* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Magic New Zealand * www.watson.co.nz/ezine.html * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * Issue Number: #429 Date: Sunday 23rd July 2006 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. SAM Convention 2006 Contest Winners 3. John Cornelius Back At Home From Hospital 4. IllusionTrader.com Grand Opening! 5. Meetings With Remarkable Magicians # 19 - Nick Lewin 6. James Sherrill Dies 7. The World Feasible of Magic Tour Australia 2006 8. The World Feasible of Magic Tour New Zealand 2006 9. The Inside Scoop To Cruise Ship Entertainment #7 10. Las Vegas Magic - August, 2006 11. IBM Reaffirms The IBM/SAM2008 Combined Convention! 12. Gary Darwin Is Out Of Hospital 13. Magic Circle Elections 14. Magic Shop Opens In Auckland New Zealand 15. British Ring Convention News 16. Register For TAOM before August 1st And SAVE!!! 17. Michael Woolfs Magical Adventures 18. 28th New Zealand International Magicians Convention 19. The Amazing Orchante Saga 20. e-zine Archives 21. Privacy Policy And Copyright Notice -------------------------------------------- 1. Editor's Message -------------------------------------------- The last few weeks have proved to be a real challenge with regards to the new software upgrade for Magic New Zealand. Last week a number of subscribers received multiple issues of the e-zine. Fingers crossed this problem has now been rectified. ----------------------- Last week I received a large number of messages from dealers wanting me to promote their latest products. Unfortunately due to space this may not be possible in future issues. ----------------------- Message from Jerry Schnepp IBM Contest Chairman The recently sent 2006 IBM Stage Contest Winners had an error. The Stage Contest, Adult category, 2nd Place Award of Merit was won by Dave Kaplan, Columbus, OH, and not Dan Sperry, Schaumberg, IL. Dan was last year's winner of 2nd Place Award of Merit. Sorry for the error. Please correct my mistake. --------------------------- In last week e-zine Ross Skiffington website address was incorrect it should have been http://www.rossskiffington.com.au/ ----------------------- For those that are attending the 28th New Zealand International Magicians Convention in October the early bird registration is closing off in ONE week's time. For more information about the convention refer item 18. ----------------------- Remember if you have any magic news drop me a line: AW@Alan-Watson.com -------------------------------------------- 2. SAM Convention 2006 Contest Winners -------------------------------------------- Message from Paul Critelli The names of the award recipients: Close-Up Genii Award + $300 - Chris Connelly (USA) Brad Jacobs People's Choice Award + $500 - Raymond Iong (Macao) Second Highest Score + $500 -- Raymond Iong (Macao) Chairperson's High Score + $1000 -- Rod Chow (Canada) Stage Genii Award + $300 - Nathan Kepner (USA) Brad Jacobs People's Choice Award + $500 -- Jun Pyo Hong (South Korea) Mystic Craig Award for Professional Promise + 300 -- Jun Pyo Hong (South Korea) Invitation to go to Japan and perform in 2007 -- Latko (Argentina) Second Highest Score + $500 -- Latko (Argentina) Chairperson's High Score + $1000 -- Jay Mattioli (USA) -------------------------------------------- 3. John Cornelius Back At Home From Hospital -------------------------------------------- Message from John Cornelius (US) On 06/06/06 I had a pain in my right side so I went to the doctor. The doctor said go straight to the emergency ward at the nearest hospital. I got there and doctors checked me over and confirmed that it was a ruptured appendix. Surgery went well and everything was fine until the next day, then they put me into intensive care. To make a long story short, I was in the hospital for eight days, and am now back home good as new (I hope). Am passing this on, so if you ever get a really bad pain in your lower right stomach area, get it checked out as soon as possible! It could be serious stuff! Contrary to some believers, I have not disappeared, am still inventing, and all of my original products are being distributed by Murphey Magic. Best Wishes to all my friends in magic, John Cornelius -------------------------------------------- 4. IllusionTrader.com Grand Opening! -------------------------------------------- Dear Fellow Magicians: We are pleased to announce to you the Grand Opening of www.IllusionTrader.com! A live auction in real-time where each auction is only $1.00 and NO hidden fees! Here are just some of the great things IllusionTrader.com has to offer: -Open 24 hours 365 days a year. -No shipping on your items to sell. -See who is bidding and who is selling in real-time. -Rate buyers and sellers after each auction. -Post questions to the seller. -Post pictures -EVERY AUCTION $1.00 NO HIDDEN FEES! Check us out at www.IllusionTrader.com and start buying and selling your unused/unwanted illusion items today. No items too big or too small. Happy Buying and Selling, IllusionTrader.com -------------------------------------------- 5. Meetings With Remarkable Magicians # 19 - Nick Lewin -------------------------------------------- Message from Nick Lewin (US) Meeting with Mr. Magic. Over the past thirty years I have made about fifty television appearances and acted as magical advisor on maybe a dozen other television productions. Being a magical consultant ranges from the best gig in the world to the very worst one. This was one of my favorites. I got a call from Universal Studios that Steven Spielberg wanted a magical consultant for his new television series "Amazing Stories." I drove to the Universal lot and received directions to a small office that was being used by the director for his pre-production meetings. The director's name was Donald Petrie and he had been hand picked by Spielberg to direct this project. It was to be the only TV show that Petrie would direct and he immediately went on to directing some very major motion pictures. The plot for the 'Amazing Stories" episode was simple. Sid Caesar played an over the hill magician who's career goes out in style when he gets a 'magic' deck of cards. I was very aware that Sid Caesar was a comedy performer who cast a long shadow. However arriving in the States in 1974 I had missed the 'Show of Shows' and couldn't catch up with it until videotape arrived on the scene. Going into the project I knew that Caesar was legendary but wasn't quite sure why. Sid Caesar seemed like a very quiet and nice man when I first met him in his Canyon home. This wasn't exactly the way Sid had been described in either of the books I had quickly read about him since getting the gig. I was very pleased that the wild man had mellowed a little bit. The walls of Sid's house were covered with some of the finest artwork this side of the Getty Museum. Sid was also wearing a fabulous new gold and diamond Rolex on his wrist. My job was to turn Sid into a loser whose career had wound down and finished leaving him broke and disillusioned. I couldn't see the wisp of a ghost of any of these qualities in Sid so I contented myself with working with him on the tricks and routines that he performed in the show. I had three weeks to make him look as though he had been performing magic for fifty years. He was a very patient student. Very quiet but very, very thorough. Our first lesson was the appearing cane. I showed him the in's and out's of handling the cane and said, "OK give it a shot." Seconds later there was a fountain of blood as metal cane cut through flesh. Our practice session ended at this point while extensive bandages were applied to Mr. Caesar's palm. If you watch the show on DVD you will notice Sid has a bandage on his hand throughout the entire episode. The show was moving smoothly from pre-production to filming when something seemed to begin to go wrong. Sid Caesar just slowed down on us; everything he did was at half speed. It started to cause problems as page after page of dialogue were discarded and secondary story lines just disappeared. The director was upset, the writers were upset and still Sid slowed down more and more. It was very strange indeed. The more upset people got; the more Sid slowed down. Well we finished our shooting schedule. I even got to play myself on screen in a brief cameo. If ever you get hired as a magical consultant make sure you get an onscreen role because then your entire magical consultant fee can be added to your S.A.G. contract; you will get residuals on them both forever. Oh, as for the "Mr. Magic" episode of Amazing Stories, it became something of a classic and is considered one of the finest in the entire series. The performance given by Sid Caesar was brilliant and his timing perfect. His pacing allowed him too inhabit that role as if it were the real him. I had a very fast lesson in acting and performing and realized why Sid Caesar is an icon in the comedy world. Please send bricks or bouquets to nicklewin@earthlink.net -------------------------------------------- 6. James Sherrill Dies -------------------------------------------- Message from Bev Bergeron (US) James Sherrill (58) of Orlando, Florida who played the Con Man for over ten years at SeaWorld of Florida died Saturday, July 22, 2006 of Cancer. James will be remembered for his infectious smile, as he performed Three Card Monte, The Pea Game and other magical effects. He worked many years for Don Masters and later other owners of the Paramount Magic Shop demonstrating the latest close-up effect. He was a master with a deck of cards taking advantage of his extra large hands. Both Sea World and the Magic World will be at a loss with the passing of such a talented and gentle person. See you down the road, Bev-b New e-mail address: Bev@BevBergeron.com www.BevBergeron.com -------------------------------------------- 7. The World Feasible of Magic Tour Australia 2006 -------------------------------------------- Message from Gene McCarthy (NZ) In Australia Tony Laffan, Shimada and Jeton the Gentleman Juggler are on the bill. http://www.tonylaffan.com/html/main.html http://www.shimadamagic.com/ http://www.jeton.info/Welcome/Contact/ Thursday, 14 September 2006 - Cairns Friday, 15 September 2006 - Cairns Saturday, 16 September 2006 - Travel Sunday, 17 September 2006 - Townsville Monday, 18 September 2006 - Mackay Tuesday, 19 September 2006 - Travel Wed, 20 September 2006 - Rockhampton Saturday, 23 September 2006 - Gladstone Sunday, 24 September 2006 - Bundaberg Tuesday, 26 September 2006 - Nambour Wed, 27 September 2006 - Toowomba/Off Thursday, 28 September 2006 - Off/Toowoomba Friday, 29 September 2006 - Gold Coast Saturday, 30 September 2006 - Brisbane Sunday, 1 October 2006 - Lismore Monday, 2 October 2006 - Travel Tuesday, 3 October 2006 - Newcastle Wednesday, 4 October 2006 - Gosford Thursday, 5 October 2006 - Penrith Friday, 6 October 2006 - Hurstville Saturday, 7 October 2006 - Bondi Sunday, 8 October 2006 - Bondi Monday, 9 October 2006 - Off/Wollongong Tuesday, 10 October 2006 - Wollongong/Off Wednesday, 11 October 2006            - Travel Thursday, 12 October 2006 - Canberra Saturday, 14 October 2006 - Albury Monday, 16 October 2006 - Wagga Wagga Thursday, 19 October 2006 - Ballarat Friday, 20 October 2006 - Ballarat Saturday, 21 October 2006 - Bendigo Sunday, 22 October 2006 - Bendigo Monday, 23 October 2006 - Melbourne Tuesday, 24 October 2006 - Melbourne Wednesday, 25 October 2006            - Geelong Thursday, 26 October 2006 - Ferry Friday, 27 October 2006 - Burnie Saturday, 28 October 2006 - Devonport Sunday, 29 October 2006 - Launceston Monday, 30 October 2006 - Hobart Wed, 1 November 2006 - Mildura Friday, 3 November 2006 - Adelaide Saturday, 4 November 2006 - Adelaide Tuesday, 7 November 2006 - Kalgoorlie Friday, 10 November 2006 - Perth Saturday, 11 November 2006 - Perth -------------------------------------------- 8. The World Feasible of Magic Tour New Zealand 2006 -------------------------------------------- Message from Gene McCarthy (NZ) New Zealand Tony Laffan, Shimada and Jason Byrne are on the bill. http://www.tonylaffan.com/html/main.html http://www.shimadamagic.com/ http://www.jasonbyrne.com/ Monday 20th November - Taupo - 4:30pm & 7:30pm Tuesday 21st November - Tauranga - 1:00pm - 4:00pm & 7:00pm Wednesday 22nd November - Gisborne - 5:00pm & 7:30pm Thursday 23rd November - Napier - 5:00pm & 7:30pm Saturday 25th November - Rotorua   2:00pm - 5:00pm & 7:30pm Monday 27th November - Whangarei - 2:00pm & 5:00pm & 7:30pm Tuesday 28th November - Hamilton - 5:00pm & 7:30pm Wednesday 29th November - New Plymouth - 5:00pm & 7:30pm Thursday 30th November - Wanganui - 5:00pm & 7:30pm Saturday 02nd December - Wellington - 1:30pm - 4:30pm Sunday 03rd December - Palmerston Nth - 1:30pm - 4:00pm & 7:00pm Tuesday 05th December - Nelson - 7:00pm Thursday 07th December - Christchurch - 1:00pm - 4:00pm & 7:00pm Friday 08th December            - Christchurch            - 1:00pm - 4:00pm Sunday 10th December - Timaru - 5:30pm Monday 11th December - Dunedin - 2:30pm & 7:00pm Tuesday 12th December - Invercargill - 2:00pm - 5:00pm & 7:30pm Friday 15th December - Auckland - 11:00pm - 2:00pm & 5:00pm Saturday 16th December - Auckland 11:00pm - 2:00pm & 5:00pm -------------------------------------------- 9. The Inside Scoop To Cruise Ship Entertainment #7 -------------------------------------------- Message from Paul Romhany (NZ) Cruise Ship Entertaining Lost Luggage part two The cruise is now over and still no sign of my lost luggage! I spent the entire week washing clothes daily and borrowing a tuxedo from the ship for my show. I guess having been performing since I was eight years old and being a full time professional magician for fifteen years finally paid off for that one show where I had no props. I somehow managed to put together a full 50 minute show with things I found around the ship and it actually went very well . phew! Here is what I performed 1) Rope routine (borrowed rope from the ship . thickets and toughest rope I've ever worked with however it played big on the stage) 2) Card routine including card in mouth and card in envelope - cards borrowed from the ship 3) Confabulation - I bought a beach ball while in a port and it played very well and got many laughs with the ball being thrown around. I at least had my card in wallet with me so was able to do this routine which has always been my favourite, but never a regular piece in my show. Now it's going in to my second show on the ships. 4) Money in orange routine. A lot of the bar staff on cruise ships perform close-up magic and I was able to borrow a thumbtip from one of them. 5) My drink routine - the only piece from my Chaplin Show that actually travels with me. This is a hand made piece from glass and always goes in my carry on. 6) Bandanna - Banana routine. I happen to have the routine on my computer so was able to burn it on to CD and had the tailors on the ship make me a special bag. 7) Snow - made up some confetti, bought a fan and finished with Snowstorm in China. As you can see, everything was borrowed right down to the shoes! The lesson here for anybody wanting to work on ships is to either carry as much of you show in your hand luggage as you can, or make sure you have a back-up show in case your luggage gets lost. With the amount of travelling I do the odds of losing luggage are very high. Pretty much every act I've spoken to since this incident last week have told me horror stories of losing luggage and either having to put together a show or not working at all! For me, this means having to take time out to completely rebuild my Chaplin show. On the positive side of this it is giving me time out to develop some new ideas I've wanted to add in for some time but been too busy performing to actually be able to work on them. For more information on how to get work on a cruise ship and the latest contacts visit www.magicmasterclass.com -------------------------------------------- 10. Las Vegas Magic - August, 2006 -------------------------------------------- Message from David Neubauer (www.dnmagic.com) Production Shows: Amazing Johnathan 10 pm, (Dark Thurs.), Sahara. http://www.saharavegas.com/shows/amazingjohnathon.html Beacher's Madhouse Tyas Frantz, Chris Karpiak & Seth Grabel - 10 pm - Hard Rock. Check www.beachersmadhouse.com for dates. Bite (Vampire Strip Revue) Antonio Restivo 10:30 pm (dark Thurs.) Stratosphere www.bitelasvegas.com Buck Wild CLOSING August 12th! Buck Wild Nathan Burton (as a redneck magician) 7 pm covered shows Mon.-Wed. & Sat. 9 pm Topless shows (Over 18) - Sahara (Dark Fri.) www.saharavegas.com/shows/buckwild.html Buck Wild Closing August 12th! David Copperfield 7:30 & 10 pm, 4:30 Sat. & some Sun. MGM Grand. August 3-9, August 24-Sept. 20, Nov 9-29, Dec 21-31. http://mgm.admission.com/cgi/guide.cgi?l=EN Gerry McCambridge - The Mentalist Hypnotic Lounge - Stardust Mon-Tues 8 pm Wed-Sun 5 pm http://www.stardustlv.com/site/entertainment/ Haunted Vegas Tour & Show Robert Allen, Jac Hayden & Zamora - Greek Isle. 9:00 pm tour and show (Dark Fri.) $10 off coupon: http://www.vegas4locals.com/couponhauntedvegas.html Illusionary Magic of Rick Thomas 2 & 4 pm, Stardust. (Dark Wed.) http://www.stardustlv.com/site/entertainment/index.cfm?Page=Artist&ArtistID=27 Jason Bird The Shops in Desert Passage - Aladdin. Main stage, near the "V" Theater, Thursday - Monday Various times from 1:15 pm. - 8:15 pm. - Free. La Femme Stephan Vanel 8 & 10:30 pm, (Dark Tues.), MGM Grand. http://www.mgmgrand.com/pages_html/entertainment_lafemme_lafemme.asp Lance Burton, Master Magician 7 pm Tues-Sat & 10 pm Tues. & Sat. Monte Carlo. http://www.montecarlo.com/entertainment/lance.aspx Mac King Comedy Magic Show 1 & 3 pm, (Dark Sun. & Mon.) Harrah's Clint Holmes Theater. www.mackingshow.com Nathan Burton Comedy Magic Show 2 pm, (Dark Fri. & Sun.) V Theater in the Desert Passage - Aladdin. Penn & Teller 9 pm, (Dark Tues.), Rio. http://www.harrahs.com/our_casinos/rlv/entertainment/entertainment_detail_00.html V, The Ultimate Variety Show Jeff Hobson, Nathan & Sarah - www.vtheshow.com 7 & 9 pm, Aladdin. 2 for 1 coupon: http://www.vegas4locals.com/couponvshow.html World's Greatest Magic Show Kevin James, Joseph Gabriel, The Majestix, Kozak. Billy Fergueson (pre-show). 6 pm Sat. - Thurs., 8:15 Fri., Greek Isle. www.greatestmagicshow.com July Guest Stars: Dan Sperry (for Joseph Gabriel) Through August 20: Juliana Chen August Guest Stars: Dan Sperry (for Joseph Gabriel) 1-20: Juliana Chen, 21-31: Gaetan Bloom September Guest Stars: 1-4: Dan Sperry (for Joseph Gabriel) 5-17 Show dark (vacation). Xtreme Magic Starring Dirk Arthur Tiffany Theatre, Tropicana 2 and 4 pm. (Dark Fri.) $10 off coupon: http://www.vegas4locals.com/Coupontropicana_dirk.html Jamie Porter's Radio Side Show Sat @ 5 am, KLAV FM 1230. Restaurants: Eric Allan Outback Steakhouse (Green Valley), Fri. & Sat. Jayden LaCross TGI Fridays, Wed. & Sun. Las Vegas Magic Organizations I.B.M. #257: 7 pm 1st Monday of each month. www.ring257.com Darwin's Magic Club meets every Wednesday. Both meet at: Boomers, 3200 Sirius Ave. July, 2006 Through August 20: Juliana Chen - Guest Star, World's Greatest Magic Show, Greek Isle. August, 2006 Through August 20: Juliana Chen - Guest Star, World's Greatest Magic Show, Greek Isle. August 3-9: David Copperfield, MGM Grand. August 18-24: Jeff McBride/Eugene Burger - Extended Master Class. www.magicalwisdom.com August 24-Sept. 20: David Copperfield, MGM Grand. August 21-31: Gaetan Bloom - Guest Star, World's Greatest Magic Show, Greek Isle. September, 2006 Through Sept. 20: David Copperfield, MGM Grand. October, 2006 October 25-28: Jeff McBride/Eugene Burger - Magic & Meaning Conference. Magic And The Art Of Storytelling - Special Guest Robert Neale www.magicalwisdom.com October 27: Jeff McBride - Witches & Wizards Ball. November, 2006 November 2-5: Jeff McBride/Eugene Burger - Magic for the Medical Professional. Special Guest: Jay Ungar, author of "Bringing Magic to Life." www.magicalwisdom.com November 5-7: MINDVENTION 2006 - Palace Station Casino www.MindVention.com John Riggs, Christopher Carter, Francis Menotti, Greg Arce, Docc Hilford, Dennis Laub, Rick Maue, Anton Zelman, Robert Allen, Danny Archer. November 8-10: Jeff McBride/Eugene Burger - Master Class for Mentalists. Special Guest: Ross Johnson. www.magicalwisdom.com November 9-29: David Copperfield, MGM Grand. December, 2006 December 21-31: David Copperfield, MGM Grand. -------------------------------------------- 11. IBM Reaffirms The IBM/SAM2008 Combined Convention! -------------------------------------------- Message from Roger Miller (US) The Board of Trustees at the annual IBM Convention in Miami, Florida passed a resolution reaffirming the IBM's support of the IBM/SAM 2008 Combined Convention to be held in Louisville, Kentucky, USA July 21-26, 2008. The new Combined Convention brochures were available for the first time in Miami and in Louisville at the SAM Convention. They will be distributed throughout the world starting at FISM in August in Stockholm, Sweden. The early registration of $295 has been extended to December 31st of this year. More information will be announced as plans fall into place. Registration information can be found on the constantly developing website: www.IBMSAM2008.com -------------------------------------------- 12. Gary Darwin Is Out Of Hospital -------------------------------------------- Message from Joey King (US) Gary Darwin is out of hospital and is home. He is doing well and has to follow Doctor's orders for his diabetic condition. -------------------------------------------- 13. Magic Circle Elections -------------------------------------------- Message from Richard Stupple (UK) The Magic Circle nominations for officers and council are now in and it looks like being an interesting contest. Alan Shaxon (President) and Chris Pratt (secretary) are unopposed and there is no opposition to the candidate for The Treasurers post - The "New boy" is Keith Cooper, who will take over from Brian Miller, who has served the society well in the post for 16 years. For the Vice President post there are three candidates, Brian Miller, the retiring treasurer, Jack Delvin and Henry Lewis. There are 14 seats on Council available and there are 21 candidates standing. Results of the election will not be known until The Annual General Meeting on September 4th. -------------------------------------------- 14. Magic Shop Opens In Auckland New Zealand -------------------------------------------- Message from Guss Arnold (NZ) Opened on  4th July 2006 Located:  323 Queen St, 1st  floor Auckland Gus Arnold wants to create a meeting point for magicians, ventriloquists, balloonists and clowns. The shop area is about 60 square meters and the meeting area has a stage and social facilities which is about 75 square meters. You can buy magic tricks or sell your own second hand magic in the shop. 20% of the selling price will be charged. For all members of the magic societies there will be permanent access to the database, books, DVDs and videos to help improve the standards. For All Further Information Please Contact Gus Arnold. Tel: 09 - 3 77 88 55 Mobile: 0211 - 776776 -------------------------------------------- 15. British Ring Convention News -------------------------------------------- Message from Bob Hayden (UK) So far only acts from overseas have been profiled in these Convention News. This has led to the question being raised if any British acts are appearing this year. Yes there are and they are all of the highest calibre. So far they include Roy Davenport, Graham P. Jolley, Noel Britten, Terry Seabrooke, Craig Christion, Mark Mason and Paul Zendin together with an American we have 'adopted' John Lenahan. Roy Davenport is the current holder of the British Ring Shield. Those of you who were not at Southport last September will have the opportunity of seeing Roy's sizzling act that earned him the ultimate accolade. The speed at which he works must involve him using a vast amount of energy. At the end if he's not completely exhausted, the audience are just by watching. For over a century the name of Davenport has been synonymous with magic in this country. It is fitting that this name is now inscribed on the British Ring Shield. Graham P Jolley is an extremely engaging mind reader, psychologist and entertainer. The most remarkable aspect of his performance is the sharp wit, which accompanies his demonstrations that guarantees to keep an audience in baffled amazement. He is the most outstanding mind reader of his generation. His act is an unforgettable event without parallel in the field of entertainment. And what's more he's funny; he can never be serious. Throughout his performance the emphasis is on humour and audience participation in the best possible taste. Graham P Jolley will not only amaze you, you will experience a riot of fun. 'The funniest comedy magician since Tommy Cooper had everybody rocking with laughter'. Who was the HTV Festival magazine describing? None other than Noel Britten. From the onset Noel was described as the country's finest emerging stand-up talent. Not only has he performed in the famous Comedy Stores and Jongleurs he is in constant demand on the corporate circuit worldwide. Noels quick-witted dry humour defies all expectations. He delivers it in such a manner as can only be produced by a seasoned performer. You too will rock with laughter when you see Noel Britten for the first time at a British Ring Convention. What well-known magician made his debut at a British Ring Convention in1965 and has subsequently appeared on 26 occasions in various shows? It is of course Terry Seabrooke. Terry is probably one of the most travelled British magicians and in doing so has become an outstanding ambassador for magic. He is a genius at comedy. He walks out in front of an audience and they being to laugh. In America he is particularly revered. In 2004 he was awarded the 'Masters Fellowship' the highest honour from the Academy of Magical Arts. From the same Academy he has a 'Performing Fellowship' and on two occasions has been nominated 'Lecturer of the Year' at the Magic Castle. Closer to home from The Magic Circle he has received the 'Carlton Comedy Award' and the 'Murray' award from the Blackpool Magicians Club. As Terry's great friend Billy McComb now so sadly missed recorded 'As a proud member of 'The Grand Order of Water Rats' Terry has lived up to their precepts by bringing laughter and joy into the hearts of millions who have been his audiences. His generosity of spirit and his happy knack of making friends is an inspiration to those of us who follow. Terry is a performer who can adapt to working in a large packed theatre or to a rowdy Working Mans Club. We welcome back once again Terry Seabrooke to our Convention stage and look forward to the laughter he will bring. Another appearing for the first time at a British Ring Convention is Craig Christian. This is a name that is probably not too familiar to you in the magical fraternity. Craig, who hails from Blackpool, is a polished all round magician who has been performing continuously, mainly on cruise liners. At last you will all be able to be charmed and no doubt surprised by this elegant British illusionist and manipulator. Mark Mason is the United Kingdom's member of the International Close-up team. Over the past decade Mark has established himself as one of the country's exponents of close-up magic at the table and as a corporate magician is very much sought after. His moves in his routines prove him to be inventive that have impressed the most knowledgeable of his contemporary's His presentations are fresh with a high entertainment content. Mark is making his debut at this Convention. Unquestionably it won't be his last. Currently, without doubt, Paul Zendin is the most entertaining ventriloquist in the business with a string of top line credits to his name, including no less than three Royal Variety Show appearances. As a ventriloquist, not only is he fantastic, he is technically perfect and able to build a rapport with any audience. Critics when reviewing Paul's performance acknowledge his undoubted talent but persistently doubt, from a comedic viewpoint, that the material in his act is old fashioned and undistinguishable and he is not moving forward. Why should he change his material? Super greats like Jay Marshall never did. Did his audience ever complain? They would have been more than disappointed if Lefty had not sung 'If I had my way'! However the critics have to admit that Paul is a great exponent of the material he uses, that he is never going to starve, he's a good looking chap and his barnstorming act guarantees a satisfied audience whether it be on the 'alternative' comedy circuit or the traditional variety one. As a member of the audience who saw Paul at the Manchester Comedy Store earlier this year says 'He had the eight of us and the rest of the audience in stitches. So what if it's not cutting edge? He is technically superb and highly entertaining.' You will see Paul at his very best at the Congress Theatre in September. Make sure you're there! John Lenahan came to Britain in 1984 from his native Philadelphia for a short trip and never quite made it back. It was in the Comedy Clubs in America that John had established himself. Over here John took his talents to the streets of London where he was voted Time Out Street Magician of the Year. With his appearances on the British Comedy Club circuit he soon attracted the attention of TV producers, which led to the successful TV programmes 'Stuff the White Rabbit', 'HoaxBusters' and 'Red Dwarf' plus interviews with Terry Wogan and Jonathon Ross. John's patter is sharp and sophisticated, but never offensive. If he were to omit the magic he would still be entertaining. He has the uncanny ability of raising a hackneyed standard effect to become a memorable classic by sheer presentation alone. 'A mascot of a magical renaissance ' is how The Guardian newspaper describes John. John has previously appeared at one of Fay Presto's Fringe evenings. This time everyone will be able to enjoy the unmistakable talents of John Lenahan. These eight acts are another eight reasons why you should be in Eastbourne September 19th to 24th. Make your registration today! -------------------------------------------- 16. Register For TAOM before August 1st And SAVE!!! -------------------------------------------- Message from Mark Jensen Just wanted to make sure everyone knows that if they register for TAOM 2006 before August 1, 2006 they save $50. On August 1st, the price increases from $135 to $185. For more details about TAOM please read on... If you want something fun and exciting to do over Labor Day Weekend, then you should attend TAOM 2006 (Texas Association of Magicians). It will be held in Dallas, Texas and could very well be the best value in magic this year. The Intercontential is a fine 4 star hotel and we have a low convention rate of only $85 + tax per night and there is plenty of free parking available. Registration is a low $135 if you register before August 1, 2006. There are reduced registration prices for spouses and kids. You can get complete details and register online at www.taom2006.com Here is just some of the Talent that will be performing: Johnny and Pam Thompson Rene Lavand - Exclusive Appearance for TAOM 2006 John Carney Bob White Roger Klause Eric DeCamps Trevor Lewis Avner the Eccentric Levent Scott Cervine Jon Armstrong Mike Caveney David Hira PLUS Several More Great Acts!!! We will also be having a special display of Houdini Memorbilia from the collection of nationally recognized Houdini collector, author, and historian Arthur Moses. Here are just some of the lectures that are planned: An Evening with Fred Kaps - Special Expanded Version presented by Dick Koornwinder The Classics of Magic - presented by Johnny Thompson The Magical Artistry of Rene Lavand Roy Benson by Starlight - presented by Levent The Super Hero Magician - presented by Jon Armstrong The Secret to Getting Publicity - presented by Jeff Crilley (Emmy winning TV reporter) Plus Several The Magic of ... Lectures by Vito Lupo, John Carney, Rafael Benatar, Mike Caveney, etc... The convention starts at 1 pm on Friday, Sept 1st and ends at noon on Monday, Sept 4th and I would not plan on missing any of it. We also have other great events planned throughout the weekend. Once again, for a complete listing of talent and to register online please go to www.taom2006.com I look forward to seeing you all there. Best, Mark Jensen Talent Chairman www.taom2006.com -------------------------------------------- 17. Michael Woolfs Magical Adventures -------------------------------------------- Message from Michael Woolf (NZ) Had a great night at the Magic Castle last night. Together with friends here in L.A. I hosted a dinner party for Gay Blackstone and Milt Larsen. Both were charming and on form and it was a wonderful party. Enjoyed the show at the Palace where Ray Crowe from Australia scored a great success with his variety of skills including the shadow act I had previously enjoyed in Sydney. Tina Lenert was on form with a most stylish act and compere John Carney kept the show rolling in great style. Also enjoyed the close-up magic of David Yee. During the evening I recorded interviews with Gay Blackstone and Milt Larsen who was joined for the session by his sister-in-law Irene Larsen - great lady of the Castle. Today John Gaughan has invited me to visit him and I am looking forward to seeing the world's greatest expert at restoration of antique apparatus and automata in his workshop. Last week the SAM Convention was most enjoyable. It is always great to meet again with old friends and make new ones. Spent much time with Terry Seabrooke, also George and Nina Schindler, and recorded a lot of material for Magicana. Good to see Mac King again and to give him a copy of the Magicana issue containing his interview. Earlier this week I travelled to La Jolla (near San Diego) to spend time with Joel and Arlene Moscowitz ( you see his erudite columns in Magicana) and had a great time including a session with Jack White (Director of Publicity for the IBM) in his remarkable magic museum. The trip is tiring but most rewarding and I look forward to bringing this material and more to Magicana readers. -------------------------------------------- 18. 28th New Zealand International Magicians Convention -------------------------------------------- Hosted by Palmerston North Magic Circle (Inc) Palmerston North, New Zealand. 20th to 23rd of October 2006 For the registration html form to print off Go to: http://www.joel.co.nz/convention/reg_form.htm Information on the convention Go to: http://www.watson.co.nz/convention.html The Schedule of events Go to: http://www.joel.co.nz/convention/timetable.htm Convention headliners: David Williamson (USA) Lisa Menna (USA) Duane and Mary Laflin (USA) Joel Howlett (Aus) Alan Martell (UK) If you are planning to attend and have not booked - BOOK NOW - as seats are NOW VERY limited. ----------------- 19. The Amazing Orchante Saga ----------------- Message from Tommy Orchard (The Amazing Orchante)(UK ex-pat Kiwi) My dear 'old' friend, Alan Watson, who instigated - 'The Amazing Orchanté Saga', for his world acclaimed 'Magic New Zealand e-zine', has just informed me that he hopes to have 15,000 members/subscribers within the next two years; that's gonna be some sort of record! Page 110 ABE PHILLIPS, the Eulogy continues Our main reason for going was because my friend ABE had entered the talent quest and, not surprisingly, was through to the Grand Finale. The immense bar was packed! I couldn't tell you now what its capacity was, but it was well in excess of 1,500 people! On quietish nights, huge folding doors divided the bar in half so it didn't look empty, or private functions could be held in one half while the other still functioned as a public bar. If a show was on, to which an admission was charged, by law, there had to be an alternative bar where patrons could drink. The dividing doors solved the problem! That night is as clear to me now, as if it was only yesterday. We were sitting at a long table, which was on the left side of the room - second from the front, facing the stage. I was sitting right next to Abe, who was on my immediate left. On stage were the Mighty 'IMPRESSIONS' SHOW BAND', a fantastic show in their own right - they were backing the various singers who were in the big final. I was most surprised when Abe told me that he was - "Now singing professionally - nearly four months". I guess the prospect of -World Fame, Fortune and the 'Bright Lights', had finally got to him! Noticing that Abe was becoming very edgy as his turn in the 'Grand Finale' approached, I asked him if he was all right, "I'm just feeling a bit 'nervy' Tom"! He replied. "You have to be kidding!" I said, knowing that he had been singing for years. "I've never had to compete before" he replied "Well" I said, "I can 'FIX' that if you like?" - knowing that he had seen me perform my hypnotism show at the Mayfair on occasions. "Do you mean the 'EYES' bit?" he said. "Well, sort of" I replied, "all you have to do is to close YOUR eyes, and listened to me for a couple of minutes." "Okay" he said, hesitantly - "If you think it will work!" "No problem!" I said. The 'IMPRESSIONS' were playing/backing some singer, and both are 'belting' it out at a hell of a volume - not the ideal conditions in which to be giving hypnotic suggestions; I practically had my mouth 'glued' to Abe's eardrum so that he could hear me! However, two or three minutes later, Abe was calm, relaxed and, RARING TO GO! I wouldn't have the audacity to suggest that the 'hypnotic suggestions' that I had installed in his subconscious had anything to do with it - because they didn't (Maybe helped a tiny bit), but - BIG ABE WON - THE SCHWEPPES $2000 TALENT QUEST! It is now one month later! DECEMBER THE 18th - Saturday morning. We are getting ready to head up North for a 2pm show at the Helensville War Memorial Town Hall? Switching on the radio, I got the tail end of a newsflash - something to do with a car smash and Abe. I rang the station. ABE WAS DEAD, KILLED AT 5am THAT MORNING! Totally devastated and grief-stricken, I cried my eyes out all the way to Helensville. The Show Must Go On! It did, in spite of my bloodshot eyes giving the audience the impression that that I was about to do a 'Dracula' Impression'! Next morning, the SUNDAY NEWS, December 19, 1971 - page 7, had a great photo of Abe, taken while he was on stage at the Thunderbird winning the talent Quest. (We were only feet away when it was taken) The headline says - NEW SINGING STAR ABE DIES IN HEAD-ON CRASH! All of the following is taken from - The Hawke's Bay Herald -Tribune! On Monday, December 20 - page 15, they displayed a huge photograph of Abe's coffin, surrounded by his immediate family, with TWO large headings: 300 FILE PAST BODY OF SINGER. 'More than 300 people, Maori and pakeha, have filed through the flower - decked marquee at Waipatu marae where singer Abe Phillips's body was lying in state today. Mr Phillips, 34, married with two children, died in a head - on car smash with an aerial topdressing transporter truck on a mist - shrouded road between Waipukurau and Waipawa about 5am on Saturday morning'. The second heading reads: SHOW - BUSINESS PEOPLE COMING. 'Top entertainer Howard Morrison (Now Sir), is expected to be among the number of New Zealand show -business personalities who will attend tomorrows funeral. Entertainer Max Cryer, and The Impressions Show Band, who backed Mr Phillips when he won the $2000 Schweppes talent quest last month, will fly from Auckland for the service. The Shadracks, a top Hastings group with whom Mr Phillips sang for some years, and 'Prince' Tui Teka, will lead the Hastings contingent of entertainers'. CONTINUES NEXT WEEK! -------------------------------------------- 20. 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) -------------------------------------------- 21. 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 o 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 2006 Alan Watson