Yes, it's all the same story being fed by the newswire services.

In Russia he constructed a full TV show almost with only that technique. But he could not succeed in private concerts and corporates. If the rumors are true, he dropped from almost unbelievable 100 000$ for a gig to 10 000$.It's a lesson, that performer always need to evolve in various aspects.

So the news people kiss the PM's back side too? Some leaders would be called out for "ruining the show" or "bullying" while others are applauded as being witty. That's one of the many interesting bits of human nature that jumps out to me from this exchange.

Press articles haven't been all bad, please. See here: http://www.jpost.com/OMG/Netanyahu-stump......t-533448 You can live with it . And it can happen if you do Pr...w . Lior did still a good job, the PIN code revelation - spread out during his appearance - was clever and did cover up some. We are allowed to fail, Lior still made a good and polite impression. Just calm down. At the end of the day people will only talk about the fact that he was there and doing something with the PM. Good story, good advertising. Some here might "care" due to their perspectives as "experts", some for personal reasons or because of jealousy. Jan

That Russian video was just plain disappointing. He did not react well to the challenge in the slightest, and reverted straight to the technique the presenter was trying to avoid in the first place.

If you’re an experienced performer, you have experienced failure. Lior handled it as best as he could under the circumstances. He was respectful to the PM and, IMO, he revealed the PIN code number because he didn’t want to end his spot with a fail. When you’re dealing with the public, you never know what you’re going to get.

Djin: The thing is, being a hard-case is the Israeli PM's personal brand. It's served him well, and the press using an insulting version of that would just reinforce it.

Lior handled this as best he could. The best we can hope for is to learn how to cope with this eventuality... And maybe try and work out a way around this for future reference.


That said, I'm looking for dupes that allow for this. Just in case.

Expect it, prepare for it, rehearse your outs.

Here's my take-away: Lior performed for the Prime Minister

Oscar

Yes, and got some decent worldwide press out of it

Even if you are NOT that experienced, it WILL happen. In my 46 year career as a radio disc jockey, I made MANY a public appearance. I could write a BOOK on my fails! As a semi-pro magician, I had MANY fails. Some were real head-hangers. Lior did the best he could. Bravo. BUT! I hope he learned a lesson from it!

Doug

Thank you for sharing this. I love watching videos of professionals reacting to failures or hecklers. Lot to be learned from studying them.

Quite frankly I am not impressed with the way that Lior handled this. You should NEVER let anyone take control of your show prime minister or not. They have to be put in their place IMMEDIATELY! You have to nip this stuff in the bud before it gets worse. There are ways of doing this without being offensive. I would have said, "Now you can see why I didn't vote for you!" which would have gotten a laugh. If he persisted I would have said, "You already have a good job. Now let me do mine". Or "Are we doing a double act?"

You must never let people walk all over you. There are a whole bunch of things you can say. It isn't rocket science.

Put a leader of state in their place? PLEASE! You are on their territory. No need to have a p*****g contest with them. You are an entertainer, period. Lior was humble and gracious. If another person wants to make a butt of themselves, let them. Don't just join them.

Thank you Chris for your response. However, I see things rather differently. And again I speak from decades of experience in front of the toughest audiences. You are NOT on their territory. They are on YOUR territory! YOU are in charge of your own stage and you MUST take control of the situation otherwise the situation will take control of you in the same way it did with Lior. I read some of the Israel media publicity and with all due respect to him it made him look rather silly.

I do agree that there is no need to be confrontational but where did I say you should be? I plainly said that it is possible to take control without giving offence. The lines I quoted can be said with a twinkle in the eye and a smile but with an air of authority. You cannot allow volunteers to get out of hand otherwise your show is in danger of being ruined. "humble and gracious" is not the way to go.

I watched the video and it reminds me of the way I used to perform in my younger days. Just like Lior I was just too nice. If you are too nice people will walk all over you. And audiences would walk all over me until I wised up. You can be courteous and pleasant but you must also be assertive. You are in command not them. Maurice Fogel who I regard as one of the greatest mentalists of them all said you have to have a commanding personality as a mentalist and I believe this to be true. Can you imagine someone like Dunninger meekly grovelling before Netanyahu? Or Paul Daniels? I still remember Paul saying you have to nip trouble in the bud right at the start.

Be pleasant, be courteous but be assertive. No confrontation necessary. The audience will respect you for it and in fact the odds are high that even your awkward assistant will too.

What's weird to me about this is that it wouldn't have occured to Lior to at least draw the star of David! Even if he didn't get a hit (and it would've been a partial hit), he'd have a symbol of Judaism and Israel to offer the PM... The other "out" would have been, "Prime Minister, surely you must recognize that your mind holds some of the top secrets that protect our nation! It would be irresponsible and reckless of me to even attempt to read your mind!" That would have gotten a good laugh and flattered the PM at the same time. Still, he did fine... It's easy to say with 20/20 hindsight what he should have done. It's doubtful I would have come up with either of my above suggestions on the spot, but then again, maybe...

He was just a heckler. I don't care ir he is god or the prime minister, respect comes first, and if you are nor respectful, the old hand on the shoulder is highly appropriate in here.

I have watched so many p..s..w attempts fail that it has become a technique that I will never again use without some sort of back up plan or a multi phase routine where I am not relying on just that information. I recently watched a VERY GOOD mentalist get messed up on his magic square closer because the audience member said a different number. This was not on purpose. Her daughters had to eventually remind her of THAT other number. Ruined it for him. I feel fortunate every time I witness a "tragic' event like this. I do learn from my own mistakes but I would much rather learn from the mistakes of others.

Ouch!