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magicgeorge Inner circle Belfast 4299 Posts |
Apart from yourself, of course.
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*Mark Lewis* V.I.P. 1325 Posts |
I suppose my favourite magician was David Nixon who, though non-Brits will never have heard of him, was a household name in the UK for decades. He was terribly charming, pleasant and nice and I always wanted to emulate his style. Then a few months ago I saw myself on video and realised that I was nothing like him. Instead I saw a grumpy, miserable, aggressive old man. The only thing I had in common with David Nixon was a similar hairstyle. He use to say on TV that he "grew through his hair"
He wasn't a particularly skilled performer and when I saw him on stage he wasn't particulary wonderful but he was a master of the television medium. The charm oozed from him and it really didn't matter what trick he did. He would even fumble a few of them. However, when he did some of his regular material that he did well it was like experiencing a beautiful piece of music. You can still find old You Tube clips of him. He really was my favourite performer. And he wasn't that good either. It really proves what a powerful thing a personality and character style can be. It is actually far more important than the trick. As I keep saying, it is the MAN not the trick that matters. |
PaulPacific Special user Yes, I used my toes to type all of my 907 Posts |
Mark, you also speak very fondly to me about Paul Potassy. Can you tell everyone why?
Blessings on thee, little man,
barefoot boy with cheeks of tan... Outward sunshine; inward joy, Blessings on thee, barefoot boy! :-D |
*Mark Lewis* V.I.P. 1325 Posts |
Oh my God! I could go into raptures about Paul Potassy! Indeed I am doing so now at the very mention of his name. When I recover I will comment.
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*Mark Lewis* V.I.P. 1325 Posts |
You know it has always amused me that certain famous magicians must be embarrassed when I tell everyone that I am a fan of theirs. That is because of my unholy name. How would you like it if Osama Bin Laden told everyone that he thought you were a terrific mentalist, for example? Or if Adolf Hitler told everyone that you were a terrific magician?
Eminent magicians must feel similar dismay when they hear they are being praised by the evil Mark Lewis! And I just realised something as I type this. I DID once know a magician who impressed Hitler immensely. Details in my book. |
PaulPacific Special user Yes, I used my toes to type all of my 907 Posts |
God! I feel like Gayle King at the Oprah Winfrey after-party.
Blessings on thee, little man,
barefoot boy with cheeks of tan... Outward sunshine; inward joy, Blessings on thee, barefoot boy! :-D |
Al Angello Eternal Order Collegeville, Pa. USA 11045 Posts |
Paul
That is hilarious. Mark I took a look at David Noxon on youtube, and I was surprised to see him doing illusions. He was not exactly a skilled magician.
Al Angello The Comic Juggler/Magician
http://www.juggleral.com http://home.comcast.net/~juggleral/ "Footprints on your ceiling are almost gone" |
*Mark Lewis* V.I.P. 1325 Posts |
He did a lot of close up magic on TV when he was younger. He had a decades long career on television. I think the illusions came into play when Ali Bongo got involved as the man behind the scenes. But it wasn't his tricks anyway that made him so famous. It was his charm.
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*Mark Lewis* V.I.P. 1325 Posts |
Let me tell you now about Paul Potassy. I first heard of him about 40 years ago from a friend of mine who at the time was a struggling magician but is now a big hot shot in British showbusiness and the personal manager of Derren Brown and other celebrities including the most famous glove puppet of all time-Sooty. His name is Michael Vine known in those days as Michael Vishnick. Michael told me that there was a wonderful magician called Potassy and he was the best of the lot.
I had never heard of the fellow and just brushed him from my mind but over the next year or so I kept hearing reports of a night club magician in Paris who was getting standing ovations from inebriated audiences at 2am in the morning. This magician was Potassy. And then I saw him on British television and was electrified by him. I realised Michael was right. But lo and behold a couple of years later I saw him on television again and this time he did the razor blade trick better than anyone I had ever seen. Then decades later I was in a magic shop and I saw a DVD for sale and it had the word Potassy on it. I nearly passed out on the spot, got all excited and told the magic shop owner I wanted to purchase it no matter the price. He had never heard of Potassy himself and since I had never shown the slightest inclination in his shop before to buy a DVD, which I consider to be against the laws of nature, he started to wonder about my sanity. He then nearly put me into a coma by saying he also had a book about Potassy whereupon I demanded to purchase that as well. On the way home I realised that Potassy must be ancient by now and started to worry that when I watched him he would have lost his spark. He hadn't and I think the first four tricks of his act are a masterpiece. Ever since that day I have weaned myself away from the mentalism and stage card act I used to do and just do what I should have done 40 years ago and concentrated on an old fashioned magic act full of the classic tricks. It goes over great and the inspiration comes from Potassy. Again his appeal is that HE is the magic. He only does old tricks that everyone else does. Actually his Sympathetic Silks is an exception. It is so old that NOBODY does it since it has now gone out of fashion. But anyway my point is that it is not his tricks which make him good. It is his charm and personality. He does have a few off colour jokes that I do not approve of though. Still I can always cleanse myself by taking a trip to the gospel section of the magic Café and after that I will feel better. |
PaulPacific Special user Yes, I used my toes to type all of my 907 Posts |
Quote:
On 2011-06-02 01:45, Mark Lewis wrote: One of which I had to explain to Mark.
Blessings on thee, little man,
barefoot boy with cheeks of tan... Outward sunshine; inward joy, Blessings on thee, barefoot boy! :-D |
*Mark Lewis* V.I.P. 1325 Posts |
Paul. You must remember that I have led a sheltered life. People would be astonished to realise how prudish I am.
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magicgeorge Inner circle Belfast 4299 Posts |
I have to admit I don't know much about Potassy apart from watching his beautiful sympathetic silks on youtube. I'm not prudish in the slightest but I have to agree that his single saucy line in that routine seemed incongruous to the rest of his act and was not needed at all. Maybe it's a throwback to his nightclub days.
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*Mark Lewis* V.I.P. 1325 Posts |
George. I am sure it was. I remember thinking that at the time. Those nightclub audiences could be pretty rough.
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Al Angello Eternal Order Collegeville, Pa. USA 11045 Posts |
As one of Mark's friends I will attest that he is not in the slightest bit hip, and if it wasn't for Paul he would be totally out of touch.
Al Angello The Comic Juggler/Magician
http://www.juggleral.com http://home.comcast.net/~juggleral/ "Footprints on your ceiling are almost gone" |
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