That was nice of Jerry, a star with the New York Knicks, to let Harry be a guest contributor on the book. Retired from basketball, Jerry now travels the world as a memory education expert.

Wikipedia says "Lucas also became a media darling in New York, where he found a large market for his magic tricks, memory games, and other products. He amazed many by memorizing portions of the Manhattan Phone Book or memorizing the names of an entire studio audience in sequence during television appearances.

He also had a knack for taking words apart and then respelling them alphabetically in rapid fire order ( his name would spell E-J-R-R-Y A-C-L-S-U ). Lucas showed many how mental games and memory exercises could build brain power and intelligence for people at any age".

Harry was lucky to hang onto his coat tails, that's for sure!

It says:
Jerry Lucas played professional basketball for the New York Knicks. Around that time he was able to meet up with Harry Lorayne for a meeting that lasted a whopping 18 hours. A lot of ideas in The Memory Book are from that meeting. At the start of each chapter, parts of the dialog from Jerry and Harry’s meeting is included, which makes for an interesting anecdote.

Lucas originally came to me because he wanted to do a magic act with me. When I told him that I didn't make my living doing magic, he looked around my townhouse and asked where I got the money "for all this." I told him about memory - he knew absolutely nothing about it. (The telephone thing he did was with a stooge and a radio - I have that radio; stooge's name was Dennis.) My book, THE MEMORY BOOK, was already all written. After we came to an agreement,and I spent all those hours teaching him, etc., I changed every "I" to the editorial "We," I wrote the dialogues in front of each chapter. Taught Lucas enough to make it look good when he helped promote the book, which was his only contribution. Then, he simply stole whatever he could. Every word out of his mouth is mine; he never added a thing. He is the president of the crook-of-the-month club. I'm saying it publicly, so he can sue me - that'd be terrific. Anyway, saying that "a lot of the ideas..." etc., came from that meeting, is idiocy. Repeat, Lucas knew squat about the subject. The ideas came from my preceding 12 or so books, a few written before Lucas was born. It was Lucas who was lucky to hang onto my coattails - he needed a career because his basketball career was ending when he originally called me. Biggest laugh is that I was " the guest contributor". Now THAT'S funny, since he contributed NOTHING - repeat, NOTHING - except the personal Foreword I asked him to write, to help make it look legitimate. All anyone has to do is try to find ANYTHING Lucas ever wrote before he me, and STOLE, from me - I want to say it publicly so he can sue me. Ha. Good ol' Joe, as usual, is so anxious to dig me that he simply spouts things he knows nothing about, makes up a few things, etc. Anything for that "dig" he so desperately and jealously searches for. That's okay, just gave me this "plug" opportunity - thanks. You can go to my magic website, listed under this post, with the word "magic" in it, and click on Memory to see all that's available. While you're there you can click on magic stuff, too. I had promised myself, and friends, not to respond to this person, so I won't any more, said it all here, and wanted to take advantage of his giving me this "plug" opening. Thanks again.

Mr.Lorayne,I remember you and Jerry on TV together in the 1970's. You seemed "Best OF Friends" and you praised him. I didn't know you were just pretending for the public. How could I know that?

Jerry's webiste site says "Jerry graduated Phi Beta Kappa from Ohio State University" and that "he co-authored the New York Times best-seller The Memory Book. Jerry has devoted his life to cultivating ideas and methods for fun and easy memory-retention. The resulting methods are now known as The Lucas Learning Systemâ„¢ and have earned him the title of Doctor Memoryâ„¢."

Mr. Lorayne, I was the one that PM'd you about this thread:

"Mr.Lorayne, that must have been a thrill to work with this NY sports superstar and memory expert.

Did Jerry teach you his system for when you went on TV together? I still remember you both doing TV shows together. It was very exciting to see you both display your talents.

http://www.themagiccafe.com/forums/viewt......um=110&0

Your friend,
Joe "

Jerry Lucas is known as Dr. Memory and teaches his systems all over the world:

http://doctormemory.com/html/general_interest_courses.html

Joe Mauro wrote:

Joe, Harry wasn't lucky to hang onto Jerry Lucas's coat tails, and you have the names listed in the wrong order in the title to this topic. Check the book itself, or, if you don't own the book, check Amazon.com. Harry Lorayne is listed as the first author, and not as a "guest" author. I have read The Memory Book and it's pretty clear that Harry Lorayne wrote the vast majority of the book. This is clear both from the testimony in the book and the writing style.

Jerry Lucas developed his own memory techniques when young, but when he was in college, he read one of Harry Lorayne's books and he combined the memory techniques Harry Lorayne had published with his own. My best guess is that he read How To Develop A Super Power Memory, by Harry Lorayne, which was published in January 1957, and released every year for years afterward, but it might have been some other book by Harry Lorayne. Since Jerry Lucas learned from one of Harry Lorayne's earlier books, your comment about "coat tails" makes me wonder if you read The Memory Book.

Harry Lorayne had also written Secrets of Mind Power in 1961 when Jerry Lucas was still in college.

Having a sports figure as a co-author might increase sales somewhat, but Harry Lorayne was already an established author, television celebrity, and deeply entrenched in the magic community when Jerry Lucas approached him. Having written at least two books on memory already, and being listed as the first author, and given Jerry Lucas's own comments in the book, your assertion in the title to this topic that Harry Lorayne was a "guest author" is absurd.

You referred to accomplishments of Jerry Lucas on Wikopedia, but didn't quote Harry Lorayne's accomplishments that are also listed on Wikopedia. You mentioned Jerry Lucas's memory demonstrations where he memorized all the people in a studio audience, but omitted Harry Lorayne's memory demonstrations. I saw one of them on television myself when I was a child, probably about 6 years old. I'm 53 years old now. Harry Lorayne memorized the first names of an audience of 500 people and recited them all back. It was edited to show only the beginning and the end of the demonstration, but it was made clear he got every person's name correct the first time. By the way, Wikopedia mentions Harry Lorayne doing this with an audience of about 1500 people!

I was too young to watch nighttime television in the early 1960s, but I saw daytime television. Harry Lorayne was a well-known celebrity then, and when it came to memory demonstrations, he was name that I always heard mentioned. Unfortunately, I missed when he was on the Ed Sullivan show, and his early appearances on the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson were on too late for a child to view. Fortunately, he appeared on that show many times for many years, so eventually I saw him on the show when I was much older. I expect that Harry Lorayne was on Tonight Show with Johnny Carson more than most guests who appeared on the show, more even than some famous movie stars.

I knew who Harry Lorayne was long before I heard of Jerry Lucas. I'm sure for some people it's the opposite, nonetheless, Harry Lorayne didn't need Jerry Lucas to sell his books; college students, like Jerry Lucas himself, were already reading them!

Given that the ideas that Jerry Lucas got from the earlier book by Harry Lorayne were extremely significant, and that Harry Lorayne was doing televised memory demonstrations years before Jerry Lucas did them, and that Harry Lorayne clearly wrote most of the book, and was already selling similar books, and appearing on television shows before The Memory Book was written, your assertion seems a bit over the top. Sure, it was a good collaboration for both men, but certainly not the way you imply.

Thank you Bill!! This whole Jerry Lucas the Memory Expert drives me nuts!! Your post will have hopefully set the record straight - especially since I have noticed over the years that Mr. Lorayne tends to be a target. Good to see others setting the record straight for him.

I have said this many times before (note, I am not saying Mr. Lorayne was a target here, but he has in other threads) that I belong also to music forums. And we see a few big names from time to time, but none equivalent to the status of a Harry Lorayne. Having Harry Lorayne here is to me like having Paul McCartney visit a music site. In other words, if Paul/Harry says it, I am listening.

Ahimsa,
Vlad

Thanks, guys. I will no longer respond to venomous remarks, but Bill, for the record - I didn't write most of the book, I wrote all of it. (It was all written when Lucas came to me to do a "magic" act together.) Again, for the record: I had Lucas say that he developed "his own" etc. He did not. He'd never heard of memory-training techniques when he called and came to see me. Had to say a few things that were not so just to make it all "work." Oh, one other thing - the OP mentioned Lucas remembering names, etc., on The Tonight Show. Not so. That was me - 23 times! When we were promoting The Memory Book, I talked Johnny (Carson) into having Lucas do a memory magic square on the show. I was there, in the wings, coaching and making sure he (Lucas) didn't louse it up. Any demonstrations Lucas did at that time was taught to him by me. Best - HARRY L.


Posted: Mar 22, 2010 1:12pm
--------------------------------
Oh, Bill, again just to keep the record straight. I had written eight books on memory training before writing The Memory Book. (Nine, if you count Miracle Math, but that wasn't on the subject.) Two of those eight were geared toward school students - Good Memory-Good Student! and Good Memory-Successful Student! I re-wrote those into one volume years later for a book called, Super Memory-Super Student! (Little Brown, Publishers). Quite a few books came after that - Remembering People, Memory Makes Money, Page-A-Minute Memory Book, etc., and currently Ageless Memory (Simple Secrets for Keeping Your Brain Young). I'm gonna' keep doing it until I get it right!! Best - HARRY.

I enjoyed Harry's performances when he made appearances at TANNEN's during the MEMORY BOOK era....Always admired his work with the MEMORY BOOK and the techniques you taught even if Jerry Lucas was not the innovator like you mention. However the outcome, it is sad to read such venomous writings about the two of you and learn there still is such bitterness....Our brotherhood of magicians inspires UNITY....Magic Unity Might....It is ashame that you can not let bygones put to rest. Is it worth going to your grave with such hostility? I hope you'll find it in your heart to forgive and forget and move past these bitter times. After all....Isn't magic supposed to be inspiring and filled with joy instead of such hatred....Best to both you and Jerry Mr. Lorayne....You still are my hero from the early days of magic and Tannen's...I wish you peace...

Click here to view attached image.

Interesting - "so sad to read....etc." And - "move past...etc." And "...bygones put to rest..." etc. - but you manage to bring up a stupid thread that's OVER FIVE YEARS OLD! I couldn't care less, but - this is a joke, right? I wish YOU peace.

Dear Harry:
Didn't realize it was such an old post and so happy it was not as venomous as it appeared. All that aside, I simply just wanted to state the hopefulness of peace and reiterate that you were always my hero growing up MAGIC at TANNEN's...I had the book....I read your lectures. I met you at Tannen's and the Magic Townhouse and will always remember your techniques for memory as they've served me well....I simply was saddened about what appeared to read as shear bitterness and am glad you still are the consummate gentleman and star I once remembered. All the best...Shalom...
James Ford Nussbaum
GALILEO PRODUCTIONS, LLC
www.galileoproductions.com
www.impactthefilm.com