Don Alan's "Magic Ranch" TV series, which began in 1961, stirred my interest. I located a brick and mortor shop in my area. On my very first visit I was welcomed with open arms by 6 or 7 adult magicians hanging around that Saturday. Really dazzled me with this and that effect. Found myself going back there EVERY Saturday!

My dad had always performed magic for me and my brother when we were kids. He learned new tricks while he was in the navy out on the ship and practiced on his shipmates so he could perform for us when he got back. When I was twelve I was climbing around in the attic when I found a box that had his old magic books in it. I pulled them out and learned a few tricks and showed them to my dad, who was very impressed. He later bought me a bunch of magic items to start me down the road of prestidigitation, my brother ended up joining me part way, but he performs only 100% impromptu effects. If he finds stuff he will do random acts of magic. I prefer to do shows in small theaters, but we still have lots of fun talking about magic together. It's always fun to get together and have sessions with them, because we all think the same, but have our different ideas to put in.

I always had an interest for magic, but 3 years ago a friend showed me a trick... I was sold...

Now I'm stuck... ;-)

My mom took my older brother and I into Flosso Hornman in NYC.

I don't know how she found FH. I suppose I should ask her someday

She edited movie magazines in her 20s, so maybe it was something she learned about from the entertainment industry.

Ok, one more time. I was just a toddler, living in Dallas, Texas, back in the early 1950's. We had three whole channels on the TV back then, which didn't come on the air until 5PM. Howdy Doody was the main show on the air at that time. Before that you got a test pattern.

Like every kid in the U.S. I was tuning into Howdy Doody. But like all modern TV watchers, when a commercial came on, I switched channels to see, generally other commercials. (I didn't realize back then that most commercials are scheduled at regular intervals and generally all networks would be in commercial at the same time.)

Well I switched one day and there was this beautiful lady, I couldn't take my eyes off of her. Even as a toddler I was madly in love with her. There was some guy with her who kept interrupting her screen time doing magic. Somehow at that very young age, I realized what he was doing wasn't real, but by some hidden means unknown to me. Since this lady seemed to be so amazed by him, I thought, "I want to be able to do what he does." The lovely lady and the man offered a pamphlet of tricks you can learn and do at home for just 5 Dr. Pepper bottle caps. My family didn't drink Dr. Pepper. But my mom's uncle owned a country store and I was allowed to raid the bottle cap opener of their soft drink cold box and got my bottle caps. It took like 70 years (kid time) for that pamphlet to come. I couldn't read, I wasn't in school yet. But, my dad read the instructions to me and helped me learn the tricks. I amazed everyone (even me). Then the lovely lady and the guy announced they were going to be at a supermarket, where my mom generally shopped, giving a show. Of course I had to go. It took a lot of whinning, begging and pleading, because my mom had no intentions of letting me loose in a parking lot to watch a show while she shopped, and really didn't have the time to stand in a parking lot watching a magician all day, but she finally gave in and took me.
During the show they announced that if you could show proof of purchase of a 6 pack of Dr. Pepper and buying a pack of Neuhauff franks from the store you would get a magic wand and a real magic trick you could perform. Of course that only launched my whining, begging, and pleading act again. Finally to get me to shut up, my mother caved and bought the franks and Dr. Pepper (which she made me drink) and I got my first magic apparatus, a magic wand and the Buddha Paper trick. I at last was a real magician!
The fact that every other kid in town had these didn't matter to me. Next the lovely lady and the guy announced they had a magic set full of magic tricks you could do, sold through the local Tiches department store (downtown Dallas). We didn't go downtown much, but the beg and plead was on again. After thanksgiving my mom had to go downtown to shop for something and I got to go, as we topped the escalator at Tiches there she was, the most beautiful woman in the world, and there were the magic kits. Oh the show I put on while being drug away screaming. So in desperation I turned to the only person in the world a kid could trust, Santa Claus! I asked for a magic kit for Christmas, and low and behold the jolly old elf came through for me on Christmas day.
That kit became my constant companion. My dad, again, had to read the instructions to me and help me learn how to do the tricks, since I still wasn't in school yet. I remember spending most of the day on that Christmas trying to find the hidden trap doors in the cups and balls set. (They sure hide those things well).
Oh did I fail to mention the lady was none other than the Lovely Nani Darnell, and the guy was a very young, former SMU head cheerleader, Mark Wilson. Their twice weekly 15 minute show, which now took priority over Howdy Doody, was called "Time for Magic."
I ate, slept, and lived with that Mark Wilson TV magic kit. I even got to shake the hand of the man with the Fifty Thousand Dollar hands (prices went up for hands by the time they did Magic Land of Allakazam), when Mark (without Nani to my great disappointment) did a show held in the hall of a local Garland, Tx church. I had met the most important man in the world. Only he and I were magicians, and I was one day going to overshadow his abilities so the Lovely Nani Darnell would now be amazed by me and not him.
My mom and dad went on a vacation to visit the couple who had been their best man and matron of honor at their wedding and, of course, I went to. I was very disappointed to not be able to find Time for Magic on their Television, but back then I thought what you saw on one TV set in one city, you would see on every TV set in every city. Still I kept myself entertained with my magic kit, always practicing (and believe me, I needed it).
One afternoon while we were there, my dad gathered me up and was going to take me to visit some old uncle of his. (Can't tell you how thrilled I was about that). But I still managed to get away with my cups and balls set for that visit, so I was entertained. While my dad and "Uncle Harry"(strange looking old guy, big shock of white hair, funny mustache) talked over family stuff, I sat on the floor practicing my cups and balls routine. At one point, Uncle Harry took note of what I was doing and asked me what I had. I proudly announced that I was a magician and this was one of my magic tricks. He asked me to perform it for him and with all the flair I could muster, I did so. I'm sure it was the worst cups and balls routine he had ever seen (I was only like 4 or 5 years old at this point), but he applauded and patted me on the head and told me to keep practicing and keep working on my magic, that one day I would be a great magician.
Then he left the room for a couple of minutes and came back in carrying this little bird cage. He had me put my hands on it and Wham! It disappeared right from between my hands! At that point, I realized that Uncle Harry had an interest in magic too, so I immediately began to lecture him on how he needed to get a Mark Wilson TV Magic Set and learn magic from Mark Wilson if he wanted to be a magician like Mark and me.
My dad said he would have given a million dollars to have a picture of Uncle Harry's face when I said that. But Uncle Harry recovered and realizing my young age patted me on the head again and told me he had heard fine things about "Young Mark Wilson."
My last name is Bouton. I had no clue that Uncle Harry was Harry Bouton Blackstone, Sr., the world's greatest magician. He didn't come on TV in Dallas twice a week and, I had no clue of who he was.
Needless to say, with Mark and I competing for the affections of the Lovely Nani Darnell (I'm still going to run off to Tahiti with her one day), and the encouragement and instruction from Uncle Harry and Uncle Pete Bouton, I continued to learn and grow as a magician, and have never enjoyed anything so much in my life as the enjoyment I've gotten from doing magic.

Wow, great story!

I saw Blackstone Junior when I was in college. Its one of only a handful of live magic shows I've ever gotten to see, but the flying lightbulb is something I still remember fondly. (I also remember him doing the bare-backed buzz saw illusion, which I still think is a terrible plot, but there you go.)

Edit: So now you've got me wondering... form the collar I assume you really are also a priest? How did that happen? Being a clergy spouse, Im curious

I didn't know Harry, Jr. as well as I knew his dad and Uncle Pete. Harry,Jr. was about 12 years younger than my dad. My dad knew him when both were younger, said he spent a lot of time in boarding schools. Most I know of Harry, Jr. comes from Gay, and others who worked with him like Bev Bergeron. I'll pm you about the clergy stuff since it is kind of off topic.

I've been and will always be a sucker at magic show. It means that I will love every bit of it. I used to have the z-fold wallet and some plastic gimmicks for close-up (which I already forgot what they were actually) in my early age (8 to 10 y.o.).

Then, I stopped buying because there were not many or very rare magic props sellers. Most of them were made of plastic. We got no books, no shop, etc.

Then I watched a guy doing 3 Card Monte on Youtube. I like watching illusion, classic or stage performance, but I know that it's not what I can do. However, after saw the video clip, I got this urge to actually start it as a hobby.

I used to browse and buy airsoft guns here (Chinese made of course) as the Japanese manufactured are really really expensive. But then, I felt that it is an extreme hobby especially I have a 2 years old daughter and a newborn son. I think, doing magic as a hobby is much more healthy and safe, in case my kids want to follow my passion.

So there it was. It was about 14 months ago, and I've been sinking myself into this great hobby. My daughter now keeps saying to me "Daddy, I want a deck of cards". Luckily I switched my hobby before even she remembered about the airsoft guns.

I want to learn anything about card tricks. Including psychology behind a presentation and the end result of it. Never regret that I switched my hobby. Except that I wish I started this hobby at my early age so I've already known more until now.

I apprenticed with Myrddin the Wizard.

- Mary Mowder

My friend's older brother was a magician. This is going back to my early teens. I dabbled in card magic for a while until I stopped in the year 2000. I'm back now. My return to magic is a, let's say, mid-life crisis. I bought a few bricks of cards instead of a Harley Davidson or a Corvette. My wife is thrilled!

I used to do magic for my parents. After they passed away, I thought they took the magic with them. But it's still here. It's alive and well. So I have come back.

My grandma always used to perform magic tricks for us before she died. Also, my father's college room mate always showed us tricks (but would never reveal them) to my siblings and I. I didn't really start performing until I saw This n' That on Youtube. Rather than look up a tutorial for the trick, I spent hours watching the video and figuring out the sleights that Paul used in the trick. Eventually I got it, showed it to my siblings, and they loved it. This was late December of last year; I've been doing magic ever since.

My grandfather used to show me very bad card tricks in the house when I was a kid. I learned the double lift and a few shuffles from a book in the library when I was ten, practiced and impressed him so much he never tried to show me anything else after that.,

Got interested after seeing a magician perform at our elementary school a few times when I was growing up (I still remember his newspaper tear).

My earliest recollection of a Magician was at an Adopted Children's Association Picnic when I was very young, probably 4 or 5, maybe younger. I remember he had a die box that amazed all of us kids. He put the die in the box and it vanished and was found in a hat! How could he do that?

Like Father P. It was Mark & Nani that made me realize I could be a Magician too. I got a magic set for my birthday or Christmas, practiced a lot, read a lot of magic books and had my mom make me a tux with tails. Thanks mom! I gave shows in my bedroom for the neighborhood kids and charged 10 cents or a quarter and used the money to buy more magic. My first "real magic trick" was a Homer Hudson die box. I had to go to Joe Berg's shop in Hollywood to get it and it cost me about $20.00. I still have it nearly 50 years later. I still wish I had saved enough money to buy the Milson/Worth 4 door model.

I met Mark and Nani about 12 years ago when our local IBM Ring became the the Mark Wilson Ring. I was so star struck (quite unusual for me, I still live near Hollywood and work in the movie industry) that it took 3 or 4 meetings with them before I could actually talk to them. They are truly wonderful people. Mark is as charming and Nani is as lovely as ever. It's hard to believe that it has been 50 years since I first saw them on TV and they started me on the path to a magical life.

I found myself working a 3rd shift job in 1975 - with 2 hours of work to do over an 8 hour period. Lots of time on my hands. One day I bought a copy of Magic magazine on the way to work - and found that there was a magic shop not far from where I was working. It was Al Flosso's shop in lower Manhattan. So I went up there - and he sold my a thumb tip and 10 inch red silk. I've been hooked ever since.

When I was 15, I checked out the book "NOw you see it , now you don't!" by Bill Tarr from my school's library, and learned a bunch of trick & sleights, but didn't really get into performing.

Then, when I turned 17, I was working at the magic kingdom, and at the time, there was a shop on Main street called 'house of magic'. I went in, and came out one paycheck poorer, and armed to the teeth with all manner of tenyo & adams gimmicks, as well as a video-instruction magic set by Steve Dacri.

I've never looked back.

When I'm still a spoiled brat,I watch on tv some magician do a gypsy trick and guess what I'm tryin it myself and it won't work,well start from there I'm interested in magic

But I'm serious learning magic is when I borrowed my friend a lecture video by david acer & rich fergusson ( funny guy both of them)

From there I'm so in love with magic

The spark came to me after watching a Taiwan magic variety show which had contestants competing for some top award. Somehow after watching, I was not satisfied as I felt that there were still rooms for better performance. So, I went to youtube and searched for more magic performance video and after watching several masters performing, I was hooked! Amazed by how they used their performance style, creativity and magic to create such a beautiful and marvelous piece of art-form. That was when I changed my perception on magic and that was also the day whereby I hope that someday, I will be able to present this amazing art-form to the people around me.

Which variety show was this? Da Ge Da or some other variation?