* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Magic New Zealand * www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Issue Number: #486 Date: Sunday 18th March 2007 Editor: Alan Watson www.magicianz.com www.Alan-Watson.com e-mail: AW@Alan-Watson.com ================================ Hi here is the latest news ================================ 1. Editor's Message 2. Alan Watson's 7 Secrets To Success 3. Le Grand David Spectacular Magic Co 4. Stars Of Tomorrow Show, S.A.M. Convention 5. Meetings With Remarkable Magicians # 52 - Nick Lewin 6. Branding for Magicians: What is Branding? - Kyle Peron 7. Rosemary Brigham Passes Away 8. Peter Tappan - Broken Wand 9. Jay Fortune's New Book 10. Cath Jamison - "Secret Life of a Woman" 11. TAOM 2007 Convention in Corpus Christi 12. David Ginn - Europe 2007 Short Lecture Tour 13. South Canterbury Society Of Magicians celebrating Its 75th 14. The Amazing Orchante Saga 15. e-zine Archives 16. Privacy Policy And Copyright Notice -------------------------------------------- 1. Editor's Message -------------------------------------------- For a number of years close friends have been telling me that I should write a book or put together a DVD on the business side of entertainment industry. Paul Romhany finally convinced me that it was long overdue and that he would co-ordinate it for me as a joint project. Refer item 2. Thanks Paul ----------------------- Remember if you have any magic news drop me a line: AW@Alan-Watson.com -------------------------------------------- 2. Alan Watson's 7 Secrets To Success - Interviewed By Paul Romhany -------------------------------------------- Message from Paul Romhany I am VERY excited that Alan Watson agreed to sit down with me and let me interview him on his amazing success in magic. Growing up I was fortunate to have Alan as a mentor when it came to making a living from magic and a good living I have made. To sit down with Alan and have a 'one on one' about what makes a successful performer will be of benefit to EVERY magician in the world. If you take the SEVEN points Alan talks about in this hour long interview and put them in to practise then you will be guaranteed to increase the volume of work you get, the amount of money you get from shows and even find out the secret to getting in major newspapers! Alan was also kind enough to let me take my camera to the theme park where he's been working for 23 years and film some of his act. This is truly a very unique 2 DVD set that every magician will get something out of. Thank you Alan for allowing me to put this together and for yet again helping other magicians become successful! Paul Alan Watson's 7 Secrets to Success (2 DVD SET) Interviewed by Paul Romhany Alan Watson is known around the world as the G.P. of Magic with over 800 shows a year with performances in trade-shows, corporate magic, children's shows, theme parks and walk-about, making him one of the busiest magicians in the world! Alan's consummate professionalism, coupled with a background in sales and marketing, has enabled him to break long established records, set new standards, and in the process, generate valuable publicity. In this DVD Alan reveals the REAL secrets to his incredible success and how YOU can get more work as a performer. His list of achievements include past recipient of the DRAGON Award, the Grand Master of Magic Award, the Golden Benny Award from the New Zealand Variety Artists Club and numerous awards for his world class close-up act. On a recent trip to New Zealand Paul Romhany sat down and interviewed Alan on his Seven Secrets to Success. The result is this two DVD set which includes over an hour interview where Alan shares his Seven Secrets to Success that have kept him at the top of his field as a professional magician for over eighteen years. This is a rare opportunity to find out how YOU can achieve success and go from amateur to professional by following Alan's Seven Secrets. Alan talks about giving away 70,000 business cards a year and not paying for any of them, how he can get paid more than once for a show and the difference between publicity and advertising, including his secret for getting on the FRONT page of major newspapers. The bonus DVD includes a live performance of 'The Watson Family Magic Show' filmed at Rainbows End Theme Park, Alan's award winning 'Kiwi' theme close-up show plus footage of Alan accepting the New Zealand entertainment industry's highest honor, the Golden Benny Award. "In 42 years I have seen too many talented performers give up their dreams and get a J.O.B. Because as Alan says, "the smallest word in Show Business' is 'show'" then I am listening to a worker. And a performer who has doubled his fees at the same time decreasing the number of performances he will do this year to 800 (you read it right - Eight Hundred) then I pull my chair up, close my mouth, open my ears and listen up. And you will too." Gene McCarthy - Director or Entertainment International Ltd "Unlike most magicians, Alan knows show business is more about the business than the show. Alan is a consummate marketer and a genius at publicity and promotion. Not only does he get the publicity, but he almost always manages to get it on the front page. I'm thrilled he's finally releasing his secrets of success." Richard Webster - International Best Selling Author "His rare combination of marketing and publicity expertise means that he regularly achieves greater coverage than any other New Zealand performer, a real tribute to his management abilities. Truly it can be said that Alan Watson can sell anything to anyone and it is characteristic of his generosity and love of magic that he has decided to make his expertise available to his fellow performers. Spend an hour with Alan Watson. It's an investment in your performing career." Michael Woolf - Editor of Magicana - New Zealand's International Magazine for Magicians "When it comes to marketing Alan Watson is a force of nature. He started with a love of magic and then achieved a career in marketing. Alan then used his skill in marketing to become a busy professional magician who is known and respected around the globe. Anything that Alan chooses to pass on about marketing and promotion should be nectar to the ears of magicians looking to get more or better gigs. Or become better known. Sign me up for a copy!" Nick Lewin - professional magician To Order Your DVD Visit This Website www.magicmasterclass.com -------------------------------------------- 3. Le Grand David Spectacular Magic Co -------------------------------------------- Message from Henry Lewis (UK) I have been invited again to appear in the regular public show of The Grand David Spectacular Magic Company (now in it's thirtieth year) as a guest artist at The Cabot Street Theatre, Beverly MA. USA on the 15th April 2007. To be asked once again by Cesareo Pealez MIMC is a great honour and one which I am delighted to accept. -------------------------------------------- 4. Stars Of Tomorrow Show, S.A.M. Convention -------------------------------------------- Message from Hope Anderson (US) Searching for the Stars of Tomorrow! Will a young magician you know be one of the Stars of Tomorrow? The Stars of Tomorrow Show, a professional stage show at the Society of American Magicians convention, is a great way for young magicians to showcase their talent and experience the magic of the S.A.M. convention. Young performers at this summer's convention in Dallas, Texas (July 4-7), will be paid and will receive two free registrations for the convention (for the performer and a parent) and a year's membership in the Society of Young Magicians. Please encourage young magicians you know to apply for consideration for the show, and help them polish their acts and submit applications! To audition for the show, young magicians should submit an application with a video or DVD of the stage act (about five to ten minutes in length) that they would like to perform in the show, along with a photo for the convention program and a bio. Young magicians interested in emceeing the show should also include a sample of introductions, jokes, and emcee bits on their videos. The deadline for receiving applications is April 20. Mentors of young magicians might consider having a filming day for their protégés so that these young performers have the opportunity to make audition videos. You can help make a young magician one of the Stars of Tomorrow! To get more information and an application form, please contact Hope Anderson, P.O. Box 1668, Marina, CA 93933, USA, (831) 384-0848, Hopemagic@aol.com, or visit the S.A.M. website at www.magicsam.com -------------------------------------------- 5. Meetings With Remarkable Magicians # 52 - Nick Lewin -------------------------------------------- Message from Nick Lewin (US) The 'new' Ricki Dunn One of my dearest friends in the magic world was pickpocket and magician Ricki Dunn. Ricki was a powerhouse of a performer and a powerhouse of a person. The intensity of Ricki onstage was legendary and he often equaled it offstage. OK, let me rephrase that; he had a temper that could affect global warming. The legendary art of 'losing it' that I referred to in the last paragraph is closely connected to my use of the word 'new' in the title. Every time I met Ricki Dunn in my travels I would quiz him on his latest drama. Ricki would open every conversation with an earnest reassurance that whatever the last controversy was he was now a 'new' Ricki Dunn. There just didn't always appear to be a huge difference with the 'old' one I am happy to say. After a few years I took to greeting Ricki with a mock serious investigation as to which Ricki I was talking with, "Now, is this the new Ricki Dunn or is it the old Ricki?" If you really got to know Ricki Dunn then you realized there never could be two versions to this complex and sensitive man. The time I began to bond with Ricki was on a magic cruise in the Caribbean in 1990. I managed to avert a potentially unpleasant incident at a midnight buffet. Ricki was upset because a close up performer on the cruise was repeatedly performing a watch steal and this was before Ricki had performed. I never realized Paul Green was quite as brave as he is talented! Now this is where my readers will divide into two groups: those who didn't know Ricki and those who did know Ricki and are wondering what I did at the buffet that night to avoid World War Three. I just physically held Ricki back until he calmed down. After the crisis was avoided Ricki told me I was one of the few people who had ever calmed him down in this manner. I believe it; it was like holding back a freight train. This small/strange little incident began a warm friendship that continued until Ricki passed on. We just really enjoyed each other's company. I also really respected Ricki as a performer and I learned a great deal from his energy and pacing. One story that followed Ricki so closely that it became an item of folklore was that Ricki had once gotten into a physical fistfight with his onstage assistant. Once I took the opportunity to bring up this very touchy topic with Ricki and ask him if this had ever really happened. Ricki looked at me in an expression of pure righteous indignation and said, "It only happened a few times and people make a big deal about it. They all deserved it!" I tried to think what these random audience members who had been brought onstage could possibly have done to deserve any kind of verbal (let alone physical) abuse from a performer! I was trying to work all this out in my mind and suddenly I realized there was a simple answer. It must have been the 'old' Ricki Dunn who did it. Well enough of this talk about 'old' or 'new' Ricki Dunn: let's discuss the real Ricki Dunn and see if I can come up with a few words to describe him. Talented, generous, obstinate and warm will do for starters and I bet there are dozens more. Ricki Dunn was a true one of a kind and his passing was a loss to everyone in magic. Paul Romhany is putting together a website dedicated to this very special person. This is great because younger performers have a very real need to understand some of the more unique magicians from our past. Please send any bricks or bouquets to nicklewin@earthlink.net -------------------------------------------- 6. Branding for Magicians: What is Branding? - Kyle Peron -------------------------------------------- Message from By Kyle Peron (US) E-Mail: Magic4u02@aol.com Often times in our busy consumer world of ours, we come across the word "brand" numerous amounts of times even in just one afternoon. We see it on TV, in the mall and all around the world we live in. But what is a brand and what does it mean to you the performer? Can this brand idea work for me and if so how do I go about it? Let me start by saying that a brand is a visual, emotional, rational and cultural image or feeling that one person associates with a company, product or service. Companies with well established brands are the companies that we consumers remember when we go to make a purchase. We associate good feelings with the company or product and that influences what product we might buy on any given day. For example, when you think of Nike, you think of certain visual and emotional responses. Some of the items that come to mind are Michael Jordan, "Just Do It", athletics, quality shoes and apparel. All of these images and feelings derive just from Nike's successful brand and brand message that they put out in the marketplace. The fact that you remember the brand name and have positive feelings toward that brand makes your product selection easier and enhances the value and satisfaction you get from the product. You can think of your own brand as an investment. It does not happen overnight. The brand must be developed, nurtured and matured in the minds of the customer before you can reap your rewards. But is it worth it? Yes. Many companies have spent many dollars and effort developing their brand and making sure their message gets out to the customer. Time is spent on building the perception of the brand in the minds of the individuals your services are trying to target. But why are brands important for the magician? The branding of your company and its products will increase the public awareness of your services. This in turn increases your reputation in the community for providing a quality product or service. And the ultimate difference can be seen in the increased revenue that is generated by an increase in shows. Branding will also provide a higher level of consistency and continuity in your advertising and marketing materials. The increased awareness will make your services and your products stand out from the others in your market, making it easier for people to buy your services over someone else. But what are parts of a good brand that will make people think positively towards my own brand? Brand elements such as logos, postcards, ads, posters, taglines and packaging are all key ingredients for creating these positive feelings toward any given brand. For example, if a person has a perception that shoes by Nike are top quality, they will look for the Nike logo whereever they go to buy shoes. This Nike logo then becomes a driving force in their mind. Whenever they see the Nike logo they will think quality products. The first step in creating any good brand is to create a brand message statement. This statement tells, in few words, what business the company is in, what benefits it provides and why it is better than the competition. Once this brand statement is created, then every piece of your promotional materials needs to be able to reflect back on this statement and meet its criteria. If it does not, then the promotional piece is not working properly. This helps you to make sure that every piece of material that is used to promote your brand is consistent in its message to the consumer. I hope this information has given you an idea of what branding is and how it can start to work for you. As always, I encourage you the readers to let me know your thoughts. So if you have any thoughts on my articles or suggestions or comments, please feel free to e-mail me directly at magic4u02@aol.com. I would love to hear from you. Kyle Peron Magician and Illusionist Graphic Designer and Illustrator (Specializing in Logo creation) www.kyleandkellymagic.com -------------------------------------------- 7. Rosemary Brigham Passes Away -------------------------------------------- Message from Bruce Kalver (US) This in from Jann Goodsell: Rose Mary Brigham passed away this morning. One of the great people in our organization, she was an Honorary Member of the S.A.M. and the wife of P.I.P. Charles Brigham, who passed away several years ago. The spring National Council in 2006 was held in Fort Myers. Florida, in conjunction with Rose Mary's 90th birthday so that we could celebrate with her and honor her for all she has meant to so many of us. A memorial will be held, but no date has been set as of yet. Anyone who wishes further details, please contact me (801-376-0353). Jann Wherry Goodsell -------------------------------------------- 8. Peter Tappan - Broken Wand -------------------------------------------- Message from Tracy Atteberry Chicago, IL USA Peter Tappan, age 78, died on March 15. Pete was probably best known in the magic community for the book "The Impostress Princess" which remains the definitive source for the "princess card trick". Description of "The Impostress Princess" from MyLovelyAssistant.com: "Al Koran was renowned for the Princess Card Trick Plus; Paul Fox was famed for the Five-Card Mental Selection; Louis Histed was celebrated for the miracle Divination; Al Baker was praised for Vocalepathy. These are different versions of the same mental miracle, wherein the performer divines cards merely thought of by several spectators from among bunches of cards handed out. In this 124 page book, the author traces the development of the Princess Card Trick from Modern Magic to the present day. He analyzes alternate methods and presentations. He breaks new ground in strategy, methods, presentations and climaxes. If you do any version of this effect or if you are looking for a mind blowing mental masterpiece, this book is a must. 124 pages, perfect bound, very well produced." -------------------------------------------- 9. Jay Fortune's New Book -------------------------------------------- Message by Jay Fortune (UK) 'It's an original and stimulating book that will definitely inspire and gets our highest recommendation.' - MagicWeek 'Words cannot explain how good this is. Well, they can actually; you just need to read it!' - Wayne Dobson Own a piece of magic history! In July 2005, professional magician Jay Fortune and radio presenter Layman Steve hit the airwaves live from London with Radio Magic; a lively hour-long radio show dedicated to magic and magicians. Within weeks Radio Magic became the world's number one radio show in this specialist area with more and more listeners tuning in every week. Radio Magic: The Interviews Season One is a hard-backed collection of the transcripts of interviews broadcast from July to December 2005. With a forward by John Lenahan, this book of expert comment and advice is a gold-mine for the magician looking to improve their craft and offers a worldview of magic in the early 21st century. Radio Magic: The Interviews Season One features hypnotist Matthew Stirling, sleight-of-hand expert Simon Lovell, world-famous magician Paul Daniels, dealer and creator Mark Leveridge, mentalist Luke Jermay, illusionist Russ Stevens, TV producer, creator and consultant Anthony Owen, manipulation expert Duncan Trillo, TV producer Andy Batten-Foster, and master magicians Eugene Burger and Jeff McBride. With a bonus chapter offering a new philosophy on magic by Walter Llewellyn McKone D.O. and a response by Eugene Burger, this book of expert comment will certainly set you thinking. A huge amount of magic is covered in these pages from hypnotism and NLP, sleight-of-hand, magic book publishing, history of magic, starting your own magic business, mentalism, mind-reading, stage illusion, breaking into television with your magic, manipulation, famous magicians, creativity, bizarre magic, close-up, scripting, theory and philosophy. As John Lenahan says in his foreword to this book; If you can't get inspiration from these guys then you should go back to stamp collecting as a hobby. RadioMagic.co.uk is donating 5% from this book to the Grand Order of Water Rats; a wonderful fraternity and charitable organization. Radio Magic: The Interviews Season One - 100 A4 pages. Hard-backed. Glossy laminated dust-jacket. Price £25 including free postage. Signed by Jay Fortune. Also available: Radio Magic: The Interviews Season One e-book. Emailed to you in adobe pdf format. Only £15. Special offer: buy Radio Magic: The Interviews Season One hard-backed book and e-book together for just £30! -------------------------------------------- 10. Cath Jamison - "Secret Life of a Woman" -------------------------------------------- Message from Cath Jamison (Aust) Cath Jamison "Secret Life of a woman" @ Melbourne International Comedy Festival Tickets are on sell NOW! Don't miss out seeing Cath's hit cabaret/magic show. (The last 2 seasons were sold out ) 9 Shows only! Seats still available..but disappearing fast! Cath Jamison "Secret Life of a Woman" Directed by Glynn Nicholas Cath dares you to believe! Australia's leading female star of magic will dazzle you in her latest stage spectacle, Secret Life of a Woman. From dangerous oral acrobatics with razor blades to making it snow on demand (with the possibility of a beheading or two), Cath will use all her feminine wiles and wit to conjure up her ideal date and deliver an hypnotic performance, creating a world where anything is possible. A burlesque cum cabaret like no other, Cath will challenge you with her interactive and edgy production that combines comedy, illusion, dove whispering, dangerous stunts, women's intuition, saucy dance numbers, bizarre dating rituals and paranormal activity. Join Cath and her two sexy dancing European twins as she divulges the secrets and passions of a woman looking for a night of romance (or just some hanky panky!). Looking for love has never been so frightfully hilarious........and magical. "As Australians number one female magician, she's carved for herself a solid (and saucy) niche in the industry" The Age Fringe Festival review.http://www.aussietheatre.net/revcath.htm Book Venue: The New Ballroom, Trades Hall, cnr Lygon & Victoria Streets, Carlton Dates: 12 - 28 April Thur, Fri, Sat Tickets: Full $22 Conc. & Group (10 or more) $18 Preview (12th April) $15 Bookings: www.comedyattrades.com.au Comedy trades 9659 3569 -------------------------------------------- 11. TAOM 2007 Convention in Corpus Christi -------------------------------------------- Message from Joe Douglas TAOM 2007 Entertainment Chairman Dale Salsa will be one of our featured performers and will also present his lecture. Our Special Lecture will be on the Faro shuffle by Dr. Brent Morris. If you are a caducean or want to learn all about the Faro, don't miss TAOM 2007. Here is Dr. Morris' Bio: S. Brent Morris wrote his doctoral dissertation at Duke University on the faro shuffle: "Permutations by Cutting and Shuffling: A Generalization to Q Dimensions." He holds two US patents on computers designed with faro shuffles and has lectured on card shuffling to the Lord Mayor of London and at over 100 universities. The Mathematical Association of America published his book on the faro shuffle, Magic Tricks, Card Shuffling, and Dynamic Computer Memories, and he has written several books on Freemasonry, including The Complete Idiot's Guide to Freemasonry. He became interested in the faro shuffle while at Thomas Jefferson High School in Dallas, Texas, and has pursued its mathematics for over 40 years. He is Past President of the Dallas Magic Circle, Assembly No. 30, and S.A.M. Our headliner for Close-Up is J. C. Wagner from California. J. C. and I were members of the Honest Sid Gerhard Ring 76 in San Diego when Sid Gerhard was an active member. J. C. always shared his knowledge of magic and had audience tested material. His lecture will be another must see as he will be presenting an outstanding lecture on close-up magic. Please check out www.taom2007.com and www.taom.org for information on the Texas Association of Magicians and the Corpus Christi convention on August 31 to September 3, 2007. ----------------- 12. David Ginn - Europe 2007 Short Lecture Tour ----------------- Message from David Ginn (US) David Ginn will present five lectures of CRASH COURSE ON KIDSHOWS in Europe soon as follows: March 27, Dynamite Magic, Venlo Netherlands March 29, Berlin Germany March 30, Hamburg Germany April 1 at 3 pm Vienna, Austria April 2 Styr Austria. These will be David's only Europe lectures this year. He will also appear at the SAMS CONVENTION in Port Edward, South Africa from April 27 - May 1, doing a show, several lectures, and a hands-on rope magic class. Please contact local magicians or club sponsors for details. ----------------- 13. South Canterbury Society of Magicians celebrating Its 75th ----------------- Message from contact Russell Hendry (Secretary) The South Canterbury Society of Magicians The South Canterbury Society of Magicians is celebrating its 75th year of continuous operation this year with a birthday party on Sunday 17 June, in Timaru. Everyone is invited! It's a one-day event in a local hall and we have planned an interesting and exciting programme. Come and soak up the magical atmosphere. Take part in the 75 tricks event, aiming to achieve 75 quick tricks in the shortest possible time. Or you can demonstrate your favourite effect and possibly win a super prize for your trouble. You may want to walk across the road to a rest home and perform some of your magic to the residents who are eagerly awaiting our visit. There will be two keynote presentations from Greg "Elgregoe" Britt and his son Nick ("Nickleby") who will be sharing magic that works and experiences with kids magic . Greg will be giving the same lecture in Missouri, USA, in May this year. Nick works with animals and birds and will have some interesting points to share with us. They are generously donating great magic prizes for the day. Of course, we couldn't have a birthday without a cake, so there will be the cutting of the cake ceremony, and a historical re-enactment of the first meeting in Timaru on the 17 June 1932 when the Society started. As well there will be magic sales, both second-hand and new. Bring your pre-loved equipment and take something new home. The cost has been kept to a minimum. The registration fee is only $25, which covers lunch and morning and afternoon tea or coffee. An evening meal is planned and this will be an extra cost depending on numbers coming. It could cost you $20-30 more, but that still makes it a very cost effective day. The South Canterbury Society has a reputation for friendly, enjoyable magic events and those who attended "Conjurama" in 1996 or our 70th birthday in 2002 will be keen to come to this one. For further information including a registration form and programme, please contact Russell Hendry (Secretary) at 21 Stirling Place, Timaru 7910, telephone 03 686-0201, or email r.hendry@xtra.co.nz ----------------- 14. The Amazing Orchante Saga ----------------- Message from Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)(UK ex-pat Kiwi) Page 147 Throughout in his incredible career, Richard has successfully made his living as: a magician, stage hypnotist, hypnotherapist, Ventriloquist, mentalist, psychic entertainer, palmist, puppets/ marionettes performer and a pianist. Any one, or just a few of these various talents and skills would have been ample for most, to make a full-time living for the rest of their lives; but for Richard, his first love and passion has always been writing. When he was only nine years old, he wrote a small 'newspaper' which he distributed around his neighbourhood, and when he was 10 years of age his parents invited Ronald Syme, a well-known children's author, for dinner. Ronald Syme was gently discouraging on the prospects of a writing career, but after that evening, Richard could imagine no other career than writing. When he left school, Richard went into publishing, working for 'William Collins' for seven years. This was a good first step, and provided a solid foundation for Richard's later career, as he worked in the editorial, book production and sales departments. Following this apprenticeship, Richard purchased a bookshop which he owned for a year. In that same year (1971) he also married Margaret, whom he had met in London four years earlier. Although she is from the 'Wairarapa' (this, and the Manawatu region, covers the lower third of the north island of New Zealand, approximately from Palmerston North to Greytown), they had to travel 12,000 miles to meet each other. Sounds, to some extent, how Veronica and I met. She was born in Scotland, immigrated to N.Z. (when she was three) with her parents in 1946, met me in 1971, then dragged me all the way back to Scotland, via Australia, fourteen years later -1985. Richard and Margaret have now been married for 36 years (2007); they have three children and four grandchildren. (I seem to have gotten a little ahead of myself). After the bookshop, Richard moved on to a variety of other small businesses, which included a motel, printing company, a rubber-stamp manufacturing business, engraving business and finally, a book importing business. Some of these ventures were successful, some not. In one of his 'down' periods (I think most of us have had at least one [I've lost count of mine] of those, in our lifetime), he was working in a printing machinery warehouse during the day, delivering buns and doughnuts at night, and doing children's shows in the weekend's. About that time, 1975/76, Kreskin had a series on television, and Uri (the joke) Geller toured New Zealand. Richard says: "It occurred to me that I could combine my knowledge of both magic and the psychic to make a living, so I borrowed a copy of Frances Marshall's - 'The Success Book' from the 'New Zealand Society of Magicians' library, and read about 'Horoscope Parties'. I then bought Robert Nelson's manuscript on the subject and, a few weeks later, started offering them in New Zealand. The demand for them was insatiable, and for the next seven years I was out doing horoscope parties almost every night of the week. I would have been divorced, if I hadn't eventually given them up, as I was never home". Although his first book was published in 1972, Richard's writing career really began in the early 1980s. The first seven years of the 1980s were Richard's most lucrative, as a performer. He would spend one week a month in shopping malls - reading palms, and the rest of the time was spent in performing mentalism and hypnotism shows, playing the piano in restaurants, and even doing children's shows as 'Riccardo the Magician'. In those early years of 1980, it was illegal to charge for palm readings in New Zealand, so to get around this problem, Richard wrote a small booklet to sell. Every one who bought one of his booklets received a free palm reading. However, Richard did not foresee the repeat business he would receive; about a month after starting these readings, Richard's customers returned, wanting another booklet! After writing more than 30 of these booklets, Richard realised it was more fun to write than to give palm readings. He was also ghost - writing books for other people, and that was extremely lucrative, so much so that by 1986 he was in a position to retire, if he'd wanted to. However, a year later the bottom dropped out of the share market, and he found himself impoverished again. The entertainment market contracted, particularly the higher paying shows, and the ghost - writing market disappeared completely; he found himself demonstrating products such as 'Kwicksilver Plate' and the Ginsu Knife, for two years until the economy improved. Continues Next Week! -------------------------------------------- 15. Magic New Zealand e-zine Archives -------------------------------------------- Back issues of the Magic New Zealand e-zine go to: www.watson.co.nz/fezine.html Both the User Name and Password MUST be entered in lower case to gain access. User Name: magic Password: kiwi When you enter the archive the e-zines are in issue order and are coded. Eg 001 Nov06 1999.txt first three numbers (001) denote issue number, then the date (Nov06) and the last figures the year (1999) -------------------------------------------- 16. Privacy Policy And Copyright Notice -------------------------------------------- Our subscriber list is NOT made available to any other companies or individuals. We value every subscriber and respect your privacy. You can subscribe to or unsubscribe from the Magic New Zealand® E-zine at www.watson.co.nz/fezine.html. Magic New Zealand® E-zine is published each Sunday. The opinions expressed therein are those of the individual contributors and not necessarily those of Magic New Zealand®. Neither Magic New Zealand® nor Alan Watson vouch for the accuracy or reliability of any opinion, message, statement, or other information reported via Magic New Zealand® E-zine. Subscribers to this publication and authors who contribute to it by doing so agree they will not hold Magic New Zealand® or Alan Watson, jointly or individually liable or responsible in any way for the opinions expressed therein. Magic New Zealand® reserves the right to alter, correct or disregard any articles submitted. Readers are encouraged to submit timely articles or news items which may be of interest to subscribers. By submitting articles to this e-zine, the authors grant Magic New Zealand® the right to publish such articles and such authors confirm their copyright of the material submitted. All works published by Magic New Zealand® are protected by international copyright legislation and articles must not be published for profit by anyone other than the individual authors without the written permission of Magic New Zealand®. Notwithstanding the foregoing, this publication may be freely redistributed, but not sold, to other magicians if copied in its entirety, including the copyright notice below and the above disclaimer. © Copyright 2007 Alan Watson