* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Magic New Zealand * www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Issue Number: #335 Date: Sunday 5th June 2005 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. Magic Of Love Magical Musical Production 3. Marvyn Roy's New Book 4. Re: Magic Aid 2005-Tips By Michael Chandler 5. Looking For Peter Borsch In Denmark 6. Australia, Adelaide Magic Convention 2005 7. Jamie-G's Appearing Rose 8. Dates For New Zealand Magicians To Remember 9. The Amazing Orchante Saga 10. e-zine Archives 11. Privacy Policy And Copyright Notice ------------------ 1. Editors Message ------------------- Message from Alan Watson - The Magic One Great to read that Marvyn Roy's (Mr. Electric) new book is now out. Refer item: 3. ----------------- Remember if you have any magic news drop me a line: AW@Alan-Watson.com ----------------- 2. Magic Of Love Magical Musical Production ----------------- Message from Don Wiberg, IBM International Secretary The Magic of Love, a magical musical just finished a short run at the Cadillac Palace Theatre in Chicago. It's an international show from Singapore with an Asian flavor starring Lawrence Khong and his beautiful daughter Priscilla Khong. I knew nothing about this show other than an advertisement or two in MAGIC and a brief television commercial late the other night. What a pleasant surprise! The show has a story line that integrates many intriguing illusions into the plot. The scenery, lighting, costumes, illusions, dancing and the magic of Lawrence and Priscilla are all first rate. They are assisted by a most talented group of dancers to make this a most attractive show. The Magic Directors are Jeff McBride and Johnny Thompson along with Magic Consultant Andre Kole, Art Director Brian Bartholomew, Costumer Betty Reilly, Lighting Designer John Morgan, Illusion Builders John Gaughan and Bill Smith. With a supporting staff like this, it's easy to see why this was such a world class show. The show has already appeared in Dallas, Louisville, Tulsa, Springfield, Grand Rapids and Chicago. It's on its way to Salt Lake City and Los Angeles. Unless I missed some postings about the show, it's been a well kept secret. Check out the website, www.magicoflawrence.com to learn more. I highly recommend it to all lovers of magic. ----------------- 3. Marvyn Roy's New Book ----------------- Message from Gene McCarthy (NZ) I attached a short except of Marvyn Roy's new book. And the URL is below. But I spoke with Marvyn Roy yesterday and you were right in that Carol is hospitalised at Eisenhower in Palm Springs. Marvyn, as always and forever, was positive. But later we spoke again of his book. He had been speaking of it for quite some time. And a few magicians had read it and acclaimed it. I know that both Marvyn and Carol are entertaining writers. www.mcmagicwords.com/books/mrelectric.html Mike Caveney is publishing it. Marvyn had always stated that it was as is and no fooling around with it. It is filled with memoribillia and the stories of their careers. Always great stories to hear and I cannot wait to read it..... Marvyn Roy - Unplugged. This book is unlike any of our previous history books. Instead of digging through old newspapers and magazines and writing about vaudeville theaters and music halls, this story is told by the man who lived it. During the fifties, sixties, seventies and eighties, there was not a more successful magical team than Marvyn Roy and Carol. Their act, Mr. Electric, appeared at Radio City Music Hall, the London Palladium, The Latin Quarter, Gorki Park in Moscow, on the Ed Sullivan Show, The Hollywood Palace and everywhere in between. Hotels, ice shows, floor shows, night clubs, theatres, arenas and amusement parks, they did it all. With their acclaimed light bulb act, and later as the Diamond Illusionist, they traveled for years with the Liberace show. Now Marvyn has put his entire magical life into book form. Beginning with his early success as Marvyn the Silk Merchant and winning awards as a teenager at the PCAM conventions, to the time he spent working behind the counter at Floyd Thayer's Studio, to the development of his world famous act and subsequent climb to the highest rung of the show business ladder. It is a story that only Marvyn could tell and you will recognize many familiar faces along the way. Anyone who ever dreamed of being a famous magician can now live that dream through the eyes and words of Marvyn Roy. Mr. Electric - Unplugged contains 300 pages featuring more than 150 photographs and is hardbound with a beautiful dustjacket. $50. To celebrate the publication of Marvyn Roy's autobiography we have created a very special deluxe edition. Tipped into the front of the book is a full-color photograph personally autographed by Marvyn and Carol. At the back of the book you will find a DVD that contains the Mr. Electric act, the Diamond Illusionist act and an interview with Marvyn hosted by Mike Caveney at the 2004 MAGIC Live convention in Las Vegas. This limited edition is bound in elegant bonded leather and arrives in a matching leather-covered, gold-stamped slipcase. Only 100 of these hand-numbered deluxe copies have been produced. $160. Peek inside Mr. Electric - Unplugged Chapter 7 - The Lido We arrived around midnight in The City of Lights. It was a cold, foggy, rainy scene. I hadn't been in Paris since the end of the Second World War with so many other tired, young soldiers on our way home. I remembered her as a vibrant, exciting city and I hoped that she would embrace us with compassion and understanding. The Champs Elysées was a long bustling boulevard that ran from Place de la Concorde to the Arc de Triomphe. Right in the middle of the boulevard, through a dramatic arcade, was the Lido de Paris. After the Second World War two energetic French entrepreneurs, the Clerico Brothers, bought what was then a run-down bathing and swimming facility and fashioned it into the most elegant and renowned cabaret in all of Europe. The Grand Salon was a long pillared room with tufted burgundy walls that gave it a warm intimate feeling. Crowded around the elongated dance floor were tables and chairs to accommodate the multitude of visitors. At one end was a large bar area that seated some twenty guests and at the other end a dark-blue velvet curtain that, one surmised, was the entrance to a backstage world full of wonders. "All right Marvin, Carol we are ready." He was a tall, thin man with short-cropped hair and a nervous manner. This was Rene Fraday, Artistic Director of the Lido. It was now two o'clock in the morning and the round-the-clock rehearsals momentarily stopped so that we might proceed with our act. Sitting ringside to observe was Pierre Louis Guerin, a large imposing, fastidious man who was the Managing Director and General Manager. Folco, the shy, handsome designer of the original couture-like wardrobe. Margaret Kelly, a petite, perceptive English lady who had created a unique ensemble of dancers, showgirls and models known throughout Europe as The Bluebell Girls. And then there was Donn Arden, a will-of-the-wisp and a man of many masks. He could praise you one moment and vilify you the next with equal charm. In time Donn became a good friend but always with that devilish twinkle in his eye. He was a genius when it came to melding choreography, music, lights, dance, costumes and performing artists into the brilliant, explosive, glittering extravaganza that was Lido de Paris. The last bulb danced across the floor. We took our bow. Mr. Guerin hurried forward, took my hand, shook it warmly and said, "Miss Abbott was right, my boy. You are Lido, welcome!" What we didn't know then was that we were the first act that Lido had booked solely on the recommendation of Merriell Abbott. Even though we had a contract we had just completed, thankfully, a successful audition! Some months later, while having a late dinner with our dear friend Channing Pollock, he related the following tale. He had been appearing at "Nouvelle Eve" in Montmartre with his highly successful dove act. The Lido management approached him before we arrived in Paris, and said that they had booked an American magician for the new show, but had not seen him perform. Would Channing be able to double if there was a problem? "Who is the American magician?" Pollock asked. "Marvin Roy," they answered. "Marvin Roy," Channing responded. "He's a pro. He'll do the job." - Thanks Chan. "C'est Magnifique!" December 4, 1956, it was like the Fourth of July and Bastille Day all rolled into one; it was the premier cabaret gala of France. They were all there, the President of France, Maurice Chevalier, Josephine Baker, Brigitte Bardot, Zizi Jeanmaire, Jean Cocteau, Charlie Chaplin, Christian Dior, Francoise Sagan, Ramon Novarro. A rich assortment of personalities of the world of arts and letters of that glittering era. All enjoying and applauding the elegance and artistry that was the Lido spectacular christened "C'est Magnifique!" To order go to: www.mcmagicwords.com/books.html#electric ----------------- 4. Re: Magic Aid 2005-Tips By Michael Chandler ----------------- Message from Richard Walls (NZ) As a regular visitor to Thailand over sixteen years, I do not doubt - or challenge - for one moment, the sincerity of what Michael Chandler writes about his experience in Thailand. Most of the precautions and comments he makes are sensible and can be found in virtually all of the reputable travel guides and information handed out by travel agents. Reference to shots in relation to 'typhoid' are, perhaps, over-dramatic. Any regular traveller to what we call 'near Asia', would I suggest, wisely immunise themselves against the various strains of hepatitis. I am, however, more concerned at the perception he gives in regards to Thailand per se and its customs. It is not an unsophisticated country. Unless you are really off 'the beaten track', most mendicants are available without prescription (you might need to explain in some detail to a pharmacist what you need them for ... which makes sense) as are mosquito repellents and the like. And yes, one must respect local customs but the Thais will always make certain you know of them when they are needed e.g. when visiting a temple. And, they do not easily take offence unless it is meant deliberately. I have just returned from Phuket, a magic place if ever there is one. All my close Thai friends and acquaintances (who live and/or work around Patong) thankfully all survived "the waterfall from the sea". I have met with them all, heard their stories and admire how they are getting on rebuilding their lives. Most are what we would call small traders, the owners of cafes, shops, restaurants and bars. Their tragedy was widely reported by the media. Sadly their remarkable recovery has not. The economic damage of that on a populace that depends on tourism for its wellbeing, is far in excess of what was wrought by nature, tragic though it was. Because of this, Phuket is 'empty' of visitors. The 'travel tips' of someone who appears 'to be an innocent abroad' - no matter how sincere - does not help. What Michael has written may be relevant to a tourist guide but not here. What I - and I suggest other readers - would have found relevant was what magic Michael performed and how it was received. But good on him for volunteering his services and for going. ----------------- 5. Looking For Peter Borsch In Denmark ----------------- Message from Michael Woolf Managing Editor "Magicana Magazine" email: michaelw@ihug.co.nz "Magicana" needs the current mail address for Peter Borsch in Denmark. Can anyone help, please? ----------------- 6. Australia, Adelaide Magic Convention 2005 ----------------- Message from Phil Ahrens (Aust) 26th - 28th August 2005 The Friendliest Convention in Australia is only 3 months away! Pavel and Chuck Hickok, our international guests, are in regular contact and have prepared very special lectures and performances for the weekend. Lectures include: "How to invent a new trick", "Ropes, Silks and Cabaret Magic", "Entertaining people with Mentalism", "Children's Magic", "Magic You Can Make Yourself" and "Putting Comedy into Magic" Once again we have a magnificent venue, the Lakes Resort, with plenty of good accommodation and excellent facilities including the essential bar and large dealers room. The Gala Night will be held in the grand hall overlooking the lake with fine dining and entertainment by Pavel, Chuck Kickok, James Slight, Raymond Crowe, Joel Howlett, George Stas, Darren Schutz and hosted by Gary Edwards. The Adelaide Convention represents good value for money as all your meals are included in the price. If you are bringing your family we have a special tourist pack for you to make your Adelaide experience a memorable one. For the latest information and registration forms please visit our website at: www.adelaidemagic.com/convention/ ----------------- 7. Jamie-G's Appearing Rose ----------------- Message from Jamie-G's (Canada) (Good for children's parties) Effect: The magician shows a red silk, waves the silk in the air and a red rose appears within the silk. The magician then turns the rose upside down and a very long colorful streamer falls from the rose. The magician gathers up the streamer and puts it around a child's neck as a magical necklace. Supplies Needed: Your magic dealer should be able to supply the streamers. They come 12 per pack and they are different colors. The streamers I like are made with Mylar, are 150 feet long, and come with a plastic disk and a hand gimmick to hold the streamers. The disk has a little nipple on it that you will need to orient the streamer on the rose stem. Any local flower shop should have an artificial rose and some green flower tape. Construction: Take the rose and remove, but save, all the petals, leaving just the stem and the loose petals. Attach a streamer to the rose by taping or gluing the disk of the streamer to the tip of the rose stem. Use the green flower tape to cover the entire disk. Make sure that the little nipple in the middle of the plastic disk is at the top. Continue wrapping the green flower tape down all of the stem. Take two or three of the red pedals and insert them into the nipple. Now take one of your streamers and put it onto the nipple. This will lock the petals onto the flower and allow the petals to hide the streamer. Attach a small piece of tape to hold the streamer in place and prevent it from coming loose too soon. Method: Hold the rose by its head with the stem riding on the inside of your arm. Put the red silk in the same hand to help cover the rose. Done right the rose should be unseen from any angles. With practice, you won't need the silk to hide or produce the rose. To produce the rose from the silk, wave it around and, when you are ready to produce the rose, place the head of the rose in the middle of the silk and fold the silk around the rose. All that is left is to open the silk and produce the rose. Remove the tape from the streamer, tip the rose downward, and the streamer will begin to fall out. Notes: I do not use patter for this effect. This is part of a special routine I do to music that includes all kinds of roses and flower magic. When you do this effect and put the streamer around the child, it adds a special feeling for all the spectators, much better than just taking the streamer and throwing it out. I first made this effect about three years ago, and the gimmicked rose I made then still works and looks great. After each show, I just pop a new streamer on and I'm ready to go. While I use this effect mostly with children's shows, I've used it in adults shows and the outcome is the same. Women appreciate the "magic necklace" as much as the children do. ---------------- 8. Dates For New Zealand Magicians To Remember ------------------ Friday 2nd September 2005 Chuck Hickok's Lecture - Auckland Time: 7.30pm Sunday 23 October 2005 Kiwi Magic Day Venue: Dolphin Theatre, Onehunga Auckland Registration form - go to: www.watson.co.nz/magic.html 20-23 October 2006 28th International New Zealand Convention of Magicians Palmerston North Convention website - go to: www.joel.co.nz/convention.htm ----------------- 9. The Amazing Orchante Saga ----------------- Message from Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)(UK ex-pat Kiwi) Page 55 A 'Perfect Storm' is brewing in Paradise In 1969 I went through a terrifying ordeal that still affects me emotionally today! I was a little apprehensive writing this episode of my life, because I'm having to reach into the depths of my soul - some may find it difficult read - in 'Kiwi culture' as in many others I guess, it is not the 'done thing' for a man to bare his soul, or show too much emotion. Doing so somehow implies that you are - less than a man! What bullshit!!! When in situations of extreme danger, many people panic, while others freeze in abject terror! Then there are those who become strangely calm, accepting what appears to be - FINALITY! This is about a terrifying incident which had such an impact on a young man's life, that many years later, the memory of it still reduces that same (now elderly) man to unashamed tears. I had better commence at the beginning - usually a good place to start. I'm amazed how I have managed to keep 'things' together, considering how much I/we've travelled and put down what goes for 'Grass Roots' in this business. From Auckland to Wanganui, then to Wellington; next was Timaru. Back north to Whakatane for several months then in 1976, immigrated (via Fiji) to Sydney Australia. Nine years later, we moved up to Brisbane near the Gold Coast. In 1985, ten years after arriving in Australia, we departed from 'Down-Under'- to the other side of the world - Edinburgh, Scotland. Bought a 35ft 'Chevy Cobra', Six Wheeler, American Motor Home (RV), and lived in that for 2 years; it had everything. 240 volt generator, full size fridge/freezer, full size stove/oven, central heating, air-conditioning, separate bathroom with bath, shower, hand-basin, flushing toilet, you name it, it had it; Absolute luxury - I loved it! One major drawback - 12 Miles to the Gallon! Cost of petrol for one year: NZ$30,000. OUCH! Sold it and bought a house. Now, here we are in Doncaster, England - a total 20 years in the United Kingdom. About time we went home to New Zealand, I've had itchy feet for some years now. From the depths of my 'Bottomless' aluminium trunk, I dredged up a letter dated, le 12 Novembre1969, from Hubert Wayliff, Societe Polynesinne d'Organisation Theatrale (they speak French in Tahiti). In brief it states; "I confirm you our phone conversation and the deal we made" (I just love the way they write) "we hire your talent for maximum 8 or 10 shows before Christmas. You leaving Auckland on Thursday 11th December by UTA Flight 2345 Auckland time, arrive Papeete Tahiti 6.30 am local time" - (6.30 am - bloody hell, in those days I was just getting to bed - entertainers hours - not so bad these days, around 3 - 4 am - old habits die hard) "We pay all expenses, Hotel food, no Drink!" Damn! Well, you can't have everything. My accommodation was in the latest, newly opened, luxurious Maeva Beach Hotel. Glad I wasn't paying for it, the prices were exorbitant, even by Tahitian standards! This was not exactly the cheapest place on the planet to stay. Now, a temporary, but necessary, change of course. I used to be one of those 'Nutters' who, when it came to 'Exotic Sound Systems', went ever so slightly, overboard. The money I spent on the latest Hi-Fi Stereo equipment over the years is unprintable. Buying the latest needle/cartridge for my Turntable cost more than most would spend on an entire sound system! It's a wonder Veronica didn't go bald! Fortunately, I'm out of that particular madness. Now, I have gone crazy with 'Home Cinema'! Widescreen Television, and not One, but Two Surround Sound Systems - I don't go to the cinema/pictures any more, the cinema comes to me; the next step is to install and, IMAX' system into the lounge room. (I am kidding). The gut-wrenching bass that emanates from my sound system is so powerful that I've had to have the house foundations strengthened, and a notice put up with the warning 'Beware of Falling Roof Tiles'. (I am kidding - again - but it is mightily powerful). The point I'm making is that when I'm watching Blockbuster movies/films, such as 'Titanic' or 'The Perfect Storm' etc., I AM There - it is Real! That is the point really, for investing in a 'Thumping, Crystal-Clear, Digital Home Cinema Theatre System! I have a powerful imagination (developed through Self-Hypnosis), and right now, it is evoking such an intensive image of that incident which happened so long ago, tears of emotion are welling up in my eyes, even as I write this. I just hope I can find the words that will convey to you the full import of - 'Twelve Hours of Terror'! ---------------- 10. 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) ------------------- 11. 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/ezine.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 2005 Alan Watson