He does his act for a high school. Watch (and listen) all the way through. He's got a smart*** kid making comments through the cups and balls, but Johnny keeps his cool and smokes them with the final loads.

http://youtube.com/watch?v=u6wzb7amY78

I thought his show was excellent, the wiseguy making comments didn't phase him one bit. A valuable lesson on dealing with annoying big mouths.

Cool video!

-Vinny

That really made my day, thanks

He is a great performer!! A true Professional....

That was fantastic!!!

Brilliant! I really liked his bottle production.

This was great! Thanks for putting it up!

Fantastic video !
A true professional. There seems to always be that one person in a show
that has to display their low self esteem tendencies. I wonder if they know
how foolish they look and are.

Thanks for posting this video!

They don't know, but their friends usually tell them later.

Johnny and I are not related, but I'm proud to have the same last name he has.

He's a real gentleman and one of the best magicians around.

A great performer but I for one am not comfortable with the use of live animals as final loads. Does it really add to the effect?

I thought it most definitely did! Especially with the appearance of the
second dove. ( did you hear the reactions?) I just got back from Vegas and saw Lance Burton perform. There was no doubt about it, the reactions of those in the audience , when Lance performed using the doves, was nothing short of amazement.

I don't like chicks as a final load either.

I didn't think the kid was that bad, I'm not sure if he was closer to the camera and that is why he was being picked up or if he was just loud. I've done shows, as has everyone who does work for teens, that had a kid do commentary during the performance. The kid sounded amazed for the most part except for his 'I saw that sir'. I do admit I have hearing loss so I may have missed a comment or two

Yes, it does. As I have reported here many, many times, Johnny never hurts the chicks. I've gone with him to purchase the chicks. He goes to a feed store, buys the chicks he needs for the engagement. When he is through using them or when they get too big to use any more, he returns them. The feed store can still sell them to farmers to raise as produce or to lay eggs.

He does not abuse them. He never breaks their legs or does anything like that to them. He treats them with respect. Well, except for the bit with the Fried Chicken box. But everyone knows he is joking with that.

It works for him. It has worked for him for more than 20 years.

If working with live animals doesn't work for you, then don't use them.

But you have absolutely no grounds to criticize Johnny for using them in his act.

I would say those kids are pretty typical. They act young and immature because that is exactly what they are by definition. No harm done.

Is there a reason that people break chick's legs -- I mean besides pure accident? What would be the purpose? I can't think of any reason why any person would ever want to do that.

There's no reason for him to break one. If you watch how he handles the cups, you will see that he doesn't slam them down on the table. If he did, he might break a leg. But he just doesn't do it.

I don't think Ross Bertram ever broke any of their legs, either. It was in his technique. You cradle the chick in your hand when you load it.

Galli-Galli was the guy who was guilty of injuring the chicks. He broke their legs quite frequently, and he disposed of them via the toilet. He was booted out of the Rice Hotel in Houston in 1957 for stopping up the plumbing with baby chicks.

Bill,

I did not criticize Johnny, indeed quite the contrary, and I certainly did not suggest that he abused the chicks in any way. I simply expressed my opinion and feelings about the use of chicks as a C&B final load. Your opinion, which I respect, is different!

Geoff

Gali Gali is who I was thinking of. Here is a question, when I play which chicks, and I do, they run around like lil' lunatics, why did his chicks sit there? I'm thinking double sided tape!

Johnny keeps the chicks in the dark. I think that has a lot to do with it.

He has a gag that he does from time to time if two of them are active and the third isn't. I'll PM it to you.

Regarding the use of live animals in magic acts -- I used to do a production of a live rabbit from a hat. The rabbit was basically part of the family. He had the run of the house, he was housebroken, and he and the dog used to play together like a couple of kids. However, I developed an allergy to rabbits, and had to quit using him. I took him out only on special occasions (translation -- when the client would pay double for me to produce the rabbit!) I have seen performers who abuse their animals and treat them like props. I don't like that at all.

One friend of mine who worked for S&R, came to the Laff Stop one night when I was doing the warm-up show in the lounge. After the crowd went into the showroom, he brought his rabbit in and let him explore the riser where I worked. I sat down on the edge of the riser, and the rabbit came over and lay down next to me. There is a spot on the back of a rabbit's neck, right below the skull, where they really like to be petted. I did that to him, and he basically melted into a puddle on the stage.

My friend said, "He really likes that!" I asked him if he ever simply played with his rabbit. He said he didn't. So we had a discussion about the concept of livestock being more than just a prop. I told him that his rabbit wanted to be his friend as well as a prop. He began to handle his animals differently after that.

People who do bird acts, if they really know what they are doing, have and show great affection to their charges. A dove may not be the smartest creature on the planet, but if you work with him or her properly, it becomes more than just a flying toy.

If you are not ready to make a committment to taking care of an animal, you shouldn't use it in your act. The main reason that Johnny keeps a fairly fresh supply of chicks is that they do grow fairly quickly. A group of chicks will get fairly large in a week. So he has to replace them often. When he travels, this becomes part of his routine. We discussed this at length about 1985, when he worked at Magic Island.

There is, at present, a trend away from the use of live animals in shows, especially in the UK. I understand the reasoning behind it, but I think that in many cases, it is not based upon fact, but upon emotion.

This said, if you don't like the use of live animals in shows, don't use them. It's a fairly simple choice to make.

Very very valuable advice there Bill. Thanks for sharing