I, like the rest of the Magic Fraternity / Sorority, am aghast at the latest scandal to have taken hold of our fine Art and sought to drag it into the headlines of squalid tabloids. I am not a purist or even one who is pure but the offenses that have just been uncovered and leaked to Inside Magic by a reliable source move me to righteous indignation.
Former Assistant with Pre-Show Medications
We have always allowed for drug testing before or after performances in magic competition. I realize that according to the latest polling data, 43 percent of the regular Inside Magic readers are younger than the other 57 percent who are older. I hate to bring back memories we though were safely buried in collective unconscious but the recent scandal involving “doping” by magicians seeking to win convention contests at all costs cries out for a reconsideration of our policies.
In 1962, Kyle Baumgartner was stripped of his recently won awards as Best Stage Magician and Best Close-Up Artist because of alleged “doping.” Some of the 57 percent of us older folks recall the event and felt the repercussions throughout our career.
Mr. Baumgartner was a successful entertainer in the hotels that lined Miami Beach, including the Fontainebleau and The Hilton on the Beach. His past was murky but his magic was great and so there was little investigation into his story until after the scandal broke. At the old Lido Convention, held each year in Destin, Florida, Mr. Baumgartner entered as a contestant in the adult divisions for Close-Up and Stage. His Close-Up act featured his incredible dexterity with a deck of cards, four silver dollars and a small glass figurine. His effect, She Knows All, was the hit of the convention and rightly propelled him into the finalist ranks for the contest.
She Knows All showcased Mr. Baumgartner’s ability to back the four silver dollars as well as the entire deck of cards. Those of us who saw the act, recall the stunning production of the coins and cards. A spectator was asked to mentally select a single card from a regulation deck. The spectator was then asked to whisper the selection into the ear of the glass figurine. Mr. Baumgartner then announced he would correctly identify the card with the help of the figurine. He would produce cards from nowhere and if they appeared to be in sequence with the mentally chosen card, he would continue. If the cards seemed the opposite of the selected card, he would pay the spectator a dollar.
In the course of the effect, he…
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