I'm a great Slydini fan and was supprised when I didn't see him mentioned here. Any other Slydidi Fans? What is your favorite Slydini trick?

Thanks

Craig Pontz

Hello fellow fan of the master! I am a Slydini fan from WAY back. I think Slydini was the single GREATEST magician ever. His misdirection and understanding of human psychology is head and shoulders above anyone else. Slydini was the MASTER!!

I have used a number of his routines in my shows, including his master sponge ball and purse frame, his coins through the table, and his one coin flurry routine. And a few others, the cigarette production, and the paper balls in the box.

Slydini was a friend and mentor to MANY including doug Henning, Michael Ammar, and others. He was, and IS beyond compare.

Yesterday I ran acroos and purchased on ebay a rare Slydini book called "Slydini's Rubbery Bands" and I got it for a steal. I feel very lucky, and can't WAIT till it arrives.

In 1969 I was lucky enough (or unlucky) to have Slydini call me up on stage for the "Balls Over The Head" routine. The vanishing of the first ball fooled me but all of a sudden I remembered reading about this effect and from that point on I tried my best to act surprised but being the poor actor I am I am not sure how well I pulled it off. I would have enjoyed the routine much more and avoided the embarrassment that I felt if only Slydini would have picked someone else and just let me enjoy the show.
After the show I had the opportunity to chat for a few minutes with Slydini and get his autograph. Slydini was a very friendly guy and I have always felt privileged that I got to see him perform and meet him in person.
This show was one of five shows that week celebrating the grand opening of a new bank. Each night was a single performer doing an hour-long show for free. The average audience was probably not more than 50 people and was performed in the lobby of the bank. Very few people stayed after the show to talk to or get an autograph from the performers (I stayed).
Some of the other performers were Dai Vernon and Chuck Jones but I don't remember the other two.
Iven

I posted this before on another thread on Slydini earlier last year. I will give a short version or try to anyhow here.

In 1980 at the D.M.S. In Las Vegas I sat in the coffe shop (In the New Frontier Hotel Casino) with Slydini,Alan Alan from England and three others. Of all the things Slydini did for those couple of hours he was with us the one that really stands out in My mind was not even a magic effect.

What it was was this. which was nothing more then a bit of pantomime. He acted as tho he pulled a thread from Alan Alan's tie. Then pulled a needle (Again all in mime) from his lapel. Slydinin then acted as if he were trying to thread the needle. It seemed at times that the thread and needle could actually be seen in Slydini's hands altho nothing was there.

It small bit made me realize how important beliveing in what you are doing is. Slydini was a true master of this. He really did believe he could do whatever he was doing, His spectators then believed it too.

Its good to see that there are fellow Slydini fans out there. I just bought a used Slydini manuscript on his bands. Hopefully it will be the same thing daffydoug was talking about. I never had the opportuntity to see Slydini (in person or on tape), but I have read and reread his books.

One of my favorite Slydini tricks is the Helicoptor card. I know the angles are tough, but if you can do a sit down for a couple of people, it is a mind blower.

Does anyone know of any videos with Slydini on them?

Thanks

Craig Pontz

Man, I envy you! I would have given my right sponge ball to meet Slydini when he was alive!

Posted: Jan 5, 2005 7:45pm
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On 2005-01-05 17:35, Randy Sager wrote:
I posted this before on another thread on Slydini earlier last year. I will give a short version or try to anyhow here.

In 1980 at the D.M.S. In Las Vegas I sat in the coffe shop (In the New Frontier Hotel Casino) with Slydini,Alan Alan from England and three others. Of all the things Slydini did for those couple of hours he was with us the one that really stands out in My mind was not even a magic effect.

What it was was this. which was nothing more then a bit of pantomime. He acted as tho he pulled a thread from Alan Alan's tie. Then pulled a needle (Again all in mime) from his lapel. Slydinin then acted as if he were trying to thread the needle. It seemed at times that the thread and needle could actually be seen in Slydini's hands altho nothing was there.

It small bit made me realize how important beliveing in what you are doing is. Slydini was a true master of this. He really did believe he could do whatever he was doing, His spectators then believed it too.

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Randy, That Dovetails perfectly with what he taught in his books. When you hold a phantom coin or book of matches or WHATEVER small object in your hand, you must CONVEY the belief of that object to your audience via facial expressions, body posture and movements, etc. I agree. Slydini was the undisputed master. none could ever touch him.

Posted: Jan 5, 2005 7:50pm
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Does anyone here ever have the opportunity to perform true classic Slydini style. That is, at a table with a table cloth covering it, and the freedom to lap?

Believe it or not, one of the best reactions I ever got from any effect was a Slydini effect. It was the purse frame and sponge balls, and I was performing on a large stage for a young lady. In the final phase, the routine ends with dozens of mini sponge balls flying out of the spectator's hand. So she opens her hand, the sponges fly EVERYWHERE, and the girl SCREAMS at the top of her lungs! I'm telling you, it was rich. Very vivid memory for me.

I have used much of what I learned from Slydini. I used to visit him in NY at his apartment and often we'd go out to dinner.

When he came to California I booked him on a TV Special I helped produce. UNFORTUNATELY it was a live show and NO TAPE EXISTS.

Joe Porper and I are soon to release a new type coin clip, with a rattle, to do Slydini's vanish of six silver dollars. Stay tooned.

Sounds great
Many years back I made diff. coinclips for diff. sized coins for my own use, also of course for silverdollars.
Now, I didn't want to use the ring-attachment, so I used heavy doublesided tape to glue it inside my left hand, a little below where the forefinger starts and in direction/towards the center of the palm.
This made it possible to use the hand and fingers very openly and naturally/palm down of course, picking up coins aso.
Even those knowing about the clip that normally used the ring-attachment where trown off the track and after the coins vanished, there was no trace.

Worked great for lapping sitting at a table..

A substerfuge too was to attach/glue that thingy under the table after the coins where removed -all with one hand- and f.ex. have passed through the table and one could immediately stand up to say hello to some guy nearby shaking hands and later again steal the gimmick off...

Quite some of the guys here (fellow magis) where thrown of the track by this application..

Very clever indeed!

Craig,
I also am a big fan of Slydini and had the opportunity to see him lecture on two occasions and of course get his autograph and talk to him after the lecture.He was definitely a gentleman and always eager to help you. I also saw him do a few effects at an informal get together at a magic shop here in California where he actually performed miracles with everyday simple dealer demo's.
As for a video, yes I have one of him performing on a Dick Cavett magic special and from what I understand one of the few remaining videos that exist of him performing.
Sorry not for sale but if you are ever in San Jose California I would be more than willing to invite you over to watch it.
Rennie

Why do you suppose there are so precious few videos of Slydini's performances? I have never understood this.

I think, somehow, Slydini wasn't that much featured on televison

I soley have captured the Dick Cavett show, where he appeared at least twice, but I also did way back an 8 mm movie on a convention in Europe.
Now that movie -of course- isn't very good as it is taken from quite a distance, but in anay case, I love every sentence of it, though I haven't gotten it transformed to video or DVD.
It's mostly re his CTTT.

Harry Stanley way back in the late 1950s did an 8mm movie re Tony Slydini too, it features just a few of his routines, amongst them, the silks, but these have been featured at the Dick Cavett show too..

Well, my thinking is this: Someone back then should have realized what a TREAASURE videos of Slydini would have been to future generations of magicians and had the foresight to cover it. It's like they all had their head up their butt or something. I mean, even if he wasn't on TV alot, it could surely have been arranged as a special project.

There are some stories about what happened in the 1980s. There was a documentary filmed in Italy, and a sorry neglect of the man here in America. Some of his students left magic and went on to other things. Some of his students adapted his work to suite their own style. The man is gone. The books are good for studying the tricks. Some of the students can probably do the material and come across as a shadow of their teacher.

It is sad that there are few available film clips of Slydini in action. There are far fewer of the great characters and technicians of just a few years earlier. Fred Kaps is gone, John Ramsay is gone, Ken Brooke is gone... the list would be quite long. All gone with few records of their performances.

At least Sldini was willing to teach. Back in the 1970s Slydini was teaching, David Roth was teaching, Darwin Ortiz was teaching... then in the 1980s they published material also. Good idea to enjoy what is around.

Well, maybe I was fortunate.

I had the great pleasure to meet Tony Slydini in person in 1960 at a convention in Bologna/Italy.

Not only did I se him perform on stage (his version of the Professors nightmare, his roperoutine is burned in my mind), but I was lucky also to get invited to a private party, where Slydini did perform close-up.

He not only did his CTTT, but also a lot of of his other routines, like the spongeballs aso, all close-up stuff.

I recall, Tonny van Dommelen was present there to, and later some of the 'good' performers did some of their close-up stuff.

Tonny van Dommelen (the stageperformer doing chip-production and glass production like Salvano) did Paul le Pauls Acrobating Aces, that was the very first time I saw it done and I've done it ever since.

That party was arranged to show Slydinis pretentionals to some of the European bookers for lectures, in this particular case, it was done for Henk Vermeyden -who was present- and who booked him for an European tour.
I too got a signed photograph of Henk Vermeyden.

I was inivited because I earlier did a couple of cardroutines (yes, I did cards at that time) that did impress one of Italys well known names, I forgot his name, but I recall he's long gone.

Alberto Sitta was present too at that party and I was asked by that Italian to do one of the routines for him..
Memories..

Apart from this, I was lucky to stay at the same hotel Slydini did, and one morning I did meet him alone in the hotels lobby and he kindly spooke to me and gave a few stories..
Memories...he absolutely baffle me -and everybody else- especially with his close-up stuff.

Apart from what I mentioned above, CTTT, the spongeballs, he also did his torn and restored cigarette in many variation..that's'what I recall, can't remember the rest, but I recall he did all of the variations re spongeballs, later described in his books, and this goes for his CTTT too..
Those where the days..

I would travel to any place in Europe to be present at any convention..

I also remember Slydini was droven through the city by car, very slowly, and he did out of the cards sidewindow his *Knotted Silks* and one other of the passengers was Jean Charles, a parfume *designer* living in Nice, IIRC, I also did meet Jacque Deqour from Marseille and I saw the 'One hand shuffle' for the very first time, shown on a video from Harry Stanley named *Magic Moments with famous Magicians* , done by Dr. Zina Bennet..also this shuffle I've done ever since, as it was sooo impressive..
Great times...

I have now seen 3 performance of Slydini, These being The Silk Routine, Balls in box, and Coins Through Table.

Whenever somebody mentions Slydini my mind goes back to these 3 Especially the coins through table it is the best coin trick I have seen.

Oh btw I am no stranger when it comes to magic got around 300 magic tapes and many book aswell..

You cant beat the guys performances!

Nobody could, because he was the MASTER.

In the early days, when Slydini and Vernon were in their prime there was little in the way of filming. You learned from lessons and/or books. I still think that is the way.

I was fortunate to have spent a lot of time with Slydini and had many sessions learning his coin work and other items.

It is mostly attitude, body language and misdirection that made him so strong.

Ahh yes! Precisely! And with these very elements, Slydini had formulated, for lack of a better word, a SCIENCE. He was able to combine all of those elements into a cohesive , synergistic whole, that, when viewed/experienced left the observer totally taken in by the impact of the strength of the illusions. Indeed, Slydini fooled the MIND. His principles of psychological misdirection were so strong, that they were, in a sense IRRESISTABLE. As has been said, even when you KNEW he was lapping, or whatever the move employed, you were STILL fooled. You just simply could not help it. Slydini totally baffled magicians even, so the poor, hapless, uninitiated laymen didn't stand the proverbial "snowballs chance"

I chuckle when I think about it. People were totally helpless when viewing him. The illusions worked because Slydini had mastered the knowledge of how the mind works. No other magician, living or dead, in my opinion, has ever touched him or even come close. Oh, not to say that there not those who are students of the master who are not indeed very good, but they are NOT nor will they ever be Tony Slydini. He was the original, and God threw away the mold.

As to what you mentioned about there being little in the way of filming, well, that still leaves me to wonder WHY. The BIG why. Is it not true that they possesed cameras? They had movie film, and even video tape, did they not? What was their excuse for leaving us of this present day without the kind of accurate visual records that we would die for? I know I would, at least. (Figuratively speaking, of course.)

I think it is a lack of foresight. I really do. Myopia, to say the least. I have a family, and I have a wife and kids. I sacrificed to save for a video camera so that my children, twenty years down the road from now, will have something to treasure that money will never buy: Vivid, visual memories of their childhood. I strongly feel that way because my father, when I was a tiny child, used his 8 mm camera to do that for me. There is nothing more precious to me now than those old films which we have now transferred to tape. Life is short. It is fleeting. Every moment slips by like a grain of sand through an hourglass. I'm pretty intransigent about my opinion that magicians of those years, yes, those who claimed to CARE about our art, should have used more foresight and given more thought to us of this present day. What were they thinking? Perhaps that Slydini would be around forever?

Rennie: I appreciate the offer and if I'm ever in San Jose, I will definitely get in touch with you.

Jonathan has a very good point. There were a lot of great magicians that we will never see their work and we should enjoy what is around. However, I sometimes feel overwhelmed about the material that is out there now. With all the video's, DVD, books ect., you could spend all you time just learning stuff, but then how much of it would you really master?

With the Slydini books, you can learn the techniques and thinking behind the misdirection. Pete Biro and Daffydoug have it right with "It is mostly attitude, body language and misdirection that made him so strong." Slydini wanted you to actually belive in what you were trying to convey to the audience. If you were going to fake putting a coin into your hand, you were to believe that you were really putting the coin into the hand. If you believed, your audience will also believe. What a concept!!

Craig Pontz