Magic is an art that sometimes instructs, often amuses and always entertains” Wilson. The good Doctor has something there, and his words have been quoted on many a magician’s circular. Only last week we came across a bit of information that might provide the source of his inspiration. Edward Livingstone Trudeau founded his Sanitarium at Saranac, N.Y. in 1984. Statistics tell of his success as an opponent of the white plague. The first institution of its kind in the U.S. felled a climbing death rate of tuberculosis patients immensely and to Trudeau’s memory is a Gutzon Borglum likeness in bronze. On the base of the figure is a simple inscription, Trudeau’s favorite quotation: “To cure sometimes, to relieve often, to comfort always.”
The Boston Assembly of the S.A.M., with or without parental assent, did the right thing. Magicians went to College – not to perform – but to learn! Twenty members took a course at the Emerson College of the Spoken Word to learn more about stage deportment, dramatics, voice, English, etc., in an earnest endeavor to improve their stage technique. One of the three notes and letters we received regarding the invasion of knowledge of what counts in entertaining said “and believe me, the criticism we received at the school sessions did NOT read like the magical write-ups in the leading magical magazines. Each one is getting a lot out of the course and their acts are showing a great improvement.”
Accompanying one letter was a full page layout of pics with the heading Magicians Learn The Language of Trickery with a subheading about the amateur Merlins perfecting their patter under the tutelage of a Shakespearean professor. We mention the publicity because we saw it. We mentioned the other part because we checked and found it true. Maybe magicians are beginning to grow up to magic!
Martin Gardner took over a full page of the Sunday Times in Chicago doing egg tricks for the Easter minded folks. Full page? ‘Twas a double spread – without exposing – just those stunts that expose themselves when you have to finish them for the doubters. Puzzles, no less, but good publicity stuff. Put a copy of the March 24th paper up in a corner and let the would-be exposers file past to take a cheap college course in what can be done if one is smart and not broke because he’s no help to our business, let alone himself.
And speaking of publicity we can’t miss the Pittsburgh group who made edition after edition before their dinner and show on April 11 by a plug on the guillotine illusion which one member presented. The papers liked that decapitation angle and used the stories on its strength.
The trouble with all magical societies to date – that is, if they want publicity – is that the press agents and publicity experts have come from their own midsts. You don’t have to hire a p.a. for the year ’round. But, when you are ready for a show and want to get the public in to fill the theatre, the cheapest money you can toss away is for a professional press agent not connected with the organization. He’ll tear everything to pieces (not the show itself) ((you have to take the blame for that)) and make a lot of people mad, but he’ll bring money in at the box office for that’s his business. Then he’ll leave you and will have forgotten you a half hour later over coffee when he’s thinking about his next account. But the club will have the biggest profit to date under its belt. No matter how good the member p.a.’s are, just remind yourself that they have their own personal business to attend to and the club is “hobby”.
The Sunday American Weekly for April 7 had a “headless woman” expose which made us chuckle. We said here, over six months ago, that a localite was building a scrapbook of exposes to make the greatest book on magic ever conceived. The current revelation will no doubt find quick parking space there for it details the building of that “no head” mystery better than did the illustrations in Greater Magic. And we get lots of leg art, too!
There’s a cute little 2 1/2 x 3 in. booklet of tricks, etc., tossing around N.Y. right now with no cover and no imprint of its printer. It’s looking for a sponsor! It’s also a Just Precious guess if one can figure out who made up the dummy. Walter Gibson asks a troublesome question. “How many magicians have ever been levitated on the illusion they present?” He did it once, knows ankle crosses, body positions and the all important hand holds. He still insists that it feels as if one really floats. As a minor report, because we expect little more of him, Louis Zingone has made a deal with a box top breakfast food for 500,000 phonograph records. The set of 5 reveals 5 tricks that are for you while you eat the stuff (provided, of course, that you send along “costs”). Now you can do Do As I Do while the cranked up machine blares away as you eat your hay and cream — and little Eustace is begging you to “take a card”.
Scooperoo Dept. for N.Y.’s — U.S. (Gen) Grant entrained on April 10th for Colon, Mich., where he will hibernate with Abbott. May his fertile brain make for an early spring in that island stronghold. Percy needs new blood — and the diminutive “general” has it. But keep those temperaments from clashing – for magic’s sake.
Val Evans never disappoints with his propaganda. The current circular is heady with “Everything that deceives may be said to enchant. Plato.” Then, in a boxed square it mentions a Special Feature on page 2, to wit, “Mr. Evans (having delved considerably in Astrology) writes interestingly of what he knows of future world affairs.” The other side of the sheet (page 2) is BLANK! It’s a swell modern twist to that old booklet gag having the cover “What I Know About Woman.” The kiddie-kar boys of the S.A.M. national council are at it again. Official organ contract time was up and both Genii and The Sphinx bid for it.
The former offered to print it for free while the latter made its cash on the line “subsidy” stick to the tune of too many dollars for S.A.M.’ers over a year. We are probably moronic, or maybe worse, but it puzzles as to why votes on the matter could be recorded in good faith coming from members who also are stockholders in The Sphinx Corporation. Take M.U.M. away from The Sphinx and it won’t last a year. We’d hate to see that monument go down for Dr. Wilson spent 30 years driving (and we mean DRIVING) it through thick and thin, big shot and little shot. The high officer who ranted about the “yellow journalism” of Genii before the vote, and made it emphatic that all was off the record and “secret stuff” (how such talk at a formal meeting can be “off the record” when it is affecting a vote is also beyond us) is to be commended with a “Booh!” However, 9 for Genii vs. 13 for Sphinx indicates that the present management of the latter should stop being lethargic and become a bit more lethal.
