Awhile back I saw an illusion where there was a table, with 3 buckets and one of them had a ladies head in it sticking up through the table. They moved the buckets around and her head was in another bucket, etc... It was clearly obvious that she was simply under the table cloth. Then the magician removed the cloth showing that she was not under there.

When I first saw this I thought, "I wish I had thought of that!" It fit my style well. And then I figured that it was someones original idea, not for sale, can't do it!

Well, a few days ago, I saw a builder offering the same set up.

Is this routine public domain? Is certainly is within my building skill, and I even have an idea about how to change the vanish from a b*** to something else (not sure if that would be necessary tho....)

Can I build this prop?

The idea of this routine belongs to Sonny Hayes.
As far as I know he has never given anybody permission to use his routine!
The best is to contact him about this, his website is:
http://www.sonnyhayes.com
The idee of the vanish at the end belongs to Paul Osborne who published a plan in Genii magazine.
I don't think the builder who sell these has permission from Sonny and/or Paul...

Rafael,

You just gave me a doubt, but isn't that act a little bit older than Sonny. I think I've seen an older version of it already on youtube...

Oliver.

I know Bruce Block did a version of it called Find the Rabbi. I don't know if it predates Sonny's version or not.

Richard

That's it Richard. I was talking about Bruce Block and his Rabbi out of a Hat routine, using giant top hats instead of the buckets.

I might be wrong with my earlier statement. Anyway, I've seen both acts Sonny's and Bruce's and even if the basic idea is the same, each presentation is original and funny.

But Rafael is right about the version sb is talking in his initial post using a lady it's Sonny Hayes act.

Oliver.

Worked one month with Sonny in 1994 and he was doing it.

So much copied since !

But nobody does it like Sonny Hayes & Galina...

ARNO

I could be wrong, but I believe this was published by Osborne Illusions in Genii, and later published as part of a collection.

Oh wait, I just re-read this. Someone said that already. Sorry.

Well thank you guys. I believe mine predates Derek Block's and anyone else's. Dates back to the 80's and I can provide transmission dates, of TV Shows, to prove it. It is not an old music Hall idea as has been claimed, by a dealer, who sells it. It is, of course a parody of a magical classic dating back, at least, to Ancient Egypt. I looked at it in a new and unique way. Yes the plans, for sale, were a copy of my idea with a vanish at the end. These came out shortly after a network TV transmission. I think if you put a Zigzag on a platform and have a vanish at the end, it is still Harbin's Zigzag. Copyists steal and lie without end and will take away from you, even your tiny, insignificant place in history. While we are on it Comedy Knife Throwing routine, wonder where Penn and Teller got that idea? A leading light from the Stuttgart Magic Society said "There is no such thing as a classic in magic, there is only our limited knowledge."