Well he helped Robin Williams get one in Mork and Mindy...

I don't know if he actually had a license, but the name on it would depend on whether it was before or after he legally changed his name.

Did he have a note predicting the day of his death in his pocket?
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Mr. Maven very well could have - as he DID know the day...and the exact time too.

Max didn't know how to drive (I took him grocery shopping) so it's unlikely he had a driver's license

Max enjoyed watching professional wrestling. I suggested to him that, like mentalism, while rehearsed and scripted, interacting with a spectator was a bit risky, that things could go wrong. He agreed.

I would also argue that is what makes performing challenging and so much fun. I've had my fair share of spectators causing things to go haywire. The mark of a professional is having outs for anything that could possibly go wrong (and minimizing their actual occurrence). There's two ways to go about doing this; one, is through experience. Every time something goes wrong, figure out how to avoid it the next time you perform. With mentalism, this is somewhat okay, as a few misses lends credibility to a performance. The second is to think through beforehand every possible way things can go wrong. Max was a master at this second approach.

Thought people might enjoy my friend's article on Max Maven from an unusual perspective. https://www.tabletmag.com/sections/commu......ax-maven

Is this Zoom talk by Max available to watch, I would love to see it!

RIP - a brilliant mind and creator to the magic community

This a wonderful interview that’s informative, interesting and touching.

https://youtu.be/xZSEgDI-zJw

Thanks for sharing this, awesome interview!

It is a shame that his show -Thinking in person- is forever lost. It would have been such a valuable lesson for next generations.

Thanks for sharing the interview. I’m very sad for this lost.

Thanks for the lovely memorable interview. The man behind the persona was really likable!

George

I knew Max pretty well. He was my human reference library when I had a question about an idea I might have had or the validity of a credit in a work I was translating. I made sure not to abuse the privilege of being able to contact him. In one case, I was working on the translation of one of Borodin's books, and found a reference to Didi Corbuzier, an Asian mentalist who had copied Max's widow's peak and uniquely shaped goatee. I called Max and asked him if Didi had actually created the principle in Borodin's book. Max answered, "Yes. Didi did not steal that one...like he stole my FACE!" Then he laughed.

I ran into him at conventions quite frequently, and we became friends.

He was a great performer, a formidable thinker, a wealth of knowledge, and above all, a good person.

I miss him.

Enjoyed the article, thanks for the share.

He spent his time in life wisely. RIP

A new article about Max Maven here, January 2023:

https://geniimagazine.com/

Https://digitalvanishmagazine.com/max-ma......70119840

More info about Max.

I actually don't use any social medial so I'm late realizing this. I just discovered it as I was searching for new podcasts for mentalists and saw a recent one with his name, only to find it was a replay of an earlier interview with Max in tribute. He is attached to some of my earliest memories of magic, watching him on The World's Greatest Magic back in the 1990s. While obviously the methods used for interactive magic through the TV like he was performing are looked at as obvious or simple now to most of us who have become too knowledgeable, I try to remind myself there's a great lesson in what he was doing. You don't necessarily have to be using the most amazing technique or sleight or gimmick to have a real impact on someone or to create lasting memories. Here I am 30 years later almost and can still remember being excited for the commercials to be over so I could find out if he was able to know what I had picked. As I got older and became more interested in mentalism and started watching and studying his material, it wasn't just the effects themselves that I enjoyed. His knowledge of the history of magic and mentalism was a true wealth of information. Perhaps we could all learn a little from the fact that as good as he was, he took the time to study the ones before him, actually researching his effects and attributing others when needed.
A short story. I guess it was back in 2019 after I had watched one of his lectures I decided I was going to try to email him one morning just to say thanks for what he's contributed to the mentalism community. I honestly expected that to be the extent of it but later that day I actually received a reply from him. It wasn't anything super long or anything like that, but it showed what kind of person he actually was. I consider myself a serious hobbyist and perform actual shows very rarely so he had no reason to spend the time to read and then respond to my note. I know he always had the reputation of being gruff, but it seemed to me that he actually just had a very dry sense of humor. For me, that was confirmed by his response to me, and I still tell people about the time I sent an email to Max Maven and he actually responded.
The world really seems to have been diminished in his passing, but I can imagine him arriving to the other side, walking up, and going "Boo."
Rest in Peace Max.

Thank you.