Inside Magic

John Calvert – The Man!

We never thought about until we read today in the Dodge City Daily Globe (KS) but they may be right; “John Calvert (is) a tall Vincent Price look-alike.” Now we cannot get the image of Mr. Price out of our mind.

Anyway.

The paper reports more than 80 folks showed up to witness the Invisible Lodge Magic Show in Meade, Kansas last Saturday. The show was held in the historic Lakeway Hotel Bed and Breakfast Inn — that name seems to cover just about all the possible options for a hotel — and featured magicians from around the world as a benefit for a local woman.

William “JR” Knight owns the place with his wife and serves as a director of the Invisible Lodge International.

The Dodge paper is justifiably impressed with Mr. Calvert and his tremendous resume as magician, lecturer, film star, writer, and inventor. No less than Walter B. Gibson wrote of Mr. Calvert, “He will be remembered as one of the great and unique magicians of history.” And Mr. Gibson would know.

Proof of the newspaper’s undying devotion to Mr. Calvert comes in their three paragraph description of his act beginning with:

At Saturday’s performance, Calvert, dressed in a sparkling purple jacket, intrigued his audience by his dramatic entrance, rushing down the aisle flicking cigarettes into the air gunshot quick so that the eye was bewildered by the sight and source of the cigarettes.

Mr. Calvert performed a dancing handkerchief routine titled “Casper the Ghost,” before levitating one of the hotel’s waitresses.

The show ended with patrons being treated to Mrs. Knight’s “luscious chocolate and cream pastries at a reception for the magicians following the show.”

This is the kind of story that warms the heart and reinforces our belief that magic is not dead; done properly it can leave an incredible impression on ordinary folks.

Continue reading John Calvert Wows ‘Em in Dodge City

Jade Stars in Museum Show

Do you recall a while back when we were all a buzz about a Midwestern Museum because they were fixing to expose Houdini’s Metamorphosis? We recall the buzz well — in fact, we still don’t have feeling in our little fingers.

Well another museum is going to teach kids about the science behind magic’s greatest illusions. But this time the major domos of our business aren’t protesting; they’re helping. So what’s up? Should we be buzzing?

The Oregon Museum of Science and Industry is presenting “Magic: The Science of Illusion” through September 5th. Families can learn the science behind mind reading, levitation and disembodied heads in the Magician’s Training Academy.

“‘Magic’ explores basic science concepts used in illusions. In the exhibit, visitors will learn how magicians use physics, math, engineering and psychology to create visual effects. Famous names in magic, such as Penn & Teller, Jade and Max Maven helped create parts of the OMSI exhibit.”

The Oregon Statesman lists the exhibits:

“The Amazing Living Head”: Introduced by Penn & Teller, you will see a human head kept alive in an unusual science lab. This head does it all — talk, wink and giggle.

“The Light and Heavy Chest”: A leather box is easy to carry until Jade says the magic words and the box is extremely heavy. Visitors learn the secret of this transformation.

“The Magic of the Mind”: Mind reader Max Maven speaks to visitors through a pre-recorded video, and strangely, he still can guess what they are thinking.

“The Rising Chair”: Visitors will be able to sit in a chair that rises through the air magically.

Should we start buzzing? We’re able to get to a good buzz-state within seconds so just give us the high-sign and we’ll look like a giant back massager with a bad haircut and attitude.

So we looked to the museum to see if there was real exposure. (We apologize if your firewall’s filtered out this article because of the proximity of “massager” and “exposure.” Oops, we just did it again).

First thing we figured out, the exhibit is a creation not of Oregon’s Museum of Science and Industry, but the California Science Center. (It’s in the small print and on the free magic tricks PDF). But there is no discussion of Magic’s most important rule – a magician never reveals his or her secrets.

So we kept searching — we were ready to buzz. In the last page of the magic trick hand-out you can read the following:

For students to perform this trick for other friends and family, they should practice until they can put the puzzle back together quickly. But remember ? a magician is not supposed to reveal the secrets of his or her trick!

Big deal. The warning isn’t even in a different type-face. Chances…
Continue reading Museum Explains Secrets of Magic