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| Li'l Tom Hardy's Puppet Theater Today |
One of the questions we get often here at Inside Magic as well as during our lecture tours is: How Did You Get Your Start?
Well, unlike many of the popular magicians of today, we actually got our start in vitro. We were born into magic as a lifestyle, hobby, and profession.
As noted in earlier essays, the Hardy Family's career in Magic goes back almost a century and a half. In fact, we're kind of surprised the family's proud tradition has not been snatched up by one of the magic publishers — it would make a great seven volume set.
Tom Hardy IV, our Pop, is actually the seventh in the line of Tom Hardys and while his school auditorium show may have paled in grandeur to his grandfather's full-evening extravaganza, it was imbued with the same pride, tradition, and stolen tricks.
When we proposed the Hardy Family in Magic project to Mike Caveney, he demurred because of the common misconception that the Hardys are to magic as Milton Bearle was to jokes. This reputation, while true, is unfair. It is unfair in today's modern era to be held-back simply because you are a magician who appreciates other magicians.
One of the economic theories underlying the Sherman Anti-Trust Act is "in an efficient market, the superior product or method will be available because all other suppliers will either license or purchase the product." In other words, our capitalist economic system assumes no one will ever have to re-invent the wheel. That same policy has to hold true for even stage or close-up acts. If we would all concede Lance Burton's manipulation act is the best there is, we would also concede it would be foolish to try to invent one better.
This is the backdrop for today's essay on the Hardy Family's more recent magic history; specifically the famed Vegas Violence escapade for which Pop is known and apparently black-listed from reputable publications.
Tom Hardy IV was, as we noted, actually the seventh in the Tom Hardy line of magicians. His first loves was gambling (horse-racing), alcohol (Kentucky Bourbon), and mentalism. He spent 14 years pursuing these passions, spending the money accumulated by the Hardy dynasty, and avoiding working with his father's well-established traveling show.
In modern terms, he was the focus of an "intervention" by those who loved him and those who lent him funds (two entirely separate populations). It apparently took hold and he was on the straight and narrow. He recalled fondly the intervention in an essay for Drunk Magician Monthly:
It was my 17th birthday party. I thought maybe the folks had gotten together to throw a party. I knew my dad's show was on hiatus so it made sense for his Ford to be parked in the drive as I returned home from the track. But there were other cars in the driveway as well.
I remember commenting to the kind officer who drove me home, "looks like they're throwing a party but if I didn't know better, I'd say some of those cars belong to bookies I know."
As it turned out, I was right. They were all there: the bookies, my pop, his…
Continue reading Hardy Family Chronicles – Li’l Tom’s Formation / Failure
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