Hello there,
I just read the thread on Mentalism in Canada and Gary Kurtz came to my mind.

I loved his close up magic and his Jas Jakutsch books are some of my favorites.

What is he doing right now?

He seems to stay away from mentalists/ magicians as much as he can. He does not publish anymore ( which is sad as his thinking is brilliant).

Also I really missed an interview with him on conversations with mindreaders. He was a close up magician( one of the best!) who turned to mentalism. This is the way a lot of us got into mentalism as well.

( well, we might not have been on a close up top list but you get my point... )

Does anybody know if he doesn´t publish or take part in the mentalism community on purpose?

Didn´t he want to be interviewed by Cummings?

Would be great if someone had some information on this.

Thank you,

Ravi

Kurtz was my favourite close-up magician.May be he has his reasons for staying away...
I never saw him perform mentalism but I love his books about mentalism.
Anyone knows more about him let us know!

I spoke to Gary several years ago by phone. He told me then (and this was '97) that he got into doing mentalism because he would spend years working on some of the great close-up pieces he would perform, then had a hard time getting the money he felt that his act was worth. Then, he started doing mentalism and was getting quite a bit more money without having to haggle price. Not to mention, he said that the number of places he was performing were greatly increasing annually.

Rick

Well yes Gary is still doing shows. I went to see his current show in Montréal last February and he has others in May. His act is really...well...just incredible. I consider myself lucky to live in the same city as him

He has a tv special too not long ago that was filmed in France and they air it here as well.

I really enjoyed his book Leading With Your Head and is sad that he doesn't publish anymore. From what I heard from people that I talked to met him, I think he quited magic basically because he was ****ed on how majority of magicians would "steel" someone's act or effects and almost claim it as theirs after and not even trying to come up with their own stuff...which is quite true when I think about it lol So I guess he moved to mentalism because of that and this field being more "advanced" and a more intelligent art...I don't know.

Thank you for all the information!

It is very sad but we have to accept what may be true.

Also, Gary is right if he said something like Partyboy said in his post.

Something I would really like to know though is , if Cummings TRIED to interview him???

Even the reason why Gary turned from magic to mentalism could be something we all could learn from.

( and we all have to think of our way of taking other people´s effects and performing them.)

Ravi

Ravi,

he did a special in france in January. if you want more details email me.

Nir

Hello,

Just for the record, I asked to interview Gary Kurtz and he was one of only two people who refused. He did not disclose to me the reason why. I'm sure he would have made a superb interview. He's a brillaint thinker and I wish him all the best.

Best,
Ben Cummings
http://www.mindthievery.com

This is what we call a real "Man of Mystery"...

:-)

... and a wise guy too.

Thank you Ben for answering.

Interesting!

So, how is Gary these days, I have heard he hates magicians now, and cannot stand it when a magician sees him and trys to show him something or tell him how much they enjoyed him. Its like he is 2 different people, though he is Gary Kurtz and Jas Jakutsch. Any idea where that name came from either? The only thing left of Garys Magic days I don't have that I am aware of is his chair prediction

Hello All,

First off, I'm a big fan of Gary's material. Blocking, misdirection, patter, plot, originality, etc. etc.

Gary's move to mentalism was kinda predictable (ha ha) if you look at the way he handled his sleight of hand presentations. They always seemed to deal with the future, time, etc.

The thing is, Gary moved on. But, someday, I think he may return to magic and sleight of hand (yep, I wrote that). Someday, mentalism may hold little challenge for him, just as magic eventually did. OR maybe magic was burning him out, and mentalism may have a similar affect. Maybe, he'll go back to dance, I don't know.

All I know, is that he impacted magic like very few magicans ever have. He must know this, and eventually, he may say to himself, "what if I went back." It would be great to see the way he would think about magic these days or sometime in the future, with all that extra knowlege that mentalism performances and life, would provide him with. Sure there are tons of magicians that currently are doing just that. But since his history holds so much fascination for magicians, it would be great to see him back.

I hope that he doesn't hate magicians, I'd like to think not. But, if he has ill feelings towards them, hey that's life as we know it, whatever. But I'd still like to think he's cool with magic and magicians.

So here's to Gary coming back eventually, and look out when he does. Until then, we should all work as hard to be as original, and inventive as Gary IS. Oh, and if we ****ed him off by taking some of his stuff when he was into magic, maybe we should all just back off a little next time....or.....grab as much as he's willing to write about. Who know's, but it would sure be interesting.

Cheers,
Brian Roberts

Looks like Gary Kurtz is doing a new show. Go to http://www.garykurtz.com for more info, wish I lived in Canada to catch it.

Today I cleaned up my library and found some old books - and the Gary show - recorded 20 years ago. Nostalgia for those magical times.
  Does anyone know how things are with Gary - has he returned to magic?

Any news about Mr. Kurtz ?

This is an excellent question. It looks like Mr. Kurtz has completely disappeared. I would honestly appreciate any info about his doing today. Is he well, still here, still into the mystery arts or whatever. So if someone of you knows something please share. Thanks.

I believe he lives and performs in France

I haven't heard anything about Gary Kurtz in France.
I try to contact him with no success...

Is there someone here who knows him?
Thanks

His website is still up: garykurtz.com/. There's a contact form and phone number listed.
Although it seems like the last date mentioned on the website is 2012 , so that's a while ago ...

I've noticed over the years that many of the top magicians have very successful careers doing corporate gigs and private parties for the wealthy , and they don't necessarily mix with other magicians , so he might still be very active as a performer or consultant , just not part of our little world .