There's a old theater in my home town that hosts quite a few shows a year, mostly tribute bands that essentially impersonate famous bands of yesteryear. Mainly rock bands from the 70s and 80s.

This got me wondering, when The Amazing Kreskin goes to the great b****t box in the sky - which I truly hope is many years away, will someone emerge with a Kreskin tribute act?

I suppose the scale of Kreskin's fame is not the same as the famous rock bands. But at least one famous mentalist - Joseph Dunninger, had a show in tribute to him by Joe Atmore.

Is Kreskin as famous as Dunninger was? How do you measure that?

I can see a Uri Geller tribute act one day...perhaps he is more famous...

Isn't Kreskin already a Dunninger tribute act?

Kristin is often entertaining, but he may lack the gravitas to become a legend.

George

I really doubt he's got enough of a reputation still.

There was a movie several years ago called The Great Buck Howard, based on Kreskin's persona. I had never heard of him before that movie, and I've only heard of very mixed reviews for his performances since then.

I came here to say this.

I feel IF Kreskin were to have a tribute show, it’s more of a continued Dunninger tribute anyway. That’s no disrespect to Kreskin, but as his legacy will be mainly remembered by the fraternity, much like that of Dunninger, and he is known mainly for copying an act.

I don’t think he brought enough originality, artistically speaking. But he is a masterful showman.

I think his shows really brought something new...glad I got them on dvd when I could...

The format was smart...

I do know of one "professional" who is essentially copying Kreskin's act.

In fact, me mentioning this many years ago, caused me to get blackballed from the PEA.

Somehow the derivative nature of Kreskin's act was entirely his own. He owned it.

I watched him on TV in the 1970s and saw him in 2012 live in a small venue in my hometown. I was the audience member on stage who looked at his personally printed promise to verify he was really betting his paycheck! I also went outside with the group that guarded him during the hiding of the "paycheck" as he did a little mind reading cold.

Somehow he seems part of the folk culture rather than an "impersonator" or copy-cat of Dunninger, and I rather think anyone who does similarly with the same boldness is preserving something, accomplishing something maybe important, even if not "moving the art forward" and so on.

P.S. I do think simple copying and impersonation is a real issue.

Good lord I hope not.