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The Magic Cafe Forum Index » » Boxes, tubes & bags » » Fruit Bowl by Scott Alexander (1 Likes) Printer Friendly Version

Eugene Chekhov
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Scott's untimely death prevented many from buy the product. He released several units. Perhaps you have this and could you tell us a little more about the presentation of this classic trick.

He always found old trick to give them life in the 21st century
https://youtu.be/4R0btYHL56Y?si=JiWIw8BXuW5pvB4A
I love the magic & history of magic! My favorites magicians - Dai Vernon, Max Malini, Fielding West, Michael Finney, Jeff Hobson, Bob Sheets, Nick Lewin, Harry Murphy, Dick Oslund- great showmen of magic!
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Eugene_Chekhov@yahoo.com
David Todd
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I wasn't aware that Scott had marketed the effect. He had a great talent for resurrecting or revamping older effects with a fresh presentation.
I'm fairly sure the device he sold with the effect would be fairly simple, much like the old Abbott's "Orange Classic" orange production , although maybe it was more sophisticated like the Loyd's "Assisto" device, which had a smooth , one-handed release mechanism that reduced some of the fumbling that could occur with the simpler Abbott device. I've never handled the "Assisto" device, only seen a single photo if it in a magic auction catalog. I don't know exactly how it was constructed. Maybe Scott's used a more mechanically sophisticated device like "Assisto" or it could have just been the simple device similar to the Abbott "Orange Classic. What you're usually paying for with a Scott Alexander product is not the props per se, but the presentation that he had honed through countless performances.

Image



David Ben used the Raymond orange production in his show "The Conjuror" first staged in 1997. I think he has done it in other shows since then.


Oranges a la Raymond - David Ben's account in Genii magazine
of resurrecting the effect for his show "The Conjuror" -

"Patrick and I were rehearsing the show in the dance studio
that I rented on a regular basis. One week during rehearsal,
Ron Leonard—a journeyman magician from Toronto (then
I imagine in his seventies) phoned me and said that he had heard
a great deal about The Conjuror and that perhaps he had some
material that might be of interest to me.
(Ron had an early influence—often unrecognized—on Doug Henning.)

I said that I would love to see whatever Ron had to offer.
He came to the studio on a day I was sure Patrick would be in attendance.
I wanted Patrick to have the opportunity of seeing the material as well.
I was reading the Raymond book at the same time and had
become fascinated by the story of the production of oranges and
of how Raymond only taught it to a couple of people—one of
whom was Will Rock. I was amazed that he opened his show with
it for decades.

Well, Ron Leonard sets up shop in the studio and the very
first thing he performed was the production of oranges. I jumped
from my seat. The first question I asked him was not how it was
done but where he learned how to perform it.

He said that when he was a kid he was hired by Will Rock to
act as a shill in the audience specifically for the production of
oranges. Once the oranges had been produced and were being
distributed to the audience, the young kid (Ron) in the balcony
yelled out, "Hey ... how about one up here!" Will Rock threw the
orange up to the balcony. Ron was given a straw steamboat type
hat with which to catch the orange. He would extend the hat, the
orange would enter and then fall right through puncturing the
hat with its weight. All for a laugh!

Ron said that Will Rock taught him how to perform the
oranges while he shilled for him in Toronto. I suspect, however,
that Ron saw the show enough times to appropriate the work.
Who knows? In any event, he taught me the handling which as
far as I know has not appeared in print. I was very pleased when
Charlie Reynolds said that the second production caught him by
surprise. I am also proud of the idea of drawing the people in the
back into the show—making them feel as though they have participated-—
by sucker punching them with the second production."
David Todd
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I realize this is going a bit off topic of what you were asking about (i.e. the specifics of Scott Alexander's presentation of this effect) , but in reading through some of the old magazine articles and advertisements the main difference between the Abbott's "Orange Classic Production" and the "Bowl of Oranges" production (using the Assisto device or similar) is that the Abbott effect is:

"A table cloth is removed from a thin top table and then the cloth is shaken over a clear glass bowl and a dozen real oranges drop into the bowl."

vs.

The Bowl of Oranges (a la Raymond) :

"A table cloth is removed from a thin top table and is used to briefly cover a clear glass bowl and as the cloth is lifted away from the bowl, it is seen to be filled with oranges."

The version marketed by Abbott's has the cloth shaken over a bowl and oranges drop out of the cloth into the bowl. The Raymond version has the bowl covered with the cloth and when the cloth is lifted off the bowl it is seen to be filled with oranges. The Raymond version seems to be the more elegant presentation.
hugmagic
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I don't want to throw water on this but Scott had bought my Supreme Master Golden Production off me. I believe this is his version my effect which was my updated version of the Loyd's Assisto. I never had a chance to talk to him about about it and have never said nothing up to this point.
I still make my bag and it is an easy thing to produce oranges, shoes, bottles or small animals. I used to demo at conventions and then reset it and let people try it. It almost always resulted in a sale. You simply steal the bag and touch it to the table and it automatically releases.
I also make a larger version for larger rabbits (Chris Moss asked me to make this) with a sleightly different more secure but still one handed release.
I really never wanted to make a big deal but I am afraid Scott got his idea from me.
Richard E. Hughes, Hughes Magic Inc., 352 N. Prospect St., Ravenna, OH 44266 (330)296-4023
www.hughesmagic.com
email-hugmagic@raex.com
Write direct as I will be turning off my PM's.
David Todd
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Richard , I'm glad you chimed in here.

All I can say is when I saw your demo of your SMGProduction https://youtu.be/QAmZz3Nv9MM it was an instant sale! So smooth, no fumbling. (looking forward to receiving it). I've been wanting to add the bowl of oranges production for a while now and had been doing some research on it, so I was looking up info on Loyd's "Assisto" and also the Abbott's "Orange Classic". Abbott's no longer makes the Orange Classic , but the instruction sheets are available. It looked to me like it would be a bit fiddly. When I saw yours , I said to myself: "Ok, that's it!"

Now I just need to find the right size table. I already have the acrylic bowl I'm going to use.
hugmagic
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I can't believe that he was selling his for $199. Yeah there was a foulard and a video but over $100 for this. I don't believe his was even made to accept animals which was the original reason I rereleased it.
I will be intrested to your input once you get yours.
Richard E. Hughes, Hughes Magic Inc., 352 N. Prospect St., Ravenna, OH 44266 (330)296-4023
www.hughesmagic.com
email-hugmagic@raex.com
Write direct as I will be turning off my PM's.
FrankFindley
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Quote:
On Jul 1, 2024, David Todd wrote:
All I can say is when I saw your demo of your SMGProduction https://youtu.be/QAmZz3Nv9MM it was an instant sale! So smooth, no fumbling. (looking forward to receiving it).


Agree. That release looks smoooooth!
JNeal
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Richard! I saw your video and agree that yours is about as smooth as it could possibly be! I believe you are right that Scott's was derivative of the traditional handling....
visit me @ JNealShow.com
Jonah_Illusionist
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Richard, I wasn’t looking for an appearance of a bowl of fruit, but I saw your video and I started getting so many ideas, now I think I’m gonna have to order one! Smile
hugmagic
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Don't think of it as just fruit. I was given the original routine that Ken Griffin used to produce a guinea pig by SD. It is basically the routine that I use for the orange production. Also, I have produced bottles of water, shoes, and almost any thing that will fit in the bag. It also has four large grommeted holes to allow plenty of air for the animals inside.
I would love to see a photo of the gimmick sometime of Scot's gimmick to see if it is like mine. I guess I would not have minded as after all I had resurrected the Loyd's assito. But I thought Scot was a friend and it hurts a bit to think he bought a bag from me and then copied it to sell.
Richard E. Hughes, Hughes Magic Inc., 352 N. Prospect St., Ravenna, OH 44266 (330)296-4023
www.hughesmagic.com
email-hugmagic@raex.com
Write direct as I will be turning off my PM's.
Azzaro
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Wow. I was just watching one of his penguin lectures- I had no idea he passed away. That made me sad.
Sincerely,

the mind of a hypocritical paradox,
portraying the art of serious mischief.
David Todd
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On Jul 2, 2024, hugmagic wrote:
I will be interested in your input once you get yours.



Hopefully it will arrive today according to the USPS tracking. Your shipping was prompt, but USPS is increasingly inefficient and weird these days. Smile

I've been following the tracking over the past five days with great interest (and bemusement):

On July 3 the package was located at the Post Office in the town where I live. Next day was July 4, so no activity because the USPS is closed for the holiday. Then , the next day on July 5 they sent the package 60 miles away to a different postal facility (it was already in the town where I live two days prior to this. so why ???) Then on July 6 they sent it to another postal facility (in another state!) 160 miles away ! Finally , today on July 8 the tracking shows the package is back to the post office in my town and is now showing as "out for delivery by 5:00 pm" today.



-
David Todd
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On Jul 2, 2024, hugmagic wrote:
I will be interested in your input once you get yours.


Hi, Richard -

Well, it arrived today just before lunch (the USPS finally found me !)

I have only had a limited time to play with it today,but am looking forward to rehearsing and coming up with a good handling.(your demo video is very helpful).
I am very happy with this purchase. It does exactly what it should do and is mechanically flawless and well-made.(I didn't have oranges handy, but had apples to test it). I would highly recommend this item to anyone who is looking to do this type of production.
hugmagic
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Keep me posted. Yes, it does not have to take oranges. Just anything with a bit of weight works well. I had to make some more of these up as I was out of them. I forgot how much work they are with all the sewing and making the necessary gimmick parts.
Richard E. Hughes, Hughes Magic Inc., 352 N. Prospect St., Ravenna, OH 44266 (330)296-4023
www.hughesmagic.com
email-hugmagic@raex.com
Write direct as I will be turning off my PM's.
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