|
|
Rennie Inner circle I think I have about 1826 Posts |
I have been very interested in Dunninger ever since seeing his TV show in the 50's (yeh I am that old) Anyway I have read different accounts that a lot of his success was mostly due to his right hand man David Lustig. Can anyone fill me in on this?
I still think Dunninger was a fantastic showmen and mentalist and is definitely one of the top ten magicians who contributed so much to the success of magic as we know it today.. Rennie
The effect is the important thing, how you achieve it is not.......
|
DStachowiak Inner circle Baltimore, MD 2158 Posts |
Dai Vernon told a story about Dunninger. He said that he was showing Dunninger "Brainwave", and was doing the spread on the carpet. Accoding to Vernon, Dunninger stepped on the cards to get ahold of them so he could get the secret.
I think this story was on one of the "Vernon Sessions" videos.
Woke up.
Fell out of bed. Dragged a comb across m' head. |
Rennie Inner circle I think I have about 1826 Posts |
Sounds like Dunninger was a little like Houdini and did not like being fooled huh ?
Rennie
The effect is the important thing, how you achieve it is not.......
|
DStachowiak Inner circle Baltimore, MD 2158 Posts |
LOL I think you are right Rennie. Actually I think the story is that "Brainwave" at that point was a closely kept secret that a very few workers, like Vernon and maybe Burling Hull were creating a sensation with, and Dunninger was evidently frantic to learn the secret.
By the way, has there ever been a more "just plain FUN" book of Magic than "Dunninger's Encyclopedia of Magic"? I still love looking through it just for pleasure.
Woke up.
Fell out of bed. Dragged a comb across m' head. |
Rennie Inner circle I think I have about 1826 Posts |
The Encyclopedia of Magic by Dunninger must have had a run of 1,000,000 as I have seen so many of them. I actually have 3, I originally had 5 but sold 2 on E-Bay. They are a lot of fun to look at, most of the methods are virtually impossible and would never work..
Rennie
The effect is the important thing, how you achieve it is not.......
|
MagiClyde Special user Columbus, Ohio 871 Posts |
I saw a copy of this at a local magic club. Wouldn't mind having one just for the old style drawings. They're always fun to look at.
Magic! The quicker picker-upper!
|
DStachowiak Inner circle Baltimore, MD 2158 Posts |
Quote:
On 2007-02-04 22:35, Rennie wrote: Absolutely, some of the wild apparati he shows are hilarius, but it's still a blast. And you are right about how common it is, you can almost always find a copy in any second-hand book store. It just goes to show what a household name Dunninger was in his day!
Woke up.
Fell out of bed. Dragged a comb across m' head. |
drhackenbush Special user 686 Posts |
Oh, I thought that book was the holy grail for years in the 70's. I actually made a number of the gimmicks, and somewhere I have a photo of me doing the head-on-a-plate at out kitchen table. I still have my copy my brother gave me then.
|
Clay Shevlin Elite user 497 Posts |
Rennie, if you ever bump into Bob Rossi, he'd be a good person to ask re Lustig's role in Dunninger's success. Clay
|
Rennie Inner circle I think I have about 1826 Posts |
Quote:
On 2007-02-10 09:45, Clay Shevlin wrote: Clay, Where might I find Mr. Rossi and why would he know? Rennie
The effect is the important thing, how you achieve it is not.......
|
Clay Shevlin Elite user 497 Posts |
I think Bob knows quite a bit about Dunninger and has lectured at least a couple of times on aspects of Dunninger's life and career (at the MCA and Yankee get togethers, I believe). I'll see if I can put you two in touch. In the meantime, have you consulted Joseph Atmore's "Dunninger’s Brain Busters" (H & R Magic Books, 2001) and Charles Buckner's "Dunninger" (Charles Buckner, 2004)? Might be some relevant info in one or both of those titles.
Happy hunting! Clay |
Rennie Inner circle I think I have about 1826 Posts |
Clay,
Believe it or not I did purchase Brain Busters and the author (Joseph Atmore) lives about 3 blocks from my house in San Jose. So my question to myself is, why don't I ask Joe Atmore these questions?. I will go see him and as I recall it did mention in the book quite a lot about David Lustig.. Thanks for rattling my brain. Rennie
The effect is the important thing, how you achieve it is not.......
|
DonDriver Inner circle 1790 Posts |
Here is a fun link on Dunninger http://www.noonco.com/dunninger/
Also my good friend David Walker knew Dunninger quite well back in the hayday of Tannen's in N.Y.C. when all the guys hung out there. Don |
The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Magicians of old » » Dunninger (0 Likes) |
[ Top of Page ] |
All content & postings Copyright © 2001-2024 Steve Brooks. All Rights Reserved. This page was created in 0.01 seconds requiring 5 database queries. |
The views and comments expressed on The Magic Café are not necessarily those of The Magic Café, Steve Brooks, or Steve Brooks Magic. > Privacy Statement < |