| Go to page 1 ~ 2 ~ 3 (Next) |
|
|
Daryl -the other brother
Special user
Chicago
575 Posts
|
Posted: Oct 18, 2003 12:16pm
For me there were two:
When I was a child I saw Neil Foster Perform the Zombie Ball at Abbott's Convention in Mich. His interaction with the ball made it take on a life of its own. The act was so smooth and carefree that I just believed it as a man and his misbehaving "pet" ball. It wasn't until years later when I purchased one that I realized how much showmanship was actually involved. I never had a clue about the "gimmick" he was using.
The second was many, many years later but again at Abbott's. I had heard the name "Jeff McBride" but was not familiar with his show. After three nights of "standard" (but good) magic shows, Jeff took the stage with his one hour "silent" act. This is where I truly found out what it meant to be drawn into a show so completely that the "how did he do that?" never entered my mind. That one show completely changed the way I would perform from then on.
|
mystic shriner
New user
Midwest, USA
64 Posts
|
Posted: Oct 19, 2003 1:50am
Wow, sounds like you saw some awesome entertainment!
I just purchased "Mystery School" by Jeff McBride (with Eugene Burger and many, many more..). What an awesome book! I would love to see Jeff on stage.
I guess the show that caught my eye was the Magician Thomas Magrum when I was little. However, I would have to say the Doug Henning is one of my favorites. Dan Garrett I like a lot as well, or Dave Sandy, or Jeff Bibik....
Dan Garrett has this simple but really elegant way that he performs that is very appealing. You want to forget trying to figure out how he did it and just relax and accept his magic as fact. If you ever get to see his rabbit in the hat routine you'll know what I mean. It's simple, but the Magic is beautiful.
I was at the Saint Louis convention this last summer and on the laugh-o-meter he scored the highest of the whole night. People were simply enthralled by a simple rabbit puppet in an old top hat. It was the funniest "puppet magic" routine I've ever seen (no offense, Jay!, you're the first and king of the rabbit-puppets!). Anyway, If you ever get a chance, check out Dan Garrett.
|
Daryl -the other brother
Special user
Chicago
575 Posts
|
Posted: Oct 19, 2003 11:36pm
WOW Mystic,
I was at the St. Louis convention also! What a great time it was, and funny you should mention Dan Garrett. I've met him. Since seeing Jeff McBride perform, I took advantage of a trip to upper state New York and went to Jeff's World Magic Convention. It was unlike like anything I had ever seen before. We camped under the stars, had ceremonial bonfires with the World Drum Counsel that went into the wee hours and by day one-on-one discussions and performances of every kind of magic imaginable. We brainstormed all week, than did a big "Magic Carnival" for the local town on the weekend. I had conversations with Jeff, Eugene, Dan Garrett, and Dan Harlan just to name a few. If Jeff ever does it again I reccomend it Highly!!
|
Lee Darrow
V.I.P.
Chicago, IL USA
3594 Posts
|
Posted: Oct 20, 2003 5:17pm
Johnny Platt doing the cups & balls - with the large load finish - I had never seen this before (I was about 12) and it blew me away.
Slydini - watched him on a Dick Cavett special at Thanksgiving. PURE magic!
Heba Haba Al (Andrucci) - the bald little gnome of insanely perfect classic forces, blue humor and a heart as big as all outdoors. The ONLY man I have ever seen do the Bra trick - to a NUN no less - and get a kiss on his bald head and a blessing for his fun self in the process! His sugar cube trick had to be seen to be believed!
Jay Marshall - simply for being.
Dai Vernon - the $1,000 lecture was a real eye opener.
Michael Ammar - who introduced me to rubber band magic, to my eternal delight.
Johnny Paul - his cups & balls routine is unique amongst the stars - and about as difficult to reach - but I keep trying! Don Alan, for SO much inspirational material and incredible humor.
There are so many more, but these are the ones off the top of my head.
Lee Darrow, C.Ht.
http://www.leedarrow.com
http://www.leedarrow.com
"Because NICE Matters!"
|
mystic shriner
New user
Midwest, USA
64 Posts
|
Posted: Oct 21, 2003 12:15pm
Hey, Daryl! Sounds like you guys had a great time up there! I also got to meet Dan Garrett that weekend, what a great guy! I also bought one of his mice, very cool little item. It was a pretty cool convention. I'm betting I probably saw you!
Take care,
Chris
|
Luke Sherratt
Loyal user
The Isle Of Wight, England
246 Posts
|
Posted: Nov 13, 2003 6:13pm
Hi, I would have to say Loki, Jeff McBride, Steve Martin,and Pete Firmin his multiplying silks is just brilliant and funny.
See Ya
Luke
We're 106 miles from Chicago, we have a full tank of gas, half a pack of cigarettes, it's dark and we're wearing sunglasses
|
Neale Bacon
Inner circle
Burnaby BC Canada
1723 Posts
|
Posted: Nov 17, 2003 5:44pm
I saw Doug Henning in Vancouver many years ago, and it was then that I realized not all magicians were "tall dark and mysterious", and that magic could be fun.
I always remember Doug seemed to have as much fun and was as amazed as we were.
Jeff McBride influenced me by a comment I heard him make once.."A good magician doesn't say 'I'm a magician and you're not...a GOOD magician says 'I'm a magician and so are you."
Neale Bacon and his Crazy Critters
Burnaby BC
Canada's Favourite Family Ventriloquist
www.baconandfriends.com
|
daffydoug
Eternal Order
Daff could give a rats butt that he has
11226 Posts
|
Posted: Jan 10, 2004 9:48am
I too' also have to cite Doug Henning as my biggest influence.. I loved him then, and I do now. He embodied the magic he performed. He was "Filled with Wonder", and he transmitted that to all. He was fond of saying, "The difficult must become easy, The easy must become habit, and the habit must become beautiful!" (I think I got the quote right.)
Doug was his generation's David Blaine, if you ask me.
I admired him so much, that I went to legal process to get my birth name changed to Doug. I really don't regret it, too.
The difficult must become easy, the easy beautiful and the beautiful magical.
|
Dorian Rhodell
Inner circle
San Francisco, CA.
1195 Posts
|
Posted: Jan 26, 2004 12:56pm
I remember the first time I ever saw Richiardi. I was devastated. The way he presented magic, the way he moved, and choreographed everything was beautiful. He did the bird, lemon, and egg effect better than just about anyone. Now there was a true artist. Hopefully magic will see more of his kind.
All the best,
Dorian Rhodell
Avenue available at http://store.dananddave.com
|
Dougini
Inner circle
I have killed more topics with my
4525 Posts
|
Posted: Jan 26, 2004 9:52pm
This is great! All these performers, Henning, Garrett, McBride...Johnny Paul, Ammar...I would include Eugene Burger, for the Chicago crowd as up there with the best. Sure would have liked to see him perform some of his classics, but...
Copperfield would have to be the one who changed the way I looked at magic. Working backstage, three years in a row, really gave me a new respect for the craft. Working with people that do the "big stuff"...I guess that made me see the extensive nature of not only the secrecy, but the knowledge of his audience, and their perspective of him. Stage movement, grace and balance, even walking from one place to another, shows "theater".
Watch him sometime. Everything he does on stage.
Theater.
That influenced me the most, I'd have to say...
Doug
|
landmark
Inner circle
By now they've deleted all but
2879 Posts
|
Posted: Jan 29, 2004 11:55pm
The performance that made the biggest impression on me was by the great actor Hume Cronyn.
He was in a Noel Coward play on Broadway. I had standing room way back of the theater. Unlike most of Coward's plays, this one was not a comedy.
Cronyn's role was of an older married man. At one point in the play, his wife finds an old letter of her husband's and reads it to herself. She then runs out of the room, crying. We, the audience, already know from a previous scene, what was in the letter. Curious to know what was in the letter that made his wife react this way, Cronyn picks up the letter.
The letter, in fact, was a love letter from another man to Mr. Cronyn's character. Cronyn read the letter in silence for five minutes. There was not a sound in the audience. And then, as he was reading, his face turned beet red--I could see it from all the way in the back of the theatre. He was blushing from shame.
I shall never forget that. And he did it eight times a week. Pure belief in the truth of what he was doing, thinking, and feeling.
Jack Shalom
Hofstadter's Law: It always takes longer than you expect, even when you take into account Hofstadter's Law.
|
Matt Graves
Special user
Huntsville, Alabama (USA)
505 Posts
|
Posted: Feb 7, 2004 7:37pm
Garth Brooks. Not even David Copperfield can electrify a stage as easily and as much as this man can. He can be smashing a guitar one minute and singing a tender ballad and have the whole audience teary-eyed the next. Now that takes showmanship. If he'd gone into magic, he would have no competition.
|
Bob Sanders
Grammar Supervisor
Magic Valley Ranch, Clanton, Alabama
19261 Posts
|
Posted: Feb 9, 2004 7:41am
Serling307,
If I could corrupt your statement a bit, good entertainment is all magic. Using magic as our vehicle just makes it better for us. (It may surprise you how many concerts and other stage performances have magicians for technical advisors.)
Look around, see how many other entertainers got their starts in magic. Then look at magicians. How many of us started in some other entertainment vehicle and came to magic. Rule one is to entertain. Plenty of us came from music, dance, public speaking and theater. I know one that even came from the rodeo arena.
We work for an audience.
Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander
Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander / The Amazed Wiz
AmazedWiz@yahoo.com
SilkMagic@DoveLite.com
http://www.magicbysander.com/
|
drwilson
Inner circle
Bar Harbor, ME
2191 Posts
|
Posted: Feb 11, 2004 3:06pm
This is a great question. I have seen some wonderful stage performers but would like to single one out: Lance Burton.
I saw Lance Burton perform in Las Vegas four times. There are some easy things to pick out of his act that are very impressive. For me, one of the highlights is his hanging illusion, where he vanishes upon being hanged, while the executioner removes his hood to reveal that it is Lance Burton. This is a great classic, beautifully and meaningfully performed.
Even more impressive is his levitation. The woman that he floats is very lightly costumed (this is Las Vegas, after all), he is in an undershirt. But while you are watching this effect, the impression that you get is that the two of them are in love. His love for her is a beautiful thing. The two of them are making love, metaphorically, and she floats. It is a visual portrayal of the inner experience of being transported by love. Afterwards, you might think about the "levitation," but the magical effect is very much secondary to the theatrical effect.
I saw him have audience members up on stage. He asks them their names and what they do. A man he had asked up on stage said he was an engineer who designed satellites. Lance Burton was thunderstruck. He almost stammered for a moment, then said that he just couldn't get over that he had just met a person who built satellites that went up into space. It was wonderful to see this terrific performer with such carefully honed skills, who has filled so many people with wonder, be struck with the same emotion by meeting a person with an interesting (but to that person) ordinary job.
What comes across when I see Lance Burton is his personal warmth, and that he opens his heart to the audience.
I have seen other performers do this as well; this is what always makes it a memorable performance for me.
As far as being influenced, when I succeed in getting past the mechanics of deceit and actually convey something truthful about my life and the things that I care about to my audiences, that's when they come up to me and thank me.
Yours,
Paul
Dr. Wilson's Memory Elixir
Miller & Wilson's Theater of Marvels
Dr. Wilson on Facebook
|
Pakar Ilusi
Inner circle
4633 Posts
|
Posted: Aug 9, 2004 11:10am
I agree with Dougini, if you're a Magician and want to know what the best do...
Then you cannot miss watching David Copperfield...
Amongst others of course...
No doubts here...
"Dreams aren't a matter of Chance but a matter of Choice." -DC-
|
jwebyra
Regular user
New Jersey
139 Posts
|
Posted: Sep 27, 2004 6:34pm
I have to say Mark Wilson. I remember watching his saturday morning show in the 1970's. I saw a couple of magicians in person before but it was Mr.and Mrs. Wilson and their son that impressed my young mind the most.
|
Cliffg37
Inner circle
Long Beach, CA
1978 Posts
|
Posted: Sep 27, 2004 7:41pm
I can not applaud enought for Ricky Jay.
I was invited on stage to play a hand of poker against him. I knew the trick, I knew how it was done. I knew in theory when he did his dirty work. I was sitting two feet away from him, and I couldn't catch a thing. This man is gifted and brilliant. I wish he performed more often. I would still pay real money for a video tape of his show.
Magic is like Science,
Both are fun if you do it right!
|
Brent
New user
68 Posts
|
Posted: Dec 3, 2006 9:43pm
Without a doubt...David Copperfield!
|
GrahamFishman
New user
97 Posts
|
Posted: Dec 8, 2006 11:05pm
Lance Burtons bird act before it became a throw away act
|
Father Photius
Grammar Host
El Paso, TX (Formerly Amarillo)
15702 Posts
|
Posted: Dec 12, 2006 12:32am
Too many to list really, Harry Blackstone Sr. , Harry Blackstone, Jr. (so ok its a family thing), Mark Wilson, Johnny Thompson, Max Mavin, Al Flosso, Karrel Fox, Monk Watson, Ali Bongo, ah, I could type here for hours, lets leave it at that list for now.
"Now here's the man with the 25 cent hands, that two bit magician..."
|
Robert-o
New user
Sunny Glendale, Arizona
39 Posts
|
Posted: Jan 3, 2007 9:09am
Reveen, Doug Henning and the Amazing Kreskin were my influences as I was a boy growing up in Canada. I moved to Arizona and recently caught an episode of Mindfreak...(not my favorite magician) but nontheless got me interested in getting into magic at the age of 47. Wish I would have started years earlier.
"Hey... How'd you do that?".
|
Brent McLeod
Inner circle
New Zealand
1552 Posts
|
Posted: Jan 6, 2007 3:20am
Wow-Influences from early days
David Copperfields early specials-fantastic to watch
Doug Henning completley different style of presentation as well as Shimada
Richard Ross performing his 4 ring routine in Paris that I saw-True beauty & totally baffling
More recently-Jeff Mc Bride & Michael Finney......
http://www.bandsforhire.co.nz/brent_mcleod.htm
|
Father Photius
Grammar Host
El Paso, TX (Formerly Amarillo)
15702 Posts
|
Posted: Jan 6, 2007 8:56pm
Mark Wilson, Harry Sr, and Harry Jr. Mark has always had an active, attention getting style. He didn't get in the way of his magic as I've seen some magicians do. Besides once Nani walks on stage nobody remembers anything else.  Harry Sr. and Harry Jr. could command a stage. Harry Sr. learned it through years of trial and error in the vaudville hey day of magic. Junior was in television production and radio for a good while before turning to magic. He learned the importance of getting and holding the audience. He used his voice, the production, the timing, everything to hold the audience. If you can't engage and hold your audience, you might as well not walk on stage in the first place.
All three made it about the experience of the magic, not the experience of the person playing the magician. Some of the newer guys need to go back and learn that lesson from them.
"Now here's the man with the 25 cent hands, that two bit magician..."
|
Erich Troudt
New user
97 Posts
|
Posted: Jan 7, 2007 5:14am
There have been a couple of moments in magic that I will always remember.
The first time I saw Copperfield perform the Death Saw. It was brand new and on tour for the first time. The most moving piece of magic ever to me.
The IBM convention in LA. Shimada did the Dragon act for the first time in many years (10 if I remember right). It was like seeing a piece of history.
The debut of Franz Harary's Vase trick. Being part of it from idea, construction, routine, and then finally seeing it performed. Great trick, and it was even cooler that I got to perform it myself everyday for 6 months in malaysia.
Lance Burtons show at the Hacendia. The bird act, the small room, made it feel so personal. It was the last taste of old school vegas shows.
Harry Blackstone Jr show. He was so commanding on stage. He could talk about his socks for 20 minutes and you'd listen and be entertained. His voice just carried the show.
John Hirokawa in hawaii. At the end of his Polynesian Magic show, he produced a giant Tiki. The way he perfomed it caught me totally off-guard and nobody expected it to be that massive.
|
chrisgq
New user
WV/Florida
58 Posts
|
Posted: Feb 21, 2007 12:56am
As a kid, my biggest influences were Copperfield first, then Rudy Coby when I saw him on TV, and finally my mothers foot doctor who was an amateur magician...lol
|
Marvello
Inner circle
It's amazing how little I can say in
1427 Posts
|
Posted: Mar 11, 2007 6:44pm
I got to know Monk Watson very well, and I still often think about him and his routines and advice he gave me as a young magician.
Never criticize someone else until you have walked a mile in their shoes. Then, when you do criticize them, you will be a mile away from them and you will have their shoes.
|
Magic Mike Japan
New user
Yokosuka, Japan (U.S. Mailing Address)
98 Posts
|
Posted: Jun 11, 2007 4:16am
I would like to mention the Amazing Kreskin. I saw a show he did in New London Connecticut in the late 80's and when he did his signature closer - finding his check (his professional fee for the show) after the show. That made me decide to become a professional magician. By the way, I still haven't figured out how he does it!
"There's no limit to what one man can accomplish, as long as he's willing to let someone else have the credit." (These words were inscribed on a small brass plaque which sat on President Ronald Reagan's desk in the White House during his second term.)
<BR
|
Pete Biro
V.I.P.
17755 Posts
|
Posted: Aug 16, 2007 10:01pm
FRED KAPS
STAY TOONED... @ www.petebiro.com
|
JamesTong
Eternal Order
Malaysia
11210 Posts
|
Posted: Aug 22, 2007 11:03am
Fred Kaps too. He is my all time favorite.
|
ringmaster
Special user
Memphis, Down in Dixie
994 Posts
|
Posted: Sep 30, 2007 8:41pm
Ormand McGill, the first half of his show, the magic. The second half, the hypnotism, left me cold.
I know it's spelled wrong.
http://s237.photobucket.com/albums/ff53/davidsweeney/Parker%20Jenny%20on%20Midway%20of%20Mirth/
|
| The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » What happened, was this... » » What stage performer has made the biggest impression on you? |
|
|
| Go to page 1 ~ 2 ~ 3 (Next) |
![[8]](/forums/images/digits/8.gif)
![[1]](/forums/images/digits/1.gif)
![[6]](/forums/images/digits/6.gif)
![[7]](/forums/images/digits/7.gif)
![[4]](/forums/images/digits/4.gif)
![[3]](/forums/images/digits/3.gif)
![[5]](/forums/images/digits/5.gif)
![[2]](/forums/images/digits/2.gif)
![[0]](/forums/images/digits/0.gif)