http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bZ6veWZQ9Hw

Have you guys seen this old video of Fred Kaps....

At the time of watching this clip, 28 other people before me have viewed.

I'm amazed there aren't any comments here.....I can only imagine people are speechelss.

Ken Brooke said of Fred Kaps "He is the greatest magician I have seen in my lifetime"

Anyone that has watched the clip must surely say the same.

That clip is a lesson in misdirection, audience engagement and pure, pure magical genius.

Not to mention impeccable timing!

I keep getting a "cannot find server" when I try to view it. Elsewhere on the Café there is a link to FK's salt pour, a real masterpiece.
I don't waste my time leaving comments on "YooHoo", I'd rather save my comments for the Café.

He should think of competing. Might even make a name for himself one day...

He is the only magician ever to win the coveted world title three times.

Fred Kaps Seeing Is Believing DVD.
http://www.hanklee.org/xcart/product.php?productid=8146

Video:
http://www.hanklee.net/quicktime_movies/fredkaps.mov

Haha that was just great.i love seeing these vids of the old great magicians.

I need to learn that salt trick. That was pretty funny.

Kyle

I could watch Fred Kaps and Cardini all day!

I wish I could but I don't have the time.
Fabulous. Goes to show you how much work was put into their acts.

Compare that to the YouTube stuff that people put up to show you "what they can do".
No matter how nifty some of it might look at first glance, there are usually serious flaws. Nobody puts the thought into the minute details like these guys.

Um, are you guys aware of the historical significance of this clip? I am not criticizing Mr. Kaps, as I think he is doing the best he could under the circumstances, but this was a gig he later wished he had not done.

Did you notice that there is absolutely no laughter at his attempts at humor? In fact, the audience is almost stunned silent; why was Ed Sullivan telling them to be quiet just before Mr. Kaps goes on?

Do you know why he is (in most critics opinions) dying here? Anybody?

The real history of the clip. Kaps was not in the show live. That was a taped segment added to the show.

No, Pete, it was extremely live. It was one of the most anticipated live shows ever to appear on American television.

Think about when Ed Sullivan was on, and about who might have been on Ed Sullivan.

Yes, I believe this was right before the first appearance of the Beatles on the Ed Sullivan Show.

Robert

I can't seem to get any audio. Odd, I get audio on other clips / sites.

I imagine it's even better if you can hear him.

Joe

The show with the Beatles was live but Fred Kaps' segment was pre-recorded.

Well, I liked it quite a bit... who are these critics anyway?

Randy and Robert, I am almost 100% certain that Kaps had to follow The Beatles, and I am almost 100% certain that it was not pre-recorded -- he literally had to take the stage in their wake. You can watch this for yourselves in the DVD set that features all the Sullivan shows with The Beatles, where each show is presented in its entirety (including the commercials). When you watch the DVD, you can hear people still quieting down as Kaps walks out on stage (the audio on the DVD is better than the audio on YouTube to which Bill [aka S2000] refers).

Long before the Internet and you tube made these things easily available I went to the Library of Congress and looked up Fred Kaps, then asked them to pull up this episode of Ed Sullivan. The librarian commented that this Ed Sullivan was among the most popular things to view in the entire collection. Not realizing it was also the first appearance of the Beatles, I just couldn't understand at first why Fred Kaps would be so popular.

For the record: Kaps follows the Beatles. And they followed him. J, P, G & R played a few tunes up front, then Fred came on. Then some other guests--including Frank Gorshin. Then the Beatles again. They closed the show with "I Wanna Hold Your Hand."

I have heard more than once that Kaps' segment was pre-recorded. I don't know about that but it seems likely given the absolute pandemonium on display in the studio.

SWN

Fred told me it was pre-recorded.... now the sound could have been enhanced with the live crowd noises -- but I don't know.