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John Cass Regular user 131 Posts |
I just got Ted Lesley's Porcelain Lota Pitcher and Miracle Bar Act today. WOW! This is a real work of art.
According to the instructions, the pitcher was made by a ceramic artist from Berlin who has won many awards. It comes complete with a fitted carrying case, made by the last of the Berlin "case makers," and a supply of "essences" to use to perform the mireacle bar act. The essences are concentrated drink flavors which, when mixed with gin or other drinkable alcohol, will produce drinks that taste like the genuine article. The pitcher, itself, looks like the kind of pitcher you might find in your refrigerator. Its unusual shape gives it a tremendous capacity for its size. If you follow the instructions, you will be able to perform a magic bar act that will knock your audience out. Ted supplies many interesting ideas on how to do this in the most convincing manner possible. And if you are not a performer, it's an instant collectible. I may order another one just to have in my collection. |
Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
John:
You missed a great meeting yesterday. I'll have to come by and see the pitcher. I haven't seen one since I translated the instructions. Volker Bauer, the man who actually makes these pitchers, is a genius. When I had finished working at the Florida Renaissance Festival in Largo, I drove up through DeLand, Florida and met Burling Hull, who popularized the act in the United States. He told me some very valuable information about performing this type of act, which I included in the translation along with Ted's original instructions. On some web sites, it is listed as the Any Drink Called For Miracle Pitcher. It's a keeper!
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
Uli Weigel Inner circle Berlin, Germany 1478 Posts |
Some weeks ago, I had the opportunity to see the magic bar act performed by a former student of Ted Lesley. The show took place during the intermission of a full evening magic show in the Wintergarten in Berlin. It was very well received and it's amazing what you can do with the equipment, which looks totally unsuspicious.
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Bill Palmer Eternal Order Only Jonathan Townsend has more than 24312 Posts |
I had an e-mail from one fellow who was wondering about my statement that Burlin Hull had popularized the Any Drink Called For act in the US. He thought that "Think a Drink Hoffmann" had been responsible for that. Well, yes and no.
I met Burling Hull in 1980, shortly after I had worked the Largo Renaissance Festival. I was driving back home to Houston, and stopped in DeLand Florida, hoping to meet Burling. I found him to be a delightful fellow. He regaled me with stories of his early years. Among them was one that concerned Karl Hoffmann, who later changed his name to Charles Hoffmann, because of anti-German sentiment. Burling Hull was importing drink essences into the US from Schenley's of Canada. This all happened during prohibition. Burling's essences were very thick and quick-dissolving, so they were ideal for this routine. Hoffmann bought the routine from Burling. Then he called Burling up and said,"There's one problem with this act. People don't ask for the drinks that I have the essences for." Burling said,"Don't ask them to call out a drink. Ask them to think of a drink. Heck, you could call yourself 'Think of a drink Hoffmann.' No, that's no good. It doesn't sound right. 'Think a drink Hoffmann' sounds better." So about a week later, there was a full page ad in "Variety" or "Billboard" that said that Charles "Think-a-drink" Hoffmann was claiming the act as his own, and would sue anyone who was booking anyone but him doing the act for $20,000. It was a publicity bit, but Burling was doing the act at the Fontainbleu, and they told him to drop it. So Burling called Hoffmann and asked him what was up. Hoffmann told him it was a publicity gag. It took Burling a lot of work to get Hoffmann to clear it for him TO DO HIS OWN ACT!!!! I won't go into the details of what Burling had to do to get permission to do his own act, but it was a real pain in the wazoo!
"The Swatter"
Founder of CODBAMMC My Chickasaw name is "Throws Money at Cups." www.cupsandballsmuseum.com |
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