A couple years ago, I attended a Roger Klause lecture and his opening line was credited to Jerry Seinfeld. Roger recited a joke that Seinfeld had said about magicians and magic. Roger said it tongue in cheek, because it was making fun of us really, but the crowd loved it and we all knew that he was a cool guy right away. Can anyone quote Seinfeld's joke. Do any of you know it? I guess it is not just one joke, it is really a whole monologue. Thanks in advance.

Of course, I am not allowed to "reproduce or retransmit" any part of the book, Seinlanguage, but the "I don't think anything competes with a magic act for humiliating entertainment value" routine is on pages 98 and 99 in the paperback edition.

He also talks about, in other parts of his act, how it seems the vent's dummy always seems to have a very active social and sexual life and analyzing the guy who does the bullet catch, ("How does he practice this?") and on being a clown.

Seinlanguage is a great reading.

No, that isn't it either, thanks though, keep the ideas comming. And why can't you share what the book said? We are all advertising someone elses effects, cards, books, all of the time. Why is this any different? Just curious.

These days lawsuits are like lotterys and who knows what might happen if the wrong person saw the Seinlanguage excerpt. I guess it's better safe than sorry.

I believe brief excerpting for our purposes falls under copyright "fair use".

Regards,

I just found this thread and noticed that no one answered it. I believe what you're referring to is this bit (I can't promise to quote it word for word):

I don't like magicians because they always make me feel stupid. I see a trick, try to figure out how it's done, and when I can't, feel stupid. Of course that's a magician's job. It all amounts to "Here's a quarter, now it's gone, you're a jerk".

If you couldn't quote from books then almost every university text in the word is criminal!

What you can't sell copies of the entire book

Here is a the bit

"I don't think anything competes with a magic act for humiliating entertainment value. What is the point of the magician? He comes on, he fools you, you feel stupid, show's over. You never know what's actually happened. It's never explained. And that's kind of the attitude the magician seems to have as he's performing. It's like, "Here's a quarter. Now it's gone. You're a jerk." Sometimes they ask you to blow on it. There's something mature adults like to do, blow on a deck of cards. I also love that little pretend look of surprise they do when the trick works. Like, "Oh, I didn't know that was going to happen myself. I even amaze me."

I think he is right. If people come away feeling like a idiot then we've failed as entertainers. So why add to their discomfort by looking smug and insulthing them?

I have worked with Seinfeld and he didn't use that hunk when we worked, but I have seen him do it and it is a funny line.

Jerry is a very nice guy. I put a show together for our company Christmas Party one year, and Jerry worked it for us FREE.

Weird - that's almost exactly Penn's line - "Pick a card, you're a loser, here it is, you're an idiot."

Great (?) minds thinking alike?