The Sun-Sentinel (FL) is the latest media outlet to cover Steven Cohen, The
Millionaire Magician. We’ve noticed a pattern in the coverage of Mr. Cohen. The
stories are always upbeat and complimentary. Whether coincidence or the work of
great press relations, we can find no article or review critical of his
performance, his publications, his approach to magic, or even him.
We’re not hoping to find negative info; we’re just surprised there isn’t a
single article out there given the tremendous amount of media attention.
Even if he had the best of all possible press agents, there would still be
one or two disgruntled or just formerly gruntled magicians or associates to
lambast him on some internet blog. But we didn’t find any.
While we certainly agree with St. Thomas Aquinas that “absence of evidence is
not evidence of absence” but statistically, when an event does not happen
over-and-over, that has to mean the thing causing the event to happen probably
doesn’t exist.
Assume every day at dawn you walk to work. During the course of that walk,
you don’t encounter an one-eyed pizza-delivery boy who asks for your help to
find an address. If that does not happen for 20 years in a row, you can safely
assume there are no one-eyed pizza-delivery boys in need of direction at dawn.
From that “truth” you can determine with less confidence, no one orders pizza
for breakfast.
Ergo: Steve Cohen must be as good as the press coverage suggests. Most
internet-savvy magicians agree the listserves, bulletin-boards, blogs, and other
rumor-spreading devices bring out the best and worst in us. If there was
something bad to say about anyone, we’d find it in one of these places.
[See, "Mother Teresa Doesnt (sic) Know How to Backpalm even 3 Cards!!"
Post on Mickey's Magic Milieu (Bulletin Board) May 15th 2001; "Chris
Angle Should Be Criss Angel's real name! He's Cheeting (sic) with Cameras!" Post
on DELETED (Bulletin Board - Unnamed) October 9th 2005; "Youre (sic) Uncle Lied
to You! I invented the PULL MY FINGER gag!" Post on Magic Moans (Bulletin
Board) June 20th 2000].
Check out the article and if you are in the Miami area, make sure you make
arrangements to see Mr. Cohen’s acclaimed “Chamber Magic” show. [Steve Cohen
performs "Chamber Magic" at 7 and 9 p.m. Friday at the Conrad Miami Hotel, 1395
Brickell Ave. Tickets, $50, can be purchased at chambermagic.com].
Mr. Cohen strips magic to its core in the article:
Precisely how he did it, he’ll never tell. But Cohen is sharing what
he can in his recent book, Win the Crowd, in which he teaches how the general
principles of magic can be learned to become more charismatic in daily life.
“What a magician really is, if you strip away the tricks, is a very
persuasive person. They persuade you that things that aren’t true are true,” he
says.
Though the so-called millionaire’s magician performs all over the world,
often for wealthy VIPs on their yachts and mansions, the general public can get
a taste of what it’s like to have a private show at Cohen’s intimate hotel
performances of “Chamber Magic,”… Continue reading Steven Cohen Performs in Miami – We Find No Dirt!
The New York Sun reports
this morning on the opening of the Conjuring Arts Research Center” described as
the “only publicly accessible, fully staffed, nonprofit magic library in
America.”
The new library is set just south of historic Herald Square in the heart of
the city that never sleeps.
Harry Houdini later in life expressed interest in starting a magic school and
library in the city. A century later, founder William Kalush has accomplished
this vision.
Want to know which illusionist first sawed a person in half or which
Albany-born magician performed for Abraham Lincoln’s guests at the White House?
You now have a central place to find answers to such questions, after making an
appointment to visit.
Mr. Kalush said he hopes the center will draw writers, historians,
collectors, scholars, enthusiasts, film producers, and performers who are
seeking to study the history of magic and its vibrant connection to the
present.
The new library boasts tons of old books — over 9,000 volumes covering magic
history, bibliographies, even fiction works related to magic.
Of peculiar interest to us (and frankly all of our interests could be
described as “peculiar”) is the collection of “instruction sheets, scrapbooks,
magicians’ correspondence, manuscripts, and other primary source material.”
The mission is noble: Mr. Kalush believes “You shouldn’t have to be a rich
collector to read material about magic history.” The goal is the scanning and
cataloging of “every magic book, letter, broadside, interview – in short,
everything related to magic.”
The article does not discuss whether there will be any restriction on access
to prevent the merely curious from learning important magic secrets. We do note,
however, the advisory board includes magicians, magic students, and David
Blaine.
The library/center wants to network with universities, museums and other
educational facilities.
Financial backers of the institution are designated by their support-level
with names from famous card magicians such as Charlier, Hofzinser and
Erdnase.
Benefactors receive special access to “Ask Alexander” billed by the center as
“the most comprehensive magic history database ever assembled.”
Michael
Close (in February 2006′s Genii) and Martin Gardner
(in February 2006′s M-U-M) have favorably reviewed the center’s first
publication, Gibeciere. (The links for the first pages of each review are
included here through the Center’s web site).
Today’s Press and Sun-Bulletin from Binghampton (NY)
proves our case. Although it is not a paper that normally covers Magic
News like Quinlan’s Inside Magic or our newsletter Today’s Magic News,
it does cover real news.
We sound like a broken record, or whatever the modern-day equivalent
of our anachronistic reference would be — perhaps an ever-looping
mp3. But here we cannot help it. (Or we can help it but don’t want
to).
David Copperfield works the press better than anyone in the magic
biz. Why might he be better at it than say Criss Angel or David
Blaine? Arguably, Mr. Blaine had the best of all possible access to
the press during his 44 day performance art piece in which he portrayed
a starving, despondent artist with no-known porta-pottie.
While we like to watch depressed, self-indulgent, rich people
starving themselves as much as the next guy (assuming we’re not sitting
next to normal people), hasn’t that market niche already been filled
with Kate Moss and Paris Hilton? We note that of the three performers,
only Paris Hilton actually did tricks while publicly starving.
Plus, it is our theory built upon our own insecurities and jealousy
that Mr. Blaine doesn’t like to talk too much. This cuts down
significantly on interview opportunities. Guy Tussle wrote, “He is a
man of few words and he likes to save them for his shows.” True
enough. We recall his last special in which he offered the following
set-up, delivery, and punch-line for an effect. We can’t recall what
trick it was, but the patter is the same for each.
Hey, wait, look. Look here. Seriously, look at this.
Can you see what that is? Right, now look, look, look closer. Do you
see . . . Right! Wait, look at … Cool, you can have this back.
Right. Thanks.
Criss Angel deserves more press but perhaps his handlers at A&E
Networks wanted to carefully work his development and help craft the
right image. In our book, though, anyone who shoves steel hooks
through back muscles, gets hoisted above some canyon floor by a
helicopter, can pretty much handle anything the press can toss his
way.
We hope they let him loose — not literally or at least not he’s doing the meat-hook hanging dealie.
So David Copperfield remains top of the list for Press Craft.
Before entering any town in the world, he gives an interview with the
local paper. He’ll work his advance-man magic no matter the size of
the market or the sophistication of the paper. We’ve seen interviews
given to weekly news rags offered with the same excitement and energy
as those given to the major metropolitan dailies.
Mr. Copperfield performs his real magic in those interviews. He
gives autobiographical details as if he is revealing a true exclusive
to the reporter. He builds excitement… Continue reading The Master Works the Media
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