Has anyone here seen Dick Oslund recently or know where to contact him?

Last I heard he was in Louisana with Joe Harrison.

Richard

I talked to Dick about 6 months ago just before Jerry Conklin passed away. He usually comes to Colon in the spring for about a month. He was doing okay last time I saw him.

Thanks, Richard and Rick.

Now that is a name I haven't heard in years.
he used to live in oshkosh long long long long ago.
I remember we visited him and ate at banaza or ponderosa.

Dick Oslund is such a nice guy. Years ago I heard him lecture at Abbott's.

He is a terrific kid show entertainer and yet, many of the newer kid show "professionals" have no clue who he is, which is quite sad.

Gerry

Dick is a good friend and I used to have him over at the house for dinner often when he was in town (Green Bay).

At one time, Dick Oslund was the pre-eminent school assembly show performer in the United States, working an average of 15 to 30 school assembly shows a week, week after week, throughout the school year. He did this for many, many years, and his practical advice to me REALLY helped me with not only a wealth of practical tips and ideas for performing, but, even more importantly, the business end of magic.

Dick knows how to make a nice living as a magician, and his business advice to me has been, quite literally, invaluable.

I just wish he's doing well and in good health. I haven't seen him for probably 7 or 8 years and I miss the guy.

Since he hasn't been around much, I've been lucky to replenish my "old-time tips and ideas for a working magician" well with great advice from my friend Marshall Brodien...Marshall's another "Class Act", and a living legend, in my opinion!

I remember the night dick did the milk bottle and pretty much
did the exact same routine he got from my dad...

I felt extremely uncomfortable.

Like Rainboguy Dick is also a good friend. When we lived in Roanoke, Virginia back in the middle 70's Dick was doing school assemblies in our general area. He'd stay with us a week or two doing local area shows then be gone for a couple of weeks. Then all of a sudden he'd reappear at our door and stay for another week or two. At the time I did mostly kid shows and seeing Dick's performances and the tips that he gave me were priceless.

We received our annual Christmas card from Dick last December. He said he was doing school shows in Louisiana. We did see him a couple of years ago when he was doing a lecture down here in Florida. I don't believe he will ever retire!

As far as contacting him - PM me and I will give you his mailing address.

I remember meeting Dick when he fronted Franzen Bros Circus in the Late '70's early '80's...I hope he is in good health and spirits...

Dennis Loomis would know about Dick I think. He was a mentor of Dennis's I believe.

He is down in Louisiana. Talk to him a month ago . He is doing well.

One of you sent me a private message with either Dick's address or phone number in Lousiana, but for some reason I can't find it in my in-box. Earlier today I was with Johnny Thompson at this year's Houdini Club convention in Green Bay, and Johnny asked if I could please send him Dick's contact information...so if you have it PLEASE send me a PM...I would VERY much appreciate it.

For those who missed this year's Houdini Club Convention, I will tell you in all sincerity that it was the best magic convention and magic shows I have seen in my entire life, and I've seen a LOT, coast-to coast, beginning in 1955 when I was 7 year's old.

WOW!!! What a convention it was~!

SIMPLY FABULOUS!!!

Dick had a question he used in his lecture that completely turned my way of thinking about magic around. I won't mention it here, because if I do, it will highjack this thread.

Will you shoot me a PM or email with that question? Dick was one of the early lecturers I had a chance to see.

I have decided to share this information with the whole Café. I don't want anyone to misunderstand me when I give out this information. Many of you will simply look at it and say, "That's nice." or something similar. For me, it was one of those turning points in my life and career as a magician. I had been performing as a professional for a couple of years and thought I had a pretty good handle on what was what. But this one hit me smack dab in the head, and it gave me a new way of thinking about our art, profession, craft or whatever you want to call it.

Dick started his lecture by asking the club the following question: "How much magic do you own?"

The answers ranged from "about $400 worth" to "I have two storage lockers full of magic."

Dick's answer surprised me. He said, "No. You don't own ANY magic. You own props, books, videos, and so forth but you don't own ANY magic. Magic exists in the mind of the spectator when you use those props and the information in those books and videos effectively."

That was a focus-altering statement.

Another question he asked was "If you had a show on a specific date in a specific theater, and you had $1000 to spend, what would you spend it on?"

Those answers were also quite interesting. One fellow said, "I'd build an illusion to close the show with."

Another spoke about costuming.

Dick's answer was "advertising." If you said props, costumes, etc. he said, "if you don't have those, why are you putting on a show?"

Dick has so much information to share. He was one of the real pioneers of children's magic and I've been lucky enough to learn a lot from him.

Wow! I haven't seen Dick Oslund in about 30 years! He lectured in Birmingham for Chris Frings.

Bob Sanders
Magic By Sander

Dick Oslund story: About 15 years ago I used to travel with my teenage son to various regional and national magic conventions so my son could compete in the junior stage contests. We would always see Dick Oslund at Abbotts in Colon and at the Houdini Convention in Wisconsin. At one of the other Midwest Magic Conventions, my son was the winner of the junior stage contest and all the magic dealers in the dealer's room donated books, VHS tapes, packet tricks, etc. for his first place prize. After the contest, back in our hotel room we were looking at the grab bag of prizes and saw that Dick Oslund had donated five (5) of his business cards. We were totally perplexed by this prize and just threw the cards into my son's suitcase. When we got back home after the convention my son was emptying his suitcase and looked at Dick Oslund's business cards again. He happened to turn them over and discovered to his amazement that Dick had written on the back of each card "good for $5.00 credit towards magic purchase" signed Dick Oslund. Unfortunately we never caught up with Dick Oslund again and those cards still give me a chuckle. So if anyone knows where in the world Dick Oslund is please let me know!

My only recent memory I have of dick was when we were in oshkosh and a visited his house
he sat on a outdoor lounge chair... then we ate a bonanza for dinner.

obviously my memory could be a blur.