite what the catalog
says, a little practice wouldn't hurt. But once you get
the knack of spinning the hoop it's neady impossible
to shake the glass out of it.
There was a time when this version could be seen
on the Blackstone Sr. show. As Harry walked off stage
"To get another cage znd anothef caflary" two female
assistants spun hoops and glasses for as long as it took
the boss to pull a birdcage out of his sleeve. Antique Swinging Hoop and Glass of lhater aparatus. A glft
In fot two
1993 my wife, Tina Lenert, petformed from Paal Daniels.
months at the \Tintergarten in Betlin. One of the

NL
 @rcr )ueourc

Ayar after tbeir Wintergarten engagement in Berlin Tina and Baba dt Buka reanite at the Fie-
dicbtbaa Vaiehi Tbeater in S tuttgart, Gerruan1. Baba (left) and Buka (right) hft Tina off herfeet.

standout acts in this show was Buba & Buka, both from the Soviet
Union. Buka performed magic and Buba was a juggler who had per-
fected the glass and hoop trick to an incredibly high degree. I leatned
that thete were no gimmicks when one night the glass ctashed to
the stage and shattered. Upon retutning home I started to experi-
ment with different sized hoops and different tyPes of glasses. John
Gaughan kept making hoops until I figured out the perfect width and
diameter.

7r'1
Tlte fo/loa'ing .wquence of six pltotos u.,ere take n 11 llI2ndell BreTina daing a 201 0 peforuance in A,Iichigan.
A,Iyfntg/iatp:eo/'tbeboop,tsi/roue.rtpot'er14,shon/dar.'fho.re,rredropsol colJee./it//iryiltror1gltiltetir.
the lteigbt of ilte t'bron, and speed a;f tlte rotation n,il/ dittate nelber I mlcb the haop higlter ir the air nr clo.rer /:o tbe foor
I aru aitningfor tlte spot direct/1 oppositefront the arp of cffie.
Afier three reuoltrtians ir tfu air, another sacrussJirl landing brilliantflt captured bl,photogapl:et" W'endel/ Breqina.
 Corrcr )uaeuna

suspicions. First, the coffee cup is made from clear unbreakable plastic.
Clear because the audience can actually see the coffee sloshing around
in it and unbreakable because I saw what happened to Buba at the
\X/intergarten. \When the cream is poured in, the audience can see the
coffee as it turns to a lighter shade of brown. Each time I complete
a stunt and kick the cup into the air where it is caught in my other
hand, a little bit of coffee sloshes out onto the floor. This simple move
proves that the cup isn't attached to the hoop and that the coffee is teal.

(Oppo:in) 201 1 ltminato

Festiua/in Toronto, Canada
On stage at the beaat/il/! i*
stored lYinter Carden Tbeatre
duigned lry Thonas l-ztmb
and btrilt b1 Marcas l-.aew as
the fagship of bis Canadian
uatrdeuille theatre cbain.
Photo: Dauid Ljnsell martesl
of Magicana.

(B,igbt) Tossing the ctp throagh

the air lo nry olher hand /ooks

fas$t bat nore inpoian$ il

proues that tbe cap is not at-
tacbed to tbe boop.
Copi@ri, Cbile, 201 2.
Pboto: Alex Fuentes.
'l'be spla.rb productd reminds tbe aadience tbat it really is cofJee.
@ droppingthe stgar cabe into tbe rup
And the second urbe droppedfron higb aboue tbe up b1 m-1 rigbt band is its oa,n litt/eja@ing.rtttnt.
Photo: Tltarua.r Praps.

The first sugar cube (actually made from white Delrin plastic)
is legitimately dropped into the cup but the second one is allegedly
thrown behind my back. My eyes follow its invisible path through
the air and then the audience is surprised to see it drop into the cup.
Realizing that the sugaf actually dropped from my opPosite hand (the
one holding the hoop) always genefates a solid laugh. The falling cube
also produces anothef visible splash when it lands in the coffee. Even
with all of these convincers , r.rrany people still think it is gaffed. There
is one additional drastic technique that can be used to convince the
audience that it is actually iuggling and not magic.

797
 brrur )ueoune

I'm always amused when people ask if I've ever missed. EVER
MISSED! Ate you kidding? I've dumped cups of coffee on stages
around the world and here is what I've learned from it. This is the
best way to convince an audience that you really are juggling. When
that cup hits the floot and coffee goes flying in every direction their
thoughts instantly change from, "It's ptobably magnetic coffee in a
Velcro cup" to, "My god, this lunatic is actually ttying to do this. Is
he out of his mind?" Then when I refill the cup and succeed on my
second try, the audience response is twice as loud. It's just like in the
circus when the flying tr^peze act misses their first attemPt at the
ttiple somersault and then nails the second attempt. They are educat-
ing the audience as to just how difficult it really is and then prove they
can do it. The problem with missing the coffee trick is that it creates a
hortible mess on stage that I have to wade around in for the rest of my
act, not to mention the acts that have to follow me.
Thtoughout most of my c reet I never had a ProPer opening fot
my act and by that I mean a quick effect that makes the audience sit
up, take notice, and make some noise. The problem was that neaiy all
of my routines were eight to ten minutes long which meant that after
fve minutes of performing nothingmagical had happened yet. The
Coffee Trick solved this problem. It was my friend Tim Conover who,
during a corporate show, convinced me to try it as an opener and he
was absolutely right. Two minutes in, the crowd was screaming. I've
opened with it ever since.
One of the most impottant elements to the Coffee Juggling routine
is the musical accompaniment. It was hearing Frank Sinatra sing "The
Coffee Song" that determined the direction that my routine would
take. His lyrics led to the coffee, cre^m) sugar, basicalll, the whole sto-
ry. Now that song is so ingrained in the presentation that I've always
said if I can't use that music, I won't do the routine. It just wouldn't
be the same. More often than not, aftet rehearsing in a theater I find
that the stagehands spend the rest of the evening humming or singing
"The Coffee Song." It really is that catchy.
Only once did I break my rule and opt for live music. I was a public

791
M1 /iue nusica/ accompaniruentfor Cffie fugling in Copiapd, Chile, 201 2. Photo: Alex Ftrentes.

show in Copiap6, Chile in 201,2.When I atrived at the theater for

rehearsal I saw a group ofpercussion students rehearsing out in the
street. V/ith the stage manager acting as translator I invited them to
appear in my actthatevening and about eight of them agreed to wait
around for hours so they could participate. When the curtain opened
that night revealing my live percussion ensemble, still in their street
clothes but wearing matching Chilean hats, the crowd went crazy.It
u/as a great night for Chile but an even greater night for me.

The necktie that is now very much associated with my act (black tie
with a latge white spot) was a grft from my wife. She thought it fit my
act, since the color theme of my entire act is basically black and white.
My coat is black and white, my shoes are black and white, my pants are
black and I am white. The tie had a bold design that was easy to iden-
tify even on a large stage. It immediately became p^rt of my costume.
You have undoubtedly heard performer's advice to "Listen to your
audience." Here is what they are talking about. One night I had just
f,nished the Coffee Juggling routine when a spectator said, "You got
a spot on your tiel" Needless to say this generated a huge laugh. I iust

lq)4
stood there and let that unknown sPectator have his moment of glor1'
because I knew that everv shou'thereafter, that laugh would be mtne.
And so rt has been. Because the tie has a smaller w-hite spot on the
opposite end I was able to double the laugh. Now it is I who notices
the big white spot on mt' tie (as if it is the re sult of spilled coffee) and
as I lift up the tie rerrealing the smaller spot underneath I sa1', ".. .and
it soaked through too." E\.en though it does sort of iook that wa1', this
statement is completely ludicrous, the perfect ending to ml' opening
effect.
The time between l'our routines is critical. If all You are doing is
putting one set of props awal' and getting out the next bit, you run
the risk of boring vour audience. An audience's interest rareh' stays at
the same level. It is ah,vavs going either up or down , and tf nothing is
happening between vour routines, there is a good chance that their
interest level is going down. This short gag with the spot on m)' tie
lllls the space between m\r fitst two routines with a ferv solid laughs
and maintains the momentum I have built.
 ometimes an idea comes to you in a flash. It has usually been
fermenting in the back of yout mind for some time, then, with-
out warning, BANG. It hits you in the head like a brick. This was
one of those times.
The description of this routine is going to be different from any
other in this book because I am going to explain each of the f,ve
methods that I have used over the yeafs. You will learn what attf^cted
me to each new method, why I eventually discarded it and why I ulti-
mately stuck with the f,fth method for nearly thirty years and counting'
The Gypsy Thread trick has always appealed to me. The effect
couldn't be simpler: destroy an ordinary obiect using natural means,
then put it back togethef using supernatufal means. Anyone on the
planet w'ould view this as magical. The trick can be traced back to at
leastJ. Prevost's book Cleuer and Pleasant Inuentions Part One that was
published in 1584.
I've never performed the Gypsy Thread in my life and for that
I have no one to blame but myself because I had as my teacher the
grand master himself, Billy McComb. It was November of 1980 when
I was invited to Calgary, Canada to aPPear on a TV show called T/e
Mogrt Palace. As luck would have it, the other act booked to aPPear that

After adruiing hin for

fildnlJedrs, an tltis da1 in
1980 I becann jiends u'ith
Bi@ McCorub, a fiend:ltip
that lasted till tbe end oJ' lti.r
retuarkabh lfe.

l':!i
lilwr Gt.*tw illr,nnmv

Bil!, 1,1t6oo,O reruained a consanruate perforner until bis paxing in 2006 at age 84.

week was Billy. He, of course, was already a magtcal star whom I had
seen many times before. One of the routines he petformed on the TV
show was his classic Gypty Thread. Afterward I merely mentioned
that I liked that trick and from that point on, there was no stopping
him. Billy proceeded to teach me every nuance of his handling, all of
the tips that can only be leatned by petforming the trick a thousand
times. What fascinated me most u/ere not his subtle tips, but rather
the amount of thinking that had gone into what was basically a simple
trick. No detail had been or.edooked. Billy's routine was builet proof.
Billy's lesson stayed with me, percolating in the back of my mind.
Eight months later (July 1981) I was walking through a parking lot
in Wilkes Barce, Pennsylvania when out of the blue it hit me - BANG.
Stage-size Gypty Thread. Toilet paper instead of thread. It's available
everywhere in the wotld for free, it's instantly recognrzable by young
and old alike, and it's already petforated for ease of tearing.It seemed
almost too good to be true-but it wasn't.
I decided to try out my idea at Tannen's Jubilee but then it dawned
on me, these people didn't want to see a routine that I was iust starting

zq0
 i//r,r:tc |lr,prp

to work on. They wanted to be fooled. I decided to do everything in

my power to fool everyone in attendance with my stage-size Gypsy
Paper. I know I succeeded because years latet, people v/ere still com-
menting on how they had been fried by that toilet PaPer trick'
Here was the effect they saw. I introduced a roll of toilet paper and
tossed tt to a gentleman on the end of the front row He tote off one
square of paper. In an effort to speed things along, I took the roll
back and quickly tore off squares fot everyone in the front row Once
back on stage, I asked everyone with a PzPr'':' square to wave it in the
oyer their heads. Alt of the pieces wefe then passed down the row
^tf
until the pefson at the end had the whole stack. He brought the pieces
to the ftont of the stage and handed them to me. Then, without a hint
of a false move, I grabbed hold of the top piece and swept it through
the air in a wide arc.The audience was surprised to see that the whole
stack had suddenly restored itself into one long strip of paper.

Some people will hate me for this method but I honestly feel no
remorse. My good friend Bill Schmeelk was the guy sitting at the end
of the ftont tow. He had upon his person, a carefully folded strip of
paper. \Mhen the pile of squates reached his hands, he merely stuffed
them into his pocket and brought me the folded strip. To Prevent
the restoration from looking too perfect and thereby suggesting a
stooge, I acted like I was counting some of the pieces and then casu-
ally moved the stack from hand to hand. This gave the eagle-eyed
spectators plenty to suspect but nothing to see. \With a flourish I then
unfuded the testored strip and finished clean.
I had fun using this method at a couple of conventions but I always
knew that this v/as not apractical solution. And to the people who missed
that switch because they were watching the wrong guy, I ask them to
recail the feeling of wonder that washed ovef them at the moment of res-
toration and admit that this is the whole point of goillg to a magic show;
to be entertained and to have your wotld turned upside dovrn.

799
lrln (wnw U,lntr;mr

Toward the end of that year I got the biggest booking of my life:
two weeks hosting the ltl Magic!show at the Variety Arts Theater in
downtown Los Angeles. This is the show I had been raised on and the
one I had always dreamed of appearing in. One of the acts I would
be inttoducing was a young guy that no one out lfest had heard of
named Lance Burton and the closing act would be Richiardi. I sud-
denly had this feeling of being out of my league. Duting the next few
months leading ap to lt's Magtc!,I would do everything I could to
elevate my act to the next level. Most of my effort was devoted to the
Scissots, Coat, Silverware & Chicken routine, but I also worked on the
toilet paper trick.
in the orchestra pit, the first
Because there would be a live band
thing I needed u/ere proper music chatts. The bandleader, Bill Hitch-
cock, spent an aftetnoon discussing my act and then proceeded to
write out all the parts. Besides being a fine musician, Bill understood
show business and did a great job of musically punctuating my act. We
came to be good enough friends that I proposed anidea to him.
Being famlhar with the Variety Arts Theater, it occurred to me
that with the orchestra pit looming between myself and the front tow,
it would be diff,cult, if not impossible, for me to reach the pieces of
toilet paper that wete being handed back by the spectator. \X/hat if,
seeing that I was struggling to rcach the pieces, Bill suddenly took
them from the spectator, tutned toward the stage and handed them
up to me, and in the process, switched them for the restoted packet?
He loved the idea.
Once we loaded into the theater, Bill insisted that we rehearse
relentlessly. He was taking his role as modus operandi very setiously
and wanted the switch to be absolutely undetectable. He stood in
teadiness with the restored packet in one hand. I had all of the pieces
passed to the person in the center of the front row and when I asked
him to pass the pieces to me there was an awkward moment when
everyofle reahzed that I couldn't rcach that far. Only then did Bill
reach out with his free hand and take the stack of pieces. Duting the
act of turning toward the stage, he apparently took the packet in his
other hand while actually executing a sort of shuttle pass. The effect

100
 Maorc PnprB

was that the paper packet never left the audience's sight. It seemed so
spontaneous that it became one of those invisible moments. I honestly
believe that if audience membets were asked later to describe what
had happened, they would say,"...and then the guy in the audience
handed the pieces to the magtcian." It would be remembered that way
because that was how we cleatly intended it to happen.
On opening night the atmosphere was electric. E,arlrer that even-
ing, Lance taped his frst, historic onJohnny Carson's Ta-
^PPe^raflce
night Show and of course the promise of Richiardi added another level
of excitement. I think Bill Hitchcock was more nervous than I was,
what with his debut as a sleight-of-hand expert.
At this time I was carrying my act onstage in aleather doctor's
bag. I would leave the open bag sitting on the floor and remove my
props as needed. \X/hen the time came,I removed the roll of papet
and tossed it into the audience and the paper squares were distributed.
To fiII the time it took for the pieces to be passed to the center of the
row, I asked the person holding the roll of paper to toss it back to me
which would produce one of two possible outcomes. If I saw the roll
heading right for me, I would feign blindness due to the lights and let
it smack into me. Or, the more likely outcome, theit aim would be off
and the roll would land nowhete fiear me. Either way, it u/as a gD ran-
teed laugh.
On this night, iust by chance, the roll of paper ended up in the
hands of CarlBallantine's wife, Ceil. I knew that The Great Ballantine
knew how to get a laugh, now we would learn rf this ability ran in the
family. My best guess was that Ceil's thtow would never make it over
the orchestta pit and the roll of paper would most likely bounce off a
musician's head. But whatever happened, it would be funny. \When she
reated back and heaved that roll with all her might two things became
instantly clear. First, she was going to miss me by a country mile and
second, it was a hell of a throw The roll of paper followed ahrgh arc-
ing trajectory and then the impossible happened. It dropped tight into
my open doctor's brg - swish! MichaelJordan would miss that shot
ffty percent of the time and here Ceil Ballantine makes it on her f,rst
tty with the game on the line. Ali I had to do was stand there while
the audience howled and cheered. The restoration of the paPer was an
anticlimax at best but, for the next two weeks, Bill Hitchcock nailed
his switch and helped me fool L.A'.s magrcalglittetati.

l0t
lrlur Avrnrv Wonomt

I had a passable routine but still not a method that

By closing night
would work in the teal world. I decided to staft from scratch so it was
back to the drawing board. The mission u/as to secufe a folded packet
of paper and dispos e of a pile of pieces. Because the goal was so
simple, I knew that the ultimate method would be equally as simple'
I started with the restored packet hanging from a clip inside my coat
just to the left of the front button. As my left arm reached toward the
spectatof to retrieve the pieces, it covered my right thumb and forefin-
ger as they entered my coat and gripped the packet. My left hand then
cartied the pieces back toward my body to a position thzt allowed
the festored packet to slide unseen out of my coat and be added onto
the back of the stack of pieces. The two packets (as one) u/ere then
revolved 180 degrees, repositioning the restored packet to the ftont.
Using this front (restored) packet as a shield, the pieces behind were
folded into quarters. As the switched-in packet was allowed to unfold
revealing the apparent restoration, the folded pieces were concealed
behind the top of the strip.
I published this method in my lectute notes (IDEA$ 1982) but
had very little faith in it. At the climax, the restored strip of paper was
"drtty" and one of the petformer's hands was "dirty'" It seemed like a
$/ofthy effect but the bare bones of the method were fat from elegant.

The next version featured art "in yoar face" method that was great
fun to perform. The restoted packet hung from the same clip inside
my coat, about two inches to the left of the ftont button. In this ver-
sion, I retrieved the pile of pieces from the spectator with my right
hand. By pinching the top edge of the stack between the right thumb
tip and the of the fotefnger, the pieces were able to hang down
base
the back of my right hand. In other words, the pieces concealed my
right fingers from the audience. In this position it was possible to
slide my dght forefinger in front of the left side of my coat, my middle
finger went betweefl my coat and the restored packet in the clip, and

10t
 lrlnuc Paprp

my ring and little fingers went between the restored packet and my
body. My index finget remained outside of my coat and the torn pieces
effectively hid the other fingers as they slid into my coat. The testored
packet was clipped between my right middle and ring flngers. As my
right hand moved to the right, the restoted packet was pulled from the
clip and catried out of my coat but now hidden behind the torn pieces.
What reads like a complicated action ofl the page was acttally a
smooth and simple maneuver. The totn pieces moved a few inches
to the left and then back again to the right and it happened during a
powerful moment of misdirection. The move was executed just as the
spectator threw the roll of paper back to me. Most of the time, the roll
would sail right past me. I would pick up the toll off the floor with my
Ieft hand, and then came my favorite part of the toutine.
At this point of the routine I was f,nished with the toll of paper,
and I needed a place to ditch the torn pieces. It fnally occurted to me
that at the core of every toilet paper roll thete is basically a dye tube.
So why not use it? I held the roll in my left hand by the end closest to
the audience. My tight hand (still holding the torn pieces and the re-
stored packet) momentarily came in contact with the opposite end of
the roll. During this moment, the stack of torn pieces was placed di-
rectly over this cardboard dye tube and pushed completely inside with
my right thumb. As my hands separated, the left hand held the roll
(now with the torn pieces concealed inside) and the right hand held
only the restored packet that the audience assumed to be the pieces. I
then threw the roll of papet like a football into the wings. My theory
was that the construction of a roll of toilet paperwas so univetsally
famlliar that no one would suspect that the hole thtough the middle
was actually my gimmick. And I believed in this theory right up until
a fzteful day in 1986.
Cunard's Queen Mary ocean liner sailed out of Southampton, Eng-
Iand for the first time in May of 1936.In 1971 she opened as a tour-
ist attraction in Long Beach, Califotnia and 1986 marked het f,ftieth
anniversary. As part of this celebration, I was hired to petfotm three
shows a day rn the Queen's Lounge from Febtuary tillJune. It wasn't
every day but it was steady, in-town gig and gteatplace to work
^-very ^
on the toilet paper trick. It was duting this engagement that I added
a ne'wline to the routine. Holding up the roll of paper I would ask,
"You know whete I got this dont you? The poop deck, where else?"

101
Mn Avnrv Wononr

The kids loved it.

One afternoon I was on stage in the Queen's Lounge nearing the
end of the paper trick. A small child, standing right at the foot of the
stage, was watching my every move. I picked up the tol1 of paper,
poked the pieces inside and tossed the roll into the wing. The kid's
eyes followed the roll and he pointed tt as it disappeared into the
^t
wing. He then turned and said something to his Pareflts. I have no
idea what he said but what I imagined he said has tormented me evet
since. I was convinced that from his vantage point (looking almost
straight up at me) he saw the pieces disappeat into the roll and zll of a
sudden I fett like everyone in the theater had watched those pieces sail
into the wing but'were too polite to point.
Never assume that a trick is finished. It can always be improved.
Pethaps it wasn't necessafy to get the torn pieces all the way off
stage during the performarlce. Just out of sight would suffice. Once
rn,I started from scratch and the next method, my fifth, is the one
^g
that that is still in use today.

The toutine would now begin with one square of toilet Paper rueatly
folded and tucked into the breast pocket of my coat. It is amazing how
the appearance of this paper Passes as a formal handkerchief.
The banker's clip was teplaced by two large bobby pins. To increase
the gripping power of these pins, and thereby eliminating the possibil-
tty that the paper might accidentally drop out of my coat, one arm of
each pin \ilas wrapped with black gaffet's tape. The cloth back on this
tape provides a 100%o sure grip. The position of the restored packet
was changed from the ftont of the coat to the bottom left side.
Put on your coat and stand with both arms relaxed at yout side. As
you cud yout left fingers, all four fingets should end up under yout
coat with the backs of your fingers against your paflts and the pads of
your f,nger tips touching the lining of your coat. The two bobby pins
should be safety-pinned to your coat lining so that when the restored
packet is clipped in position, your cuded fingets coritact the lower-
most edge of the packet about one inch up from the bottom of your
coat. Fig. 1.

104
 l/i,erc|lr,prB

Fig. 1 In tbis position tbe bobbl

pins can bold the prepared paper
strip about an inch aboue tbe
bottorn edge of the coat.

It's import^ntthatyou use single-ply bathroom tissue for this rou-

tine. Not double-ply, not patterned or embossed, just plain single ply,
white toilet paper. (For its intended use, I would def,nitely recommend
double-ply) Tear a strip of toilet paper off the roll about four feet long.
The perforations divide this piece into apptoximately twelve squares
of paper. This numbet should dictate how many
individual squares you wiII hand out to the audi-
ence but I have nevef worried about this equa-
tion. No one knows how many squares you have
handed out and no one knows what is going to
happen. Therefote, I usually just hand pieces to
everyofle in the ftont row or when working a
banquet, to the two front tables.
The strip destined for restotation is prepared
thusly. Loosely accordion fold the entire strip,
making each successive fold at a petforation but
don't crease the folds iust yet. trrg.2.
The finished stack will have twelve layers.
With the stack sitting on a hztd, flat surface, raise
ten of the layers up about an inch and turn them
about forty-fve degrees. Drop two of the layers
you are holding and then revolve the remaining
stack another forty-five degrees. Drop two more
Fig. 2 Tbe strip of p@er is accordion folded asing the perforations as
gaidelinu. layers and revolve, two mofe and revolve, two

105
Mn Avnw Wotpnt

mote and revolve and fi,nally revolve the last two

pieces z frnal forty-f,ve degrees. The stack now
looks like exactly what it is, a strip of paper that
has been accotdion-folded but not very neatly.
Fig.3.
Press the stack flat against the table and
smooth it out putting a sharp crease in each fold.
The strip will now to be a pile of individ-
^ppex
ua1 pieces that have been haphazatdly stacked up.
Now that you understand that our goal here is to
cre te the appeatance of a hastily-stacked pile of Ftg. 3 Tbe condition of tbe paper $rip before it is pressed flat.

paper squares, you will rcahze that the number

of squares you dtop each time and the angle that
the temaining squares are revolved is completely
arbitrary.Itis the sloppy appe r^nce of the stack
that will allow it to replace the collected pieces
without raising suspicion.
The fnal step is to tear one more squate off
the roll, put a small black dot in its cotnet with a
marking pen (allowing you to easily differentiate
this square ftom the rest of the sttip) and lay it
on top of yout folded sttip. Fig. 4.
Fold about ofle-quartet of the packet over Fig. 4 The tiry black dot i: uisible on the top seperate piece of the flat-
tened oat strip.
onto itself with the marked square being the
inner-most piece. This fold is not pressed flat but temains iust a loose
fold. This restored packet is then installed into the two bobby pins
in your coat. The straight (folded) edge should be at the bottom and
positioned about one inch up ftom the bottom of the coat. Fig. 5.

Fig. 5 The castoruiqed bob\t pins

secare! bold theJolded parketlast
aboue the bottorn edge of the coat.

106
 Maoic Paprp

Put on the coat and stand with yout arms

hanging natutally at your side. Now cud your left
middle, ring, and little fngers inward so they are
behind the edge ofyour co^t.If you can feel the
bottom (folded) edge of the restored packet, it
is in the correct position. If you cannot feel the
packet, adjust the safety pins as flecessary. I know
you can move your arm and find the packet but
that defeats the purpose. I(eep adjusting the
pins. You will know the packet is in the perfect
position when the fingets of yout telaxed arm
Fig. 6 Withyar arru and f ngen tota//1 relaxedl,oarfngsr"tips sboald
can curl inward and grip the bottom edge of the
lte lotrching the-[alded stip oJ papen
packet without further movement. Fig. 6.
The proper grip consists of your left middle
finger going between the packet and your pants
and your left ring and little fingers going be-
tween your coat lining and the packet. Pressing
your middle finget against the ring flnger will
provide a sure grip on the packet. Fig.7.
If you u/ere to hold on tight and then suddenly
straighten your fingets, the paper packet would
be pulied free from the bobby pins and out of
your coat. This is precisely the action that you
Ftg. 7 Exposed uiew of the bottaru edge of the paperpacket being
will two things will
use during the routine but
3ripped between the ruiddle and ringfngers.
prevent the audience from seeing it.
Another change in method number fve involved the collection of
the paper squares. Starting in the middle of the row have half of the
squares passed down to the person at the left end of the row and the
other half passed down to the person at the right end. A side benef,t
of this ptocedure was that it cut in half the time spent passing paper
squares. Ask the person at the fat right to bring his stack to the edge
of the stage. After taking his stack start walking across the stage and
request the spectator at the far left to the stage with their
^pptoach
stack. As you walk, hold the edge of the first stack of pieces in your
left hand between the tip of your thumb and the side of the forefinger.

101
Nn fivnw Wonomt

Fig. 8 Tbe fr:t statk oJ torn pieces

prouides an ffictiue shieldfor the
steal tbat is aboat to take place.

This grip allows the bulk of the packet to hang down the back of your
left fingers. When you atrive in front of the second spectator your left
arm relaxes and drops to your side. In this positiofl the paper squares
effectively hide the left fingets which allows them to curl unseen
under the edge ofyout coat and grip the bottom edge ofthe restoted
packet. Fig. 8.
There is no one chasing you at this point, so iust telax. Your hand
is hanging side holding some pieces of papet in full view. Yout
^tyoutt
hidden fingers are gripping the restored packet and waiting for "the
moment." Extend your tight hand toward the spectator as he reaches
up with the paper squares held in his hand. As yout hands meet and
you take the second stack of pieces, the steal is made. I call this the
Da Yinci Moment in memory of my visit to the Sistine Chapel in
Rome. Upon entering the Chapel it was immediately apparentthat
every single person was looking sttaight up and
not iust at the ceiling in general but directly at
the point whete the hands of God and Adam ate
nearly touching. They wete all thinking, "what
a powerful image" while I was thinking, "what
powerful misdirection." The mosaic tile floor
was magnificent and no ofle noticed it. The im-
age of those two hands almost touching is iust
too darn irtesistible. I'm not suggesting that my
taking back a handful of toilet P^Per is on a par
with Da Vinci's masterpiece, but I am saying
that our two hands, sttaining to meet, provide a
Ftg. 9 A: tbe ucond packet of pieces b taken back, the left fnger:
strong dose of misdirection. Fig. 9. straighten, tbtu palling the rutored strip behind the frst packet of piuu.

)00
 lrlr,or'llr,prB

Fig. 10 Tbis audience uiew shows haw the tarn pieces shield tbe restored Ftg. l1 Thi: expovd uiew sbows tbe restored stip opening up behind tbe
nrip wbicb anfo/d: behind then. packet of Piecer. The black dot is uisible on the top piece.

It is during this Da Vinci moment that your left fingers straighten

pulling the restored packet free from your coat. Without hesitation
your left hand (now holding a restored packet and a pile of pieces)
joins your right hand in ftont of you and the two packets of pieces are
merged into one. Fig. 10.
This combined packet is used as a shield while the restored packet
is opening up, which should happen automatically since it wasn't
creased flat prior to loading. You'll know that it opened at the ProPer
place when you see the black dot on the top piece. Fig. 11.

The combined packet of pieces is then moved behind the restored

packet. In this position the restored packet is shielding the audience's
view of the stack of pieces. Behind this shield the pieces are folded
first into halves (Fig. 12) and then into quarters (Fig. 13).

F$. / 2 Mning tbe restored packet to tbe front allows it to shield the faa Fig. 1 3 This gnp allows both hands to hold the restored stip while at
iltat tbe pieces are beingfolded. the vme tirueJbld the pieces into a snall packel.

i0q
lrlwp Awaw Ulanarps

The folded packet of pieces is held in the right

hand much like you would conceal a sponge ball,
while the restored packet is gripped between the
right thumb and forefinget. Fig.1,4.
While all of this is happening you are moving
back towatd center stage. During this sequence,
your attention is not on the paper in your hands
but instead, you afe scanning the front row and
asking, "Did I get all those pieces back?"
\Xlth a nod to Tommy Wonder, it should be
noted that traditional misdirection has not been Fig. 14 T/te andience belieues this is the stack of pieces whi/e it is acta-
all the restared rtiP. Tl)ef0/ded pieces are concealed in this hand.
used to conceal the steal of the restored packet.
I not added a move or sentence to the
har.e
routine with the sole purpose of trying to divert everyone's attention
away from a specifc spot. Instead, I examined the logical flow of the
action and found a moment where the audience's attention had natu-
rally shifted ftom ofle to another. In this case, it was lowering my
^rez
left hand to my side and extending my right hand towatd the specta-
tor's hand. I then utilized this moment to accomplish the ditty wotk.
Tommy's theory involves determining where people are going to be
looking duting each moment of a routine. If you can use one of these
moments of nat:utal direction to mask a secret move, then you don't
need additional misditection.

Tomml lYonder and Tint

Conouer. Two of tbe greatest

ruagiciarcof nry generation

and tuto uondefulfiends
wbo left usfar too ear/1.
Pboto: Frank Farkey

1r0
 Maerc DaprB

Once you are convinced that you have retrieved all of the pieces,
youf attention teturns to the PaPer in your hands. The restored packet
is laid onto your outstretched left hand with the
loose piece (with the black dot in the corner) on
top. Suddenly you temember, Oh, this one was mine.
Remember? It came with the suit.Dulngthis line,

you pinch the single piece between your tight

thumb and forefinget. The other right fingets ate
still closed, concealing the folded pieces. Fig. 15.
The single piece is carried away from your
left hand and waved in the air showing clearly
that it is a single piece. On the wotds, It came
with tbe suityour right hand moves toward the
Fig. 15 The top loose shut is lifted off the stack and waued in the air.
breast pocket ofyour coat and, during this short
journey, the folded pieces in the right hand are
repositioned behind the visible paper square. The
moment your tight hand arrives at the pocket,
your right thumb (still hidden behind the single
piece) pushes the packet of pieces down into the
pocket. Fig. 16.

The right fingers immediately tuck the single

piece into the top of the pocket, carefully arrarug-
ing it to r like a pocket handkerchief. The
^ppe
claim that"It came with the suit" is one of those
lines that perfectly sums up my chatacter' Not
Fig. I 6 (Jntler couer of the waue, tbe Joltletl pieces are rEositionetl behintl
rbe :ingle sheet which then acts as a shiehl as the tbumb qaickfi pashes only did I putchase a suit that came with a piece
ilte packet into tbe breastpocket'
of toilet paper in place of a pocket handker-
chief but I am happy to admit it. Do I look OK?
You're notjust sEing that arelou? These few silly lines always get a laugh
and more importantly, they solve the problem that I had spent years
wrestiing with: what to do with the pieces. Just put them into your
pocket under the guise of something else. No stooges, no otchestra
leaders, no rolls of paper being hutled into the wings; just put them in
the pocket while telling a funny white lie. Of course during this laugh,
their guard is lowered and the deed is done. Today the solution seems

1t
Mwr Awnw Wommt

so obvious but what a long and winding road I ttaveled to get to this
point. And who knows if even now the journey has ended?

To finish the effect, the restored packet is laying ori your out-
stretched left hand. Always keep your left thumb on top of the packet
to prevent abreeze from prematurely revealing that the strip is re-
stored. You would be surprised how windy it sometimes gets on stage.
Because all of the dirty work is ovet and you will finish completely
clean, you can make a telatively big deal out of the moment of magic.
Hold your left hand up at shoulder level. Your extended right arm
moves in a counter-clockwise afc through
the air until your hands meet and your right
fngers can grip the top square ofthe restored
strip. In an equally wide motion the right
hand retraces the arc and pulis the strip back
through the air to your dght. Fig. 17.
Your empty left hand temains extended
to the left while the restoted strip is hanging
down on the right. Hoid that pose, it's the per-
fect position to generate applause. To furthet
enhance the magical moment, I have a music
cue here: drum toll - glissando - chotd.
During the course of this routine, at no
time do I use the words "toilet papet" or "toi-
let tissue." If someone in the audience thinks
that waving toilet paper around in public is
tacky, well guess what - so do I. That's why
right from the very beginning I claim that it
is very rare, perfectly symmetrical, mysterious
magic p^peL "... quite unlike afly p^per you
have evet seen befote." This concept of my
insisting upon one thing while the audience
collectively believes something entirely differ-
ent effectively reinforces the notion that I am
an idiot. Fig. 1 7 In a grand gesture the pierus are restored into one long strip.

117
 MaacPmrB

It is my erroneous claim that turns the first of the TP

aPPea:.^nce
into a sight gag and I felt it was important that everyofle get this gag
at the same moment. To accomplish this it was necessary to carry tl;re
toll of pape r trt a cotttainer. I found a small cloth bag with a handle at
the top and a zipper around three sides that wotked perfectly. At the
time I had my houndstooth coat made, I had this bag covered with
the same matelal; also a blindfold made for my Bow & Arrow routine
and a bag to hold my juggling arms. Normally I want the obiects that
I perform magic with to look otdinary thereby eliminating (ot at least
diminishing) any suspicion but these objects I consider to be peripher-
al players. Since they do not parttcipate in the actual magic I felt it was
OK if they looked a bit special and repeating the
houndstooth theme thtoughout my act gives the
whole performance a cohesive look and feel.
'When
I pull the roll of paper out of the bag,
it is importantthat everyone in the audience
instantly tecognizes it. The people sitting in front
have no trouble identifying it but I want the peo-
ple sitting in back to get the joke well. From
as

their vantape point, a toll of PaPer just looks like

a white thing. Fig. 18.

The solution could not have been simpler.

Fig. 18 From a distance it i: dfficah to te// wbat tltis is.
Instead of just placing the roll of paper into
the carrying bag, I unwind about ten or twelve
inches of paper. This trailing end is lowered into the bag followed by
the test of the roll. Now when I pull the roll of paper out of the bag
it is this trailing end that instantly identifles the object to everyone in
the theater. The laugh is immediate and universal. Fig. 19.

Fig. 9 1 The trailing tail

identifu exact! wbat thit
is to nost people in tbe
ciuiliT,ed world.
Municb, Cermary, 2007.
Photo: Thonas Fraps.
Mtt Avnw Wotomt

Not to suggest that this is a perfect method but it is the method

that I have now used for nearly thirty years. After performing the tou-
tine as written for a period of time, it occutred to me that pethaps an
additional effect could be perfotmed with the restored strip of "magrc
paper." I have always felt that it is beneficial to populate one's act with
a -vartety of effects such as a production, a vanish, a transposition,
restoration, penetratiofl, etc. One effect that was notably absent from
my actwas levitation ot animation so this is the direction I embatked
upon with my restored strip of magic Paper.

My goal has never been to

staft from scratch and cteate a
btand new effect and method.
There is really no reason to,
considering all of the proven ef-
fects already in existence that are
just waiting to be disguised and
reused. Starting with a provefl
effect makes the job of pseudo-
creation so much easier.
The Dancing Handkerchief
is a classic effect. It is highly
visible, extremely mystifying and
very efltertaining. My goal u/as to
incotporate all of those attrib-
utes into my antm^ted sttip of
papel The final effect I settled
on was this: I would tie a knot
in one end of the testored paper
strip and then coil the sttip onto
the top on my stoo1. By playing
snake-charming music on a small
flute the head (knotted end) of
the "snake" would rise up per-
haps three feet in the arr and sway 1988 publiciry pboto taken b1 Robin Yoang.

114
 MmrPmm

back and forth. Aftet a few seconds of me ttying to fght off the snake
I would pull out a pistol and shoot it, causing the snake to drop dead.
I would then pick up the now-lifeless snake and hand it to a membet
of the audience. The handing out of the paper snake would also prove
(without saying so) that the paper was in no v/ay gimmicked.
I also decided to use the basic principle behind the Dancing Hand-
kerchief but with a numbet of important diffetences. The ttaditional
Dancing Hank methodology requires you to Pre-set the thread across
the stage and to have two assistants concealed in the wings. These
were limitations that I wanted to avoid at all costs. I have always been
able to c
rry my stool out onto a dance floor, into a banquet foom or
thtough a group of guests seated in someone's living foom and pro-
ceed with my entire show. In cteating the Animated Paper effect I was
determined to retain this level of self-containment.
To attarn my goal of setting the thread and striking the thread
during the performance right in front of the audience, I would need
to find an anchot point that was aheady on stage. After examining
my super-simple stage set there was really only one oPtion; the micro-
phone stand. It rs amazing how the ubiquitous mic stand is virtually
invisible due to its univetsal famlharity, making it the petfect anchor.
On occasions when I don't use a microphone, I iustify the presence
of the stand by hanging the quiver from my Bow and Arrow routine
on 1t.

The Animated Paper Strip would be my first setious venture into

the realm of thread work and, needless to say, there are multitudinous
problems inhetent to threads including lighting, background, thtead
containment, thtead hook-up, thread dispersal etc., etc. And I haven't
even mentioned the ovetriding problem of the thread breaking. I shall
deal with this fnal and most cataclysmic problem f,rst.
Select yout thread.
Pull it till it breaks.
Never pull it that hard again.
This rule sounds silly but it is actually the cold hard truth behind
keeping your thread in one piece. The key is to design a routine
that doesnt require you to pull the thread hard enough to break it.
One thing in my favor is the fact that four feet of bathroom tissue
is extremely lightweight; less than an ounce. Thetefore I was able to
use very thin thread. After experimenting with many different types

115
lrln (tunw Wonont

| f,nally settled on Floating Rose thread. My old friend and fellow

Long Beach Mystic, I{evin James, was kind enough to send me a
large spool, easily a lifetime supply. The catch was that this thtead is
composed of about 24 strands and it needed to be stripped down to
individual strands. The job was made even more difficult by the fact
that I requited pieces that wete roughly ten feet long. Needless to say,
during the many yeats I have performed this effect, I have become an
exPeft thread stripper.

The secret is to pull twenty-three strands away from one strand

instead of trying to pull one strand out of twenty-three. Begin by cut-
ting off a pieceof thread that measures ten feet long. Massage one end
between your fingers until the twenty-fout strands have separated.
Pull one strand four or five inches away from the rest. Lay a piece of
tape over this extended end and stick tt to window. Did I mention
^
that this is best done during day'ight hours? The sun will effectively
flood your work atea with natural light. I also lay some large pieces of
white cardboatd on the foot under the thtead. The single strand will
be easier to see against this white background.
Now slide the twenty-three ends of thread down the single strand
for about a foot. Reposition your gtip two or three feet down the
thread and begin pulling down a few inches a time as your hand
^t
works its way back up to the twenty-three ends. Little by little you
work this one foot of slack down the entire length of thtead untii the
opposite end of that single strand is pulled a foot up into the mother
thread. Return to the taped end, pull the twenty-three ends aflother
foot or two down the single strand and continue working this slack
down the entire length until the single end is pulled futther up into
the mothet thread. By repeating this process ovet and over, the single
strand will eventually be pulled free ftom the multi-strand piece. Al-
low this loose end to float toward the foot so the singie strand is free
to untwist itself. Unwanted twists can lead to lethal tangles. As the
single strand is untwisting, hang the mother thread over the top of a

door to keep it from tangling.

My method for storing and transporting ten-foot lengths of thread

116
 MaercDaprp

Fig. 19 A card loaded with

foar 1)-footpiecet of thread.

is the epitome of low tech. Using punch, cut four semi-cit-

^PaPer
culat holes in each end of a playing card. Court cards are not recom-
mended since the thread is nearly impossible to see against the ink'
A tiny piece of electtician's black tape holds one end of the strand to
the card directly in line between two of the cut-outs. Then the thread
is carefully wound around the catd so that it is contained within two
semi-circular holes. The f,nal end of the strand is attached to the card
slightly off to one side using another piece of black tape.
I usually strip out about twenty strands during a session (f,ve play-
ing cards wotth). By then the mother thread (which now has only four
strands remaining) tangles easily and my eyes have genetally had it. I
normally carry two or three loaded playrng cards with me, folded into
a plastic bag. Using this technique, bteaking or tangling thtead has
nevef been an issue.

The main problem with wotking with thread on stage is not so

much the performance of the ttick but rather the management of the
thread before and after the effect. For close-up work modern gim-
micks, such Yigal Mesika's Spider Pen ate perfect thread m nage-
as
ment systems. The animated Paper effect required me to cofltain ten
feet of thread, then during the performance set the thtead between
two anchor points znd frnally release one of the ends. As usual, the fi-
nal solution required a great deal of up-front wotk but in performance
this low-tech method had a very high success rate.

1t
f-tg. 20 Tlte .wnllgroarc on ilteJar /eft ettd oJ' tlteffie i.r /arge eratglt 1o lto/d lenJeut oJ' tltread.

At I purchased a black plastic Flute-A-Fone that u/as

a music store
turned into a thread storage device and dispenser. I spent a day at
Johnson Products machining a piece of black Delrin plastic into the
horn end of a Flute-A-Fone with the addition of
a groove in the outer-most end. It is within this
groove that the entire ten-foot length of thread is
contained. trig.20.
On the bottom of the flute I attached a very
small alligator clip using ttny bolt. Because I
^
wanted to hold one end of the thread in this clip
I found it necessary to glue tiny pieces of rubber
tubing onto the clip ends. This way the thread
would be clamped between two rubber surfaces
and be held securely. Fig. 21,.

Next I drilled a tiny hole through the horn Pig. 2l The b/ack rul.tlxr hrbing mn lte seen on eacltjan'of tlte tirg
al/igator c/ip'
end where the sound comes out in a direct line
with the clip. During the performance rt ls rare
that I can see the thread, therefore it is impottant to know
where it is at all times. B), inserting one end of the thtead
through this hole and then securing it in the clip, I can eas-
ily keep track of this end.
To prepate the flute, I use a sott ofneedle threader that
was made from .015" wire (the same wire that I use for
Impromptu Linking Coat hanger gimmicks). The black
tape on one end simply makes the gimmick easier to f,nd.
Fig.22.
The opposite end is inserted through the hole in the
flute and allowed to expand open. One end of the thread FtS. 22 Thin a,irc hent
into tlti.r sbctpe func-
is inserted through the gimmick which is then pulled back tions as a need/e (or in
through the hole carcying the thread with it. Fig.23. tlti: case fute) tbruader.

iiil
 MaercPapn

Fig. 23 For pbotot phite tbread i: being andfor uisibili4t sake.

these Fig. 24 Tbe tbread end is rccure! gripped benteen tbe jaws of tbe alliga-
The gimmick is pulling tbe tbread tbronglt tbe hole in the fute. tor clip.

The clip holds this end of the thread secutely

while the test of the thread extends out through
the horn. Fig.24.
By pinching one point of the thread against
the outside of the horn the efltire thread can be
carefully wound around the gtoove in the end of
the horn. It takes tv/enty revolutions to contain
the entite ten-foot length. Fig.25.
The final end of the thread is wrapped around
a piece of black electrician's tape with the end

Fig. 25 Tbe entire length of tbread h wound aroand the grooue in tbe
of the tape being folded over on itself to ensure
bornl end. that the thread can't pull ftee. The sticky end of
the tape can be adhered to the horn and stored
zway in this perfotmance-ready condition. Normally I prefer to load
the thread onto the flute arriving at the show location and then
^fter
installing the flute ditectly onto the stool.
I leatned the concept of a tratling thread duting my first visit to
Ken Btooke's Magic Place in London in1976 when I metJim Hooper
and purchased his bdlliant cteation, The Nemo Rising Cards. If you
can't perform Dr. Hooker's Rising Catds (and you can't) I would sug-
gest the Nemo as being the next best thing. The method involves a
thread that is anchored while the opposite end hangs free.
one end
^t
In my Magic Paper routine, I needed the thread to be anchoted at
both ends during the actual animation and then one anchot would
be released, producing a trarling end that would ultimately faclhtate
the clean-up phase. That is the reason for the clip on the flute. At the

59
proper moment (the gunshot) the clip can be
pressed open allowing the thread to pull free
from the flute which, in turn, causes the snake to
"die." Fig.26.
The snake can now be picked up and carried
toward the audience (away from the microphone
stand) and the trailing end of thread will be
pulled right through the knot in the paper. This
leaves an ungimmicked piece of magic paPer that
can be handed to a spectator.
Carrl,ing the prepared flute on m1r bodi, was Jti,g. 26 L-pol fiitt,t tlte l;lttilk sril lfu t/if i.rpre.r.red ofien, ilttrtl4'
tt/t't'tltlqtlte iltruil ttti tr//ott'ittg ilte tttttintatctl rnuke lo die'
not an optlon, so that left the stool as a potential
home base. prevent the flute from being a dis
tfactlofi, posltloned out of sight behind the stool until needed.
1t $,as

A single loop of three-quarter inch black elastic held it f,rml,v in place

with the flute polntlng tou'ard the mic stand.
For reasons that will be explained later, there are eight holes dtilled
through the back of m1, stool. A strip of elastic
was threaded through two of these holes and
seu,ed into To set the flute for a perfor
a loop.
mance I peel the electrician's tape off of the flute
and allorv about eight inches of thread to un-
wind. The flute is then slid into the elastic loop,
which holds it securely against the back of the
stool. The thread is pulled tight along the top
right edge of the stool and then the tape is at-
tached to this edge. The black tape is not notice-
able against the black naugahide stool and the
folded end of tape that does not stick to the stool )tig.27..1 ktolrll th.rlirl.to/d.rtl.teflrrt'e.rcurre/1'ttgrit.rttfuhockaf'tlte
rtool.'l'l.te end of lhr iltreutl i.r tltucl.tcd to tlte.frottt rQltt edge of tlte.rlrtr',/
provides a convenient tab to grab onto when the
rrrirtg il.tt luft.
time comes to remove the tape. Fig.27.
The top of my stool is thirtl'two inches off the floor, which puts
it just about even with m)' fingertips. If I'm standing on the right side
of the stool it is a simple matter to catch hold of the tape end with
my left thumb and index finger and puil it free from the stool. Now
by walking ovef to the mic stand (which is positioned five or six feet
to the right), the thread feeds smoothly off the flute. As my left hand
grabs the top of the mic stand, the tape is stuck securelv in place.
 MaarPaprp

Virtually all mictophone holders at the top of mic stands are made
from black plastic so again, the tape is virtually invisible.
On a technical level this procedure worked perfectly but I still
needed a reason to walk over and grab the mic stand. I found the
ariswer while watching my friend Martin Lewis' act. It was the first
time I had seen the gag where the performet asks a spectator to throw
an object back to him and just as they throw it the performer starts
counting, One... two... three. The object fies past the performer
between one and tv/o. It always gets a big laugh. Later I told Martin
that I didn't jtst want to use th^t g g,I needed it. Martin didn't claim
it as his original gag and said that others wete doing it, so he had no
ciaim or ptoblem with it. The addition of this gag allowed me to hook
up my thread without raising the slightest suspicion. When the specta-
tors start passing their paper squares down to each end of the front
row I ask, lYbo has m1 roll of nagic paper? Someone over at the right side
holds the toll of paper up in the a:r..I say,Just like afootball,I wantlou
to rear back and throw it back to me. Giue it a good heaue. This senteflce can
be shottened or lengthened so that it ends iust as the roll is leaving
the spectator's hand. At the instant that it is too late for him or her
to stop, I add, On three, one. .. two and the roll of paper flies past me.
Sometimes I see that the incoming missile is headed dght for me. On
these special occasions I don't move a muscle. I have been hit square
in the head, right in the crotch, right against my chest (and micro-
phone). The enotmous audience reaction far outweighs the slight
discomfort.
Just prior to this line I peel the tape off of the stool. After the roll
of paper sails past me (or into me) I move to the right and crouch
behind the mic stand as if I'm ttying to protect myself. Holdlourfire!
The audience believes that something has gone horribly wrong and we
are completely off script at this point. Protecting myself with whatever
is handy makes perfect sense thus the delivery of the tape to the mic
stand flies past everyone. Setting the thread at this opportufle mo-
ment provides a huge advantage.I have not yet performed the restora-
tion of the paper squares and yet I am aheady set up for the next trick,
The Animated Paper.
The spectator believes that by throwing the toll of paper eatly they
have made a horrible mistake. In an effort to shift the blame to myself
I add, Thankyaforlour enthasiasm. I was blinded fu the lights.

57
Mn Aunw l/otpnt

\TARNING: If you are wearing a hard-wired, hand-held micro-

phone around your neck, you need to be aware of exactly where the
cord is on the floot before this sequence takes place or you might find
yourself trapped. You can't walk forward between the stool and mic
stand nor can you toss the microphone cotd over the top of the mic
stand without breaking the thread. Lifting the mic stand over the cord
would look odd at best and ducking undet the thread would be catast-
ophic. Just be awzte that your next move is going to be downstage to
tetrieve the packets of magic papet squares.
The restoration of the paper sttip takes place downstage left of
the stool. After accepting the applause fot this effect you move to
the stool and pull the flute out of its holder with your right hand.
The flute (which still has some of the thtead coiled around the horn)
is placed under your left atm. Usually 1'ou will be unable to see the
thread against the floor but you can be confident that it traces a
straight line between the horn and the mic stand. Down near belt
level take the end of the paper sttip in your right hand and pull about
a foot of paper through your left hand. Fig. 28.
Then both hands rise up and begin to tie an overhand knot. The
raising up of the outsttetched paper guararitees that the thread will be
trapped within the knot. After the knot is tied, hold the very top of
the strip up at about eye level in your right hand. This is usually the
first time that you will actually see the thread so use this opportunity
to make sure that it does indeed pass through the knot. trig.29.

Fig. 28 Sincelou are unable to see the thread at tbis point, a wide Fig. 29 After the knot is tied tbe paper strip it lrfted up bigher which
secion of paper is stretcbed betueenlour bandt and lfted up whereloa will asualf1 allowloa to see the tbread and make certain that it it
know the thread mast be and the knot is tied. trapped inside tbe knot.

177
 MaercDaprp

Your left hand then gathers the paper strip up

into a smaller bundle that is held in your right
hand. As the right hand lowers the gathered pa-
per strip toward the stool, your left hand lowers
down very g21sfr11y until you can feel the thtead.
This will most likely have to be done by feel
rzdner than sight. Fig. 30.
As the right hand holds the coiled snake in
place on top of the stool, the left hand continues
its gentle downwatd path until all of the slack
Fig. 30 After tbe p@er is gatbered intoyar ight band the left hand between the paper knot and the mic stand has
s/ow/1 lowers until it canfeel the thread and tben conrtnaes ta lower
been pulled tight.
fartber until a// of tbe slack has been pulled out of the tbread.
Years ago I perfotm a danc-
saw a magtcian
ing feather boa. As this large, feathery object was dtaped around the
performer's neck it came to life and looked great. One end rose up in
the au and the boa iumped around like a traditional Dancing Hand-
ketchief. Then the bottom end of the boa came off the performer's
hand and it was hanging in mid air.It instantly looked like some-
thing hanging ovet clothesline, which is basically what it was. Er.en
^
though we couldnt see the thread it was obvious that thete u/as one
and your mind told you exactly where it was. The illusion was shat-
tered in an instant. I remembered this lesson when I was working on
the animated paper strip.
As it turned out, I was not the frst to considet this a problem. In
1733 thefirst magic book was published in Spanish (Engafros a Ojos
Vistas by Pablo Minguet). It contained a trick called Making it Look
Like an Egg is Dancing in Your Hand and the method involved a
hair taken from the tail of a horse. The description included this
Iine, "Note that you must not keep the egg hanging, because it will
be known that [it] was tied." The author is reminding the reader th^t
as long as the egg remained in contact with the petformer's hand, its
gyrations would mystetious and funny. But if the egg raised
^pper
up off the hand, the spectators would immediately realtze that it was
being suspended from above. This was the same lesson I learned 250
years later from the floating boa.
A sure-fre method was developed to keep the bottom end of the
p^per snake attached to the stool top while it danced and then allowed
me to carry the snake away from the stool at the fnish. A tiny hole

5t1
Mwr {t,trrtlrly li/rrnrpl

was drilled through the left side of the stool (looking at the stool from
the front) just below the welding edge and about three inches from
the back. A piece of thin round black elastic was threaded through
this hole and pulled out through the side doot on the opposite side
of the stool. (See The Silverware & Chicken Routine for details on
the construction of the stool). The two ends were tied together with
the knot positioned inside the stool. The result was an elastic loop
that had a bit of tension in it that could be positioned in either of two
ways. First it could lie just below the welding along the back and part
u/ay up the left side of the stool. In this position it was out of the way
and out of sight. By pulling the middle of the loop onto the toP of the
stool it will run from the right rear corfler diagonally across the stool
top to the hole in the left side. It is pte-set in this second position for
the Magic Paper routine. Obviously the elastic could be attached to,
or tied around, any tabletop you choose but this is how I adopted the
solution to my existing props. Fig. 31.
The coiled strip of paper is set onto the stool top and the bottom
(unknotted) end is tucked under the piece of elastic. Fig. 32.

Fig. 31 T-be elastic acrass the stool top is trgbt enough to hold tbe end of Fig. 32 After a/l of tbe slatk is taken ont of tbe tbread blyar left
the paper strip in place but /oose enough that tbe pdPer ca/t be pulhdfru. band the anknotted end of tbe snake is tacked ander the elastic band.

As the paper snake rises up and leans back and forth, the tail end
is held fast against the stool top, thereby eliminating the clothesline
effect. After I shoot and kill the papet snake I lift the snake straight
up by its head until the tail end is pulled free from the elastic loop.
Then I move away from the mic stand (pulling the Paper knot off of
the thread) and toward the audience where I ultimately virap the snake
around a spectatof's neck.

1/4
 Mnorc DaprB

Of course the maximum elevation of the paper snake is limited by

the height of my two anchor points and it is animated by pulling and
releasing the thread. If I raised the flute up to make the snake rise and
loweted the flute to make him descend, the audience would intuitively
know that there was a connection between the flute and the snake,
even if they couldn't see a thtead. The solution to establishing the
highest possible second anchor point while at the same time disguis-
ing the motive power behind the annimation was one of the most
satisfying discoveries I made while working on this routine.
Once the paper snake is coiled on top of the stool (and the tail end
is tucked under the elastic) I play the classic snake-charming tune on
the flute (Thete's a place in Ftance where the naked ladies dance).
The snake doesn't move so I stop playing, poke the snake and still it
doesn't move. Undaunted I return to the flute but now the audience
heats recotded music which is a great saxophone lick that I pretend
to be playing. As I continue to "play" (facing away from the snake) I
slowly move further away from the stool and the snake starts to rise.
Fig.33.

Fig. )3 A: I slowbt moue awalfron the stool the slack is taken up and the snake begtrs to ise.

175
Mn Aunw Wawmr

Fig. )4 Daingthe natural action of scrutchingml bead in disbelief tlte thread is laid ouer m1, ight ear
which ffictiue! shift: tlte fxed poinlfrom the fute t0 ltxJ edr.

Eventually I look over and see that the snake has come to life. The
flute is held in the left hand and the right index fnger feels for the
thread at the horn end of the flute. The right hand moves uP until I
can scratch the right side of my head in disbelief. During this logical
reaction to seeing the animated paper snake, the thread is laid over my
right ear. trig.34.
If I walk toward the snake, while at the same time lowering the flute,
the height of the snake will remain more or less constant. Fig. 35.

Fig. i 5 The :lack I giue up wbile ntouing toward tbe snake is taken up b1 loweing the flute. Tbe resah
is that the heigbt of the snake renainsfair! clnrtdnt.

1t6
 lrtaer Daprp

FU. )6 It is anlikefi that the audience woald associate tbe straightening of n1 arm and tipping down
of the fate u,hh nsing ( the paper snake.

Then, by metely straightening my left arlo:r and tipping the flute

downward, the snake will rise up considerably. Fig. 36.
At this point, while the snake is at its maximum height, I reach out,
grab onto the snake and shake it. Fig. 37.
My ear is five feet eight inches above the floor which is roughly the
same height as my anchor point on the mic stand. By using my ear as
apulley there are a vartety of ways that the snake can be controlled.
You can move backward or fotward, you can raise ot lower yo:ut atm

Pig. 17 While tbis ffict i: a takeoff on tbefabled Indian Rope Tick tbis is as close as I get to acta-
alfi clirubing tlte rope.

17t
Mn Avnw l/onomr

or you can tip the flute up or down. By combining different combi-

nations of movements the snake can be made to rise while you are
moving toward it or descend while you are moving away fromit. The
tesult of these movements is precisely the opposite of what would
logically happen if you were pulling a string. Bobbing your head and
shoulders like a boxer in the ring will add additional movements to
the snake's head. Sometimes I will kick the stool a foot or so away
ftom me which will make the snake lean slightly toward me. Then
I'll punch the snake in the head causing the knot to slide down the
thread away from me teturning the snake to its vertical position. It is
the combination of these many techniques, al1 happening within a few
seconds, that causes the paper snake to dance with no aPParent corre-
lation to movement that I am making.
^fly
Once it becomes clear thzt the snake is not going to back down, I
move as fx away from it as possible. This is made possible by raising
the flute up to my chest as I back uP. My left thumb feels fot the alli-
gator clip on the bottom of the flute as my right hand removes a blank
gun from my right pants pocket. Fig. 38.
At the same instant I shoot the snake I press open the clip releasing
the thread. The head of the snake dtops to the floot while the tail end

Fig. )S Thh is the scene jut ltefore I fre tbe gun and open the alligator clip wbicb releases tbe thread.

)20
 MterPmrp

Fig. l9 While tbere is no explanationfor wbat is holding the tail end onto tbe $ool, this is the lte$ looking
image of a dead paper snake. Tbe weigbt of the knotted end pallt the thread clear of m1 ear.

is still trapped under the elastic. The sudden death of the snake never
fails to elicit a huge reaction from the audience. The entire dancing
snake segment lasts just twenty seconds. Fig. 39.
My attitude at this point is that this cobra snake might still be dan-
gerous so after dropping the flute into my left coat pocket, I remove
from my belt a parr of extension grippets. This part of the routine is
accompanied by a series of appropriate sound effects. By closing the
scissor-like handle, the grippers extend out about three feet. The head

1t9
lfiwr (tunw WonorBt

FA. 40 Tbe appearance of tl:e:e gipper: alway pruduces a lattgb and thel are the perfect taol to pick
trp a dangeroas reptile that nn1 0r nldJ ttot be dead.

of the snake is pinched by the grippers and lifted straight up above the
stool until the tail end is pulled out from underneath the elastic. Fig. 40.
As I walk toward the spectators, the thread slides through the knot
until the ttailing end is pulled completely ftee. Once I reach the near-
est female spectator, using only the gripper I wrap the snake around
her neck as if it were a stylish scarf.

There is still one job remaining, and that is to clean up the thread,
but it's important not to be in too big a hurry. People are still think-
ing about the animated paper snake, so flow is not the time to tfy and
sneak somethirig by them. I have discovered thatan audience's atten-
tion is at an extremely low level when a spectator is walking up ftom
the audience to help with a ttick. Usually during this moment I will
put the flute, pinchers, and roll of paper into the caffytng bag. As I
move the mic stand a bit further out of the way I peel the black tape
off and stick the tape onto the handle of the bag. The bag is then slid
off stage catying the thread with it.
There have been times when the only piace to put the bag was on
the floor. At the end of the show I placed the bag on my stool and
carned the stool out of the room, right through the crowd with ten

110
 MaetcPnprp

feet of thread ttailing behind me. On numerous occasions people

have stopped me to say a kind word and after chatttng briefly I even-
tually teach a secure arca.I am secretly delighted when, after stick-
ing the tape to a wall, I run my fingers down the thtead and discover
that I still have the full ten-foot length, having pulled it around and
thtough the entire audience uflnoticed and unscathed.
There have been other times when I completely forgot about the
thread on the mic stand. The slightest breeze can make that ten feet of
thread stand straight out like a flagin a windstorm. More than once I
have found my head or hands and sometimes both securely wtapped
in thread. Attempting to escape from this invisible restraint involved
me slowly winding the thread around my hands and then suddenly
spteading my arms in an effort to break the thtead into a dozen pieces
thereby fteeing myself. This technique has about a 600/o success rate.
I have also gotten a sPectatof uP on stage later in my act and
watched as he battled this invisible foe. Once I finished my act and
left the stage with the thread still waving proudly in the breeze. The
next act was my palJayJohnson, the Tony-award-winning ventrilo-
quist. PoorJay had to perform a mime vetsion of the rope escaPe
while he and Bob the dummy performed theit classic act. The audi-
ence probably wondered what his problem was but in the wings, those
of us who knew what the problem was, were howling with laughter.
Very unptofessional on my part, but still vety funny.
There are times (like in someone's living room at home) where
a microphone stand would have been completely out of place. In
these situations I have attached the tape end of the thtead to picture
frames, floor iamps, doorjambs, curtains (yes, curtains) and mafly
other tall, stable objects. A show that took place at least twenty years
ago is seared into my mind. It was a banquet in a hotel ballroom with
tables set atound three sides of the dance floor and a DJ set uP on
the open side of the floor. I was asked to use his microphone, but the
microphone holdet was permanently attached to the DJ's console. My
stage u/as the middle of the dance floor. \X/hile the guests were eating
I formulated a plan that would have my paper snake dancing while I
was surrounded by people on thtee sides. My plan seemed fool proof
and would resultin a miracle.
The stool would be placed downstage to the left of the sound
console. When the toll of papet came flying Past me I would rette t

t1t
lrlur (ww Wonomt

back to the DJ and warn him that the audience was starting to thtow
things. While there I would stick the end of my extra long piece of
thread to the top of his empty microphone holder. If I stood futher
downstage left of the stool I would be able to petform the Animated
Paper Snake. The DJ knew nothing of my plan and my hope was that
he would be the most surprised person in the room. As it tutned out,
he wasn't.
\X/ith dinner finished, the wait staff started putting down dessett
and the magrctanwas inttoduced. Soon I was passing out magic paper
squares and I could tell that the hooking up of the thread flew right
past the DJ and everyone else. I was all set for a miracle. Because my
attention was focused on the slightly unusual position I needed to
be in and was busy taking up the siack in the thtead, I didn't notice
the waiter who was walking behind me just doing his job of cleating
dishes. I suddenly rcalized that he was about to pass right between
the stool and the DJ's console.I froze because it was eithet that or
yell, "Watch the thread!" The thread caught the waiter right at collar
level and he didn't feel a thing... yet. He didnt break his stride until an
instant later u/hen the snake shot off my stool and attacked his neck.
Now he felt it. Standing a few feet awa1, the DJ was cettainly surprised
but the waiter was positively stunned. He whided around, fighting off
this crazed reptile disguised as a piece of toilet paper. One moment I
was playing a pleasant little ditty on my flute and an instant later, all
hell had broken loose. I panicked, dtew my gun, and shot the snake.
The waiter had aheady broken the thtead into numerous pieces with
his flailing arms but I got the credit for subduing the beast.
I'm sute by now that audience has long since forgotten who the
magician was at their banquet but I will never forget the look on that
poor waiter's face the night he was mauled by a toilet paper snake.
Another memorable performance occurred in 1995 along the bank
of a river. I very much enjoy the thrill of running whitewatet tapids,
having done so in New Zealand and through the Grand Canyon. On
a trip down the Salmon River in Idaho I went prepared with a few
props including my flute and some thread.
Even though the camp location changed each night certain things
about camp were always the same such as a table setup with snacks
and drinks and a shovel stuck into the sand. Much like a microphone
stand on stage, these familiar items were expected to be located in

117
their usual spots and therefore became essentialllr unmemorable. The
moving water of the river proved to be an ideal backdrop for hiding
thread and the setting sun provided the perfect lighting.
It's important to know that when you are dropped into the wilder-
ness toll of toilet paper becomes your
it doesn't take long before a
most prized possession. Tearing it into single (and therefore unus-
able) squates provoked enthusiastic jeering from the audience and the
restoration of the paper strip elicited a loudet than normal favorable
response. In this remote setting the animation of the paper snake rvas
really amazing, sort of the ultimate street magic locale. I find it inter-
esting that whoever shot this photograph included only that which
was deemed important; the paper and myself. The all-import^nt an-
chor point (the shovel) was out of sight and out of mind.
The river-runners creed is, "Take only pictures, Ieave only foot-
prints." On this occasion I also left behind ten feet of invisible thread
but I've always felt that this biodegradable gimmick provided a lasting
memofy for a group of entertainment-stafved river rats.

A/jzsco pejbrntance of l[agic l)aper on tbe bank of ldaho's.lahtnn Nver in 1995

Mwr Avnw Wonomt

How often have we heard a spectator say,"I couldn't see the thim-
bles" or "I couldn't see the billiard balls" and a moment later say, "I
could see the thread." How is this possible? Thread is finer than hu-
manhair and yet these people have no trouble seeing it.
As a kid I thought the secret to thread work was to keep the lights
down low and work in front of a black background. That thinking
could not be more wrong. The most importantfactot in making a
thread invisible is the background. A smooth, black velvet curtain
is easily the worst possible thing to have behind you. I have seen my
thread look like a power line against it. So, rf that is the u/orst back-
ground, what is the best?
Years ago I went to the Crazy Horse Saloon in Patis to see Finn
Jon with his Floating Ball. I was sitting a few feet ftom the stage and
when Finn walked out in front of a movie screen, myheart sunk. This
is going to be like a lecture, I thought. As the ball was floating I was
burning the spot where I knew the thread had to be. I saw nothing.
It was incredible. Lights up full, bright white background. What the
heck was holding this ball up? Some years later I spent a week wotk-
ing on a cruise ship with Topas of Germany, Juan Mayoral of Spain,
and Finn Jon of Norway. I guarantee we had more fun than any of
the passengers. One night at dinner we got Finn talking about threads
and his theories wefe, to me, revolutionary. Finn started the discus-
sion by asking, "!7hy, when the sky is pitch black, can you see the
stars but during the day, when the sky is flooded with light and the
stafs afe still there, you can't see them?" I sat there like a schoolboy in
Professor Einstein's classroom. "It's because the light from the stars
just blends into the bright background." Finn says if you can see the
thread then it's time to increase the amount of light. Of course fot
this theory to work you must be using the right thtead against the
proper background.
Usually what an audience is seeing is not the thread but the light
reflecting off the thread and the shinier the thtead, the brighter the
teflection. It is intetesting to consider that, because of the angle of
reflection, the visible part of the thread ts at a different location for
every pefson in the audience.

514
 MnucPaprp

Wbile other pasengers aboard tbis 1 994 Medinrranean craise uere talking altolt that eueningi lteautft'al sunset, Finn Jon, rryse$
Juan Maloral and Tapas ,ilere content t0 discu:s tbe fne point: of hiding tltread.

Of course I have broken the thread in the heat of battle and every
time it was my fault. The thread did nothing wrong. I broke it.
A few times, as I was sticking the tape to the mic stand, the thread
got hooked on the button on my coat sleeve and as I walked away, tt
snapped. Usually I am aware that the thread has broken and because
the setting of the thread takes place during the ptevious trick (Magic
Paper), I simply restore the paper and that's the end of the trick. The
audience nevef knows that there was supposed to be a second phase.
Other times I have gotten all the way to the point where the snake is
supposed to move and nothing happens. This might mean that the
thread has come loose ftom the flute. On these occasions I have lifted
up the snake's head, spotted the dangling thread and caught hold of it
with my left hand. After setting the snake's head back orito the stool
I back up causing the snake to rise. After considerably less dancing, I
shoot the snake and move on.
Other times, I have no idea what happened to the thtead and the

115
illwr Avnw Wuont

snake is just plain dead. My advantage is that the audience has no idea
what is supposed to happen so I cover the moment with a bit of patter.
Must be molting sea:on because that snake shed his skin. But the ladl who
helped me earlier, [pick up paper with grippers] I wantlou to baae this skin
that is antoacbed b1 human bands, as a souuenir lfloa haue it nade into a louel1
snakukin parse and itfalls to pieces, don't worry, those piens willfuse weld tbem-

selues back togetherjast like magic. A round of appkun

for tbe lad1.
The part about being "untouched by human hands" allows me to
pulI the grippers out of my belt and use them for alogical reason. The
result is that the grippers and the PaPer end up exactly where they
would have if everything had worked perfectly. This quick sequeflce
turns an impending disaster into a slightly humorous ending which
beats saying, "Oops, my thread btoke."

One square of toilet paper is removed from yout coat breast pocket.
I directlour attention to a tinl square of nagic paper A perfect! ymmetrical
piece of mlstical magtml paper Sir, I wantloa to examine tbis paper
The paper square is handed to a gentleman in the front tow.
I thinkya will fnd that this paper is quite unlike arry paperyou baue euer
seen before.

The petfotmer returns to the stage and picks up the container

holding the toll of paper.
And the rest of1ou.. . not to wlrr). . . I haue plentl for eueryone.

A roll of toilet paper is btought into view

I know whatlou're thinking. I know whatlou're thinking. I'm not sare what
she's thinking. Tbe rest oflou are thinking, "lVbere does this gul get magic paper
(Depending on the location of the show) Hounkuping (if in
b1 the roll?"
a hotel) or lYalmart (if I'm anywhere in America) , or the poop deck (if I'm
on a cruise ship). The/ue got tons of this stafJ And I haue gone to the extra
expense of hauing this paper carefulfi perforated atfour-inch inrements.
The perforatiofls in the roll of paper are pointed out.
Yu don't belieae a word of this. OK, I'll haue to proue it.

The paper roll is tossed to a different gentleman in the ftont row.

Sia leap tolourfeet. ThatJ so thefolks in the back cdll ree ds)01,t tear of one
square, and one sqildre onfi, of magic paper.

116
 ffiaar tlr,prp

If he succeeds without any ttouble

I say...
ThatI perfect. You'ue done tbis before. I
don't mean standing up. Bat it was perfect.

If he has trouble teariflg off just one

square I say...
You'ue neuer done this before haueloa?

Either way, it's a big laugh. Take the

roll back from him and begin tear-
ing off squares for each person in the
front row
Perhaps I can speed things akng. You ma1

be seated mJ sln. I'l/ start right ouer here. Hi

kids. No pushing tbere s plentlt for eaerybo$l
Yoafolk: in the back, just chat amonglour-
selues. I'// be back tbere beforelou know it.
\When you get to the guy who you

"I ltaue gane to lhe exha expense of hauing this paper carlill!,pefotated atJotr-inch gave the fitst square to. ..
ilcrenent.r." Municlt, Cerruan1, 2007. Photo: T/tonn.r Fmps.
Oh,1oa broughtyur own. Good thinking.
You can't be too careful thue day.
When you get to the Iast guy in the front row...
ItI taking a little longer than I hadplanned. Herq helpyurself,
The toll of paper is tossed into his lap and you return to the stage.
Now I realirye that I didn't haue a chance to get to eaer)zne and this is so much
more impressiue when euerlone bas a sql,/dre ofpaper bat we do haue a representa-
tiue groap, each of them holding a nagic paper sqaare. Sqaare bolders
- listen up.
Hold up that square ofpaper and air
waae it high in the

\X/hen the entire front row begins waving their paper squares in the
air they iook like a surrenderlng atmy, but it also cieady demonstrates
that you have actually passed out twelve or fifteen separate pieces of
Papet.
If onfl General Caster had thoaght of that he niglt haae been with us tonight.
But he didn't.

Indicating a pefson near the center of the row. ..

OK, I wantlou to passloar sqtlare to the person next to1oa. Thenlou pass
both squares to tbe person next toltoa. And keep passing all the :qllares on down
the linetill thisfellow on the end is holding the whole stack.
Indicating the person next to the person in the center, have them

itrv
Hatditg orrl l[tgir Ptper .rqtrart.r d a nto-rl tutl-tlttt/ il)01]' it I'ietnt, Atr.rtt'ia it 1997. lt tto tt'tr1'

itrbihitd 14, il.teir.fonltt/ aftire, lbe /il(!/lti7, oJ lhe gtrert.r -ral or il.te foor lik-e t lti.q kid .rl.tt,nt

pass their squares in the oPposite direction.

Andyu passl0rlr sqadre this wry and keep passing them till this /ad1 has the
whole stack. Now someone 0//t iil the darkness is holding tbe roll of magic poper

lY/ho bas the magicpaper ro//? You do. I wantlou to rear back and like afoot-
ball, tbrow it back to me. Go ahead, all the wq back on stage...

You must keep talking here until the pefson throws the roll. At the
szme time, )/ou afe picking the tape (with the thread) off of the stool
top'
On tbree, ofie, two. ...
Because you make no attempt to catch the roll it will either hit you
of mlss \/ou.
Tbanksforlour enthusiasnt bat hold1oar fre.
Duck behind the microphone stand and use it as an emergency
shield. Stick the tape to the mic holder at the top of the stand. Besides
being a funn1, sight gag this bit accomplishes a number of important
 Maerc Paprp

things. First, it entertainingly fills the time required for the specta-
tofs to pass the paper squares to each end of the ftont row. Second,
this supposed mishap provides the perfect (and logical) opportunity
for you to set up the thread right in front of the audience without
their knowing it. And third, it generates a big laugh that the audience
believes is not part of the notmal show-always a good thing. Then,
indicating the person at the far nght of the front row. . .
I see thatlou haue the packet of magic paper squares. Don't throw them. Per-
hapsyu coaldjust bring them to the edge of tbe great stage.

I always tefer to my performlflgarea as "the great stage" even if

I am working in someone's living room. The person delivers their
packet ofpapers to you.
Perfect. And down at this end, a matchingpacket of magic paper sqaarer.
As you cross to stage left the frst packet of pieces is transferred to
your left hand and, as you rcach for the second packet of pieces, you
steal the restored packet.
Thanklou. A roand of applausefor zilr rzw monitors. Did I get all those

sqaares back agairu? You're not holding out on me?

Duting these lines you are looking at the audience while your
hands ate busy folding up the pieces into a packet. This packet is then
concealed in your right hand
OK. Oh, wait a minwte. This one was mine.

The restored packet (with one single piece on top) is set onto your
outsttetched left hand and the single piece is picked up by the right
thumb and forefinger.
Remember? It came with the suit.

The folded packet of pieces is pushed into the coat's breast pocket
as the single piece is carefully positioned in the same pocket.
I'll put it right here so I look m1 best tbroughoat the euening. Do I look OK?
Yoa're notjust sajrug that?
Using a piece of toilet paper in your coat pocket to add a touch of
class is something only an idiot would do.
Now I realiry that with a group this siry there are boand to be afew people who
do not belieue that this is actaalfi magicpaper Andfor those skEtics I haae but
two words. HA!...
After a loud, dismissive HA! it slowly dawns on me that this is
only one word and I promised them two. Aftet a few uncomfottable
moments struggling fot a solution to this problem I finally admit...

119
Nwr frrr,rn l{lorpr,rr

IVell, I can't rernember the olher one.

On occasion I succeed in remembering the second wotd and de-
liver a second and equally loud, HA!
But I'll proue it toloa rigftt now. All e1u oru the MP.
This line is a music cue. I have a drum roll, a glissando, and a chord
to punch up the restofation. Then music continues while I retrieve the
flute, tie the knot in the strip of paper, and coil up the snake on top of
the stool. Then the track goes silent while I play the snake charming
song ofl the flute. After a few seconds of silence the saxophone music
kicks in and the snake comes alive.
After tweflty seconds of sax music during which the snake dances,
the music suddenly stops. I time the gunshot to coincide with this stop.
I believe that the loud gunshot is what makes the dying snake so funny.
StE back - it s doable p!.
Besides being a lie (I only use single-ply paper) this line makes no
sense whatsoever. Is a double-ply paper snake more dangerous that a

I cou/dperfornt ALagtcPapernitb ary stoo/ becatse the tra1,-fi"att nry CffieJtglittgrorline has been
rustaniqed uitlt a ftte halder and elastic band to serure the end of the snake. Photo: Art'I'ronbley
rlo//ill.tl.t tlt,: /ltrurrl ntrr ittli.etblt. .\[t.t.rrrcl.ttrstll.s, 2008. Pl.tolo: -1rl'l rorrlt/e1'.

single-plv paper snake? I don't know but I do knor,v that this is a guar-
anteed laueh. As I move apprchcnsiveh- over to the snake and pick it
up b)'its hcad therc is suddenly a rattlesnake sound (thc audio track
has never stopped playing) and I immediatelv drop the snake.
As I take out the extension grippers and start to again approach
the snake thev hear the familiar music from Jaats-dum dum... dum
dum... dum dum. The snake is picked up with the pinchers and car
ried into the audience rvhere I wrap it around a ladr"s neck.
A little soutenirJbr lhe lafu. 5'ltei not snti/ing nevt, ltut s/te'll thank nte in lhe
///0nut?!.
There is a musical tag that effectivelv starts the applause and cor-ers
mv trip back up onto the stage.
Throughout this book vou will hear me admonishing the reader to
never stop working on a routine. I have used the Nlagic Paper routine
as the ultimate example of this, having de scribed five distinct meth-
ods that I used over man\' \'ears, ultimatelr- discarding four of them.
Mtt Avnw ,//onpnt

Method fi.ve was the method that I have stuck with for neaiy thirty
yeafs. If, down the line, I see someone perform my toutine as written
I will be somewhat flattercd but mostly disappointed. Hete's why.
Who is to say that method five is the last word on tearing and re-
storing a strip of toilet p^per. Mryb.I stopped thinking too soon. Just
because I caried the baton for the fitst five laps of the tace doesnt
mearr that I catried it ovet the finish line. Maybe method six or sevell
or eight will be dramaticzlly better. I invite you to take my yeats of
thinking and experimentation and use that as your method number
one. What I hope to see in the future is your method number five.
Aftet perfotming this routine fot many years I made z-
^rt ^m
ing discovery. I often pull a bound volume of some magic magzzine
randomly off the shelf and flip through the pages for a few minutes.
It usually leads to at least one amazine discovery. On one occasion I
ended up with Genii magzzine Volume 1 in my lap. In theJune 1937
issue Glenn Gravatt filled one third of a.P^ge with what he called
Toilet Tissue Ttickery or, magical uses fot common toilet paper. The
suggestions were varied, use it as zhat co7l, use it to seal the end of
your Drum Head Tirbe, make the cardboard cote into a pull, and then
there it was. Totn and Restored Toilet Paper. No method was given,
but there was the effect, hiding in full sight. The interesting thing is
thatafter pedotming this trick for over thirty years not a single magi-
cian has mentioned seeing it in a 1937 Genii ma:gazrne.I guess it's true
what they say:Mzgazines are great hiding places.

o=>-<=o

Ihe woy t0 get g00d ideol ir t0 get lotl of ideos ond throul the bod onel0w0y.

Linus Douling

547
Pltoto: Laurerce Ho. Copl,igltt 2004 Lol Arye/u Tinte.r. Repilted n'itlt perntissiott.

1,+1

Te//ing actress Jennfer Carner
not to be afmid becaase
an expert, I neuer ntiss"
at tbe 2004 Acadenry
Motion Pictare i S dentifc
and Technica/ Atvatds in
7)asadena, Califirnia.
P h o t o : Lo ng P b o tograp /t1.
he idea of impaling a selected card on atrow came from my
^n
affection for the Catd Sword. I have never owned a Card Sword
and never performed the trick, but what a gre^t effect. I had
the idea of shooting cmd out of the ar with an arrow far back as
^ ^s
the late 1970s but I didn't have a decent method. Of course the first
method that suggests itself is to rig up afl arrow like a card sword with
a length of elastic. Until you've tried it, you cant imagine what a hot-
rible idea this is. It doesnt even begin to work.
If someone could actaally shoot a specif,c card out of the air there
would be no feason why that card couldn't be signed and then, after
being impaled, slid off the arrow and handed to the spectator as a
souvenit. These were the conditions that wete imposed on my still
non-existent method.
Just one of the problems was shooting a rcal artow on stage, or
wofse yet, in a comedy club or someone's home. My goal wasnt to cfe-
ate something that was actually dangerous and thought the problem
could be solved by attaching the arrow to a stout piece of cotd that
would stop the arrow at a predetermined distance. But this solution
raised the question, "Why is the arrow attached to a cord?" The whole
concept rattled around in my brain for a good fifteen years.
Eventually, I actually gotanarrow) tied it to a cord, and started
f,ddling around with it. The method I had been searching for artived
in the form of one of magic's most ridiculous moves. You've all seen
a manipulator produce cards from the back palm, then turn the back
of his hand toward the audience and poke a silk handkerchief between
his fingers. After executing anothet turnover move, the silk is pulled
half way through his fingers and another fan of cards is produced. I
"I'm believe that the only reason magicians do this move is because they
of can. The only way it could make an impression on alayman is if he
was aware that cards wete being back palmed in that hand.
After seeing that move for the hundredth time, I suddenly rcahzed
that if a card was impaled on an ztrow, it could still be back palmed.
545
Mrur (avrnw i,/ionorBt

The atrow would pass between the left middle and ring fingers and
then through the back-palmed card. When the bow was added to the
Ieft hand (held against the outstretched left fingets by the thumb), and
if the perfotmer stood with his right side to the audience, the catd
would be completely concealed. With the big problem now solved, I
still had to solve the smaller ptoblem of getting into this position.
The first attempt involved a plastic container, oPen on toP, meas-
uring about 12 inches long, 6 inches wide and 6 inches deep. Inside
there was a deck of cards, m gtc marker, a catd fountain (built to
^
order by Bill Smith) and a block of floral foam (the matenal that the
stems of flowets ate stuck into). The arrou/ laid actoss the top of the
box and the cord was coiled up inside the container. After the card
was selected and signed, I took it back face down and executed a top
change. As I blew on the face of the changed card (to apparently dry
the ink) I took back the marking pen into the same hand that held the
deck. As the pen was dropped into the container, the selection was
dealt face down onto the top of the floral foam. Eventually the atrow
was pulled out of the foam and shown to have a cord fastened to the
feathered end. \X/hen the arrow was retufned to the container it was
pushed right through the center of the card. \When it was finally time
for the trick shot, I would lay the back of my left hand right on toP
of the selection with the arrow passing between my fingers. As the
was pulled out of the foam, my index and littie fingets gripped
^trow
the card in back palm position. Then the bow was added to the left
Tbis 1992 performance in Sweden sbows
hand and the stting was engaged in the notch. The spectator v/as
the f rsl Bow t'Arrow container silting
asked to hold the end of the cord. As I pulled back on the string, the on a chair witb the arrow ling across tbe

card (still impaled on the arrow) temained out of the spectatot's view. top and the bow relegated to tbe cbair back.
Tbis inelegant :olation to tbe problen at
Only when the duplicate deck was showered into the air by the card least got the rotttine on stage and in front of
fountain did I aim toward the falling catds and shoot the arrow. An an audience where it muld begin to grow.
P boto: Arto Airaksinen.
instant before the arrow was released I separated my left f,ngers free-
ing the catd and allowing it to remain impaled on the during its
^rtow
flight.
I actually used this method a few times with a kid from the audi-
ence as my assistant and while it did work, the whole routine was very
unsatisfying. I didn't like the idea of a big container that supposedly
held only a marker and a deck of cards and impaling the card on the
floral foam seemed inelegant at best. At this stage the routine was like
the fitst rough draft ofa story.

146
 Pow 6 i,pBow

Eventually, the block of floral foam was teplaced by a simple,

in-the-hands move. At one point in the routine the selected card is
palmed in my right hand with the face of the card against my hand.
The bow and arrow are both held in the left hand with the shaft of
the arrow also supported by the right thumb and fotef,nger. Both
arms are in a relaxed position in front of me. Fig. 1.

At the proper moment, the arrow is dtawn back by the left hand
until the tip of the arrow can be placed against the back of the palmed
card.Frg.2.

Fig. / Botlt dnl,r cllile to tzst infront of rue ja:t pior to the loading of Fig. 2 lVithoat lookitg atlour hands the arront is palled back, the
the card onta tbe arron'. point is .rlid doan to t/te center oJ' t/te card and then pnsbed throtgb.

Then u.ithout hesitating the point of the ar-

row is pushed through the card and between my
right middle and ring fingers. Needless to say, at
no time do I look my hands as it is all done by
^t
feel. Fig. 3.
I reab.ze that this sounds like a recipe for
disaster but I can honestly say that never in the
hundreds of times I have petfotmed this routine
have I ever impaled my hand with the atrow. The
move is not noticed by the audience because dur-

Fig. ) The ttp of tbe drrztr pdrser behueen_yanr ntiddle and ingfngerc
ing its execution I have just finished an animated
and the arrotv is ptrthed tbraughfar about /talf itr length. discussion with the spectator and then suddenly
shift my attention to the audience and ask them a

question.
Immediately I turn to the left and place the still-palmed card
against the back of my left hand. My right fingers are aligned with my

141
Mn Avrnw WonorBt

Fig. 4 The palned card in the ight hand is laid direct! anto tbe back Ftg. 5 TheJan tbat tbe card has an arrzil) throngb it in no tual inhibits
of the leftfngers, alloningthe card to be transferred to back-pahn its transference froru tbe paln of tbe igbt band to the back oJ' the left
postttou. hand.

left f,ngers and my right palm is against the back of my left hand (with
the selected card in between. The shaft of the arro\r/ slips between my
left middle and ring fingers and my left index and little fingers grip
the edges of the card in back-palm position. Fig. 4.
Once the left f,ngers are securely gripping the edges of the card the
right hand moves away and the the bow is moved to an upright posi-
tion. Because of your previous turri to the left, the back-palmed card
will be facingupstage. Fig. 5.

The fact that the bow has been held in the left hand throughout the
move it in no way inhibits the transfer of the card from the palm of
the right hand to the back of the left hand. In the eyes of the audience
I am metely placing the arrow in position ready for fring.

\X/ith the elimination of the box and floral foam, I needed a place
for the card fountain to live. The solution was so logical that it should
have been my first idea: a quiver. Not only could the fountain be
concealed inside this logical container but I could also put it to its
intended use, to c rry the arrow
At this point in the development of the routine my old friend
Marcelo Contento marketed a new card fountain that he had in-
vested much time and effott into researching and developing. It was
compact, sure-fire, and it included a time delay. More importantly, it

va
 Dow G i,ppow

Fig. 6 Turning tbe qaiuer inside-out reueals the aluminam plate witb a Fig. 7 A duplicate alaminam plate is screwed to the top of this base

threaded postfastened to the wooden bottom. Also sbown is the twelue- witb tbe threaded post extending down into tbe wood.
inch alaminam tube witb corresponding tbreads on each end.

fit comfortably into the quiver that I fashioned from a suede cotton
materi^I. The bottom of the quiver is made from wood and screwed
to the inside surface is an aluminum Plate with a threaded post. This
threaded post can screw into either end of an aluminum tube. Fig. 6.
The catd fountain is also mounted to its own wooden base that is
fitted with a similat aluminum plate and thteaded post. By contain-
ing the threaded post within the thickness of the wooden base, the
card fountain can sit flat on its base when it is not mounted inside the
quivet. Fig.7.
Each end of a twelve-inch piece of aluminum tubing, half an inch
in diameter, is threaded to match the thteads on the two posts. This
allows the tubing to be screwed onto the base of the catd fountain
(Fig. 8) and onto the inside bottom of the quiver.
On occassion the side of the quiver would press against the card

Ftg. 8 The tube can be easi! screped onto the base

of tbe cardfountain and tbe boltom of tbe quiuer

149
Mrur Aurnw Wonnnt

fountain and prevent it ftom functioning proper-

ly. I discovered a solution fot this problem while
filling in for Mac I(ing atHarcah's Casino in Las
Vegas. I found a plastic cup that is used to hold
large quantities of nickels before they ate flushed
down a slot machine. By temoving the bottom
of the cup and cutting part of the side away I
had a petfect sleeve that could slide over the card
fountain. The more deiicate side of the device
was now completely protected from its surround-
ings. The smooth, flexible plastic that this cup is Ftg. 9 A pla:tic casino cup was tarned into a protectiue :hield that al-
loas the cardfotrntain tofanction pefectlt wbile inside the qtiuer.
made from, as well as its size, is so petfect that I
reinforced it with gaffer's tape and have used it
ever since. Fig. 9.

When the length of tubing is screwed onto both threaded posts,

the top of the card fountain is positioned about two inches below the
top of the quiver, just out of the audience's view. Fig. 10.
There is room for the arrow to fit into the quiver and also for the
deck of catds to slide between the plastic shield and the inside of the
quiver allowing the cards to drop down to the bottom.

Fig. 10 Frort ahoae, tbe cardfoantain

i: uisible purlted atop the pipe tyith the
pla:tic thield protening tbe methaniyt.

150
 Because of the conditions imposed on the selected card (that it be a
free selection and signed by the spectator), ),ou can't iust control it to
the top of the deck "using \rour favorite method." The routine dictates
that the card is carefully placed in the exact center of the deck. With-
out apparently changing its position, I had to get the card out of the
deck and into m1, right coat pocket with the face of the card facing
away from my bod1,. Here is the procedure that accomplishes that.
After taking the signed card back from the spectator m),left thumb
riffles down to the middle of the deck and allows the last couple of
cards to fall individually as if they are being counted. The selection is
inserted halfway into what is apparently the exact center of the deck.
Fig. 11. The cards are immediatell, sp1s2d faces toward the audience,
allowing them to cleady see the selected card in the center. trig. 12.

Fttg. 1 / Alier ,tppatrtrt/1, rilfing lontt

lo tlte extct cenler tf' tbe drck ilta sr
/etud card i.r irsefied.f'or ln/f it.r futtEl.t

$ (-\ <o
23 6 3
I

Flg. / 2 Ilntediate/1, t/te card.r tre

.prtad la .rl.ton,il.tdt tlte .rtfutud nrd
rea//f i.r ir tlte cenler of' tlte derk.
Fry. 13 Tltis rien'_f)'ont be/on,.rlton'.r tlt runttrof ilte vfuied card lttg. / 1 As the /eft tltrult lre.r.rts ilte prctlrtrdittg nnter itio the derk tlte
prolrrrditg.frolt ilte side ol' ilte deck. nrul isgripped bett'cett tbc iltrrnb lip and tlte lefi ritgard /itilefrgen.

As the spread is closed the selection remains protruding from the

deck. As the right fingers pull the selection back into the deck it is
angled slight\, to the left. When the deck is gripped between the right
middle finger and thumb, the outer Ieft corner of the selection pro-
trudes from the left side of the deck. Fig. 13 is an exposed view of the
selected card protruding from the side of the deck.
As the left thumb pushes this protruding corner into the left side of
the deck the opposite side of the card will come into contact with the
left ring and litttle fingers. Fig.1,4.
With the deck held entirely by the right hand, the left hand is free
to slide the selected card slightllr toward you. This action is the be-
ginning of the Diagonal Palm Shift but the card stops after moving
only a short distance. Then the grip on the deck is shifted from 1,su1
right middle finger and thumb on the outer and inner ends to the left
thumb and middle finger on the sides. Fig. 15 shows the deck in this
position with the right hand removed.

It-ig. / 5 Alfur iltc curd lta.r heett ptr//ed lon'orul-1at

s/iglttl, tlte dcrk i.r gipl:ed lsin,eer ilte /tli iltrtrh ard
niddlt Jirytn Tltc rigltt ltnil ltas heet onittel-lbr t/uti4'.
 haw 6 i,BBrw

Fig. l6 81 pressinglour left little fnger against tbe side aJ the card it Fig. 1 7 Tbe deck is tarned face ry l4t rollitg it ouu Jroru isht ta left.
will be sqaared alongthe ight side bnt injoged at tbe inner end.

The left little finger then presses against the right side of the deck.
This simultaneously squares the right side of the deck and injogs the
selected card slightlyr Fig. 16 shows the finished position with the right
hand removed.
The deck is immediately turned face up as if you were turning the
page of a book. Fig. 17.

The right thumb pulls up on the protruding card (Fig. 18), allow-
ing the left little finger to take abreak underneath the selection. Once
the break is secured, the right thumb pushes the selection flush into
the deck. The right f,ngers riffle the front edge of the deck just before
the left hand (holding the deck) drops to your side. Dropping the left
hand suggests that you are temporarily f,nished with the cards. Turn-
ing to the assistant you ask if she is right-handed or left-handed. This
question accomplishes tu/o things. It shifts the focus away from the
cards and towafd your assistant and it creates a few seconds of time
misdirection.

Ftg. 18 Asyur ight thanb hfts tp on tl:e ifioged

cardyar left little f nger obtains a break.

7.1
Mn (tww Wauprnt

As she answers the question, your hands once

again come together and the side-steal is used
to deliver the selected card into your right palm.
Once secured, the deck is repositioned with the
right thumb on the inner left edge and the right
index and middle fingers on the innet right edge.
You then demonstrate how she is to hold the
deck over her heart leaving as much of the deck
visible as possible. Care is taken not to flash the
catd that is still palmed in the right hand. Fig. 19.

The deck is handed to her and then the right Ftg. l9 W-itb the .re/ected card still pa/med, the spectator i.r shawn how
sbe is to bold the deck oaer her beart.
hand enters the coat pocket to retrieve the tape
measure while leaving the card behind.

My bow is a toy made out of plastic that is

able to shoot an atrow acfoss a stage but not
much further. The atrow, however, is the real
deal with avety sharp metal point. The ideal
cord I found is used by jugglers with their diabo-
Ios, the yo-yo type obiects that spin on a cord
It Fig. 20 To secttre tlte arrou to the cord, one end of tbe card is passed
whose ends are attached to two short sticks.
throtrgb a ltoh in lhe arrou then knotted and sealed witb epoxl glae.
is smooth, strong, and the bright green color is
very visible. It is threaded thtough a small hole
one inch from the notch-end of the arrow A
large knot (fortified with glue) makes it impossi-
ble for this end to pull free. Ftg. 20.
A 12' metal tape measufe has an arfov/ drawn
on the tape right at the ten-foot mark. The artow
was dtawn with a black marking pen, making it
extremely easy to see. Fig. 21.
A blindfold was fashioned out of houndstooth
material that matches my colt.I started with a
square piece of cloth and folded it diagonally
Fig. 21 TlJi: is uhat tlte spectator sees once tbe tape l?tedrl.tre is extended
in half, resulting in a triangulat blindfold. A to ten feet.

few well-placed stitches help rctain this shape.

154
 Dow G i,ppoty

To prevent my having to tie the blindfold oflto my head, two Velcro

tabs were sewn orito the two ends. By merely laying one end over the
other, the blindfold stays securely in place. It may seem odd that the
blindfold is not gimmicked and that I am truly unable to see. I actu-
ally prefer not being able to see my assistant. If she does something
funny that I can't see, that's fine. Of course I can see the stage at my
feet by looking down my nose and this ability allows me to avoid
catastrophe.
Using props made out of this distinctive houndstooth material
is a runnin g g g throughout mv act. The carrying case for the roll
of magic paper, the bag for the juggling arms, and this blindfold all
feature the houndstooth pattern. Besides appearing slightly amusing,
they give the impression that my act is actually a cohesive unit rather
than just a bunch of unreiated bits that have been cobbled togethet.
\X/hen I eventually applied my character to the Bow and Arrow
routine, everything statted to make perfect (non)sense. I fancied my-
self an archery expert and offered to demonsttate an impossible trick
shot in order to prove my extraordinary ability. As the routine Pro-
gresses my explanations become increasingly preposterous. I explain
that a deck of cards measutes exactly one-half of an inch thick and if
the spectator's catd is placed in the exact center it will be a quarter of
an inch from the top of the deck. And that the cord on the arrow is
exactly ten feet long and by using t^Pe measure I will position myself
^
exactly one-quafter of an inch less than ten feet from my assistant.
And when I fire the arrov/ and hit the deck (that the assistant is hold-
ing over her heart), the cotd will stop the artow after rt penetrates
through twenty-five cards and teaches her selection.
Mathematically all of this makes perfect sense but only a lunatic
would actually attempt such a shot. And that's exactly why I do it.

Rather than using a full deck I use a stack of catds that measures
approximately one-half inch thick since this dimension is referted to
in the patter. Because I want the lady's handwriting to be as visible as
possible, this "deck" contains only cards between ace and eight. This
ptovides maximum white space for her writing and, no, during the

15'
Mttr Avnw liontlnt

selection pfocess I have never had a sPectatof

say,"Hey, where are all of the couft cards?" The
nines, tens, and court catds end up in the catd
fountain and, no, I have never };rad a spectator
say,"Hey,look at all of those court catds on the
floot, none of them were in the deck." The deck,
uncased, goes into my outer left coat pocket with
the backs against my body. This allows me to
remove the pack and immediately spread them
faces toward the audience.
The blindfold is accordion-folded and tucked
into my ight rear pants pocket with about an
inch protruding ftom the top fot easy access.
The marking pen is in my left inside coat pock-
et. The tape measure is in my outer right coat
pocket. Mounted inside the quiver the loaded
card fountain is mounted on its pole along side
the arrow. The quiver is hung on a microphone
stand, angled toward the audience. The cord is
coiled up and hung over the atrow and lastly the
bow is hung over the arrow or tucked into the
quiver. The microphone stand is positioned on
stage about six feet left ofcenter.

Fig. 1) Performance readl with tbe cardfountain mounted intide the

qaiuer witb tbe bow and arrow easifi accessible.

Being a magician, I baae a lot of spare time on m1 hands. Actaalll, I baae an

unbelieaable amount of spare time on m1 hands.

Without seeming to rea\ze it, I have just told the audience that my
waking hours pretty bleak. Lines like this serve to reinforce my
^re
charactet.
ButI'm alwaypracticing.Infactl spent the betterpart of this weekpracticing

a trick shot with that bow and arrow arud let me tellloa something, when this shot
workl.. itJ And that's whereloa come in.
a real heart stopper
Calling the shot a"heatt stopper" sends out two messages. Fitst,
that it is very exciting and second, that it could be fatal. During the
last sentence point to a woman in the ftont row and invite het onstage.

156
 Dow 6 i,pBorl

The combination of saying "heart stopper" and then immediately

pointing to the lady is meant to make her slightly concerned, not
scared, just concerned.
Hello,lour Mar1. Thankya for uolwnteering MorJ. Let me asklou
name?

something.IYhenya were a)lnnggirl in school, did thel teachya tbe entire story
of lYilliam hll?
They normally know who \X/illiam Tell was but because I said "en-
tire story" they usually play it safe and say, "No."
Oh that's good. No, it's better that wE. Tbere's n0 seruse in getting Mary all
worked up ouer nothing. Infactyw baae the easiestjob of anlone here tonight.
Sryr.g, "that's good" elicits a laugh from the audience so the next
line is ditected to them. During the final line the pack of cards is re-
moved from the pocket and spread, f,tst towatd the audience and then
toward the 1ady.

Alllou haue to do is select one of tbese cards and I euen letloa see thefaces so

1ou get the onelow want. IYhat coald be easier than that?
She temoves one card.
Axualfi, there is one other thing. The management here at [name establish-
ment] has asked me to ask Mary if she would take this pen and right across the

face of that card flou would write the name of the person whom we should contact
in case of emergencl.

The last half of this line is directed toward the assistant as you
hand her the marking pen
It's their legal dEartment. Thel're uery fnicful
To provide time to write the name, step toward the audience and say,
There is nothing to worrl about because I am an expert and I neuer miss.

This is followed by a long pregrlant pause as the cards ate casually

dtibble from one hand to the other. The look on my face is one of
guilt for having said that I never miss. Finally, I break the silence by
saylng,
OK, I missed one loasl sbot. The lights were uery bright...

Stop mid-sentence and tutn once again to the lady.

Hauelou done that? Good. I'll take the pen and iflou coald hold uploar card
J0 euetJlne can see which onelou haae selected andperhaps whose namelou baue

written on it. IWbose name didloa write on the card?

The pen is retrieved and retutned to the pocket. If she says she
wrote the name of het husband, Bob, who is sitting in the ftont row, I
say' ..

157
Mwr (wnw Wonnns

Good thinkingMorJ.IYfu call 9/l when Bob is in thefront row. It makes

perfert sense.

If she says it is someone else (like her mother in a different state),

the line is basically the same.
Good tbinkingMnry.IYfu call gll when Mom is 800 milesfron bere. It
maku perfect sense.

I will take the cardfromlou. And something else thel night rtot haue taugpt
1ou in school is the fact that an ordinarl pack of 52 plEirug cards measares exact!
one half of an inch thick.

After retrieving the selection, the deck is held head high with the
edge toward the audience.
Ftftlt-two cards, one-half inch. Favinating isn't it?
The last bit is directed to the assistant and she usually responds
with a shrug. There is certainly no reason for her to consider this bit
of trivia fascinating.
Notparticularfi. OK. If I place Mary s card at the
twenfl+ixth position, exact! half wE down. ..
My left thumb riffles off about half of the
cards and allows the last couple of cards to fall
individually as if they are being counted. The se-
lection is inserted into the approximate center of
the pack for half its length. The deck is immedi-
ately spread, faces toward the audience, allowing
them to cleaiy see Mary's card in the center.
Tbat means tbat her card will be one-qaarter of an
inchfrom the top, and one-quarter of an inchfrom the
"One qaarter af an inch from the top and one qaarter of an inch from tbe
bottom of the deck. Yoa might want to remember some of botton of the deck." Munich, Germanl, 2007. Photo: Tbanas Frapt

this, it could be important later

The spread is closed and as the selection is pulled back into the
deck it is in-jogged slightly. The deck is immediately turned face up
andabrezkis secured under the selected card. The tight fngers riffle
the front edge of the deck just befote the left hand (holding the deck)
drops to your side. This entire sequence is executed as the fitst of the
above two lines is delivered.
Are ltoa rigltt-handed or left- banded?

During her answer your hands once again come together and the
selected card is stolen into yout right palm using the side-steal. You
then demonstfate how she is to hold the deck of cards over her heart,

i50
 Dow 6 i,pBorl

being careful not to fash the card that is palmed in yout right hand.
It really doesn't m^tter how she ariswers the question. If she says,
"right handed" I say,

PerfeX, then take the deck inloar right band and hold it ouerloar heart, giuing
me as large a target as possible.

Ifshe says, "left handed" I say,

Oh, that's not good. Telllou what, to protectlour left hand hold the cards in
yur right band and position the deck zuer)zr.tr heart, giuing me as large a target
as possible.

The whole point of this question is to shift the attention to het

while I execute the side-stezl and provide some time misdirection.
During this line, I demonsttate what I mean by holding the deck ovet
my heatt, allowing as much of the face of the deck to show as Pos-
sible. Then I hand her the deck by extending my right atm with the
face of the deck and the back of my hand facingher. In this position,
I am staring right at the selected card, which is still palmed in my
right hand. Once she takes the deck, my right hand dtops to my side.
If necessary, ask her to adjust her fingers or the position of the deck to
maxtmize my tafget.
Inlour left hand I wantlou to hold onto this tape measure.
The right hand reaches into the right coat pocket, leaves the se-

lected card behind, and removes the tape measure that is then handed
to the lady.
Using this tape, I haae measured the distance from the end of this string to the
tip of that arrow and it measares exactfi ten feet.

The bow and arrow are removed from the quiver and the notch
in the arrow is fitted into the bowstring. Both the bow and zre
^ruow
held in the left hand while the dght hand holds the end of the string.
In just a moment I will position ru1self one-qaarter of an iruch less than tenfeet

fron thatpack of cards. I will then fre this poison-tified arrow into the air It will
f.ash across the stage and strike the pack dead center. The needle-like point will cut
a path through the top twenfl-fue cards and when it reaches tbe twentl+ixth card,
Marlts card, the anow will haue reached the end of its line and stop dead!

This is the moment when the audience confirms its suspicion. This
guy is out of his mind. The laughs come at "poison-tipped arrow"
^Ld
"stop dead." My excitement escalates as I continue'..
Afeat that is so unbelieuable that I would be afool to euen attempt it f I had
not been the two-time winner of the Golden puiuerAward at the annaal.. .

159
 lilwr Cwnw Wommt

I never make it to the end of this line. S7hen I'm half way thtough
delivering it, I pull the arrow back about six or eight inches and then
grip the and the bow tightly with my left hand. The right hand
^rcow
moves safely out of the way. On "Golden Quiver Award," I release my
grip on the bow and the tension in the string launches it into the air.
Despite my grandiose claims, I am not yery good shot with an
^
arrou/. Howevet, I am fatrly skilled atplac-
ing that bow exactly where I want it, which is
usually at the feet of the ftont row. That's not
to I havent missed now and
say ln. There
^g
was the time I shattered a wine glass right in a
man's hand. I've had staftled spectators reach
out and snatch it right out of mid air. But gen-
erally,I put it where I want it. Of course I act
stunned when the bow flies out of my hand
and I do make alame attempt to grab it be-
fore it is out of reach. This unexpected blun-
der, combined with my prepostetous claim
of supet-human skill, ptoduces a humorous
'Do notprouoke me. I am armed and hamoroas." l-.ondon, 2006.
dichotomy. P h oto : Arto Airakti n en.
Some readers will think that I am nuts to
Iet this object fly anywhere nezr the audience but I must say that I
quite look forward to this part of the routine. As I mentioned previ-
I am quite a marksman when it comes
ously, it is a plastic toy bow and
to shooting a bow off of att And it does establish me as some-
^tow.
one who might actually be cruzy enough to attempt this impossible
shot. Of course I'm not rcally going to try it, but I want them to think
that I might.
I have the audience member flearest the bow hand it back to me
and there are usually some chuckles or commeflts as they do. After
taking the bow I remain standing in piace, glalng at the spectator.
Do notprouoke me. I am armed and humorous.
Of course I meant to say "afmed and dangerous" but I appear to
have no idea what I actually said or what it means. Armed and humor-
ous is actually a title that I have used for my act. Tirrfling oflce ag tn
to my asslstant. ..
Mar1, I couldn't help but notice,loa look a little worried back there. You're

forgetting the most important thing- I'm an expert, I neuer miss. I'll tellyu what,

160
szil/etilues n.,hen I'ru cfmid tltat I nttght be killed, I haue a litt/e sontething that
ltelps calru nte dorun and sett/es /10, nerues.
During the first line , the point of the arrow is tucked behind mv
belt and the bow is slipped o\rer m\,left forearm, which effectivell,
fre e s up both of mr- hands. 81' the time the final line is delivered, the
blindfold has been removed from m\.back pocket, unfolded and dis-
plaved to the audience.
VloaldJou be an1 ntore comforlable wearing a blindfold?
Two possibilities here: either she says, "no" (the most common
answer), to which I sav,
OK, suitlaurse$ it nnrksfor rue.

Or she sa\-s, "\'es" to which I say,,

WQI/1'oa shoald haLe thought of that beforeyu came ap here. This one'sfor ne.

I then put on the blindfold, which produces one of the biggest

laughs of the routine. Nlv proposed trick shot alreadl' sounded like a

near impossibilitv. Adding this final obstacle makes it sound like sheer
madness.
"Dan't let rue u/k olf-tlte dge oJ'tbis stage.folks... Not agaitt." llasstrlttxtts, 2008. Phota: Art
Tronb/e1,.

lYberei that tape? Good,loa hold onto the tape.

!(hen I hold out my hand, she will give me the tape measure. I pull out
and hold the end of the tape and hand the tape measure back to her.
Back up, back up, and I'll back ap ouer here.
By this poirit of the routine I have positioned myself and mv assis-
tantne^r the edge of the stage. As we extend the tape by moving away
from each other, I remove the arrow from my belt and tap the point
on the floor in the same way a blind person uses a white cane.
Don't let me walk off the edg of this stage folks. . . l{ot again.
By looking down my nose I can see exactly how far I am from the
edge of the stage. I stay iust close enough to keep things interesting.
Mory... MARY.
The first time I say "Mary" the word is spoken not directly toward
her and partly under my breath. The reason being, I don't want her
to answer me. The second "MARY" is spoken louder and is directed
toward her. Mary suddenly reahzes that I am talking to her and re-
sponds, "\(/hat?"
Yeah, iflou nodloar head I can't bearloa.
For some strange reason, this line also genetates a solid laugh'
Perhaps it is the result of my charactet and the situation my hapless

;a-l
)ut
 Dow A Anporr

assistant finds herself trapped in.

I wantlou to look at tbe tape at tbe ten-foot mark. That's /20 inches. Drawn
right on the tape there is a big black drrzw. Dolou see tbe arrow?

She may need some time here but eventually she will find the attow.
Areloa standing at the tip of tbe arow?
Since pdor to this, I never mentioned aflything about standing at the
tip of this artow she will most likely say "No." But even if she moves into
that position and says "Yes" my response is always the same.
IWell it's prettl important! That little arrow could saue)zar lfe. Areyu at the
tip of the arrow? Good, don't mzue a muscle. I'm1ast going to sneak intolou a
qaarter of an inch.
I hold the end of the tape up to my if I'm doing
side and Pause, as
some mental calculation, and then step toward her about a foot. Dur-
ing the laugh my attitude is, "Hey, I've got a measuring device and you
folks dont," never stopping to consider that my blindfold prevents me
from seeing the device. The act:ual iine is,
I'ue got the tape. Now Mar1, I'm going to let go of this tape and itl going to
snap back so be careful.
The spring in the tape measure automatically winds up the tape. I
canhear when it is fully recoiled.
Yeah,lou see that, that's a good wa1 to lose an e1e.

This line is spoken like a parent admonishing a child to be careful

with something they are playingwith. By this time both the bow and
are back in my hands and the is engaged in the bow-
^rrow ^rrow
stting. During the next line, I pull repeatedly on the arrow flexing the
bowstring,
HereJ a better way
I am now no longer fzcirg directly toward my assistant but have
turned slightly toward the audience. This means that my next wotds
and actions ate being directed to the audience. Of coutse my blindfold
prevents me from realizing this.
I am going to aim b1 listening to the sound ofloar uoice. IYhenlou're readl for
me to shoot,I wantloa to call out nice and loud, "I'm readl Mike, sltoot me."
With the end of the cord held f,rmly in my right hand, I assume
my firing position and pull back on the arrow. Rarely will the lady say
aflythiflg but people in the audience are more vocal. Each time someone
in the crowd yells out, I shift my aim in their direction.
I'm picking up a bit of an echo in here.

165
fi,/Nr &vr*,ry' tfml#,+"r

'Wben-1,67)"p rea$,J-or ne ltt tbool, I n,ant-1,0u to ca// ctut nice and loud, "I'n rear!'Mike, sboot nn."
Pholo: Wende// Breqina.

Pulling off the blindfold I rcalize that the arrow is pointing no-
where near my assistant. The blindfold is returned to my back pocket
as I approach Nlary.
IYhat happened? All I coald hear waslour heart poandirug ouer there.

The artow is disengaged from the bowstring and the middle of the
arrow is held in the left hand along with the bow.
You know a little cooperation mtgltt keep both of usfrom dling up here.
This line implies that mv performance could die in the theatrical
sense, and, that she could die in the literal seflse. Extending my right
hand to her prompts her to hand the tape measure back to me.
OK, just relax and take a deep breath. And letJ ,/se lxlr beads. Do1,ou think

the management here at lname of theater or hotel in which I am perform-

ing] is going to let me fre this needle-sharp arrow right atloar heart f thel didn't
tbink I coald make this shot like 90 per cent of the time? Of course not, tbat would

be nupid.

1()4
 Dow A Anporl

During these lines the tape measure is returned to the right coat
pocket and at the same time, the right hand palms the selected card.
Upon exiting the pocket, the tight hand comes to rest at about belt
Ievel with the artow acttally touching the right thumb and index
flnger.
I know shots a lot harder than tbis.
This line is delivered to Mary I then take a step toward the audi-
ence and deliver the next line to them.
Doloa want to see a rea$t towgb shot?
As I m stepping forward and delivering this line my left hand pulls
the arrow back until the point is touching the card. \X/ithout looking,
the point is positioned over the center of the card and then thrust
thtough the card. You'll know if you hit the right spot if the point of
the arrow goes between your right middle and ring fingers. It's not
as hard as it sounds and I've acttally never impaled myself with the
point. The artow is pushed about half way (11 inches) through the
card and is then flrmly gripped between the tight middle and ring
fingers.
I'll showltoa a touglt shot, andlou can help me.
As I m stepping back and turning to the left I execute the move
described ezrlier whetein the card in my right palm is transferred to
the back palm position of my left hand. This move also transfers the
ftom between my tight fingers to a simil^r grtP between my
^rtow
left middle and ring fngers. Once the catd is secuted in back palm
position and before my right hand is removed, my left hand turns
palm towatd the audience and moves slightly upstage. Throughout
this maneuver the bow handle continues to be held between the Ieft
thumb arid outstretched fingers. This transfer of the card requires the
hands to momentarily assume an unnatural position but the maneuver
is very brief and it takes place as I'm backing up and turning to my
left. During this move, my body effectively blocks the assistant's view
of my hands.
During the next few moments I remain focused on the factthatl
have a card back palmed in my left hand and am vigilant in protect-
ing the bad angle. \When working on a dance floor with the audience
on three sides, I find that twisting the back of my left hand futther
toward the floor helps to hide the bad angle. During this entire se-
quence aneffort should be made to keep the sutface of the card and

16'
Mwr Avnw Wotmt

the attow perpendicular to one another. If the artow is tilted over

at an angle, thus enlarging the hole in the card, you may find that
the card inadvettently slides off the arrow at the finish, spoiling the
climax.
As soon as the ttansfer is complete and the hands separate, I grab
hold of the cord and hand the end to the assistant.
You hold on to the string and I'll take the deck of cards.
The deck is taken from the lady and dropped into the quivet mak-
ing sure that it clears the card fountain and drops to the bottom. At
the same time I flip the toggle switch on the card fountarn that ac-
tivates the timer. In seven seconds a deck of cards is going to come
flying out of the quiver so I had better be ready. As I back up toward
the lady the bowstring is engaged into the arrow notch and then I take
the end of the cord from her with my tight hand.
The twenfl+ixth card down bas lrepeat name she wtote on the card]
written right across the face and remember - I neaer miss.
The fountain of catds ptovides a tremendous amount of misditec-
tion. More than enough for me to safely release the grip of my left
index and little fingers on the back palmed card, pull back on the ar-
tow, swing the bow atound untill the attow is aimed at the shower of
cards, andfite.
The arrow (along with the selected card) will fly through the
shower of falling cards and when it reaches the end of the line, it will
drop to the floor.
I andytloufolks act likeyu see this euery night!
baue speared a single card

The illusion cteated is that I have mitaculously impaled one of the

falling cards. The bow is quickly placed on top of the stool because
it is important to get the arrow off the floot (and back into view)
asquickly as possible. The audience wont reahze what I have ac-
complished until the is pulled up off the floor. The cotd runs
^trow
between my left fingers and down to the arrow. By pulling the cord
with my tight hand the artow is lifted up to my left hand, which takes
hold of the notch end.
Oh, thq are waiting to find out if it is ruotjust A card but THE card. Onfi
Marl kruowsfor sare. Does that lookfamiliar?
During this line I taise the pointed end of the arrow up so the face
of the card can be seen by the audience and then by the assistant. The
true climax of the trick occurs when she nods her head, verifying that

560
 "I l.tot't.rfutrtd tr.rltt!/t urd ottd-yel-yr.ttr.li.t/k.r nl /ikt.1'otr ree il.ti.r u'etl,ttigl.tl!" )[irl.tlurt,2010.
P l toto' ll--urtdtII B re7l ltr.

it is her signed card.

It's afairy tale fnish.
The card is slid off the arrow and presented to the assistant. Al1 the
applause is directed toward her as she is escorted back to her seat. I
placed her into a somewhat uncomfortable position and her considera-
ble contribution made her the co-star of the routine. She deserves that
applause. I then retrieve the bow and return both the bow and arrow
to the quiver, using that opportunitl, to switch off the card fountain.
Thati Mary, who giues new rueanittg to the word quiuer. (Thank \.ou Tina

11; of' fultry dtt

^?(rt
trcl.ttr i.s
frot'r:l ltyrtnd t//
d o tr lt/, lt t t'i t r g .vr cce r.rfu /11' r ltot
l.rur mrl r.ttrt ttl' nid oir.
P ltoto: I[' t tt de/l B rtll rt.
Mn Avnw Wonpnt

Lenert) And Mary, wereJlu a little bit scared up here?

Now back in the safety of her seat she usually says, "A little."
Because I was terrifed. Thatl neuer worked before.

These last few lines are used to bridge the gap between cleaning up
the bow and arrow and beginning the next routine.

As with most of my "original" routines, yeafs afterl first thought

of this effect I found a number of bow and arrow routines in print.
The April 1899 issue of Mahatma describes a prePosterous version
wherein an elastic band pulls a duplicate arro\r/ atound from behind a
t^rget supposedly faster than the eye can see. A duplicate ofthe forced
card is aheady impaled on this arrow and the elastic puIls the arrow
tip into a hole in the bull's eye. The artow in the bow is yanked undet
the magician's coat by a second elastic band, agatfi,"faster than the
eye can see." This sounds like a good v/ay to not fool anybody while
simultaneously inflicting great bodily harm upon lroulsslf.
In London Ellis Stanyon published a series of booklets called
fnal issue (December 1910)
StanlonI Serial Lessons in Conjuring. The
included "Chosen Card Pierced by an Arrow" that actually was an ar-
row constructed like a card sword. As the arrow flew through the ait
an elastic cord would pull a duplicate card up to the tip. No mention
was made as to what stopped the arrow as it cartwheeled through the
air. My guess is that using this method would gready teduce the pos-
sibility of injuting youtself while greatly incteasing the odds of getting
sued.
At this sametime 0910) the Sphinx and the American Magician
magazines started tunning ads fot the Magician Supply Company of
Providence, Rhode Island. For $2.50 they would sell you "The Ar-
row," a "...valuable and tasty card trick." The description sounds
exactly like Stanyon's effect which leads me to believe that someone in
Providence was actually producing catd-sword arrow.s.
Additional research turned up a fellow named George Postle who
in the 1930s performed a bow and arrow card toutine in of all places
Pasadena, Cahfornia. Amazingly, Mr. Postle, an architect who de-
signed among other things the \Woolworth building in Chicago, lived
a short bicycle ride from where these words are being written. At the
1935 PCAM convention in Hollywood, California Mr. Postle's bow
and arrow routine was awarded the Page Wtight award. His method

5t0
 Dow 6 /rppory

Tbis ad from the A?il 1 910 isue a/ Sphinx magaTine does sound irresistibk. '"the professor shoots
the arront in the oldlndianfashion and takes tbe card on tbe wing."

was explained in the September 1938 issue of Genii m g zine and my

guess is that, in his hands, it was very effective. It's worth noting that
his routine involves a real bow and z rcaI arrow that really was fired
into a real target. He cautioned his readers that insuffcient ptactice
could tesult ifl, ". . .having to pull the artow out of your host's daven-
port or [it] may clip a vase off of the mantel. Remember a bow and
arfow is more than a toy."
That is good advice regatdless of whose method you use.

1n
 was actuaily scared into creatingthis e-
I
where in this book, the first re l mag was
I
lMilt Larsen's Itl Magrclshow in 1963. just
attefld the show every yeat,I attended every performance of the show
every year. OK, "attended" implies that I purchased a ticket for each
of those performances but that would be a false assumption. I always
managed to scrape up enough cash to buy a ticket for one perfor-
mance but buying my way into every show was far beyond my budget.
My fellow Mystics and I felt that one used ticket stub somehow
granted us entry into every performance. You might be surprised to
learn how rn fiy different ways there were to sneak into the I{/ilshire
Ebell Theater and we knew them all. This annual sojourn to see the
"'Wodd's Greatest Magicians" made a deep, deep impression on all
of us. Our collective dream was to one day appear on this hallowed
show.
My turn came in 1981 when Bill Larsen called me up and asked,
"How would you like to emcee lt's Magic!this yeat?" "OK", I said and
that was that. Bill had seen me at numerous conventions and I had
been performing at the Magic Castle for ten years so he appatently felt
I was ready for the big time. I was not so sure.
During those two weeks of shows I would be introducing The
Niberco Brothers from Holland, Clifford Guest (a great sound effects
and ventriloquism act), Richiardi, and a young kid from Louisville,
I(entucky whom fro one out West had ever heard of named Lance
Burton. \Was I into that show and link coat hangers
really going to step
I am as sarpiud as anlone lt1 together? The answer, I decided, was no. I thought I could do better
the aualanche of silueruarq trEt and with a few months before curtain, I felt that I had to at least try.
dnd a tr.tler Pi/(/)er /ba/ fa/ls
froru a spectatori coat. IYitb the
A year eadier, Tina and I had been asked to perform for two weeks
table ut, I prodace a liue chirken. in a Christmas show at abank in New York City. One of the tricks
S addk back College, Missio n
Vi/0, Califirnia, 20/ 0.
we performed together involved borrowing and destroying a watch,
Photo: Dauid Bro. having the watch tnta'ct in the spectator's coat pocket and then
^pper
171
f'tlwr (dwtw rir/nntpr

producing a chicken from his coat. If you're thinking, "Where is the

Iogic in that scenario?" there isn't any. But the point of the story is
that in 1981 I owned a live chicken.
The I(nife Through Coat was a trick that always appealed to me.
Hundreds of years ago magicians were poking their fingers through
spectator's hats. Eventually this evolved into a knife passing through
abortowed handkerchief and fr,nally through a coat.I had worked a
number of trade shows with Tommy Tucker and had seen his close-up
vetsion of the I{nife Thru Coat using a pocketknife. I had also seen
Bob Read's hilarious version using a table knife. Published routines
appear throughout our literature (Tarbell Course Volume 3, Cenii mag -
zine volume 13) and various dealers have sold additional versions.
Right from the start I decided that rather than using the traditional
knife, I would use the Large pau of scissors that aheady played a key
role in my act.
My large scissors provided a believable scenario that a knife
did not. If you actually did shove the pointed end of a Pan of scis-
sors through a co^t and then tried to pull those scissors all the way
through, the handle would surely prevent you from succeeding. If you
kept pulling harder, you would eventually rip the coat. This inescap-
able fact I would put to use.

All I(nife Through Coat routines use some sort of cover to hide
the center of the coat (and protect the secret) and my cover would
be a piece of newspaper. I felt that teating a square out of a sheet of
nev/spaper would subtly suggest that it was a normal piece of paper. I
did tear a sheet of newsprint but I was actually removing a gimmicked
piece of paper from within the folded sheet.
The oniy thing special about my gimmicked square of paper was
that when torn, it produces a loud ripping sound. After years of re-
search I f,nally found the perfect-sounding ripping matetial; window
shade. And I don't mean new window shade that is made of plastic.
I'm tatking about old cloth shades that have been baked by the sun.
These thin canvas shades produce the kind of sound you would hear
in a cartoon. Rrrrrrrrriiiipl I found a little shade shop in town and the

114

Fig. 1 The prepared netuspaper has shade
taped in place, d itar-traP torn into center oJ newtpaper and a diagonal
fold atross entire newsaper.
fctrons,0n. frurBwnBr 6 Hwrn
owrrer is nice enough to throw some of the used shades he has taken
out of old houses into a pile knowing that sooner or later that crazy
magician will come in looking for them. I cut the shades into eight-
inch squares and then cut about a one-and-a-half-inch hole in the
middle.
An eleven-inch square of newspapet is torn out of a full sheet.
Dont use scissots but teally tear it because this square is apparently
torn out of a sheet duting the petformance. Using cellophane tape the
prepated window shade square is taped to one side of the newspapet,
right in the middle. Then a small st^r-ff^P is torn into the center of
the paper by folding the newspaper in half (with the shade side in-
ward) and putting a two-inch tear perpendicular to the folded edge.
Then the paper is opened out and folded in the
other direction and torn ag rn. These two small
tears should just barelv extend into the window
shade matertal. This will facthtate the tearlater
when the shade is pulled against the scissot
biade. One more fold is put into the paper, this
time diagonally from corner to corner, again
with the shade on the inside. This is a tip from
Bob Read. During the performance you will
hold the paper by just orle corner and the scis-
sors will be stolen behind the papet. It would be
clxh (witb bole cat in center) disastrous if, while moving your hand through
the att, the paper fluttered away from its desited
position and revealed the scissors. This diagonal
fold gives the paper square enough body that you can safely move it
atound in ftont of you without fear of mishap. Fig. 1.
Open up a fuil sheet of newspaper on the table. Lay the prepared
paper square (shade side up) onto the middle of the left side. Now
close the paper by folding the right side over onto the left side. Then
fold it a.gztn by bringing the top edge down to the bottom. The pre-
pared square in now trapped inside the folded sheet. One more fold
from left to right will produce a packet measuring approximately six
by twelve inches. You will use one of these prepated packets for each
performance.
1t5
Mttr Avnw WonorBt

Thurston used to walk down into the audience and pull a duck
out of a spectator's coat to great reaction. Of course Howard had his
faithful assistant Geotge White to get the duck into the coat, Iuxury
^
I didn't have, but the reaction was reportedly fantastic. In fact my fitst
choice v/as to produce a duck. I am convinced that ducks are funniet
than chickens but having worked with ducks
in the past, I knew that they were very noisy,
unbelievably messy and they stink to high
heaven. I would make do with a chicken.
In my eadier tesearch I discovered that
there are m ny different types ofchickens,
from huge layrnghens, to vicious fighting
roosters. When I saw my first Cochin hen I
knew I had found my co-star. It was like a
chicken that had been designed by z magrcian.
Her appearance was very chickeny - bright red
comb on top, feathery legs and a big fluffy tail.
Fig.2.
The best part is that while her actual body
is quite small, when she fluffs out her feath-
ers she suddenly grows to twice her actual
size. The perfect production item. Cochins Fig. 2 1996 Publici! photo b1 BillT,ytkn
are avallable in white, black and brown and I
chose a white hen because I felt she would look bigger on stage. As
it turned out, these chickens have wonderful personalities, ate easily
tamed and ate very sociable. And how many magicians can s^y that
about their assistants?

In examining load bags used by magicians over the yeats for the
production of livestock they appear to be mote closely related to tor-
ture devices than anything else. Is it any wonder that anrmals struggle
to free themselves from these dark, stuffy confnes?

176

Fig. i The two sides of
are beld closed witb Vehro.
part of the bag tbat the birdl
1 9 9 8 MagSc maga qin e
Smeddy tbe chicken as the couer bird.
kwopt. Aar,lwrBwtBr 6 1trurn
In designingaload bag for my chicken I statted with this premise:
someone who stuffs a living creature into a container in which it is
diff,cult to bteathe and impossible to see is more of a kidnapper than
a magrcian Containing the chicken in the most comfortable uiay Pos-
sible would lower her sttess level, resulting in a healthier and happier
bird.
In observing my chicken each day, she seemed happiest when she
was nestled into a shallow hole she had dug in the dirt. She appeated
completelv telaxed as she watched the world go
by. Using this knowledge, I started to design a
load bag.
Using mateial that has avety tight weave
prevents het toenails from getting caught in the
cloth. I(eeping the bird's nails propetly trimmed
also helps. The top of the first bag was made out
of strong netting so she would have plenty of atr
and light. The netting u/as later removed so her
head could protrude out ofthe bag. Photo 3.
This allowed her body to be contained but
the chicken load bagwrap underthe bird and
her head was not. Once a chicken has gotten
Ilot uisible is the openingin the apper ight
head protradu throrgh. used to this bag, she immediately pokes her head
thtough the opening and is then completely con-
teflt. In my original version of this routifle the load bag hung on the
back of a chaff,which resulted in the weight of the chicken pulling
the cloth tightly around her. In the later vetsion that used a stool,
the weight of the bitd rested on a flat floor, which caused the bag to
relax around her. \X/ith plenty of light and air, and her head unre-
stricted, she was able to sit in the stool in exactly the same posi-
tion she would assume while relaxing at home.
During rehearsals I would load het into the load bag and
slide her into the stool top but hold the trap door open. This
allowed me to see when she teiaxed into her nesting position.
She seemed to be completely conteflt to iust sit quietly and wait
for the big finish when she would get to stand up and flap her
wings. This new style load bag added gre^dy to the strength
of the magic. The chicken is loaded just before I am introduced. I
walk out with minimal ptops and perform for usually twenty to thirty
fe atui ng
minutes. Then atthe end, without ever having left the stage, a live
177
lrln Atrnw i,//onnmt

chicken appears. I can't tell you how many times people have come up
to me later and said, "Where the hell was that chicken all that time?"
My usual arrsu/er is, "You'Ilhave to ask the guy who owns that coat"
but the true answer is, "She was sitting comfortably just like you were
waiting for het cue."

Two concepts that I learned as a teenager while developing my

thimble act were time misdirection and eliminating an object's hid-
ing place before the object is produced. Both concepts would faclhtate
my chicken production fifteen yearc after they effectively hid my giant
thimble.
In the eadiest version of the chicken ttick the spectator would take
off his coat and sit in a chair. This chair had a slat back that allowed
the audience to cleady see through it. The chicken was loaded into
abagthat completely contained her (no head hole yet) and she was
hung from a bracket that was imbedded into the back of the chair. Of
course, by looking through the slats, the load bag was clearly visible.
To cover this, a folded sheet of newspaper was laid over the chair
back. From the side you could see that the back half of the papet was
being held well away ftom the chait back by something. Fig.4.
By folding these back corlrers of newspaper in toward the chair, the
bad angle was drastically reduced. The newspaper became a sott of

Fig. 4 lYben uiewingtbe cbairfron an angle

it h obuious that tbe newspaper * being held
awalfrorn the back of tbe cbair b1 nmething.

170
 fcurolr.. fin,f.tyrtlul,rrl E 1trrcn

Fig. 5 Patting afold into the protrading corrxer tarnr the new.rpaper into Ftg. 6 I\Jowfrom the same bad angle tbe newspaper looks totalfi in-
a wedge or illasion base to better bide the load. nocent.

vertical wedge base effectively hiding the chick-

en.Figs.5&6.
The further upstage the chair was positiofled,
the better the angles were for the peopie sitting at
the sides.
After the spectator had removed his coat I
asked him to sit down and just before he leaned
back in the chait I pulled the newspapet off the
back, folded it in half and tucked it under my
arm. The cover for the final production item had
been changed right in front of the audience-the
spectator replacing the newspaper. Later in the
routine I would steal the chicken off the chair
and into the gentleman's coat. After the chicken
was produced and the spectator had returned to
his seat, the only items left on stage were myself,
a chicken, and an inconspicuous chair that you
could see right through. Fig.7.
Anyone who wanted to figute out whete that
chicken had been hiding was left with few clues.
Fig. 7 After tbe cbicken bas been prodarcd and tbe
spectator has departed ruith his coat, tbe on!1 olject left on
stage is thh cbair uhicb couldn't bide anlthing.

1t9
lrlwt (tvm:;u l)laro'tpt

As soon as the chicken made her appeatance, I wanted to hand

the coat back to its owner but this would require me to sectetly and
quickly dispose of the load bag. For the It': Magtc!show my plan was
to in an old leather doctor's bag. The bag would
carry all of my props
remain open on the floor throughout my act and by setting it behind
me and off to the side it was an object that the audience found easy
to ignore. This utilitarian prop became the perfect place in which to
deposit the empty load bag. I positioned myself directly in front of
the doctor's bag iust before I produced the chicken. As my left hand
raised the chicken aloft my right hand (holding the coat) dropped nat-
urally to my side - right over the open doctot's bag. With the load bag
attached to a heavy gimmick (to be discussed later), when I let go of
it, the bag (and gimmick) dropped like a stone into the doctor's bag. I
immediately walked toward the spectator, returned his coat, sent him
back to his seat and displayed the chicken. The appearance of a live
chicken provides massive misditection. Nothing (not even a falhng
load bag) can compete with a live flapping bird. This was proven to
me on the night I missed the doctor's bag. The load bag and gimmick
ianded on the floor in full view of the entire audience. I immediately
thought, #@o/o$&,I'm busted! But no one backstage said a wotd. And
afterward, no one who watched from out front said a word. Finally
I asked some ftiends who had seen the show, "Did you see anvthing
you shouldn't have seen?" They didn't know what I was talking about.
They hadn't seen a thing.
It occurred to me that perhaps I didn't need this large doctor's bag
for the disposal of a rclattvely small gimmick. My second solution
for hiding the load bag had its roots in Max Auzinger's brilliant 19th
centufy creation Black Art.

NIax Auzinger discovered that tf a flat black object is held in ftont of

a flatblack background and all shadows ate eliminated, the object is
invisible. Auzinger's idea set me wondeting-what about fleu/spaper art?

100
 kttsoBt, An. fi:,yrpullrlpr 6 Grum

\Vhat if I made aload bag out of cloth that

was ptinted like newspaper and then dropped it
onto the slightly wadded up sheet of newspaper
that is discarded on the floor during my routirie?
\Would the load bag blend in with the newspaper
and go completely unnoticed? Fig. 8.
I decided that the combination of Newspaper
Art and the misdirection of a live chicken would
rn fact rendet the load bag invisible. During
the time that I used this method there wete
Fig. 8 The newspaper-cloth load bag ling on t@ of a torn sheet of performances when the load bag and gimmick
newspaper is not inuisible but it is certainfi less noticeable due to tbe ffict
bounced away ftom the newspaper. Again,I
of l\JewspaperArt.
fearcd that I had exposed my trick but iust as be-
fote, no one seemed to notice. This led me to the flnal rcaltzatton that
the combination of the huge mess that coveted the floot at the end
of my act znd the misdirection ptovided by the chicken, no one w.as
going to see that load bag regardless of what it was made of ot where
it landed. This fact was driven home when I worked for a month at
a magtc dinnet theater. There were some very exPerienced close-up
magicians working thete who watched our show every night. At the
end of the run they said to me, "OK, we figure you've got some kind
of holdout or pull that clips onto the load bag and carries it into your
coat and out of sight." I didnt have the heart to tell them that it had
been lying on the foot in full view every night.
It was after this expetience that I started making load bags out of
black ripstop matenal that was very durable and could flot be pierced
by the chicken's toe naiis.

I wanted some time misdirection between the steal of the load and
the production of the chicken, so I dropped a spoon out of the specta-
tor's coat. As I pick it up and say, "!7hat's this?" the audience sud-
denly thinks "Oh my gosh, that guy is stealing silverware." The reason
why a spoon was perfect is because alarge Percentage of my work
is as an after-dinnet entertainer. The audience has iust f,nished din-
net, the host introduces me and I perfofm ori a dance foor or taised

10r
Mrc Avnrv Wommt

platform. \X/hen that spoon falls out of the spectator's coat, everyone
instantly has the same thought and I surprised as they do. For
^ct ^s
just a moment, everyone is slighdy embarassed but after a few more
spoons fall they begin to realize that this is all part of the act. \il/hen
my volunteer is the president of the company and that first spoon hits
the floor - the audience reaction is off the chart. This is the moment
the employees have dreamed of finding something to hold over the
-
boss's head. Then the shower of spoons begins and they rcahze that
there is more at wotk here than a sticky-fingered boss.
Logically a shower of silvetware would include spoons, knives and
forks but you would be amazed how easy it is for a fork to get snared
in the lining of a coat and knives ate just way too bulky. Spoons take
up almost no space when they are nested togethet, the spoon's smooth
bowl rarely gets stuck inside the coat and they produce a nice clang
when they land on each other or on a wood floor. I to design
set out
and build a gimmick that would attach to the back of my chair, hold
and release a bunch of spoons, and also hold the chicken load bag.
AtJohnson Ptoducts I turned out a number of wotking models
made from brass. Each spoon had a small hole drilled through the
end of its handle, allowing it to be threaded onto a thin brass rod
thatran along the side of the gimmick. I would line up about twenty
spoons on this arm. Tilting the gimmick would cause the spoons to
slide down the arm and fall off the end. The quantity of spoons that
fell was dependent on the severity of the tilt. It was far from being a
precision spoon dropper but it got the job done-more or less.
The first model used a half-inch piece of brass tubing about four
inches long for a handle. Soldered to it was the angled spoon arm, and
two hooks from which the load bag could be hung. The next one had
a smaller hook but a brass rod that allowed it to be hooked onto the
back of the chait. The third version was made from z solid piece of
brass. A piece of brass tubing that slid perfectly over the brass handle
was permanently attached to the load bag. This allowed me to load
the bitd just before I walked on and quickly attach the load bag to the
gimmick by sliding the tubing onto the body of the gimmick. Fig. 9.
There were many problems with all of these gimmicks. The weight
of the coat often restricted the path of the falling spoons. I would tip
the gimmick more and more and nothing would happen. Then sud-
denly, CRASH, tu/enty spoons would hit the floor. None of these

)02
 fcrnw. har. fwrBwapr A Hwn

Fig. 9 The frst (botton) and second (center) spoon

droppers were madefrarn tabingwbile tbe third (top)
wat madefrom vlid brass. The spoons (with bohs in
the ends of tbe handles) were tbreaded onto tbe bent
arms. Tbe short piece of brass tubing with gimmick
#3 would haue the load bagpermanentll altached so il
coald lte qilck! slid onto the girumick.

gimmicks wete evef used in a show but they v/ere necessary stePs in
the hunt for the perfect spoon droppet.
Eventually I showed my collection of gim-
micks to my friend Cad Heck. Cari was rc^l
^
machinist, not just a guy who knew how to make
coin tricks. Retaining the basic idea of spoons
threaded oflto a tod, Cad designed a rudrcalllr
new gimmick that had a sliding knob on top.
The gimmick was cradled in my curled fingets
which allowed my thumb to slide the knob slow-
ly across the top of the gimmick. This pulled the
supporting rod into the body of the gimmick
which caused the spoons to fall off the retreattng
Fig. 0 Carl Heck constracted the foarth spoon dropper which, at the
1 end. This gimmick ptovided far greater control
time, I considered to be tbe Cadillat of tbe line. Carltfftb andfnal
over the falling spoons and this is the gimmick I
uersion woald be a masterpiece. Photo: Paul Ronbanl.
used on the lt's Magic!show Fig. 10.
It was probably foolish to debut a rlew toutine on such a Prestig-
ious show but nou/ I can say I m glad I did. Sometimes you need a

firm deadline to fotce you to Put a flew hunk in ftont of an audience.

It is also helpful to have a proven routine that you cari use to estab-
lish your ctedibility. This places the audience firmly on your side and
makes them much more willing to accept your flew endeavor. On this
particular show my ace in the hole was 3-ArmJuggling.

101
Mn Avnrv Wotpms

On the strength of the lt's Magic!performance, one month later

I found myself again wotking with Richiardi, this time at Madison
Square Garden in New York City. Being able to observe Richiardi
every night was extremely educational. A performance by any great
artist is made up of many layers and each of those layers contains at
least one important detail. Multiple viewings allow you to discover the
importance of each detail and to see, when viewed together, how they
form a perfect piece of theater.
In Los Angeles I watched his performance every night from the
wings. How I remember his daughter Rina vanishing from the
de I(olta Chair and instantly reappezring in the Tip-Over Trunk. I
would ctouch down in the wing to avoid being hit by the wooden
dowel that he would bang around inside the ttunk and then fling over
his shoulder. No one offstage was expected to catch it, just to stay out
of its way. At Madison Square Garden, after inttoducing Richiardi,
Joseph Gabriel and I would walk atound to the back of the audience
and watch his act from the front. To this day I see things in Joseph's
actthat I know he learned during our memorable run at the Garden.

December 1984 witb

Ncbiardil sbow at
Maditon Square Carden.
 tlr-*,':$+t

d,Ebtr
lIike, Lrcy @ssistattt), A/da Ncltiardi, and Joseph Gabiel ce/eltmte Nchiatdii 58il) birthdE, itt
Nen'\-ork Cit1,. Pbolo: Doro.

Throughout these months of performing I discovered

many things about the Silverware & Chicken routine. It
had less than ideal angles and the production of the chick-
en, while surprising, didn't make a lot of sense. I could feel
the audience thinking, "I don't know where it came from
but what does that chicken have to do with anything?"
The routine needed some logic. Also, with the spectator
sitting in the chair and holding his coat out to his side, the
actual Scissors Thru Coat effect was taking place just a
couple of feet off the floor. This 'wasn't a problem on the
Felt Forum stage at Madison Square Garden but it def,-
nitely was problematic in a banquet settlng.

I spent a day tn area of downtown Los Angeles that

^n
specializesin restaurant supplies. When I found a tall
barstool with a thick padded seat I knew that a multitude

)ladison S'qnarc Garden, Nen, )'ork Ci4t, 198/. I ant

of problems had just been solved. The higher seat would
jrr:t altofi to pal/ tlte neaspapet"(f tlte back of tfu c/tair. position the spectator (and his coat) atamore desirable

(Rq
)\) )
filwr {liyrlurrt"ilr,t,tr,*t

Fig. / 1 The ertire .rtool can be disassenhled and FU. 1 2 Tbe near!,-inuisihle clear plastic s/telf
packed ifto a .rtandard saitcase. rests on tltefotrt'bolts tbat attaclt the /eg: to lhe

Jbot-re.rt.

height off the floor and the spoons and chicken might just fit inside
the seat. \7hen I discovered that the entire stool was held together
with bolts (meaning it could be disassembled for travel) I bought it
immediately. The soft upholstered seat was replaced by a new seat that
was actually a wooden box with rounded corners. Fig. 11.
The bolts that hold the legs in place also support the nearly invis-
ible shelf made out of Lexan plastic. Fig. 1,2.

My first thought was to steal the load out of the back of the stool
but this would cre^te a bad angle if only for a moment. A much
^garn
better idea was to make the steal from the side
of the stool. The spectator would cover the steal
from the right side, his coat would cover it from
the front and I would cover it ftom the left side.
By leaning over I would be able to shield the
steal from the spectator ori the stool. Fig. 13
shows the left side of the stool which is the trap.

Fig. 1)'tbe ltoles in tbe hack oJ' the .rtoo/prouidepkn\' oJ- /tgltt and
airfor t/te clticken uhile .rlte is loaded. Also uisib/e is tlte black elastic
band that ltolds tlte L'tagc Paper ffie. Tlte left side of tbe stao/ top
opens duing the steal.

)06
 kmw. 0u, ltl,ll.*u:lrlBr 6 1trrcn

Fig. 14 Tbe extended back edge of tlte

trap door ruakes it extreme! eay to
o?(fi ewil withofi glancing down al i/.

The door in the side of the stool is made from aluminum. To facili-
tate the opening of this door without the slightest hesitation and with-
out looking, the back edge extends slightly past the rounded corner of
the stool. By merely dragging my fingets across this corner the door
can be opened every ttme, guaranteed. Ftg.1,4.
A piece of black elastic attached to the front edge of the door and
extending to the fat fuont corner inside the stool provides sufficient
tension to pull the door closed after the steal is completed.
The entite seat is coveted with black naugahyde. The rounded
edges made tt to be nicely padded and quite comfortable. Only
^ppear
the person who sits on the stool knows that it doesn't contain an
ounce of padding.

There were always problems with the spoons getting trapped

between the coat lining and the chicken load bag. I purchased a
metal water pitcher thinking that if the spoons were contained inside,
perhaps the pitcher would ptovide a clear path for the spoons on their
way to the floor. A breakthrough idea came from my old friend Bill
Taylor who suggested that instead of threading the spoons onto a rod,
thata slot be added above the hole in the spoon which would allow
the spoons to hang from a sort of I-beam. An I-beam could be sup-
ported from above and there was no reason why it had to be straight.
Cad Heck winced when he saw me walking up his driveway. He lis-
tened to all of my latest suggestions and had to agree that these were
definite improvements even though this meant starting from sctatch.

16t
Mn hvnw Womnt

Fig. 15 Sboun bere is the bole and slotin the spoon handle and the Fig. 16 Here the spoon has lteen tbreaded onto the l-beam. The circular
circalar l-bearu ruacbined into tbe base with tbe one-inch gap at tbe top. disc :ticking up from the base preuents tbe spoons fron getting tangled.

From a solid piece of aluminum Cad machined a circulat I-beam

into a round disc. At one point in the circle there is a one-inch open-
ing. It is through this openingthzt spoons thre^ded onto the
^re
I-beam and then slid all the way around the citcle. Fig. 15 shows the
hole and slot in the end of the spoorl and Fig. 16 shows the spoon
being threaded onto the I-beam. The citcular I-beam can easily hold
sixty spoons with room to
sPafe.
Cad wanted to install a small
electric motor that wouid auto-
matically tevolve an arm that
would push the nested spoolrs
around the I-beam and off the
end. "No motors!" I insisted. I
much ptefer more dependable
fotces like finger powet and
gravity. A metal tab (controlled
from above) pushes the entite
row of spoons around the I-
beam and when they reach the
opening, they dtop off onto
the floor. Fig. This gimmick
17. Fig. 17 Tbe spoon holder has been rernouedfrom
the pitcber in order to show afall load of six!
(which will be referred to as the
spoonl The metal tab that pushes the spoons
inside gimmick) was mounted aroand the l-bean itjust to tbe left of tbe one-
inside the metal water pitcher. inch gap in tbe l-lteam.

500
 lonoBt, @r,l,rt,.rpttlrlpr 6 1trurn

The other part of the gimmick (that will be referred to as the

outside gimmick) secures and then teleases everything in the load and
is the most interesting piece of the pazzle.It looks somewhat like a
hand-held Gatling Gun, or at least that's what TSA agents across the
countfy have told me.
Turning the wheel on top of the hand-held
gimmick revolves the tab inside the pitcher that
pushes the spoons around the I-beam. The more
the wheel is revolved, the more spoons hit the
floor. It was very diff,cult to revolve the wheel
(alongwith sixty spoons) by simply holding my
index fnger tip against the wheel's knuded edge.
John Gaughan offered to fix this and a few other
probiems. At intervals around the knuded edge
John inserted metal pegs that made revolving the
wheel a dream. Fig. 18.
Fig. 18 The pegs in the wheel of the oatside gimmick nake it uerl easl Trying to hold the entire load (which, depend_
to reuolue aad drop the load of spoons inide tbe pitcber' ing on the borrowed coat, could weigh over 12
pounds) by the thin piece of metal that formed the handle was also
ptoblematic. John added a solid Rosewood handle that is so beautiful
it's almost apity that the audience never gets to see it. Figs. 19 &20.
The business end of the outside gimmick consists of a wheel whose
axle is made from the male end of a ball lock pin. The female end of
the lock pin is mounted inside the center post of the gimmick inside
the pitcher. \X/hen the male end of the ball lock pin is inserted into a

Ftg. 19 The outside gimrnick, canQlete with a Roytyood bandle. Fig. 20 Tbe band bolding tbis gimnick controls the release of sixfl
spllnq tirl metal tra1s, and a metal waterpitcber at dilJ speed duired.

i09
Mwr Avnw Womns

Fig. 21 Near the end of the routine the thnnb reachesforuard and Ftg. 22 Openingthe ball lockpin releases the pitcherfroru the oatside
presses dou.,n on tbe batton tltat opens tbe ball /ockpin. giruruick and sends it crashing to tbe fiaon

hole in the bottom of the pitcher the two pieces of the gimmick are
Iocked together. Pressing the button on toP of the hand-held gimmick
opens the ball lock pin and releases the pitcher. Figs' 21, & 22.
A final addition was two metal trays that would also drop out of
the spectator's coat. These trays along with the metal w^ter pitcher
turned what, at first glance, appeated to be a guy stealing silverware,
into a totally implausible and impossible scenario: a guy attemPting
to steal everything he could get his hands on. I spent another day in
the restaurant supply area of downtown Los Angeles looking for the
perfect trays. They had to fit into my stool top, they had to be neady
flat so they could easily slide apart, and they had to be heavy enough
to produce a loud crash when they hit the stage. By the end of the
day, I had nothing. Befote retutning home deiected I pulled into a

Sizzler festaufant for a quick bite to eat. This is one of those places
where yortr sizzltng hot meal arrives on a metal tfay that is resting on
a wooden platter. When my meal arrived, I couldn't believe my eyes.
If I had designed a metal tray specifically for my could not have
^ct,I
done better than the ofle that now lay before me. I decided then and
there that I would be leaving the Sizzler that day with mote than iust
a full stomach. The look in my eye told the festaufant m nagef that
I was dead serious about leaving with two of his trays and he there-
fore decided to accept my offer of money fathef than watch me bolt
through the door with a ffay tn each hand. He would sutely be sur-
prised to learn that for the past thitty yeafs those same two Sizzlet
trays have elicited howls of laughter as they crashed onto hundreds of
stages atound the wodd.

190
 fowpt. har. lwrpwmr 6 Atum

FU. D Pulling the sping-loaded tiger half-ua1 back releases the fr:t Fig. 24 Pulling tbe sping-loaded tiger a// the wa1 back releaset the
(otrternost) trE. The wire kop on this tral passes through a hole in the second wire loop nnding the second tral rashing to the foor.

front tral as it falls to tbe floor.

A small metal wire loop was attached to the

end of each ftay. The loop in the back tray passes
through a hole in the fuonttray. These loops
hold both trays to the gimmick. John Gaughan
fashioned a clever release system whereby a slight
pull on a spring-loaded trigger pulled a small
piston rod out of a slot which teleased the first
wire loop that was supporting the (outermost)
tray. Pulling the trigger all the way back released
the second tray. Figs. 23,24 & 25.

Ftg. 25 Tbe girumick seen from belou sbonts tbe mecbanism tbat drops
the tra1s. In of tbe wbee/ is tbe bottoru end of the ball lock
the rcnter
pin. Aboue that it a snalhrpin that locates tbe girunitk in the proper
position on the bottom of tbe pitcher

If you have machined the

complete set of stainless steel
parts shown in Fig. 26let me
be the flrst to congratulate you.
You have certainly earned the
right to perform the the Scis-
sors, Coat, Silverware & Chick-
en foutlne.

Fig. 26 Tbe pitcber acts as a chute ta

direct the falling spoons awal from lhe
coati sleeues and inside pockets.

)qt
Mwr Avnw Watanr

Besides being funny items to see fall out

of a spectatof's coat, the trays also serve a
functional purpose. \X/hen evetything is at-
tached to the gimick and loaded inside the
stool the pitcher sits on top of the nested
ttays. Fig. 27. \7hen you grab onto the han-
dle and pull, the entite load slides smoothly
out of the stool.
The flnal addition to the gimmick was
a heavy-duty snap attached to the wooden
handle with a strip of adhesive Velcro stuck Fig. 27 This part of the laad uteiglts eiglttpoandq bat the trals allaw it
to slide eatil1t aat af the stool.
below it. The strap on the load bag has a
matching snap and Velcro strip. Fig. 28.
The snap is enough to hold the bag to the
gimmick handle, which means the Velcro is
merely a back-up safety net, No way could
both of those systems fatlat the same time,
which guarantees the safety, of the chicken.
This allows the pitcher, spoons and ttays
to be preJoaded into the stool. Then just
befote I am introduced, the chicken (in her
ioad bag) is slid into the stool top. The strap
on the bag is snapped to the handle and the
Velcro is ptessed together. trig.29. Fig.28 Tlte load bagis attaclted to tbe badle uitb a heaul-dttfl map
and a stip of l.ehro. Eitlter one can urppart the wetgbt of the chicken
Obviously, this completed gimmick
so each one JerueJ rtJ a backup to lhe athen
requited a massive amount of thought and
work. At least the next person who attempts
to construct one won't have to make and
discard four versions before producing a
worker. I have shown this gimmick to a
few friends and it does seem to blow their
minds. I jokingly refet to it as the world's
greatest gimmick but jokes aside, it is an
impressive device. Using just my right hand
I am able to open the side of the stool, gtab
hold of the handle and steal a single load. I
can then release (at any speed desired) sixty FtS.29 B1 grabbingonto tbe uooden handle tbe entire load can bepulled
qairk! and elfcientlt oat of the tool.
spoons, two metal tfzys, a watef pitcher, and

19t
 lcsrol.l.. $n,lwrBlltlnm E 1tttttttt

then with my left hand, produce a live chicken. A

second latet, the coat is totally clean and returned
to its owner. Fig. 30.
My neu, spoon dropper, the improved chicken
Ioad bag, and the stool in place of the chair were
huge imptovements to my act. The stooi virtually
eliminated all the bad angles from the toutine.
\X/ith the spectator, the coat and myself acting
as shields, the steel is completely covered. I have
done performances with a live band sitting on
FtS. 30 This i: the load as it is held under the spectator's coat. the stage directly behind me and was able to
block their view of the steal with my body. The
effect of the scissors penetfating through the coat was now well up off
the floor so that even people seated at banquet tables could see it. And
a completely logical story line now linked the Scissors Through Coat
trick with the chicken production.
At the end of the Scissots Through Coat phase, the square of
newspaper falls away revealing that the coat is unharmed. I even have
a music cue here to indicate that the trick is ovet and to cue a round
of applause. As I take the coat ftom the spectator, a sPoon falls out
of it onto the floor. I am as confused by this as the audience' Picking
up the spoon, I allow the audience to fgure out what has happened
befote I do. It appears, at least for a momerit, that the spectator is
stealing silverware. The trickle of spoons soon tufns into a watefiall.
The sound ptoduced by these sPoons hitting the stage is akin to a
drum roll. And at the end of the drum toll, the fi'rst ttay hits the floot
(effectively a cymbal crash) followed by the second ttay hitting the
floor (a second cymbal crash). The falling water pitcher produces a
f,nal and louder cymbal crash. The floor around me is now coveted
with silver-ware, serving trays and a pitcher, all of which, to my great
surprise, fell unexpectedly from the gentleman's coat. My line to him
rs,IYell,loa set qaite a table, doloa mind if I serue dinner? IYho ordered the

chicken?And there is that twisted logic that I love so much. He sets the
table and I serve dinner, which in this case iust happens to be a live
chicken.

191
Mur Avnw Woyarpt

E ady onI learned that the sight of a spoon falling out of co^t
^
isn't particulady funny. It is the sound it makes when striking the
floor that is funny. A wooden stage or platform is the perfect surface
for creating a loud crashing sound. A catpeted floor is the worst as it
produces what is essentially a silent movie. There is such a difference
in the audience reaction that I had the guys at Bill Smith's Magic Ven-
tures create a portable sound-inducing surface. Two pieces of eighth-
inch thick aluminum, measuring fourteen inches squafe were attached
together with a piano hinge. The top surface was painted with an
extremely durable black paint to make it less noticeable when lying
on the floor. I pre-set it upstage before the show and then just kick it
downstage as the spectator is walking up ftom the audience.
I it to local shows since I'm never sure what type of
always bting
surface I will be faced with. Because of its weight, I never fly with
it. Most hotels have dance floors that arc assembled from three-foot
squafes of parquet wood. One of these squates makes a perfect target
for my cascading cutlery. I have used a v^rtety of other objects in a
pinch (metal serving trays, pieces of masonite, etc) because the sound
is such an tmportant element.

After years of performing this routine as wtitten, I had an rdea

invoiving the scissors that I thought would be an improvement. You
may think that the idea is totally unrrecessary but I really love the
three visual moments that this addition provides. Each moment helps
strengthen the effect that the blade of the scissors has actually been
shoved through the coat.
The scissors in my act measure ten inches long and this idea re-
quired that I purchase a second matching pair. One pat of scissors is
gimmicked in the same way that a Spirit Nut is gimmicked. For those
unfamiliar, this is a brass flut that is actually two separate halves that
can be split apart and then joined back together. Two slotted steel
pegs hold the two halves together. The precision machining makes

194
 Ictmpt, [on,fwrBlu.lnpr 6 lttwm

it impossible to see the dividing line even when you know where to
look. During my years atJohnson Ptoducts I made hundteds of Spirit
Nuts but for the machining of this pau of scissors I turned to an old
friend who once worked atJohnson Products and now tuns his own
shop.
First, three small welds permanently fastened the two scissot halves
together. There was orle on either side of the pivot point and a third
where the two handles touch. The scissors were then cut in half two
and a quarter inches from the end of the handle. The welds kept the
two handles together as orie unit and the two blades together as a
second unit.
Hotding the blade unit, point down in a vice, a small hole was
dtilled into the cut-off end of each blade. Matching holes were drilled
into the cut-off ends of the handle unit. The holes in the blades
should be directly opposite the holes in the handle. Then two pins
measuring three-quatters of an inch long were machined out of steel
and a slot was cut half way down each pin. These pins were of such
a diametet that when they were hammered into
the two handle holes for half their length they
remained permanently fixed in place. The ex-
posed pin ends (with the slots) could then be slid
into the holes in the blade. A slight chamfer on
the pin ends along with a slight countet-sink in
the opposing holes made fitting the two halves
together abreeze. The slotted pins hold the
blade in place but not so tightly that it can't be
removed. Fig. 31.
During the performance, I pinch the pivot-
Fig. )l Two splitpins in the handk f.t snttg! into twa corresponding
point of the blade unit between my right thumb
boles in the blade. The two haluet can be separated ttsingjun one hand.
and index finger while my other fingers hold
onto the handle. With this grip I am able to seParate the two sections
using just my tight hand.
Occasionally, the two halves become loose and the blade unit is
able to fall off of the handle. By forcing knife blade down into each
a

slot, the pin halves are expanded open siightly, thus regaining their
gripping power on the blade.
During my these scissots live in my left inside coat pocket. A
^ct,
few well-placed stitches have divided this pocket into two distinct

t91
lrktr Gvnw Wotont

sections, a ftont and a rear.If I m doing my full

show,I can put the gimmicked scissors in the
rear section and the ungimmicked scissors in the
front section.Frg.32.
During my Bill in Cigar toutine, I can eas-
ily locate and remove the ftont scissors and use
them to cut open the cellophane cigar wrap-
pet. These scissors are then returned to the
front compartment. Latelwhen apafu of scis-
sors emefges from this same pocket, there is no
feason for anyone to believe that they are not the FA. 32 81 diuiding ry packet into ttva sections I an able to pick ap
wbicheuerpair of scissors I need withoat besitation.
same paf.

During the early days of my professional career I closed my

^ct
with the Linking CoatHangets. When the ArmJuggling routine came
along, I found that the Coat Hangers couldnt follow the Arms and
the juggling routifle became my closer. Years later when this routine
was developed, I discovered that nothing could follow the ptoduc-
tion of the silvetware and chicken. And from 1981 to the ptesent, I
still haven't found a routine that produces bigger laughs or as strong a
punch at the fnish.
The routine consists of two phases. First is the penetration of the
scissors thtough the spectatof's coat. Part Two is the production of
various items from the coat. The f,rst phase gives me a reason to bring
a spectator up ftom the audience, have him remove his coat and dis-
play it to the audience. If this spectator had been stealing silvetwate it
was certainly possible that something might accidentally drop out of
his coat. The appeatance of the fitst spoon is surprising but there was
nothing contrived about it. It could be happening.
The part of the routine that needed justifying was, "'W'hy are you
pushing those scissors through his coat?" I answeted this question
by designing a routirie that has nothing to do with scissors, coats, or
silverware.
By 198i, theyear this toutine was developed,I was starting to
figure out who I wanted to be on stage. This, of course, is the most

196
 fctttoBt. Am. lwnwm G Arcun

difficult pa:t of becoming a magtcian And, I'm sorty to say, can-

not be learned from a book. It is a long, slow, and sometimes painful
process that starts with you standing in ftont of a mrrcot and taking
stock. Dont be disheartened by what you see. Remember, even the
Elephant Man had a successful career in show business. It took many
years of false starts down the wrong path befote I finally decided that
I wanted to be a guy who made preposterous statemeflts and claimed
to possess avartety of astonishing abilities. I would say things that
convinced the audience I was an idiot, but in the end, I would some-
how manage to accomplish exactly what I to do. My unlikely
set out
successes could sometimes be explained by magic, periodically to skill
and occasionally to plain old dumb luck. By approaching the Scissors
and Coat routine from this angle, I decided to make it a demonstra-
tion of my recently-acquired skill as a hypnotist. During the demon-
stration it is clear to the audience, not to mention the gentleman from
the audience who has joined me onstage, that no one is hypnotized,
but I blissfully carcy on, convinced that the spectator is under my
complete control. If I then do something catastrophic to his coat and
his only response is to smile, then he must be hypnotized. Yes, I know
it doesn't make any sense but remember, I'm an idiot.

The spoon dropper is installed onto the bottom of the pitcher. Ap-
proximately sixty spoons are loaded inside the pitcher and the ioops
in the trays arc attached to the dropper. The pitcher is lying on its
side on top of the trays and the whole assembly is slid into the stool
where it occupies the left side of the compartment. At the last minute,
the chicken is placed into the load bag and she is insetted into the
right half of the compartment. The load bag strap is snapped onto the
handle and the Velcro strips are pressed together. The prepared piece
of newspaper is lying on the clear plastic shelf under the stool and the
gimmicked scissots are in the left inside coat pocket, rear section, han-
dle end up. The handle of one ungimmicked spoon is tucked behind
my belt on the right side and temains there undisturbed throughout
my entire act. The bowl of the spoon extends above the belt and is
covered by -y jacket.

59t
Mn Aunw Wotomt

A gentleman wearing a coat is invited onto the stage. \)Uhen work-

ing for a corporate group or private part\, this person is often pre-
determined. This doesnt mean that the persorl has been tipped off,
just that someone has indicated to me that this person is the boss, the
host, or someone else that everyone in attendance knows and likes.
\X/hen performing in a theater I always peek out at the crowd and
locate at least a couple of gentlemen who are wearing coats.
I am z big believer of using walk-up music. A short snappy tune
that, along with the applause, flls the time required by the specta-
tor to walk up on stage. For this description we'll assume his name is
Ardan and he is positioned on your right.
I cowldn't help but notice this louelt coatlou'ae chosen to wear this euening and

b1 chance,I need to borrow a coatforthis experirzent. Coaldyu slide out of the

coat?

As he is removing his coat, I step forwatd and, gesturing to the

houndstooth pattern on my coat, say to the audience,
I would /./se mJ own coat bat it's realfi bas1. (Thank you Mac ICng)
Taking his coat from him, gesture toward the stool seat and say,

Hop ap here on tbe seat of hono4 both feet on the front, and knees together
Show basiness.
Oftentimes the spectator will sit angled toward me with one foot
ofl the front bar and the othet on the left foot rest. In this position his
left leg would inhibit opening the trap in the stool. Your instructions
to keep both feet on the front and his knees to-
gether reinforces the idea that how he sits on the
stool is impottant. As you say the last two wotds,
"sho.w business," point toward the audience. The
act of closing his knees always generates a good
Iaugh.
Hold the tight shoulder of his coat with your
right hand and say, Hold tbe coat right here, as you're
bumping his left forearmwith your right elbow.
Your goal is to get him to grab onto the coat
with his left hand. Fig. 33.
Ftg. )3 Bunping tbe spectator's /eft arn withyar ight elbow wi//
With each additional bump, repeat, Rigbt here, eilcltffage hint to take the coat with his left hand.

i90
 l*yr,pr, {1,,fl iitrupw*pr 6 furwx

This spectator is denonshatitrg tlte proper po.e ition J'or a clticken tuan:.feet on the fi"ont, krces togetber,
coatltagingt/te:ide of ilse sfool, and il:e boltoru edge oJ' tlte conl ltangingbelar.'tlte seat of the stool.
Taping of Nada x Aqai a 2006 TI' leies in l\,Iadrid, Spait.

right here. The moment his left hand takes hold of the coat zher your
words slightly. Rtght hand bere, right hand here, first softly, then louder
and louder. Eventually, he realizes that you want his tight hand to
hold the coat. As he switches hands say,

You're notfrom around here arelou?

Another line that doesn't mean anythiflg but genetates a laugh. If
he misses your cue and takes the coat with his right hand from the
start, no harm done and you just ptoceed.
Left hand holds on ouer here, like a ballfgbter
Position his two hands so the right side of the coat is touching the
left side of the stool and the bottom of the coat hangs below the bot-
tom of the stool. Pick up the gimmicked newspaper, put it undet your
left arm and step forwatd to address the audience.
IU like to thank Ardan for coming ap here tonight so that I can demonstrate
foryou the ancient and seldom seen art of fupnotism. Now, most oflou probabfi
think tbat becoming a hlpnotist requireslears andlears ofpractice and stad1. lYell
recentlt, I haue discouered that after onfi a coaple euenings of trial and erro6 the

ba:ic: of fupnosis can be learned lry ary idiot. Allaw me to demonstrate.

)./q
illn Awnrv i/ot,ont

My entire stage persona is embodied in those last few wotds. Not

only are these lines tremendously important to my character develop-
meflt, but the1, also elicit a fine laugh. I have basically announced to
the crowd that not onll, 26 I an idiot, but I'm too much of an idiot
to everi rcaltze it. That is the basic theme to my entire act. It's hard to
believe that it took years for me to figure out this simple premise but
once I did, selecting material and writing routines became a whole lot
easier.
Step back and address the spectator.
Ardan, I am going to coant backwardfrom fue to one. As I doyu willfall
into a deep hlpnotic trance. Fiuefou4loar e)es are getting heaul4 three, two buckle
m1 shoe, one, s/eE.
On "sleep," your tight hand gently pushes the spectatot's head for-
ward as if he has fallen asleep.
Ardan hasfallen into a deep hlpnotic trance. Toproue m1 complete controlouer
him (looktns straight at the spectator) Ardan, look me in the ey.
I7hen he looks ovef at )rou...
Like a robot, be obey m1 euery command.
Sometimes the spectator thinks it's funny to keep his head down
and not look at me. I combat this tactic by standing motionless while
continuing to stare at him. I don't cate how long he sits thete, I'll
stand there longer. Sometimes the wait seems endless but eventually
he sneaks a peek over at me. The longer the wait, the funnier the 1ine.
AsfurtherprooJ I will attempt another experiment' this time using a small
square of newspape7 thi: pair of cuticle scissors, and ArdanJ coat.

During this line take the newspaper ftom under your arm, unfold
it once, and then tear the side closest to you all
the way down to the fold. This exposes the gim-
micked square, which you pull free from the full
sheet. The torn sheet is dropped onto the stage
and the gimmicked square is held in your left
hand by the upper left corner so that the diago-
nal fold goes from the upper left corner to the
Iower right corner. Ftg. 34.
Needless to say, the audience is never allowed
to window shade backing. Your tight
see the
hand removes the gimmicked scissors ftom your
Fig. 14 This islour uiew of the newspaper rqilare. Tbe scirors blade
inside coat pocket. will be pushed lbrugh tbe hole in the center.

400
 fwnw, \tr, lwrpwr,Bt 6 Arurn

l%hat I thougb IA do is pash thue scissors right

throagh the back of the coat like this. Yoa'll see them come
ruPptng through right about here.

During the f,rst of those lines you repeatedly

trig. i5'l-be b/rntpoint of the.rci.r.rors blade
tlse inside aJ' the .rpectatori coat.
push the point of the scissors against the back of
his coat right in the middle. Fig. 35.
During the second line the scissors are moved
to the audience side of the coat and the same spot
is pointed at with the tip of the scissors. Fig. 36.
Step forward and say directly to the audience,
i: repeated/l,pasbed against lWowldloa like to see tbat?
This always elicits a huge, unanimous reaction
from everyone, except the volunteet.
I\ow I think itJ interesting to note that under normal
circumstances this woald enrage tbe owner of the coat. But,

because Ardan is in a deep catafiptic trance, be'll fnd

this whole tbing rather laaghabk. Sleep.

Upon the word "sleep" pass the blade of the

scissots in front of the spectator's face, which
usually makes him drop his head again.It
should be noted that during the previous pat-
ter the spectator might be acting wide awake or
sound asleep or perhaps a combination of both.
Fig. 36 l[ouing tlte scissor.r to tltefront of the coat,loa point oat the He didnt ask to come up onstage so anything
tpot nltere tlte .rcissorL tt,i// penehzte t/troagb the ruateia/. he does is fine with me and it's usually funny.
Whenevet you're speaking ditectly to the audi-
ence it's possible to keep an eye on the sPectator by using your periph-
eral vision. Occasionally I will spin around and look directly at him
and he will quickly drop his head and assume the sleep position.
Having just passed the scissors down in front of his face, say to the
audience,
He's oal like a ligbt.
During this line, both hands relax in front of you and using iust
the fingers of your right hand, separate the two scissor halves. They
remain in the same proximity but they're no longer pinned together.
Then,leaning in, examine the spectator's face a bit closer.
He s dang near dead.
It is during this line that the pointed end of the blade is pinched

40
Mwr Avrnw lfionant

between yout left thumb and index f,nger. The

scissor blade is now hidden behind the news-
paper square and out of the audience's view. Fig. 37.

Immediately the hands separate with the left

hand carcying the newspaper square (and scissors
blade) to the front of the coat and the right hand
carrytfigthe scissors handle behind the coat. The
scissors handle is re-gripped in the right hand
so the handle is pointing up. The right hand
then moves to the top of the coat so the scissors
handle is visible to the audience. As you say, Hold Ftg. J7 Tlte stea/ is ruade orJtlil are intent!, o:nrui7ing tlte speclator't
face. Then-1,0t11'left ltand ruoue.r to tbefront of the coal .tild-)tlur igl)t
on good and tigltt right here and right here, the handle
band ruoyes bel.tind tlte coat.
is moved over to the right shoulder of the jacket
and then across to the left shoulder. During this
action the audience sees the handle, which sub-
consciously teinforces their belief that the scis-
sors are indeed behind the coat. Fig. 38.
You do not direct specif,c attention toward the
scissors handle at this point. The flash of silvet
metal will register subliminally and that is all you
want. This is the first of the three moments that
convinced me to make a pair of gimmicked scis-
SOfS.

The newspaper square is being held in posi- Ftg. )8 The atdienrc catcbes a glinQte of tlte scissors hand/e as-1,0u
eilclttrage tlte spectator to bald the coal tigbtly.
tion at the center of the coat. Duriflg the next
line, the right hand maneuvers the handle back
into its original position and then immediately grips the non-pointed
end of the blade (where the pin holes are located) through the cloth
of the coat. Once you have a f,rm gtip, the blade of the scissors is
released by the left hand. The scissors blade must now be moved to
a position perpendicular to the newspaper. To make room for this
adjustment, instead of moving the paper away from the coat (cteating
a bad angle), use your right hand to pull the coat away from the paper.
This will cre^te a cone-shaped space behind the paper wherein the
scissors blade can momentarily hide.
And watch those scissors as thel go rigbt tbroagh tbe middle of the coat like
THAT!
During this line,look straight down at the coat from above and you

407
Itrrr4lt rtt- t r.-1' or.f tLll f rttt'ttd ltt i.r tl/l l4'f ttrttlitl. 'litrlro Cirut Ptit ,\tdrid, .\:pit, 20 10.
Pl to/o: -\ [ t rqtr,\ [ t4 o r.

u,ill see the scissors blade hiding behind the newspaper. Line the point
of the blade up w-ith the star trap in the paper. On the \vord "TH,{T,"
push the blade forrvard forcefullr-. Remember, r'ou are supposed to be
forcing the blade through both the lining and the coat mateflal.
i{otice tbat the onll expression on hisJace i.r one of anuse/lleilt. Nou', aJ'cour.re,

tbe b/ade oJ'tho.re scis.tztt ruokes on/1, ,, 1,r, bo/e in the rualerial. . .

The right hand retains its grip on the tu,o scissors halr.,es. During
the second of those lines, r.our left hand slides the paper square off of
the blade revealing, apparenth., that the blade is sticking right through
the coat. Twisting the scissors at this point adds greatir to the illusion.
This mor.e u.as inspired bv the old Finger-Through-Hat trick that
utilized a false linser. This visualh' stunning moment is the second
reason I made the gimmicked scissors.
81 ruoruentarill,renouingthepapersqtare, tlte audience isgiuen a bief glinp:e aJ the scissarc b/ade
apparent! stickirry igltt tltrotrglt the coat. Co/on, Miclttgtn, 20/0. Pbato: Wlendel| Brcqit,r.

At this moment, you are holding the scissors handle in the right
hand as well as the scissors blade through the cloth. The newspaper
square is slid back onto the scissors blade. The left hand is now free to
grab hold of the blade in front of the coat and through the cloth, the
handle that is behind the coat.
ItJ when I pnll the handle ofthe scissors throagh the
hole thatyu will artaalfi hear the material as it mends

itself back together Listen to the magic.

During the first of these lines, the left hand
pushes the handle up over the top of the coat
until the audience can see the handle protruding
from the lining of the coat. Fig. 39.
They have riow seen part of the scissors on
both sides of the coat,afleffectthatis so com-
pletely amaztng that the audience is given just the
briefest glimpse before the coat is returned to its
original position. As soon as the handle is safely
Ftg. )9 fu,gnppittg both the band/e and the blade inynr leJt hand, tbe
behind the coat, it is retaken by the right hand coat can be ttrrned inside out, a/lowing the aadience to see the scissot's

and dropped into your right coat pocket. Fig. 40. band/e protnrdingj"oru the caat /ining.

404
 On stttge at tlte London Palladiart, the spectatorjoins the audience in larghter nben he sees the scissors
bandle protradingfroru the back aJ' bis coat. 1996. Photo: Cary Hagbe:.

\X/ith the left hand holding onto the blade,

the left thumb pushes the newspaper against the
coat. This allows the right hand to get a firm griP
(through the cloth) on the paper.
Listen to the magic.

This line is repeated rn an effort to quiet the

crowd. The left hand tugs the blade toward the
audience a couple of times as if you wete trying
to pull the handle through the coat. The right
hand presses the coat against the rear end of the
blade, which gives the impression that the coat
Fig. 40 Getting id of the scissors handle at tbis point great! sinQltfes is being pulled forward by the scissots handle.
the handling tbat follouts.
Make sure that the tear end of the blade is still
through the hole in the paper. By maintaining
a fitm grip on the shade materialwith the right
hand and forcing the blade down against the
paper, the window shade will tear, creating an
extra-loud ripping sound. trig. 41.
Just prior to the tear I always lean down and
position my microphone as close as possible to
the paper in order to amplify the rip. Of course
the audience believes that your attempt to pull
the scissors handle thtough the hole in the mate-
rial has unexpectedly torn the coat further. Your
Fig. 41 Tbe paper is torn lt1 holding onto it throrgh tbe caat uilh1our
igltt hand and palling doun on the scissors blade withyar left hand. face takes on a look of distress.
Oops.

405
Mrur Avrnw Wonoms

Look behind the coat as if you are investigat-

ing the problem.
Oh bunner
Grab the scissors blade near the base with
your left hand yout right hand maintains its
as

grip on the paper (through the cloth). As the scis-

sors blade is carried away from the coat your left
hand covets the space where the handle would
be if it v/ere not in 1,e111pocket. Ftg.42.
The scissors blade is waved in front of the
spectator's eyes as you say, Fig. 42 Thi: gip ruakes it appear as tltoryb I ant bolding the scissors b1,
tbe bandle uhen infact tlte bandle is in nry patket and I an holdingjust
Deep, deep asleep. I got bang up on tbe lining. It coald
tbe end oJ' tbe blade.
happen to arybod1.

The scissors blade is placed into your right inside coat pocket. For
a long time I wondered how I was going to reconnect the scissors han-
dle and blade, but eventually realized that it was totally uflnecessary.
Ditching the scissors handle early and then handling the blade as if it
still had a handle avoided a multitude of poten-
tial problems. Simpler is always better.
I can fix that. All it takes is a little extra squeery and
ladies and gentlemen, tbat coat is just as good as new.

During the first part of this line, your left

hand wads up the paper square that is still held
in place from behind by the right hand. On the
word new the right fingers propel the paper for-
ward where it falls to the floor. The coat is seen
to be completely restoted. Fig. 43.
It worked!
Ftg. # When the uadded-np paper rqtldre is tossed aual blyar igbt
This moment is played as if that is the end band and the coat is seen lo be undatttaged, the tick appears to be ouer
of the demonstration. To reinfotce this notion
extend your left arm straight out to your side and a musical chotd here
will also help. These actions will generate a tound of applause, duting
which you lean in toward the spectator, look at his face and then say
to the audience...
He is still in a deep hlpruotic trance.

This will cause him to return to his sleep mode (eyes closed, head
bowed). During this line, my left hand grips his coat by the collar just
to make sure that the spectator doesn't inadvertentiy drop or move it

406
 ktmpr.har,hwrBwm G Arum

during the steal. Yout right hand moves to the

rear edge of the stool trap and pulls it open. It
then reaches inside and takes hold of the gim-
mick handle and slides the entire load out of the
seat. As the load is lifted up and away ftom the
stool, the elastic band pulls the trap door closed.
The coat is taken from the spectator and laid
over your tight hand, effectively coveting the
entire load. Fig. 44.
The left fingers push a fold of material be-
Ftg. 44 Tlte steal is made arJztl dre leaningin to look at the spectatori tween the right thumb and gimmick handle
face. Tbe ruat is tben takenfrom the spectator and laid ouer the load. where it is held tightly in place. Having the coat
fall to the floor at this point would be disastrous.
The coat (and load) are held entirely by your right hand directly in
ftont of you as you take a few steps to yout left.
I had betterget hin out of tbis deep hlpnotic trance before we go anlfarther..
You nevet make it to the end of this line because of an "unexpect-
ed" development. \X/ith the coat providing ample
covef, your left hand teaches into youf own coat
and removes the spoon that is behind your belt.
Fig.45.
The instant it is out of your coat and safely
behind the spectator's coat, drop the spoon on
the floot. Your reaction to this spooll is one of
mild surptise and confusion.
IYhat's this?
Pick up the spoon with your left hand and
examine it closely, making sure that the audience
Fig. 45 The audience uiew of tbe coat coueingtlte load andyar left
ltand reaching into1,o111" sool 7o pall tbe spaon oat of yur belt.
gets a goodlook atttas weIl. Your right hand
has moved to the right so the coat is no longer
obscuring the front of you.
A spoon?

Let the audience fgure out what is happening before you do. If the
spectator is still acting like he is hypnotized, tap his shoulder with the
spoon to get his attention. From hete to the end of the routine, you
want his full attention. Part of the fun is his reaction to the situation.
(If you're petforming after a banquet dinner) Oh, a little soauertirfrom
this euening! festiuities.

407
Mn Aunw Wommr

(If you're wotking in a theater) Oh, stopped offfor dinner on tbe wa1 down
to the sbow.
Don't worryt about it, one louslt spoon. (Then looking at the audrence) Oh
c07ne 0/t,Jla'ae done tbe same tbinglourself,
Your right index finger slowly starts revolving the wheel at the top
of the gimmick, which dtops the f,rst few spoons. It is importa.rt at
this point to hold the coat up high off the floor. I know that this is a
heavy load but you need to maximize the space between the bottom
of the coat and the floor. During the next minute, this is where all of
the action is going to take place.
You are as surprised at these spoons hitting the floor as you were
when the frst spoon dtopped. Take hold of the coat sleeve on the left
and shake it while releasing another flurry of spoons.
Looks likeloa'ue got a matched set.

More spoons fall.

I tbink he's got nruice for eight iru there.

More spoons fall.

Tbi: is more thanjust a hobfui withloa, isn't it?
\X/hen you feel that there are only a few spoons temaining, raise the
end of the coat sleeve up to your mouth, take a big breath and blow.
At the same moment, revolve the wheel to its final position, causing
the final Ioad of spoons to fall. You have blown them out
^pp^rently
of the coat which is the sort of thing that might happen in a cattoon,
but never tn real life. Your index finger immediately moves from the
wheel to the trigger on the ttay dropper.
IWell, I guus tbatl euerything.

As the fnal wotd is spoken telease the first ttay, which makes a
loud and sudden crash onto the floot. It will undoubtedly land on
some of the spoons sending them flipping up into the air. The sound
of this tray gives you a considerable statt.
You'ue got euerytbing in here bwt the kitchen sink.
Continue shaking the coat sleeve in silence fot a few seconds. You
will actually hear members of the audience saying, "No way," as if
they are expecting a kitchen sink to fall out of the coat. Finally you
rea\ze what it is they are waiting fot.
Yow didn't expect a kitchen sink tofall out of tbere? (Opposite) Tbe fnal sbower
of spoons is apparent$ blown
At that moment the second tray is released. If it iands on the first oat of tbe coat sleeue.

tra,y ttwill cteate an even louder crash. In describing this routine to P b o to : lY/en de II BreTi na.

400
J
A// :ixfi,.rpcton.r atd both tn4'.r hat'e.ltt//et.l)'olt ilLeruut.Tl.te ttex/iten lr., rn.rlt hnd i.r //tepilrl)(r,
Jb/loled 14, tbe prttdtrclior ol il-te c/.tirker. I-otdott, 2006. Pl.tolo: Afttt Aittk.ritat.

their friends later I have actually heard sPectators say that a kitchen
sink fell out of the man's coat. I never coffect them.
I'm kind of surprisedloa didn'tpick ilP lne of those nice waterpihhers jast to
complete the set.

By now your right thumb has moved uP onto the button at the top
of the ball lock pin. As the last word of that line is delivered, the but-
ton is pushed and the metal water pitcher is sent crashing to the floor.
I stand corrected. lWe//, Ardan,loa set qaite a tabk. Mind if I serue dinner?

He always says, "sure."

r:il
 During this exchange your left hand has re-entered the back of the
coat, found the bottom fl,ap of the load bag, and pulled it open. The
chicken has no choice but to land on your left palm. My chicken de-
finitely knows that when she feels my hand under her feet, everything
is flne. Therefore, there is no need to hold onto her since she will do
everything in her power to stay balanced on m)/ hand. Fot years my
final line'was a standard line used by all waiters.
lYbo ordered the chicken?
More recently I |-rur.. sard, Mind f I serue dinner? (He savs sure)
Whaday like, chickenT (Regardless of what he says because the audience
can'thear him anyw'ay, I sa,v) I'm glad he didn't sa1 beeJ
The coat is pulled up and off the chicken. Your left hand raises the
chicken into the air and in order to stay ofl your hand, she will flap
her wings. This is the best way to let everyone in the audience know

I

(Oppo:ite) Yes, I'm as sarpised
ar anJoile that the spectator bad
a cbicken stathed in his coat.
201 1 Luruinato Festiual,
Toranto, Canada. Pboto: Dauid
Linsell ruaiey of Magtcana.
fctvw har. fwrBlu.lllpr 6 Arun
At this point no one believes that the spectator was stealing sil-
verware and he has been transformed into youf co-star. Gestute for
him to follow you downstage and, as you feturn his coat, direct the
applause toward him. After shaking hands, direct him back to his seat
and then redirect the applause to the chicken. When you reach the
wing set the chicken down and retutn for y6s1 final bow sans bird.
My chicken has my undying gratitude but I want this audience to
remember me and me alone as the star of the show.
During the three decades I have been closing my show with this
routine thete have been more than a few circumstances that were
unfoteseen. I always enjoyed wotking as the opening act for my friend
The AmazingJohnathaninLas Vegas. Johnathan is a f,ne businessman
who has developed an audience and a show that is a petfect fit. It goes
without saying that when the temperature hits triple digits outside,
few people we r a jacket to the show. Without at least one jacket in
the showroom, I have no finish. Each night I would study the crowd
as they took their seats, looking for any kind of jacket. On mote than
one occasion there wasnt a single jacket to be found. WhenJohflath^n
strolled into the dressing room shortly befote show time, I explained
my problem. "IJse mine," he said and a minute laterJohnathan's assis-
tant had planted his beautiful new sport coat on a spectatot. The guy
was perfect. He acted like the coat was his and seemed vety concerned
at all the tight times. At the end of the show Johnathan's assistant
went out to retrieve the coat and the guy was gone. Apparently he
didn't entirely undetstand the situation or, he just assumed that for his
stellar performance he deserved a brand new jacket. As you cafi tmag-
ine, Johnathan was not happy. Having learned ahard lesson, from that
day forward I always carty spate facket when working in Las Vegas.
^
In 1993I was the after-dinnet entertainment at high level confer-
ence in Aspen, Colorado that zttracted a bevy of corporate and po-
litical bigwigs. I picked a guy flamed Don out of the audience to be
my chicken mauLater I found out it was Donald Rumsfeld who had
been the Secretary of Defense under President Ford and would soon
hold the same position in George \X/. Bush's cabinet.
\7hile working withJorge Blass in Madrid, Spain I was able to
present my act in Spanish thanks to the tutoring of my bilingual wife.
The gentleman I selected one night to help with the chicken trick
teceived a huge reaction as he walked to the stage. It wasnt until after
41
lrlwr (tvnw Wotont

the show when he and his family came backstage to meet the per-
formers that I learned he was Luis Alfonso de Borbon the nephew of
the King of Spain.
In 201,3I was performing at the Oakland Magic Circle's annual
banquet and not surprisingly, the guy u'ho came up to help was a ma-
gician (David Fry). As I reached into the coat to produce the chicken
I could hear ratdtns and feel something. I was sure it was spoons but
I couldn't find them. A week laterI received a phone call from David
expiaining that his coat was fitted with a topit and some of my care-
fully machined spoons had disappeared into it.
In2004I was the entertainment at the banquetth^t takes place a
few weeks before the Academy Awards where they present the sci-
entific and technical awards. On the Academy Awards telecast they
always show a minute or two of this eveflt. Jennifer Garner hosted
the evening that year and she was kind enough to assist me with the
Bow & Arrow. The guy I picked for the Scissors and Coat routine was
apopular choice and he elicited a huge reaction from the crowd as he
walked up on stage. I did my fake hypnottzingbit and all went well
until he started overacting. The guy slumped completely over on the

On!1 onrc in nqt hfs haue I euer actaal!, /2,pnotiryd :onrcone and it bappened to beDon Rogers. I bad
to literul1, bold hiru rpigbt on the stool throaghout the rautine. 2004 Acadeng, of Motion Pictarci
Scientifc and Technim/ Auards in Pasadena, Califirnia. Photo: LoryPhotogmply.
 fcstoBt, har, lwrnwapr 6 1ttwn

stool and nearly fell off. I had to push him upright and hold him thete
throughout the routine. Instead of reacting to what was happening, he
kept his eyes closed and his head down the entire time. It was like he
u/as trying to win a special Sci-Tech award for bad actiflg. At the end I
pretended to wake him up, returned his coat, and sent him back to his
seat. The of the chicken always produces a huge reaction
^ppearance
but I was disappointed in the reaction to the rest of the routine.
Immediately following the show my friend Bill Taylor (a masterful
creator of movie special effects and the photographer for this book)
came backstage to tell me that the reason the guy didnt react was
because he was hypnotized. "Not possible," I said, "because I dont
know the frst thing about hypnosis and even if I did, you cant hyp-
nottze someone by saying, 'thfee, two buckle my shoe'." Bill didnt
wavef, "The guy was hypnotrzed."
After the awards ceremony I ventured out and met the guy. His
wife assured me that he had been completely hypnotized during my
act and explained further that once when they saw a real hypnotist in
a nightclub, her husband had gone under without even being on stage
and the hypnotist had to come out into the audience and awaken him.
From that point on I promised to use my powers only fot good.

"&

Thoma: FrEs photogrEhed the mess tbat I left on$age after this 2007 pe(ornance in Munith,
Cernmnl. Tbe spoon dropper and load bag are bidden in plain :igbt.

415
 htoughout this book you have repeatedly met Billy McComb
for the simple reason that he was a dear friend for most of mv
performing life and was always wiiling to share his vast magtcal
knowledge. The f,rst time I saw Billy perform was on the lt's Mdgic!
Show in 1968 and during his act he did a miraclulous chicken pro-
duction. Years later, whenever I performed my Silverwarc & Chicken
routine at the Magic Castle, Billy would come backstage and we would
trade chicken stoties. He marveled at my spoon, tray, and pitcher
dropper and shared with me the two methods he used to produce a

chicken. For as complicated as my gimmicks are, Billy's methods were

the epitome of simplicity and both represent the ultimate in environ-
mental magic. Before Billy passed away he made arrangements for
me to obtain the silks and load bag from his chicken production. For
some, Billy's Chicken Trick will be the in this book.
best item
Here is the effect I saw Billy perform at the \X/ilshire Ebell Theater
in 1968. He enteted the stage holding a number of 36-inch silk hand-
kerchiefs and walked straight into the audience. There was a low cur-
tain railing separating the audience from the orchestra pit and he laid
the handkerchiefs over this railing. As each handkerchief was picked
up and handed to a spectator Billy would have something funny to
say about it. Eventually all of the silks were in the hands of different
spectators and they were asked to thoroughly examine them. One by
ofle the siiks were collected back and he carried them up onto the
othetwise bare stage, After a few more witty quips he teached into the
mass of silk and produced a rubber chicken. At this point the audi-
ence thought they were watching a funny but not particulatily
^m^z-
ing trick. And that's when Billy kicked them in the teeth. Reaching
back into the mass of examined handkerchiefs he produced a monster
chicken. At that moment this funny trick turned into a bloody mira-
(Opposite) Bi/! McCorub cle. \X/hete on earth did that chicken come from?
prodaces a thicken daring an
after-dinner shottt at a posh
Yeats later I learned that this wasnt Billy's normal method but one
London hote/. that had been adapted for the situation at the \X/ilshire Ebell Theater.

4i
lrlwr Avnw Wononr

Concealed inside one of

the handkerchiefs was a

chicken load-bag that had

a metal hook at the top.
A stiff piece of metal ran
along one side of the bag
and on the opposite side
there were thtee hook-
and-eye catches. The three
release pins were attached
to a black cord and one
tug on this cord opened
all thtee catches simulta-
neously. When the time
came for the production
The metal hook on the load bag i: hanging on m1 Once the chicken is secare in the load bagit ltaqE
Billy would pull up on fngrr. The netal strip rans doun the left side of inside one of the )6-inch silks tbat bas been

the release cotd and the tbe bagwhile the tbree hook-and-ey rutches and stitched part-wa1 down one side. IVhen the other
release cord can be seen on tbe ight. silks are added the deception is conplete.
chicken would dtop out
of the bag onto his other
hand. Adding additionai silks to the
gimmicked handkerchief effectively
concealed the load.
With silks in hand, Billy walked
down into audience. During the act
of laying the handkerchiefs over the
orchestra-pit curtain the metal hook
was hung on the railing. The loaded
silk hung down the orchestra's side
and was completely hidden by the
curtain. The metal hook was never
noticed as it laid over the railing.
Amid a continuous line of humor-
ous patter Billy handed out the
visible silks explaining where each
one came from and a bit about the

A,fter all of the handkercbief: bad been exam-

ined Billy woald frst prodace a rubber cbicken.
 DwJ 1trrcn Turu

previous owner. Eventually all of the silks wete in spectators' hands

and Billy's hands were completely empty. He made sure that everyone
was aware of this. Then a couple of the silks were retrieved and laid
over the railing. A couple more were retrieved and as he passed by the
f,tst two he picked them up along with the chicken. \X/hen the final
silks were collected he walked back onto the stage. The rubber chick-
en provided a bit of time misdirection not to mention a laugh and sud-
denly the live chicken made his seemingly impossible appearance.
The original method was designed for a banquet ctowd with the
petformer working on a dance floot or bandstand and, like the adapt-
ed version, it is equally practical and devious. It utilized the same set
of silks and load-bag with a metal hook. In this situation Billy would
walk out amongst the dinner tables handing out silks as he went. At
one point the metal hook would be hung on the back of a guest's
chair. The occupant of that chait, who had most likely just fnished

In a banqaet sitaation the handkercbief containing tbe bird is suneptitious! hung on the back of a
spectatori chair. In tbis photo the silk in Bil!,i /16nr1 ;t coueing the cbicken. The blond wonan facing
the mmera is exantining one of the handkerchiefs as is most euerlone e/se at her table.

49
Mur (rcnw Wonomt

eating a roasted chicken dinner, would never have believed that a live
bird was hanging inches away from their posterior. To help occupy her
attention she was given one of the silks to examine.
After handing out the final handketchief Billy made sure that every-
one could see that his hands were empty before collecting the silks
and picking up the load bag. He wandered back to the performing
atea, produced the rubbet chicken and then POWI the real chicken.
Compared to the elabonte hardware that my routine requires,
Billy's method is self-working and is nothing shott of brilliant.

fi

After rollecting all of the examined silks Bi//), i1no,1t on a bare stage and produces a htrge cbicken.

4t0
Bi//1 McComb, Lance Barton, ChanningPollock, the aathor. Tropicana Hotel, Lns Vegaq 1988 Photo: Jobnryt Paal.
 ou read in the Scissors Thtu Coat chapter how I added a live
chicken to my act in 1981. I knew nothing about chickens at
the time and could not have imagined the trials and tribuia-
tions that lay befote me as I ttaveled the country with a chicken. The
f,rst mistake I made was buying a rooster instead of a hen. As I soon
learned, foostefs cfow, hens do not. And when a roostef decides it is
time to crow there is not a whole lot you can do about it. I found this
out during an appearance on a television show that was broadcast live
from Resorts Intetnational in Atlantic City. My normal procedute was
to be all ready in the wings and just before being introduced I would
load the chicken. My faithful companion and I were waiting in the
wings listening to the beautiful singing voice of Phyllis Hyman who at
the time was appearing on Broadway in Sophisticated Ladies. Suddenly
my co-star decided to join in and though his voice was not classically
ttained like Phyllis'it was just as loud. On most television shows the
standard line is "rWe'll fix it in post (production)" but with live televi-
sion there is no post. No amount of pleading ofl my part alteted this
rooster's determined little mind so I fnally scooped him up and ran
as fast as I could a.way from the stage. Phyllis found the whole inci-
dent highly amusing, certainly more amusing than the lady who lived
across the street from me back home. Het bedroom was perfectly situ-
ated to hear my feathery alarm clock (that never needed winding) go
off at sun up seven days aweek. Every chicken I have had since then
(their life span is only six or seven years) has been a hen and every one
(Oppo:ite) This pictare, circa
has been named Smeddy.
/ 987, depicts ne had I liued
daing tbe uaudeuille era, Did you know that it is illegal to possess a live chicken within the
trauelingfrom tou,n to totvn
New York City limits? That's what the folks at the New York Statler
utith a ltag of tick: and m1
trusted partner uho has in- Hotel told me when they discovered Smeddy dutifully preening her
aduertentl, wandered ofito the feathers in my room. A dead chicken is street legal but a live bird is
railroad tracks to see ttthat's

traking that wbistling sound.

sttictly verboten. \X/hen checking into a hotel I normally dont ask if
Photo: Jack Reinbo/d. there is an extra charge for a chicken. I leatned long ago nevef to ask

471
 ,#r,t',npr
Mw Auutrv

a question that you teally dont want to hear the answer to. My usual
procedure v/as to keep the cage in the bathroom w'ith the cage doot
open. A sheet of newspaper slid under the front of the cage caught
any wood chips she might track out of her cage. Most of her time was
spent wandering atound the bathroom, sitting on top of her c^ge or
in it. \X/hen I was in the room she would sometimes be allowed to
explore beyond the bathroom.
All chickens find floor-length mirrors to be end-
lessly perplexing. Suddenly, without warning, there
is not just another chicken in the room but anothet
chicken that looks exactly like she does. Where did
she come from, how long has she been hete, and why
doesn't she come out from behind that glass window?
Repeated trips into the closet fatl to reveal even the
slightest evidence of another chicken and yet there she
is, plain as day. And oh, so nosy. l7ithout fall, every
time Smeddy walks past that mtrror, there is that
meddlesome chicken spying on het. There were times
when these confrontations ended in fisticuffs. Smeddy
would lunge at this snoop only to be repelled by the
protective glass. The fact that her rival was lunging lYlto are1,aa, u,here didlou coruefrom, and
til4t donTlou conte autfroru behind tbat
back at exactly the same moment just made things
glass so I can shou,'1ou tvba's boss?
u/orse. At least once a day Smeddy would have to let
her intrusive neighbor know who was boss by literally butting heads.
One night I returned to the room and found the bathroom doot
ajar.I didn't find Smeddy in her cage nor anywhere else in the bath-
room. I searched the bedroom and found nothing. I immediately
searched both rooms again, this time mote carefully, and again tutned
up nothing. This was very odd. A chicken is not capable of operating
a doorknob so she had to be here some place. Or could she have been
chickennapped by some holier-than-thou hotel employee?
It then occurred to me that this was like one of those locked room
mysteries. A live chicken is placed into a room. The windows don't
opefl, the door is locked and now she is gone. Where did she go? "OI(
Smeddy, you fooled me. Come on out." Where on earth could she be?
It got to the point that I was looking in my suitcase, on the top shelf
of the closet and inside the little refuigerutor. Then for the third time
I pulled the floot-length curtain away from the wall and there she

474
 y

arrt.rtic,tt: Il--lut ltu.r_lblr /tg.r, lhret tntr, ht'o Ltutd.r, tltd otrr lecker? Att.wrr: litl.toLr: XiglLt\
Gurbtrye Ct4,,.\'ntedd1,il.tt cl.tickttt, tnd Chritlr.,flL,:r'Harli tttttirttald lnttd,,rll of nltrtttt.rlun:d t
dre.rsirg rt,olt ltt / 996 ul il.tt .\ydttel Aftl l"trtirt/ itt Atllnlla.

was calml), sitting on the floor trl,ing to sleeP amidst the commotion.
Practical joker or just a sleepy chicken? I never could decide which
one she was.
In February of 2000 Smeddv and I flew to New York Citt' to
perform for the Council on Foreign Relations, whatever that is. \X'e
staved in st1'le at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel and our show was just
up the street at a consulate building. The afternoon of the show I
walked over to scout out the facilitv and was told bv the doormanthat
when the guests were arriving that evening I would not be allowed
through the main entrance with a barnyard animal. \When I returned
that evening I went around to the back of the building where I was
confronted bv a different doorman. This time my feathered assistant
is what got me through the door. When the doorman reahzed that I
was carr\ring a chicken he swung the security door wide open. "Come
right in sir and follow me upstairs." No one in their right mind would
MttrGvnw Wonomt

use a live chicken to bteakinto a consulate in the middle of New York.

After being escorted upstairs I explained that I would need an out-
of-the-way place to set up my ProPS. The doorman showed me into an
office and prompdy teft. After setting up my actlhad some time to
kill and how do you not look at paPers spread out on a desk. I didn't
touch aflythiflg your honor, I iust looked. Holy &@o/o#! International
banking improprieties, money laundering, illegal bank transfers. If
someone had walked into that office and reahzed what was visible on
that desk, heads would have rolled. Can you imagine the consulate
security guard explaining to the authorities how an itinerant magtclafl
gained access to this top secret infotmation? "The man had a chicken
with him your honor, what was I supposed to do?"
It was a couple of months after I had retutned home and was read-
ing the flewspaper that I had a deia vu moment. This article seemed
vaguely famrhar and then it hit me. The press was just now blowing
the lid off of that fraudulent international banking scheme that Smed-
dy and I had discovered two months earlrer.
Years before this I was part of to:ur across Canada during the
^
dead of winter. That's when I
Iearned that Canadian winters
aren't like Pasadena winters. I
knew that I could get a chicken
into Canada but I wasn't sure if I
could get het out so I got a new
bird (named Palsie) just for this
tour. After the last show we were
taken to the atrport where an
immigration agent told me that
the chicken couldn't enter the
USA. As I handed him the bird
I said, "Her food is called Layer
Crumble and a little cracked corn
makes a nice tre t." Then we iust
stared at each other for a long
time, me with a big smile on my
face and he with his jaw hanging
oPen. This cartoon fu Paal Van Ginkeqappeared in the Calgary Herald. M1 performances across
Finally, as we had planned all Canada had not created a i?ple 0f pabliciyt and now m1 cbicken was a media star.

476
 Itr Arun hpowt

along, the promoter who had accompanied us to the atpott took the
chicken. After that, I only know what I read in the newspapet. Palsie
ended up on a kids'TV show and this iittle chicken's story captivated
a nation. They explained that in America CoI. Sanders was zftether
and she had escaped over the bordet. The viewet who sent in the best
letter explaining why they should have Palsie as a Pet would receive
the bird on television. More than 2]}letters arrived at the station
and the winner was a young lady named Linda Briggs who lived in a
rented house. That was the end of the story, of so we thought.
Weeks later Palsie was back in the news when Linda's iandlord
issued het an eviction notice statiflg that she was rentiflg a house not
abarrryard. The photograph of Palsie and her helpless owner that ap-
peared in the newspaper produced a huge resPonse from sympathetic
readers. At iast report living on a nearby farm with plenty
Palsie was
of other animals and awarm coop while the status of Linda Briggs
was nevet teported.
Back in the glory days of chicken travel, befote 9/1.1,before TSA,
while not necessarily easy, it was possible to take a chicken along on
domestic fights. I once used a very simple travel container that didnt
raise the slightest bit of suspicion: a large P^Pff bag. It was the kind
of bag with handles at the top and once we were on the plane the bag
could be set on the floor with the top wide open providing plenty of
light and air and inside there was food, water and wood chips to peck
around in or take nzp orr. Very comfortable digs if you're a chicken.
^
Things started to go sour at the check-in counter when I was told
that the flight back to Los Angeles had been oversold and I would
have to wait for the next flight. This meant that instead of arriving
home in four houts, I would just be starting my (our) iourney in four
hours. The fact that as compensation they were going to seat me (us)
in first class did little to unruffe my (out) feathers, but I couldnt very
well say, "That's an awfully long time to keep a chicken in abag!"
\)7ith plenty of time to kill I was able to go outside, find a gatden
and let Smeddy dig fot worms for a good hour. But eventually it was
time to jump back in the sack. We took our seat in first class and,
flot being used to these plush surtoundings, soon after take-off I was
sound asleep and so, I thought, was Smeddy. But she wasnt sleep-
ing. She was in fact sick and tired of sitting in a paper bag and was
busy pecking a hole in the side of the bag. Fot a chicken this is a long

4il
lrfitr Avnw Womnt

slow process but, Iike the Bird Man of Alcatraz locked up in his cell,
eventually the job was done and freedom was on the other side of
that hole. When I finally opened my bleary eyes I saw a cushion of
white tarl feathers disappearing under the seat in front of me. It never
entered my mind that this might be someone else's chicken so, like
a hawk datting down from the sky, I lunged and gtabbed onto those
feathers, pulling my companion back from a guaranteed appearance
on the nightly neu/s. Aftet securing het I felt gre t sense of telief
^
until I rcahzed that I now had a live chicken in one hand, p^pet
^
bag with a six-inch hole in the othet and 3 more hours at 35,000 feet
ahead of me. Suffice to say I did not doze off during the remainder of
the flight nor did I ever again use a paper bag to smuggle a chicken.
I purchased a small pet kennel that
could f,t under anauplane seat and
made a cloth cover that disguised the
factthat I was carrying an anrmal cage.
Upon atriving the security check-
^t
point I would just lift up the cloth cover
and show them that there was a bird
in the cage. They would generally peek
inside, give me a look that said "You
are one weird dude," and then send me
on my way. Dudng the flight the cloth
cover was raised providing her with
plenty of ar and light. There was never
an unpleasant odor and she was as quiet
as a church mouse though I'm no ex-
pert on how noisy mice are who reside
in churches. A chicken really is an ideal
traveling companion. Much more so
thana few of the human companions I
Tbb btff colored tbickea didn't show up on stage as well
have traveled with.
as a pbite bird bat :he was a great little assistant tbat
The cage had watet, food, and a worked with me for1earc. Pboto: Dauid Bro.

comfy layer of wood chips, just like

home. You have to understand that when a chicken feels safe tn a
warm environment with plenty of food and watet, there is no place
she would rather be. Just like the feeling you have when you're home,
this was het home, at least het mobile home. If this chicken were

420
 hr Urun Upamtut

tossed into the fitst class cabin (which I'm not suggesting) she would
cettainly wander around looking for dropped peanuts but eventually
she would f,nd het way back home. I don't think the same could be
said for a dog or cat imptisoned in one of these cages. I always found
it amusing that the person in front of me spent the entire fight sitting
right on top of a live chicken and never knew it.
On one occasion a security woman asked what was in the cage and
I gave my usual arrswer, "A bird." She peeked in and then announced
in a loud voice, "That's not a bird, that's a chicken!" She didnt seem
to hear my explanation that chickens Me p^rt of the bird family, so
technically we were both right. She had her own explanation. "Chick-
ens are considered agriculture and we don't allow agrtcultrral animals
on board out airplanes." I know you wont believe what she said next
but I swear to you that these were her exact words. "Bringing that
chicken on boatd is like bringing a cow on boatd."
As you might expect this line of teasoning left me momentarily
dazed but fnally I had the foresight to say, "Yes, but a cow wouldn't
fit under the seat in front of me,"
Each of us now believed that the person standing in front of us
was nuts but she was the one with the badge and I was the one with
the chicken. I calmly walked away to ponder my situation.
Sitting on a bench some distance aw^y I watched the security force
at work separating the terrorists ftom the god-fearing Americans. I
thought about my research into those X-tay machines and how they
are actually very safe. You wouldnt want to ride that belt into the
X-tay machine and fall asleep in there but one quick Pass, flo prob-
lem. Then I saw my security agent "ftiend" leave her post and go on a

break. My window of opportunity had opened. Gathering my things

I returned to the line. My shoulder bag was set oflto the belt, Smeddy
got her X-ray and we were on our way. Just like that. Proof that this
btief X-ray is actually safe lies in the fact that today most of us passing
through airport security stand like a plucked chicken in that full-body
X-ray machine and get zapped ourselves.
Over the years, while atpott security has gotten tougher and
tougher, it has not gotten any smarter. It seems as though each airport
has its own set of rules and doesn't give a hoot what you were told in
any other airpott.

4t9
lrlwtAvnw riononr

Chicago's O'Hare airport is hands down the worst place in Ameri-

ca to be burdened with a chicken. If you learn nothing else from this
book, Iet it be this: Never, ever attempt to carry a live chicken through
Chicago's O'Hare airport.
OI(, you've been warned. If sometime in the future you find your-
self stranded at O'Hare with a chicken under yo:ut Zrm, dont come
cfymg to me.
As a publisher of books, if I was ttaveling to magtc function, I
^
usually had a chicken in one hand and aheavy box of books in the
other. On one occasion I breezed through Los Angeles Intetnational
Airport but when I attempted to pass through O'Hare's secudty I was
stopped.
"nflhat's in the cage?"
Rathet than saying, "A chicken," I always answeted this question
by sayrng, 'A bird." It sounded far less intimidating to people who
didn't know the first thing about either one. The TSA guy peeked into
the cage.
"You're not taking a chicken through this aitport."
"What do you mean?" I said. "They let me onto the plane in Los
Angeles."
"Well you'te not ifl Los Angeles, you're in Chicago."
It still seems odd to me that upon seeing the chicken some security
people called their associates over to look at the cute little chicken and
then sent me on my way while othefs turned me away and couldn't
care less if I missed my flight. In these situations I always started out
playing Mr. Nice Guy. "Hey, but she is a magic chicken, part of my
magic act. She has more ftequent flyer miles that most of the people
on this flight." !7hen this fails I turned into Mr. Not-So-Nice Guy.
"\Well what do you suggest I do with my pet? Just leave her hete?"
"\7hy don't you make her disappear!" was the usual reply.
As out discussion played out I managed to maneuver my way to the
othet side of the screening tables. In other words, even though I had
been stopped, I was whete I needed to be. My adversary soon turned
his attention to the impatient people who had backed up behind me.
My books znd cage had been pushed off to the side where I was out

450
 iltr Arun hpomcut

of the way as I weighed my options. Eventually I developed a plan and

why I thought this plan had a snowball's chance in hell of working I
have no idea. The hallway ahead of me that led to the planes seemed
endless but fat in the distance I could see where another hallway
branched off. If I could somehow make it to that turn, I might have a
chance. But two steps in that direction would trigger an attack by the
secutity offcets who were right in front of me. And caffytng that box
of books would be like dragging an anchor through the sand. But I
had no othet options. \X/ith a chicken in one hand and an overweight
box in the other, I started walking. Two steps, four steps, six steps.
Don't look back. Just keep walking. Twenty yards, thirty yatds. I can't
believe it. Are those guys blind? At forty yards my atm holding the
books felt like it was going to fall off. That turn up ahead was like the
end zone. If I make it, we win. Why is no one yelling me to stop?
^t
I can't believe I m doing this! I tutned the corner and started run-
ning. But running to where, I had no idea. Then I ducked into a men's
room. For the next 30 minutes I sat locked in a stall with an illegal
chicken cage in my lap. At any momeflt I envisioned an atmed gtard
bursting into the bathroom and yelling at the other occupants, "Did a
man with a chicken come in here?" But as the minutes ticked by I felt
safer and safer. Eventually, all I could think of was the punch line to
that old joke... "\Vhat, and give up show business?"
During the long flight home I dreamed of other ways that a chicken
might be surreptitiously carried on and off an artplane. Aftet all, I was
a professional magician. I made my living accomplishing the impos-
sible. I would not let these guys beat me.
If I may be so bold, my f,nal solution was sheer genius. It started
with a nylon shouldet bagthatwas just big enough to hold the chicken
cage. One end of the bag was turned into a flap by cutting down the
sides and across the bottom. Thin sttips of Velcro sewed along the
cut edges allowed me to secure this end closed. Around the sides of
the bag there were plenty of ar holes. This bag, containing the cage,
water, food and wood chips, could be safely sent through the X-ray
machine. The only thing left to smuggle was the chicken.
It all came down to attitude, body language, the coat I was wear-
ing, the newspaper I was carrying and the chicken load bag from my
act. No matter what city I was in or how hot the u/eather; I always
wore my chicken smuggling coat to the airport. As I approached the

41
Mn Avnw l'iionont

security areal would duck into a rest room. The chicken would be
loaded into the load bag and the strap would be hung ovet a pen that
was clipped to my left inside pocket. By holding a folded newspaper in
my left hand my arm could assume a natural position that effectively
disguised the lump under my coat. I would then walk up to security,
put the shoulder bag on the belt, walk through the X-ray atchway (I
never kept metal objects in my pockets), pick up mv shouldet bag and
be on my viay. If anyone decided to look inside the shoulder bag and
wondered why I was carrying an empty cage I would have explained
that I was going to pick up a very rare bird. It nevet happened.
Walking to the next rest foom, I would enter the stall, remove the
load bag from my coat, produce the chicken and put her back in her
cozy little home. The amount of time she was concealed in the load
bag was far less than she would be during our act. I always tm^g-
ined Smeddy dropping out of her load bag in that stall and thinking,
"$7here's the audience and who booked us into this toilet?"
I used this technique on so many flights in so many airports that
eventually I felt invincible. It was truly the perfect ctime. Then one
day I nearly had aheart attack My genius plan went terribly wrong.
Didn't this lady know she was just supposed to send me right on
through? I hadnt set off any alarms so why was I getting patted down?
"\7hat's this?" she said.
"That's my newspaper," I said nervously.
"No, this right hete?"
My confdent attitude and body language crumbled. "Thatt my coat."
"No, this lump under your coat. \X/hat's that?"
The honest answer to her question was simple. "It's a live chicken."
But I couldnt say the words. I didnt want to lie so I just stared. I felt
Iike Billy Hayes, the American kid in Tutkey who got caught with
drugs strapped to his body in the movie Midnight Express. After what
felt like a week of this lady tapping the lump in my coat I decided to
answer her question with my own question.
"Do you know what a colostomy bag is?"
I can't believe I said that either, but she immediately stopped tap-
ping and her eyes widened. After just two more words, ouf conversa-
tion was over. She said, "Go ahead."
If you're not familiar with the purpos e of a colostomy bag, this is
not the time or place to have that discussion. Suffice to say that it

41t
 hr Gtwm hBonw

allows a human body to continue functioning even after tt has lost the
ability to perform one important function on its own.
Chickens don't have s'weat glands, so the sudden dousing of petspi-
r^ttot't that accompanied my walking away from that embarrassed
security woman must have confused poor Smeddy. I walked to the
rest room devastated that my method was riot as perfect as I once
thought. Duting the flight home I closed my eyes and designed one
final addition that would make my smuggling act the most perfect
and devious part of my magic act.I actually imagined closing rrry act
by producing the chicken from a spectatot's coat and then explaining
to the audience exactly how I smuggled the bitd through the airport.
They would be on their feet.
So here is the ultimate, though disgusting, chicken smuggling
device. It is a chicken load bag that looks like an actual colostomy
bag, meaning that it is made out of waterproof plastic. The finishing
touch is a short piece of clear, flexible tubing. This tube is filled with
split pea soup and then both ends are permanently sealed closed. One
end is pushed through a tiny incision in the top of the bag and held in
place with clear epoxy. There are no straps on top of the bag but rath-
er a belt that the top of the bag is attached to. I know that this doesn't
even resemble a teal colostomy bag but my theory is that aitpott secu-
rity ttaining does not delve to deeply into this delicate subject.
'W.hen
I duck into the rest room the chicken is loaded into this new
improved bag, the belt is buckled around my mid-section and the
other end of the soup tube is tucked down my pants.
"Of course you can see it off,ce r, tt's a colostomy bag. Would you
Iike me to remove it so you can wipe it down for explosives? That's
right, I eat alot of chicken. Is that against the law too?"
It was some turbulent ait that woke me up from my deep sleep.
Wow, what a dream. A chicken-colostomy-load bag, split pea soup,
this chicken smuggling had finally gone too far.I'm pleased to say that
I nevet tried any of these ultimate imptovements and hope that you
won't eithet. In fact,would it be too much to ask if you would just tear
the last few pages out of this book? It could save both of us a lot of
grief later.
After my unnerving colostomy caper I decided that my smuggling
days were ovet. I had pushed my luck so fat for so many ye rsthat
eventually I was bound to get caught. I was too old fot this life as a

451
professional smuggler/magician. I still loved
producing a chicken out of a spectator's coat
at the end of mv act but perhaps there was a
wa1, 1o do it without breaking a litanv of FAA
rules? Yes there u,as.

One of the manv advantages of living in

Southern California (and being close to the
mor-ie industrr) is that anr tvpe of mate-
rial and everv sort of craft person is ciose at
hand. I decided that I wanted someone to
make a realistic fake chicken for me, but where
'l-he
do 1'ou find someone who makes animals? krrt ln,ttu (/itt'ttt//1') ol Ralto Click.'l'lta nst-fh.ttit ltr.,d1 l.'r,rr',
'
!(rt'a /il0t0fi il.n/ optrtlt il.tc tt'ltgr ttl l.teod.
Animal Nlakers in Nfoorpark, California.
I took Smeddl'out to the folks at Animai
N{akers and explained what I rvanted: a hand
 Tlt 1ttum hnomcur

held, battery operated, animatronic, perfect-looking, white Cochin

hen. They measuted her, photographed her and watched her flap her
wings. All agreed that Cochin hens are complex, but amazingly effi-
cient, little machines and they were confident that they could duplicate
het. In their imptessive shop I was surtounded by dozens of incredible
Iooking animals, everything from the Budweiser frogs to a full size
rhinoceros so there was no reason to doubt them.
I visited the shop a couple of times during construction to see
how she was coming along. The collection of battery-operated setvo
motors that operated her wings and head wete designed to f,t inside
a chickenbody that had been cast out of plastic. I wanted to be able
to imperceptibly these motors while the chicken apparently
^cttv^te
perched on my outstretched fingers. Realistic looking feet would not
be an issue since a Cochin hen's feet ate coveted by the feathers that
extend down her legs. In place of feet they installed ahorizontal tube
near where the chicken's feet would normally be. In front of this tube
was a trigger that started and stopped the motors that flapped the
wings. By inserting my left thumb into the tube and wrapping my
index fnger around the trigget, I could hold the chicken tn a natural
position. When the trigger was pulled the servo motors made both
wings flap and the head move forwatd and backward.
The final step u/as to feathet the bird using teal chicken pin and
fight feathers and then install the glass eyes. Visually Robo Chick (as
she was named) is a marvel to look still photograph it is dif-
^t.Ifl ^
ficult to tell Robo Chick from a real chicken.
At first I thought that the more the wings flapped, the more real-
istic the chicken would performance, this thinking turned
^ppear.In
out not to be true. Chickens don't fap theit wings because they want
to fly but because they are trying to regain their balance. The back-
and-forth movement of the head is also a technique used to maintain
theit balance. So after producing her from the co^t, few flaps hete
^
and a few more there produced the best effect. But having the head
and the wings moving in unison looked a bit mechanical. After a few
shows I brought her back to Animal Makers for a tune-up. Her head
was disconnected from its motor-driven armature and mounted to the
end of a spring. After further trials I decided that this spring was too
stiff so in my own workshop I beheaded Robo Chick and sttetched
this spring out to about twice its original length. Once she was

411
 hr 1run hponmt

re-headed the spring was stiil covered by feathets but novi the slight-
est movement of the chicken caused her head to bob up and down, as
if she were trying to maintain her balance. Also, in the act of petting
her with my right hand I could manipulate her head up and down and
make her look left and right. These head movements coupled viith
sporadic flapping of the wings is what gave Robo Chick life.
Having Robo Chick built was a big expense but I have always feit
that it was v/orth it. I have ptoduced many other objects as a finish to
my Silverwate & Coat routine and nothing else ever generated as large
a re ctrofl as a chicken. Robo Chick has allowed me to use my pre-
ferred f,nal production no m^tter whete I was working in the country
or the world. And with Robo Chick, instead of waiting in the wing
and loading a live chicken just before I am inttoduced, I can load the
stool long befote the show starts and not have to worry.
It is ironic thatl used to travel with a live bird that was completely
harmless but illegal. No-, Robo Chick is completely legal and yet
when viewed orr an X-tay screen she looks like a time bomb. But I
don't make the rules, I just bend them.

o=>-<3

(Opposite) lY ben audience

members later ask f the bird
actualfy trauels with me on tbe
plane tben I know tbat Robo Whrn I 0rrr workiil$ 0rr 0 pr0b[0rn I never think cirnul hr*uiy. i only ;hinl*
Chick ba done herjob. And
ubout how t0 iolve the probtem. Eut whpn I hovt finiinei. if tht lftluti$rl ir ii*t
for the ruord, tbe pboto on page
41 2 is also of Robo Cbick. bqnutifui. I know it ir tureng.
201 1 l-nninato Futiual
Toronto, Canada. Pboto: Dauid
Linsell cottrtesl of Magicana.
*q:rk*iinsirr Eutiqr

41t
 ffiSTEffiHHG Y*4ffi Hffiffi ffiffi$fi$

ver the years I have hosted a lot of magic shows. It's not a job I
went looking for but tather a task that tends to land in the lap
of the talking act. The convetsation usually goes something like
this: "The date of the show is this and we would like you to do about
fifteen minutes and we're paying this much." That's when I say, "OI(,
that sounds fi.ne." Then as an afterthought they throw in, "Oh, and
since you'll zkeady be there we thought that you could introduce the
acts as well." On a few occasions I have said, "So, you meafl I'm actu-
ally doing two hours, not iust fifteen minutes" which usually produces
nervous laughtet and a prolonged silence.
The fitst time I can remember emceeing was back in the late 1960s
on the Long Beach Mystics It s Ama{ng shows. On these occasions I
basically did what most people think the job is: I introduced the acts.
Ovet the years I have discovered that hosting a show is an immenseiy
important job that involves much more than iust announcing names.
A bad emcee can single handedly destroy an otherwise good show and
an expetienced emcee can make a good show great. Hete are some
suggestions that might help you navigate through wltat canbe a dan-
gerous minefield.
Hosting a show can be compared to pushing a snowball down a
mountain. The host's first job is to establish himself as a likeable and
informed person whom the audience feels comfortable following on
this journey. After creating some anticipation fot what is to come he
shoves that snowball over the edge by introducing the frst act. If the
opening act successfully gets that snowball rolling down the mountain
then your job largely becomes just staying out of its way as it grows
bigger and bigger and moves faster and fastet.
Whenever possible I like to be involved in cteating the otder of
the show and I always try to put a top-notch silent actttt the open-
ing spot. A gteat opening act sets the tone fot the entire evening and
makes your and evefyone else's job a lot easier. For variety you should
consider alternating talking acts with silent acts. If one act needs to

459
Mtvr (mmrv U,/ononr

pre-set a lot of props on the fullstage, schedule rt after a'n that can
^ct
work in one or on the apron. This will provide the complicated act
plenty of time to set their props while the ptevious act is working in
front of the curtain. Simple things like this will minimize the time
that the emcee needs to kill between acts. Unlike some emcees who
Iike to perform a trick between every act, my goal is to fill only as
much time as is absolutely necessafy.
Sometimes acts with iust a couple of tables will request two or
three minutes to set their props. Two or three minutes is an eternity.
I'm sure they are surprised when I say, "I'll give you a minute" but
they are always ready with time to sPare. Stagehands are often iust
friends helping out afld they sometimes explain that they have to
strike a prop and chair from the previous act then set the table for
^fld
the next act. Suggest that if the next act's table is carried out and set
into position and then the previous act's Prop is set on the chair and
both are carried off together, the entire exchange can be accomplished
during one quick trip.
A well-balanced show is made up of avariety of acts with some be-
ing fast-paced while others are slow, some are hilariously funny while
others are serious. The emcee should give the audience time to shift
gears as he sets the tone for each performer.
Your goal is to make the audience feel that what they ate seeing on
that stage is being done just for them. Sure you may have done the
same show the night before and you may be doing it for anothet week
but on that night it has to feel like it was iust fot them. Most of the
other perfofmers will be doing their "acts as known" so it's uP to the
emcee to make the audience feel like this night is special. The way to
do that is to talk to them, not at them. If yout intros and outtos sound
like you are reciting a. memortzed script the audience will seflse your
insincerity. You must strive to make everything you say feel "in the
moment."
To me, the outro (what the emcee says after afl act) is at least as
important as the introduction. I always want to say something about
a specifictrick or a volunteer from the audience or aflything else that
proves I was watching the act from the wings. As I am watching an
act, foremost in my mind is trying to think of something clever or
funny to say as afl outfo. \X/hat will appear to the audience as an ad
Iib will most likely be something I have spent ten ot fifteen minutes

440
 Mwrrmrcrar (rBrmonu

thinking about.
As emcee I highly recommend that you watch as much of the show
as possible. If disaster strikes (and it will) guess who gets to go out
and save the day? Once in Chicago I had just introduced AtdanJames,
The Animated Illusionist, and he started his routine where a handker-
chief comes to life and pulls him across the stage. Suddenly the power
went out, cutting the lights and sound. Being famtltar with Ardan's
act I walked out and announced in my best non-amplified voice that
we would start Afdan's act over again once the powef was restored.
Then I joined Ardan in trying to muscle his animated handkerchief
back into the wings. The audience could barely see us and there was
no music but they realized that we were totally off script as v/e strug-
gled to drag this bit of cloth off stage. I don't know what we would
have done next but it didn't matter, the power came back on and I
introduced Ardan.
^g^tn
Anothet time in Las Vegas an act needed a bit of time to set uP
so I performed the Lubor Die before his inttoduction. As described
elsewhete in this book the routine involves taking a wooden box out
of a die and then putting the die into the box. After announcing the
performer's name I walked into the wing only to find out that there
was a major problem that would require a couple more minutes. I
was still holding the wooden box in my hand as I walked back out on
stage. The audience had iust seen the toutine so riow they were going
to it backwards. I reversed the patter, which didnt make any sense,
see
and basically te-set the prop by putting the wooden box back inside
the die. I recall the routine gettiflg bigger laughs backwatds than it
did forwatds because the audience rcahzed that I was imptovising as
I went. They knew they wete seeing something that wasn't normally
patt of the show and they appreciated my being in the moment.
Note to stage crew: It doesn't help to whisper through the curtain,
"Stall" of "!7e need more time." Do you need thirty seconds more
because the last dove is still being loaded or do you need another six
minutes because the assistant passed out? I can give you what you
want but I need some guidance. I always have the Ten Dollar Bill
Trick in my pocket for just such emergencies but I dont want to start
this rather lengthy trick if they only need a few seconds. On a perfect
night the audience will never see the Ten Dollar Bill Trick.
A pet peeve of mine is emcees who catty note cards onto the stage

441
Mn Gvnw Wonpnt

between each act. They have the entire previous act to reheatse the
few lines that they will use to introduce the next act.If they iust para-
phrase the few points that they want to make rather than read them
word for word it will sound more natural and sincere. \Worst of all is
when the guy holding the note catd finishes by saying, "...and now
here he is, my good friend..." They couldnt remember two things to
tell us about their good ftiend? If you don't want to make even that
much effort between acts then perhaps you should have declined the
offer to host the show.
Each performer ofl the show has one opportunity to walk out on
stage and show the audience what they've got. They perform the act
that has been carefully designed with a beginning, middle, and end
and then they get off. The emcee has to walk out on that stage seven
or eight times throughout the evening. On one of those occasions he
or she will undoubtedly perform their act. Regardless of what theit
big f,nish is, the end of their act will actualiy be the introduction of
the next performer. If that sounds a bit anti-climactic, it is, but that is
one of the sacrifices the emcee is requited to make. During the other
rances between the acts the emcee will say things that he hasn't
^ppe
said befote and hope that his words fill enough time. I have always
thought of these multiple trips as additionai opportunities to be bad.
If the emcee is bad mote often than he or she is good we are well on
our way to seeing a bad show.
The best emcee advice I ever teceived came from Aldo Richiardi
ttght after our frst ItI Magiclshow in Los Angeles. My adrenalin was
pumping as I had just watched from the wings the greatest illusion act
I had ever witnessed. His daughter Rina vanished from the de I(olta
Chair and instandy reappeated in the Tip-Over Trunk. The audience
weut crazy and I jumped out onto the stage and yelled, "Ladies and
Gentlemen, Richiardi!" I repeated variations on that line during his
long and well-deserved applause. After the curtain closed AIdo came
over to me and calmly said, "You came out too soon." He could see
that I had no idea what he was talking about so he explained further.
He said that when I came out he didn't need me yet. At the conclu-
sion of the illusion he was gettiflg the applause that he deserved. He
would stand there humbly accepting that applause untii the response
had peaked and started to diminish. At that moment he would tutn
and begin to exit the stage and just before he reached the wing, that's

447
 Mnnrnna rlr (rprnoma

Daing the 1981 run a/It's Magic! at the Varielt Arts Tbeater in Los Angele$ Doug Henning
came backstage witb some kind words for tbe two ))lafig apstarts, the autbor and Lance Burton.

when he needed me. If, th^t momeflt, I popped out on stage and
^t
said, "Ladies and gentlemefl, Richiardi" he would retufn to center
stage and the applause would build again. This, he expiained, would
be applause that he didnt deserve. This was bonus aPPlause that I had
created for him. If we worked as a team we could make the perfor-
mance appear gre ter than it actually was.
I was floored. Of course he was right but what floored me was
the fact that the greatest illusionist in the wodd had techniques for
manufacturing extra applause. In the thirty plus years that I have
been hosting shows since that night at the Variety Atts Theatte I have
never brought act off stage without thinking of Aldo Richiardi. At
^n
the end of every performance there is one moment that is the absolute
right time to step out on stage. If you go too soon you will step on the
artiste's applause and if you go too late the act will not only be cheated
out of some applause but the show will begin to lose momentum.

441
Mw Aunrv WotorB;

Alda Ncltiatdi (1 9D - 1985) taugltt me that at tbe end of eueryt petfonttance tbere is a precise
moment pben the tuaster af cereruonies sboald step 0n stdge. Coning on too earl1 is as bad as cornitg
on too late. I ca// itThe Nchiardi Moment.

Some acts provide a \r/ritten introduction and I will certainly use

information ftom this script, but I will not tead or memorize rtverba-
tim. Some of these intros are completely over the top, making claims
that what you are about to see is the greatest thing ever. It's one thing
if the act really is that good but a pumped-up introduction isnt going
to fool anyone. Remember, immediately following your introduction
you have to walk on stage and actually prove how good you really
ate. No matter how many contests you've won, if youf act is lousy the
audience is going to know it soon enough.

444
 Murrmtaw Gptnow

As emcee my job is to gain the ttust of the audience and always teil
them the truth. If a young magician just won his or her first contest
and is appeaing on the public show I think it is much better to pre-
sent them in that light instead of promising the audience the greatest
thing they've evef seen. It doesnt huft to undersell someone and then
let the audience be surprised and delighted by the performance.
On a few occassions an act has given me wtitten inttoduction and
a
insisted that it be delivered word for word even though it reads iike
the second coming is about to take place. So I do. In front of the audi-
ence I remove the paper from my pocket and say, "The next act asked
me to tead you this brief introduction." The act gets exactly the intro-
duction they wanted while simultaneously digging their own grave.
I feel compelled to do this tn zn effort to preserve my trust with the
audience. Now all of us can sit back and determine for ourselves how
good or bad the performer is. If the act really is as good as advettised
I will give them the best outro they have ever gotten. My theory has
always been, "\fhen in doubt, tell the tfuth."
Before leaving the subject of mastering the ceremonies, I wouid
like to discuss the diffetence between maglc or variety show and an
^
awards show. On a few of occasions I have hosted award shows and
found them to be different from a straight magic show When discuss-
ing how he approached hosting the Academy Awards Steve Martin
said that he emulated Johnny Catson's style. At the top of the show
he came out, told ten minutes of the best jokes he could find and then
got out of the way. It would be difficult to improve on this advice.
An awards show has a much different dynamic than a standard
magic show. The room is filled with nervous tension and many more
people will be coming to the stage. Acceptance speeches are mely
rehearsed making it even more important that the host watch the pro-
ceedings from the wings. One sincere, clever or topical line after each
Presefltation is enough to make you an unqualified hit. To keep from
wearing out your welcome dudng the normally long evening I am all
in favot of using a voice ovef to introduce some of the presenters. The
biggest favor you can do for any awards audience is to keep things
moung.
Backstage a magtc show can be a lot of fun but as host you will
^t
miss most of it. Your job starts the moment the curtaifl goes up and
doesn't end until after the frnal curtain call. But you will have the best

445
seatin the house. Some of my fondest memories are of standing in the
wings of theaters all over the wodd watching the greatest magicians
of my generation, mafly of them good friends, giving performances
that have been polished to perfection over a lifetime. You can have
your fame. I'm perfectly content being one of the acts working in the
trenches. I hope to see you down the road.

t-

2001 Houo Porus Festiual in Granada, Spain. L,eauing the 200-1ear-o/d Teatro Isabel la Catolica oil ru) waJt to mdn)) ntore aduenttres.
 As I look thtough this book I am humbled by the number of peo-
ple who have had a profound influence on my life and c^reer.I hope
that when those friends who have the opportunity to read through
these pages come acfoss their name, they will hear my voice exPress-
ing a sincere thank you. And to those who are no longer with us, the
thanks are just as loud and just as heartfelt.
A big Howdy to my pal Mac I(ing who graciously contributed the
Foreword to this book. Having Mac's stamp of approval on my com-
edy magic routines is as good as it gets. And considering Mac was
schooled in I(entucky, I think he did a dang fine job o'wtitin'.
I did my ievel best to track down the many photographers respon-
sible for the hundreds of pictures that in these pages. And
^ppear
if certain pages look like they belong in a scrapbook more than an
insttuctional book, that's on purpose. Every photograph of every
friend or show or location has great meaning to me and these books
iust wouldn't feel right without them. To all of these photographers,
my sincere thanks: Arto Airaksinen (my man in Stockholm), Stan
Allen, Wendell Brezina, David Bro, Paul Butler, Bany Cooper, Doro,
George Ford, Thomas Fraps, Alex Fuentes, Frank Furkey, Jim
Hanning, Lawrence Ho, R.S. Hooper, Derek Hughes, Gaty Hughes,
EdJustice Jr.,Tina Lenert, Jonathan Levit, David Linsell, Long
Photography, Marga Mayor, Steve McI(^y,J^sPff Nutter, Tony
O'I(eefe, Johnny Paul, John Reed, Jack Reinhold, Maurice Seymour,
Art Trombley, Najee \X/illiams, and Robin Young.
\X/ithout the help of these skilled and generous people, this book
would not look the same. But without my friend Bill Taylor, neithet of
these books would exist. Bill's name appears throughout both vol-
umes because I have known him for an astonishing fifty years. He has
always been generous with advice, encouragement, and an unflagging
willingness to take pictutes. Thousands of pictures. Bill turned our
basement into a photo studio compiete with green screerl, lights and
cameras, and over the course of fourteen months he took hundreds of

441
lrlwr Gvnw Wonont

amazingphotographs. He then spent countless hours with Photoshop

putting curtains behind me, stage floors beneath me, and smooth grey
backgrounds behind the props to guarantee maximum clarity. Bill's
herculean effort transformed my 165,000 word manuscript into two
beautiful books. I hope he is as proud of them as I am.
After reading the story of my journey I hope that you, dear reader,
tealize that the art of magic can be your ticket to the wodd. By be-
coming a maglcian you are granted membership into an amazing
fnternity of friends that spans the globe. And with countless won-
ders yet to be pondered and solved you will never be boted and the
thought of retirement will never enter your mind. As I continue to
wander (and wonder) around the wor1d, I hope someday to meet you
and, hopefully, hear how these books inspired you to reexamine your
magic and then elevate it to the next level. Till then,
All the best,
Nfike Caveney
 lndex

A BilI in Cigar 103, 117, 721., 1.36, 201., 229,

Abbott's Get Together 27, 43, 89, 27 5 230, 236, 238-267, 396
A b ra ca da b ra magazine 239 Billy's Chicken Trick 41.6 - 420

Academy of MagrcalArts 17 Bird Man of Alcauaz 428

Academy of Motion Picture's Scientific and Biro, Pete 11.8,201.

Technical Awards 345, 474 Black Art 380,

Adelphia, Del46 Blackstone, Hary Sr. 282

Alan,Don72,73 Blake, George 11.8, 1.21,

A1banese, Patrick 201-205, 207 Blass Jorge 413

Allen, Stan 31, 32,35,37-39,195 Bloom, Gaetat17
Amazlng Mechanical Merlin 44- 47 Boyano, Luis 18

Ambitious Card48,152 Bow & Arrow 1.36,31.3,31.5,344-377, 474

Ameican Magician magazine 37 0 Brezita, Wendell 284, 289
Andetson, Gene 266 Briggs, Lirda 427
Anderson, Harry 741, 209, 269 Bro,David367
Anderson, Ron262 Brooke, Koa1.27,728
Andrus,Jerry 118 Brba283
Animal Makers 434,435 Bubonic Players 742
Anverdi Key Chest 53-56,94 Buka283
Anverdi, Tony 53, 54 Burger, Eugene 195
Auzinget, Max 380 Burton, Lance 300,301.,373, 421., 443
Bush, George W. 413
B Butlet, PauI 45
Ballantine, Cai301,
Ballantine, Ceil301 C
Bally's Grand Hotel 27, 28 Caesat's Palace 72
Beck, Cad 31 Caldwell, Mike 43
Benson Bowl, The 67-69 Colqory Herald newspaper 426

Benson Plunget 66-82 California State University Long Beach 43

Benson, Roy 67, 68,72,73 Cancino, Denise 44
Berglas, David 154 Card on Window 157,152
Betnstein, Eugene 171 Card in Balloon 17
Bice, Don 1.18, Card Sword 345
Big Secrets 94 Cardto \{/allet 48
Bilis, Bernatd 83 Cadton (see Beck, Cad)

449
Carson, John ny 7 2, 301., 445 Dietrich, B:ud 13,43
CarteqJtdy 1.47 Doll House Illusion 44
Caveney, Rob 43 Dorny (N7emer Dornfield) 43
Chaucer 3 Dove Pan 17

Chinese Pipes 200-207 Dtiebeck, Bob 1.27

Chinese Sticks 201,202 Driebeck Die 127, 128, 133

Cinquevalli, Paul281. Dunn, Ricki 31

Clasic Secrefi of Magic 67

Cleuer and Pleasant Inuentions Part One 297 E
Close-up, French Stlle 83 EggBag46
Coin in BaIl of $/ool244 Egyptian HaIl Museum 129

ConPall32 Eifet, Medin 109

Coin Vanish 89-93 El Camino College 120

Comedl Magicl.lS Elephant Man397
Comedy & Magic Club 1.42 Eleven Card Trick 219,220
Conover, Tim293,31.0 Elliott, Bruce 67

Contento, Marcelo 348 Einstein, Albert334

Copperfield, David 151 Engafros a Ojos Vistas 323

Corinda, Tony 177,172

Council on Foreign Relations 425 F
Crandall, Ruth 276 FeIt Forum 385
Crandall, Senator Clarke 43, 27 5, 27 6 Ferr6, Norbet 18

CrazyHorse Saloon 334 Fiedler, Lubor 1.27, 1.29, 1,33

Crystal CardCatch 47,50- 53 Floating Ball334

Cups and Balls 67,94 Floating Rose 316
Custer, General Geotge 337 Flute-A-Fone 318
Cut and Restored Rope 99, 117,121. Fotd, Gerald 413
Foster, Neil43
D Frakson, Jos e 32, 146
Dai Wrnon Book of Magic 67,117 Fraps, Thomas 415
Dancing Handkerchie f 374, 3I5, 323 Friedrichsb au Y ariet6. Theater 283
Daniels, Pad266,282 Fry,David41.4
Da Vinci, Leonatdo 308, 309 Fuentes, Ines 236
De Borbon, Luis Alfonso 414 Fuller, Buckminster 437
de Kolta Chair 384,442
de Matos, Luis 705,229 G
Diaconis, Petsi 159 Gabriel, Joseph 384, 385
Diagonal Palm Shift 352 GarbageGay 425

450
Garner, Jennifer 345, 41.4 Hole in One 94
Gatto, Anthony 276 Ho@wood Palace, The 16

Gaughan, John 17, 118, 283, 389, 39L Ho@wood Reporteri The 275

Genii magazine 7 6, 1.42, 342, 37 1, 37 4 Hooker Rising Cards 94,319

Ghostly Linking Finger Rings 160 Hooper, Jim 319
Girl in the Light Bulb 16 Hope, Bob 33
Goebel, George 142 Hopkins, Albert 100
Goldf,nger, J ack 209 Houdini, Harry 95
Gordon, Gene219,220 Hummer, Bob 151

Goshman, AlbertT}-72 Humphrey, Steve 33

GozirrtaBox 127,128 Hyman, Phyllis 423
Grand Caryon332
Gravatt,Glen342 I
Creater Magic 171. Ice House Comedy Club 99

Guest, Clifford3T3 Ideas 302

Gyp.y Thread 117, 169, 297 , 298 Idiot Rings 159-168

Impromptu Linking Coat Hangers 108-115, 318

H Impromptu Powers of Darkness 187-193

Half Dome 107 Indian Rope Trick 327
Halloween Card Stab 1.38, 1.41.-1.49 Inside Magic 191.

Hamilton, James 33 Invisible Deck 48, 61,62,99, L17

Hamman, Bro. John 48 It's Ama{ng 22, 23, 26, 2'7, 35, 39, 27 0, 439

Harrah's Casino 350 It's Magic! 16, 17, 23, 27 5, 300, 37 3, 380, 383,

Hart, Christopher 425 384,417,442,443

Hase,Kazuyuki 195

Haskell, Bob 49, 100, 101 J

Flayes, Bllly 432 James, Ardan44l
Heck, Cad 383, 387,388 James,I(evin 316

Henning, Do,ag43,443 Jobs, Steve 267

Herz, Bill 151,152 Johnathan, The Amazing 41.3

Hilton Hotel (Brussels) 35 Johnson, Jay 1.41, 209, 210, 211, 212, 21.3, 214,
Himber, Richard 159 21.5,216,217,331,

Himber l7allet 49, 55, 56, 229, 231. Johnson Products 1.2, 239, 245, 31.8, 382, 395

Hitchcock, Bill 300, 301 FinnJon 334,335

Hobson, Jeff 197 Jordan, Michael301
Hocus Pocus Festival 10,18,446 Juggling, Coffee 280 -295, 340
Hodgson,Joel20 Juggling, 3-Arm 68, 268-27 9, 31.3, 383, 396
Hoffmann, Professor 89 Jumping Straw 57-59

45t
 K Linking Rings 38, 47, 99, 1,03, 117, 1,18, 1,19,

Kalin, Mark andJinger 47 759,171,

Kalush, Bill 135 Linking Safety Pins 118

Kaps, Fred 220, 221., 226 Loew, Marcus 291

Kzrhni729 London,Jack269
Kaufman, Richard 195 London Palladium 21., 295, 405
Keaton, Buster 198 Long Beach Mystics 72, 22, 23, 26, 27, 28, 29,
Keener, Ed and Nancy 17 30, 32, 35, 39, 40, 119, 17 2, 27 0, 376,
Ken Brooke's Magic Place 1.27,1.28,319 373,439
King, Mac 71., 72, 797, 202, 350, 398 Lubot Die 1.26 -733, 441.
Kio,Igor 281 Luminato Festival (Toronto) 29'1, 413, 437

Kirkham, Kirk 100

Klimpet, Randy 1.27 M
Kling Deck 63, 65 Madison Square Garden 384,385
Knife ThroughCoat3T4 Maeda, Tomo 195
Knott's Berry Farm 40,43,44,46 Magicomefu 26, 39, 67 , 83 , 239, 240, 243

Kuroki, Kenichi 195 Magic Castle 28, 29, 99,'101,, 1,24, 1,4"1, 1,42,
1.59, 797, 207,203, 209, 373, 417, 445

L Magic Collectors \Teekend 171

Lacey,Mlke 1.42 MagicforDurnnies 57

Lamb, Thomas291. Magic Inc.171,172
Larsen, Bill373, MAGIC magazine95,377
Larsen, Milt 16, 23, 277, 373 Magic Palace, The 297
Las Palmas Theater 95 Magic Paper 117, 236, 29 6-342, 386
Lee,Bryan272 Magic Shory Tbe 43
Left-Handed League 73, 741., 1.42 Magrc, Stage lllasiorc and Scientifc Diuersions 700

Lenert, Tina 8, 1.8, 19, 141, 151, 1.55, 757, 1.58, Magical Productions 44
209, 270 -275, 292, 293, 37 0, 37 3 Magical Promotions 44
LePaul \lTaIIet 152 Magician Supply Company 370,371.
Levent 67,73 Mahatna magazine 370
Lewis, Bric 26,240 Malini Card Stab 743,1.46
Lewis, Martin 1.35, 741., 321. Malini, Max143
Lewis, Trevor ar,,dYal 220 Manwaring, Greg 61

Lido de Paris 35 Marks, Torty 23

Lie Detector 134-740, 745 Marshall,Jay 171,172
Linking Coat Hangers 68, 103, 115-725,1.60, Martin, Steve 27, 99, 27 4, 27 5, 445
172,277,396 Martin's Miracles 1.35

Linking Finger Rings 159 Martinka Magic Company 282

451
Masked Magician94 P

Maven, Max 195 Pacific Coast Association of Magicians 109,371

Mayfair Music Hall 277 Packing Case Escape 95
Mayoral, Juan 334,335 PalaceTheater 17

McComb, Billy 13, 17 2, 297, 298, 417 -421 Palma, Alex 1

McDonald's Aces 48 Palsie the chicken 426,427

Mcl(ay, Steve 44,46,47 Paper Balls Over the Head 187

Mesika, Yigal3l7 Pasteur, Louis 269
Micro Nfacro 48, Pauling, Linus 342,343
Midnigbt Exprus 432 Penn & Teller 94
Minguet, Pablo 323 Phoenix mag zine 67,

Money Machine 98-106, 1.21. Phome Book, The 150-158

Motris, \X/illiam 19 Pipkin, Turk141,
Mystic Vanishing Box 46 Pollock, Channing 1.3, 1.6, 30, 31., 32, 421.

M-U-M rr,agazire 117 Pollock, Cori31.

Muse, Ray 32 Pollock, l{erry 135, 139
Postle, George 370
N Poundstone, William 94
Nailed Card 60-65 Porper,Joe 160
Nada xAqui TV show 399 Powers of Darkness 170-1.87
Nemo Rising Cards 319 Prevost, ).297
Nest of Boxes 267 Protean Cabrnet 46
New York Statler Hotel423 Puga, Miguel1.8,236
Newspaper Art 380, 381
Niberco Brothers 373 a
Night, Nicholas 425 puun Elirybeth 111.54

Nind Reading20S-21 pueen Mary 303

o
Oakland Magic Circle 414 Ravel, Jim 70

O'Hare Airport 430 RazorBladeTrick2T9

Olkhovikov, Nicolai 281 Read, Bob 374,375

Olsen,Jim 135,139 Reed,John 118,119

Otient Express 151,153 Regal, David 160
Oar Own l%orst Enem194-97 Resorts International (Atlantic City) 423
Owen, Carl 1,5,1,6,17 Reaelations 61.

Owen Magic Supreme 1.2,1.5,1.6,24,44,47,244 Richiardi, Aldo 13, 278,279,300,301.,373,

394,395,442-444

451
Richiardi, P.ina 384, 442 Sistine Chapel 308

Rickard, Fred16,17 Sizzler restaurant 390

Ricketts, Bill281 Skinner, Mike220,221

Ricketts Circus 281 Smith, BilI346
Rising Card32,1.46 Smith, Gertrude 15, 17

Robo Chick 434-437 Smith, Les 15, 1.6,17, 47

Rogers, Don 41.4 Sneaky Pete Magic Set 46

Rooke Cooperage 35 Sophisticated Ladies 423

Roosevelt, Eleanor 107 Spectral Motion 1

Ross, Diana 32 Sp binx magazine 37 0, 37 1

Ross, Richard 117 Spider Pen317

Routines Matter220 Spirit Grip 171

Ro1 Benson b1 Starlight 67,68,73,74 Spirit Nut 394,395

Roy,CarcIl7,32 Split Deck 49- 52
Roy, Marvyn 1,3, 16, 17, 30, 32, 33 Square One 195

Rumsfeld, Donald 413 Stack of Halves 245,246

Stanyon, Ellis 370

S StanlonI Serial Lessons in Conjuring3T0

Saddleback College 367, 373 Steinmeyer, Jrm 195, 210

Salmon River 332 Stern, Duke 69

Salt Trick 201 Substitution Barel 34-41

Saluzak, Dale 27 Substitution Trunk 35
Samelson, Peter 81 Sullivan, Ed72
San Diego Sports Arena 259 Sydney Arts Festival 425
Schmeelk, 8111 47, 299 Slmpbory of tbe Rings 117, 120

Schwartz, Gracie 17

Scissors, Coat, Silverware & Chicken103,136, T

254, 300, 324, 37 2-41.5, 417, 423, 437 Tamaiz,Juan 18, 151

Seabrooke, Terry 201, 239, 250 Tannen's Jubllee 298

S e abroo ke's B oo k 201., 202 Tarbell Course in Magic 374

Seabrooke's Burned Bill in Wallet 238,239 Taylor, Bill 281, 387,415

S e ri o u s Laagh te r 19 5 -19 9 Taylor, Merv 100, 101

Seven Keys to Baldpate 53 Teatro Circo Price 403,411

Seymour, Maurice 101 Teatro Isabel la Catolica (Granada, Spain) 446
Shadows 279 Tell, \X/illiam 357
Side-steal 354 Teller 94,279
Siegfried & Roy 35,36,39 Ten-Dollar Bill Trick 219 -237, 441.

Sinatra, Frank293 Theatrical Close-lQ 81.

454
Thompson , John and Pam 17, 1.8 \7
Thurston, Howard 376 Wakeling, Alan 29, 31., 32, L1.8

Tip-Over Trunk 384,442 NTaldorf Astoria Hotel (New York) 425

Toilet Titsue Trickery 342 \X/alking Knot 103

Tonight Sboa The 301 Walker, Steve 135

Toob, Bill 142,143 Waler, Chades 57
Topas 334,335 Washington, George 281
Tops magazine 43 Weber, Michaei 195
'Welles,
Transmogdfication 57 Orson 161,769
Trask, Vic 31 NTellington Enterprises 47
Tree House 343 !7elsh Rarebit Pan 17

Tremaine, Jon 171-173 IYenii lr,agazine 142

Trerary, Bob 89 !7hite, George 376
Tropicana Hotel (Las Yegas) 421 IVillane's Methods For Miraclu 219

Tucker, Tommy 374 I7illiams, Eric 239

Two, One, None 83-88 Williams, Robin 198

Williamson, David 197

V NTilshire Ebell Theater 1.6, 17, 37 3, 417

Van Ginkez,Paul 426 NTilson, Mark44

Vanishing BirdCage 32 Winter Garden Theatre (Toronto) 291

Yariety Arts Theate r 17 , 300, 443 Wintergarten Theatre (Stutttgart) 282, 283
Vernon, Dai 61., 67, 1.06, 117, 120, 263 \Wonder, Tommy 18, 80, 195,31.0

Yiana,Yanessa 229 !7ooden, John 217,257,

Victor, Edward 219, 220, 221. IYorld's Create$ Magic TV Special 12

Village Gate Theater,The 279 !7right, T.Page 371

Voltaire, Bobby 32 Wright, Tim 89

Wrigley, Ben277

455