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coupcoupdaddy Inner circle 2466 Posts |
I searched and found an astounding and heart-felt story from Chris McBrien about Magrum the Magician in The Little Darlings/Full Time? forum. A couple of other folks have referred to him. I recall there was a story in Linking Ring when he died. Were any of your lives magically inspired by this gentleman as mine was?
foreign correspondent, z and lt
inner being worker |
jkesler Loyal user 246 Posts |
Isso, can you pm me info on Magrum...where I can find more info... I will be down your way on Feb 17 2006 for a show.
Best Regards, James |
chris mcbrien Inner circle Chicago 1235 Posts |
I will tell you the story right now.
When I was around 8 or so I began to stutter. By the time I was 9 (or around there) I had become completely mute due to internal (my brain's connection between thought and verbalization had "broken down") and external (verbal abuse by family and classmates)forces. I had always loved magic, but had very limited access to it. One day, when I was in 5th grade, C. Thomas Magrum came to my school, Jackson Elementary in Bettendorf, Iowa. He asked for helpers, of course, and I raised my hand. He proceeded to perform the water funnel trick (he did the newspaper cone/water vanish...then had it "pumped" out your elbow using the other arm as the pump handle). I looked over and saw how he did it (the gimmick)..he saw that I saw, looked me in the eye very seriously (and with a twinkle of mischief and laughter) and said (out of the audiences earshot) ,"a good magician can keep a secret, can you keep a secret?". I was so out of my normal paradigm, and so excited...exhilirated, really, that I turned to him and blurted out "YES!". It was the first time I'd spoken in about a year. My teacher almost fell out of her seat! That's the story. Even though I also love to draw and paint, magic became a big factor in my life. My aunt and uncle, who I'm very close to, flooded me with magic every time I'd visit. They bought the nice tricks, not the cheap ones, and my uncle helped me practice with them to make sure I knew how to use it before I left their house. I also devoured books on the subject, as well as magician's histories, from the local library to the point they had to bring in other magic books they did'nt have from other libraries. Like Magrum I became a school show magician, and am very, very grateful to him and credit him with being not only my favorite magician, but the person who's art was so masterfully powerful that it helped transform me out of my own horrific dilema for just long enough to help me become who I am today. I always hoped to meet him and thank him, but by the time I could try and track him down, he had passed on. I take great joy in sharing with and hopefully inspiring students to push themselves and to never give up in making their dreams come true! Best to all, Chris McBrien The Magic Storyteller http://www.magicstoryteller.biz |
Damon Regular user 108 Posts |
Chris,
What a wonderful story! Thanks for sharing it with us. Reading the name Magrum rang a bell, and I remebered seeing him on the cover of an old Linking Ring magazine. I found it. It's the March 1950 issue. I also located his obituary in the Setember 1996 Linking Ring. If you (or anyone else) would like, I'd be happy to e-mail you the articles, just drop me a line. Kindest regards, Mark Damon mtdamon@execpc.com |
Damon Regular user 108 Posts |
Surprise, surprise. I just found another Linking Ring cover picture and article about Magrum. August 1940
Mark |
Damon Regular user 108 Posts |
Just me again. Came across another Magrum Linking Ring cover story. It's the March 1994 issue.
Wow! Three cover stories, 1940, 1950, 1994. Impressive!!! Mark |
Dick Oslund Inner circle 8357 Posts |
I met Clem Magrum on November 18, 1946. I knew him until he died. I'm too tired tonight to write up his story, but I will get back here ASAP, and tell some of his story. If you have a copy of "KID STUFF FIVE", I put a picture of his stage setting and wrote up some of the various programs he presented.
Chris McBrien! If you read this, PM me. I tried checking your profile and it showed no posts in the past 30 days. If anyone reading this, knows how to contact Chris, PM me. Thanks!
SNEAKY, UNDERHANDED, DEVIOUS,& SURREPTITIOUS ITINERANT MOUNTEBANK
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hugmagic Inner circle 7655 Posts |
Only met him once at a Collector's gathering in Chicago in the 1980's. He could still do thinks with coins (coin star, steeplechase and such) well though he was in his 80's. I have his set of nesting alarm clocks which I got from Dick Oslund that were made by Horace Marshall.
Richard.
Richard E. Hughes, Hughes Magic Inc., 352 N. Prospect St., Ravenna, OH 44266 (330)296-4023
www.hughesmagic.com email-hugmagic@raex.com Write direct as I will be turning off my PM's. |
Quentin Inner circle 1020 Posts |
Quote:
On Dec 15, 2014, Dick Oslund wrote: Here's his website: http://www.magicstoryteller.biz |
Dick Oslund Inner circle 8357 Posts |
Thanks Quentin!
I PM'd him this AM. O
SNEAKY, UNDERHANDED, DEVIOUS,& SURREPTITIOUS ITINERANT MOUNTEBANK
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Quentin Inner circle 1020 Posts |
Quote:
On Jun 26, 2006, chris mcbrien wrote: That's a wonderful and touching story. As a performer we never know just how we can affect an audience member. My friend Brian Daly had an experience which he has written up here http://kidspartyking.com/real-magic/ |
Dick Oslund Inner circle 8357 Posts |
Hi Quentin!
Chris' story about himself, and Clem Magrum caught my attention! First, because I had known Clem all those years, and Clem had never mentioned it. And, second, because I, too, had had a speech problem when I was 12. My school class was 25 boys and only 13 girls. The boys were all "jocks". I couldn't play ball--I wore thick glasses, and couldn't ever catch the balll! Even before, I started school (age 4) adults would exclaim over my speech. (I was a trifle advanced for my age!) But, at 12, I developed a speech impediment. Looking back, it was psychological. I was the only boy in the class that wasn't on a sports team. I would "lock up". Certain words would get "stuck". It was extremely embarrassing! In a small Catholic school, there were no speech therapists! Up to that point, I had had an interest in magic. In 6th grade, I had even done a "show and tell" with magic tricks (they were very rudimentary!). At 12, in the 8th grade, I started delving more deeply into magic. (I wasn't any good at sports!) Sister Clarence encouraged my magic interest, and I did another "show and tell" for my 8th grade class. It was a bigger success than I deserved! But, PEER GROUP RECOGNITION! I could do something the other kids coulcn't do! Later that year, I did a show for the whole school 400 students (grades one through twelve)! --Even greater success! The speech impediment gradually "disappeared". I haven't shut up since! That fall, (1945) I had the chutzpah (!) to contact the public school principal of the Jr. High, and book a show for his school. We charged $.10 admission! I worked the program on a percentage deal, and I made $26.00 in about 35 minutes! Figuring inflation, that would equal almost $300. today! (I really wasn't worth that much money! But, it started me on my life's work. I became a part time professional, at 14. The following spring, our principal booked Stuart Ross at our school. He became my first real mentor. The following fall,I saw Clem Magrum's school program at our Senior High School. He became my second mentor. A year later, Roy Mayer played a high school in a neighboring town, and he became my third mentor. I had "died and gone to heaven"! I've been able to contact Chris. Magic has made a DIFFERENCE in both our lives.
SNEAKY, UNDERHANDED, DEVIOUS,& SURREPTITIOUS ITINERANT MOUNTEBANK
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hugmagic Inner circle 7655 Posts |
And that my friends is the real magic in magic.
Richard E. Hughes, Hughes Magic Inc., 352 N. Prospect St., Ravenna, OH 44266 (330)296-4023
www.hughesmagic.com email-hugmagic@raex.com Write direct as I will be turning off my PM's. |
Dick Oslund Inner circle 8357 Posts |
I devoted a lot of pages to Clem Magrum's school show in the book. At one time he carried in (with school boy help!) TEN cases of props, and prop tables! His set up was over 30 minutes! The show ran 50 minutes (in those days) and pack up needed another 30 minutes. I visited him on the road several times, and helped schlepp all that stuff in and out, plus helped to set and pack props.
He would do as many as 4 shows a day--often in different schools! --I think that he would arrive at the first morning school when the custodian unlocked the doors, and was packing at the last school, after everyone had left, except the custodian! In his first years, in the '30s, he had it all in one small suitcase (I have it.) In his last years, he reverted to one case (a little larger than those first years (I have that one, too!) Clem had great manipulative skill, but he was somewhat obsessed with presenting a "Thurston" show in schools!
SNEAKY, UNDERHANDED, DEVIOUS,& SURREPTITIOUS ITINERANT MOUNTEBANK
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