Great to have you here, Pete. I am a great admirer of your magic and your photography.

You once related a story I love, about how you and another magician were at a lecture by someone else, and you set yourself up to levitate a table. Any idea what I'm talking about?

Matt Field

YES. Roger Mycroft and I had both been assistants (at different times) with Arthur Bull, in his "FRANCISCO'S MIDNIGHT SPOOK SHOW." And we both workd with the floating table.

It was a big heavy wooden table, much the size and shape of a standard card table.

The gaff was a simple hook-up of a web belt around your neck with a hook that stuck out of your shirt front (and retracted).

We were at a small convention and there was a room set-uup with several card tabled for the magicians to hang out and session on.

I told Roger this would be a fun place to do the floating table and that I thought I could make a couple of gimmicks from coat hangars and rope. Which I did and we got set to do it.

I told Roger to sit at a tabl and when the seat opposite him, I would come over and sit down so we could get hooked up. You see all card tables have a lip at the edge so they are perfect for this.

I waited a bit, and doing a card trick, placed the deck at the center of the table and giving Roger a signal to get ready to do it... started to say, "Card Rise, Card Rise, Card Rise," and suddently the table began to rise, and as we did in the routine, we stood up and the table rose way up off the floor.

We suddenly realized may makeshift gimmicks wouldn't retract so, I began to lead, moving across the room. It looked like the table was floating all over the place and I headed us toward the door... as we got there some VIP's were coming in and we all collided.

We were able to unhook and just took off laughing as we went down the hallway.

Ah, those were the days.sssss

I wonder if the young guys, who are much more skillful than we were, are having the same kind of fun?

BTW: Blatant plug... the table gimmicks are available from Stevens Magic.

Than ks, Pete! That's the story, and I still love it.

About the 'young guys' having as much fun ... maybe they're not so young, but David Roth tells the story of him working the Castle's Close-Up Gallery. He's seated doing his coin miracles and glances down to see Jeff Altman, his buddy who was also working the Castle, has slid beneath his chair so David's legs are straddling him. At the end of the act, David rises to take his bows, and then Jeff stands up so Roth is now sitting on his shoulders, rising five feet in the air.

There are a ton of great Altman stories.

Matt Field

That's hilarious. Altman is one funny guy. Haven't seen him around lately. Remember his goofy TV Series, "Jeff and Pink Lady?"