Pete Biro’s

Original

Ring On
Wineglass
As performed by
Fred Kaps
 Linking Finger Ring History
and the
Ring On Wineglass
n addition to the traditional linking ring routines there has been a vast
I amount of work done with finger rings.
Various finger rings have been marketed, from simple cheapies with a
cut slit, ala the classic linking rings, to a very clever, locking key finger
ring, popularly called the “Himber Ring”.
The original rings sold by the well-known bandleader and magician,
Richard Himber, came in three styles, the most popular the man's Signet
ring. Originally it was marketed under the name StaggeRING. Two ver-
sions were made, one with and the other without a stone. The ring was
made to open with a hinge, hidden by the platform for the stone (or ini-
tials on the plain version). Another variation, called ToweRING was a
Gold wedding band with a uniform circumference. The ring was seg-
mented with one of the segments pivoted to open. It locked in the closed
position.
The original rings were, in fact, invented in 1959 by Persi Diaconis,
who at the time was working for Himber at something like a dollar an
hour. Persi would run around New York getting various suppliers to man-
ufacture things, have instructions printed, and most important, worked at
inventing tricks for Himber.
he solution came to him one day while riding a bus. He had gotten
T a letter from Fawcett Ross suggesting the effect as a challenge. It
was known that a member of the Bamberg Family had, in the past,
linked borrowed (switched) rings onto the Linking Rings, and that
European artiste Freddy Fah had done something like this performing on
ice skates!
Manufacture of the rings was handled by the well-known
magician/jeweler Willy Schneider. Schneider was one of the inner-circle
magicians in New York and for years brought top lecturers into the area.
He was kind enough to hire this writer on several occasions.
Much has been written on the various methods of performing the
Linking Finger Rings. Ron Wilson, in his book The Uncanny Scot, has a
number of good ideas. Richard Osterlind published a manuscript well
worth looking at, but the best, most practical handling I have yet to see is
in a Billy McComb video tape that is part of the Greater Magic Series,
produced by Joe Stevens.
McComb's idea to show the gaffed ring to the very spectator that
loaned you a ring is genius. The way he handles it makes it the first prac-
tical NO SWITCHING (at the crucial moment) routines extant.
everal, including Wilson, suggest routines where the gaffed ring is
S on a volunteer in the audience. You can't really say he is a stooge,
as he does not know the ring is gaffed. The handling is that you
“loan” a ring to him saying, “I need several people to loan me rings, but
they are always slow to get started. I would like you wear this ring and
when I ask for rings, jump up and say, “Here, use mine”. He just thinks
he is helping to get the show rolling and does not know the ring you gave
him is actually a trick ring.
My suggested handling for this version is, at the end of the trick, when
you return the rings, do the other two first and when you get to your
helper, do a false transfer, and hand him nothing, with a wink and a
thanks. That way you don't have to worry about finding him and your
expensive ring later!
Evidence of how good the Linking Finger Ring effect can be was
proven to me one night at a college campus show performed by the
Amazing Kreskin. Amazing (as far as I know Amazing is his first name)
received three standing ovations that night. One was for his version of the
Dr. Q (fake) hypnotic act, the other at the end of his show, but the biggest
reaction came at the conclusion of his presentation of the Linking Finger
Rings.
What amazed me was that Kreskin (George Kresge) in no way tried
to be clever. He did not do any wonderful moves, he was in fact, ham fist-
ed. He hid the rings in his hands, switched the rings in and out and did it
in a way a sleight-of-hand critic that was knowledgeable to the handling
possibilities, would have puked at!
But it was his presentation, his sell, that overcame his lack of being
clever. Much like Uri Geller when he misses. He becomes all the more
convincing to the believers.
The Kaps/Koran Connection
About seventeen years ago, working on the Linking Finger Rings with
the late Fred Kaps at the Claremont Hotel, in Oakland Calif., I revealed
to Kaps an effect I created, worked up in my notes, but had yet to per-
form.
When I told him about my PREMISE, Kaps went crazy. So much did
he like it, he featured it two times (that I know of) on television specials.
One on the FRED KAPS MAGIC SHOW, produced by John Fisher, with
technical advisor and assistant Robert Swadling.
The way I described my idea to Fred was this. I said, “Fred, the only
real way to find a vanished, borrowed ring is to have it appear on the stem
of a beautiful crystal champagne glass. And the only way to give it back
is to have to break the glass”. The ring, I explained, must be ungim-
micked, borrowed in fact.
When I said this, it was all over. Fred could only ask, “You can really
do this?”
 The tone in his voice was incredible. It was like I had just told him I
knew the secret to walking on water. I had to be honest and tell him that
I had not actually done it, but that the handling was in my mind and that
I was waiting to see him personally to discuss it. He couldn't wait to hear.
I told him that the lead in was not critical, the ring vanish could be
done in any way, but the part that I had to do a little more work on was
how to get the ring on the glass. I told him he would have to find the right
shaped glass, go to a glass repair man (they are often found at antique
glass shows) and have the stems cut off at a decorative knob or joint.
Then rig a holder in your close up case, or behind a bar, if you are work-
ing behind one, that would hold the base and the top of the glass in align-
ment. You slip the ring onto the stem, hit it with a drop of crazy glue, then
push the two parts of the glass together.
If you saw Fred Kaps do this routine on one of the aforementioned TV
specials, you saw real magic. (You can find it on You Tube).
On his own special he had a beautifully designed bar, one like you
would find in a modern home, not in a commercial public bar. Fred began
with two spectators seated at either end. In his opening sequence he bor-
rowed the ring, tied it onto a length of rope (very convincing handling
from Scotty York) and then he slipped a ring box over the ring while it
hung in view. The ends of the cord were held by the two spectators.
To conclude, Fred removed the box, leaving the rope sans ring. He
asked one of the spectators to open the box. Expecting to see the ring in
the box, thinking the trick was getting the ring off the rope, the spectator
showed a bit of shock when the ring was not there. There was however, a
small folded piece of paper in the ring box. Fred asked him to open the
paper. It read, “Don't forget the drinks.”
Earlier in the show he offered to pour each of them a drink, but forgot
to, once he got into the magic.
After the reading of the note, Kaps brought forth a glass of sherry for
the woman, then set an empty glass in front of the gentleman, bringing
out a decanter, as he said, “You wanted, what, port?” Before he started to
pour, he looked at the glass and the man's ring was around the stem.
ords at my disposal can't describe the effect this had on the
W spectators. Fred brought out a cloth serviette, covered the glass
and shattered it with a small hammer to give the ring back to the
gentleman that was kind enough to loan it to him.
Paul Gertner later worked out a variation on the ring on the stem of
a glass, using an hour glass and a handling for the switch he got from
Scotty York’s yet unpublished effect “The Sands of Time,” that won
Gertner the top prize at the Desert Magic Seminar some years back.
In fact, the original fabrication of the gaffed glasses that Kaps used
was done by York. The fit was so good that the crazy glue was not neces-
sary. York did a lot of behind the scenes work for Kaps and in fact one of
Kaps' TV specials featured five effects, four of which were invented by
York, the fifth was Robert Harbin’s Zig Zag.
So grateful was Kaps to York that when he died he left his own (Hans
Trixer-made) personal Himber linking finger ring set to Scotty.
Not one to be content when working on an effect, Kaps had done addi-
tional research and experimentation with this effect. A letter from the
well?-known Welsh magician, Trevor Lewis, shows how various minds
can be working the same path.
ewis writes, “I guess great minds think alike, because I thought the
L idea (ring on stem of glass) was original with me. Roy Roth also
claimed originality in Abra about three years ago (Kaps hadbeen
dead for over ten years). I'm certain that like so many other ideas in magic
we must have thought of the idea independently.
“Here's my side of the story. Just after the 1976 FISM I enjoyed two
weeks with Kaps, Frank Garcia, Dick Koornwinder, and others at
Philippe Fialho’s home in Nice, France. Several ideas were kicked
around in that exalted company, some good, some brilliant, some impos-
sible. Amongst the ideas that found favour were finding a borrowed ring
on the stem of a glass and producing liquid as a final load from a Chop
Cup.
“The problem with finding a ring on the stem of the glass is of
course... the stem has to be broken to retrieve it. It was suggested that a
marked chinese coin with a hole could be used for table hopping.
Obviously not as good, but less costly and workable. There was another
problem. Getting someone to make the goblets and the stems.
“I discussed the wine glass idea with Frans Biemans at the British
Ring Convention. Biemans told me he had a friend who owned a glass
factory in Holland who could make the glasses. A year later at the next
convention Biemans called me into his room and handed me a parcel. I
eagerly opened it and unwrapped one bowl and two stems. He said his
friend had made six and since I'd thought of the idea, it was mine to keep.
I kept the pieces safely locked away as they were really to precious to use.
I had no idea who had the other ones, but obviously Biemens and Kaps
had one or two each.”
Lewis went on to explain that a few years later Biemans gave him an
additional bowl (which, unfortunately was chipped) and a few extra
stems.
One complete set will be donated to the Magic Circle for their muse-
um.
In a letter from Kaps, dated 8 August 1978, Kaps mentioned taping his
special for the BBC and he used a glass given to him by Biemens.
The following item, also devised by me for Kaps, has seen print, but I
wish to include it here for completeness.
A very nice way to finish any Linking Finger Ring routine is to dis-
play the final two rings on the end of a pencil, one hanging below the
other, and have them visibly unlink themselves.
 There is a marketed routine using a small hook on a pencil to make it
look like the rings are linked, but you had to physically take the ring off
the hook to unlink it. One like this was made for Robert Harbin by Billy
McComb. Nice. Very good as a matter of fact. But, how would you like
to have the ring just melt away and visibly unlink itself, dropping into the
spectator's outstretched hand?
All you need is a full-size regular wooden pencil with a rubber eraser
on the end and a bit of invisible thread.
ith a razor blade, cut a slit in the eraser, from the end to the heel.
W Then, take a short length of invisible thread, a little less than the
length of the pencil, tie a knot on either end and thread this
through the eraser so it hangs down, with the knot at one end keeping it
from slipping out.
Slide the rings onto the pencil from the end opposite the eraser. You
are at the point where you have two rings on the pencil. One can be the
gaff, it depends on your routine. You want the ungaffed ring closest to
the eraser end. Arrange it so you have the thread gripped back along the
opposite end of the pencil, with the slack taken up. Slide the ungaffed ring
off the end so it is held only by the thread. Position the rings so the one
on the thread looks like it is hanging, linked to the one on the pencil.
All you have to do is let your grip on the thread go and the ring mag-
ically drops, seemingly unlinking itself, visibly!
he final item of this chapter produces the same effect, but was
T accomplished with a beautiful gold mechanical pencil. Within the
innards of the pencil is a sliding piece of spring steel. This piece,
operated by your thumb via a little knob, would stick out, and retract into
the barrel of the pen. You could hold the unlinked ring in place on the
wire, and with an indetectable move, the rings would visibly unlink.
Who did this? It was a well-guarded secret of the late Al Koran. Koran
tipped this to me backstage one night and said, “Some day, long down the
road, you can do what you want with this. But wait ‘til the right time.”
Many thanks, Al. It is now the right time, and the one item that makes this
book well worth having.
The first performer I showed this to was Bruce Cervon, who used it,
and made the conclusion of his routine a miracle.
It was then decided to make these up, and working with Joe Porper
we came up with a beautiful version.
t the same time I was not happy with the way the original Himber
A Rings were opened and closed and designed a new type of ring.
Again, Joe Porper brought this new design to fruition and we
named it the “Ghostly Linking Finger Ring.”
When he saw it Billy McComb said, “This is the way the
Himber Ring should have been designed in the first place.”
The finest handling of this can be seen on You Tube being per-
formed by Taiwanese magician, Lu Chen.
BORROWED RING ON WINEGLASS
By Pete Biro, performed by Fred Kaps
hen Fred Kaps came to Northern California, in 1970, do a
W series of shows for the Dutch Clubs in the area, I was working
on various ideas with the
Linking Finger Rings and revealed to
Kaps an effect I had created, but had
yet to perform. When I came up with
this concept I immediately thought of
Kaps because whenever he did any-
thing he did it better than anyone else,
and I felt, at the time, he was the only
person that could pull this off the way
I felt it should be done.
When I told him about my premise,
Kaps went crazy. So much did he like
it, he featured it two times (that I know
of) on television specials. One on the
FRED KAPS MAGIC SHOW, pro- Considred the best all-around
magician of our time, Fred Kaps.
duced by John Fisher for the BBC,
with technical advisor Robert Swadling.
The way I described my idea to Fred was this. I said, “Fred, I have
worked out a way to find a vanished, borrowed ring on the stem of a beau-
tiful crystal champagne glass. And to give the ring back you have to break
the glass. The ring, I explained, is ungimmicked, borrowed in fact.”
When I said this, it was all over. Fred answered, “You can do this?”
The tone in his voice was incredible. It was like I had just told him I
knew the secret to walking on water. I had to be honest and tell him that
I had not actually done it, but that the handling was worked out and that
I was waiting to see him personally to discuss it.
He couldn't wait to hear the explanation.
I told him that the lead in was not critical, the ring vanish could be
done in any way, but the part that I had to do a little more work on was
how to put the glass back together after the ring was slipped on the stem.
I told him he would have to find the right shaped glass, go to a glass repair
man (they are often found at antique glass shows) and have the stems cut
off at a decorative knob or joint. Then you would have to rig a holder in
your close up case, or behind a bar (if you are working behind one) that
would hold the base and the top of the glass in alignment. You slip the
ring onto the stem, hit it with a drop of CRAZY GLUE, and then push the
two parts of the glass together.
If you saw Fred Kaps do this routine on one of the aforementioned TV
specials, you saw real magic.
On the BBC special he had a beautifully designed bar, one like you
would find in a modern home, not a commercial public bar. Fred began
with two spectators seated at either end. In his opening sequence he bor-
rowed the ring, tied it onto a length of cord (very convincing handling-
from Scotty York) and then he slipped a ring box over the ring while it
hung on the cord in full view. The ends of the cord were held by the two
spectators.
o conclude, Fred removed the box, leaving the rope sans ring, and
T handed the box to the woman on his left. He asked her to open the
box. Expecting to see the ring in the box, thinking the trick was get-
ting the ring off the rope, she showed more than just a bit of shock when
the ring was not there.
Kaps the consummate actor, acted like something had gone wrong,
and he looked around for the ring to no avail.
There was, however, a small folded piece of paper in the ring box.
Fred asked her to open the paper. It read, “Don't forget the drinks.”
(Note: Earlier in the show he offered to pour each of them a drink, but
forgot to once he got into the magic).
After the reading of the note, Kaps poured a glass of Sherry for the
woman, and then started to set an empty glass in front of the gentleman.
Bringing out a decanter, Kaps said, “You wanted, what, Port?” Before he
started to pour, he looked at the glass and the man's ring was seen around
the stem. To return the ring Kaps brought out a small hammer, put a servi-
ette over the glass and struck it with the hammer, breaking the stem. He
then returned the ring to the gentleman he had borrowed it from.
Words at my disposal can't describe the effect this had on the couple,
and the TV audience.
he way Kaps did this for his special was simple. He had
T English magician Bob Swadling as an assistant, who was
hidden under the bar. Kaps dropped the ring through a trap
in the bar to Swadling who put it onto the stem of the glass and
assembled the pieces for Fred to finish the routine.
There was one problem to solve before he could do this. He needed to
have the glasses made. The first prototypes Kaps got were made for him
by Scotty York. Later, Frans. Biemans, a Dutch magician friend of Kaps
told him he knew a man that owned a glass factory in Holland who could
make the glasses.
At Phillipe Phialho's home in the South of France, Kaps talked to Trevor
Lewis about this, and Lewis later discussed this with Biemens, and a year later
at a convention Biemans gave Lewis one bowl and two stems. Lewis kept the
pieces safely locked away as felt they were really to precious to use.
ewis went on to explain that later Biemans gave him an additional
L bowl and a few extra stems. One complete unit will be donated to
the Magic Circle for their museum.
In a letter I received from Kaps, dated 8 August 1978, Kaps mentioned
taping another special and he used a glass given to him by Biemans.
It should be noted here that Paul Gertner's award-winning ring found
on an hourglass was inspired by the Ring on Wineglass following Kaps'
TV special. In addition, Bruce Kalvar marketed a similar effect using
Brandy Snifter and a different approach.
My One Man Ring on Wineglass
Following Kalvar, and others, putting the effect on the market, I was
a little miffed. But, I can't blame anyone really, I should have marketed,
or published it myself to get proper credit for the concept. I did, howev-
er have this published (finally) in Genii
Magazine, in the August, 2007 issue.
So, how do I get my credit, and how do I
get my trick back?
The answer? Improve it.
Here is what I have developed. It can be
done as I will describe it, if, and I emphasize
“IF” if you are a really good performer and
have the chops, and guts it takes to do the
very bold, necessary moves.
The preparation.
Go to a shop that sells wine glasses. Get
cheap, short-stemmed Brandy Snifters. Buy
half-a-dozen so you will have enough to
make the gimmicks and practice with.
Take a small file and nick the stem about
half way down. Then cover this with a cloth
and tap it at the file mark with a hammer,
breaking the glass into two pieces. (See the
photos). The break does not have to be
square, just clean.
From a hardware store buy some clear
neoprene hosing, the diameter that will just
fit, snugly, over the stem of the glass. Cut
this to the length shown in the accompanying
photo.
Stick the stem and glass together, held
together by the tubing. (This was Kalvar's
idea, but he had you go under the table, or
out of sight with the glass to do the work).
Now, what I wanted to have was a stand-up routine, no going south,
no hiding the glass, nothing phony, nothing covered.
Assemble the gimmicked glass and hold it by the stem in your right
hand. Walk into the audience and borrow two men's wedding bands. Don't
borrow women's rings as you don't want any trouble losing a stone, or
doing any damage. Keep them to simple
men's wedding bands.
As you borrow them have them dropped
into the glass (the gimmick is hidden by your
right hand holding the glass).
wirl the rings in the glass as you walk
S back to your working position. At this
time you take the upper half of the
glass away in your left hand, and edge palm
(see photo) the base with the stem sticking
up. (This is where skill and handling comes
in).
While you are walking, you pour the
rings from the bowl into your right hand onto
the stem (which is hidden in your hand and it
should just appear as if you are pouring the
rings into your empty hand).
Now you bring the base up to the stem
and stick them back together.
Act as if you are sticking the rings onto
the stem. Once everything is back together
you grip the glass from above and show the
rings on the stem. The reason to use two
rings is to hide the gimmick. See the photo to
show you how the rings are displayed, and
how each ring hides an end of the tubing.
Sell this. Sell it big time.
Now, you place the glass on its side on a
tray, cover it with a handkerchief and bring
out a small hammer and break the glass.
Really break it for the best effect. And then
lift the handkerchief and remove the two
borrowed rings and return them to the loa-
nees.
Alternate Handling for a No Assistant
Variation
Steve Cohen, "The Millionaire's
Magician," called from New York May 15 to
discuss handling for this effect. He suggest-
ed what I think makes this a really practical
ONE MAN handling. It is so simple I think
this is what I will use myself.
Prepare a silk handkerchief (I like Paisley
designs) with a cheap ring hanging from the
center of the handkerchief on a thread. Have
this on the inside as you fold the
handkerchief and place it into your
jacket's breast pocket (or have it on a
table, etc.)
The gimmicked glass is on your
table behind something or out of sight
inside the table, however your work-
ing conditions allow you to have the
glass handy, but not seen.
Ask to borrow a ring from a gen-
tleman. "A unique wedding band
would be fine," you say. Have him
take the ring off, take it in your right
hand, examine it, etc. Bring out the
handkerchief. Now you to the old
dodge of apparently placing the ring
under the handkerchief and having
the spectator "hold" the ring through Steve Cohen performs at the Waldorf
the cloth. Hotel, New York.
What you actually do is let them
hold the duplicate through the cloth while you palm out the borrowed ring
and bring out the wineglass. Keep the split section hidden by holding it
by the stem.
With both hands you bring the glass under the handkerchief, pull off
the base, put the ring onto the stem, then push the base back onto the
bowl. You now hold the glass under the handkerchief and ask the specta-
tor to let go of the ring, to "Drop it into the glass, where something
UNUSUAL will happen."
They hear the ring drop into the glass.
Pause. Lift the handkerchief away and show the glass does not contain
the ring. It has vanished. You hold the glass so the ring is not visible at
this point. Put the handkerchief away.
"Actually," you say, "It really hasn't vanished… look… it's here on the
stem of the glass." Show the ring, ask him to identify it, etc.
You say, "The only way to release your ring is to break the glass." You
now can put the glass into a paper bag, or cover it with a napkin, whatev-
er fits your routine, as you bring out a mallet and give the glass a whack
separating the two pieces. You could have some broken pieces in the bag,
dump all out onto a tray and then carefully pick the ring up and have the
spectator identify it and thank him for his help. When you finish make
sure to ask, "Is your ring in the same condition as it was when you gave
it to me?"
Take your well-earned applause.
 These photos should help you understand the basic handling
Top left shows the gimmicked glass with the tubing in place. Top right
shows the pieces separated and the ring put onto the lower part of the
stem. You do this under the handkechief. Center left, shows how you dis-
play the ring on the stem (KEEP IT IN MOTION). Center right you then
covered it with a cloth or paper towel and tapped it with a hammer, sep-
arating he pieces. Bottom left shows a dummy ring on a thread attached
to the handkerchief. Bottom right, put ring under handkerchief to do the
dirty work, and have spectator hold it though the cloth over the glass.