July 6, 1940
The funniest story to come our way during the week was recounted by
Bert Kalmar. He talked with John Booth just after the latter had made all
arrangements to enter the ministry and let his professional magic career drift.
Bert asked when John was starting his new line of life. John, among magi
friends of years standing, spoke without thinking, and then caught himself, “I
open on the –!! I mean that I take up my duties, etc.”
Mr. Kalmar, he of the song writing team of Bert Kalmar and Harry Ruby,
spent some of his time and enriched some of ours, talking mostly about the gags
and practical jokes of the west coast movie artists, including himself. Our pet
remembrance from among many was the “extra pocket dodge.” The nickel and
dime stores sell pocket linings for yours and my trousers when that inevitable
hole gets too big. You purchase two of them for twenty cents, and baste them, by
a couple of stitches, inside your regular pockets. As if you were starting the next
trick, show the pockets of your trousers empty by turning them inside out. Have
two spectators at each side and ask them to hold on the turned out pockets. And
as you mention that there is “nothing in the pockets” you walk forward and leave
the stooges with the money holders.
Mail Box : From Wm. Henderson – “H. Rea Fitch came into the office one
day, sent by a friend of my boss’ whom I know only from telephone contacts but
who is an amateur magician. Fitch is after big game, selling a course of Magic
to tired business men at $50.00 for ten lessons. He uses a sort of “How To Win
Friends and Seduce People” approach, develop your bust in ten easy lessons
and be the life of the party. He teaches the dead name torn from center of paper
gag (I know, Jinx #6. Ed.), a sponge ball routine, a reversed card in pack, card
to pocket, and lets it be by personal instruction in office or home. He has mostly
bankers, a carry over from his work in advertising when he handled a lot of
bank advertising accounts and thus built up the necessary contacts. Fitch, if I
understood him correctly, was one time Secretary of the S.A.M. in New York.” (I
tried to check this with The Sphinx office, but all I could get, up to my deadline,
was “This is John Mullholland’s office. Mr. Mullholland is out of town.” A 24
hour telephone service takes care of calls when John and Miss Wolff are out.
The third thing that we’ll do, if and when we buy The Sphinx, will be to run it for
magicians under the name SPHINX, and not use it as a plaything monument for
our professional and business aspirations.)
But back to Fitch, or Fiske, as Howard Warringer spelled it several months
ago when he wrote about a man who played the Syracuse University Club.
Fiske, in this letter, did the same kind of magical promoting, and Tarbell, who
was at the Museum of Fine Arts in that city a week later, might testify as to how
a local doctor tried to louse up the blindfold act by ripping things apart, denying
statements of Tarbell when they were correct, and later explaining things as best
he could to listeners with the qualifying remark, “I’m a magician, too.” Why
can’t such people climb into their own pull and let go fast ?
Gen Grant has typed from Abbott’s factory a few lines in refutation of our
credit for the “moving picture” writing on the backs of cards the name of one
selected. Gen says “positively claim — and worked out way back in 1921.” He
didn’t put it out for he wasn’t in a position to do so until his late affiliation with
Abbott. There’s no doubt but that it sounds like a typical Grant idea, but we
spoke to no less than 8 of the old Ducrot standbys and they remembered it as
first being shown around New York by Al Wheatley. All of the above true, it’s
too bad, in one way, that ideas are mentioned to a few friends but not marketed
and published in too many cases. Years later it’s hard to make the credit stick.
I’ve found out, with The Jinx, that one might just as well publish anything, no
matter how good, for the general run of magicians, and this includes you, you and
you, pay attention only while they read an effect and then forget what they have
looked at when the next day or issue comes out. Years later they see someone do
something and then start to copy an act, not realizing how ridiculous they make
themselves by carbon impressioning material from their files — material they
bought and assiduously read at the time — even as you buy and read this sheet
today, forgetting it in the light of next week’s issue.
The Carl Rosine suit against Paul Rosini has only a finger grip keeping it from
the grave of unholy things. The original complaint has been dismissed, and
originality never suspected of Carl will be needed to find new reasons for his
talk of Paul’s trading on his (Carl’s) reputation. We spelled Carl’s last name
correctly, above, for that was how he used to autograph things. It was but one
of many details that let the Judge in on how loosely woven was Carl’s pitifully
jealous effort to wrangle money out of a successful friend, possibly for the
purpose of building a new magic show to possibly lose his last thumb tip with an
out of date conception of what the people want, and what the booking agents will
buy. Paul Rosini opened July 5th at Detroit’s Club Royale as Carl, who uses
the same name nursed legal wounds. Paul will be in action for two weeks from
that date – with options. Don’t ever say you didn’t know in time, you Detroiters.
Don Booz has forwarded a very funny piece of business for those susceptible
to such things. It is called the Vanishing Dog and the magus may talk at lengths
about this greatest of illusions that he’ll present next. The assistant can be seen
trying to drag the dog onto stage, tugging at the leash, and all that. Finally,
and after obvious stalling, the magician tires, gets mad, pulls a gun, and shoot
towards the dog offstage. Whereupon the assistant parades across stage and
off — leading the invisible dog ! The leash and dog collar are supported by a
strong wire running from the assistant’s hand. Or, the performer may try to bring
the animal on, get resistance, shoot and yell “Vanish“, and then do the leading
across the platform. It sounds like a trick for The Great Williston to do during
intermission — when everybody is out in the lobby having a cigarette.
Nikola is scheduled to arrive in New York on July 26th. His entire show sank in
an oriental port when the ship hit a harbor mine. Nothing has yet been salvaged.
— This issue, the first of the forty weeklies, is late because we’ve been too good
a boy, possibly. The printer just had to spoil my record with the 100th number.
Gabbatha!
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