I have been performing the zombie effect for roughlky 2 years now on stage, but I have failed to come up with a decent ending. I usually just put it back on the pedestool and move on to my next effect. Does anyone have any suggestions on good ending to use for the zombie that will really pack a punch?

Shrink it down to a tiny sphere and do some contact juggling with it. Or the French Drop. Or both.

An asrah type vanish would be cool.
You can load the inside of the ball with whatever your want.
Jeff McBride has used spring flowers inside.

I am working on a routine where after a good zombie routine, I drop the foulard and continue to float the ball. Might even try floating it right off the stage for the ending. It takes a zombie routine up to a whole new level.

I've always liked Lance Burton's ending with the silver mylar coil mixed with mylar confetti. Packs a big punch!

That's Neil Foster's ending and I think Abbott's still sells it.
I end the zombie with throw stearmers.
A good DVD to get is my pal Tim Wright's Zombie DVD.

General Grant vanishes his Zombie at the end of his routine in a very traditional manner. He gives the details in his lecture notes "How to make a living stealing... Doves of course!"

Where could I find Tim Wright's DVD and about how much is it?

Here you go Tyler http://www.skilldini.com/

Thanks for the link

Your welcome

Genaral Grant's works with Tux and tails and dumps it like a dove vanish and he does it well.

Dug Henning swappet it very fast with a walk on assistant and appeared a live bald eagle.

Producing it out of a cage or plastic box and it floats back into it is very effective.

Look at the Joe Karson book..Tips on Zombie. It might have been complied by Neil Foster. I believe it is still sold by Abbott's.

Richard

If I wanted to vanish it where would I hide the gimmick?

Re: hiding the gimmick after you've ditched the ball ---
if you don't dump the gimmick at the same time as the ball , just hide it against your forearm, snap it in place back against your arm like you're doing the "Flip Stick" move . (if you don't know Flip's "Flip Stick" move it's in Tarbell.)

As recommended above you should get the Further Tips on the Zombie book from Abbott's (available from some other dealer's , too. I think I saw it on the shelf at Daytona Magic last time I was over there). The Tim Wright video is excellent , as is Jeff McBride's section on zombie in his "On Stage" video series (Volume 3).

If you decide to try the Ball to Flowers (spring flowers) ending definitely pay attention to Jeff McBride's handling on that . As Jeff performs it , it looks like the ball magically transforms into flowers, not that he yanks the two halves of the ball apart and some paper flowers pop out (which is how I've seen some magicians do it, which is incorrect) . Also , use solid colors (all white or all red) blossoms with green leaves for the spring flowers, not the multi-colored ones that most dealers sell .

At one time Jeff McBride was recommending the spring flowers made by Steve Thomas. I'm not sure if Steve is still making spring flowers (and spring bills) for sale or not , but you could contact him :

http://www.stevethomasmagic.com/contactsteve.php

Steve makes them in the solid colors and they look really good.

Ive been performing Zombie with a 1 min 45 sec routine to music for almost 27 years in hundreds of theatres & clubs-I personally find either the ball floats & if you can do good vanish do it!!-or a tranformation to glitter etc is not as strong -As long as the floating is very real & a great piece of magic the rest is icing on the cake

I now finish with a the ball rising under the cloth as I grab it with my left hand gimmick attached & flick the gimmick to my left forearm so I can throw the cloth up & put the ball down etc-Works in difficult performing conditions etc

Keep your routines short

I have not performed Zombie in years. However, I used a flash paper vanish to end my routine. The firing gizmo was attached to the gimmick on my right hand. As I fired the flash, everything fell to my case behind my table.

If you have a table or any other object on the stage you can drop the ball without showing it and then throw the silk in the air – the ball vanished.
Another way, if you are wearing a toxido and have a pocket at your tail you may vanish the ball at the pocket and throw the silk again at the air – the ball vanished.

... so you drop the ball in your tail pocket and the stick goes where?...while you (almost) simultaneously throw the silk up into the air... a la "flip-stick" method,leaving the stick tucked tight, up against your arm (as suggested above)?

Please elaborate... where and when (and how) do you ditch the stick after the vanish?... find a reason (motivation) walk back behind your table and non-chalantly "drop it?", or by another method, less obvious another method?

Also, if you walk (or are "pulled" by the zombie) behind your table, and you ditch the stick and ball into a bag behind your table, you do this as you what?....

throw the silk up in the air to reveal the vanish?

Or, might the performer use another method to make the vanish, as suggested in posts above...

...ditch the ball and stick into the bag behind the table and then quickly move back around and out in front of his/her table with the empty silk held in a way that suggests that the ball is still beneath it (which seems to be a real challenge to do convincingly --but possible with practice and drama) then, once in front of the tablem the performer proceeds to throw the silk up into the air with a quick snap , only to reveal the sudden vanish... in this way the performer is not left standing too near the evidence... the smoking gun...the bag behind your table.

Suggestions to choreograph this type of vanish (behind the table) would be very much appreciated.

Jonathan

If you drop the ball only you can still use the stick to give the filling that the ball is atill there and then throw the silk hiding the stick under your arm.

Thanks eb02.

I understand this blocking, and the method of doing the flip stick move to initially hide the gimmick as you toss the foulard into the air with your other hand. Then, as you suggest, the stick could be ditched behind the table as the Magi returns to "pick up" his /her next trick.

I will need to begin to practice and block this type of ending more thouroughly. I have tried "walking through" the motions loosely , a few times, and it feels very awkward an conspicous (...the tossing up of the foulard with my left hand, as I simultaneously do the flip stick move with my gimmick in my right hand,then try to hide the gimmick along my arm).

Again, many thanks. Further input and elaboration on the choreography/timing of this move would be greatly appreciated at this point.

Jonathan