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R.S. Regular user CT one day I'll have 188 Posts |
Aldo,
You have performed for many years and in many different countries. Do you have any favorite true stories to share? Anything funny or unusual (or perhaps embarrassing) that happened during a performance? Thank you, Ron
"It is error only, and not truth, that shrinks from inquiry." Thomas Paine
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Aldo Colombini 1951 - 2014 Italy 133 Posts |
One of the 'strangest moment of my career and also one of the most memorable was in South Africa, during the convention of the South African magicians. I am telling you the way I wrote it for MUM.
The flight to Durban was a long one. It took what seemed to me almost as long as a Presidential Administration, but definitely, longer than any Italian government duration. The highlight of the convention was the trick I did with Gambit. Before you think that Gambit is the name of a forbidden moment of lust, let me explain that Gambit is a dolphin and the attraction of the Sea World of Durban. I have to be honest with you; I never liked this kind of entertainment where dolphins jump in the air and wave hello to a screaming audience eating pop corn and ice cream, getting soaking wet in the process. To me, to make this kind of fun more enjoyable, anytime the dolphin would jump in the air, I would yell ‘PULL,’ shoot the animal and let the audience guess how many pieces are falling on the water. The spectator who guesses correctly would take home the head of the beast to be hung on the wall as a memento of the ‘water safari.’ But they tell me that this is not legal and we also have a shortage of these splendid marine animals. Life is not easy sometimes. But I have digressed. Let me explain. In one of the several e-mails we exchanged with the organizer before getting there, I was asked if I could do a trick with a dolphin in a huge swimming pool. I simply said, “Let me think.” So I thought it over for a few minutes and came up with an idea: Better drink a bottle of wine. I simply forgot about it thinking (and hoping) that they would probably find another nut willing to attempt to do a trick with an animal the size of a torpedo with a hormone problem that eats more than Marlon Brando. I arrived there and the next morning they took me to meet Gambit, proving to me, basically, that they did not find a nut to do the trick and this says a lot about South African people: they did not do much acid in the sixties and consequently they still have all their brain cells (while I left mine all over the world). I scratched my armpit a few seconds; I did not have a clue what to do. I eliminated from the list of possible tricks the cut and restored dolphin, zigzag dolphin, and I realized with sadness that I could not perform an Elmsley Count with dolphins. ON THE WAY TO THE POOL (I am not making this up), I thought of a trick we could do, original, unique, never seen before: A CARD TRICK! Gambit would find a selected card. What a new concept! I thought about how many hours I would need to practice to teach a dolphin how to do a force or a pass. Palming should not pose any problem. Then, the trick we actually did came to my deranged mind. I met with the splendid animal and suppressed my first instinct, which was: run away! Needless to say, I stayed. I talked to the creature and in a gentle, suave, soft voice I told him, “If you screw this up I am going to break your neck, assuming you have one, and eat dolphin meat for a month, capisci” He looked at me with no fear in his eyes and replied, “Cricricricricricuicuicuicuicui.” This means: I am sure that you people out there who know dolphin language understood, “Don’t you worry about a thing, paesano!” We rehearsed and I saw that things were going well. I left the place with confidence and realized that I had two options: a) to fake a heart attack or b) to hire a hit man called Vito to eliminate the dolphin. Finally, the day of the great event came. I packed my props (a deck of cards) and met again with the fish. He did not seem friendly like the first day and I notice a diabolical look on his face similar to the one Jack Nicholson had in the movie “Shining.” But the trainer, Gaby, assured me that: 1) Gambit rested well that night. 2) He felt the responsibility and the pressure of the unique moment. 3) He always wanted to be a magician and cannot lose the opportunity of his life hoping to swim to Las Vegas and work in a famous casino with some white tigers he heard of. 4) He was scared to be assassinated by a crazy Italian thus he was ready for the greatest event of his life. Well, there was another column for MUM where I was explaining how I did the trick....maybe I will send it through another email.....but it is a true and unforgettable story! |
Aldo Colombini 1951 - 2014 Italy 133 Posts |
OK....here's the second part!
Requirements: A swimming pool conveniently located at Sea World in Durban, South Africa; a REAL dolphin weighing several hundred millions tons; eight jumbo cards all different, one is marked on the back, say the 8H; eight HUGE cards, seven blank-faced and one the 8H; several tons of fish; a stooge; GUTS. How to train a dolphin to pick a card: First, you need to train the animal to pick a card. This is very easy; all that you need is an electrical instrument that shocks the animal every time he misses…. aaaahhh, aaaahhh…just kidding. I can hear all you animal lovers out there…. No, really, you need a boat, the size of Alaska, full of fish. Dolphins like fish; they have fish for breakfast, for lunch, for dinner and they snack on fish as well. So, we tried to teach the dolphin to get to one spot where the duplicate of the selected card would be placed. We placed the card there. The trainer stood behind it and the animal was released from one corner of the pool far away and, at the speed of an aquatic Ferrari, he would get to that spot and amazingly: Miss the card. To punish the beast, he would not get any fish and he would be sent back to the original spot. One more try, and one more miss. After three misses I was thinking, “How many years in prison could one get for dolphin strangulation?” However, one had to see the sad look on his face, the poor thing, and thinking, “I am trying so hard, what you think I am a fish? I want to be a magician… I want to do card tricks! Please, Aldo let me try one more time.” Could you have resisted that cry? Of course not. But I underestimated the intelligence of the long-nosed creature. On the fourth attempt he got to the card and we applauded and cheered emphatically. Dolphins apparently like that. The trainer gave him several pounds of fish and he went back to the starting spot. From that moment on, he NEVER missed again, proving that he works for the applauses (yeah, right). Set-up: Keep the dolphin in your pocket or on your performing table until required. The 8H in the jumbo card packet is marked on the back. The 8H in the HUGE card packet is marked also on the back. The stooge, conveniently located in the ‘arena,’ knows how to spot that card. Finally, you need sixteen tons of fish (any kind, apparently Gambit wasn't picky). Performance: Introduce the dolphin elegantly dressed in a perfect tuxedo with bow tie and top hat and DO NOT SHOW HIM FISH yet otherwise he will attack you, eat you and the fish and use your spine bone as a toothpick. Show the eight-card packet and have a spectator shuffle these cards. Take them back, locate the marked card and force it to a spectator using the dolphins’ favorite method. Show the other card all different and place them aside. Give the seven huge cards to a second spectator (the stooge). She (in this case it was a lady) shuffles the cards and places them face down around the pool apparently at random. Of course, she places the 8H where the dolphin is trained to go, otherwise, in this case you will spare the dolphin but you will strangle the spectator. Maybe an even better trick to do! The dolphin is released (of course the trainer is not anywhere near that card at this moment and neither am I). The dolphin takes the card and you show it around. Wonder on the faces of the audience. Someone starts to scream, “The cards are all the same.” You turn over the other cards showing them all blank: Noise of jaws dropping on the floor. Feed fish to dolphin and take your bow. Go home and drink a bottle of wine promising to yourself, “Never again!” All in all it was great. I have a DVD of the event and I promised myself not to show it to my grandchildren (assuming I have some) until they are married. Thanks Gambit for picking the right card. |
R.S. Regular user CT one day I'll have 188 Posts |
That's a great story. Thanks Aldo!
Ron
"It is error only, and not truth, that shrinks from inquiry." Thomas Paine
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Aldo Colombini 1951 - 2014 Italy 133 Posts |
I since then heard that Gambit retired and now he is happy doing ...nothing...I hope he remembers me as I remember him!
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