* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Magic New Zealand * www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Issue Number: #125 Date: Sunday 9th June 2002 Editor: Alan Watson www.magician.co.nz www.alan-watson.com e-mail: AW@Alan-Watson.com ================================ Hi here is the latest news ================================ 1. Editor’s Message 2. Quick! Read This Before It Disappears! 3. Extraordinary Exhibition Dedicated To Automatons 4. Donate $50,000 Dollars To Charity 5. Petrick & Mia Lecture In Jacksonville 6. "Masked Magician Exposure" 7. Tim's 'Secrets Revealed' Parody 8. Rare Houdini Collection To Be Auctioned 9. "Enemy Within" -Richard Webster 10. The World Alliance Of Magicians (WAM) - Website 11. Siegfried & Roy's - The Magic Box, On DVD 12. Cards With Dental Dams Or Accro Cards? 13. Harbin Book For Sale 14. Videos For Sale 15. It’s Cool to be kind - Uncool to be Cruel 16. The Mummy's Curse 17. The Orchante Saga #109 18. MagicNZ e-zine archives 19. Subscription Management ------------------------------------ 1. Editor's Message ------------------------------------- Message from Alan Watson - The Magic One The next issue of the Magic New Zealand will NOT be published until Sunday 14th July as Michele and I fly out to the States on Saturday 15th June. We will be performing at the Magic Castle in Hollywood from 17- 23 June (Close-up Gallery early session); then on to New York to attend the S.A.M. convention 3-6 July. We would love to catch up with Magic New Zealand subscribers at either venue. --------------------------------- SPECIAL ANNOUNCEMENT Magic Christian Auckland Lecture Sponsored by: IBM Ring 160 Date: Friday 14th June Time: 7.45pm Fee: Adults $15.00, students: $7.50 Venue: The Functions Room Freemans Bay Community Centre, 52 Hepburn Street, Freemans Bay Magic Christian is an internationally acclaimed magician from Vienna and a multi-FISM award winner. This will be a great opportunity to learn from an expert first hand. Magic Christian will lecture on the important facets of staging, acting, close up, mentalism and some of his original ideas first hand which include cut sleights, deck switches, coins thru table etc. The lecture will be a variation of his favourite routines and will be a different lecture from his lecture at the Australian convention last week. He will have goods for sale which will include lecture notes and props - CASH ONLY. ---------------------------------------------------- Remember the next issue of Magic New Zealand will NOT be published until Sunday 14th July. ---------------------------------- 2. Quick! Read This Before It Disappears! ---------------------------------- Message from Mindy Burden (US) The International Brotherhood of Magicians will be flying into San Diego July 3,4,5, and 6 for their annual Convention. Over 1,400 magicians will attend the event headquartered at the Town & Country Resort. The prestidigitators will learn incantations, spells, and death-defying effects of all nature. Residents should be wary during this time. They may notice hats flying off their heads or experience an elevating feeling. Magicians from countries all over the world and every state of the union will be represented at the Convention. Men, women, boys, and girls will be attending lectures, meetings, and workshops. The magicians will also be shopping the dealers’ area for the latest effects to take home. The highlight of the Convention will be the nightly shows presented at the San Diego Civic Theater. These shows are open to the public. They feature world-class, professional magicians with high-energy acts suitable for the entire family. To be part of the FUN and EXCITEMENT (and to have better seating than walk-ins), send your registration in NOW! Here’s a list of our featured performers: Wed.: Stephen Bargatze, James Dimmare, Danny Cole, Todd Charles, Chuck Jones & Co. Thurs: Aldo Colombini, Jay Scott Berry, Alan Shaxon, Gaeton Bloom, Mysto, Omar Pasha Fri.: Rich Bloch, Davey Marlin-Jones, Rick Thomas, The Gold Medal Competition Sat.: Surprise Host, Norm Nielsen, Carl Ballantine, Joaquin Ayala Close-up: Stephen Bargatze, Aldo Colombini, Steve Dacri, Lupe, Alan Shaxon, David Stone Big Three Lecture: Bob Fitch One Man Show: Bev Bergeron Banquet: The antics of Gene Anderson, Bob Bloenk, and Bill Spooner For more information, go to the IBM website: www.magician.org There is still time to register! --------------------------------- 3. Extraordinary Exhibition Dedicated To Automatons ---------------------------------- Message from Magic Richard (Italy) I'm Richard owner of the most popular Italian web guide for SuperEva.it . Magic I want to report you this important event: Extraordinary exhibition dedicated to automatons "Automi: meraviglie meccaniche francesi e tedesche del XIX e XX secolo" From 8th June to 3rd November 2002 Rocca Borromeo, Angera (VA) ITALY From 8th June to 3rd November 2002, the Doll and Children's Clothes Museum, which is housed in the historic Rocca Borromeo, will host an extraordinary exhibition dedicated to automatons. Exhibits will include some extremely rare pieces, mechanical wonders that were manufactured in France and Germany between 1870 and 1920 (Roullet & Decamps, a Alexandre Nicolas Théroude, Blaise Bontems, Leopold Lambert, Gustave Vichy, Jan Marie Phalibois, Louis Renou, Robert Houdin), the period that coincided with the success and diffusion on an international scale of these unusual objects, which provided hours of divertissement for jung and old alike. There are three sections that identify the themes and subjects displayed: Music, the Circus, and Vices & Virtutes. The exhibition covers a route marked by magical sound effects, lights, projections and videos, allowing visitors the chance to see the pieces in movement and listen to their music. All the information and the pictures at this URL: http://guide.supereva.it/magia_e_illusionismo/interventi/2002/05/105 443.shtml www.magicrichard.50megs.com http://guide.supereva.it/magia_e_illusionismo ---------------------------------- 4. Donate $50,000 Dollars To Charity --------------------------------- Message from William Perron Last night the Amazing Kreskin was on the Art Bell radio show which is broadcast nationally here in the U.S. and he made a prediction that in a few days that the night sky over Nevada will have the largest sightings of UFO's in history, he also said that if he is wrong that he will donate $50,000 dollars to charity. It will be interesting to see how he pulls this one off. Bill Perron www.fantasyenchantment.com ---------------------------------- 5. Petrick & Mia Lecture In Jacksonville ---------------------------------- Message from Bill Ward (US) S.A.M. Assembly 164 in eastern North Carolina will host Petrick & Mia on Wednesday, June 12th in Jacksonville, North Carolina. Lecture will be at the Assembly's regular meeting location at Midville Baptist Church, 10 East Drive, Jacksonville. Cost is $5 for members and $10 for non-members. Anyone visiting the coast of North Carolina, stop by for a visit. We meet normally the second Monday of each month at 7pm. at the Midville Baptist Church at the above address. ---------------------------------- 6. "Masked Magician Exposure" ---------------------------------- Message from Abb Dickson - International President, World Alliance of Magicians Here's a little story that you might enjoy... with a close connection to the problems of "Masked Magician Exposure" and rip-off problems within our Art. Perhaps it would be a good idea for all of us to be mindful of the 'rat traps' in our midst. The World Alliance of Magicians continues to operate in the "fight against exposure," but needs your continued support. Please visit the WAM website and see what you can do to help fight against exposure - Worldwide! A rat looked through a crack in the wall to see the farmer and his wife opening a package. What food might it contain? He was aghast to discover that it was a rat trap. Retreating to the farmyard the rat proclaimed the warning; "There is a rat trap in the house, a rat trap in the house!" The chicken clucked and scratched, raised her head and said, "Excuse me, Mr. Rat, I can tell this is a grave concern to you, but it is of no consequence to me. I cannot be bothered by it." The rat turned to the pig and told him, "There is a rat trap in the house, a rat trap in the house!" "I am so very sorry Mr. Rat," sympathized the pig, "but there is nothing I can do about it but pray. Be assured that you are in my prayers." The rat turned to the cow. She said, "Like wow, Mr. Rat. A rat trap. I am so not in danger." So the rat returned to the house, head down and dejected, to face the farmer's rat trap alone. That very night a sound was heard throughout the house, like the sound of a rat trap catching its prey. The farmer's wife rushed to see what was caught. In the darkness, she did not see that it was a venomous snake whose tail the trap had caught. The snake bit the farmer's wife The farmer rushed her to the hospital. She returned home with a fever. Now everyone knows you treat a fever with fresh chicken soup, so the farmer took his hatchet to the farmyard for the soup's main ingredient. His wife's sickness continued so that friends and neighbours came to sit with her around the clock. To feed them the farmer butchered the pig. The farmer's wife did not get well. She died, and so many people came for her funeral that the farmer had the cow slaughtered to provide meat for all of them to eat. So the next time you hear that someone is facing a problem and think that it does not concern you, remember that when there is a rat trap in the house, the whole farmyard is at risk. ---------------------------------- 7. Tim's 'Secrets Revealed' Parody ---------------------------------- Message from Tim Ellis (Aust) Please spread the word for people to visit these two sites: Tim's 'Secrets Revealed' parody (and can page): www4.tpgi.com.au/users/katzkin/secrets1.htm Anders Can Page: http://home5.swipnet.se/~w-52256/healedandsealed.html ---------------------------------- 8. Rare Houdini Collection To Be Auctioned ---------------------------------- Announcing The Thursday, Oct. 31st, 2002, Halloween, Swann Galleries Auction Of The 1916 Personal Diary Of Harry Houdini! Along With The Rest Of The Well-Known And Coveted Rare Manny Weltman "Houdini Collection". This particularly large and rare Houdini Collection is known throughout the Magic Community. It includes the only known diary of Houdini’s, not to be in the Library of Congress. This vast collection has been collected over a 50 year span by Manny Weltman, one of the leading historians in the world on Houdini. Manny Weltman passed away in 1994. His collection represents a major slice of Americana. The collection includes many items. Such as Houdini’s personal Diary for the year 1916. Also many signed letters, documents, photos, posters, and personal scrapbooks owned by Houdini and his wife Bess Houdini. One of the most intriguing scrap books, is one presented to Houdini as a gift from one of his contemporaries Henry Ridgley Evans, that Houdini used as research material to debunk the fraudulent mediums of his day. It contains things such as articles and research material on the supernatural and the occult dating back to the 1700’ s. It also holds many other fascinating items such as programs, calling cards of other Magicians of the day, playbills, letters, and notes in Houdini’s own hand. Complete sections on the Mediums of the day such as Margery, The Fox sisters, and even a complete section kept on Sir Arthur Conan Doyle. It includes a signed note from Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, and Conan Doyle’s catalog of occult books sent to Oscar Teale, Houdini’s personal secretary who kept and continued the scrapbook after Houdini’s death. It includes the original letter correspondence from Teale to Conan Doyle that Teale sent under the pseudonym of A.L. Jackson in order to fool Conan Doyle into sending him info. Parts of the Manny Weltman Collection have been on display many times at the World Famous Magic Castle in Hollywood. Manny Weltman as one of the foremost leading authorities and historians on Houdini throughout the world, was in fact the Magic Castle’s Houdini Historian. The Library of Congress also recommended as suggested reading material for anyone interested in Magic and Houdini, Manny Weltman‘s book, "Houdini: Escape Into Legend, (the Early Years 1862-1900)." All of the photos in the book also come from the Manny Weltman collection. There have also been many documentaries made on the life of HOUDINI, and many of them use and license both film footage, and still photographs, that come from the "Manny Weltman Collection". The Weltman family still license film footage and photographs to this day. As one of the many documentaries made on Houdini, was the A&E Biography on "Houdini" that not only used the Manny Weltman collection as a main source for material, but was dedicated to Manny Weltman as a tribute right after he passed away in May of 1994. For further information, you can contact either Leo Weltman in the Los Angeles area, at (818) 901-0688, or Gary Garland at Swann Galleries in New York at (212) 254-4710. Then have a Happy Houdini Halloween. ---------------------------------- 9. "Enemy Within" - Richard Webster ---------------------------------- Message from Richard Webster (NZ) I will be talking about my new book, "Enemy Within", at Borders Books, Queen Street, Auckland at 7pm on Friday, June 14th. This is a novel, set in New Zealand at the time of the Maori Wars. One of the main characters in the book is a magician. "Enemy Within" is published by Hazard Press. I return to the United States a few days later, and will be visiting Los Angeles, Denver and Albuquerque. The main purpose of the trip is to attend the International New Age Trade Show in Denver (June 22nd to 24th). I will be signing a new book there, and will also provide some entertainment on my publisher's stand. ---------------------------------- 10. The World Alliance of Magicians (WAM) - Website ---------------------------------- Message from Timothy Drake - WAM Webmaster The World Alliance of Magicians (WAM) is once again gearing up to mount a campaign against the latest series of FOX televisions magic exposure shows. To help promote WAM and show support for the battle against exposure we are creating a list of WWW supporters on the WAM website. If you support our efforts we ask that you visit the newly revamped website and click on the link to WAM button. Please choose a WAM logo to place somewhere on your site as a show of support, link it to: www.magiciansalliance.com and email the WAM webmaster with your websites name, the URL and the name of the state and city you reside in. We will place a link to your site on the WAM supporters page in return. If you know of others in the magic community who are not on the list please encourage them visit the new website and consider linking to it. A strong showing of support around the world (we have 14 countries on the list ) may help in uniting magicians who might not normally get involved in the fight against magic exposure. ---------------------------------- 11. Siegfried & Roy's - The Magic Box, On DVD ---------------------------------- Message from Craig Mitchell (South Africa) Thought you may like to know that Siegfried & Roy's IMAX film, The Magic Box, is finally available on DVD! The disc is available for purchase online at a Hong Kong company - "us.yesasia.com" for $32 ... The direct link to the DVD is: http://us.yesasia.com/prdDept.asp?section=videos&code=a&lang=en&pid= 1001833181&aid=38185 It appears that distribution has been limited to the Asia region (hence the fact it has not appeared in the US) - the DVD is not region encoded and is certainly the real thing ... not a bootleg copy :) ---------------------------------- 12. Cards With Dental Dams Or Accro Cards? ---------------------------------- Message from Richard Levin (US) Do you have any or could you recommend any books on how to make cards with dental dams or accro cards? Thanks ---------------------------------- 13. Harbin Book For Sale ---------------------------------- Message from Burns (NZ) I will have my copy (original owner) of the numbered, limited edition Harbin Book for sale to the highest offer, at the SAM convention, New York City. Contact me at: delarno@xtra.co.nz ---------------------------------- 14. Videos For Sale ---------------------------------- Message from Sefton Price (NZ) Interested parties contact: SPryce@xtra.co.nz or Ph: (06) 7587841 ask for Sefton Videos Floating Rose video, Kevin James $ 50.00 The ultimate thread video Vol 2 by Sorcery shop $ 45.00 The Ultimate thread video Vol 1 by Sorcery shop $ 40.00 Tim Wright’s video Zombie $ 40.00 Ian Adair’s Art of Dove Magic $ 45.00 Magical illusions, Tony Hassini $ 30.00 Money Magic, Tony Hassini $ 25.00 Card Magic, Tony Hassini $ 25.00 Raven, Chuck Leach $ 45.00 Rose Magic, Monty $ 45.00 Candles, Michael P Lair $ 45.00 Behind The Seams, Tony Clark $ 65.00 The Art of Black Ar, Don Drake $ 35.00 ---------------------------------- 15. It’s Cool to be kind - Uncool to be Cruel ---------------------------------- Message from Stan Goudge (NZ) Elgregoe’s Anti-Bullying School Show. Stan Goudge (Mr Mystery) attended Greg Britt’s school show at Bruce McLaren Intermediate School in May 2002. After some 700 school performances for over 8,000 kids, Elgregoe has got the magic and the message going well. Although with over 40 kids held in Detention over the lunchtime in the Bruce McLaren Assembly Hall during his set up time, Greg wondered how the show would go. He need not have worried as he was well received, and the 500 intermediate age kids lapped it all up. In a little over an hour he performed about a dozen magical effects, had a vent spot with Bully now Billy a reformed bully, produced the Cookie Muncher who also did a trick, and Greg finished with the needle through balloon, trusting that the anti bullying message had penetrated his audience’s mind as well. It was a fast paced show, with bright music, good amplification (I was at the back of the hall) a stage full of props and a very clear anti bullying message. It would be unfair to Elgregoe to list each trick and the message he drew from it, as devising such a show takes a great deal of time and effort, and the unofficial copy rightly belongs to the performer. Suffice it to say there was a good balance between magic and message, silliness and serious moments. The motto It’s Cool to be Kind, and Uncool to be Cruel was well used. Strategies were suggested as how to deal with bullying. Posters were given to the school to hang in each classroom, there was a Cookie Muncher’s Worksheet and the kids scored a bookmark and a cookie each. The show is substantially under written by Cookie Time as their contribution to the community. Elgregoe is to be congratulated on putting both the deal and the show together. ---------------------------------- 16. The Mummy's Curse ---------------------------------- Message from Peter Marucci (Canada) Like the weather, the KISS principle (Keep It Simple, Stupid) is something that everyone talks about but nobody does anything about it. More times than I care to remember have I seen someone -- usually, someone who should know better -- expound on the importance of keeping the working simple so that you can concentrate on the entertainment value, and then go ahead with an incredibly complicated routine, full of many moves that are thrown in simply because the magician can do them. The whole point of my work over the years has been to come up with the most entertainment in the simplest way. Trouble is, there are people out there who won't look at a routine unless it's got a sleeve vanish, a triple lift, a six-coin back palm, and at least two perfect faro shuffles. Well, that's their loss. The following is a routine that does not have one single sleight, other than a false cut or false shuffle -- and you don't even have to do that if you'd rather not! But STOP! Just because there are no hard moves doesn't mean you don't have to work at the presentation. In this routine, presentation is everything; and, if you don't have that, you don't have anything. It's called (for no other reason than to get your attention): THE MUMMY'S CURSE Effect: The magician shows a book on King Tutankhamen (or on Egyptology, or the Pyramids) and talks briefly about the fear, in the 1920s when Tut's tomb was opened, that it might have been cursed. "That, of course, has never been proven," the magician says, "but, then, it has never been disproven, either. In fact, some people believe that even the name of the Pharaoh can carry a curse, since the ancient Egyptians believed that a person's name was one of the keys to immortality." The magician suggests an experiment be tried and takes out a deck of cards which he (false) shuffles or (false) cuts and hands to a spectator, along with the book. "The Egyptians also believed that numbers had great power. I would like you (the spectator) to count off any number of cards from the deck into a pile on the table." When she has done so, you continue: "Now, please take the pile - containing a number of cards that was unknown to either of us just a few minutes earlier - and deals two piles of cards on the table, one representing this life and the other representing the afterlife." The spectator picks up the number of cards which she decided on, and dealt on the table, and deal that stack into two piles. The magician recaps that the spectator has had the cards in her hand, she freely selected a number, counted the cards and then separated them into two piles. She is then asked to turn over the top two cards; let's assume they are an 8 and a 2. The magician then asks her to turn to page 82 in the book, where she finds the words: "Beware the curse of the mummy's tomb," handwritten on that page -- and there is nothing else handwritten in the book. The audience then falls down and worships the magician (he can hope). Working and Presentation: You'll need a book on Egypt (I use a pocket book I picked up some years back when the King Tut exhibition was touring North America), a deck of cards and a felt-tip pen. Open the book to a double-number page where the numbers are different (i.e. page 82). On that page, write with the pen, "Beware the curse of the mummy's tomb," in a shaky hand. Then set up the deck of cards so an 8 and a 2 are on the top. Proceed as above until you take out the cards. if you can do it well, do a false shuffle or a couple of false cuts, keeping the 8 and 2 on top. If you can't do this well, skip it; better to not fiddle with the deck than have the audience suspect you are up to something as you fumble a false cut. Give the deck to the spectator and ask her to count off any number of cards. The first two cards down will be the 8 and the 2. When she is finished, ask her to deal her chosen number of cards into two piles. This will put the 8 on top of one pile and the 2 on top of the other. The last card dealt will be the top card on the original deck, so you'll know which pile has the 8 on top and which has the 2. Point to the pile with the 8 and ask her to turn over the top card. Then ask her to turn over the top card on the other pile (the 2). But pointing to the pile with the 8, you have made it the first digit in the number, thus you have controlled the number as 82 and not 28. Ask her to turn to the book and to page 82. There she will find the message. Ask her to examine the rest of the book, to make sure that is the only message that her freely chosen number led her to. Take your bow. Second Thoughts: This, of course, can be done with three cards and a bigger book; it just means you have to be a little bit more careful in making sure the number you want is formed after three piles have been dealt. Remember, the last three cards (the force cards) will be dealt onto their piles in the reverse order that they were on top of the deck. The force is an old one and has been much used in various forms. I like it because of the scope it gives the performer. For example, you can use a book on Tarot cards to force a page that gives a specific reading or message. Use a book on Houdini, with the force page saying something like, "I will be back." Use a book on vampires, to force the message "Dracula lives!" The point here is that the uses this very, very simple thing can be put to are almost endless, from children's books for kids' shows to whatever you dare use for adult shows. And it is absolutely easy to do -- provided you give it the best dressing and presentation possible. It is the kind of thing that can be routined exclusively for you: A book on chemistry, on computers, on cooking, on welding; no matter who you are or what you do, you can personalize a routine using this force. And that's what puts a good performer ahead of a mediocre one: A unique and individual style. ---------------------------------- 17. The Orchante Saga #109 ---------------------------------- Message from Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)(UK ex-pat Kiwi) Trevor King - Q S M - ‘The Game’s On, Master’! - the ‘legend’ continues The Game’s on Master’ was the famous saying that originated from the colourful entrepreneur from Invercargill, the late FRANK STAPP, who was a close friend of Trevor King’s. Those legendary words have been stolen and used by countless entertainers, for years! The one person who really does have the ‘unofficial’ right to use them today IS, Trevor King -‘THE MASTER’! I have an excellent newspaper article (one of several) about Trevor, which was written up by a Brian Cowley, a news reporter from Christchurch. It is so good in fact - I’m going to repeat some of it here. Unfortunately, I have no idea which paper it came from, or the date it appeared. Now that he is retired, Trevor King thinks he might take it easy - go to the movies, that sort of thing. Well, it’s hard to break the habits of a lifetime! Trevor has been going to the movies for 45 years, matinee performances, afternoon showings, evening screenings… Trevor has seen them all and his work has never suffered as a result. Somehow, he has ALWAYS managed because, ‘MANAGING’, has always been his business - well nearly always. There was a time, back in 1938, when he hawked his ice-cream tray up and down the isles of the old ‘Metro’ Theatre in Colombo Street, Sydenham Christchurch, for 10 bob a week (a bob is a shilling in the old money). Then there were the days when he distributed promotional leaflets, advertising the vaudeville shows at the ‘St James's’ in Tuam Street. There was also a period when he pedalled his bike around 14 suburbs, slapping up posters advertising coming attractions. PASTE TO ADVERTISE’, didn’t they say? He's been a doorman too but nearly always Trevor King has been a theatre manager. He has done it well too. They would not have trusted him with so many theatres if he hadn’t! Rather proudly, Trevor says he has managed every theatre in Christchurch - a total of 12, by his reckoning. His first manager's job was at the ‘Liberty’ Theatre (now the ‘Savoy ’) when he was only 18 - that made him - ‘THE YOUNGEST THEATRE MANAGER IN CHRISTCHURCH’! They were the days when people looked up and watched the ‘Movie Stars’ in wonderment. The ‘Stars’ at which Trevor gazed most intently were: Humphrey Bogart, Claude Raines, Larry Parks, Bette Davis, and Ingrid Bergman. To Trevor, their lustre will never diminish. If you were to ask him today which are his favourite screen personalities, you would get a repeat of the names listed above. If he had a cent in his pocket for every film he has viewed, his pants would fall down - and the ‘Mammy’ of them all is ‘The Jolson Story’! He saw it nine times. Some movies are like that. They improve with every viewing. Not all dramas witnessed in Movie Theatres are enacted on the screen. Trevor recalls with amusement - although he did not smile at the time - an occasion when his telephone rang at 2 o'clock in the morning! ‘Was that the manager of the Tivoli theatre’, the caller inquired. Indeed he was quoth Trevor, but before the voice at the other end could continue, he offered him some cautionary advice. I'm not coming down at this time the morning to open the theatre just because you lost something, come and see me at the Theatre later in the day and we'll look for it. However, lost property was not the man's problem, there was a greater urgency for Trevor’s presence. I need you come down now”, the voice said, plaintively. I fell asleep in the back circle and they've locked me in! Wearily, Trevor obliged the anxious Patron. It was all in a day’s - and a night’s work. A few years ago, his managerial talents were employed in a different capacity. He was charged with organising the New Zealand tour of a visiting troupe of Danish gymnasts, and escorting them around the country. They were travelling by bus when a tyre on one of vehicles’ dual wheels punctured. Such was the heat generated by the deflated tyre, as it seared and scorched itself against the road - it caught fire! A rear window had to be smashed to extract the troupes luggage but before all of it could be removed, the fire spread and the bus’ fuel tank exploded! The Danes’ Wellingon performance had to be postponed but worse Trevor tore a gaping hole in his trousers as he clambered over a farm fence in search of assistance. Fortunately, they were no casualties. The gymnasts escaped, BY THE SEAT OF TREVOR'S PANTS! It was awfully bad luck, Trevor said - then with a mischievous grin he added: But it was the best publicity we could have hoped for - right across the front page! Page - 110 Trousers featured prominently in another episode involving a visiting artist and Trevor recalls it with amusement. Acker Bilk and his band we're staying at the Embassy Hotel during a visit to Christchurch. After a long and enjoyable farewell function, Acker and his band were obliged to rise early the next morning to board the bus, which was to take them to the airport. The bandsmen were aboard by the appointed hour but of Acker, there was no sign. When Trevor knocked at his bedroom door, there was no reply. When he opened it, the room was in darkness - the ‘Esteemed Band Leader’, was still WARMING THE SHEETS! With only half an hour in which to catch the flight, Trevor hastily packed Bilk’s clothes in his suitcases and placed them on the bus, which then set forth for the airport. Finally, the ‘Jazz King’ arose - much the worse for wear, as Trevor, with growing impatience, awaited. However, the ‘dressing routine’ concluded - prematurely. To his consternation, Bilk found that Trevor had packed his trousers in the suitcase (This so funny, I can hardly see, tears of laughter are rolling down my face!). Trevor, after a desperate dash to a city menswear store, produced an alternative pair. The fact that they did not fit may have disturbed the man who wore them but, as Trevor raced against time to deliver his passenger to the aeroplane, he was sparing no thoughts for the famed musician’s discomfort! (YE GOD’S, MY ‘FUNNY BONE’ HAS BEEN FRACTURED!!!) As tour manager for the Kerridge - Odeon concert Division, Trevor has toured and criss-crossed New Zealand many, many times, with visiting performers. He has also been associated with numerous New Zealand entertainers, and has been instrumental in the development of their careers. Among them have been: Max Merritt, Ray Columbus, Howard Morrison (Sir), Toni Williams, John Rowles, Dinah Lee, Orchanté, Shane, Johnny Devlin, Charles Hikana Barratt and Danny McGirr. With the help of the majority of them, he has raised more than $300,000 for charitable and sporting bodies in the Canterbury area. Several entertainers still write to him from overseas. John Rowles drops him a line quite regularly, Rolf Harris has written from Perth, Max Merritt keeps in touch from Los Angeles, and the ‘Amazing Orchanté’ telephones regularly from the UK; There have been numerous postcards from various international entertainers, the Vienna Boys Choir, for instance. Trevor misses his ‘days on the road’ (me too), but he has moved comfortably into retirement. He will still been seen in city movie theatres but it will be in a different capacity. One thing is certain, should the ‘Jolson Story’ return, Trevor will be the first in the queue - to enjoy it for a 10th time! - Continues - ------------------------------------- 18. MagicNZ e-zine archives ------------------------------------- Back issues of the MagicNZ e-zine go to: www.watson.co.nz/ezine.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. 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Subscribers to this publication and authors who contribute to it by doing so agree that they will not hold Magic New Zealand and/or Alan Watson liable or responsible in any way for the opinions expressed herein. We reserve the right to edit, correct or, in our discretion, choose not to publish any submissions provided to Magic New Zealand for potential publication. Magic New Zealand welcomes readers to submit timely articles or news items which appear to be of interest to our readers. Those submitting to this e-zine agree that we have permission to publish their submissions and that they have the full copyright to the material submitted. All works published by Magic New Zealand are fully protected by international copyright as provided by law, and articles cannot be published for profit by anyone other than the individual author without the written permission of Magic New Zealand. >> 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 2002 Alan Watson