Magic & Magicians PageA little site dedicated to my favorite magicians and some of the best tricks ever invented by the magic community. Favorite Magicians:Harry HoudiniI was probably around five or six years old when I saw the Tony Curtis movie about the life of Harry Houdini. Not the best film in the world, but it opened the door to many, many books on the life and art of Houdini and the wide-world of magic. Dai VernonDai Vernon was in his 70's when I first saw him perform. Such a charismatic fellow and even under the sever limitations of age his hands were as skillful as many a master magician. Oh how I would love to have seen him at his peak. Michael Ammar MagicI was first introduced to the magic of Michael Ammar at a small Society of American Magician's convention in Penngrove, CA. He performed an amazing close-up show and lecture. That must have been around 1979 or 1980 - I have followed his career and been a been a great fan ever since. Favorite Magic Tricks:Cups & BallsThe Cups and Balls Magic Trick is one of the oldest effects known to magicians and one of my absolute favorites. James Riser makes some of the best cups available and has put together a great web page documenting many of the different designs of cups made over the years. Favorite Magic Books:William Tarr's book, Now You See It, Now You Don't! : Lessons in Sleight of Hand, is a really great general introduction to magic that covers cards, coins, silks and more. Moder Coin Magic by J.B. Bobo is the fundamental book on coin magic. I have a strong preference for magic that seems spontaneous, using everyday objects, and borrowed items. Bobo focuses on coins and money magic, but the principles apply to a wide range of possibilities for putting together an impromptu close-up routine. I really loved watching Mark Wilson's World of Magic when I was young. His book, Mark Wilson's Complete Course in Magic is a great general introduction to all forms of magic including close-up and stage illusions. If you really want to dive in the deep end of learning magic, the quintessential series of books is The Tarbell Course in Magic by Harlan Tarbell. Ninety percent of what you see in the world of magic today is based on the lessons in this set of books. After you have poured through them, practicing each lesson several hundred times, you should be capable of making up some new illusions of your own. I'll add a link to the Tarbell Course when I find a good site somewhere on the web that has it available. Favorite Magic Shops:The Merlin's Magic Shop at Disneyland. Of course Disneyland is "magical" in general, but Merlin's Magic shop was fantastic. The imagery J.K Rowling has created in Harry Potter's Diagon Alley has awakened memories of the wonderment I felt in Merlin's Magic Shop. Disneyland's new Main Street Magic Shop is ok, but nothing like the magical experience of visiting Merlin's Magic Shop when I was young. I hope that someone does another shop for the next generation to have such a fantastic experience. The House of Magic in San Francisco, CA. This was the first "real" magic shop I ever went to. I was 10 or 11 and proud of the fact that I had found out where it was located and figured out how to get there. My father drove, carefully following al of my instructions. When we walked in the door the owner of the shop turned around and called my father by name! I thought this was some GOOD magic, however it turned out they had gone to junior-high school together and had been friends ever since. My father had known all along where we were going but didn't want to spoil my thrill at navigating this wonderful adventure. Hollywood Magic. My first visit was in 1977 - the summer of Star Wars. Great place although I really liked the cleaner, more organized, branch in Long Beach.
Penguin Magic has put together a unique site that has lots of great little video demonstrations of different magic tricks. Penguin Magic is located in Las Vegas, Nevada. They sell magic tricks, DVDs, videos, and performance supplies to magicians of all skill levels throughout the world.
Concept:Magic is not a magic shop, Concept:Magic is a full-service magic production house based in Singapore, but they have a cool looking website so I wanted to include them someplace on this page. As Architects of Magical Innovation, they provide world-class illusion entertainment, magic consultancy and event marketing services to organizations across Asia Pacific.
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