Tony,

I am sorry to hear about your bad experience.
What do you think of my bring back something like the magician idea?

Kirk

Tony,
I THINK I met you MANY years ago as I stumbled into a little magic shop in Simi Valley during a brief stay in California. The coolest thing happened. Someone, maybe you, said "hey, want to see some cool magic?". I said of course and was led to a backroom where I was introduced to a man named Dean Dill (this was before his Carson appearance)Needless to say, I sat back and got BLOWN AWAY by a personal one on one performance of Dean's FANTASTIC Coin magic!! I will never forget that as it was one of my greatest experiences in magic. OK, enough of the flashback.
Onto the question. My opinion is that Magic is similar to the Music Industry. It is vulnerable to style trends. In music, every decade has a distinct sound and style. Magic seems to make a style change every 3 decades or so and that I am not even sure of.
Love him or hate him, David Blaine was the FIRST guy to separate from the pack and create a fresh approach from all angles and it got the publics attention. Are his tricks that technical, lots of lights and hot chicks...nope. But clearly different. I am not exactly a Blainiac by no means but this guy caught the kids and adults attention. It was this simple...he was COOL.
During the Worlds Greatest Magic blitz, it was very hard to find a clear difference between magicians in each category ( Illusionists, Close-Up & Stand-Up ) I know I will get a million disagreements from magicians...but the public would agree with me for the most part.
If magic is to regain some credibility in the TV market, we will need to seriously consider throwing out EVERYTHING we think we know about entertaining/style and start over with a clean slate. Maybe talk to some kids, teens and adults and ask them what they think sucks and what might be cool.
The sooner we are honest with ourselves, admit that we are rehashing old styles and just begin again, I think it could really kick some butt.
I don't want to sound arrogant or harsh here. I think you get the spirit of what I am trying to say. Is it an easy solution? Heck no! But it can be done.
Just for the record, I think Rudy Coby ( in his day ) Sylvester the Jester and Criss Angel both had a great start into the direction I am talking about.
Good luck Tony and I hope to meet you again someday!
Chance Wolf

You have this out of sequence. The Masked Magician was stirring up trouble before Blaine hit the tube.

But he did make less of a lasting impression than Blaine did.

" No matter how many ways you dress up an egg bag, it's still an egg bag and even the lay folk know it"

Actually, it wasn't egg bags we were seeing a lot of on TV. In fact, the only one I can remember seeing was Hobson's, which was fantastic!

Now what about Metamorphosis? Interlude? Levitations?

I can honestly say TV ruined Metamorphosis for me, which used to be my fave illusion, till everyone and their Grandma started doing it.

What Chance Wolf said really struck a chord with me. I think that we DO have to realize that magic is like the music industry, and get in step with the trends, or the fashions, so to speak.

Think about this:How do you think Blaine would have been accepted if he had walked into the middle of downtown Harlem with a top hat and tails? It's a laughable, ludicrous picture, and possibly a sanguinary one, that is to say, one covered with much blood, if you get my morbid drift.

The problem is, as I see it, that we are stuck in the twilight zone. Many of us are caught in our old, established personas, and we CAN'T change. We can try, but it is extremely diffucult. Our tires are caught in mud, and they spin uselessly as we gun the gas.

But I firmly believe that it is imperitive that we do change, or our art will be in peril. I think that we must find out what the public likes, what their tastes are, and become that. Remember, they are the ones who are paying to see us. They probably, and most likely do have something better to do. Always ask yourself: " If I were my audience, why would I want to watch my magic act?" Empathy, that is the word.

I was also intrigued by the comment about Rudy Coby, which said "in his day" or something to that effect. Do you believe Rudy is finished? If so, I don't understand why. He has a truly unique and modern style. Everyone loves him, as far as I know. I'm interested in why you said this. If Rudy can't make it, well the rest of us don't stand a chance, Chance.

I like idea of trying to get another "The Magician" on TV. The thing as we know magic is much better in person. Let's think of the greatest of our time, Copperfield. Love him or hate him, he is indeed one of the most successful magicians in the history of magic. This is not an accident. He is a very,very smart guy. Just think, where was Copperfield when all the other specials were on? He knew not to jump into the mix. He just kept on hammering out the live shows touring the world making millions of dollars. I'm sure he has been offered roles on TV and Film Projects, but as I mentioned he is smart and he is also a specialist, meaning that he sticks to what he knows works and masters it. Yes, Copperfield is one of a kind, he is a wonderful example for me and all to find something and do it right and make it our own. That is why I like Penn and Teller. They have create thier own persona. Same goes for Blaine. Rudy is also a great example.

Bill, you're right. Didn't they do a "street magic" masked magician after Blaine? They showed the Raven, etc.

Everyone has forgotten it ( laymen that is ).

Doug,
My comment regarding Rudy Coby "in his day" was in context to the quesTion: In his day of TV Specials.
I am a huge Rudy fan and by no means think he is washed up. With the way that guys mind works, I am sure that he will be working as long as he wants
Take care,
Chance

I agree!

Hello!---Another thing about the "Worlds Greatest Magic" v.s. a "Copperfield" show. David is the ONLY magician on his special, not sharing the spotlight with 19 other guys. You know the lay audience is thinking --"well if there are 20 of them on this show alone---how special is any ONE of them"........oh--I agree about the vcr problems---I've had kids come up to me and tell me how they figured out most of the tricks on the specials by slowing down the VCR----and most of the time they were correct---another thing that is going to be a problem----these Kiosks in the mall selling magic tricks---invisible thread, gimmicked coins---anything they can sell---and doing demos out in the open for people that don't really even care about it---thats pretty much going to ruin those tricks for T.V. in the future-------------cheers!----Jimeuax

Jimeuax,
You nailed it on the head! I just PM'd Tony about this issue of multiple magicians on a TV Special. It greatly diminishes the "suspension of disbelief" and almost becomes a game of "one-upmanship" between magicians. The worst aspect is that the Illusionists styles are so similiar ( to the layfolks) that it is almost silly. I don't mean to rub against the grain on that last statement but Illusionists really need to spend more time creating a VERY ditinct performance style, lighting, stage settings and Illusion Design variation. It would make a tremendous difference during a Stars of Magic show.
My preferance is a ONE STAR SPECIAL. This gives the audience time to get to know the performer and enjoy the full strength of his versatilty in routines/effects and presentation.
Just my goofy opinion
Take care,
Chance

On the subject of tricks and illusions being exposed via TV and also by kiosks selling them to make money...

Last year I performed the metamorphosis illusion for a talent show at my school...After the show, one of my friends came up to me and said that they loved the show, but in particular the metamorphosis. He told me that he had seen the Masked Magician special that revealed the secret, but he had no idea how I had done mine, and quite frankly, he said, he didn't want to know.

I've read similar stories on the Café before, and so I am a firm believer that many times one can take an effect that has been exposed countless times and put the magic back into it. It seems that sometimes we forget that our main goal is not to fool our audience, but to entertain them - and if we follow that rule of thumb, the fooling will come along the way. They will be fooled, but they will feel entertained rather than fooled, and the magic will still be there for them.



Getting a little back onto the topic...what magic needs to get back on TV is a creative angle. Firstly, one must find the right MAGIC for the MEDIUM...as several have said, TV is often not the best medium for stage acts. In addiation to the angle and the magic, a properly produced show is key as well. David Blaine had a unique approach to his show; the camera followed him around, and as a result his TV special seemed so much less "staged" than others.

If the performer has the ability to CONNECT with the audience through the TV, half the battle is won. Not only must the magic be engaging, the performer must be as well, and the show, too.

Zach

Here in England we are drowning in magic on TV!!
There are a couple of regular shows that repeat often,as well as the one off specials by Blaine which are repeated to death also.
Derren Brown is often seen as are the plethora of "Best Magic Tricks ever" type shows that repeat the same tricks each time!
The Derren Brown/David Blaine style of "real" magic is very much in vogue...the people here are convinced its real. Blaine shot himself in the foot a bit with the 44 day starvation trick/stunt...I guess he laid it on a bit too thick for british tastes.

Here there is a fine line between prententious and mindblowing that our conjurors are finding a tricky tightrope to play on, when its good its amazing but we don't like it too flashy.
I guess TV is a strange medium..you've constantly got to convince the audience there are no camera tricks/stooges involved..something you wont get live.

also its all about ratings at the end of the day. The advertisers are calling the shots, and the demographics of audiences are what ultimatley decides what shows are made.

interesting to find showbusiness having to confront the business aspect more than the show these days but that's modern life.

imho magic is on the up, people DO want to be amazed, they just need to see it done really well.

Thanks for the update from the UK. I would prefer to drown in Beer then magic.......(I don't drink, but it sounds better)......All the best to my friends there!

I personally would like to see more magic acts on television. The Problem with the last few I saw was that they get tied up with editing and cut aways to audience and other editing to not get the full affect of an act.

I only have the for major channels and it has been a long time since any magic has been shown. The local station also has the right to pre-empt any show. So we do not always get what the rest of the country is watching.

I do not personnelly enjoy camera magic tricks. I like to see what other acts are like in the rest of the world. I can still remember the FISM show that was edited for showing on Thanksgiving day back in 1983 and 1984, when Fred Kaps was shown on national television. If more of the great acts of the World was shown. That would be exciting.

That is definately one of my goals. Put great magic on TV in a great way!

You just have to get to the real decision makers. Which Blaine did. He showed them something that THEY had not seen before... audience reactions, easy to understand plots and a contemporary guy.

Actually, magic on tv is really just a way to get live shows. Ricky Jay once said how important his appearances on TV talk shows, Dinah Shore, etc. were, in getting him NAME RECOGNITION.

Copperfield makes his money with his touring show because of his name recognition from the TV Specials. He doesn't need the TV exposure any more.

Reality Shows, which are HOT now are all over the place because they are SO CHEAP to produce.

Magic Acts got big in Las Vegas because they were so cheap compared to singing and comedy stars.

I agree. Sadly, magic acts are getting cheaper and cheaper. The weekly salaries for magicians in Vegas shows have been declining over the last 10 years.
This is subject can take another week to discuss. I'll pass it on to Mr. Biro.........

As far as the main topic at hand, I'm with the concensus of the crowd, but, I must agree with Zach that we should focus the nature of our art to entertain and should never come across as with a "I fooled you" attitude. No one wants to look or feel like a dumb bass. I personally stray from the "I challenge you.." type of effects.

I also avoid telling my spectators that I have made something disappear. Say I'm fooling around with a coin and perform a vanish, I will not say "It's gone" or "It has disappeared" I'll say something like,"It looks as though the coin has vanished" (emphasis on the word "looks") or "I have altered the molecular structure of the coin and can not be seen in the current state that it's in. Naturally, without too much hesitation will reintroduce the coin. I never want to insult the intelligence of my spectators but I do want them to enjoy what they see. Just me. Lee

I would love to see a weekly magic variety show appear on TV. Much like Mark Wilson's Magic Land of AlaKaZam or his Magic Circus.
It could showcase various types of acts including that of young magicians just getting started.
It was Mark Wilsons shows that sparked my interest in Magic back in the 60's.