I do have a couple of little things I'd like to share from my interactions with David. I have posted other mentions here on occasion, as well, which I think you could find in a search if you'd like.

He helped me grasp (pun not necessarily intended but seems a good fit) classic palm technique very quickly in one of the breakout sessions at NYCMS 5 in 2007.

Earlier in the day, and this is documented on one of Volumes 5, 6, or 7, I believe, he had asked me if I palm coins (*direct quotes can be obtained, I'm paraphrasing). I haltingly said I did, a little. He was demonstrating his rosin, which he had included for all attendees in the gift bag. He rosined up a silver coin, half dollar, 50 cent piece and told me to palm it.

He asked if I noticed it was "tacky". I accepted it was and answered in the affirmative. Immediately the coin dropped out of my hand, and fell to the floor, being sure to clang loudly against my chair, as it went.

"Sticks like glue!" says David.

Problem was I was trying to palm the coin on a sort of diagonal top to bottom. Once David explained the proper technique is side to side I was on my way and he had us try in the breakout session. He gave a couple of simple directions and a visual demonstration of how to "flatten the hand". I followed them.

"YES! That's it!" said David. And suddenly I could classic palm a coin.

I don't remember what we were talking about- same session- but all of a sudden he points at me and yells, triumphantly,

"Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh! SHE SAID Ehhhhhhhhhhhhhhhh!"

Yes, David not only sold the rosin, but used it himself. Even David didn't take chances that a coin would slip!!

Is this the same rosin that is used on violin bows?

If no, where can it be obtained from?

John

Yes.He preferred the dark rosin.

Not many people know this, but David Roth was in the movie BIG, as an extra. Look for him as a father with his son , wearing a gray jacket, in the backround during this iconic scene at FAO Schwarz.
https://youtu.be/CF7-rz9nIn4

F.A.O. Schwartz. I don't know if everyone knows that David worked out tricks that he could only do because of the way that the magic department was built. He discovered this over time and worked out certain routines he could only do there...without giving anything away-that's all I'll say. Maybe Mike will want to go further, but I'll leave that to him.

In case anyone thought I meant coin tricks, these were mental feats with cards.

Since nobody is biting I'll go. So, when David was working at a magic shop or magic department, he wasn't getting his fee that he required to do coin magic...unless there was a dealer item (Hopping Halves for instance) for sale which he could demo. But if someone wasn't buying anything...he liked to do card tricks. He liked Twisting the Aces, Bro. Hammond's Card on the Table, and Smith's Myth, if I recall. But he had worked out really impossible card tricks at F.A.O. because he could see reflections of the cards people selected, in the glass counter and also the cabinets, and there were more than one place, and the lighting had some impact on this phenomenon. This type of magic dates back to the idea of that a cup of black coffee could reflect a card held above it.

Suffice it to say that David was good at many kinds of magic...not just coins.

Did David do the Imp Bottle at the store?

I never saw him demonstrate store items, but of course he did when he had to, but when no one was buying, he'd do card tricks, as I remember. If the store carried the Imp Bottle, then he'd have done the Imp Bottle.

Getting back to coins, for various reasons David didn't do coins very often at magic shop counters. This was true for Fantasma as well. I remember him saying that he felt the various gimmicks involved with the trick Hopping Halves were each interesting in themselves and he thought the various gaffs were worth it. I never bought a set, but plan to someday.

Speaking of the Imp Bottle, have you seen this beauty by Michael Baker?

http://www.themagiccompany.com/chianti.jpg

It's "Pocket" Classic # 4 - Chianti Imp Bottle

(scroll down)

http://www.themagiccompany.com/cat_main.html

I just bought one...

Doug

In an earlier post I erred when I mentioned that David Roth was the extra with a small boy during the piano scene in the movie BIG. That guy looked like David, but wasn't him. David was actually at the end of the crowd, and can be seen clearly as the two stars walk off the piano keys at the end and walk toward David, who is wearing a gray jacket and tie.I will try to post a photo:

Click here to view attached image.

During a conversation with Mike Rubinstein, it came up about a famous bit of the Roth Legend, that being his little black books which contained his repertoire, his list of routines. I actually saw these books in the early 70's. They were tiny and I remember 2. The handwriting was in block lettering, small, if I remember.

Mike mentioned that Bill Kalush acquired them and I hope Bill makes digital copies which he is equipped to make, and makes them available...maybe in Genii or such.

David mentioned that Richard Kaufman changed the names of certain moves and tricks so it would be an interesting document as to what David called various things. For example "the scoop" became "the Scoop Addunder" etc. Geoff Latta knew of the books. Others who would have would be Pat Cook and Darwin Ortiz and maybe Jamie Swiss but I'm not sure.

Fascinating Gregg and Doc

I use "the scoop" a lot in my box work. I always work seated so such a 'simple' move elimates a lot of picking up the box which I don't like.
I've mentioned before about when David did a lecture tour over here in the mid 90's. Aswell as travelling down to London to see it he also came up to the north east (Newcastle)a few days later so I took a non magician friend along with me. David remembered me and even bummed a cigarette off me as the ones he had bought were 'too light'.
He was doing the stonehenge coin assembly and as the final load (huge stone) hit the table my friend unintentionally said "what the !@#$". Fortunatley it was drowned out by the cheers.

He smoked about 4 cigarettes a day...which is a very small amount for smokers. Yet he didn't want to quit completely. I had to quit and always told him he should quit entirely but he always said he didn't want to quit. In fact we discussed Slydini's torn and restored lit cigarette not too long ago. Like a lot of us cigarette magic got us smoking. When you couldn't smoke in restaurants...there went a lot of cigarette magic. I remember when the big ending for the Chanin silk production of coin was to produce a cigarette and next a lighter and then go into some cigarette magic. Slydini's torn unlit cigarette where he tears it into about 4 small pieces then restores it...when he did it for Sophia Loren on Dick Cavette's show...wow. I'm sure David had work on it.

[quote]On Apr 2, 2021, gregg webb wrote:
During a conversation with Mike Rubinstein, it came up about a famous bit of the Roth Legend, that being his little black books which contained his repertoire, his list of routines. I actually saw these books in the early 70's. They were tiny and I remember 2. The handwriting was in block lettering, small, if I remember.

This is a great story. So Greg / Dr Mike, I wondered if either of you could estimate how many routines David Roth knew / performed throughout his life / career? Hundreds? Perhaps thousands? It sounds like he practiced more than most, and was prodigious with not only coins, but also cards and other stuff!!

Great thread

BW

Steve

Well, if you go through his book and his DVD's etc, there are a lot, and add cards, not too many but what he did, he did perfectly. Three ball trick. Endless Chain, Chop Cup, Spongeballs. I'd guess hundreds of routines, but he phased out certain things that he did earlier in his career. With the advent of the Slot Box, certain earlier routines were dropped in favor of newer things. In his lectures, he trimmed things down to what he thought other people could possibly learn...like the shell coins across with the goblet. It almost seems like he did a lot less coin-box stuff later in his career. I mean, I don't remember him doing the Tuning Fork after a certain point. It may be my opinion only, but it felt like he realized that no one could learn some of his routines and figured out "why not teach them something they can use" in his lectures after a certain point. I realize I didn't give an exact answer.

P.s. just wanted to make sure people know the little black books didn't contain his entire life's work in them. No. They were the repertoire of routines he used when he was just getting famous. Titles, like Out With 4, etc. and not instructions or theories. I'd love to see the lists today. That would have been the early and mid 70's.

P.p.s And I'm only talking about the 2 I saw. I'm sure he wrote later lists of items in his repertoire as his career went on but I never asked. David was very generous with help to any of us really interested in coins. Then came a time when he realized he had been too open about his work. From that time on I was careful to not seem like I was prying. There was one development that he really kept a lid on for a long time and then finally he showed me what it was after he finally taught it at some coin summit in Europe or something. That session he also fooled me with a Han Ping Chien variation I never saw, and he had a look in his eye like from when he was just getting famous and he made all the coins go to his right hand and the Chinese coin went to his left hand (!) I never asked, and I worked out several ways it could be done but never was sure.