Notice! The Will Rock ‘so called’ Thurston show plays ONE day, April 30th, at Keith’s Flushing Theatre, Flushing, Long Island. Matinee and evening performances of this one of two hour illusion shows left will find many magicians helping out at the box office.
Russell Swann is opening now for two weeks at the Beverly Hills Country Club, Kentucky. The Swann-Langdon romance has been mentioned several times of late by Winchell who has now made public their one month separation to see if it really is love. Then, if absence makes the heart grow fonder, it is reported that they will wed. The keyhole reporter says, “– she’s mad about him.”
The American Weekly for Sunday April 21st carried the first ads for the recorded tricks of Zingone, the Post Toastie Putz. Two box covers and a dime get you the “Mind-Reading” Card Trick. (You Do As I Do) We are of the opinion that the whole thing should be ignored. The fellow who finds it so difficult to make a living DOING tricks that he has to commercialize on other magician’s ideas is out of all magical societies so cannot be “wrist-slapped” with the whitewash brush. (soft end) The ad campaign and records have all been made up and won’t be stopped for any reason except one — if it flops. Consensus of remarks to date are that it has a limited appeal plus the uncertain percentage of phonographs among the 6,000,000 circulation. The layout puzzles us no little for it pictures the doing of the trick and then offers the record as an “explanation” of how it was done. There is no mention of the record directing the procedure (the novelty part of the presentation) with separate and printed instructions telling the corn flake eater what to do while the canned voice talks. And, despite talk about phonographs there is no sign of one in the pics of the happy and well fed family who are almost delirious with joy at the chance to learn the mystery. The whole thing is too far beneath the dignity of ANY society or club to protest. Maybe Zingone, who resigned under fire for previous actions from the S.A.M., is expecting the magi to beat the drums and help with publicity. He certainly saw how they did it well on other occasions.
We have probably become the greatest prevaricator in our professional pursuit for we invariably encounter people when they tell us of a magician who has explained or printed a trick. We always shrug and end the attack by saying that the fellow was expelled from the clubs and societies of magicians for his poor sportsmanship in exposing tricks that didn’t belong to him and were told him in confidence. Then we say, “What would you think of a doctor or lawyer who printed explanations of his patient’s troubles and exactly what he did to alleviate them?” The query never yet has failed to get a decided nod. And, for the listeners, the head of a magus has been tossed into his own profonde.
All of this reminds that Mr. Frank Dodd has what he calls a “riposte” and which we have likened unto a “come-back” when “a wise guy tells you all the innards of your favorite trick.” He pays them off with “Ah, yes! I remember when they used to do it that way!”
Tablets of Osiris for April enlarged itself for the Fulton Oursler remembrance of Thurston as a friend and benefactor. The 12 year old journal, edited by Tom Worthington for the Baltimore Society of Osiris, (but with world ’round members) scored a sentimental scoop by getting two full pages from a man who, as Editor-in-Chief of MacFadden Publications, is awfully busy.
Irony: Hoffman, the “Think a Drink” man, had to turn down a private engagement in Baltimore. Although he was offered plane fare and a duplicate bar set-up plus $500 for his net fee, he just couldn’t do it from Chicago. The Balti agent couldn’t use a localite who features the bar trick (since Hoffman made it famous) because the localouse works for $25 or $30, not being able to dig up anything of his own to put himself in the real money.
Next week, in an enlarged Jinx, we’ll give highlights of the new Fitzkee Musical Revue – Magic In The Air. It opened April 14th in Salt Lake City on the way east. This is NOT the show Lloyd Jones reviewed in TOPS. I just checked his comments against the new program and it looks like a vast improvement.
