2011-03 Dennis' Deliberations

There are good reasons why I stay away from using the term magician, especially in any public school shows that I book.

You should hear the nightmare stories that I hear about totally incompetent performers as well as people who book shows and are horrible.

I was at the Hookah Lounge and was using my closing line:

If you liked the show, remember my name is “Dennis Phillips” if you didn’t like the show my name is “Criss Angel”! It gets a laugh… One guy called me over and said, “Whatever happened to that guy who used to vanish the Statue of Liberty? I saw him on TV when I was real young.”

I said, “You mean David Copperfield”. He said, “I think that was his name…Uh I heard somewhere that he is in jail for raping a girl or some famous model. No, he tried to kill his wife!”

It is tough for any “magician” to be seen in a positive light. We are seen by the public as freaks and kinks.


The old Duck and Chicken “Changing Heads” trick is back. Fu Manchu did it, David Copperfield did it 20 years ago on one of his network specials.

Penn and Teller had a magic special on English TV in January and it was called “Fool Me”. The invited magicians from all over to come and “fool them”. One magician did the Duck and Chicken Trick.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=S0RRSgfBJpw&feature=player_embedded


Penn and Teller acted like they had never seen this effect before. The look of delight on their faces was an indication of how much they appreciated good performance. It wasn't so much the TRICK that amazed them (P&T could do it blindfolded), but from their perspective (and ours) the Ali Cook's gestures were cool. People in the "know" enjoyed the performer as much as the trick! The magician who virtually wrote the book on COOL was Larry Wilson. As the cliché saying goes, "I'd watch that guy eating lunch." ... This short bio tells it all:

Larry Wilson doesn't take magic seriously. But that's no surprise to anyone who's seen him starring in his psychedelic extravaganza, "Wonderland," at Harrah's Hotel & Casino in Reno. The debate over whether Larry Wilson is a comedian or magician leaves him unconcerned. Audiences are laughing so hard they don't even seem to realize that the astounding and freaky visuals taking place all around them are actually magic. "I don't want to fool you," Larry Wilson candidly admits, "I just want to blow your mind a little." His latest creation, "Wonderland," does that in full measure. His high-energy performance combined with a gift for lightning-fast ad-libs makes it all the more impossible to determine what's really planned and what's simply a spontaneous happening. And that's what "Wonderland" is all about. As Larry Wilson explains, "It's not a place; it's a state of mind."

How did Larry Wilson, this self-professed refugee from the Summer of Love wind up producing his own theatrical spectacles? Larry is the first to admit it's been an unusual career. He began his performing career at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, a private club for magicians. He was somewhat apprehensive about presenting his mix of comedy and magic because of the Castle's reputation as a reserved and dignified forum for magicians. Fortunately, his satirical advertising pitch for the "Famous Magicians School" was an immediate success and even the most diehard magicians were delighted with his spoofing of the art.

In no time at all Larry Wilson found himself in places like Las Vegas, Atlantic City and Lake Tahoe performing with the likes of Sammy Davis, Jr., Ann-Margret, and The Pointer Sisters. This, in turn, Ied to a long string of television appearances with his zany assistants, the Flying Cavettis, and it was an appearance with this stage troupe which garnered Larry Wilson his first Emmy nomination as a performer.

Larry Wilson is also quite in demand as a technical consultant for magic and special effects.in movies and T.V. He's taught sleight of hand to a host of famous actors including Patrick Dempsey, Nick Nolte, Timothy Hutton and Brooke Shields. He was hand-chosen to create the now famous comedy-magic sequence that Leslie Nielsen performed in the classic comedy hit "Airplane!" Larry Wilson has displayed his sleight of hand skills on "Hard Copy," as a crooked casino dealer on ABC's "Line of Fire" and on the A&E special, "Stealth Technology," where he demonstrated how the military uses many of the same principles of illusion in modern warfare.

"Eventually Larry Wilson realized that if I broke away from the preconceived ideas of magic and did something that was true to what I am it would be something really unique," Larry says. "So I did a little inventory on myself and decided that the things I have such great fondness for all came from the 60's-the music, the clothes, the lifestyle. All at once, it seemed so clear, the perfect theatrical framework to combine these fantastic cultural influences was just ready and waiting for me-"Alice in Wonderland." It's the trippiest, most surreal, otherworldly tale. And everybody knows all about it. Or, at least, they think they do." That was the jumping off point for "Wonderland." His long history with Harrah's casinos made it a natural choice to launch this ambitious project and the response has been phenomenal right from the opening night performance.

Years and years of working in gambling cities also allowed Larry Wilson plenty of time to hone his card-playing skills and he is well known on the poker tournament circuit. "I got to play with some of the top Hold 'Em players in the world, and, fortunately, some of them took pity on me and were kind enough to point out everything I was doing wrong. Gradually my game began to improve enough until I started winning small tournaments. I may be the only guy whose job actually coincides neatly with his love of playing poker."

Larry Wilson is very pleased about the public's acceptance of his peculiar mix of magic, comedy and theatricality. "Nowadays audiences crave a more intense theatrical experience. When they go out to see a show, they want to be immersed in something, they want to feel something." That's why "Wonderland" has been received so enthusiastically by audiences of such a broad spectrum. "Magic isn't about the tricks; it's supposed to be about going on a little trip to an alternative reality." Does that make Larry Wilson the next Houdini? "Oh, no," he's quick to say. "That stuff with the handcuffs I leave to the pros... like Paris Hilton."

Now that is a superb quote that all magicians should take to heart, and more -- put into action! : "Magic isn't about the tricks; it's supposed to be about going on a little trip to an alternative reality." How many performers can you say actually fulfill THAT requirement? When you stop looking at the props (the half-naked babes excepted) and find yourself riveted by the magician, then you know you're watching good magic! Do we watch Channing Pollock's act, or do we watch the complete package that includes his ever bodily nuance and suave facial expression? Another point (this could be turned into and essay!) -- when we see a magician, say, an illusionist, do a "standard" routine and think, "That man has turned it into a masterpiece that only HE can do!" -- then, and only then, do we have CLASSIC MAGIC presented in all its glory. Richiardi's Broom Suspension is a case in point, and I'm sure you can think of other examples. (The Blackstone Floating Lightbulb? I dunno: It always seemed to me that a bulb with the screw-end at the TOP screams "hanging" from something but the overall effect is amazing and poetic, especially sending it out over the audience)

One of the true sad things is that YouTube videos are watchable again and again and again. The magically naive can do exactly that, including "freeze frames", and then jump in there with some semi-revealing feedback on the aspects that don't look quite right." Magic seen only once, LIVE, doesn't have that problem. THAT'S WHY -- if I did any magic that relied on being seen only ONCE for best effect (an effect that FOOLS) I sure as heck wouldn't want it to be put on YouTube.