Would you like to inspect the original subtitles? These are the user uploaded subtitles that are being translated:
1
00:00:18,763 --> 00:00:22,094
Cards are like
living, breathing human beings.
2
00:00:23,252 --> 00:00:25,995
I suppose, because they
give you real pleasure.
3
00:00:26,823 --> 00:00:30,588
You sit in a room with them
for 10 or 15 hours a day
4
00:00:30,588 --> 00:00:32,295
and they become your friends,
5
00:00:32,295 --> 00:00:34,036
particularly very lonely people.
6
00:00:59,692 --> 00:01:03,626
If I could go back in history, and I can,
7
00:01:05,871 --> 00:01:07,231
the performer I would most like to see
8
00:01:07,231 --> 00:01:10,356
would be Johann Nepomuk Hofsanger,
9
00:01:10,356 --> 00:01:12,148
the famous Viennese card musician
10
00:01:12,148 --> 00:01:14,889
who called playing cards
the poetry of magic.
11
00:01:14,889 --> 00:01:19,710
My favorite of his many
experiments, from the 19th century
12
00:01:19,710 --> 00:01:23,858
and experiment called
"Everywhere and Nowhere."
13
00:01:30,662 --> 00:01:32,317
The question was to speak about the state
14
00:01:32,317 --> 00:01:34,545
of current magic in America.
15
00:01:34,545 --> 00:01:37,802
I know absolutely nothing
about the 20th century.
16
00:01:39,189 --> 00:01:41,076
And, I'm not just talking about magic.
17
00:01:44,500 --> 00:01:45,678
Vade...
18
00:01:48,180 --> 00:01:49,603
jubeo...
19
00:01:52,094 --> 00:01:53,731
celeriter...
20
00:02:07,793 --> 00:02:08,593
The seven of diamonds.
21
00:02:08,593 --> 00:02:09,585
- The seven of diamonds
22
00:02:09,585 --> 00:02:12,486
from the six to the seven of diamonds,
23
00:02:12,486 --> 00:02:13,745
and the gentlemen on the end?
24
00:02:13,745 --> 00:02:14,502
The 10 of spades.
25
00:02:14,502 --> 00:02:16,614
- The 10 of spades.
26
00:02:38,447 --> 00:02:40,355
They're probably more
books written about magic
27
00:02:40,355 --> 00:02:41,753
than any other art form.
28
00:02:41,753 --> 00:02:43,885
Literally, thousands
and thousands of books
29
00:02:43,885 --> 00:02:46,328
and I've collected thousands
of books in my life,
30
00:02:46,328 --> 00:02:48,216
about magic technique.
31
00:02:48,216 --> 00:02:52,653
But, I believe that the
real key to learning
32
00:02:52,653 --> 00:02:53,867
is personally.
33
00:02:53,867 --> 00:02:56,910
It's almost like the
sensei/master relationship
34
00:02:56,910 --> 00:02:58,531
in the martial arts.
35
00:02:58,531 --> 00:02:59,875
That the way you want to learn
36
00:02:59,875 --> 00:03:04,294
is by someone you respect
showing you something.
37
00:03:04,294 --> 00:03:09,218
There's a level of transmission
and a level of appreciation
38
00:03:09,218 --> 00:03:12,674
that's never completely attainable
39
00:03:12,674 --> 00:03:14,466
just through the written word.
40
00:03:16,803 --> 00:03:19,123
I've been really, really
lucky to be around people
41
00:03:19,123 --> 00:03:22,760
and to feel very much part
of this ongoing continuum
42
00:03:22,760 --> 00:03:24,744
of sleight of hand,
that can be traced back
43
00:03:24,744 --> 00:03:28,203
many, many years, more than a century.
44
00:03:48,595 --> 00:03:49,896
It's beginners
ladies and gentlemen,
45
00:03:49,896 --> 00:03:51,184
beginners please.
46
00:03:52,034 --> 00:03:53,760
Everybody to beginners, thank you.
47
00:03:57,049 --> 00:03:58,248
Here's the man.
48
00:04:01,853 --> 00:04:03,111
- I'll see you on the other side.
49
00:04:03,111 --> 00:04:03,828
- All right.
50
00:04:06,716 --> 00:04:08,391
A man named Canada Bill Jones,
51
00:04:08,391 --> 00:04:10,353
by all accounts, was the
greatest Monty hustler
52
00:04:10,353 --> 00:04:11,355
who ever lived.
53
00:04:11,355 --> 00:04:13,213
Canada Bill was, of course, from England.
54
00:04:14,001 --> 00:04:16,806
In his day the game was played
with three identical cards,
55
00:04:16,806 --> 00:04:18,393
in this case, queen of hearts.
56
00:04:18,393 --> 00:04:20,548
And, they would take out a marking crayon
57
00:04:20,548 --> 00:04:22,393
and put a big X on one of the queens
58
00:04:22,393 --> 00:04:23,833
and you had to find the marked card,
59
00:04:23,833 --> 00:04:24,846
the queen with the X.
60
00:04:24,846 --> 00:04:25,634
Then, a little later, they thought
61
00:04:25,634 --> 00:04:27,652
it was better to play with black cards.
62
00:04:27,652 --> 00:04:29,355
So, instead they played
with three black cards
63
00:04:29,355 --> 00:04:31,253
and they took out a pencil, a red pencil,
64
00:04:31,253 --> 00:04:33,194
and made a big circle, so you could see it
65
00:04:33,194 --> 00:04:34,378
and then they thought, well you know,
66
00:04:34,378 --> 00:04:36,898
if you want to contrast them,
67
00:04:36,898 --> 00:04:38,239
all you have to do is
play with a black one
68
00:04:38,239 --> 00:04:40,309
and a pair of queens and
you don't need a pencil.
69
00:04:40,309 --> 00:04:42,059
Now, they play with one
queen and two black cards,
70
00:04:42,059 --> 00:04:43,233
so, why don't you--
71
00:04:44,288 --> 00:04:45,570
We'll continue.
72
00:04:49,875 --> 00:04:51,261
I remember going to a show
73
00:04:51,261 --> 00:04:53,417
of Ricky Jay and his 52 assistants
74
00:04:53,417 --> 00:04:57,448
and he said, "Boy, there
were, like, three or four
75
00:04:57,448 --> 00:05:01,880
really big card cheats in
the audience, tonight."
76
00:05:01,880 --> 00:05:04,577
I said, "Wow, so guys you know?"
77
00:05:04,577 --> 00:05:07,959
He said, "Oh, yeah. Big card hustlers."
78
00:05:07,959 --> 00:05:12,269
and I said, "So, these guys
gonna come back stage?"
79
00:05:12,889 --> 00:05:14,650
"Probably not" and they didn't.
80
00:05:15,295 --> 00:05:17,300
You know, but, he does inhabit a world
81
00:05:17,300 --> 00:05:19,636
that you imagine that he would inhabit.
82
00:05:19,636 --> 00:05:21,059
He knows characters.
83
00:05:30,547 --> 00:05:32,522
I was around magic all the time.
84
00:05:33,674 --> 00:05:35,483
It's my earliest memory.
85
00:05:35,483 --> 00:05:37,904
It's my earliest family memory.
86
00:05:37,904 --> 00:05:39,643
It's my earliest social memory.
87
00:05:39,643 --> 00:05:41,349
It's my earliest artistic
memory, you know,
88
00:05:41,349 --> 00:05:44,643
so, it just was part of my being.
89
00:05:44,643 --> 00:05:46,754
Newark
Sunday News, New Jersey,
90
00:05:46,754 --> 00:05:49,218
March 14, 1956.
91
00:05:49,218 --> 00:05:52,183
Two of a kind, Max Katz, past president
92
00:05:52,183 --> 00:05:55,512
of the Society of American
Magicians is about to be tricked
93
00:05:55,512 --> 00:05:57,666
by his seven-year-old Grandson,
94
00:05:57,666 --> 00:06:01,623
Ricky Potash of Elizabeth,
magician in his own right.
95
00:06:01,623 --> 00:06:03,351
Ricky hasn't given much thought
96
00:06:03,351 --> 00:06:05,548
to what he wants to be when he grows up,
97
00:06:05,548 --> 00:06:06,849
but one thing he doesn't want to be
98
00:06:06,849 --> 00:06:09,612
is a professional
magician, which he is now
99
00:06:09,612 --> 00:06:11,179
at the age of seven.
100
00:06:11,179 --> 00:06:12,620
He made his first public appearance
101
00:06:12,620 --> 00:06:16,965
at the age of four, at the
New York Magician's Picnic.
102
00:06:16,965 --> 00:06:18,802
I remember
doing this dreadful effect
103
00:06:18,802 --> 00:06:20,455
when I was three or four years old,
104
00:06:20,455 --> 00:06:22,439
producing cups from Lundy's,
105
00:06:22,439 --> 00:06:24,552
the seafood restaurant in Sheepshead Bay,
106
00:06:24,552 --> 00:06:28,359
which was terrible, and
producing rubber fruit
107
00:06:28,359 --> 00:06:30,454
from a pan, which was awful.
108
00:06:31,217 --> 00:06:34,246
You know, pretending to lick
a rubber ice cream cone,
109
00:06:34,246 --> 00:06:37,905
which I had just produced
from the pan, which was awful.
110
00:06:37,905 --> 00:06:39,504
So, within a year of that time,
111
00:06:39,504 --> 00:06:41,435
I think I was actually doing shows
112
00:06:41,435 --> 00:06:43,675
where I dressed up in a full-tails suit
113
00:06:43,675 --> 00:06:45,779
and did more bad magical effects.
114
00:06:47,236 --> 00:06:49,614
- Here I have an empty canister.
115
00:06:49,614 --> 00:06:51,257
Keep your eye on it
116
00:06:51,257 --> 00:06:56,257
because strange things
are going to happen.
117
00:06:57,671 --> 00:07:00,110
Sir, will you please
bring in my magic bunny?
118
00:07:00,110 --> 00:07:02,999
- Well, the bunny jumped
out , would this be good?
119
00:07:02,999 --> 00:07:04,908
A little Peruvian guinea pig.
120
00:07:04,908 --> 00:07:05,711
- Oh.
121
00:07:05,711 --> 00:07:07,072
- I'll put it right in.
122
00:07:07,072 --> 00:07:08,574
I want to see this, this
is really something.
123
00:07:08,574 --> 00:07:10,216
May I put it in for you Ricky?
124
00:07:10,216 --> 00:07:11,138
- No.
125
00:07:12,475 --> 00:07:13,647
- It's in there now.
126
00:07:17,607 --> 00:07:21,286
- ♫ Rock-a-bye, bunny.
127
00:07:21,286 --> 00:07:24,597
♫ Mm, la-la-la.
128
00:07:27,034 --> 00:07:29,262
Well, my bunny just
slept more than enough.
129
00:07:29,262 --> 00:07:30,342
Time to wake him up.
130
00:07:44,040 --> 00:07:47,820
Oh, well, isn't magic wonderful?
131
00:07:48,359 --> 00:07:50,695
- I was a very comfortable
performer from the beginning,
132
00:07:50,695 --> 00:07:54,715
my guess is it's because I
started at such a young age.
133
00:07:55,728 --> 00:07:58,736
My grandfather, Max Katz,
was an amateur magician
134
00:07:58,736 --> 00:08:00,553
on a pretty serious level.
135
00:08:03,673 --> 00:08:05,742
He came over from Austria, Hungary,
136
00:08:05,742 --> 00:08:07,064
as a small boy.
137
00:08:07,064 --> 00:08:09,155
He lived in Brooklyn, as did we.
138
00:08:09,155 --> 00:08:11,085
He had a Wall Street firm.
139
00:08:11,085 --> 00:08:13,218
He was a CPA through an Act of Congress,
140
00:08:13,218 --> 00:08:14,584
he never went to college,
141
00:08:14,584 --> 00:08:16,396
and he had this interest
142
00:08:16,396 --> 00:08:18,606
in all sorts of fairly arcane things.
143
00:08:18,606 --> 00:08:20,846
As I think about it now, an
enormous number of things
144
00:08:20,846 --> 00:08:23,788
that eventually wound up interesting me.
145
00:08:23,788 --> 00:08:26,391
But his path to these
things was to take lessons
146
00:08:26,391 --> 00:08:28,523
from the best people he could find.
147
00:08:28,523 --> 00:08:30,095
So, he actually learned to play billiards
148
00:08:30,095 --> 00:08:32,117
from taking lessons from Willy Hoppy.
149
00:08:32,117 --> 00:08:34,130
And he took checker
lessons from William Ryan
150
00:08:34,130 --> 00:08:35,282
and then he wrote the introduction
151
00:08:35,282 --> 00:08:36,989
to his book on checkers.
152
00:08:36,989 --> 00:08:38,757
He was a cryptographer.
153
00:08:38,757 --> 00:08:40,990
He wound up becoming
the cryptography editor
154
00:08:40,990 --> 00:08:42,992
of G-Man magazine,
155
00:08:42,992 --> 00:08:46,542
used the code name of M.K. Dirigo,
156
00:08:46,542 --> 00:08:48,194
that was his moniker.
157
00:08:48,194 --> 00:08:49,766
You know, he just found these people
158
00:08:49,766 --> 00:08:51,675
to teach him the things
he was interested in.
159
00:08:51,675 --> 00:08:54,544
And at the point that I came around
160
00:08:54,544 --> 00:08:56,774
I guess he was most interested in magic.
161
00:08:56,774 --> 00:08:59,824
Abracadabra, March, 1949.
162
00:08:59,824 --> 00:09:02,629
Slydini opens instruction studio.
163
00:09:02,629 --> 00:09:06,138
A steady demand on his time
and his skill at teaching
164
00:09:06,138 --> 00:09:07,833
has caused him to open a studio
165
00:09:07,833 --> 00:09:11,165
for the instruction of
local businessmen magicians.
166
00:09:12,335 --> 00:09:14,893
So, my grandfather,
actually took formal lessons
167
00:09:14,893 --> 00:09:17,581
from a bunch of magicians,
who were sensational.
168
00:09:17,581 --> 00:09:19,608
And then, these people became his friends
169
00:09:19,608 --> 00:09:22,434
and then became my early mentors.
170
00:09:22,434 --> 00:09:26,271
Slydini, Frances Carlyle,
Guy Vernon, Al Flosso.
171
00:09:26,271 --> 00:09:28,404
These people I got to
see who were sensational.
172
00:09:28,404 --> 00:09:31,999
So, I mean, this was
part of the great gift
173
00:09:31,999 --> 00:09:34,943
from my grandfather, that
I got at a very early age.
174
00:09:45,352 --> 00:09:47,497
I remember, as a five or six-year-old,
175
00:09:47,497 --> 00:09:50,451
my grandfather would bring
me over to Cardini's house,
176
00:09:50,451 --> 00:09:51,667
which was truly amazing,
177
00:09:51,667 --> 00:09:54,248
because Cardini was known not to associate
178
00:09:54,248 --> 00:09:55,891
with very many magicians, you know.
179
00:09:55,891 --> 00:09:58,201
And he was just an extraordinary act.
180
00:09:58,201 --> 00:09:59,592
I only went to Cardini's twice.
181
00:09:59,592 --> 00:10:01,679
I was largely schmoozing,
with my grandfather,
182
00:10:01,679 --> 00:10:03,343
but kind enough to show me some.
183
00:10:03,343 --> 00:10:05,380
I mean, I still remember vividly,
184
00:10:05,380 --> 00:10:08,100
him showing me a reverse fan that he made,
185
00:10:08,100 --> 00:10:11,982
you know, in this
enormous circle of space,
186
00:10:11,982 --> 00:10:14,225
you know the way he made
this fan in his hand.
187
00:10:19,042 --> 00:10:22,529
Cardini was probably the greatest act
188
00:10:22,529 --> 00:10:24,033
I ever saw in my life.
189
00:10:29,324 --> 00:10:32,289
As a treat, my grandfather
brought me to a magic convention
190
00:10:32,289 --> 00:10:34,827
in Chicago, when I was very young.
191
00:10:34,827 --> 00:10:36,246
Cardini did the act.
192
00:10:36,246 --> 00:10:38,112
I think it was the last
time he ever did his act,
193
00:10:38,112 --> 00:10:41,751
and it just was this
extraordinary combination
194
00:10:41,751 --> 00:10:43,627
of elements blending together.
195
00:10:43,627 --> 00:10:46,528
The characterization's of
him as the tipsy Englishman
196
00:10:46,528 --> 00:10:49,738
and his wife, Swan, as
the page-boy assistant.
197
00:10:49,738 --> 00:10:51,808
And, the idea that these miracles,
198
00:10:51,808 --> 00:10:53,621
just, sort of, happened to him.
199
00:10:53,621 --> 00:10:57,013
He didn't produce cards,
cards appeared in his hand.
200
00:10:57,013 --> 00:10:59,242
He was desperate to get
them out of his hand
201
00:10:59,242 --> 00:11:00,991
and the second they got out of his hand
202
00:11:00,991 --> 00:11:02,634
there were more cards in his hand.
203
00:11:02,634 --> 00:11:05,503
It, just, really transcended anyone else
204
00:11:05,503 --> 00:11:06,920
doing similar effects.
205
00:11:45,369 --> 00:11:46,587
It's also something from an era
206
00:11:46,587 --> 00:11:49,068
that no longer exists,
the end of Vaudeville,
207
00:11:49,068 --> 00:11:50,822
in which you could make a living,
208
00:11:50,822 --> 00:11:52,972
doing an act for a few minutes.
209
00:11:52,972 --> 00:11:54,777
You would just go from town to town,
210
00:11:54,777 --> 00:11:56,645
from, you know, house to house,
211
00:11:56,645 --> 00:11:58,744
and do your act.
212
00:11:58,744 --> 00:12:01,967
And, it just was wonderful,
it was breathtaking.
213
00:12:29,032 --> 00:12:30,465
There's a thing about holding cards
214
00:12:30,465 --> 00:12:32,650
in one's hand that's amazing.
215
00:12:33,430 --> 00:12:35,411
It becomes like a meditative tool,
216
00:12:35,411 --> 00:12:37,560
just sitting there and
shuffling cards for hours
217
00:12:37,560 --> 00:12:39,197
and thinking about them.
218
00:12:39,197 --> 00:12:41,935
It's almost infinite,
what one can do with them.
219
00:13:08,038 --> 00:13:12,107
My grandfather would have
very specific commentaries
220
00:13:12,107 --> 00:13:14,591
on the performance of various magicians.
221
00:13:14,591 --> 00:13:17,637
For example, watching
Slydini, he would say,
222
00:13:17,637 --> 00:13:20,324
"Look how wonderfully
he misdirects attention.
223
00:13:20,324 --> 00:13:23,536
"Watch his incredible ability
to direct the attention
224
00:13:23,536 --> 00:13:27,440
"of a spectator specifically
where he wants to direct it."
225
00:13:27,440 --> 00:13:29,680
- I'ma gonna take a the ball
226
00:13:29,680 --> 00:13:31,947
and I'ma gonna put
inside the hand this way,
227
00:13:31,947 --> 00:13:36,579
and I'm closing it, squeeze,
when I open the hand
228
00:13:36,579 --> 00:13:39,494
you see the ball completely disappear.
229
00:13:39,494 --> 00:13:41,663
Come here, up close, watch really close,
230
00:13:41,663 --> 00:13:43,120
Come here, watch.
231
00:13:43,120 --> 00:13:44,769
I'll do it really slow, okay?
232
00:13:46,080 --> 00:13:48,768
Watch here, really slow.
233
00:13:49,918 --> 00:13:51,968
And disappear, nothing here, nothing here.
234
00:13:53,868 --> 00:13:54,954
Is it in your pocket?
235
00:13:54,954 --> 00:13:55,775
- No.
236
00:13:55,775 --> 00:13:58,103
- No. Let me see.
237
00:13:58,103 --> 00:14:00,368
Oh, you didn't see it, right?
238
00:14:00,368 --> 00:14:01,302
You know why?
239
00:14:01,302 --> 00:14:04,566
I did too fast, this time
I do it slow, really slow.
240
00:14:08,401 --> 00:14:10,405
Now, I'll tell you why you didn't see it.
241
00:14:10,405 --> 00:14:13,860
I explain it to you, see,
before I put in the ball,
242
00:14:13,860 --> 00:14:16,446
this way you couldn't see the ball, right?
243
00:14:17,450 --> 00:14:18,769
- You're hiding it.
244
00:14:18,769 --> 00:14:20,010
- You're clever.
245
00:14:20,841 --> 00:14:24,106
You're clever, I hide
it with the hand, right?
246
00:14:24,106 --> 00:14:25,962
But this time I'ma not
gonna put it this way,
247
00:14:25,962 --> 00:14:27,613
I'm gonna put it this way.
248
00:14:27,613 --> 00:14:29,174
Come here, watch, really slow.
249
00:14:30,574 --> 00:14:32,174
Come here, watch, really slow.
250
00:14:35,567 --> 00:14:36,623
Where'd it go?
251
00:14:40,175 --> 00:14:42,012
The famous
story about misdirection
252
00:14:42,012 --> 00:14:43,870
is that, there was a
man named Abril Lemarque
253
00:14:43,870 --> 00:14:45,650
who was the art editor
of the New York Times
254
00:14:45,650 --> 00:14:48,056
and a very well known amateur magician
255
00:14:48,056 --> 00:14:49,617
and another friend of my grandfather's.
256
00:14:49,617 --> 00:14:51,152
He was a really flamboyant guy
257
00:14:51,152 --> 00:14:54,174
with a wonderful, grey, twirled mustache,
258
00:14:54,174 --> 00:14:55,688
an elegant, dapper figure.
259
00:14:55,688 --> 00:14:57,596
And, the story was told that one year
260
00:14:57,596 --> 00:14:59,913
at the art director's show in New York,
261
00:14:59,913 --> 00:15:02,992
a very famous show,
that he was performing.
262
00:15:04,239 --> 00:15:07,310
The effect involved a green handkerchief,
263
00:15:07,310 --> 00:15:08,526
which was in his hand
264
00:15:08,526 --> 00:15:10,601
and he said that he was
gonna change color, you know,
265
00:15:10,601 --> 00:15:12,060
and his hands were completely empty,
266
00:15:12,060 --> 00:15:13,812
except for this green handkerchief.
267
00:15:13,812 --> 00:15:15,689
And he tucked it into his hand
268
00:15:15,689 --> 00:15:19,789
and at that moment a
completely nude stunning model
269
00:15:19,789 --> 00:15:22,567
walked across the stage behind him
270
00:15:22,567 --> 00:15:24,640
and then the first words he said were,
271
00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:26,883
"And now the handkerchief is yellow."
272
00:15:26,883 --> 00:15:29,290
And when the people looked back, in fact,
273
00:15:29,290 --> 00:15:31,633
he had done this sleight of hand effect,
274
00:15:31,633 --> 00:15:35,093
so, that illustrates perhaps
more of the principles of magic
275
00:15:35,093 --> 00:15:37,751
than any other story
with which I'm familiar.
276
00:15:44,105 --> 00:15:47,676
I would go to see Slydini at
his apartment in Manhattan
277
00:15:47,676 --> 00:15:48,973
and take lessons from him.
278
00:15:48,973 --> 00:15:50,624
How formal that they were, I don't know.
279
00:15:50,624 --> 00:15:53,107
There was certainly no family decision,
280
00:15:53,107 --> 00:15:55,005
"Now you'll take lessons from Slydini."
281
00:15:55,005 --> 00:15:57,207
Like it was Nadia Boulanger, or something.
282
00:15:57,207 --> 00:15:58,933
I mean, you know, it was Slydini
283
00:15:58,933 --> 00:16:02,436
and one day I was invited over
to his home and it was great.
284
00:16:04,836 --> 00:16:06,537
Slydini was an Italian man
285
00:16:06,537 --> 00:16:09,083
who did this wonderfully poetic magic
286
00:16:09,083 --> 00:16:11,376
and was a wonderfully artistic fellow.
287
00:16:11,376 --> 00:16:13,467
I mean, he actually made
me in those years...
288
00:16:14,487 --> 00:16:17,180
He was a wonderful
tailor and he made suits
289
00:16:17,180 --> 00:16:19,663
that were like Spanish toreador outfits,
290
00:16:19,663 --> 00:16:23,618
where every flower was dyed by
hand and put on with sequins.
291
00:16:23,618 --> 00:16:26,356
That's what I actually performed
in when I was a young boy,
292
00:16:26,356 --> 00:16:30,298
13 or 14, and, you know,
with penciled in sideburns.
293
00:16:51,365 --> 00:16:52,606
I then moved to New Jersey,
294
00:16:52,606 --> 00:16:55,101
so when I would come in to see Slydini,
295
00:16:55,101 --> 00:16:58,508
I would take a bus in from
Elizabeth to Port Authority
296
00:16:58,508 --> 00:17:01,217
and then walk to Slydini's house.
297
00:17:01,217 --> 00:17:05,024
Slydini had this apartment on 45th Street.
298
00:17:05,024 --> 00:17:06,931
It was, just, really entering a world
299
00:17:06,931 --> 00:17:10,003
that was just so different and unusual.
300
00:17:10,003 --> 00:17:13,036
I still, you know, I can
picture this vividly,
301
00:17:13,036 --> 00:17:15,034
sitting at this big table he had
302
00:17:15,034 --> 00:17:17,733
and he would start running
through this repertoire
303
00:17:17,733 --> 00:17:20,497
and, actually, specifically
teaching me effects,
304
00:17:20,497 --> 00:17:22,470
like "Coins Through the Table"
305
00:17:22,470 --> 00:17:27,462
and making me practice and
commenting on the practice.
306
00:17:27,462 --> 00:17:28,941
It was really fun.
307
00:17:33,298 --> 00:17:36,127
Practice to me was never
anything but pleasure.
308
00:17:36,127 --> 00:17:37,495
It's what I like doing.
309
00:17:38,385 --> 00:17:41,212
If I'm frazzled the nicest
thing to calm me down
310
00:17:41,212 --> 00:17:43,389
is, probably, to put a
deck of cards in my hand
311
00:17:43,389 --> 00:17:45,496
and let me sit down for a few hours.
312
00:17:47,513 --> 00:17:49,298
- I worked very closely
with him for many years.
313
00:17:49,298 --> 00:17:53,088
I directed two shows, "52
Assistants" and "Ricky Jay."
314
00:17:53,088 --> 00:17:55,516
Then I directed, I think,
seven or eight movies.
315
00:17:58,285 --> 00:18:00,265
- Trip aces, beat em' my friend.
316
00:18:02,767 --> 00:18:06,031
- Club flush, you owe
me six thousand dollars.
317
00:18:06,031 --> 00:18:07,522
Thank you, very much.
318
00:18:11,932 --> 00:18:13,396
Next case.
319
00:18:13,400 --> 00:18:14,812
- I would always tell him,
you know, "Show me something."
320
00:18:14,812 --> 00:18:15,633
So years ago he said,
321
00:18:15,633 --> 00:18:18,461
"Okay, I'll show you a beginning effect."
322
00:18:18,461 --> 00:18:20,802
Off you go, when you can
come back and do this effect
323
00:18:20,802 --> 00:18:24,782
better than anyone's ever done
it, I'll show you another.
324
00:18:24,782 --> 00:18:26,712
So I worked on it for awhile and got bored
325
00:18:26,712 --> 00:18:28,234
and it wasn't my thing
and never did it again.
326
00:18:28,234 --> 00:18:29,348
I mean, I respect the fact
327
00:18:29,348 --> 00:18:31,360
that the essence of his profession,
328
00:18:31,360 --> 00:18:33,038
the secrecy and unattainability,
329
00:18:33,038 --> 00:18:36,290
we all want to know how the trick is done.
330
00:18:36,290 --> 00:18:39,144
The technical skills, to
master them, take a lifetime.
331
00:18:39,144 --> 00:18:41,691
To tell them to the uninitiated
would be a desecration,
332
00:18:41,691 --> 00:18:44,167
so, I stopped asking.
333
00:18:49,680 --> 00:18:51,357
Secrecy in
magic, is still prevalent.
334
00:18:51,357 --> 00:18:53,378
There are many things that my mentors,
335
00:18:53,378 --> 00:18:54,800
I'm sure, didn't show me.
336
00:18:54,800 --> 00:18:55,826
There are probably even a couple things
337
00:18:55,826 --> 00:18:58,271
I've come up with that I
haven't shown anyone else.
338
00:18:58,271 --> 00:19:01,509
The code of secrecy thing,
clearly, was instilled
339
00:19:01,509 --> 00:19:03,508
from the very beginning, for me.
340
00:19:11,079 --> 00:19:13,128
My grandfather would say,
341
00:19:13,128 --> 00:19:14,844
"When you watch Francis Carlyle,
342
00:19:14,844 --> 00:19:17,308
"it's not only technique
and presentation."
343
00:19:17,308 --> 00:19:21,135
But listen to the way
that he explains an effect
344
00:19:21,135 --> 00:19:24,157
with such clarity, that people go away
345
00:19:24,157 --> 00:19:26,420
knowing exactly what's happened.
346
00:19:27,230 --> 00:19:28,750
I'm gonna show
you something very unusual,
347
00:19:28,750 --> 00:19:30,558
I'm never gonna go near the deck.
348
00:19:30,558 --> 00:19:33,053
Take that queen of hearts
and put it in your hand
349
00:19:33,053 --> 00:19:34,486
and I put it in his hand.
350
00:19:34,486 --> 00:19:36,432
Now, I'm gonna show you
something very unusual,
351
00:19:36,432 --> 00:19:37,887
that you won't ever forget.
352
00:19:38,982 --> 00:19:40,966
It was a
wonderful piece of advice.
353
00:19:40,966 --> 00:19:43,013
Because people are often confused
354
00:19:43,013 --> 00:19:45,894
in terms of what was even
supposed to take place
355
00:19:45,894 --> 00:19:47,428
in a magic illusion.
356
00:19:47,428 --> 00:19:49,094
Francis was great about letting you know
357
00:19:49,094 --> 00:19:52,115
what was supposed to
happen, and what did happen,
358
00:19:52,115 --> 00:19:54,122
and why you should be excited about it.
359
00:20:03,222 --> 00:20:06,385
Francis was a serious alcoholic
360
00:20:06,385 --> 00:20:07,998
and he had stopped drinking for years
361
00:20:07,998 --> 00:20:12,363
and he went out to the Magic
Castle, in Los Angeles,
362
00:20:12,363 --> 00:20:15,062
and had a number of very
good years out there
363
00:20:15,062 --> 00:20:17,557
and eventually he started drinking again.
364
00:20:17,557 --> 00:20:19,480
And, I found him on the streets of L.A.,
365
00:20:19,480 --> 00:20:20,503
shortly before he died,
366
00:20:20,503 --> 00:20:22,359
brought him home to stay
with me for a few days
367
00:20:22,359 --> 00:20:23,730
in my apartment in Venice
368
00:20:23,730 --> 00:20:27,730
and not long after that he
was found on the streets.
369
00:20:34,054 --> 00:20:35,186
People frequently talk about
370
00:20:35,186 --> 00:20:38,069
how much more difficult it
is to cheat in a card game
371
00:20:38,069 --> 00:20:41,562
than to perform good sleight of hand.
372
00:20:41,562 --> 00:20:43,788
But, if you think about it,
what makes magic different
373
00:20:43,788 --> 00:20:46,063
is that it's inherently honest.
374
00:20:46,664 --> 00:20:50,179
That's the major difference
between deception as crime
375
00:20:50,179 --> 00:20:52,354
and deception as performance.
376
00:20:52,354 --> 00:20:55,445
In the performance of
magic and sleight of hand
377
00:20:55,445 --> 00:20:57,309
you tell someone you're
gonna deceive them,
378
00:20:57,309 --> 00:20:58,660
before you deceive them.
379
00:21:04,310 --> 00:21:05,731
That's really difficult,
380
00:21:05,731 --> 00:21:07,586
to tell someone you're gonna fool them.
381
00:21:07,586 --> 00:21:09,481
To have them on guard and aware
382
00:21:09,481 --> 00:21:11,209
and then, to still fool them.
383
00:21:11,209 --> 00:21:14,506
It really is a very peculiar profession.
384
00:21:28,733 --> 00:21:31,035
I would go an visit Al Flosso.
385
00:21:31,035 --> 00:21:34,350
I would go to his shop on 34th Street
386
00:21:34,350 --> 00:21:37,293
fairly often and watch him.
387
00:21:37,293 --> 00:21:39,931
He'd walk up this long narrow staircase
388
00:21:39,931 --> 00:21:40,990
and open up the door.
389
00:21:40,990 --> 00:21:43,142
Al would be behind the counter
390
00:21:43,142 --> 00:21:44,894
and he was a very small man,
391
00:21:44,894 --> 00:21:47,352
I mean, he was barely past five feet tall,
392
00:21:47,352 --> 00:21:51,038
with these giant thick
glasses and this great grin.
393
00:21:51,038 --> 00:21:53,354
Usually wearing shirt
sleeves and suspenders
394
00:21:53,354 --> 00:21:56,614
and just surrounded by this clutter.
395
00:21:58,083 --> 00:21:59,401
He got me interested in the history
396
00:21:59,401 --> 00:22:00,492
of the art, as well.
397
00:22:00,492 --> 00:22:03,422
The first posters I ever
bought were from Flosso
398
00:22:03,422 --> 00:22:06,340
and he really did create
one of the great personas
399
00:22:06,340 --> 00:22:08,350
of anybody performing magic.
400
00:22:08,350 --> 00:22:10,103
The "Coney Island Faker".
401
00:22:10,103 --> 00:22:11,764
It was just a great character
402
00:22:11,764 --> 00:22:13,511
coming from the Barker tradition.
403
00:22:13,511 --> 00:22:15,700
And he worked on the Sells Floto Circus
404
00:22:15,700 --> 00:22:17,618
I think he worked at Al G. Barnes.
405
00:22:17,618 --> 00:22:19,444
He really was a side show carnival
406
00:22:19,444 --> 00:22:21,137
magician out of Coney Island.
407
00:22:23,144 --> 00:22:25,921
- So, now from the curcus
lots, Professor Al Flosso.
408
00:22:26,659 --> 00:22:30,249
I remember him making
Ed Sullivan, truly laugh,
409
00:22:30,249 --> 00:22:32,487
which was almost unheard of.
410
00:22:32,487 --> 00:22:35,389
- Well, come on up here, I'll
show 'em how this is done.
411
00:22:35,389 --> 00:22:37,440
All you have to do is reach up in the air
412
00:22:37,440 --> 00:22:38,375
and get all you want.
413
00:22:38,375 --> 00:22:39,333
Grab one.
414
00:22:39,856 --> 00:22:40,961
In the can, that's good.
415
00:22:42,656 --> 00:22:43,635
With the other hand.
416
00:22:43,635 --> 00:22:44,858
In the can,
417
00:22:44,858 --> 00:22:45,469
that's better.
418
00:22:45,469 --> 00:22:46,744
Blow it in before you use it.
419
00:22:47,576 --> 00:22:49,221
Give a hand before you can miss.
420
00:22:49,970 --> 00:22:52,018
Grab one, put it in your pocket.
421
00:22:52,018 --> 00:22:53,822
Keep that for coming up here.
422
00:22:53,822 --> 00:22:56,068
I don't care for money.
423
00:22:56,068 --> 00:22:57,444
Did you get it?
424
00:22:57,444 --> 00:22:58,071
- I think so.
425
00:22:58,071 --> 00:22:58,889
- Let's see.
426
00:23:05,536 --> 00:23:06,635
- That's what I thought.
427
00:23:06,635 --> 00:23:08,155
Hold that there with both hands.
428
00:23:10,112 --> 00:23:12,045
Well, well, well thank you, my boy.
429
00:23:14,995 --> 00:23:16,969
- You, literally, cannot
think about Al Flosso
430
00:23:16,969 --> 00:23:17,991
without smiling.
431
00:23:19,191 --> 00:23:22,858
I suppose the only kind memory
I ever had of my parents
432
00:23:22,858 --> 00:23:25,719
was that when it was
time for my Bar Mitzvah
433
00:23:25,719 --> 00:23:27,613
they asked me what I
would like at the party
434
00:23:27,613 --> 00:23:29,688
* and I said I wanted
Al Flosso to perform.
435
00:23:29,688 --> 00:23:31,888
And it was a pretty
ballsy thing to ask for,
436
00:23:31,888 --> 00:23:34,618
in the sense, that Flosso
performed on the Ed Sullivan Show
437
00:23:34,618 --> 00:23:36,884
and often worked at Grossinger's,
438
00:23:36,884 --> 00:23:38,638
and the Concord and the Catskills.
439
00:23:38,638 --> 00:23:41,030
They inquired and they came back to me
440
00:23:41,030 --> 00:23:43,783
and said, that he was, in
fact, working in the Catskills
441
00:23:43,783 --> 00:23:46,241
that weekend and he sent his apologies
442
00:23:46,241 --> 00:23:47,777
but was unable to do it.
443
00:23:47,777 --> 00:23:49,658
They were conning me,
444
00:23:49,658 --> 00:23:51,278
and in fact, had hired him and he came.
445
00:23:51,958 --> 00:23:56,636
And, so, it was great to see
Flosso perform for my friends
446
00:23:56,636 --> 00:24:00,461
and they were as taken by
him as I always had been.
447
00:24:00,461 --> 00:24:02,125
It was really nice.
448
00:24:02,125 --> 00:24:05,544
It's actually Flosso who performed
that frightening ceremony
449
00:24:05,544 --> 00:24:09,613
at my grandfather's funeral,
of breaking the magic wand.
450
00:24:09,613 --> 00:24:12,147
They were really close friends
451
00:24:12,147 --> 00:24:14,569
and also, I think, Masonic brothers.
452
00:24:15,916 --> 00:24:17,110
Broken Wand.
453
00:24:17,110 --> 00:24:19,884
Max Katz, 74, of Brooklyn, New York,
454
00:24:19,884 --> 00:24:22,644
died March 31, 1965
455
00:24:22,644 --> 00:24:24,576
following a long illness.
456
00:24:24,576 --> 00:24:27,472
Survived by his widow, daughter, two sons,
457
00:24:27,472 --> 00:24:31,655
and six grandchildren, including
Ricky Potash, magician.
458
00:24:41,054 --> 00:24:43,243
Shortly before
my grandfather died
459
00:24:43,243 --> 00:24:45,663
one of the last things
I remember him doing
460
00:24:45,663 --> 00:24:48,657
was getting me together with Roy Benson
461
00:24:48,657 --> 00:24:51,436
and having Roy teach me
the "Billiard Ball" act,
462
00:24:51,436 --> 00:24:53,752
which was a great thing, I
mean this was a legendary act.
463
00:24:53,752 --> 00:24:56,309
The magic, Roy Benson
doing the "Billiard Balls".
464
00:24:56,309 --> 00:24:57,580
Beautiful "Billiard Ball" act,
465
00:24:57,580 --> 00:24:59,394
which I did just for a
short period of time.
466
00:25:12,114 --> 00:25:14,725
It was much like Slydini, that
learning from these people
467
00:25:14,725 --> 00:25:17,937
was a wonderful thing, but somehow I knew
468
00:25:17,937 --> 00:25:19,985
that I wasn't gonna go out and be Slydini
469
00:25:19,985 --> 00:25:23,237
and I knew that I wasn't going
go out and be Roy Benson,
470
00:25:23,237 --> 00:25:26,089
or any of these other people,
like Flosso or Carlyle,
471
00:25:26,089 --> 00:25:28,957
but there was something
wonderful about learning
472
00:25:28,957 --> 00:25:31,377
both, in general, and also in specific.
473
00:25:31,377 --> 00:25:32,963
So, there was a great discipline
474
00:25:32,963 --> 00:25:35,556
that came from learning the
"Benson Billiard Ball" act.
475
00:25:47,235 --> 00:25:49,526
Most of these people
that we knew, these guys,
476
00:25:49,526 --> 00:25:52,616
who were the greatest guys in
their field didn't have a pot,
477
00:25:52,616 --> 00:25:54,804
these were not people
making a lot of money.
478
00:25:54,804 --> 00:25:57,567
I mean, I never stopped
thinking about that.
479
00:25:57,567 --> 00:25:58,951
The people who were so good
480
00:25:58,951 --> 00:26:01,344
they would bring tears
your eyes, tears of joy
481
00:26:01,344 --> 00:26:05,255
from the beauty of their
performances, couldn't make money.
482
00:26:08,142 --> 00:26:10,726
My grandfather was Slydini's accountant.
483
00:26:10,726 --> 00:26:12,749
That was one of the things he
would always point out to me
484
00:26:12,749 --> 00:26:14,388
was how little Slydini made,
485
00:26:14,388 --> 00:26:16,998
so that I should, certainly,
be interested in magic
486
00:26:16,998 --> 00:26:19,202
but never think about it as a career.
487
00:26:20,192 --> 00:26:21,946
I, of course, heeded that advice.
488
00:26:22,791 --> 00:26:24,678
This week on
Don Kirshner's Rock Concert
489
00:26:24,678 --> 00:26:26,392
the incredible Kansas.
490
00:26:27,342 --> 00:26:29,398
Family funk from the Sylvers.
491
00:26:30,415 --> 00:26:33,242
The outrageousness of the Sex Pistols.
492
00:26:33,242 --> 00:26:35,129
Some slick dealin' from Ricky Jay.
493
00:26:46,791 --> 00:26:47,618
- What I'm gonna try to do
494
00:26:47,618 --> 00:26:49,377
is actually penetrate this newspaper
495
00:26:49,377 --> 00:26:50,696
with a single playing card.
496
00:26:50,696 --> 00:26:52,232
Going through the newspaper
497
00:26:52,232 --> 00:26:54,395
and knocking over the heavy beer cans,
498
00:26:54,395 --> 00:26:55,956
which are on the other side.
499
00:26:55,956 --> 00:26:57,131
Watch.
500
00:26:58,085 --> 00:26:59,155
That's enough!
501
00:27:10,731 --> 00:27:12,100
I don't often talk about my family,
502
00:27:12,100 --> 00:27:13,393
but, when my grandfather died,
503
00:27:13,393 --> 00:27:15,881
that was the end of the
relationship with my family.
504
00:27:16,930 --> 00:27:18,794
I was 16 or 17.
505
00:27:19,996 --> 00:27:22,018
It's safe to say my
parents just didn't get it
506
00:27:22,018 --> 00:27:24,410
and didn't get me and we had no rapport.
507
00:27:24,410 --> 00:27:27,816
And, I guess, it's also safe
to say, going from no rapport
508
00:27:27,816 --> 00:27:30,888
to wanting to get myself
the hell out of their house,
509
00:27:30,888 --> 00:27:33,716
happened pretty quickly
and I left home very early
510
00:27:33,716 --> 00:27:35,810
and, basically, never returned.
511
00:27:42,546 --> 00:27:45,427
Leaving with no money
in my pocket and no job
512
00:27:45,427 --> 00:27:48,731
was scary on some level,
but when you're that young
513
00:27:48,731 --> 00:27:49,857
you don't think about that so much
514
00:27:49,857 --> 00:27:51,494
and I quickly wound up getting jobs
515
00:27:51,494 --> 00:27:52,684
doing sleight of hand.
516
00:27:52,684 --> 00:27:54,859
Then I wound up tending bar in New York,
517
00:27:54,859 --> 00:27:57,101
even though I wasn't even 18 years old.
518
00:27:57,101 --> 00:28:00,096
You only had to be 18
to tend bar in New York.
519
00:28:00,096 --> 00:28:02,899
And, so, that became one of
the first skills I learned.
520
00:28:02,899 --> 00:28:06,558
I ran away to Lake George,
which was a big resort area
521
00:28:06,558 --> 00:28:09,017
and wound up behind the bar doing magic
522
00:28:09,017 --> 00:28:10,463
and making drinks.
523
00:28:10,463 --> 00:28:12,741
And that's what sort of
launched my professional career,
524
00:28:12,741 --> 00:28:14,352
those days out at Lake George.
525
00:28:20,863 --> 00:28:24,682
One of my first jobs,
when I was about 17 or 18,
526
00:28:24,682 --> 00:28:26,517
I played the Electric Circus in New York.
527
00:28:26,517 --> 00:28:29,116
The first psychedelic
nightclub in New York City,
528
00:28:29,116 --> 00:28:32,073
where I appeared in between Timothy Leary
529
00:28:32,073 --> 00:28:35,144
lecturing about acid and
the music act of the day
530
00:28:35,144 --> 00:28:37,025
which was Ike and Tina Turner.
531
00:28:37,025 --> 00:28:39,599
Occasionally the Chambers
Brothers were there, as well.
532
00:28:39,599 --> 00:28:42,671
But, sandwiched in between Tim Leary
533
00:28:42,671 --> 00:28:46,606
and Ike and Tina Turner was pretty great.
534
00:28:55,878 --> 00:28:57,606
Even though I tried to go to college,
535
00:28:57,606 --> 00:28:59,872
and I did go to quite a few of them,
536
00:28:59,872 --> 00:29:01,486
mostly to Cornell.
537
00:29:01,486 --> 00:29:04,850
I would leave at various
times to go out and perform.
538
00:29:04,850 --> 00:29:06,605
But, I remember performing
on the Tonight Show
539
00:29:06,605 --> 00:29:10,572
when I was still at Cornell,
and living in Ithica.
540
00:29:10,572 --> 00:29:11,840
It was, kind of, an odd thing to do.
541
00:29:11,840 --> 00:29:14,207
To go down to New York, I
did that a couple a times
542
00:29:14,207 --> 00:29:15,845
and appeared on the show.
543
00:29:15,845 --> 00:29:17,919
And, that was my first
national television appearance,
544
00:29:17,919 --> 00:29:20,402
which happened when I
was, still, very young.
545
00:29:20,402 --> 00:29:23,204
I mean, sometime around
the age of 20, I suppose.
546
00:29:23,204 --> 00:29:25,380
And that led to other shows, as well,
547
00:29:25,380 --> 00:29:28,939
and I wound up becoming a
fairly regular performer
548
00:29:28,939 --> 00:29:30,858
on a number of those early talk shows,
549
00:29:30,858 --> 00:29:33,009
like Mike Douglas and Merv Griffin.
550
00:29:33,009 --> 00:29:37,248
Eventually Dinah Shore, she and
I got along incredibly well.
551
00:29:37,248 --> 00:29:39,598
Probably was on that show 20 times, or so.
552
00:29:40,409 --> 00:29:41,194
The reason you're confused
553
00:29:41,194 --> 00:29:44,383
is you have a tendency
to watch the black cards.
554
00:29:44,383 --> 00:29:46,647
Now you should totally
ignore the black cards.
555
00:29:46,647 --> 00:29:47,479
It's very important
556
00:29:47,479 --> 00:29:49,011
if you're ever going to
play this game for money,
557
00:29:49,011 --> 00:29:49,977
to ignore the black cards
558
00:29:49,977 --> 00:29:51,993
and simply concentrate on your red cards.
559
00:29:52,700 --> 00:29:53,702
I now this may sound hard to you,
560
00:29:53,702 --> 00:29:55,652
if you're playing the game, but it's fine.
561
00:29:55,652 --> 00:29:57,112
All right, let me show you how this works.
562
00:29:57,112 --> 00:29:58,379
Now here are two black cards
563
00:29:58,379 --> 00:30:00,069
and here's the red card.
564
00:30:00,069 --> 00:30:00,793
Let me do this, again.
565
00:30:00,793 --> 00:30:03,489
Remember, black, red, black.
566
00:30:03,489 --> 00:30:05,425
I'll do this once more, red.
567
00:30:05,425 --> 00:30:06,572
Where's the red card?
568
00:30:06,572 --> 00:30:07,668
Want me to guess?
569
00:30:09,736 --> 00:30:11,725
Sure.
Right here.
570
00:30:11,725 --> 00:30:13,503
Well, I was doing
this for Elizabeth, but...
571
00:30:14,104 --> 00:30:16,958
you just happen to, yeah,
happen to be right, all right.
572
00:30:16,958 --> 00:30:18,238
But let me do this once more--
573
00:30:18,238 --> 00:30:19,658
You want to put
some money on this one?
574
00:30:19,658 --> 00:30:20,773
- Well, I don't--
575
00:30:25,288 --> 00:30:28,014
- Well, let me, let me. All right.
576
00:30:29,399 --> 00:30:30,495
You
want my five dollars?
577
00:30:30,495 --> 00:30:31,377
- I'll put 50 bucks.
578
00:30:33,976 --> 00:30:35,049
- Oh, 50 dollars.
579
00:30:36,489 --> 00:30:37,629
- Okay, 51.
580
00:30:37,629 --> 00:30:40,742
- Okay. okay, now you're talking.
581
00:30:40,742 --> 00:30:41,984
All right, I'll do this quickly then.
582
00:30:41,984 --> 00:30:43,737
I mean, I'm not gonna do
it as slow as I did before.
583
00:30:43,737 --> 00:30:45,174
Remember, here's the red card.
584
00:30:45,174 --> 00:30:46,396
Do it as fast as you want.
585
00:30:46,396 --> 00:30:47,244
As fast as I want?
586
00:30:47,244 --> 00:30:47,814
Yeah.
587
00:30:47,814 --> 00:30:49,595
All right, it's gonna be fast.
588
00:30:49,595 --> 00:30:50,245
Where is it?
589
00:30:50,245 --> 00:30:51,092
- This one.
590
00:30:54,092 --> 00:30:55,051
- Is this what you're,
591
00:30:55,051 --> 00:30:56,878
are you looking at this corner?
592
00:30:56,878 --> 00:30:57,677
Yup.
593
00:30:57,677 --> 00:30:58,732
Yeah, that's what I figured
594
00:30:58,732 --> 00:31:00,073
and that's a good way to get--
595
00:32:04,535 --> 00:32:06,122
After some
years of drifting around
596
00:32:06,122 --> 00:32:08,440
I moved to California, in search of
597
00:32:08,440 --> 00:32:11,537
the two greatest sleight of
hand artists in the world.
598
00:32:11,537 --> 00:32:14,069
Dai Vernon and Charlie Miller.
599
00:32:16,669 --> 00:32:18,843
So I had wonderful childhood influences,
600
00:32:18,843 --> 00:32:21,136
but when I came out to California,
it was really different.
601
00:32:21,966 --> 00:32:25,133
I went from someone who just
came out to reacquaint myself
602
00:32:25,133 --> 00:32:29,381
with Vernon, to spending
time with Charlie Miller
603
00:32:29,381 --> 00:32:32,133
and Dai Vernon, that
amounted to immersion.
604
00:32:32,133 --> 00:32:34,181
It was every day of my life.
605
00:32:34,181 --> 00:32:35,909
Every single day.
606
00:32:35,909 --> 00:32:38,302
Often winding up at the Magic Castle
607
00:32:38,302 --> 00:32:39,889
at 2 o'clock in the morning
608
00:32:39,889 --> 00:32:42,513
and then going from there
to Canter's Delicatessen
609
00:32:42,513 --> 00:32:45,571
'till six or seven, or
going over to their homes
610
00:32:45,571 --> 00:32:49,705
and, it really was a
complete and total immersion.
611
00:32:49,705 --> 00:32:53,046
It was interrupted only by going
out on the road to perform.
612
00:32:56,713 --> 00:33:00,098
I found Vernon at the Magic
Castle, in Los Angeles,
613
00:33:00,098 --> 00:33:02,197
where he had taken up residency.
614
00:33:02,197 --> 00:33:04,104
He was willing to divulge methods,
615
00:33:04,104 --> 00:33:07,048
although not always, and not every time.
616
00:33:07,048 --> 00:33:10,426
This is part of why it was
so exciting to be around him.
617
00:33:10,426 --> 00:33:11,829
There were other people came out,
618
00:33:11,829 --> 00:33:14,278
really wonderful magicians
coming from different places.
619
00:33:14,278 --> 00:33:17,080
Steve Freeman, coming from Oklahoma,
620
00:33:17,080 --> 00:33:20,267
and Earl Nelson, from Salt Lake City,
621
00:33:20,267 --> 00:33:22,176
and John Carney, coming from Des Moines,
622
00:33:22,176 --> 00:33:23,647
and earlier, Larry Jennings.
623
00:33:23,647 --> 00:33:25,938
And, David Roth in New York.
624
00:33:25,938 --> 00:33:27,316
There were quite a few people.
625
00:33:28,230 --> 00:33:29,549
The measure of this man,
626
00:33:29,549 --> 00:33:32,341
was that he made us,
literally, uproot our lives,
627
00:33:32,341 --> 00:33:36,653
without any, at least for me,
without any plan to do so.
628
00:33:36,653 --> 00:33:40,193
I mean, you know, I just,
it was extraordinary.
629
00:33:41,018 --> 00:33:44,628
Vernon was thin and dapper,
and really good looking,
630
00:33:44,628 --> 00:33:47,034
I mean, from the time I spent,
most of my time with him
631
00:33:47,034 --> 00:33:48,505
when he was in his 70s and 80s.
632
00:33:48,505 --> 00:33:50,861
He had this wonderful shock of white hair
633
00:33:50,861 --> 00:33:54,470
and the most wonderful
twinkle to his eyes,
634
00:33:54,470 --> 00:33:57,990
incredibly lively and women
just seemed to find him
635
00:33:57,990 --> 00:34:00,635
devastatingly attractive,
even at that age.
636
00:34:01,333 --> 00:34:04,520
He was born in Ottawa, Canada, in 1894.
637
00:34:04,520 --> 00:34:07,015
And he got into magic at a very young age.
638
00:34:07,015 --> 00:34:10,868
The incredibly important event,
for him, in his young life
639
00:34:10,868 --> 00:34:12,033
was he had a copy
640
00:34:12,033 --> 00:34:15,214
of Artifice, Ruse and
Subterfuge at the Card Table
641
00:34:15,214 --> 00:34:16,973
by S. W. Erdnase.
642
00:34:16,973 --> 00:34:18,651
Here was a text on card handling
643
00:34:18,651 --> 00:34:21,286
that most people thought
was incomprehensible.
644
00:34:21,286 --> 00:34:22,605
They thought it was an engineering book.
645
00:34:22,605 --> 00:34:26,163
And, at a very early
age, using tiny cards,
646
00:34:26,163 --> 00:34:28,454
because he was a just a young kid,
647
00:34:28,454 --> 00:34:31,231
he mastered this book,
648
00:34:31,231 --> 00:34:33,407
which is an extraordinary achievement.
649
00:34:40,047 --> 00:34:42,252
Later when he came down
to New York, in the teens,
650
00:34:42,252 --> 00:34:46,757
as a young man, he managed to
fool people rather profoundly
651
00:34:46,757 --> 00:34:48,447
using the techniques from this book,
652
00:34:48,447 --> 00:34:52,619
and it, really, established
initially, his reputation.
653
00:34:52,619 --> 00:34:55,998
And from that he had entree
to the great magicians
654
00:34:55,998 --> 00:35:00,055
of his day and he learned from them.
655
00:35:00,055 --> 00:35:02,614
He was avaricious in soaking up
656
00:35:02,614 --> 00:35:04,433
everything that he could find.
657
00:35:04,433 --> 00:35:06,200
He, particularly, spent time with people
658
00:35:06,200 --> 00:35:08,562
like, Nate Leipzig and Max Mullaney.
659
00:35:09,554 --> 00:35:11,359
But, also, at this point he was beginning
660
00:35:11,359 --> 00:35:12,870
to develop his own material
661
00:35:12,870 --> 00:35:15,326
and to, really, start thinking
about sleight of hand,
662
00:35:15,326 --> 00:35:18,462
in a way that no one
before him, really, had.
663
00:35:18,462 --> 00:35:21,995
So, this just grew and grew, for years,
664
00:35:21,995 --> 00:35:24,388
until he became the most significant
665
00:35:24,388 --> 00:35:26,149
and well-known figure in the art.
666
00:35:27,166 --> 00:35:28,906
I'm 84 years of age
667
00:35:28,906 --> 00:35:32,555
and I've been studying magic for 78 years.
668
00:35:32,555 --> 00:35:34,554
I wasted the first six years of my life,
669
00:35:34,554 --> 00:35:36,342
but
670
00:35:38,611 --> 00:35:40,365
Where do you study it, with
other famous magicians?
671
00:35:40,365 --> 00:35:43,836
No, you sit in a room
and you take a pack of cards
672
00:35:43,836 --> 00:35:46,614
or you take some dice, or
you take a handkerchief
673
00:35:46,614 --> 00:35:49,685
and you try to create some
kind of an magical effect
674
00:35:49,685 --> 00:35:51,246
and you work it out.
675
00:35:51,246 --> 00:35:54,729
- Vernon loved to play his
accolades off against each other.
676
00:35:54,729 --> 00:35:58,810
He was, you know, a feisty,
677
00:35:58,810 --> 00:36:00,474
sometimes even nasty, fellow,
678
00:36:00,474 --> 00:36:02,150
although if you knew
that that was the game,
679
00:36:02,150 --> 00:36:05,223
it was great fun, I mean,
but he could frustrate you.
680
00:36:05,223 --> 00:36:07,489
And, he also used it as a learning tool.
681
00:36:07,489 --> 00:36:09,178
You know, Vernon would
be quick to tell you
682
00:36:09,178 --> 00:36:10,738
about somebody who did some move
683
00:36:10,738 --> 00:36:13,619
that he thought was unrealizable
and really wonderful
684
00:36:13,619 --> 00:36:15,270
and half the time he had just made it up,
685
00:36:15,270 --> 00:36:17,779
to get you to think about
it and do it yourself.
686
00:36:17,779 --> 00:36:19,980
But, he clearly did show different pieces
687
00:36:19,980 --> 00:36:21,054
to different people
688
00:36:21,054 --> 00:36:25,150
and, you know, he really was like a guru,
689
00:36:25,150 --> 00:36:26,584
you know, a Japanese sensei.
690
00:36:26,584 --> 00:36:29,310
I mean, he used whatever
techniques he thought were possible
691
00:36:29,310 --> 00:36:32,830
to get you to do your best stuff.
692
00:36:38,384 --> 00:36:39,946
I can recall one thing
693
00:36:39,946 --> 00:36:42,507
that the audacity of
youth prompted me to do.
694
00:36:42,507 --> 00:36:43,390
He was always intrigued
695
00:36:43,390 --> 00:36:45,245
with the way that I could boomerang cards.
696
00:36:45,245 --> 00:36:47,591
Throw out a card and have
it return to my hand.
697
00:36:47,591 --> 00:36:50,543
And, it's not a particularly
difficult sleight,
698
00:36:50,543 --> 00:36:54,032
but, I did it with a sureness
that he found interesting.
699
00:36:54,032 --> 00:36:55,939
And, one day he said to me,
700
00:36:55,939 --> 00:36:58,936
"I'll bet you can't do
that 40 times, 40 times."
701
00:36:58,936 --> 00:37:01,008
And it turns out when he said he was a kid
702
00:37:01,008 --> 00:37:03,145
he would practice this over and over again
703
00:37:03,145 --> 00:37:07,228
and he said he could do it
39 times, 38 times, 35 times,
704
00:37:07,228 --> 00:37:09,468
he could never do this 40 times.
705
00:37:09,468 --> 00:37:11,182
And we were in a dark bar at the time,
706
00:37:11,182 --> 00:37:13,346
which I'm sure was part of his wager.
707
00:37:13,346 --> 00:37:15,597
You know, the fact that it
was kind of hard to see.
708
00:37:15,597 --> 00:37:19,816
And he bet me an effect that
had me absolutely baffled
709
00:37:19,816 --> 00:37:21,322
that I really wanted to learn,
710
00:37:22,146 --> 00:37:24,849
that he would do that against
100 dollars, or something,
711
00:37:24,849 --> 00:37:27,446
if I could do this 40 times in a row.
712
00:37:27,446 --> 00:37:30,593
And so, I then launched
into boomeranging this card
713
00:37:30,593 --> 00:37:32,693
and I remember doing it 39 times
714
00:37:32,693 --> 00:37:34,753
and then I had the 40th card in my hand
715
00:37:34,753 --> 00:37:37,010
and he looked at me and I looked at him
716
00:37:37,010 --> 00:37:40,884
and I threw the last card
and caught it behind my back.
717
00:37:40,884 --> 00:37:44,621
And, we both smiled a lot
and he taught me this piece,
718
00:37:44,621 --> 00:37:46,835
which, of course, I
will not reveal to you.
719
00:37:46,835 --> 00:37:49,524
But, that's why I say
the audacity of youth,
720
00:37:49,524 --> 00:37:52,351
I mean, I have no idea why
I was insane enough to risk
721
00:37:52,351 --> 00:37:53,913
missing learning this piece,
722
00:37:53,913 --> 00:37:55,692
by catching the card behind my back,
723
00:37:55,692 --> 00:37:58,547
but I guess when one's in their twenties,
724
00:37:58,547 --> 00:38:00,364
they do stuff like that.
725
00:38:06,342 --> 00:38:09,409
Ricky and I
were both, the hot kid
726
00:38:09,409 --> 00:38:10,659
magicians in New York.
727
00:38:10,659 --> 00:38:13,461
I was , sort of, an apprentice to Vernon
728
00:38:13,461 --> 00:38:16,121
and I ran away from
home and was on the road
729
00:38:16,121 --> 00:38:18,582
with Vernon when I was 14.
730
00:38:18,582 --> 00:38:21,218
And, for, something like two years
731
00:38:21,218 --> 00:38:26,218
and Vernon could be
merciless at taunting you
732
00:38:26,352 --> 00:38:29,910
with some secret that
you were dying to know
733
00:38:29,910 --> 00:38:31,172
and he'd say, "Ah, I'm not gonna say."
734
00:38:31,172 --> 00:38:34,481
And one time we were
travelling and he said,
735
00:38:34,481 --> 00:38:35,401
"Well, you know,
736
00:38:35,401 --> 00:38:37,334
"I've been thinking
about magic all my life."
737
00:38:37,334 --> 00:38:39,050
I said, "Yes, Professor, I know that."
738
00:38:39,050 --> 00:38:42,185
And he said, "I think I figured out how
739
00:38:42,185 --> 00:38:45,251
"to say the essence of
pure sleight of hand,
740
00:38:45,251 --> 00:38:47,099
"in a single sentence."
741
00:38:49,559 --> 00:38:50,638
And he said,
742
00:38:50,638 --> 00:38:51,731
"But, I've decided I'm never
743
00:38:51,731 --> 00:38:54,140
"gonna say that sentence out loud."
744
00:38:55,722 --> 00:38:57,588
So then I'd start working on him.
745
00:38:57,588 --> 00:38:59,167
What was the sentence, you know?
746
00:38:59,167 --> 00:39:02,264
But, we'd argue and he'd,
747
00:39:02,264 --> 00:39:03,709
"Well, maybe if you do this,
748
00:39:03,709 --> 00:39:05,361
"you know, I'll tell you something."
749
00:39:06,461 --> 00:39:07,984
Anyway, he would never tell me.
750
00:39:07,984 --> 00:39:12,435
So, he would get people
infuriated and fascinated.
751
00:39:13,694 --> 00:39:16,113
Vernon and
Charlie were different
752
00:39:16,113 --> 00:39:18,595
in that way, Charlie was much more direct.
753
00:39:18,595 --> 00:39:21,743
Charlie didn't like games in
quite the way that Vernon did.
754
00:39:22,724 --> 00:39:24,973
- Now, I'd like the assistance
755
00:39:24,973 --> 00:39:27,353
of some gentleman from the audience.
756
00:39:27,353 --> 00:39:28,316
Doesn't have to be a gentleman,
757
00:39:28,316 --> 00:39:30,286
almost anybody will do.
758
00:39:31,106 --> 00:39:32,531
Would you Oh, thank you very much, sir.
759
00:39:32,531 --> 00:39:33,628
Would you step right up here, please.
760
00:39:33,628 --> 00:39:34,420
- Uh, I'm--
761
00:39:34,420 --> 00:39:36,481
- Thanks a lot, don't be
nervous, think how I feel.
762
00:39:37,431 --> 00:39:39,939
Excuse me, may I relieve you of this?
763
00:39:51,788 --> 00:39:53,243
Charlie didn't bluff.
764
00:39:53,243 --> 00:39:56,150
He, just, spoke open and honestly.
765
00:39:56,150 --> 00:39:57,634
If you could get him to talk at all,
766
00:39:57,634 --> 00:40:00,757
I mean, he was far less
likely to open up to people
767
00:40:00,757 --> 00:40:02,186
than the Professor was.
768
00:40:03,319 --> 00:40:05,854
He didn't open up to me, right away.
769
00:40:05,854 --> 00:40:08,446
It took awhile and so it should.
770
00:40:10,858 --> 00:40:14,442
Charlie was born in 1909, in Indianapolis,
771
00:40:14,442 --> 00:40:17,437
and died 80 years later in Los Angeles.
772
00:40:17,437 --> 00:40:19,344
But, he probably worked
more, professionally,
773
00:40:19,344 --> 00:40:21,597
as a magician, than Vernon did.
774
00:40:21,597 --> 00:40:25,911
In a variety of venues, from
club dates to cruise ships.
775
00:40:25,911 --> 00:40:28,355
Even though these were
the two great old guys
776
00:40:28,355 --> 00:40:31,031
of magic, there was still a
big difference in their age.
777
00:40:31,031 --> 00:40:33,564
So, Charlie was always
the "kid" to Vernon.
778
00:40:33,564 --> 00:40:36,904
When he was 78, he was still the "kid".
779
00:40:36,904 --> 00:40:39,284
On the other hand, you
know, I saw an inscription
780
00:40:39,284 --> 00:40:41,294
that Vernon once wrote to Charlie saying,
781
00:40:41,294 --> 00:40:43,420
"To the finest exponent
of pure sleight of hand
782
00:40:43,420 --> 00:40:45,353
"I've ever seen in my life."
783
00:40:45,353 --> 00:40:49,420
So, ultimately, there was
this remarkable respect
784
00:40:49,420 --> 00:40:51,661
and admiration, you
know, for each of them.
785
00:40:51,661 --> 00:40:53,338
But, particularly, as they got older,
786
00:40:53,338 --> 00:40:56,141
they could be fairly
cantankerous, together.
787
00:41:01,311 --> 00:41:04,013
Charlie was inclined to
work on the specifics
788
00:41:04,013 --> 00:41:08,647
of one particular move,
and the finest points
789
00:41:08,647 --> 00:41:11,613
and finest subtleties
of this particular move.
790
00:41:16,997 --> 00:41:20,902
Spending eight or ten or
twelve hours a day practicing.
791
00:41:20,902 --> 00:41:22,194
You can just get into a rhythm
792
00:41:22,194 --> 00:41:26,445
where it just feels so wonderful
that you do it without,
793
00:41:26,445 --> 00:41:27,954
really, spending an awful lot of time
794
00:41:27,954 --> 00:41:29,349
thinking about doing it.
795
00:41:29,349 --> 00:41:31,755
And, it's not the best way to practice.
796
00:41:31,755 --> 00:41:33,176
I've probably learned
more from Charlie Miller
797
00:41:33,176 --> 00:41:36,440
more about how to refine
practice, the concept
798
00:41:36,440 --> 00:41:39,625
of, instead of just getting
into the rote and the rhythm
799
00:41:39,625 --> 00:41:43,037
and this wonderful thing
of how nice it feels
800
00:41:43,037 --> 00:41:44,904
when you hit a move, you know,
801
00:41:44,904 --> 00:41:46,163
when you're working on your chops,
802
00:41:46,163 --> 00:41:48,018
to actually consciously try
803
00:41:48,018 --> 00:41:50,464
to make the move better,
each time you do it.
804
00:41:52,805 --> 00:41:55,837
Being in a room with Charlie
and discussing a move
805
00:41:56,504 --> 00:41:58,509
is one of the stranger kind of pleasures
806
00:41:58,509 --> 00:42:00,162
I've ever had in my life.
807
00:42:00,162 --> 00:42:02,723
Charlie would bring up a move
and he would start to do it
808
00:42:02,723 --> 00:42:04,461
and he would start to question it,
809
00:42:04,461 --> 00:42:05,784
and he would start looking at it
810
00:42:05,784 --> 00:42:07,107
from different angles.
811
00:42:07,107 --> 00:42:08,973
He would run to one corner of the room
812
00:42:08,973 --> 00:42:09,828
and you would have to do it,
813
00:42:09,828 --> 00:42:11,865
and he would run to
another corner of the room.
814
00:42:12,905 --> 00:42:16,140
It was this fine line between
torture and absolute pleasure
815
00:42:16,140 --> 00:42:18,017
because for Charlie a good evening
816
00:42:18,017 --> 00:42:20,428
could be asking you to do the same shuffle
817
00:42:20,428 --> 00:42:22,827
16,000 times, you know?
818
00:42:22,827 --> 00:42:24,438
And, he'd be very happy doing that,
819
00:42:24,438 --> 00:42:26,058
and you'd be happy for most of it,
820
00:42:26,058 --> 00:42:28,521
but he always managed
to take over the edge,
821
00:42:28,521 --> 00:42:31,337
where you, just, didn't want
to shuffle the cards anymore.
822
00:42:31,337 --> 00:42:33,749
I mean, it was just
endless, the variations
823
00:42:33,749 --> 00:42:36,447
and the craziness of it,
and it was, you know,
824
00:42:36,447 --> 00:42:39,006
often, you know, as close to pure joy
825
00:42:39,006 --> 00:42:40,940
as anything that I can imagine.
826
00:42:42,305 --> 00:42:44,608
I really miss this,
enormously, in my life.
827
00:43:16,676 --> 00:43:18,808
I remember,
specifically, one night
828
00:43:18,808 --> 00:43:22,862
I was maybe 20-21, we were both attending
829
00:43:22,862 --> 00:43:24,683
and working at the same
magicians conference,
830
00:43:24,683 --> 00:43:25,516
here in New York.
831
00:43:25,516 --> 00:43:26,777
I think it was at the Roosevelt Hotel.
832
00:43:27,680 --> 00:43:29,150
We were sharing a room.
833
00:43:29,150 --> 00:43:30,974
I was, you know, a young kid,
834
00:43:30,974 --> 00:43:32,714
maybe on his fifth or
sixth trip to New York.
835
00:43:32,714 --> 00:43:35,018
So, I stayed out a little bit, later
836
00:43:35,018 --> 00:43:36,809
than Charlie did that night
837
00:43:36,809 --> 00:43:38,434
and I came back into the room
838
00:43:40,095 --> 00:43:43,667
and as I opened the door
839
00:43:43,667 --> 00:43:45,235
and the light, kind of,
came through the crack
840
00:43:45,235 --> 00:43:48,403
in the room and
illuminated Charlie in bed,
841
00:43:48,403 --> 00:43:52,083
he was lying in bed with
all of the lights out,
842
00:43:52,083 --> 00:43:55,433
on his back, holding a deck of
playing cards, up like this.
843
00:43:55,433 --> 00:44:00,007
And he could not, even
with night vision goggles,
844
00:44:00,007 --> 00:44:02,826
he absolutely could not see
what was going on in there,
845
00:44:02,826 --> 00:44:04,895
but by touch he was practicing
846
00:44:04,895 --> 00:44:07,766
something in the dark, in bed.
847
00:44:07,766 --> 00:44:10,463
Not really, waiting for
me but just not asleep,
848
00:44:10,463 --> 00:44:11,581
and
849
00:44:14,501 --> 00:44:15,939
you know, it tickled me
850
00:44:15,939 --> 00:44:18,390
and it didn't surprise me, all at once.
851
00:44:28,226 --> 00:44:29,730
- One of the things that
I found so appealling
852
00:44:29,730 --> 00:44:32,716
in being able to spend time
with both Charlie and Vernon
853
00:44:32,716 --> 00:44:34,850
was that they realized that,
854
00:44:34,850 --> 00:44:36,779
perhaps, the most demanding branch
855
00:44:36,779 --> 00:44:40,195
of all of sleight of hand, was
the artifice of the gambler.
856
00:44:41,086 --> 00:44:44,212
Because of the idea, that
when these sleights and moves
857
00:44:44,212 --> 00:44:46,771
were done by people in card games,
858
00:44:46,771 --> 00:44:49,577
if they did them imperfectly,
they were in danger
859
00:44:49,577 --> 00:44:52,829
of being exposed, and therefore,
860
00:44:54,139 --> 00:44:56,752
had their own personal health at risk.
861
00:44:56,752 --> 00:45:00,358
They became people who were
extraordinary practitioners,
862
00:45:00,358 --> 00:45:02,161
able to do moves under fire,
863
00:45:02,161 --> 00:45:04,646
to do something under
the closest scrutiny.
864
00:45:04,646 --> 00:45:07,097
And, both Charlie and the
Professor spent the time
865
00:45:07,097 --> 00:45:08,601
to track down these moves
866
00:45:08,601 --> 00:45:10,937
and learn to do them incredibly well.
867
00:45:10,937 --> 00:45:15,267
So, a very large part of
my training was involving
868
00:45:17,737 --> 00:45:19,922
the mastering of
869
00:45:19,922 --> 00:45:22,238
card table artifice.
870
00:45:22,238 --> 00:45:23,848
What I'd like you to do
Ed is just, literally,
871
00:45:23,848 --> 00:45:26,365
reach into the deck, like
that, and cut a group of cards
872
00:45:26,365 --> 00:45:28,029
and let's see, anywhere at all.
873
00:45:28,029 --> 00:45:29,374
You don't even have to put them down
874
00:45:29,374 --> 00:45:31,509
we can just, oh, that's
good, you've cut a deuce.
875
00:45:32,987 --> 00:45:35,131
But, in a way, you've given
me the perfect opportunity
876
00:45:35,131 --> 00:45:36,806
to show what a hustler could do.
877
00:45:36,806 --> 00:45:39,398
Because, for instance,
if I could cut a three,
878
00:45:39,398 --> 00:45:40,647
that might make you think
879
00:45:40,647 --> 00:45:43,226
I was almost as unlucky as you were.
880
00:45:43,226 --> 00:45:44,469
I can, by the way.
881
00:45:45,741 --> 00:45:47,884
And then you'd be inclined
to stay in the game, right?
882
00:45:47,884 --> 00:45:49,959
You follow the concept.
883
00:45:49,959 --> 00:45:51,121
Linda, I want you to do the same thing.
884
00:45:51,121 --> 00:45:53,425
Cut absolutely anywhere, and
let's see what's on the bottom.
885
00:45:53,425 --> 00:45:54,866
We don't have to, well,
you keep putting them,
886
00:45:54,866 --> 00:45:56,235
well, it's another two.
887
00:45:57,332 --> 00:45:59,220
Just cut it up and we'll see.
888
00:45:59,220 --> 00:46:01,823
Anywhere, cut anywhere at all, okay.
889
00:46:01,823 --> 00:46:02,975
Let's see, this time you've cut a seven,
890
00:46:02,975 --> 00:46:06,370
which is a noticeable
improvement in this game, anyway.
891
00:46:06,370 --> 00:46:07,916
So, in this case, would it be possible
892
00:46:07,916 --> 00:46:09,154
for me to look through the deck
893
00:46:09,154 --> 00:46:11,423
and beat your seven by cutting an eight?
894
00:46:12,321 --> 00:46:13,687
Oh, lucky me.
895
00:46:13,687 --> 00:46:15,841
So, you know, this is, kind of, the idea.
896
00:46:15,841 --> 00:46:18,778
Some people might call this hustling.
897
00:46:18,778 --> 00:46:19,985
But I've got to be honest with you,
898
00:46:19,985 --> 00:46:21,179
if we were playing for $80,
899
00:46:21,179 --> 00:46:23,216
I might want to take a chance and do this.
900
00:46:23,216 --> 00:46:24,570
If we were playing for thousands,
901
00:46:24,570 --> 00:46:25,956
I might want to try to cut an ace.
902
00:46:25,956 --> 00:46:27,727
I wouldn't be messing around.
903
00:46:27,727 --> 00:46:29,211
So, you guys are really gonna be the eyes
904
00:46:29,211 --> 00:46:31,011
and ears of the audience,
905
00:46:31,011 --> 00:46:33,368
I think the eyes will
be particularly useful.
906
00:46:34,228 --> 00:46:36,252
And, what I want you to do is watch me
907
00:46:36,252 --> 00:46:37,129
actually shuffle the cards
908
00:46:37,129 --> 00:46:39,143
and see that it's a
good, legitimate shuffle.
909
00:46:39,143 --> 00:46:40,381
Because, after all this shuffling
910
00:46:40,381 --> 00:46:43,815
I'm gonna do what gamblers
call "Dead Cutting an Ace".
911
00:46:43,815 --> 00:46:45,948
The concept here, is you
reach into a shuffled deck
912
00:46:45,948 --> 00:46:47,495
and, literally, cut out an ace.
913
00:46:47,495 --> 00:46:49,404
This is an acquired skill.
914
00:46:53,382 --> 00:46:55,313
And, please notice, with me, both of you,
915
00:46:55,313 --> 00:46:58,054
that there are no "dog ears",
or breaks or protrusions
916
00:46:58,054 --> 00:46:59,910
in the deck, and that once again,
917
00:46:59,910 --> 00:47:02,182
I'm gonna break the cards,
as you might in a game,
918
00:47:02,182 --> 00:47:04,390
and once again, I'm
really gonna shuffle them
919
00:47:04,390 --> 00:47:06,086
and push them in, and once again
920
00:47:06,086 --> 00:47:08,155
I'm gonna, actually try
to reach into the deck
921
00:47:08,155 --> 00:47:10,331
and just be able to cut out an ace.
922
00:47:10,331 --> 00:47:11,365
In this case, you'll see that
923
00:47:11,365 --> 00:47:14,267
there doesn't happen to be an
ace, over here or over here.
924
00:47:14,267 --> 00:47:16,443
I'm also gonna try this
left-handed, by the way.
925
00:47:16,443 --> 00:47:19,365
That's something I do in case
someone breaks my right thumb.
926
00:47:19,365 --> 00:47:21,764
Let me try to cut an ace, to
the bottom of the left-handed,
927
00:47:22,724 --> 00:47:24,473
that would be the ace of hearts.
928
00:47:25,933 --> 00:47:29,920
Please watch me narrowly,
as I shuffle the cards.
929
00:47:31,579 --> 00:47:33,307
And this time, Linda,
I'm gonna give the deck
930
00:47:33,307 --> 00:47:35,728
a number of cuts and while
I'm cutting the deck,
931
00:47:35,728 --> 00:47:37,866
say stop at any point.
932
00:47:37,866 --> 00:47:38,467
- Stop.
933
00:47:38,467 --> 00:47:39,838
- Ed, be my guest.
934
00:47:40,774 --> 00:47:42,943
Thank you.
935
00:47:47,678 --> 00:47:49,587
Well, good God. I'm--
936
00:47:53,564 --> 00:47:55,760
- It was divine, it was so wonderful.
937
00:47:55,760 --> 00:47:58,022
It was so different from
seeing it on the tape, too.
938
00:47:58,022 --> 00:47:59,333
- Oh, yeah, television, yeah.
939
00:47:59,333 --> 00:48:00,004
- Oh, my God.
940
00:48:00,004 --> 00:48:03,096
- Yeah, cameras, they should
be avoided at all cost.
941
00:48:04,782 --> 00:48:05,734
- They should.
942
00:48:06,491 --> 00:48:08,068
- Wait a minute, wait a minute.
943
00:48:11,688 --> 00:48:13,021
I was incredibly fortunate
944
00:48:13,021 --> 00:48:16,071
to actually have mentors
with this direct link
945
00:48:16,071 --> 00:48:19,418
from people like, Malini,
that went back that far.
946
00:48:20,298 --> 00:48:21,671
The reason that I love Malini,
947
00:48:21,671 --> 00:48:23,001
is that he performed in the heyday
948
00:48:23,001 --> 00:48:24,612
of the most famous magicians,
949
00:48:24,612 --> 00:48:27,555
of people like Kellar
and Thurston and Houdini.
950
00:48:27,555 --> 00:48:29,689
But, he performed entirely without props.
951
00:48:29,689 --> 00:48:31,961
He would, literally, walk into the houses
952
00:48:31,961 --> 00:48:34,019
of the rich and famous,
that's where he would perform
953
00:48:34,019 --> 00:48:37,166
and come in empty-handed
and borrow a deck of cards,
954
00:48:37,166 --> 00:48:40,249
a handkerchief, a couple
of coins, a piece of fruit
955
00:48:40,249 --> 00:48:42,588
and somehow, create miracles.
956
00:48:43,458 --> 00:48:45,345
I had done a Canadian
show, a number of times,
957
00:48:45,345 --> 00:48:48,043
that I liked very much,
and one day they asked me
958
00:48:48,043 --> 00:48:50,199
to put together a whole hour of magic.
959
00:48:50,199 --> 00:48:54,196
And, I asked the Professor
if he wanted to come with me,
960
00:48:54,196 --> 00:48:55,402
so, we flew out.
961
00:48:56,414 --> 00:49:00,399
At one point, I asked
him to talk about Malini.
962
00:49:00,399 --> 00:49:01,999
- This may sound like a strange segue,
963
00:49:01,999 --> 00:49:04,132
but that reminds me of
a very peculiar story
964
00:49:04,132 --> 00:49:06,585
the Professor always used
to tell about Max Malini
965
00:49:06,585 --> 00:49:08,782
and a chicken, I don't
know if you'd care to--
966
00:49:08,782 --> 00:49:13,704
- Oh, well, this is hardly,
you know, people don't know
967
00:49:13,704 --> 00:49:17,715
what lengths a magician will
go to to create an effect.
968
00:49:17,715 --> 00:49:20,253
Now, I don't know how many
people in the audience know,
969
00:49:20,253 --> 00:49:23,036
but if you take a chicken
and you bend it's head
970
00:49:23,036 --> 00:49:27,013
under it's wing and you rock
it, in your hand, like this,
971
00:49:27,013 --> 00:49:29,618
it puts the chicken
into an hypnotic state.
972
00:49:29,618 --> 00:49:31,264
And, in other words,
for eight or ten minutes
973
00:49:31,264 --> 00:49:33,344
the chicken is absolutely knocked out.
974
00:49:33,344 --> 00:49:35,227
It's in a hypnotic state.
975
00:49:35,227 --> 00:49:36,609
You put the head under the arm,
976
00:49:36,609 --> 00:49:39,840
I mean, you put the
chicken's head under the wing
977
00:49:39,840 --> 00:49:41,183
and you shake it, like this,
978
00:49:41,183 --> 00:49:42,785
and the chicken goes sound asleep,
979
00:49:42,785 --> 00:49:45,301
into a somnambulistic state.
980
00:49:45,301 --> 00:49:49,013
But, this famous magician,
Max Malini, one time,
981
00:49:49,013 --> 00:49:51,850
he took a chicken and he plucked alive.
982
00:49:51,850 --> 00:49:53,930
He plucked this chicken alive.
983
00:49:53,930 --> 00:49:56,841
He took all the feathers out
and he put the head under the,
984
00:49:56,841 --> 00:49:59,647
and he rocked it like
this and put it to sleep.
985
00:49:59,647 --> 00:50:02,975
Now, he put it on a big platter,
he put a lot of potatoes
986
00:50:02,975 --> 00:50:05,257
and garnishing around,
987
00:50:05,257 --> 00:50:06,719
and they put it on the table
988
00:50:06,719 --> 00:50:09,619
at a very fashionable
dinner party in England,
989
00:50:09,619 --> 00:50:12,416
with a lot of Lords
and Dukes and everyone.
990
00:50:12,416 --> 00:50:16,172
They put it on the table, and
all these very stiff people
991
00:50:16,172 --> 00:50:19,617
were sitting there, waiting for
somebody to carve the turkey
992
00:50:19,617 --> 00:50:21,740
and somebody said, "Well,
you do the carving."
993
00:50:21,740 --> 00:50:24,355
And he stuck the fork in the
turkey and the damn turkey
994
00:50:24,355 --> 00:50:27,599
jumped up out of the dish and
ran the length of the table.
995
00:50:36,825 --> 00:50:37,742
I'm gonna show you a piece
996
00:50:37,742 --> 00:50:40,099
from right around the turn of the century,
997
00:50:40,099 --> 00:50:41,156
right around 1900.
998
00:50:41,156 --> 00:50:44,013
This was a piece developed by Max Malini.
999
00:50:44,013 --> 00:50:46,275
The idea, here, was that
more than one person
1000
00:50:46,275 --> 00:50:48,611
would take a card, during
the course of an effect.
1001
00:50:48,611 --> 00:50:50,381
So, I've had a number of cards selected.
1002
00:50:50,381 --> 00:50:51,374
I'm gonna shuffle the cards
1003
00:50:51,374 --> 00:50:53,528
and try to find those cards again.
1004
00:50:53,528 --> 00:50:54,360
Actually, I have to confess,
1005
00:50:54,360 --> 00:50:56,332
at this point during
the show every evening,
1006
00:50:56,332 --> 00:50:59,074
I wonder what it would be like
if I didn't find those cards.
1007
00:51:00,856 --> 00:51:01,837
Just a thought.
1008
00:51:01,837 --> 00:51:05,562
So, I'm gonna find the next
card by means of a simple cut.
1009
00:51:09,165 --> 00:51:11,199
And, that is the ace of clubs,
1010
00:51:11,199 --> 00:51:14,003
the card the woman on the
aisle took, your ace of clubs.
1011
00:51:14,003 --> 00:51:16,680
Your card was, your shaking your head. No?
1012
00:51:16,680 --> 00:51:18,182
No.
Ace of clubs?
1013
00:51:18,182 --> 00:51:19,123
What was it?
1014
00:51:19,123 --> 00:51:20,870
Four of diamonds.
1015
00:51:20,870 --> 00:51:22,010
- If you insist.
1016
00:51:27,717 --> 00:51:30,031
I'm looking for a little
sympathy, you give me nothing.
1017
00:51:31,355 --> 00:51:33,265
Play the chill for me.
1018
00:51:33,265 --> 00:51:35,101
Icy, no I'm fine.
1019
00:51:36,461 --> 00:51:37,965
You took one, I believe,
1020
00:51:37,965 --> 00:51:40,078
would you be so kind as
to mention it for me?
1021
00:51:40,078 --> 00:51:40,814
Jack of diamonds.
1022
00:51:40,814 --> 00:51:42,616
- Jack of diamonds, out of
the deck and into my hand,
1023
00:51:42,616 --> 00:51:44,412
as if, propelled.
1024
00:51:46,027 --> 00:51:47,321
Jack of diamonds.
1025
00:51:47,321 --> 00:51:48,095
I'm gonna try to find yours
1026
00:51:48,095 --> 00:51:50,815
in the South American or Cariocas fashion.
1027
00:51:50,815 --> 00:51:52,585
If you'd be so kind as to name it.
1028
00:51:52,585 --> 00:51:53,387
Ace of hearts.
1029
00:51:53,387 --> 00:51:57,378
- The ace of hearts. Let's see.
1030
00:52:00,665 --> 00:52:01,454
Good.
1031
00:52:05,656 --> 00:52:07,491
You haven't forgotten yours, I trust.
1032
00:52:07,491 --> 00:52:08,850
What was that?
Nine of clubs.
1033
00:52:08,850 --> 00:52:10,453
The nine of
clubs, the last card.
1034
00:52:10,453 --> 00:52:11,639
Yeah, you didn't take one did you?
1035
00:52:12,639 --> 00:52:14,698
Oh, oh, in the second
row, what was yours, sir?
1036
00:52:14,698 --> 00:52:15,658
Six of diamonds.
1037
00:52:15,658 --> 00:52:16,885
- Six of diamonds.
1038
00:52:16,885 --> 00:52:18,511
Now, I'll have to find both of them.
1039
00:52:18,983 --> 00:52:20,573
Nine of clubs?
1040
00:52:20,573 --> 00:52:21,964
Six of diamonds.
1041
00:52:27,119 --> 00:52:29,204
Your nine of clubs, your six of diamonds.
1042
00:52:59,339 --> 00:53:01,193
One day I drove up to the Magic Castle
1043
00:53:01,193 --> 00:53:03,359
and Vernon was sitting on the bench
1044
00:53:03,359 --> 00:53:07,147
in front of the castle,
as he was wont to do.
1045
00:53:07,147 --> 00:53:08,703
And I said, "What are
you doing, Professor?"
1046
00:53:08,703 --> 00:53:11,487
And he said, "I'm watching people
1047
00:53:11,487 --> 00:53:14,025
"put on their sports jackets."
1048
00:53:14,025 --> 00:53:15,349
And I said "What?"
1049
00:53:15,349 --> 00:53:18,014
And he said, "I'm watching
people put on their jackets."
1050
00:53:18,014 --> 00:53:20,533
It was a private club
and to gain admission
1051
00:53:20,533 --> 00:53:21,875
you had to wear a tie and jacket.
1052
00:53:21,875 --> 00:53:23,475
It was a hot day, so
most of the people who
1053
00:53:23,475 --> 00:53:25,491
arrived weren't wearing coats.
1054
00:53:25,491 --> 00:53:28,414
And Vernon said, "No two
people put on their jackets
1055
00:53:28,414 --> 00:53:29,542
"the same way."
1056
00:53:30,434 --> 00:53:32,214
And, it was just fascinating,
the two of us sat there,
1057
00:53:32,214 --> 00:53:34,942
for a very long time,
watching people put on coats.
1058
00:53:34,942 --> 00:53:37,908
It was a wonderful lesson, a
wonderful lesson in naturalness
1059
00:53:37,908 --> 00:53:39,986
and how you begin to understand
1060
00:53:39,986 --> 00:53:42,107
that much of sleight of hand
1061
00:53:42,107 --> 00:53:47,048
is the duplication of natural action,
1062
00:53:47,048 --> 00:53:50,027
when you're doing something
that may be surreptitious.
1063
00:53:59,581 --> 00:54:02,813
In terms of legacy, Vernon,
really leaves a record
1064
00:54:02,813 --> 00:54:06,908
behind him, and Charlie, in
his reluctance to publish,
1065
00:54:06,908 --> 00:54:10,301
or discuss with us or
even share his magic,
1066
00:54:10,301 --> 00:54:13,322
with as large a community,
1067
00:54:13,322 --> 00:54:16,472
certainly, leaves less
1068
00:54:16,472 --> 00:54:18,352
but I think he's no less important.
1069
00:54:18,352 --> 00:54:20,586
I think he really is equally important
1070
00:54:20,586 --> 00:54:22,442
and equally remarkable.
1071
00:54:33,429 --> 00:54:36,234
Now, it occurs to me, that
people who are really good
1072
00:54:36,234 --> 00:54:40,908
at sleight of hand, will never
have seen Charlie or Vernon.
1073
00:54:42,813 --> 00:54:46,029
It's, just, it's almost
incomprehensible, to me.
1074
00:54:52,241 --> 00:54:55,325
- You know, ever since
the first caveman, Wog,
1075
00:54:55,325 --> 00:54:56,548
accidentally killed himself
1076
00:54:56,548 --> 00:54:58,500
by swallowing flaming fire sticks
1077
00:54:58,500 --> 00:55:01,133
in order to amuse his fellow cave persons,
1078
00:55:01,133 --> 00:55:02,817
people have been looking for new
1079
00:55:02,817 --> 00:55:04,342
and ever-more original ways
1080
00:55:04,342 --> 00:55:06,561
to entertain their fellow man.
1081
00:55:06,561 --> 00:55:11,363
And never, I repeat, never in
the annals of entertainment
1082
00:55:11,363 --> 00:55:14,091
has one man devoted
himself more dutifully,
1083
00:55:14,091 --> 00:55:18,329
studied so scrupulously and
documented so diligently,
1084
00:55:18,329 --> 00:55:20,855
his eccentric, bizarre
and astonishing feats
1085
00:55:20,855 --> 00:55:23,170
of physical and mental daring-do,
1086
00:55:23,170 --> 00:55:27,511
than the man they call, "America's
scholar of the unusual",
1087
00:55:27,511 --> 00:55:31,256
magician, author, bon vivant, raconteur,
1088
00:55:31,256 --> 00:55:34,326
prestidigitator extraordinaire,
and a personal friend
1089
00:55:34,326 --> 00:55:37,943
to whom I no longer
owe a favor, Ricky Jay.
1090
00:55:44,929 --> 00:55:46,390
- I will not waste your time this evening
1091
00:55:46,390 --> 00:55:49,579
with kumquats, pears
or prunes, no, no, no.
1092
00:55:49,579 --> 00:55:50,362
Ladies and gentlemen,
1093
00:55:50,362 --> 00:55:53,157
the most prodigious of household
fruits, you guessed it...
1094
00:55:54,784 --> 00:55:55,755
the watermelon.
1095
00:55:57,903 --> 00:56:01,289
Out of season and, dreadfully, expensive.
1096
00:56:01,289 --> 00:56:05,597
Watch as I try to penetrate
the juicy, rich, red interior
1097
00:56:05,597 --> 00:56:07,060
of said melon
1098
00:56:07,062 --> 00:56:10,661
with a perfectly place shot
from an ordinary playing card.
1099
00:56:11,669 --> 00:56:12,569
Yatz.
1100
00:56:13,823 --> 00:56:14,872
Yatz.
1101
00:56:15,658 --> 00:56:16,557
Yatz.
1102
00:56:17,460 --> 00:56:18,339
Yatz.
1103
00:56:19,209 --> 00:56:19,970
Yatz.
1104
00:56:20,818 --> 00:56:21,649
Yatz.
1105
00:56:22,827 --> 00:56:23,857
Yatz.
1106
00:56:23,857 --> 00:56:25,103
Why is he still doing this?
1107
00:56:25,103 --> 00:56:25,959
Yatz.
1108
00:56:26,561 --> 00:56:27,718
Ladies and gentlemen...
1109
00:56:30,402 --> 00:56:31,483
please, notice...
1110
00:56:33,269 --> 00:56:34,922
that my last two shots
1111
00:56:34,922 --> 00:56:36,889
penetrated, exactly, the same slit
1112
00:56:36,889 --> 00:56:37,661
in the watermelon...
1113
00:56:38,301 --> 00:56:39,822
a feat so impressive,
1114
00:56:39,822 --> 00:56:42,855
I am forced to mention it myself.
1115
00:56:50,466 --> 00:56:52,205
But I know what you're saying,
1116
00:56:52,205 --> 00:56:54,444
you're saying, sure,
you're able to throw cards
1117
00:56:54,444 --> 00:56:56,802
into the rich,
red-interior, of said melon,
1118
00:56:56,802 --> 00:56:59,340
but, can you penetrate, the even thicker,
1119
00:56:59,340 --> 00:57:02,353
pachydermatis, outer melon layer?
1120
00:57:02,809 --> 00:57:04,077
Yes!
1121
00:57:07,731 --> 00:57:09,054
Of course not.
1122
00:57:09,054 --> 00:57:10,740
Who could do that?
1123
00:57:11,752 --> 00:57:14,428
But, encouraged by your approbation,
1124
00:57:14,428 --> 00:57:18,312
I will attempt to penetrate
the even thicker pachydermatis,
1125
00:57:18,312 --> 00:57:19,919
outer-melon layer, watch.
1126
00:57:19,919 --> 00:57:21,151
Yatz.
1127
00:57:21,151 --> 00:57:22,576
This scares the melon.
1128
00:57:29,136 --> 00:57:31,454
This wounds the melon.
1129
00:57:39,447 --> 00:57:40,893
This ticks me off.
1130
00:57:46,012 --> 00:57:47,131
It's my last card.
1131
00:57:59,274 --> 00:58:01,184
Ricky Jay
was a student of mine,
1132
00:58:01,184 --> 00:58:03,178
in an Aikido school in Santa Monica,
1133
00:58:03,178 --> 00:58:06,590
and he was, just, a
very unassuming person.
1134
00:58:06,590 --> 00:58:09,438
He wanted to study Aikido
and he practiced hard,
1135
00:58:09,438 --> 00:58:11,227
he always did.
1136
00:58:11,227 --> 00:58:13,238
Aikido, at it's higher level, do a lot of,
1137
00:58:14,065 --> 00:58:15,679
you might say, sleight of hand,
1138
00:58:15,679 --> 00:58:17,617
because it's done very rapid
1139
00:58:18,577 --> 00:58:20,007
and it's done with movements
1140
00:58:20,007 --> 00:58:22,592
that get their mind to fool them.
1141
00:58:23,663 --> 00:58:25,349
Probably a year after he was there
1142
00:58:25,349 --> 00:58:28,690
we had a banquet, all the
members of the school.
1143
00:58:29,496 --> 00:58:32,781
Ricky asked two people, to
give him one dollar bills.
1144
00:58:32,781 --> 00:58:34,819
So, we gave him the one dollar bills
1145
00:58:34,819 --> 00:58:36,951
and he held out his hand
1146
00:58:38,551 --> 00:58:40,169
and we're at this dinner table
1147
00:58:40,169 --> 00:58:41,310
and he holds out his hands
1148
00:58:41,310 --> 00:58:42,910
and he takes those two one dollar bills
1149
00:58:42,910 --> 00:58:44,683
and he puts them together, back-to-back
1150
00:58:46,043 --> 00:58:49,414
and he starts folding them, like this.
1151
00:58:49,414 --> 00:58:50,971
And, I don't know how he was folding them,
1152
00:58:50,971 --> 00:58:53,253
but, they just kept getting
smaller and smaller and smaller,
1153
00:58:53,253 --> 00:58:55,144
until, finally, his fingers were together.
1154
00:58:56,291 --> 00:58:58,691
And then he went, pop, like that
1155
00:58:58,691 --> 00:59:00,643
and there was a two dollar bill there,
1156
00:59:00,643 --> 00:59:01,967
and the ones were gone.
1157
00:59:03,051 --> 00:59:05,418
And he handed the two dollar
bill to somebody, that time,
1158
00:59:05,418 --> 00:59:07,036
and I don't remember who it was,
1159
00:59:08,186 --> 00:59:10,908
but, anyway, and after that it's like,
1160
00:59:11,725 --> 00:59:13,094
that's impossible, you know?
1161
00:59:13,094 --> 00:59:14,711
And I kept questioning
him, and questioning him,
1162
00:59:14,711 --> 00:59:16,439
and questioning him and I waited
1163
00:59:16,439 --> 00:59:20,853
and it was probably, I don't
know, two, three months later,
1164
00:59:20,853 --> 00:59:22,668
we had just finished working out.
1165
00:59:22,668 --> 00:59:24,657
Oddly enough, I
was actually in the shower
1166
00:59:24,657 --> 00:59:26,811
with the water running when a
bunch of guys from the class
1167
00:59:26,811 --> 00:59:29,958
came over and asked me
to perform something.
1168
00:59:29,958 --> 00:59:33,210
- I walked up to him, and I
handed him two one dollar bills
1169
00:59:33,210 --> 00:59:37,477
and I said, "Do it now,"
right, just like that.
1170
00:59:37,477 --> 00:59:40,003
And he looked at me and
he put those in his hand
1171
00:59:40,003 --> 00:59:41,933
and said, "Oh, Fred, I wish
you wouldn't have done this."
1172
00:59:41,933 --> 00:59:44,243
He says, "I'm not prepared"
and while he's talking
1173
00:59:44,243 --> 00:59:46,562
to me, he folds the
two one dollar bills up
1174
00:59:46,562 --> 00:59:49,124
and does, boom, and hands
me a two dollar bill,
1175
00:59:50,004 --> 00:59:51,839
and I've kept this all these years,
1176
00:59:51,839 --> 00:59:54,111
but that's the one right there.
1177
00:59:54,111 --> 00:59:55,947
He handed me that two dollar bill,
1178
00:59:57,159 --> 01:00:00,753
and I was just-- I was dumbfounded.
1179
01:00:00,753 --> 01:00:03,165
I mean, I stood there
for a long time, just,
1180
01:00:03,165 --> 01:00:04,049
he went ahead and got dressed.
1181
01:00:04,049 --> 01:00:05,179
He acted like I wasn't even there,
1182
01:00:05,179 --> 01:00:06,833
he did the trick and handed
me the two dollar bill
1183
01:00:06,833 --> 01:00:08,133
and just walked off.
1184
01:00:24,975 --> 01:00:27,452
- As Stanislavsky said about Chekhov,
1185
01:00:27,452 --> 01:00:30,574
I beg your pardon, as
Vakhtangov said about Chekhov,
1186
01:00:30,574 --> 01:00:32,382
I'll say about Ricky; he's
devoted to the theater
1187
01:00:32,382 --> 01:00:33,705
which he alone sees.
1188
01:00:33,705 --> 01:00:36,635
That is to say that he
has the ideal of magic
1189
01:00:36,635 --> 01:00:39,546
in his mind, to which
he's devoted his life.
1190
01:00:39,546 --> 01:00:41,210
Like to teaching it, to perfecting it,
1191
01:00:41,210 --> 01:00:43,507
to performing it, to researching it.
1192
01:00:49,433 --> 01:00:51,631
The main thing about Ricky
is you watch his hands,
1193
01:00:51,631 --> 01:00:53,433
I mean, he's commented
on it himself, you know,
1194
01:00:53,433 --> 01:00:56,483
if he's adjusting his
tie or moving a fork,
1195
01:00:56,483 --> 01:00:57,967
you don't know what the hell he's doing,
1196
01:00:57,967 --> 01:00:59,580
but you just have to watch it.
1197
01:01:00,451 --> 01:01:04,375
He's so used to making
the audience get the idea
1198
01:01:04,375 --> 01:01:06,976
of looking at his hands, it's
what he does for a living.
1199
01:01:06,976 --> 01:01:09,634
Right, it not that he wants
you not to look at his hands,
1200
01:01:09,634 --> 01:01:12,054
he makes you look at his hands.
1201
01:01:12,054 --> 01:01:14,412
It's very, very beautiful, if
you do anything long enough,
1202
01:01:14,412 --> 01:01:15,265
long enough, long enough,
1203
01:01:15,265 --> 01:01:18,508
as an artist the technique
seems to disappear
1204
01:01:18,508 --> 01:01:20,524
and it looks completely natural.
1205
01:01:20,524 --> 01:01:23,403
I've seen him do the same effect,
1206
01:01:23,403 --> 01:01:26,113
literally, thousands of times,
from watching the shows.
1207
01:01:26,113 --> 01:01:28,224
Watching the shows, I'm always fascinated.
1208
01:01:28,224 --> 01:01:30,048
I mean, I always said that the greatest,
1209
01:01:30,048 --> 01:01:31,841
you know, anybody can
get a standing ovation,
1210
01:01:31,841 --> 01:01:33,994
but, to get the audience to go ooh,
1211
01:01:34,944 --> 01:01:37,909
make them forget themselves,
you really gotta do something.
1212
01:01:37,909 --> 01:01:39,074
- With your kind permission,
I'm gonna show you
1213
01:01:39,074 --> 01:01:42,551
an actual sequence of
events, from a 17th century,
1214
01:01:42,551 --> 01:01:46,070
best-seller called, "Hocus Pocus Junior."
1215
01:01:46,070 --> 01:01:47,948
The idea here, that I will
cover this center ball
1216
01:01:47,948 --> 01:01:51,020
with the cup and place one on top.
1217
01:01:51,020 --> 01:01:53,007
Then, I will actually cover this
1218
01:01:53,007 --> 01:01:56,257
and try to make the ball
penetrate, solid through solid,
1219
01:01:56,257 --> 01:01:58,420
joining its mate, below.
1220
01:01:59,215 --> 01:02:00,251
Now that you know the sequence,
1221
01:02:00,251 --> 01:02:01,957
why don't you follow it again.
1222
01:02:01,957 --> 01:02:05,978
This time a ball penetrating
through two solid, copper cups.
1223
01:02:05,978 --> 01:02:08,804
This method, a personal
favorite of Matthew Buchinger,
1224
01:02:08,804 --> 01:02:11,246
The Little Man of Nuremberg.
1225
01:02:11,246 --> 01:02:13,828
He was only 28 inches
tall, the cups obscured,
1226
01:02:13,828 --> 01:02:16,036
almost his entire body.
1227
01:02:17,070 --> 01:02:19,407
Look, that's enough for
three balls to appear, below.
1228
01:02:20,431 --> 01:02:23,099
Matthew Buchinger had no arms or legs,
1229
01:02:23,099 --> 01:02:25,752
but he did have 14 children.
1230
01:02:37,035 --> 01:02:39,861
I first started examining earlier pieces,
1231
01:02:39,861 --> 01:02:41,568
literally, looking for material
1232
01:02:41,568 --> 01:02:43,115
that wasn't currently being done,
1233
01:02:43,115 --> 01:02:44,308
and thinking, was there some way
1234
01:02:44,308 --> 01:02:47,177
that I could make a piece
that might have been 50 years,
1235
01:02:47,177 --> 01:02:50,410
100 years, 300 years, 500
years old, interesting?
1236
01:02:50,410 --> 01:02:53,802
And, as I began to read
the stories of these people
1237
01:02:53,802 --> 01:02:55,871
they became more and more intriguing
1238
01:02:55,871 --> 01:02:56,905
and then at a certain point
1239
01:02:56,905 --> 01:02:59,891
I became a collector of this material.
1240
01:03:43,015 --> 01:03:45,980
The first serious discussion
of false dice in English
1241
01:03:45,980 --> 01:03:49,148
is in a book called
"Toxophilus" by Roger Asher.
1242
01:03:49,148 --> 01:03:50,662
This is 1544.
1243
01:03:50,662 --> 01:03:52,443
But, one hustle which they mention,
1244
01:03:52,443 --> 01:03:54,214
that I'm particularly fond of,
1245
01:03:54,214 --> 01:03:56,518
is sometimes, even if you have false dice,
1246
01:03:56,518 --> 01:03:58,790
if someone has a particular run of luck,
1247
01:03:58,790 --> 01:04:01,789
you know, they'll win, they'll win money.
1248
01:04:01,789 --> 01:04:05,477
In a case where a gambler is
winning and they have problems
1249
01:04:05,477 --> 01:04:08,759
they talk about switching
false dice into the game,
1250
01:04:08,759 --> 01:04:11,062
letting the honest gambler
whose been winning,
1251
01:04:11,062 --> 01:04:14,773
roll them once and then accuse
him of using loaded dice
1252
01:04:14,773 --> 01:04:16,565
and take his money.
1253
01:04:16,565 --> 01:04:19,467
Now, this seems to me, a
remarkably modern concept,
1254
01:04:19,467 --> 01:04:20,886
for 1544.
1255
01:05:35,843 --> 01:05:36,760
The question was,
1256
01:05:36,760 --> 01:05:40,301
was I ever tempted to become
a con man or a card shark?
1257
01:05:40,301 --> 01:05:41,208
Yes.
1258
01:05:43,974 --> 01:05:46,897
And I guess the
follow
1259
01:05:46,897 --> 01:05:49,157
- I don't think I'll accept the follow-up.
1260
01:05:52,779 --> 01:05:54,507
- Could we look at the
secondary image, Fitz?
1261
01:05:54,507 --> 01:05:56,032
That looks great. That
framing's really good.
1262
01:05:56,032 --> 01:05:58,997
I gotta tell ya,
these images look so good to me.
1263
01:05:58,997 --> 01:06:01,034
It's just, I mean it reads,
1264
01:06:01,034 --> 01:06:04,085
this is gonna read from the
next building across the street.
1265
01:06:04,085 --> 01:06:05,546
- We're selling tickets there.
1266
01:06:05,546 --> 01:06:06,868
I'm so happy with this.
1267
01:06:06,868 --> 01:06:08,734
- Oh, thank God. Thank fucking Christ.
1268
01:06:10,524 --> 01:06:13,306
Go over here to
Willard, the man who rose.
1269
01:06:13,306 --> 01:06:14,706
- Thank God.
1270
01:06:14,706 --> 01:06:16,095
It feels so good.
1271
01:06:17,785 --> 01:06:18,959
So relieved.
1272
01:06:18,959 --> 01:06:22,607
I've always been aware
of boundaries with him.
1273
01:06:22,607 --> 01:06:25,274
I've never asked him how
he does a magic trick.
1274
01:06:25,274 --> 01:06:27,567
I mean, I've never had an in
depth conversation with him
1275
01:06:27,567 --> 01:06:30,415
about his parents.
1276
01:06:30,415 --> 01:06:33,474
We don't argue about things and haven't
1277
01:06:33,474 --> 01:06:36,952
for our relationship
that's been over 30 years
1278
01:06:36,952 --> 01:06:39,287
except about things where
he'll disagree with me
1279
01:06:39,287 --> 01:06:41,134
about the nature of somebody's
character and I'll say
1280
01:06:41,134 --> 01:06:45,868
"Well, I don't agree. I don't
think they're bad guys."
1281
01:06:45,868 --> 01:06:48,001
And that'll piss him off.
1282
01:06:48,001 --> 01:06:50,714
He has this enormous
1283
01:06:53,569 --> 01:06:58,200
sense of you cannot cross the line.
1284
01:06:59,582 --> 01:07:02,551
If you cross the line, you're a goner.
1285
01:07:03,784 --> 01:07:04,962
It's not sweet.
1286
01:07:06,120 --> 01:07:09,385
I think it's that magician's reflex
1287
01:07:09,385 --> 01:07:11,030
of playing all the angles.
1288
01:07:12,753 --> 01:07:14,565
It's all about control.
1289
01:07:14,565 --> 01:07:17,645
He would never put himself in a situation
1290
01:07:17,655 --> 01:07:19,116
if he's not in control.
1291
01:07:19,116 --> 01:07:21,526
If you eat with him at a restaurant
1292
01:07:21,526 --> 01:07:23,522
his back is always to the wall.
1293
01:07:24,392 --> 01:07:26,010
It's the way he lives.
1294
01:08:34,180 --> 01:08:35,685
- We've been both kind of
fascinated over the years
1295
01:08:35,685 --> 01:08:38,447
by the similarities between
dramaturgy and magic
1296
01:08:38,447 --> 01:08:39,273
'cause it's the same thing.
1297
01:08:39,273 --> 01:08:41,846
He says magic is using
the mind to lead itself
1298
01:08:41,846 --> 01:08:44,093
to its own defeat, right?
1299
01:08:44,093 --> 01:08:45,863
And the same thing is really
actually true of drama.
1300
01:08:45,863 --> 01:08:47,846
What you want to do is
set up a proposition
1301
01:08:47,846 --> 01:08:50,918
so the audience is going ahead of you
1302
01:08:50,918 --> 01:08:52,774
trying to figure out
what's gonna happen next
1303
01:08:52,774 --> 01:08:56,487
so that the end, just as in a magic trick,
1304
01:08:56,487 --> 01:08:58,437
it's surprising and inevitable.
1305
01:08:58,437 --> 01:09:00,123
It's inevitable because you
say "Oh yes, I understand
1306
01:09:00,123 --> 01:09:01,605
"that's probably what
would have happened."
1307
01:09:01,605 --> 01:09:04,423
It's surprising 'cause it
happens in an usual way.
1308
01:09:06,467 --> 01:09:07,522
It's always
difficult to talk about
1309
01:09:07,522 --> 01:09:08,963
how you create a piece.
1310
01:09:08,963 --> 01:09:12,194
It takes me a long time
to create material.
1311
01:09:12,194 --> 01:09:15,245
Sometimes things take me
years, literally, to do.
1312
01:09:15,245 --> 01:09:18,071
But in terms of building a piece, I mean,
1313
01:09:18,071 --> 01:09:19,532
that's something that
I really do think about
1314
01:09:19,532 --> 01:09:20,995
for live performance.
1315
01:09:20,995 --> 01:09:25,004
I mean, the excitement of a
live performance is wonderful.
1316
01:09:25,004 --> 01:09:27,617
But I think that magic is at its best
1317
01:09:27,617 --> 01:09:31,681
is even impossible in that situation.
1318
01:09:31,681 --> 01:09:35,542
That for it truly to be
magic, a magical moment,
1319
01:09:35,542 --> 01:09:37,782
it has to be spontaneous.
1320
01:09:37,782 --> 01:09:40,620
It has to be something that just happens.
1321
01:09:40,620 --> 01:09:42,700
Not in a staged show
that's carefully plotted
1322
01:09:42,700 --> 01:09:45,644
from beginning to end
but rather in a moment.
1323
01:09:45,644 --> 01:09:49,259
Probably the most famous of
those stories is about Malini.
1324
01:09:49,259 --> 01:09:53,057
That's what his reputation;
doing impromptu pieces.
1325
01:09:53,057 --> 01:09:55,519
He would sit down in
a restaurant at a meal
1326
01:09:55,519 --> 01:09:57,227
and he would be at the
table for a long time,
1327
01:09:57,227 --> 01:09:58,580
a number of hours.
1328
01:10:13,448 --> 01:10:15,133
He never got up during
the course of the meal
1329
01:10:15,133 --> 01:10:17,448
and eventually he would
borrow a woman's hat
1330
01:10:17,448 --> 01:10:19,762
and then he would get a
coin and he would spin it
1331
01:10:19,762 --> 01:10:21,330
and he would say "Lady or eagle?"
1332
01:10:21,330 --> 01:10:23,315
He would never say heads or tails.
1333
01:10:23,315 --> 01:10:25,619
He would spin it and cover it with the hat
1334
01:10:25,619 --> 01:10:27,985
and when he lifted the
hat, if the woman said lady
1335
01:10:27,985 --> 01:10:30,367
it would be the side
that had the woman on it.
1336
01:10:31,067 --> 01:10:33,754
If someone said eagle
he'd spin the coin again
1337
01:10:33,754 --> 01:10:36,250
and he when he lifted
the hat a second time
1338
01:10:36,250 --> 01:10:37,935
there would be the picture of the eagle
1339
01:10:37,935 --> 01:10:39,909
on the face of the coin.
1340
01:10:39,909 --> 01:10:41,253
Then he would do this a third time,
1341
01:10:41,253 --> 01:10:44,645
he would spin the coin
and when he lifted the hat
1342
01:10:44,645 --> 01:10:46,576
there was no coin at all.
1343
01:10:46,576 --> 01:10:49,992
But in fact, an enormous block of ice.
1344
01:10:55,373 --> 01:10:59,043
- So it was 1995 and I'd come
1345
01:10:59,043 --> 01:11:00,473
on an assignment from the Guardian.
1346
01:11:00,473 --> 01:11:02,499
I'd heard that the BBC was making a film
1347
01:11:02,499 --> 01:11:05,912
about this very extraordinary
closeup magician
1348
01:11:05,912 --> 01:11:08,740
and I came to write an article about him.
1349
01:11:08,740 --> 01:11:11,032
I came in after the
BBC had already started
1350
01:11:11,032 --> 01:11:13,613
and basically it was very
clear the minute that I arrived
1351
01:11:13,613 --> 01:11:16,034
that it was not going well
1352
01:11:16,034 --> 01:11:18,306
and that Ricky and the
director, in particular,
1353
01:11:18,306 --> 01:11:20,599
didn't get on very well.
1354
01:11:20,599 --> 01:11:23,447
And essentially the
problem was the director
1355
01:11:23,447 --> 01:11:26,615
was on to Ricky, as I remember it,
1356
01:11:26,615 --> 01:11:29,217
to produce a particular effect.
1357
01:11:29,217 --> 01:11:32,812
He wanted a centerpiece for his film.
1358
01:11:32,812 --> 01:11:37,184
And the more he demanded
it, the more Ricky resisted.
1359
01:11:37,184 --> 01:11:39,213
The tension built and built and built
1360
01:11:39,213 --> 01:11:40,233
to the point where
1361
01:11:41,792 --> 01:11:44,871
the BBC and Ricky were
really barely talking.
1362
01:11:44,871 --> 01:11:47,562
In the middle of all of
this, I think, is a break.
1363
01:11:47,562 --> 01:11:49,653
We went out to the Huntington Library,
1364
01:11:49,653 --> 01:11:51,519
trying to take the tension out of it.
1365
01:11:51,519 --> 01:11:54,303
He seemed to be altogether in
a much better mood on this day
1366
01:11:54,303 --> 01:11:58,025
and we all noticed that
and Ricky said to me
1367
01:11:58,025 --> 01:11:59,423
"Come on," suddenly.
1368
01:11:59,423 --> 01:12:01,353
He said "Come on, let's
go and have lunch."
1369
01:12:01,353 --> 01:12:02,883
Which was quite unexpected because
1370
01:12:03,973 --> 01:12:06,344
he can be quite cantankerous, Ricky.
1371
01:12:06,344 --> 01:12:09,044
I think he'd admit it himself.
He can be quite difficult.
1372
01:12:09,044 --> 01:12:11,561
And so he said "Get in the car, Suzy,
1373
01:12:11,561 --> 01:12:13,598
"we're going to Sunset Boulevard.
1374
01:12:13,598 --> 01:12:14,541
"We're gonna have lunch together
1375
01:12:14,541 --> 01:12:16,028
"and we'll do the interview."
1376
01:12:16,028 --> 01:12:17,980
I got in the car, it was
me and Ricky in the car,
1377
01:12:17,980 --> 01:12:21,490
we'd started chatting,
preparing the interview that we
1378
01:12:21,490 --> 01:12:24,315
were gonna do and we took the wrong turn
1379
01:12:24,315 --> 01:12:28,721
off the freeway and so
then we had to find our way
1380
01:12:28,721 --> 01:12:31,280
back on and so a journey
that maybe should have taken
1381
01:12:31,280 --> 01:12:32,785
an hour or something from Pasadena,
1382
01:12:32,785 --> 01:12:34,352
I'm not sure how long
it's supposed to take,
1383
01:12:34,352 --> 01:12:35,793
took double.
1384
01:12:35,793 --> 01:12:39,067
And it was fantastically hot on this day
1385
01:12:39,067 --> 01:12:41,787
and I couldn't help
noticing, even at the time,
1386
01:12:41,787 --> 01:12:44,326
I thought gosh, he's
taking this all very well
1387
01:12:44,326 --> 01:12:47,012
for such an irascible man.
1388
01:12:47,012 --> 01:12:51,578
And so then we got to the restaurant
1389
01:12:52,658 --> 01:12:56,716
and it was the worst possible
place for an interview.
1390
01:12:56,716 --> 01:13:00,620
It was full at lunch time,
it had glass on two sides
1391
01:13:00,620 --> 01:13:02,306
from floor to ceiling.
1392
01:13:02,306 --> 01:13:06,166
First there was a 20
minute wait for the table
1393
01:13:06,166 --> 01:13:08,588
and then we sat down at a table,
1394
01:13:08,588 --> 01:13:10,657
Ricky was opposite me
and he was chatting away
1395
01:13:10,657 --> 01:13:12,727
and he started to talk about the tension
1396
01:13:12,727 --> 01:13:16,246
there'd been with the
BBC and saying, you know,
1397
01:13:16,246 --> 01:13:18,177
I think that he regretted
that this had happened
1398
01:13:18,177 --> 01:13:21,547
and how he very much
wanted to do this set piece
1399
01:13:21,547 --> 01:13:24,598
that Paul had particularly asked
for that had been performed
1400
01:13:24,598 --> 01:13:28,085
by a 19th century magician, Max Malini,
1401
01:13:28,085 --> 01:13:31,221
at a dinner party and he
started to tell me the story
1402
01:13:31,221 --> 01:13:35,083
of Malini at the dinner party, the hat,
1403
01:13:35,083 --> 01:13:36,277
the dollar and so on.
1404
01:13:36,277 --> 01:13:38,976
As he was telling me this story
1405
01:13:38,976 --> 01:13:43,353
I think I became aware at that moment
1406
01:13:43,998 --> 01:13:47,773
that he had his menu open in front of him
1407
01:13:47,773 --> 01:13:51,785
so he was partly concealed
behind this rather tall menu
1408
01:13:51,785 --> 01:13:53,758
and as he was telling the story he said
1409
01:13:53,758 --> 01:13:55,989
"And Malini lifts up the hat."
1410
01:13:57,212 --> 01:14:01,132
At the moment he lifted up
his menu and on the table
1411
01:14:01,132 --> 01:14:04,536
in front of me, I'll never forget it,
1412
01:14:04,536 --> 01:14:08,162
on the table in front of me
was this huge block of ice.
1413
01:14:08,162 --> 01:14:11,410
I mean, it was about a foot square.
1414
01:14:11,410 --> 01:14:14,633
Really, I can't exaggerate.
Huge block of ice.
1415
01:14:14,633 --> 01:14:17,118
Later, when I picked it up,
1416
01:14:17,118 --> 01:14:20,374
I held with two arms.
1417
01:14:21,285 --> 01:14:23,194
I remember I burst into tears
1418
01:14:23,194 --> 01:14:25,712
and I think that shocked
him a bit, actually.
1419
01:14:25,712 --> 01:14:29,530
Because it was such a
kind of violent reaction.
1420
01:14:29,530 --> 01:14:34,045
I just sobbed and he said,
1421
01:14:34,716 --> 01:14:37,038
I mean, he can be very
gentle, Ricky, in fact,
1422
01:14:37,038 --> 01:14:39,064
for all that he growls a lot.
1423
01:14:39,064 --> 01:14:40,472
And I remember he said "I deceived you.
1424
01:14:40,472 --> 01:14:42,136
"It's what I do for a living."
1425
01:14:43,066 --> 01:14:43,868
But...
1426
01:14:46,156 --> 01:14:47,557
you know, he also...
1427
01:14:51,786 --> 01:14:54,603
I mean, it's a moment
I'll never have again.
1428
01:14:54,603 --> 01:14:56,086
I'll never forget it.
1429
01:14:56,086 --> 01:14:57,231
It was
1430
01:14:59,222 --> 01:15:02,890
a kind of supreme piece of artistry
1431
01:15:02,890 --> 01:15:05,877
that I witnessed that was done for me.
1432
01:15:05,877 --> 01:15:07,530
And that's what it felt like at the time.
1433
01:15:07,530 --> 01:15:11,618
He had produced this
extraordinary effect for me.
1434
01:15:12,457 --> 01:15:14,354
I think I realized, in that moment,
1435
01:15:14,354 --> 01:15:17,421
that this was what we'd all
been waiting for, in a sense.
1436
01:15:18,802 --> 01:15:20,467
I remember looking under the table;
1437
01:15:20,467 --> 01:15:22,716
there was no water on the floor.
1438
01:15:22,716 --> 01:15:25,948
The sun was pouring in
through these huge windows
1439
01:15:25,948 --> 01:15:29,341
on two sides and the ice cube
was melting in front of me.
1440
01:15:29,341 --> 01:15:32,924
I mean, visibly melting
so fast that I knew
1441
01:15:32,924 --> 01:15:35,079
the ice cube could only
have been on the table
1442
01:15:35,079 --> 01:15:36,734
seconds before I saw it.
1443
01:15:37,594 --> 01:15:39,396
It was the most extraordinary
thing I've ever seen
1444
01:15:39,396 --> 01:15:40,374
in my life.
1445
01:15:48,007 --> 01:15:48,946
- I think he does his teaching,
1446
01:15:48,946 --> 01:15:51,346
I mean, the whole idea of
the way you find a disciple
1447
01:15:51,346 --> 01:15:52,894
in show business is you tell everyone
1448
01:15:52,894 --> 01:15:54,511
"Get the fuck out of here.
1449
01:15:54,511 --> 01:15:55,768
"Go away. I don't need you.
1450
01:15:55,768 --> 01:15:57,288
"I don't want you."
1451
01:15:57,288 --> 01:15:58,756
And the kid who doesn't go away
1452
01:15:58,756 --> 01:16:02,478
and eventually you ask him
to bring you a cup of coffee.
1453
01:16:02,478 --> 01:16:04,527
It's the old rabbinic idea;
I'll teach you anything
1454
01:16:04,527 --> 01:16:06,558
just don't ask me any questions.
1455
01:16:07,339 --> 01:16:09,531
- Charlie Miller, one of my
great heroes and mentors,
1456
01:16:09,531 --> 01:16:12,156
said to me there's this
guy you have to see.
1457
01:16:12,156 --> 01:16:13,840
And I said "Sure, anyone, Charlie."
1458
01:16:13,840 --> 01:16:15,526
And he said "Well, he's 15."
1459
01:16:15,526 --> 01:16:17,423
And I said "Well, maybe
I'll hold off then."
1460
01:16:17,423 --> 01:16:20,571
I thought that that didn't
sound very promising.
1461
01:16:20,571 --> 01:16:22,095
And Charlie said "No, no, no.
1462
01:16:22,095 --> 01:16:24,593
"You should meet Michael."
1463
01:16:24,593 --> 01:16:27,567
This was the thing
that got me the introduction
1464
01:16:27,567 --> 01:16:30,661
through Charlie to Ricky the first time.
1465
01:16:30,661 --> 01:16:33,775
So, there's a classic
1466
01:16:33,775 --> 01:16:35,198
and somewhat mythical
1467
01:16:38,639 --> 01:16:40,953
technique with cards that
lots of people talk about
1468
01:16:40,953 --> 01:16:42,985
but not so many people do
1469
01:16:42,985 --> 01:16:46,253
where the notion is, and
you're gonna wanna stop moving,
1470
01:16:47,146 --> 01:16:50,260
the notion is really that
you can take any card
1471
01:16:50,260 --> 01:16:51,902
in the middle of the pack,
say of the eight of hearts
1472
01:16:51,902 --> 01:16:53,539
and square up the deck
1473
01:16:53,539 --> 01:16:55,587
and then without doing
anything have that card
1474
01:16:55,587 --> 01:16:57,090
on the top of the pack.
1475
01:16:57,090 --> 01:17:01,378
And the question of "is that possible?"
1476
01:17:01,378 --> 01:17:03,617
And to have it look like
you didn't do anything
1477
01:17:03,617 --> 01:17:05,805
is the subject of much discussion.
1478
01:17:05,805 --> 01:17:08,343
So I was 14 or 15 years
old and I did exactly
1479
01:17:08,343 --> 01:17:10,423
what I just did there for Charlie
1480
01:17:10,423 --> 01:17:12,759
and the next time I saw
Charlie, Ricky was there
1481
01:17:12,759 --> 01:17:14,860
so that was kind of how we met.
1482
01:17:15,840 --> 01:17:19,001
- How do I make this a
favorite, Chrisann's phone?
1483
01:17:19,585 --> 01:17:20,576
- Touch her name.
1484
01:17:22,202 --> 01:17:24,879
Good. She's now a favorite.
1485
01:17:24,879 --> 01:17:25,923
- Great. Thank you.
1486
01:17:28,615 --> 01:17:30,666
- I have no idea how to work my phone.
1487
01:17:32,720 --> 01:17:34,885
Doing the highest tech visual presentation
1488
01:17:34,885 --> 01:17:38,143
in the history of man and
I'm still a total Luddite.
1489
01:17:39,322 --> 01:17:40,986
What happens in magic
that's so interesting
1490
01:17:40,986 --> 01:17:44,698
is that Charlie introduces
me to a 15 year old boy
1491
01:17:44,698 --> 01:17:47,547
and we become friends
and perhaps on some level
1492
01:17:47,547 --> 01:17:49,988
Michael's been very interested
in the magic that I've done
1493
01:17:49,988 --> 01:17:52,730
and now I would say we've
reached a point where
1494
01:17:52,730 --> 01:17:57,135
30 years down the road
I'm really interested
1495
01:17:57,135 --> 01:18:00,006
in learning from Michael and
really do learn from him.
1496
01:18:09,561 --> 01:18:10,600
- Perfect.
1497
01:18:11,556 --> 01:18:13,181
One goes in the corner.
1498
01:18:13,742 --> 01:18:15,779
One cup goes on to the nail
1499
01:18:15,779 --> 01:18:18,787
and when I lift them the nail is gone--
1500
01:18:42,805 --> 01:18:45,546
- I know for a fact that there's stuff,
1501
01:18:45,546 --> 01:18:49,514
having known him now
maybe close to 30 years,
1502
01:18:49,514 --> 01:18:51,903
that Ricky has not shared with me.
1503
01:18:51,903 --> 01:18:54,282
And I absolutely have a lot of stuff
1504
01:18:54,282 --> 01:18:56,660
that I haven't shown and shared with Ricky
1505
01:18:56,660 --> 01:18:59,828
and I think that's important.
1506
01:18:59,828 --> 01:19:01,716
I don't think it's cat and mouse,
1507
01:19:01,716 --> 01:19:05,332
I don't think it's meant to be withholding
1508
01:19:05,332 --> 01:19:09,027
because if there's something
that one of the other
1509
01:19:10,427 --> 01:19:13,544
folks really needs that's
the time that comes out
1510
01:19:13,544 --> 01:19:17,177
and I absolutely have
had the look on my face
1511
01:19:17,177 --> 01:19:19,758
or I've seen the look
on Ricky's face where
1512
01:19:19,758 --> 01:19:21,966
I'll say or he'll say
1513
01:19:21,966 --> 01:19:25,401
here's something I haven't told you about
1514
01:19:25,401 --> 01:19:29,422
that might be useful and the
other person's just like.
1515
01:19:29,422 --> 01:19:31,235
It's that dream that I
think many people have had
1516
01:19:31,235 --> 01:19:32,759
where you dream you're
walking through your house
1517
01:19:32,759 --> 01:19:34,968
but then you find a door
in a room in your house
1518
01:19:34,968 --> 01:19:37,126
that's always been there and
you didn't know was there.
1519
01:19:38,743 --> 01:19:40,672
One of the things
we do is to show our work
1520
01:19:40,672 --> 01:19:42,582
in process to each other.
1521
01:19:42,582 --> 01:19:43,840
There are only a few people in my life
1522
01:19:43,840 --> 01:19:47,317
who I really discuss magic
with on that personal level.
1523
01:19:47,317 --> 01:19:49,184
There's Michael, who I
probably do it the most with
1524
01:19:49,184 --> 01:19:50,592
because I see him more often
1525
01:19:50,592 --> 01:19:52,352
and we have a company together.
1526
01:19:52,352 --> 01:19:55,808
And there's also David Roth,
who's been backstage in my show
1527
01:19:55,808 --> 01:19:59,509
for years and years who's an amazing
1528
01:19:59,509 --> 01:20:01,284
manipulator of coins.
1529
01:20:02,272 --> 01:20:05,972
And Persi Diaconis, who is
a remarkable mathematician
1530
01:20:05,972 --> 01:20:09,929
as well as an extraordinary
inventor of magic
1531
01:20:09,929 --> 01:20:13,407
and Steve Freemen who is
the quintessential amateur,
1532
01:20:13,407 --> 01:20:15,826
the absolute lover of the art.
1533
01:20:15,826 --> 01:20:19,315
And there's literally no
one better at understanding
1534
01:20:19,315 --> 01:20:22,909
and performing the most
intricate sleight of hand
1535
01:20:22,909 --> 01:20:24,194
beautifully.
1536
01:20:35,101 --> 01:20:37,275
I think I realized that
because I left home at such
1537
01:20:37,275 --> 01:20:39,857
an early age and cut of
almost all association with it
1538
01:20:39,857 --> 01:20:42,576
that I've been really
lucky that my friends
1539
01:20:42,576 --> 01:20:43,675
have become family.
1540
01:20:43,675 --> 01:20:46,011
I mean, I'm incredibly blessed
1541
01:20:46,011 --> 01:20:49,818
with remarkable friends and
that's become the focal thing
1542
01:20:49,818 --> 01:20:53,146
in my life and then I
actually found a woman
1543
01:20:53,146 --> 01:20:56,965
who wound up fulfilling
all those of needs and more
1544
01:20:56,965 --> 01:21:00,559
and having somebody that
I married seven years ago
1545
01:21:00,559 --> 01:21:03,951
in my wife, Chrisann,
who's just remarkable.
1546
01:21:03,951 --> 01:21:06,031
Great friend, wonderful woman
1547
01:21:06,031 --> 01:21:10,052
and a very nice ending to
something that I thought
1548
01:21:10,052 --> 01:21:11,944
would probably never happen for me.
1549
01:21:45,408 --> 01:21:47,840
This is a poem Shel
Silverstein wrote for me.
1550
01:21:47,840 --> 01:21:50,017
It's called The Game
in the Windowless Room.
1551
01:21:52,529 --> 01:21:54,247
Of all the games I've ever played,
1552
01:21:54,247 --> 01:21:56,626
of all the hands I've dealt,
1553
01:21:56,626 --> 01:21:59,090
of all the pots I've ever raked,
1554
01:21:59,090 --> 01:22:01,383
from matchsticks to nickels
1555
01:22:01,383 --> 01:22:03,177
to untold wealth,
1556
01:22:04,048 --> 01:22:05,850
from the beckoning
lights of the Vegas Strip
1557
01:22:05,850 --> 01:22:08,964
to the Pittsburgh roadhouse gloom,
1558
01:22:08,964 --> 01:22:12,143
the most dangerous game
I'd played with a man
1559
01:22:12,143 --> 01:22:15,111
in that locked door windowless room.
1560
01:22:16,845 --> 01:22:18,679
His eyes were yellow as the golden crown
1561
01:22:18,679 --> 01:22:20,909
on the king of diamond's head.
1562
01:22:20,909 --> 01:22:24,321
His teeth were black as the mustached Jack
1563
01:22:24,321 --> 01:22:27,052
and his mouth was bloody
red as the crimson gown
1564
01:22:27,052 --> 01:22:29,409
on the queen of hearts
1565
01:22:29,409 --> 01:22:32,183
and his hand was marked with the sign
1566
01:22:32,183 --> 01:22:35,521
that's found on the
hand of the diamond king
1567
01:22:35,521 --> 01:22:38,063
and he smiled as his eyes met mine.
1568
01:22:38,847 --> 01:22:39,765
And he said what a shame
1569
01:22:39,765 --> 01:22:41,791
I've been watching your game
1570
01:22:41,791 --> 01:22:44,449
as you fleece these witless fools.
1571
01:22:45,372 --> 01:22:47,281
How would you do at a hand or two,
1572
01:22:47,281 --> 01:22:51,595
my game, my stakes, my rules?
1573
01:22:52,565 --> 01:22:55,163
A sealed room, no windows, no phone,
1574
01:22:55,163 --> 01:22:57,904
an unbroken seal on the cards.
1575
01:22:57,904 --> 01:23:00,774
No watches or rings or jaggedy things
1576
01:23:00,774 --> 01:23:03,024
that can clip or chip
or mark on a non-metal
1577
01:23:03,024 --> 01:23:05,500
clear glass tabletop.
1578
01:23:05,500 --> 01:23:08,955
No mirrors, no overhead lights,
1579
01:23:08,955 --> 01:23:12,912
with foot thick walls and
just one door that's locked
1580
01:23:12,912 --> 01:23:14,708
from the outside.
1581
01:23:15,871 --> 01:23:18,654
For as long as it takes
for one man to break,
1582
01:23:18,654 --> 01:23:21,951
be it an hour or a day,
would you dare take a seat
1583
01:23:21,951 --> 01:23:24,026
when there's no way to cheat?
1584
01:23:25,046 --> 01:23:27,058
Well, what could I say?
1585
01:23:28,508 --> 01:23:31,782
So in the silent tomb of that sealed room
1586
01:23:31,782 --> 01:23:33,800
we both sat down to play.
1587
01:23:35,033 --> 01:23:38,328
Well, he was no joker. He was an ace.
1588
01:23:38,328 --> 01:23:40,782
And although I was the king of this pack
1589
01:23:40,782 --> 01:23:42,627
I knew the lady would have to smile on me
1590
01:23:42,627 --> 01:23:45,006
if I were to win all his jack
1591
01:23:45,006 --> 01:23:48,715
so we played for hours, or was it a week?
1592
01:23:48,715 --> 01:23:51,647
I lost all track of time.
1593
01:23:51,647 --> 01:23:54,996
And he won a few. And he bluffed a few.
1594
01:23:54,996 --> 01:23:57,225
But the final pot was mine.
1595
01:23:57,225 --> 01:23:59,040
"Well, I don't know quite
how you did it," he said
1596
01:23:59,040 --> 01:24:01,814
as I raked in his last buck.
1597
01:24:01,814 --> 01:24:04,467
"But shaves or seconds or a frigid deck
1598
01:24:04,467 --> 01:24:06,148
"it had nothing to do with luck.
1599
01:24:06,148 --> 01:24:08,804
"You're a hustler, a shark,
a mechanic." He said.
1600
01:24:08,804 --> 01:24:11,289
Not the real game's about to start.
1601
01:24:11,289 --> 01:24:13,177
Here he pulls out his knife
1602
01:24:13,177 --> 01:24:16,323
and me with just this deck of cards.
1603
01:24:16,323 --> 01:24:18,233
"Ain't it funny to learn
how the odds can turn,"
1604
01:24:18,233 --> 01:24:21,624
said he as he thrusted
and flicked and fanned
1605
01:24:21,624 --> 01:24:24,408
but I dodged his blade
and my eight of spades
1606
01:24:25,308 --> 01:24:27,927
knocked the knife right out of his hand.
1607
01:24:27,927 --> 01:24:31,020
"Hell, I'll beat you to death
with my hands," he laughed.
1608
01:24:31,020 --> 01:24:33,761
And he raised a powerful first
1609
01:24:33,761 --> 01:24:37,473
but my five of clubs left a bloody stub
1610
01:24:37,473 --> 01:24:40,854
as he sliced his hand off at the wrist.
1611
01:24:40,854 --> 01:24:44,993
"Yah!" He screamed and he
pulled a gun from his boot.
1612
01:24:44,993 --> 01:24:48,087
Last hand and the dealer dies.
1613
01:24:48,087 --> 01:24:52,576
But my one last card, my ace of hearts,
1614
01:24:52,576 --> 01:24:55,076
caught him right between the eyes.
1615
01:24:55,987 --> 01:25:00,083
Well, that I might say
was the game of my life.
1616
01:25:00,083 --> 01:25:02,845
When did the police did finally arrive
1617
01:25:02,845 --> 01:25:05,875
they found a windowless
room, a corpse on the floor,
1618
01:25:05,875 --> 01:25:08,380
the door locked from the outside
1619
01:25:08,380 --> 01:25:09,896
and no one there but him and me;
1620
01:25:09,896 --> 01:25:12,681
a classic locked room mystery.
1621
01:25:12,681 --> 01:25:15,058
But where is the murder weapon?
1622
01:25:15,058 --> 01:25:18,354
They search but they
can't find it anywhere.
1623
01:25:18,354 --> 01:25:20,074
Oh where can it be?
1624
01:25:21,266 --> 01:25:23,503
They don't look at me.
1625
01:25:23,503 --> 01:25:27,188
I'm just playing solitaire.
127182
Can't find what you're looking for?
Get subtitles in any language from opensubtitles.com, and translate them here.