A few months ago, I was at a party, and I just was beginning to perform my first trick of the evening. Just as I was about to get to the climax of the trick - SMASH!!! A very loud collision sound was heard from outside. It turned out that a drunk driver plowed into my car, which was parked in front of the house. The car was almost totalled, and I never got to finish the trick
Got one that matchs that. I was doing the water torture cell trick and when I came up for air the first time I realized one of my assistants had not done their part and I could not get out. They were new and realized their mistake. The curtain was raised quickly and under the gize of checking the locks with a ladder she fixed her mistake and the show went on. I was a little water logged but fortunitly I don't wait until I NEED a breath to take one and had a little air left.
My father and I were doing an outdoor show ('62) at a grade school. Nice, hot, N. California day. Pop was to produce a rat from pan of fire. The poor rodent had suffocated from the heat of the day, and Pop had to quickly shake & animate this sweaty lifeless body displayed. Only the kids up front could see
problem. Suggestion: When temp./air circ. warrant, try to move these type of tricks towards beginning of show.
How about the Needle through Balloon/thumb. The audience really enjoyed the blood through the balloon trick! I had to do the rest of my show with my index finger wrapped around the thumb to keep it from bleeding all over everything. Try to manage props and animals and children with the three outside fingers of one hand alone! Still, the whole show went well.
Back in 1995 I was performing at a chain of west coast strip clubs called DeJA Vu. One night a friend decided to tape the performance so that I could later add parts of it to my new promo tape. I was doing a 20 minute ball and card manipulation act and at the end I would prouduce a lit torch from a jumbo card fan. I kinda over did it with the fuel mix because I wanted to make sure it would lite for the finally. After about 20 minutes of combustible fumes collecting under my jacket I 'm sure you can guess what happened. From the audience and camera view this is what you saw. A blinding ball of fire erupt from the front of my body and when everyone eyes refocused I was holding a lit torch. I left the stage to a standing applause only to have one of the dancers take her mascara pen and later touch up my eye browes which were burnt (75%) off my face. Needless to say the only place this routine will been seen again is on tape.
i HAVE BEEN A PROFESIONAL MAGICIAN FOR 25 YEARS. My most terrible experiences. #1 a few yeras back I was doing the Sub Trunk, Got on top, counted 1-2-......3.......... Had to get down, close the curtain and found out that because I stored the trunk in the garage and it was the middle of January the trap had frozen shut. Luckily, I got it open, and told te audience that my assistant had fainted and was willing to try it again. #2 Last summer was doing my dove act. Walked out on stage felt the dove squirming around in the steal. Looked down and realized that he had gotten out of the bag. well, I was right in middle of my candle routine and figured if could just stall a moment I might be able to still make hi appear. I held him in place with my arm so he would not fly out. You guessed it, when I did make him appear, he was dead, I must have accedently squished him. Now here I am in front of 300 kids at a school. What to do? I kind of floped his head with my hands in the silks and quickly laid him on the bottom of the doves to bunny cage. Know what? the kids never knew but I still feel bad about it...
It happened years ago right at the start of a 45 min stage show..About 300 kids in the audience..This was a Gospel magic Presentation and I was using a metal TT with some cotton and lighter fluid gimmicked to light my candle to flowers, It is a very pretty effect, looks like I lit it with my thumb....I had to much fluid and It ran down my arm....you guessed it, instant flaming hand. First I shook it, of course that made it burn more. So I picked up a large foulard and wiped the fire right off. I continued the show like nothing happened. Wow, is it hard to concentrate with your hand throbbing..... After the show everybody wanted to know how I did the neat trick where I caught my hand on fire...Seems that was the best trick of the day....
Do NOT use a flint flasher going around to the ladies and saying: "If you don't mind my saying so, you are the hottest woman who has come in tonight >>>WOOSH WITH THE FLASHER<<<"
While this SOUNDS like a good attention getter (and it is), DON'T DO IT. Many years ago, I used this as my opener, and all went well until a woman came in with a LOT of hairspray... needless to say I was "fired". NOT pretty!
I was working in a bar doing some tricks, and doing a piece of work involving pulling a flame from the air (good bit of flash paper works wonders) When this gent next to me punshes me in the face, now a little surprised by this and having an enquiring my mind, I asked him (6'2 and in bikers tags) what the problem appeared to be, at which point he struck me again spliting my check. Realising that he was quite serious in wishing to do me harm I took a step back and the gentlemen informed me he has a fear of fire, I offered my appolagise at which point he head butted me breaking my nose, this required to opperations to straightern.
I thought it might amuse you to know one drama follows another with me and fire. Before a performance in a club last night i was sitting in a bar and order for a laugh a flaming Samboco. The upshot was I s went to pour it down my throat, missed, burning my lips and my card hand. I can honestly say that even after an hour with my hand on ice and three drinks inside me it was the most painfull night of card manipulation I could have imagined, huge blisters one on the thumb joint, I think ill be staying clear of fire in the near future - but i have just got a flaming wallet.......
Years ago I was performing for a group of children at church as a part of a summer activity. My final production from the Chink Cans (or whatever the new PC term is) was a hat coil made of aluminum foil. When it began to cascade from the can, one of the children jumped up, grabbed the streaming coil, and yanked, nearly severing my right index finger.
The humiliating part was they thought the blood and my resulting pale complexion was part of the act... so they laughed!
A buddy of mine was doing a trick where a coin is put in a piece of paper and the paper is folded then ripped and the coin appears in another place. Well he droped the coin and no one noticed. So he stepped on it. At the end of the trick he shows the coin gone and the points to his foot. The people went wild when he lifted it to reveal the coin.
Okay, this was a real surprise. It was over three years ago and the first show I did after deciding to do magic part-time professionally. It was a Mother-Daughter Banquet in a church fellowship hall. We were having a fantastic time. About two-thirds of the way through the act, I decide that we're having an uproarious enough time to pull out my Mickey Hades Finger Chopper. The routine is hilarious and suspenseful. Well, I select a Mom and get her up on stage. Telling a brief introductory story, I proceed to bring out the chopper and insert her finger. Suddenly, the whole audience starts to gasp and giggle, "Oh no..." someone says. It turns out that this woman's five year old daughter is sitting in the front row and just two weeks previous the tip of her finger had been cut off by a knife. Embarrassed and scared she burys her head into her grandmother's shoulder. O... My... What to do... Scar the kid for life? Fortunately, I am an ordained minister and I love kids, so I turned this into a quick object lesson in courage: how if we face danger with courage and love, God will get us through the ordeal. Phew! It probably took 30 seconds do perform, and it's not exactly logical, but I followed up with some of my best material. By the end all was forgotten. PHEW!!!
It didn't happen to me but this occured to a magician friend of mine a couple weeks ago. He was performing in Oakland California doing walk around at an outdoor mall. He saw that a man was wearing the perfect watch for the steal which this magi had practiced at the magic store for months. He went up to the man and did everything he could but could not get the guys watch off. He kept trying and trying, not realizing that it was starting to look pretty strange to keep grabbing this fellows hands and arm. Finally someone said "I don't think his watch is going to come off" and my started laughing and had to stop his show for a few minutes. He also had to explain to the fellow what had happened so he wouldn't think my pal was nuts.
I once tried to catch every local magician's performance that I could. In Merrillville Indiana I witnessed every magician's worst nightmare. A magician performed at, of all places, a flea market held in a high school gymnasium. (All was not lost--I bought a Raleigh racing bike while I was there for $10)
The magician's entire act was silent and done to music. Which was a smart thing on his part, since most of the people present seemed to be ignoring him, chattering loudly as they walked about to the various booths. This had nothing to do with the quality of the magician's performance, since he was quite good and in fact, taught magic classes as part of the adult education curriculum.
He was doing a very slick manipulative card act; card fans, front and back palming, the works. As he performed, he allowed the cards to cascade onto the floor.
His next effect was the Zombie. Unfortunately as he was performing it, he slipped and fell on some of the cards that had fallen on the stage! Amazingly and valiantly, he avoided exposing the Zombie gimmick. But I could see the pain in his face as he struggled to finish the effect. He said he would be right back out after a brief intermission. But as the intermission dragged into a half hour, I realized he was badly injured and that the show had ended. I realize just how badly he was injured when an ambulance appeared at the gymnasium door and the poor guy had to be carted out on a stretcher.
A buddy of mine was performing at a country/ westren type place. He did a flash paper effect . IT went ok until he noticed smoke comming from a bail of hay. The hay cought fire and ...well lets just say when a place burns down. You don't get asked back
I'd just left my gig at the New York Lounge in Chicago(A 4 or 5 year run)to work at Allgaures Fireside Restaurant. A very fine, very elagant place. Sommlier, table captains, the whole nine yards.
Well, I'm at a large round table maybe 8 or 10 guest. I'm going to perform a borrowed ring routine. So this lady is wearing the biggest diamond I'd ever seen. All I could think of was how cool it would be to use that ring. I get the ring, get to the part of my routine where the ring goes from a string to a stick.
The set-up is spectator on my left (guy) holding one end of stick, spectator on my right (gal, rings owner) holding other end.
The magic happens and the ring jumps off string to stick. The gal, who was a tad more tippsy than I had noticed yells, HOLY S---! LET ME SEE THAT! Snatches the stick from the gent and shoots, nay, launches the ring into orbit and sends my heart into my mouth. I lost sight of the ring as it went over the chandelier. I had visions of loosing my house to pay for this rock. I did'nt show my panic though. I just looked right at her and said "Now you've done it. You've lost your ring.
I'll go get it."
Everyone laughed, they thought I was kidding. Mean while I'm running around looking for the ring trying to make it look like part of the act. I stopped at another table and searched through a guys soup, a captain was preparing a ceaser salad tableside I stirred through that. All the time I'm trying to make jokes. Finally some guy picks up the rock from the floor and says "Is this what you're looking for?" (duh). I yell "Stop, thief!" walk over take the ring from him, walk over to the gal as I hand her the ring it vanishes (ring flight). SAVED, end of story.
A REAL disaster occurred when I spilled a glass of ice water dead in the middle of a guys lap. This looked like a set up because it happened near the end of my routine and earlier I had placed the glass right in front of the gent and said "Lets put this here, out of the way." Anyway I made some gesture tipped the glass (it was stemware)and tried to catch it. I did infact catch it between the table and my hand by the base. It just hung there straight up and upside down. The poor guy tried to jump but was trapped in a booth. It gets worse, he was wearing a tan suit.
With his friends aghast (and trying not to laugh), all I heard coming out of my mouth was "Wow, I guess I blew my tip huh?"
I did.
When performing in a recent show i was doing the floating paper rose effect as done by Copperfield and Kevin James. The first show the string broke as i was starting to levetate the crumpled ball. All I did was make some magical passes over it, uncrumple it, make it into a rose, lite it and turn it into a real rose and then finish the rest of the trick as normal. No one really noticed. The second show was perfect and the man sitting beside my father had been at the first show and asked him I messed up the first show bcause he was seeing a lot of things he didnt see the first time.
I was doing a school show in Alaska and had just started a warmup where a monkey ventriloquism puppet and I get the kids yelling about a ballon that was about to pop in my face. It was one of those moments where you feel All Powerful...the kids are in the palm of your hand...you are Invincible...
And then out of the corner of my eye I noticed an adult walking across the stage toward me. "Huh? It's the principal. What's she doing???" She walked up to me, said, "Excuse me," took the microphone and proceeded to tell the children how rude they were being. I stood there with my mouth hanging open in astonishment (my puppet was astonished, too) as she told the kids how disappointed she was, blah blah blah...
Then she turned the mic back over to me so I could finish my act. HOW, LADY!?!?! I don't remember anything else about that show because I was in shock.
Looking back on it maybe I should have just hauled off and punched her. Because as it is I just feel incredible anger toward her whenever I think about it. And it was about 15 years ago. :)
I've got this story. When this happened, I ALMOST DIED! I actually sent this into the "Magic SYMbol" and it got printed in the October '99 issue. Well, here it is...
"A GUST OF WIND CHANGED THE SHOW"
I was the children's entertainment for a block party. It was a nice day, but VERY windy. After I arrived, I started to set up
. It was guite hard with all of the wind. My mom put on the music, and I walked around and talked to members of the audience. Suddenly, a gust of wind blew almost ALL of my tricks off of the table and onto the ground! My mom and I rushed to the fallen tricks. IT WAS A DISASTER! I was lucky none of my props were damaged. Especially my newest and most expensive trick in the show.
The person who hired me saw what happened and also ran over to us. She told me it was ok and I could put the props back on the table and perform them in random order. So that's JUST what I did. After that, my mom and sister hid behind the table and held things down. My mom just handed me tricks and I performed them.
Afterwards, I was making balloon sculptures for those who wanted them. All I heard were good reviews. I think the wind was good practice. At least, now I'll be prepared!
My horror story was just using a boy that was too young once. He was about 5, and even with what I had told him, when I came to the part about losing his pants he ran off stage back to his seat pulling me, the ropes and the two assistants with him. I still had the loops in his shirt neck and it would have taken a mighty pull, perhaps even tearing his belt loops, to have made the rope release.
For this reason, I time it by keeping my hand on the back of his neck and releasing the ropes just before the count of three so there is no premature falling apart of the effect.
Naturally I chose another boy and completed the effect but the timing and jokes were now lost. Only my face was saved. My ego though, in handling every situation on stage was severly shaken.
