It is with great sadness we report the news of Dan Turcotte’s passing. We
learned of Mr. Turcotte’s passing from Chet in his request that we announce a
show to be dedicated to this great man and outstanding magician.
Mr. Turcotte was one of our craft’s true gentlemen, a fantastic magician,
honest businessman, creative and imaginative performer, and outstanding teacher.
We have dedicated much space on Inside Magic to his outstanding web site, You
Do Magic. We suggested a couple of years ago that to visit his site is to risk
losing much of your free-time and available spending money. Over the years, this
young man dedicated himself to the task of taping, editing, and offering lessons
teaching some of the best magic effects.
Unlike some sites purporting to teach magic or allow the visitor to discover
secrets, Mr. Turcotte’s inventory of video lessons needed no deceiving hype. His
lessons were clear, the methods were very often unique and innovative, and were
audience-tested.
Mr. Turcotte was a supporter of Inside Magic back when we had few visitors
and even fewer readers. His constant emails of support and exchange of ideas
kept us going when we were convinced there was no one reading; and encouraged us
to put out the best product possible regardless of our anticipated audience. We
fell short constantly in meeting the high-quality he insisted upon for his own
publications and in-person work but we were always inspired by him.
In December, we informed
readers Mr. Turcotte’s cancer had come out of remission and he was to begin
immediate chemo-therapy. We asked for prayers for him and his family.
Rick Carruth the mastermind behind the blog Magic Bullets and the
outstanding newsletter Magic
Roadshow, has an interview with Mr. Turcotte from last year.
Mr. Turcotte’s family did not ask us to write the following but we urge you
to visit You Do Magic at http://www.youdomagic.com to see the great material Mr.
Turcotte produced. We highly recommend you purchase — while they are still
available — the two DVD and one CD set of close-up magic titled Anywhere-Anytime. Without a doubt,
this is one of the best values in magic and filled with material you will use in
real-world shows.
His name is Kennedy. There is no first or last name, just Kennedy.
But when you’ve got a gun to your noggin, there isn’t really a need to debate the propriety of nomenclature.
The Evening Chronicle covers Kennedy’s efforts to terrify audiences and himself with a Russian Roulette effect.
The man who describes himself as a magician/mentalist stands in front of the reporter:
Kennedy has a gun planted against his temple. “I’m always terrified when I do this, absolutely terrified,” he says.
“I can feel my hands sweating. I just know that if this worked it would blow half my face off.”
Kennedy’s not the only one sweating. I’m not too keen on seeing his head splatter against the wall behind me either.
But all this drama would be much more alarming had I not just
witnessed the same man bend a fork in half with the power of his mind.
Anyone who can twist metal just by looking at it will surely be able to
deflect the course of a bullet.
The 21-year-old
gentleman says he uses a “clever blend of psychology, mental dexterity
and misdirection to read minds and influence decisions.”
He was booked to perform cabaret shows in which he’ll have to select
four of five guns, hold them to his skull, and pull the trigger.
“I
know which one has the bullet beforehand and I number them all in a
sequence. Then I put two coins over my eyes, put a blindfold on and
then I put a steel plate on top of that,” says Kennedy.
“My assistant hands me the guns randomly and I have to read her mind to work out which order she’s put them in.
“Every time I do it, I’m convinced I’m not going to hear that click and it’s just such a massive relief when I do,” he adds.
Kennedy
dismisses comparisons with Derren Brown. He does admit receiving
inspiration from the current star of the UK Magic scene but says he
does not copy his effects.
“But to the educated
magician, the pair are polar opposites. Kennedy brought me up to speed.
He said: “The problem I have got is I’m 21 and I haven’t been in the
public eye so I didn’t do this before Derren.
“This means some people think I’m just trying to do what he does,
but he uses psychology and influences body language. He’s very good at
it but I’m very different.
“He tries to actually step inside other people and influence the way they work. I like to look at the way you are.”
Okey Dokey.
We don’t really see much of a difference but that’s probably because
we haven’t seen both magicians perform. From the
audience-point-of-view, though, it doesn’t really seem to matter how
the magician claims to influence a volunteer’s decision or read the
volunteer’s thoughts. We hope the difference between Mr. Brown and
Kennedy is more than each magician’s claimed method (“stepping inside
other people” versus “reading body language”).
Regardless, good luck to Kennedy.
By the way, wasn’t that the name of a female reporter on MTV?
The
Louisville Herald-Leader’s Culture Writer, Jamie Gumbrecht wrote a
wonderful piece about Lance Burton and his recent return to his old
Kentucky home.
Mr. Burton was back in town to perform in Magic Under the Stars, a benefit for the Louisville Magic Club and a treasured, historic theater.
The question posed to Mr. Burton is one we could all contemplate:
Lance
Burton’s Las Vegas magic show includes 28 people, audience
participants, animals, pyrotechnics and a 1,200-seat theater at the
Monte Carlo Resort and Casino. But what does a magician really need?
Mr.
Burton tells the reporter all magic “is based on the same principles,
but on different scales, whether I’m making a car disappear or doing a
card trick.”
Mr. Burton points out he was still performing magic
when he occupied “a magician’s entry-level job” performing birthday
parties and learning from other magicians in Ring 198, Lexington’s
Thoroughbred Magic Guild.
Kentucky seems to be a breeding ground
for great magicians. In addition to Mr. Burton and Mac King, the
paper profiles Clarence Miller.
Miller, who
lives in Irvine, calls himself a mechanic, not a magician. He began
building wooden props to sell to local magicians in 1985. His first and
most popular invention — The Impossible Penetration, a revamped
“finger guillotine” — has been sold around the globe.
The tricks he
designs are legendary, and the quality is guaranteed. He signs every
one and promises to repair it for its lifetime. There are
metal-and-plastic copies of his walnut-and-cherry designs, but that’s
OK, says Miller, 76.
“Buying a trick is one thing,” he says. “But you’re really paying for the secret.”
And
the secret is what matters most, magicians say, right next to a trick
and an audience. Mr. Burton has all three of these components and, more
importantly, he is willing to share with his brothers and sisters in
the art.
The
Louisville Herald-Leader’s Culture Writer, Jamie Gumbrecht wrote a
wonderful piece about Lance Burton and his recent return to his old
Kentucky home.
Mr. Burton was back in town to perform in Magic Under the Stars, a benefit for the Louisville Magic Club and a treasured, historic theater.
The question posed to Mr. Burton is one we could all contemplate:
Lance
Burton’s Las Vegas magic show includes 28 people, audience
participants, animals, pyrotechnics and a 1,200-seat theater at the
Monte Carlo Resort and Casino. But what does a magician really need?
Mr.
Burton tells the reporter all magic “is based on the same principles,
but on different scales, whether I’m making a car disappear or doing a
card trick.”
Mr. Burton points out he was still performing magic
when he occupied “a magician’s entry-level job” performing birthday
parties and learning from other magicians in Ring 198, Lexington’s
Thoroughbred Magic Guild.
Kentucky seems to be a breeding ground
for great magicians. In addition to Mr. Burton and Mac King, the
paper profiles Clarence Miller.
Miller, who
lives in Irvine, calls himself a mechanic, not a magician. He began
building wooden props to sell to local magicians in 1985. His first and
most popular invention — The Impossible Penetration, a revamped
“finger guillotine” — has been sold around the globe.
The tricks he
designs are legendary, and the quality is guaranteed. He signs every
one and promises to repair it for its lifetime. There are
metal-and-plastic copies of his walnut-and-cherry designs, but that’s
OK, says Miller, 76.
“Buying a trick is one thing,” he says. “But you’re really paying for the secret.”
And
the secret is what matters most, magicians say, right next to a trick
and an audience. Mr. Burton has all three of these components and, more
importantly, he is willing to share with his brothers and sisters in
the art.
Hippity Hopper Combo from FAB Magic at Special Inside Magic Discount. Read Below for Exclusive Details.
Ten
years ago, Rick Fisher started noodling a way to update the classic
Hippity Hop Rabbits. He wanted to remove the wooden covers and
make the surprise ending suitable for different occasions.
The late Ed Harris worked with Mr. Fisher to design the graphics ensuring the professional, high-quality look you would expect.
So
what can you use in the place of wooden covers? How did Mr.
Fisher think outside the box? He replaced the covers with ordinary
paper lunch bags.
You display the two rabbits handsomely
rendered in black and white. You cover the bunnies, and command
the characters to change places.
When the bags are lifted, the bunnies have changed positions.
Your
astute and likely vocal audience suggests you made the transition
appear to happen by turning the bunnies under the bags’ cover.
You
prove them wrong when you remove the bags, crumple them and toss them
aside, turn the bunnies around to show completely different colors!
The
bunnies are over 12-inches tall but thanks to the new approach, the
entire effect packs small. You could substitute the rabbits for
Santa, a Ghost, or other image. Basically, you can pick the images you
need for the theme of your show.
We’ve raved about Fab
Magic’s quality workmanship in the past and this effect is in keeping
with their high standards; using the finest quality wood and metal.
You’ll
receive special uprights, five sets of characters, special gimmicks,
enough refills for 6 shows for each character, plus special routines
and ideas.
This will be a hit in your holiday shows.
FAB
Magic’s price will be only $99.50 postpaid anywhere in the US (Canadian
and overseas customers should add an extra $15.00 for shipping and
handling.
But wait, it gets better.
FAB will be
advertising Hippity Hoppers Combo in Magic Magazine at the $99.50
price. But if you indicate you are a reader of Inside Magic or
The Inside Magic Daily News, you can get it all for $90.00 postpaid
through September 30th.
This trick is not yet
available and certainly isn’t available at any discount anywhere else.
If you would like to get the Inside Magic discount, you must enter the words “Inside Magic” in either your email, the “message to seller” box during the payment process through Paypal, or when you order by phone.
We
are very excited to be selected by FAB Magic for this pre-market
release and happy to get a discount for our subscribers.
Visit the FAB Magic web site at http://www.fabmagic.com.
His name is Kennedy. There is no first or last name, just Kennedy. 
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