All these posts (except a few) are proof that Dai Vernon and Edward Marlo are not overrated. I am comfortable to know that they are really respected by many magicians (except ones who can't appreciate their great works).

I've just finished authoring a card magic book. I devoted one chapter with introduction of 14 greats in card magic together with their aphorisms. Of course Dai Vernon and Edward Marlo are in that chapter. Without respecting the greats who made foundation of todays magic, we can't enjoy magic with all our heart.

Hideo Kato

Sleightking - how many times have you seen either of Marlo or Vernon perform? I hope its been many because judging either of these two without seeing them perform is not a fiar judgement. Re-watch Revelations 1 where Vernon spends MUCH of the discussion describing how magicians should be performing to entertain not to show how clever they are. Listen to his description of the ambitious card, how he pretended to perform moves and got the crowd involved, got them shouting and screaming that they had seen some false move when they hadn't, this is very entertaining to laymen. Try it and see. Also note that in his discussion on the AC that he says that he has left out many of the gags included.
Marlo would be a similar situation - but check out the cardician (book) for some of his gags, they include performing an overhand shuffle while remarking "Here is a shuffle I invented but many people are doing it nowadays" or doing a cards spring and saying "This is a russian shuffle - one card rushing after another". Another is to ask someone to cut the acrds and as they reach for them, push the bottom half over into the other hand(electric cut?) and say thanks, these are fun gags to perform and there are MANY more in the book

I don't like the music of Led Zeppelin, the Doors, or Black Sabbath. However, I give them their due respect to changing the face of music today. They were the influences of my influences. Thus I have to give credit where credit is due.

My view of both Vernon and Marlo could be seen as similar, except in this circumstance I am a big fan of Vernon and Marlo. They were gone long before I had a chance to meet them. I would do anything to have seen them perform live.

These guys were the influences for the cardicians of today, thus no, they are not overrated.

I can imagine the next thread...was Erdnase and Houdin overrated? lol.

Kudos to you Katosan, I am looking forward to sometime read your book. I was weaned on Vernon's books, authored by Lewis Ganson and as I matured I discovered Marlo. I consider them as mentors who spoke to me indirectly thru literature and I wished I could have met them. Because of books, all aspiring magicians can "meet" them now...gone but never forgotten.

<<<KRaZy4kardz>>>

Please lock this thread! Who do we slag next, Francois Dupont!
C'mon, assume they were over-rated, why does everyone still talk about them? I can't find a single reason why anyone would still - so it must mean that they weren't over-rated after all! Yeah, logic baby!
Why on that "other" board would there be a story circulating about how Vernon's thumb was replaced and cryogenically frozen: that's why he couldn't do the moves on the Revelation tapes. It's the same thing as the "Paul's dead because he's barefoot on the Abby Road album cover" story. These so called "urban legends" circulate around real Urban Legends!



A.

More urban legends please. Back around 1990 there was one about me being dead. Magic is made from those stories and probably depends upon what makes those stories intersting.

IMHO sleight king needs to do a little study of magic's history. A question like he posed comes from ignorance.

I must admit that I cannot consider anyone as a magician, hobbyist of magic, or especially not a sleight of hand artist if they do not regard both Marlo and Vernon highly.

I know that there are a variaty of scientist considering Einstein or Pavlov to be wrong or at least scientifically unproven but none have ever told me that those gentlement are overrated. As Newton said " I am standing on the shoulder of giants" and that philosophy is so important that even today you can see it on the U.K 2£ coin.

Anyone who revolutionises anything cannot, by definition, be overrated. Not even if they have been surpassed afterwards. While I do believe that one can be a magician without ever truly performing, I do not believe that one could revolutionise magic without performing a lot. And to be able to perform a lot means that you are a rather good performer, otherwise no one would like to see you, right?

On the other hand, the methods and effects these two men created are inherently entertaining. Or is it only the latter generations who were performing them correctly?

Using the word overrated is a very serious thing, no wonder people are taking it as an insult. A correct way would be to ask how entertaing these men were and discuss about that. It could be that they were better creators than performers but it still doesn't justify your choice of words.

Pete, I agree completely. I just started reading Phantoms of that Card Table. I'm only about 40 pages into it, but there is some great history in there already.

I too rcv'd a PM from him and I suggested he PM everyone in this forum and not just me, I did not appreciate that he called me "one of those people"...Funny how all of a sudden he is silent...

<<<KRaZy4kardz>>>

Are you kidding me?

There are posts in this very topic that do just that. The one immediately preceding yours, for example.