Tommy, would THAT be cockney rhyming slang?

Pete: that is a great story, have read it before, didn't know it was you involved in it though! Thanks for the laugh.

T. Joseph. It certaintly is.

I have just been reading this and there is some interesting card work in it that I would like to know the names of. Can any one name the effects from the descriptions?

Any one but Whit that is.

http://www.rickyjay.com/NewYorker_RickyJay.pdf

Hey Pete,

Thanks for that story. Was that Parkinson you did over here with Kaps and RJ? I saw some of the photos in a Magic awhile back, RJ hadn't sold his beard yet LOL.

I have never seen him perform magic, much to my dismay, as I am also a Mamet fan. The fact he directed RJ+52 is enough to make me shuffle myself. I hear there are video copies of the performance but I have been burned a few times trying to find them. Any pointers?

Tommy,
RJ is also quite an amateur historian. See Jay's Journal of Anomalies.

While he may not have published much after "Ricky Jay's Big Book of Magic Vol. II", there are hours of his wonderful radio broadcasts on his website at http://www.rickyjay.com/radio.html. He has a marvelous voice as well, very hypnotic zzzzzzzz.....where was I? Oh, yes, a little-mentioned point: You can't be a great magician without "Jay" somewhere in your name.

SeaJay

Pete Biro writes that he thinks Ricky went to college in New York-- Syracuse. Actually, it was Cornell, which does have a school of hotel management. Friends who knew Ricky then remember him as a guy who spent a lot of time in his room practicing card tricks.

I found a great article about him on the internet awhile back... it was a New Yorker piece, and I think that's where I remember this stuff from... also some great material about Ricky being curator of a fantastic library of magical works... that was eventually bought at auction by David Copperfield, which may have marked the lowest point in Ricky's life.

As for a tape of Ricky Jay and his 52 Assistants... I tried to find it a few years ago, but I don't believe it has ever been offered for commercial sale... in keeping with Ricky's clear desire to protect his art. If you ever see it on HBO, it is wonderful.

Caught "On the Stem" at Second Stage Theater in NYC on July 4, 2002... best use of the holiday I could think of... David Roth got credit in the program for some of the coin sleights and he was in the theater that night when the show ended. A truly memorable evening.

Sorry to use so much space, but clearly I've devoted too much time to following this remarkable performer, and I'm not the least bit regretful.

Cornell, thanks for the correction.

If you go on Ricky Jay's site there is a wonderful article about him, http://www.rickyjay.com It is long but a great read. That will tell you a lot about him.
Nick

What a great read!!well worth the time I was up untill 3am reading it. well worth it even if you are a newbie!!
bryan

I'm not sure what you're referring to here? The book Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women? If so I'm afriad you're incorrect as there is indeed such a book. Here:

http://www.amazon.com/exec/obidos/tg/det......;s=books

But perhaps I am just misunderstanding what your were referrin to. If so I apologize

The reference was to "Ricky Jay's Big Book of Magic"--the one with Ricky's "Run Rabbit, Run!" routine. There is also no "Ricky Jay's Big Book of Magic Vol 2" as someone else suggested above.

"Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women" is not only real, but also a fascinating and informative book.

Got it.

Darn, and here I was going to research those to thinking I had somehow missed them. Being one of my favorite performers I was eager to find these new titles. Ah well

It is interesting to confirm my earlier belief that Mr. Jay is not overly interested in publishing what is undoubtedly a staggering knowledge of secrets. It is almost disappointing to know that someone with all the experiences and knowledge he could pass on is not willing to do so. Hopefully, if he isn't willing to pass on his vast knowledge to the magic community, he's at least willing to do so to a select few so that the knowledge can remain alive, even if somewhat limited. And I don't just mean secrets like sleights but also all the stories he has with some of the magic communities true masters.

I've loved reading some of the experiences and stories here that others have related. Really makes the magic community feel like a big family.

My favorite Ricky Jay line comes from Mystery Men, in which he plays the publicist for Champion City's main super hero Capt. Amazing. Capt. Amazing is unhappy with the publicity he's been getting lately and is giving him a hard time about not getting him better endorsements.

Ricky replies:
"I'm a publicist, not a magician."

Of course, I was the ONLY one in the theater laughing...


sad really.

Not to beat a dead horse, but after reviewing an original copy of Jay's HBO special (".....52 Assistants") I can understand why he may not perform any original moves or doesn't broadcast them if he does. He has devoted his life to the study and perfection of the art and operates under the premise that all magic is based on a few concepts. Card magic was defined years ago and all the moves you could possibly want or use, to perform any type of effect, are published in the classics.

His life and performances are the result of a lifetime of perfecting those sleights and also their history and integrating them into a performance that reflects his love and interpretation of the art.

When I watched “…52 Assistants”, I didn’t see a magician performing moves while shuffling, cutting or dealing. I only saw a man shuffling, cutting and dealing cards. There were no pauses, hesitations, or out of the ordinary flinches, that often indicates when superb card men (or women) execute a sleight. Ricky just ‘did it’ as simply and naturally as anyone else would shuffle, cut or deal.

His interpretations of the classics are no different than the London Symphony performing a piece from Bach, Beethoven or Mozart. It’s no different than the Bolshoi ballet performing Swan Lake. These artists, Mr. Jay included, have embraced the classics, studied the artists who created them, studied the history behind every aspect of these classics, then spent years building their presentations of them.

His performance was beautiful. His life and accomplishments related to performing magic, his study of the art and its history, are a once in a lifetime occurrence. We should celebrate his work, his integrity and his passion.

Did any one see Ricky Jay on discovery channels "Myth busters"?

From what I recall, isn't David Mamet involved in some way in Ricky Jay's stage shows?

Papa - Mamet directed both 52 Assistants and 'On The Stem'.

Glad you like the "Erdnase" style cardman. Wait till you get a look at the magic of J. N. Hofzinser.

Well I have found a Ricky Jay video for $10 but don't tell Whit.

http://www.courttv.com/store/videos/great_deals/CT1110.html


Tommy

I don't know if many will agree, but I am of the opinion that part of Ricky Jay's appeal to magicians is that he does not want to have anything to do with the fraternity.

The fact that he makes himself unavailable increases his appeal to magicians. Just like the only trick magicians want to know is the one that is not explained at a lecture or on a video (i.e. Vernon and The Berg Move).

I do admire Jay's work but there are many card magicians that have his talent that want to leave a sense of legacy and give back to magicians (Bill Malone, Johnny Thompson...).

So let’s not waste our time admiring someone who has no respect for 99% of the magicians who read this newsgroup. He has little respect for the amateur magician and for most professionals who he does not believe to be worthy of him. Heck, he even asked Richard Kaufman not to write a feature story on him in Genii.

I fact, I hope someone follows the example of Germain and Hofzinser's pupils and publish a big book of Jay's "secrets" once he is gone. I wonder how he would feel about that?

Pierredan

Frankly I could care less whether Mr. Jay chooses to be part of the magic community or not. Perhaps that is appealing to some. For others, including you, it appears to offend. Why is that?

It's well documented that Jay wishes to have no contact with those who look to steal and copy without any thought to creating something of their own. The New Yorker feature from the early 1990’s, mentions how a magician bragged to Ricky about the audience reaction he receives when he performs Jay’s card revelation using wind up toys. Ricky Jay considers that stealing. It distresses him that others simply copy, rather than attempt to create their own magic.

Because of this, he has no interest in publishing or lecturing on his magic and style of performing. He does publish and lecture on magic history and related fields of deception and targets an audience which is mainstream rather than niche magic community.

And so what if he doesn’t wish to leave a legacy. His allegiance, in my opinion, is to the art itself, not the artists. It doesn’t make him any better or worse than Malone or Thompson. It just makes him different.

Furthermore, he has the highest respect for certain amateurs who hold the same values for the art as he does, such as Percy Diaconis and Steve Freeman.

As for, what appears to be a vindictive remark about a book of his secrets once he's gone, most of his 'secrets' are published in the classics so they’re hardly secrets. The difference is he has perfected them and injected his persona into performances that use them.

Also, he wouldn't feel anything (referring to a published book) once he was 'gone', as he would be dead.

Regards,
Tony Tuccillo
Sebastian, Florida