2007-11 Dennis' Deliberations

1966 ..... I remember that year and many young guys should also!

Recently a young guy -a wanna be illusionist-, with stars in his eyes, told me that he was going to take out a 'Big Illusion Show'. He intended to tour in major theaters with a large cast ,huge props and elaborate costumes not seen since the days of Thurston, Fu Manchu and Blackstone Sr. . He figured that 2 semis and 2 customized buses should handle the road tasks. He expected that a few ads on TV and some newspaper space would provide a guaranteed sell-out crowd because "everybody loves magic". I hate to pop some one's balloon but the days for those type of shows are over.

In 1966 when I graduated high school and started college, the one time glory of the magic field - American full evening illusion shows - were finally gone from the entertainment scene. Arthur Leroy's history confirms my comments.

In 1966 lack of public demand, changing tastes, urban demographics,economic pressures, union demands, bookers' apathy all combined to make it virtually impossible in the United States to sell a full evening illusion show based on pure box office sales.

By 1966, the Chang show had vanished like its own Asrah assistant.

By 1966, the Fu Manchu show had reduced its size to virtually a suitcase show, but even this heroic effort had not solved the problem.

By 1966, the deceased Kalanag's show had changed hands in storage. Richardi Jr. had closed his own big full evening show and had made a try with the Kalanag show under Mrs. Kalanag's management. It wouldn't work - it wouldn't work at all. So the wondrous, the graceful, the "Dynamo of Deception", Aldo Richardi went back to a short twelve minute act for Night Clubs, revues and all points West and East with an occasional staging of his big show. His major date was the Korakuen Ice Palace in Tokyo.

By 1966, Blackstone Sr.had left us and not a living soul in the whole world was interested in buying any part of the Blackstone titles. There was no show to buy. Warehouse charges had long since consumed almost all of it.

By 1966, the Virgil show, one of the most beautiful in the world, had reduced its load and was operating on its spot dates with the emphasis on the "Mental and Hypnotic". Virgil and Julie had become mostly a "talking show".

In 1966 The Dante show - rotting, chopped, ruined. Dante had been dead for over 10 years. His ashes in a pile of boxes in a basement unclaimed by his family.

In 1966 Servais Le Roy's metal props had been rusting for 25 years in a New Jersey landfill.

In 1966 Lee Grabel's illusions were in storage a half a decade and he was making big money from San Francisco area real estate.

In 1966, one of the finest illusion shows in the United States, the McDonald Birch show, was sold intact to a wealthy buyer and pretty much vanished. The man who was the logical and planned successor to Howard Thurston had called it quits to retire on the banks of the Muskingum River in eastern Ohio. He wanted no more of a big show.

In 1966 Charles Carter's illusions in bright red crates had been bricked up behind a wall in a San Francisco basement garage for 30 years.

In 1966 Thurston's remaining collection of miracles were being slowly eaten by rodents in a farm barn in Wisconsin. 20 years later, parts would be salvaged by collectors.

In 1966 John Daniel was sawing and sanding wood at Owens. He was building "Shazzam', mostly a big nightclub show. After a few gigs he sold it to Lee Edwards where it was mostly stored for 30 years until Blair Marshall, a French Canadian magician added it to his dusty warehouse.

In 1966 Peter Reveen was on a series of creating failed Big Shows in Canada and always reverting to his Hypnosis suitcase show. The props from one whole Reveen show ended up at Carowinds theme park in Charlotte, N.C. where I used parts of it in the TV show I produced for the 1973 opening day ceremonies.

In 1966 Mark Wilson was mostly doing trade shows,working on TV specials.

In 1966 John Calvert had gone abroad on his yacht.

In 1966 Ken Griffin and Roberta , were playing sponsored dates in rural towns using telephone sales and circus promotion techniques.

In 1966 The Big Show as a viable box office draw ( by itself without television help) was dead forever...

The box office full-evening theater show that emerged in 1979 with Doug Henning and with David Copperfield in the early 1980s was a different beast. Promoted like a rock concert, the show was sold by using network television exposure. Basically, the stage show was a television star in your local auditorium. Henning was promoted as a fun guru whereas Copperfield's hook was being the young presenter of large unbelievable miracles outside the theater and in National parks.. For a brief time Harry Blackstone Jr. recreated the old style big show that made his Dad famous but other than a short Broadway run and a limited national tour, Harry resorted to corporate shows and hawking Oreo Cookies.

The touring full-evening illusion shows ,made so popular in the first half of the 20th Century , the one that ran on a pure box office and 2 sheet posters was gone... Today it is buried under a mound of TV sets, DVDs, You Tube , an easy jet trip to Las Vegas or a ticket to a cruise port , and the jaded suburban American mindset.

"Sorry kid, you are going to need something other than dreams to put diesel fuel in your truck and pay for your insurance bills. You need a solid business plan and a market. History is not on your side. "

I am never going to say "never" but let me repeat what George Santayana once said, " Those who cannot learn from history are doomed to repeat it ".

Dennis Phillips