Anybody have any Harry ANderson stories from the past--seeing him perform on the street or otherwise?

Ellen

I can relate a second hand Harry story. <-- Second Hand Harry? Now that is a name for a character.

Anyway...

this friend of mine works for a big magic dealer here in Boston. At a magic convention this guy's room was right across from Harry's.

About 2 in the morning this guy is going up to bed and he notices Harry's door is open.

He looks into the room and there is Harry, big as life, standing in front of the full length mirror, surronded with piles of stuff he just bought in the dealers room.

Harry is going through every trick he just bought and doing it for himself in front of the mirror.

He sees my buddy and says, "Hey come in here and check this trick out!"

He said the grin on Harry's face was like a guy who just won the lottery. He spent the next 2 hours going through every trick in the room.

The guy truly loves magic.

Best,

Dan-

I love Harry Anderson, and his "Tricks of My Trade" television show was a nice potpurri of things--to include the most scaled down, and yet wonderful cups and balls.

No personal anecdotes from me, however.

Yes Tricks of his trade is awesome with the wallet and money trick--and of course the silly pen thru tongue bit.
It is much better than his SIDESHOW since in this show you get to see his magic upclose.

Ellen

I also happen to think that Harry Anderson is overlooked as a great performer, but he's awesome. Wry, witty, a bit smart-alecky, and a cat-ate-the-canary sensibility.

His experience as an actor is an overwhelming asset, as we are all actors in a sense. "Tricks" was one of the coolest shows I have seen, and I appreciate his showcasing of some of those other talented people (a juggler and a ventriloquist come to mind, although their names a far gone from my little gray cells).

--Ron

The Ventriloquist> famous ventriloquist of the Lefthanded league is Jay Johnson.He used to play on SOAP (comedy from the 70s).

The Juggler> as witty, Turk Pipkin, writer and performer as well as Harry's partner in crime. Also LHL member. They even got their vasectomies at the same time!

They both have been on many specials with Harry. I interviewed them for our fan club newsletter...they have some great stories about what kind of acts they did in the past.

Both are the ONLY right-handed people tho! HA!!

Ellen

Isn't Turk Pipkin the guy who wrote a clowning book?

it would make sense, as juggling seems to be a staple of the intrepid, studied clown.

--Ron

I always thought Bob was funnier than Jay...

Hey Ellen and Ron,

Was Tricks of my Trade a TV special or is it on video? I would have loved to have seen it.

--Fred

Tricks of my Trade was a special I believe on CBS in 96 or 97. I know he also featured the Card on Seat as well. I lost my copy of the tape but would love to purchase one if somebody is willing to make a copy. I had asked Meir Yedid if Harry planned on releasing this, and he said not for some time if at all.

Michael

Ellen, it looks like you know more about him then me and you probably have his book but I remember reading about him getting a broken jaw while performing street magic in San Francisco by a man that didn't like getting fooled.

YES! In fact I used it as a TEXT book in our clowing class in college!!! The best 4 credits I ever took!

Ellen
harryandersonfan.com