When Nate Leipzig passed through Ottawa Canada with his stage show, Dai Vernon, then a young teenager, would sneak backstage to learn a thing or two from the famous magician. Leipzig’s thoughts on magic would stay with Vernon for the rest of his life. Vernon would eventually write his…
Why hasn’t Luis Piedrahita been featured on the cover of Genii Magazine? Why aren’t more magicians talking about him? Like Juan Tamariz, his magic takes bizarre twists and turns. And like Tamariz, he throws his whole being into every performance. Watch Luis Piedrahita grab the bull by the horns and…
A great impromptu trick can elevate your status as a miracle worker. Although the word “impromptu” suggests unprepared, we will learn how performers like Max Malini and Nate Leipzig set up their tricks long in advance. They knew the value of thinking ahead and they practiced so that everything…
Dai Vernon aka the Professor, was a complex man who could philosophize for days on the subject of magic. He lived for nearly a century. In that time he changed the way magicians think. For the professor, magic was not some easy way to pass time. No. Being a…
New York City, circa 1911 The story of the Okito Box begins with one man’s heartburn and another man’s stroke of genius. Joe Klein, the afflicted man, kept his heartburn pills in a small metal pill box. His business partner Theo Bamberg, aka Okito, was toying around with the box…
Either you care or you don’t. Charlie Miller cared. Ricky Jay considers him to be the finest exponent of pure sleight of hand in the last hundred years. Dai Vernon, Michael Skinner, Johnny Thompson and John Carney agree. His version of The Ring and Stick, Misers Dream, Cups and Balls…
Michael Skinner had many secrets. His biggest? He knew how to sell an effect. Drama. Tension. Suspense. Skinner created atmosphere. Mystery. No fancy moves. No fast talk. He worked slowly. Deliberately. Perform each trick like it’s the only trick you know, he would say. Savor the moment. Don’t rush….
The Dai Vernon Book of Magic is at the top of my recommended book list. It is so jam-packed with useful knowledge, you will find something new every time you read it. In the March 2001 issue of Genii Magazine, Jamy Ian Swiss cited it as one of only four books needed to…
Practice can make you feel good. Michael Skinner practiced five to ten hours a day. Larry Jennings had packs of playing cards in every room of his house. Dai Vernon said if you don’t like to practice leave magic alone and find another hobby. “Practice your magic every day for…