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Make a Donation to Help Wayne Houchin

Posted: November 30th, 2012, 9:16 am
by CraigMitchell
Paul Harris has started a "magical arts fund" to assist Wayne Houchin and his family ...

Those who are able to contribute can do so here:

http://myemail.constantcontact.com/Pers ... IFCZh28ETk

I've posted this here - rather than in the main Houchin thread - so that it doesn't get lost amongst the 'noise'

Re: Make a Donation to Help Wayne Houchin

Posted: November 30th, 2012, 11:18 am
by mrgoat
Don't mean to be rude, but is there any knowledge that he needs our money? I imagine he is quite well off, and should have good medical insurance.

Don't get me wrong, the incident was horrific, but unless there has been some cry of financial help from him, isn't this a little, er, odd?

Re: Make a Donation to Help Wayne Houchin

Posted: November 30th, 2012, 11:48 am
by Richard Kaufman
I don't think so: like many self-employed people in the US, he probably doesn't have any health insurance.

He is also probably not going to be able to work for a while, depending on the severity of his burns.

It's reported that his right hand is burned, and depending on the severity of that, he might not be able to do the type of work he's been doing.

I don't know why you imagine that he's "well-off." Like most magicians, he's probably just making enough to pay his bills. He likely has a mortgage on his house, monthly car payments, and so on, all of which will now come out of savings (if any) until he can start working again.

I don't really know how burns "present themselves" seconds after they occur, so it's hard to tell the extent of his injuries from the various videos that have surfaced.

Still many unknowns.

Re: Make a Donation to Help Wayne Houchin

Posted: November 30th, 2012, 12:13 pm
by CraigMitchell
As Richard points out, medical insurance amongst performers in the US seems to be the exception rather than the norm.

I'm very happy that Paul has put this together - allowing those who wish to make a contribution to do so.

At the end of the day - there are always going to be bills to pay ... and this small gesture on the part of the magic community may help ease things just a little.

Re: Make a Donation to Help Wayne Houchin

Posted: November 30th, 2012, 12:14 pm
by mrgoat
Oh right. When I met him he was happily quaffing champagne and acting as if he was fairly well off. That, plus the TV series made me think he wasn't short of a bob or two.

Although, in the UK anyway, TV shoots have to be insured up to the hilt, so if he's not covered, it would be I think illegal to shoot here...Maybe different over there...

Yes, of course the burns etc are horrendous, I just was asking if he had ASKED for people to send him money, that's all.

Not meaning to discourage anyone from giving him their money if they want to. Just wondered if he had said he needed/wanted help.

Sorry if that was inappropriate.

Re: Make a Donation to Help Wayne Houchin

Posted: November 30th, 2012, 12:15 pm
by BlaiseCarlisle
I hope Wayne will be able to get a great deal of financial compensation from the TV show. The way courts often are though, unfortunately I wouldn't count on it :/

Re: Make a Donation to Help Wayne Houchin

Posted: November 30th, 2012, 1:02 pm
by Richard Kaufman
I'm still wondering why we haven't heard anything about the police arresting they guy who did it.

Re: Make a Donation to Help Wayne Houchin

Posted: November 30th, 2012, 9:14 pm
by Mowee
Richard it IS the DR and things are very different there.

Re: Make a Donation to Help Wayne Houchin

Posted: November 30th, 2012, 9:56 pm
by Richard Kaufman
No sh*t!

Re: Make a Donation to Help Wayne Houchin

Posted: December 1st, 2012, 3:10 am
by Bill Marquardt
Sworn Lip(s) wrote:I know I dont buy it... ... If you want to know what happened....watch it again! You do not see Waynes face up close before the "accident/attack"...its behind the girl. To me, the accident had already happened way before in some other mishap. This was a controlled stunt to cover up something that already happened. I am by no means being disrespectful...just watch the video.


You are being disrespectful, creating a conspiracy theory that suggests Wayne and his wife are covering up an earlier incident by staging an accident. That is just crazy. I hope he doesn't read your comments.

Re: Make a Donation to Help Wayne Houchin

Posted: December 1st, 2012, 7:40 am
by BlaiseCarlisle
I remember hearing and reading things from a number of magicians in which things went terribly wrong, the most notable case being Tommy Cooper dying on stage during a live show.

In generally all cases, those watching stay calm, because they assume it's part of the show.

Re: Make a Donation to Help Wayne Houchin

Posted: December 1st, 2012, 2:38 pm
by El Harvey Oswald
Wayne Houchin's own summary of the incident directly and indirectly addresses each of the points of skepticism posted above. That said, if any time someone who presents a possible counter-narrative were silenced merely by claims that it's "offensive" or "disrespectful," then any story with a strong emotional element, true or false, will effectively be unassailable. Wayne's version of events is more than compelling enough to withstand any scrutiny; he doesn't benefit from attempts to silence reasonable questions and alternate theories of what happened. Even the video here doesn't convey only one version of what happened.

For my part, I unreservedly find the host's conduct abominable and sub-human, irrespective of his actual motives or there being a deeply engrained tradition of this stupid ritual in the Dominican Republic. Here's wishing Wayne Houchin a quick and full recovery.

Re: Make a Donation to Help Wayne Houchin

Posted: December 1st, 2012, 6:04 pm
by Bill Marquardt
So what you are saying is that it is possible Wayne had his head lit on fire in order to cover up some previous mishap?

No one is telling anyone to shut up but creating wild theories based upon limited knowledge of the facts does no one any good. I could accept an explanation in which the assailant had no criminal intent, but to conjecture that Wayne staged the video and had his head lit on fire in order to cover up an earlier burn incident is so outrageous it borders on insanity. I surely hope no one else publicly displays such insensitivity toward a man lying in hospital recovering from severe burns.

Re: Make a Donation to Help Wayne Houchin

Posted: December 2nd, 2012, 11:12 am
by Q. Kumber
It is truly a sad situation when we read on magic forums of US magicians needing financial assistance to cover medical bills. Some face losing property or forced to sell a lifetime's collection.

Re: Make a Donation to Help Wayne Houchin

Posted: December 2nd, 2012, 12:54 pm
by Richard Kaufman
The health care situation in the United States is a real mess. We pay more for health care every year, and they cover less every year.

And we're lucky at Genii because we were able to form a small business group for health care. For individuals it's a nightmare.

That's why 40 million people in the United States don't have any health care coverage.

Re: Make a Donation to Help Wayne Houchin

Posted: December 3rd, 2012, 5:19 am
by Ryan Matney
mrgoat wrote:Oh right. When I met him he was happily quaffing champagne and acting as if he was fairly well off. That, plus the TV series made me think he wasn't short of a bob or two.

Although, in the UK anyway, TV shoots have to be insured up to the hilt, so if he's not covered, it would be I think illegal to shoot here...Maybe different over there...

Yes, of course the burns etc are horrendous, I just was asking if he had ASKED for people to send him money, that's all.

Not meaning to discourage anyone from giving him their money if they want to. Just wondered if he had said he needed/wanted help.

Sorry if that was inappropriate.


Regarding the insurance comment. It was stated that the TV studio did not even have a fire extinguisher!

Not sure but I think you must have one by law here.

Re: Make a Donation to Help Wayne Houchin

Posted: December 3rd, 2012, 12:00 pm
by erdnasephile
mrgoat wrote:Oh right. When I met him he was happily quaffing champagne and acting as if he was fairly well off.


A lot of us (I'm not referring to Wayne as I have no idea) live closer to the edge of our incomes than we'd like to admit. Therefore, visibile consumption can certainly be misleading in terms of financial situation.

As RK suggested, many are just one bad healthcare situation away from dire financial straits.

(I would point out though: I've run into a few people who could afford health insurance but choose not to purchase it for various reasons. As one once said to me: "I'd rather ski in Aspen every year, than spend money on what might happen." This was all the more ironic since I was speaking to him in a county medical center.)

Re: Make a Donation to Help Wayne Houchin

Posted: December 3rd, 2012, 12:45 pm
by mrgoat
erdnasephile wrote:
mrgoat wrote:Oh right. When I met him he was happily quaffing champagne and acting as if he was fairly well off.


A lot of us (I'm not referring to Wayne as I have no idea) live closer to the edge of our incomes than we'd like to admit. Therefore, visibile consumption can certainly be misleading in terms of financial situation.


Right, but he's still not posted *asking* for help...

Just seems a little odd to me to set up a fund for someone who may or may not need help when there are a gazillion charities to give to who actually *do* need help, that's all.

Re: Make a Donation to Help Wayne Houchin

Posted: December 3rd, 2012, 1:14 pm
by Richard Kaufman
Damian, while he may not have publicly asked for help, those who know him well (like Paul Harris) may know that he will need help. Most people don't like to ask publicly for help.

Re: Make a Donation to Help Wayne Houchin

Posted: December 3rd, 2012, 1:37 pm
by mrgoat
Richard Kaufman wrote:Damian, while he may not have publicly asked for help, those who know him well (like Paul Harris) may know that he will need help. Most people don't like to ask publicly for help.


OK, forget I said anything.

Re: Make a Donation to Help Wayne Houchin

Posted: December 3rd, 2012, 2:56 pm
by Richard Kaufman
I think the difference in your perception is cultural.