I recently heard a story about Vernon and how he broke both his arms working the "docks" in his early days. Any one know anything about this?

Construction site. Check the Ben biography.

I think it's also in the Final Volume of The Vernon Chronicles...

SEY

Or try "The Spirit of Magic", the documentary that aired on Canadian television.

There is some specualtion as to the veracity of that story (not by me, mind you), but it does appear in the sources mentioned above.

Out of curiosity, what's their argument?

There's a rather convincing photograph of Vernon in a hospital bed (with one arm in a cast and the other in a sling) performing a hands off card effect for a cute nurse.

So what's the point, we all know it wasn't sleight of hand....he did REAL magic!

The Ben biography starts and ends with this. Says he was hired as a Supervisor of the construction project in New York. Went to help a worker carry a heavy bucket, the board he was walking on broke, and he fell six stories down into the water. Since his arms were broken, he couldn't grab the lifelines people threw him, finally hooked a loop of a line around a foot and got dragged ashore. Doctors wanted him to sign a waiver allowing them to amputate one of his arms which they were thinking of doing. He refused. He was 41 years old. The construction job was the first "real" job he ever had!! His wife made him take it. I guess she and he both learned their lesson!

Their argument is not that his arms were broken, but rather whether the tale of HOW they were broken is accurate. I have no trouble believing the story as related in the above sources, as no one has ever offered enough proof to make me think otherwise.

There has, however, been more than a little specualtion from a number of "name" guys in magic (I'll let them make themselves known, should they choose to do so). These people find the story of the wheelbarrow/bucket and fall, shall we say, a bit thin and convenient, as Vernon was widely known for his distaste of physical labor. These folks (I am NOT one of them!), suggest that it is more likely that he tried to see if some of his sleights would go unnoticed under fire in actual gambling. They believe that Vernon was "caught out" by some very tough characters, who decided to teach him a lesson and broke both of his arms. To avoid embarrassment, so say these speculators, he made up the story of the fall at the construction site.

Again, I for one have no reason to subscribe to this theory. But I know some heavy hitters who do.

As to his wife "making" Vernon take the job, well, if you're familiar with the story of "the long sleep" it seems unlikely she was able to "make" him do anything.

The gambling story sounds cooler!

Scott, that is exactly why I was asking. I also know nothing first hand of course, but have heard odd things.

Scott, that seems plausible. Thanks for the info.

How to get a life with an old deck: By Dia Vernon

Take an old deck write on the faces a present simple verb followed by a noun or noun phrase. For example:

Card 1: eat octopus
Card 2: play tennis
Card 3: travel to Russia
Card 4: climb a mountain
Card 5: break your arms
Card 6: see a UFO
Card 7: meet a movie star
Card 8: catch a fish
Card 9: win the lottery
Card 10: see a ghost
Card 11: keep a secret
Card 12: fly a kite
Etc till you have filled in 52

Now shuffle and cut the deck and do what it says.

:)

Ask Derek Vernon about it.

Speaking of broken things I asked Marty Nash if he felt he had any physical attributes that helped him with his amazing skills with cards. He told me he didn't think so but he did break all his fingers when he worked lumber, cool huh? I can't remember what it is now but Vernon said there was some benefit that he gained in some aspect from the broken arms, he also said that the docs wanted to amputate and he vetod the idea.

Coincidence?

I was playing basketball last night and injured myself pretty bad. I'm struggling right now to move my right arm (I injured my shoulder and neck) and the pain is so bad I couldn't sleep (yes, I'm posting this for sympathy. Ladies?)

The real question is though:

Vernon reincarnate (or this guy- http://www.fugly.com/media/IMAGES/Random......_arm.jpg )?

Don't answer that.

Ben "going to TFD in a few days, and you should too" Train

Whats the story of the long sleep?

Hey Skill,

first, grab Ben's biography on Vernon. It's not only got the full story, but it's an AMAZING read (might be one of the finest books on magic history ever written).

So, as far as I remember, Vernon jammed all day and night (possibly with Cliff Green) for a couple of days, and then took a nap... that lasted something like 3 straight days.

I'll let someone who remembers the story a little better fill in the details (or correct me).

Ben

No, not quite. Vernon had made arrangements with Faucett Ross to go traveling. Jeanne didn't want him to leave; he spent little enough time home as it was. Faucett came to pick Vernon up, Jeanne became very upset and told him he couldn't leave, and Vernon said that if he stayed, he would do nothing but go into his room and sleep. And for the next three days, that's apparently what he did. Every time Jeanne checked on him, he was in bed, apparently asleep. He didn't get up to eat or anything else. When Faucett returned at the end of his trip, Jeanne told him that he'd not been up. Faucett went into Vernon's room and woke him up. Vernon got up, stretched and was apparently ready to start his day.

I've heard two plausible explanations for this tale. One close associate of Vernon's told me that Neepie brought him food and Jeanne never knew about it. Vernon was able to fool her for three straight days and was never caught getting up and about or practicing, as he most assuredly did all day long.

The other is that Jeanne was actually in on it, and it was a ruse to fool Faucett. Vernon and Faucett loved playing jokes on each other, and this may have been just another one.



His name is actually Derek Verner, if anyone cares to look him up.

Have a doctor check it. A competent one.

I did something similar about 20 years ago and when I had our HMO-assigned doctor check it he said it was just a strain. Years later when I had my second ACL replaced the surgeon looked at me and asked, "When did you tear your rotator cuff?" He x-rayed it and showed me where it had been torn. It's too late now to repair it, and it's still bothersome.

One of the best accounts of the broken arm story and other Vernon escapades is in The Magician and the Card Sharp by Karl Johnson available in bookstores and amazon.