|
|
landmark
Inner circle
By now they've deleted all but
2871 Posts
|
Posted: Jul 14, 2010 12:54am
Is he still alive? Is his collection intact?
Thanks in advance
Hofstadter's Law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law.
|
Dick Christian
Inner circle
Northern Virginia (Metro DC)
2625 Posts
|
Posted: Jul 14, 2010 11:50am
I believe that he is very much alive and that his collection, if anything, continues to grow. I know someone who has made several of the rarer items in the collection.
Dick Christian
|
Bill Palmer
Eternal Order
Only Jonathan Townsend has more than
23786 Posts
|
Posted: Jul 14, 2010 12:12pm
Dr. Albo is still very much alive. However, according to a source close to him, Dr. Albo recently sold his entire collection to a major illusionist who has a very large collection.
According to my source, the contract was so tight that Dr. Albo was not allowed to keep a single item from his collection. Evidently, he did not read the contract as closely as he should have.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC
My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups."
www.cupsandballsmuseum.com
|
landmark
Inner circle
By now they've deleted all but
2871 Posts
|
Posted: Jul 14, 2010 3:21pm
Thanks for your replies gentlemen.
Sorry, I should have done this before posting, but Google shows that Dr. Albo is now 78 years old and retired as a surgeon.
Sad to hear about the selling of the collection to, I assume, DC. I remember the article (I think from the New Yorker) where Ricky Jay had some choice comments on the nature of that illusionist's collection.
OTH, I suppose it is a good thing that the collection is intact and will probably be taken care of.
Hofstadter's Law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law.
|
Bill Palmer
Eternal Order
Only Jonathan Townsend has more than
23786 Posts
|
Posted: Jul 14, 2010 6:40pm
Ah, but the illusionist has missed a few props. He will probably never get the ones that are in the ruins of Magic Island in Houston.
Dr. Albo has been in a wheelchair for about a year and a half.
He is really a nice man with a great sense of humor.
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC
My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups."
www.cupsandballsmuseum.com
|
David Alexander
Special user
627 Posts
|
Posted: Jul 14, 2010 7:32pm
Bob Albo is a terrific guy.
When I was appearing in a Bay Area hotel in the late 1960s Bob gave me a tour of his collection. While that was early in his collecting days his Okito items were works of art...perfectly square corners...deep lacquer finishes...just wonderful to look at.
He ended up with one of my Martin items and the write up describing it is by me.
|
Bill Palmer
Eternal Order
Only Jonathan Townsend has more than
23786 Posts
|
Posted: Jul 14, 2010 9:03pm
Buma (Marvin, not Mark) told me that Dr. Albo would come into his shop, still wearing his surgical greens and say, "Where is the antique magic you just got in? I can SMELL it!"
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC
My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups."
www.cupsandballsmuseum.com
|
Clay Shevlin
Elite user
493 Posts
|
Posted: Jul 16, 2010 12:49am
The sale of Bob's collection to David Copperfield is well known, at least in the collecting community.
|
GeorgeG
Special user
Thousand Oaks, CA
966 Posts
|
Posted: Jul 17, 2010 7:36pm
Never met Dr Albo, but had one thing in common...being UCSF medical school alumnae
MAGIC: Doorway to Wonders
Alan Warner Collection
|
Rennie
Inner circle
Manteca, California
1853 Posts
|
Posted: Jul 18, 2010 11:20pm
I purchased Volume 2 of Albo's Classic Magic Series at a bookfair at Stanford University. When I got home and started looking it over, I noticed on the front end page was written "To Bing Crosby, with regards & best wishes, Bob Albo." I naturally contacted Dr. Albo as he lived in northern California, He stated that he used to golf with Bing and had given him volume 1&2.
I think due to its provenance it has a little more value.
Rennie
The effect is the important thing, how you achieve it is not.......
|
Pete Biro
V.I.P.
17747 Posts
|
Posted: Jul 20, 2010 8:32pm
Charles Schultz of Peanuts fame has a museum, in which his art studio is on display. On one the shelves is a complete file of Albo's books. Doc also, early on, worked at Disney as an animator.
He was an All American baseball player drafted by the Giants, but opted to go to medical school. He's the chief medical officer for the Oakland Raiders, and when he was the chief medical officer for the San Francisco Seals hockey team, I was the team's photographer.
I may be wrong, but I do not believe his collection has been delivered as yet.
I just recieved his latest offering, THE COMPLETE THAYER. A set of two incredible books with 12 DVDs, that IMHO is probably the FINEST PAIR OF BOOKS EVER PUBLISHED.
Ssdly, Doc is now in a wheel chair with a nerve disorder affecting his legs. He's in great spirits, though, and still very active.
STAY TOONED... @ www.petebiro.com
|
JL608
Regular user
188 Posts
|
Posted: Jul 21, 2010 8:12am
Dr. Albo and Charles Schulz were very close friends. In fact, he delivered the eulogy at Schulz' funeral.
Joe
|
hugmagic
Inner circle
6548 Posts
|
Posted: Jul 21, 2010 9:13pm
Did not know that Joe. Going to NEMCA?
Richard
Richard E. Hughes, Hughes Magic Inc., 352 N. Prospect St., Ravenna, OH 44266 (330)296-4023
www.hughesmagic.com
email-hugmagic@raex.com
Write direct as I will be turning off my PM's.
|
Wizard of Oz
Inner circle
Most people wish I didn't have
1778 Posts
|
Posted: Jul 21, 2010 9:40pm
This is all extremely fascinating. Thanks for the background everyone. I had no idea he was so accomplished. A true Renaissance man.
|
Marshall Thornside
Inner circle
chicago
2019 Posts
|
Posted: Aug 1, 2010 3:46am
Quote:
|
On 2010-07-16 00:49, Clay Shevlin wrote:
The sale of Bob's collection to David Copperfield is well known, at least in the collecting community.
|
|
sure is.
and it is an interesting deal that david set up as to the money is being handled.
I remember a few years ago when he told me about us about via the phone a couple
of years ago.
his collection is throughly extensive but despite everything okito's favorite
robes were not part of the collection.
you will remember my name
World's Youngest Illusionista
7th greatest pianist in the world
Go Red For Women and Stroke Ambassador
www.mai-ling.net
|
Promagia
.jpg)
New user
19 Posts
|
Posted: Feb 21, 2011 12:01pm
Dr. Albo, the world's greatest collector of magical apparatus passed away. May he rest in peace.
|
Michael Baker
Inner circle
Near a river in the Midwest
8455 Posts
|
Posted: Feb 21, 2011 1:08pm
Quote:
|
On 2011-02-21 12:01, Promagia wrote:
Dr. Albo, the world's greatest collector of magical apparatus passed away. May he rest in peace.
|
|
I just learned this on the Thayer Magic website. This is very sad news.
~michael baker
The Magic Company
|
Dick Christian
Inner circle
Northern Virginia (Metro DC)
2625 Posts
|
Posted: Feb 21, 2011 1:30pm
A great loss.
Dick Christian
|
Pete Biro
V.I.P.
17747 Posts
|
Posted: Feb 21, 2011 4:54pm
I just checked some records and Doc Albo and I met and worked together 49 years ago. He had just returned from Hawaii and was suffering with what he told me was, "Similar to Lou Gherig's Disease."
He will be sadly missed. 
STAY TOONED... @ www.petebiro.com
|
Banester
Special user
663 Posts
|
Posted: Feb 22, 2011 2:21pm
Wow, that is unfortuante! He published some great books and by the sounds of it was a terrific guy.
The art of a magician is to create wonder.
If we live with a sense of wonder, our lives
become filled with joy
-Doug Henning-
|
Lawrence O
Inner circle
Paris France
6269 Posts
|
Posted: Feb 23, 2011 6:27am
Dr Albo invited me for a very pleasant dinner with him his charming wife, as well as Martha and Joe Stevens, two years ago. He was a true gentleman and extremely knowledgeable magician. There should be some illness and death exemption for some of us...
Magic is not a performing art where people don't know how situations are reached, it's the art of showing parallel dimensions that can't be reached
|
Pete Biro
V.I.P.
17747 Posts
|
Posted: Feb 23, 2011 4:55pm
He saved so many lives, but nothing could save his. They had a moment of silence for him at the NBA Warriors basketball game last night.
STAY TOONED... @ www.petebiro.com
|
danchanmagic
New user
San Francisco, CA
21 Posts
|
Posted: Dec 20, 2011 11:05am
Luck enough to purchase a Signed David Copperfield Beyond Imagination and David Copperfield Tales of the Impossible both books are signed with "To Bob + Marge Love David" Also Includes a Christmas Card from David. Bob's collection of magic now belongs to David Copperfield and is displayed in his museum in Las Vegas.
www.danchanmagic.com
Magic, Pick-pocking, & Ancient Chinese Art of Changing Faces
|
magiquarian
New user
91 Posts
|
Posted: Dec 28, 2011 9:47pm
Thought some would like to see the OB, I wrote:
Sadly, "Doc Albo" as he was called by his closest friends, passed away on February
21, 2010.
Because of his vision in appreciating and recognizing the craftsmanship and ingenuity
of early Magic apparatus, he became the most prominent figure in the Magic Collecting world. His magnum opus "Classic Magic Series" will live forever. A true testament to Magic.
In addition to his contribution as a scholar of our passion, the medical community paid
homage to his skills as a top surgeon in his specialty of Neurology, and sports fans in
the Bay area acknowledged his deserved fame as Team Surgeon for the Oakland
Raiders and The San Francisco Warriors. Legendary to team members and
management, players eagerly sought his assistance and wise counsel in rehabilitating
injury.
“Doc” was the most personable individual I have ever met, with charisma, energy and
optimism that had no match. Despite the dreadful disease ravaging his body he
maintained his spirited personality; he was always planning future projects.
“Doc” called some 7 months ago to tell me the bad news, and very calmly, so as not to upset me......imagine that....said, "Mario I have six months to live". I was speechless at this devastating news, but his gentle voice reassured me, "Don't worry, I am going to disappoint them."
Last November, I visited him. I was too distraught to go alone, and was accompanied by my close friend, Salvatore Franchino. It was to be my last visit to his home in Piedmont,where I have stayed many times. His smile was still there, of course, and although he greeted me in his sweat suit, his mobility was severely limited. He grasped my despair,but "ignored" it and we immediately proceeded to sit in his living room and talked for almost 3 hours about our personal relationship. Many of his insights gained over a life time of study and collecting I was thus able to preserve on video tape.
We embraced, and he said “don't worry, I will see you next week in Boston at NEMCA (a New England Magic Collectors gathering).
Despite all odds, perhaps even because of the challenge, of course, he did go. It must have been grueling for him to sit in that aircraft, in his state, for 5 hours. I believe he knew,deep inside, that this was his last Magic Collectors gathering. He spent time and shook hands, for 2 full days and far into the night, embracing his close friends. And then, like a champion athlete and a true show stopper, he gave the most formidable, from the heart, emotional lecture some 200 plus attendees had ever witnessed. The trouper received a sustained standing ovation. Tears were in his eyes when he walked off the stage. I certainly had them, and many in the audience had them, too.
“Doc” leaves a wonderful family behind and his legacy to Magic will be eternal, as will
his soul; undoubtedly he is now multi-tasking..... taking care of athletes in Heaven and
chatting with the great apparatus makers of the past.
Hopefully, someday I will meet him in Collecting Paradise, and will once again hear the familiar inquiry......."Mario, anything old and unusual for me?"
Your friend and number one admirer of 35 years
|
hugmagic
Inner circle
6548 Posts
|
Posted: Dec 29, 2011 2:31pm
Thank you Mario for posting these remberances of Doc. He was very special.
I was there in New England and it was one of the most moving speeches I have ever heard.
I would love to sit and watch the video of him talking with you one day.
Yes, he was so very, very special.
Richard
Richard E. Hughes, Hughes Magic Inc., 352 N. Prospect St., Ravenna, OH 44266 (330)296-4023
www.hughesmagic.com
email-hugmagic@raex.com
Write direct as I will be turning off my PM's.
|
| The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Everything old is new again » » Dr. Albo |
|
|
