I met Mark Setteducati, David Costi, Bob Sheets and Andre Kole. Mark has a cool looking business card and Bob gave me a regular one the magic way.

Hmmm! In no alphabetical order (living and dead):

From my Chicago days-

Jay Marshall, Frances Marshall, Vic Torsberg, Dorny, Bruce Bernstein, Tommy Edwards, Don Alan, Ed Marlo, Eugene Burger, Jack Pyle, Billy Bishop & Ann(e), Glenn Bishop, Buddy Farnan, Jack Kodell, Jimmy "Cards" Molinari, Bill Malone (Pre-fame and skinny), Heba Haba Al, Celeste Evans, Dave Solomon, J.B. Brash...!

Elsewhere-

Al Goshman, Trevor Lewis, Petrick & Mia, Aldo Colombini, Peter Kersten, Manfred Thumm, Meir Yedid, Martin Nash, Michael Ammar, Neil Foster, Hank Moorehouse, Harry Blackstone Jr. (Ah, the conventions where people would mistake me for him), Doc Eason (My illegitimate evil twin), Terry Seabrooke, Billy McComb, Ken Krenzel, Harry Lorayne, Ricky Jay, Will Rock, Vito Lupo, Tommy Wonder, Mike Rogers, Roger Klause, Kikuchi, Gene Gordon, Norm Nielsen, Marvyn "Mr. Electric" Roy & Carol, Gene Anderson, Stan Allen, John Booth, Bev Bergeron, Peter Tappan, Tom Ogden, John Todman, Daryl (when he was Martinez), Bill Larsen, Ali Bongo, Stan Kramien, Abb Dickson, Rocco...I think that's enough name dropping for now. I could go on and yes I did meet them all, most more than once.

Cheers!

Years ago I wrote a letter to Doug Henning when he was performing here on Long Island. I told him I was going to be at his show and asked if he would meet me. I didn't think it would come to anything, but his secretary calls me the morning of the show and tells me to meet her up at the stage after the show is over. She brought me back to the dressing area and two minutes later in walks Doug Henning. I thanked him for taking the time to talk to me and we started to talk shop. At the time I was building a shadow box. We talked about its design and he proceeded to give me several ideas for design improvements. He took a hanger from a dry cleaners and put a couple of quick sketches on it and signed it. I've still got the hanger with his sketches, but I no longer do the shadow box in my show. All I can say, is that Doug Henning was a true gentleman that evening.

LOL am I the only one that got Johnathans comment on page one....NAME DROPPING..... LOL I think that learning is way more important than talking about who you know or who you met. I learned a long time ago that people are people no matter what they do for a living. Just my two cents......

There are a lot of magicians I have met (as in shook hands at a lecture) but the only 2 "names" I have spent time talking to was Samuel Patrick Smith (online) and spent a wonder 3 or 4 hours talking magic with Martin Nash at PCAM when it was here a couple of years ago.

True story, in 1991 I was in Orlando and went into a local magic shop where I just missed the Pendragons, In November 1996 I went to Tannens and found out I just missed them again, but they performed at John Harms Art Center in Englewood N.J. I bought a ticket and bought a program and finnally met them, in the city of my birth. It was so cool. One good thing about Mr. Pendragon was when someone wanted to take a picture he told them hold on until they were done signing autographs, this made the line move faster. I really appreciated that.
Since I never been to a magic convention they are the biggest stars I have met. I have been to a lot of wrestling conventions and have met a ton of wrestlers, some nice, some not.
Thank you for your time.

Rocco, Barry Mitchell.......technically I haven't met, but I stood right next to
Ali bongo

I once met Johnny "ACE" Palmer. We sent emails back and forth to each other, then we met at a restaurant. He gave me his Trilogy of Magic video set. A really nice guy.

Jessie

I've worked with Franz Harary on a video shoot...

Nice guy...

The only famous guy that I've sort of met is David Copperfield. And it's really a stretch to say I met him, since we didn't speak. But I was within about three feet of him, so that ought to count for _something_.

If there is one magician I want to meet some day before I die, though, it is Paul Harris. Supposedly he lives this nomadic lifestyle sauntering all over the country doing magic. I wish he would saunter on out to Jasper, Alabama someday. I haven't noticed anybody saying they've met him. If anybody has met him or knows him even casually, would you please e-mail me? serling307@yahoo.com

I just admire him more than any other living magician.

I think Jonathan meant that simply listing the names of people we've come in contact with is somewhat arrogant and unimportant. Meeting them as people should be our real goal; if we commoners talk to these famous names, it should be to learn from and interact with them, not to brag to our buddies later on.

Living in Las Vegas allowed me to meet many favorites...but I was never able to "hang out" with them.

I did meet Alan Alan in London at the Magic Spot in 1986. It was a rainy day (duh) and I was able to hang out with him for nearly six hours, just the two of us. I was fairly new to magic and he knew it (!) He kindly shared with me A LOT of things. One of the most soft-spoken men I have ever met.

Before I left the Magic Spot, he showed me a C/S transpostion that absolutely STUPIFIED me. The transposition took place between his and my hand. Silver in my hand -- copper in his. Then...POW! Call 911...and get the AED...

The transposition didn't use any of the methods that you may be thinking now. At the time it had just been published.

I begged...but he wouldn't tell me ANYTHING about it. Not the name, not the publisher, NOTHING. I left the store a wiser man.

It took me 10 years to find it.

I'm glad I met Alan Alan.

Patrick

Stan Allen (Magic Magazine and my former magic shop owner)
Michael Weber
Mark Kalin
Mike Caveney (Linking Coathangers Fame)
Duane Laflin
David Hira
CJ Johnson
David Ginn
Sammy Smith
Steve Taylor
Dave Dee
Eugene Wilkes
Michael Ammar
Petrick & Mia
Chris Carey

Martin

Lesee...
In person:

Lester Lake
Del Ray
Ronald Haines
George Kirkendall
Nick Niberco (sp?)
David Copperfield
Andre Kole
Doug Henning
Mike Griffin
Eugene Burger
Max Terhune (ventriloquist)
Ginger Corte (hypnotist)
Sylvia Brown (psychic)

Phone,letter or e-mail correspondence:

James Randi
Steve Baker
Norm Bigelow
Chas Ruben (Rubini)
Sidney H. Radner
Joe Schreck
Max Maven
Mario Manzini

Non-magic meetings:

Bob Braun
Larry Smith (puppeteer)
Dick Von Hoene (aka The Cool Ghoul)
Jim Scott (DJ)
Al and Wanda Lewis (local kid-show legends)
Kurt Vonnegut
Joseph Heller
Allen & Beatrice Gardner (Washoe experiment)
Ed "Big Daddy" Roth
Ray Harryhausen
Bob Burns (Tracy the gorilla on "Ghostbusters")
Chris Walas
Tom Savini
Mart Nodell (creator of the golden age Green Lantern)
Dave Cockrum

Steve

Let's see ...

International:
Michael Ammar (Workshop translation and small talk)
Daryl (Fetching him from the hotel, lecture translation and a LOT of small talk - on his side)
Aldo Colombini (Lecture translation and small talk)
Aaron Fisher (Lecture translation and small talk)
Lee Asher (Lecture translation and hanging out until 1:30 a.m. - boy was I tired!)
Rich Marotta (Lecture translation and small talk)
Danny Archer (Lecture translation and small talk)
Gregory Wilson (Lecture translation and dining)
Carl Andrews (Fetching him from the hotel, lecture translation and small talk)
Petrick & Mia (Lecture translation and small talk)
Martin Lewis (Lecture)
Joshua Jay (Lecture translation and small talk)
Boris Wild (Lecture translation and dining)
Charles Gauci (Lecture translation and small talk)
Jarle Leirpoll (Lecture translation and small talk)
Christoph Borer (Excellent mentalist from Switzerland; Lecture and dining)
Paul Potassy (Lecture)

German:
Ted Lesley (Maybe I should have put him under "International"; Saw his show and small talk)
Joro (Lecture)
Felix Farell (Lecture and small talk)
Christian Knudsen (Lecture and small talk)
Pit Hartling (Lecture and small talk)
Helge Thun (Lecture and small talk)
Disk Losander (Lecture and small talk)

So much for name dropping ...

Well, I haven't had the chance to meet a lot of big-name magicians (yet) but I have met a couple. I had dinner with Jamy Ian Swiss, Michael Chaut, and John Cassidy. There were more people at the dinner, but they weren't as big name, and I don't remember them as well.
I also worked a festival with Rick Smith Jr., the world record holder for card throwing. He's a friend of a friend, and we've talked a couple times after that.

Met Shawn Farquhar on a cruise and hung out with him a few times to talk magic....

Also met Gazzo after one of his street shows...he was the one who told me about the Café...

Rather than merely recite names of performers why not do as Café V.I.P. Dan Harlan did and actually describe their interactions with the performer? It would make, I think, for a much more interesting and enjoyable thread!

Yigal (creator of Loops)
Aldo C.
Michael Close
Troy Hooser
Jason Latimere

Others, I'm just not sure now...

-Joel

Almost forgot:

e-mail correspondence with Karl Bartoni, who runs the Dragonskull bizarrism website, and who duplicated Murray's straitjacket escape inside a cage of lions.

and letter & phone contacts with the late Prynce Wheeler.

Steve