Would it be to bad to do a plot where the half dollar ends up with a hole through it a la spellbound change and routine it with the story of the many conspiracy theories sorrounding his death? How do you think this would play for an audience or would you have to be gene poinc to pull off a routine this dark?

It would be rather tasteless to be sure.

Interesting side note: In Dr. Richard Armour's first edition of "It All Started With Columbus," a cartoon pic of John Kennedy, labeled "The New Frontier," shows him wearing a Western gunbelt, holding guns, and there's an arrow through his head.
In the second edition, published after Nixon took office (with new, post-Kennedy material) that same cartoon was included...but minus the arrow!

Steve

Oh, boy is this a coincidence. I did comedy magic a bit back and I was talking to one guy several nights ago about an idea I had but never did.
Well, it started when I kept hearing this one guy call his halves Kennedys... so I thought it would be funny to do a coins across using that theme.
Essentially, you hold a glass in one hand and then show four Kennedys... You say watch and one vanishes and falls into the glass. Then you say, "And now for the most famous Kennedy." There's a gun shot and the next coin falls in the glass with a hole through it.
Then you say, "Now for an infamous kennedy." Suddenly water splashes into the glass and a small car with a coin and a little blonde doll falls into and under the water.
I never did it, but I won't be responsible if anyone tries... but do send me a video if you do.
Greg

I can see this going over badly, indeed.

It all depends on the audience. I remember once seeing a guy perform the 3 coins mentalism effect, using a very twited story about the morrs murderers al capone, september 11th and the holocaust. Now I thought the presentation was excellent and worked well. It gave the effect meaning and made it 'real' However I know some people who saw it were very much offended by it.

Maybe its a little to political, and people might get offended

Raymonde Crow has an effect called "Dead Kennedys" in his book "As the Crow Flies" It's based on Gadabout Goins. The patter is funny...and not "too" offensive. Don't know if I'll have the guts to try it. In the same book he has an ambitous card routine with patter dealing with a mother-in-law that keeps coming back from the dead. Pretty strange stuff.

Wow what a great topic, I think that it all depends on the audience as well as the performer. If your performance personality is able to pull it off it would probably work. I do some things in my stage show that most wouldn't but because of my personality on stage it works. The one thing to keep in mind that is you might offend someone. Look at Harry Andersons stage personality. Not to many people could pull off what he did. But his charactor worked well with it.

tpdmagic

Speaking for myself, this would certainly offend me. I remember the Kennedy assassination. This is not to say that it is impossible to deal with this subject artisitically, say in a documentary film or as a storyteller, but for a stupid coin trick, really...

There are many possible plots, many frameworks for magical effects. This is a lousy one. Remember that if you perform for 300 people and one of the people has a problem, the person who booked you has a problem.

And on the plus side, what is the best that you could hope to achieve with this effect? Is it worth it? Probably not.

I saw a magic club member do a stupid packet trick years ago in which a picture of Lincoln changed to one in which he had a head wound after a miniature gun was fired. I suppose if you know an Elmsley count you are always looking for new ways to use it, but I can't believe that someone actually marketed this.

So you were looking for an opinion, here are several that say don't. Not only might you blow your chances to get hired again, they might not want to ever book another magician.

Yours,

Paul

If the person that booked you has a problem..., That's a BIG problem.....! Paul is totally correct in his political AND financial thinking.

The Kennedy assasination subject is used in one of Doc Hilfords coin effect stories.
I do think you have to be careful around what audience you performed this for though.
I have only ever performed it for close friends at parties.


cheers, Stephen.

I'd stay away from it. It doesn't mix well with magic.

Pretty dodgy topic I would imagine only a small minority of people would find this entertaining even if it was wonderfully presented, Personally I would feel very uncomfortabe if this was performed for me

Tom

A vieo game was just released this week allowing players to recreate the Kennedy assasination, I think it is called Kennedy Redux

I personally wouldn't mind. Some of your more "up-tight" audiences would mind...but....

if you put a great bizarre story line into the routine, it would be justifiable and offer some great shock value.

GO FOR IT!!!!
Ta H*ll w/ the politically correct crap! if you have a good story with conspiracy theories abound then the general public WILL be into what you're doing.

this is theater.
Johnny

I think the subject would be offensive, but not nearly as offensive to me since I wasn't alive to experience it. Although other people were. Perhaps you could start with the coin with the hole in it, and use magic to make it seem like the assissination never took place (spellbound with a restored coin). The story would be of course more complicated, but I think the idea is a good one asside from the political issues. Perhaps work on the story more and change the way the routine is structured and it might actually develop into a better trick.