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ASW
Inner circle
1781 Posts
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Posted: Jan 22, 2003 3:29am
Hi Darwin,
I know that you were very close to Mike Skinner and that you have said he was a big influence on you. Would you be willing to elaborate on that and, while you're at it, maybe you could tell us some stories about your friendship with Skinner?
Best
Andrew Wimhurst
Whenever I find myself gripping anything too tightly I just ask myself "How would Guy Hollingworth hold this?"
A magician on the Genii Forum
"I would respect VIPs if they respect history."
Hideo Kato
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Darwin Ortiz
V.I.P.
357 Posts
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Posted: Jan 23, 2003 8:27pm
Andrew:
Seeing Mike perform for the first time when I was in my early twenties was a revelation. It completely transformed my style of handling cards. Until then I had never thought about the subject of style. I hadn’t really been conscious that style was an element of performance. Mike’s card handling was beautiful in itself, apart from the effect he was performing. Since meeting him, I’ve always considered the aesthetic component of my card handling as much as any other aspect of performing.
Since Mike was one of my “childhood” idols, it meant a great deal to me when we later became friends and had the opportunity to session together both on my trips to Las Vegas and on the several occasions when he was my houseguest here in Washington, DC.
On one such visit I discovered that Mike had a horror of getting his hands dirty. We were double dating and went out to dinner. Mike decided to perform the Linking Safety Pins during dessert. One pin fell in his sundae. (It was that tricky transfer link.) When he retrieved it and got ice cream on his fingers he had to rush to the men’s room to wash up. I found this comforting since I suffer from the same compulsion.
I was particularly gratified when Mike chose to add a couple of my effects to his repertoire. (You can see him perform the Modern Jazz Aces on the first volume of “The Legendary Repertoire of Michael Skinner.” He also told me that he often used the effect that appears in Scams & Fantasies under the title Combination Cull.)
Mike possessed a low-key charm when he performed. This is something rarely seen in magic these days.
Sincerely,
Darwin Ortiz
darwinortiz@aol.com
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markjens
Loyal user
N. CA
212 Posts
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Posted: Jan 24, 2003 1:52pm
Mr. Ortiz,
I so appreciated your stories regarding Mr. Skinner. He is probably the single biggest influence on my attitudes regarding magic, and unfortunately, I never got to meet the man. I wanted to thank you as well for what you are doing for the magical art. Your attitude is as gracious as Mike's was, though in a different forum. Like Mike, you are an elegant performer, and a wonderful teacher. Seemingly without my knowledge, cards seem to have overtaken my time, as I spend less and less with coins. I am still enthralled by the Anotated Erdnase, and likely will be for years to come. Thank you for your labors with that work, and thank you too, for your assessment of Mr. Skinner's work, he truly did possess low-key charm when he worked.
Mark Jensen
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Darwin Ortiz
V.I.P.
357 Posts
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Posted: Jan 24, 2003 6:19pm
Quote:
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On 2003-01-24 13:52, markjens wrote:
Mr. Skinner. He is probably the single biggest influence on my attitudes regarding magic.
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Mark:
You couldn't have picked a better role model. Incidentally, Mike's role model was Nate Leipzig. So that's quite an impressive path you're treading.
Sincerely,
Darwin Ortiz
darwinortiz@aol.com
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magicofmagic
New user
81 Posts
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Posted: Jan 27, 2003 6:31pm
Dear Darwin
I realy appreciated your thoughts on Michael Skinner. I have always been fascinated with Michael Skinner and his work. I was very lucky to meet him a year before his untimely passing and can relate very strongly to your comments about the graceful way in which his presented magic.
Your magic has great dignity and your excellence in magic has been a great inspiration to me.
sincerely
Michael Vincent
Michael Vincent
21st Century Magic
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