David Copperfield told the New York Daily Newsthat the recent, tragic Tsunami forced him to rethink one of the premier illusions in his current show.Prior to the Tsunami, Mr. Copperfield telekinetically transported audience members from the theater to Phuket, Thailand.
Mr. Copperfield told the tabloid, “I now send them to Hawaii or the Philippines. Phuket was my secret place for years. I used to go there with Claudia [Schiffer] and subsequent girlfriends.”
Copperfield, who hopes to use magic as a “relief therapy” for tsunami victims, also remembers Phuket because “it had the most amazing orange juice.”
WHAS, Channel 11 in Louisville, Kentucky, spoke with the famous of the that wonderful town about Johnny Carson.The news folks with Paul Hornung, the NFL great.(?This was the most nervous I have ever been in my life on any TV show and I?ve been on a lot of TV show.?)
Lance Burton recalls how much he owed to Johnny.His first appearance on the institution called The Tonight Show was in 1982.Mr. Burton told reporters, ?He was personally responsible for my big break in show business? Johnny Carson was the perfect talk show host, a great stand-up comedian and a very fine magician. He was a class act.?
The impact of the film industry has had a powerful effect on the world. It has not necessarily been used as a reflection of society, but rather a trend setting devise for large-scale gain and profit. It has identified women in roles other than “home makers”, having them seen in trousers and taking on mannish characteristics, exploiting sex and playing roles previously dominated by men.
Women were still brazenly encouraged as the “home maker” as late as the 1950’s but, the invention of the world changing contraceptive pill allowed women to fulfill the “fashionable” trend of being financially independent. They began taking advantage of their newfound “freedom” to make choices never before possible in history. Women were finally able to choose career and family, whenever and however they liked.
Entertainment is generally viewed as an integral part of most cultures, but has never been more glorified in western society as it is today. It is an industry that now sees millions (even billions) of dollars line the pockets of top money earners. Actors and singers are the usual beneficiaries, but even magicians can enjoy benefits and opportunities brought about by corporate events and public appearances.
Women make up an extremely small percentage of the magic industry, even though they are just as interested in magic as men. Apart from the fact that only 45 years has passed since a woman was free to make a solid career choice, magic does seem to have the same attraction, nor the same financial benefits as other fields of entertainment.
Thanks to cyberspace, it’s no longer difficult to lay hands on just about any magic secret or tool of the trade and it’s just as easy to find potential mentors, colleagues and supporters. The magic community had a reputation for being a closed brotherhood but of late, many men in magic seem to be quite happy to share their knowledge and experience in magic with a colleague who is genuinely interested and passionate, regardless of gender. So, through changing times and attitude, women are being accepted more by their colleagues as magicians. But, the answer as to why there are so few women today performing magic is an…
Ricky Jay, magician, movie actor, stage performer, author, and renaissance man, has brought his broadsides collection to California for “Extraordinary Exhibitions: Broadsides From the Collection of Ricky Jay,” on display at the Yerba Buena Center for the Arts in San Francisco through April 3.
The collection contains more than “100 bizarre handbills from the 17th, 18th and 19th centuries — which somehow escaped a dozen generations of refuse bins and found their way into Jay’s ever-expanding collection.”
The San Francisco Chronicle features Mr. Jay in their review of the exhibition, as well as report on his return to California.His work and curiosity has taken him from opening act for Cheech and Chong to performing an one-man show written by Award Winning Playwright David Mamet.
Mr. Jay explains that his fascination with the broadsides comes from the otherwise unknown history of entertainment centuries ago.It is entirely possible, he suggests, that but for the preservation of the broadsides and handbills, entertainers and entertainment genres would be forever unknown.To the modern day man, it would be as if the performers and their art never existed.
Mr. Jay is bringing his card-trick show, “On the Stem” to the Bay Area while his exhibit continues.
Check out the article in the San Francisco Chronicle by clicking here.
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