Hat and Rabbit club lecture

[performer]

This might be of interest to Canadians particularly those who live near Toronto. I got this in my e-mail today. I may well attend myself.

"When I was looking for suggestions for a lecturer for February, one name kept coming up - Mark Lewis. Jeff Pinsky mentioned that Mark Lewis is a great closeup magician and would be a fantastic lecturer, James Alan pointed out that Mark is known for Psychic reading and hypnosis (perhaps he'd been hypnotized), and Wij described Mark as one of the two best children's magicians that he had ever seen. It seems that this guy does it all.

Mark Lewis is an experienced, professional entertainer having been a performer for 35 years. He has worked in the U.K., Holland, Ireland, the USA and of course Canada.

He is a Magician, Hypnotist and an accomplished palmist and tarot card reader. While working in Ireland he virtually became a household name as a psychic with the astrology columns he writes for Irish newspapers.

" ... He is so talented in many areas but at least for me I most enjoy his close-up magic; or perhaps I should write close-up experience? I have seen him do close-up magic for laymen and magicians hundreds of times. There are very few others who perform closeup magic who would want to follow this master performer. For real people it is more than just watching Mark Lewis—it is an EXPERIENCE! An experience they will not soon forget. ..."
--Jeff Pinsky

We are fortunate to have Mark Lecture at our club - make sure to come out to learn and be entertained.

[observer]

Performer, if by some chance you are able to be present at the Mark Lewis lecture, it would certainly be interesting to read your report.

[performer]

I am highly tempted to do what Jardine Ellis reportedly did when he was invited to do a lecture at the Magic Circle in London decades ago.

It seems that he demonstrated one trick and explained it. It went over incredibly well and everyone loved it. He then asked, "Would you say that one trick alone is worth the price you have paid for this lecture?" There was an enthusiastic "yes" from the audience whereupon he said, "OK" packed up his stuff and left!

The lecture was over in ten minutes or so! I really must try that and see what happens!

[MagicbyAlfred]

Performer wrote: " It seems that he demonstrated one trick and explained it. It went over incredibly well and everyone loved it. He then asked, 'Would you say that one trick alone is worth the price you have paid for this lecture?' There was an enthusiastic 'yes' from the audience whereupon he said, 'OK' packed up his stuff and left!
The lecture was over in ten minutes or so! I really must try that and see what happens!"

I am willing to bet 10 Svengali decks to 1 that you will not try it. You will not be able to walk away from the adulation of the gushing attendees. Besides you will enjoy giving the lecture as much as they will receiving it. I'm psycho, and I know these things!

[Q. Kumber]

In sorting through a box of manuscripts I came across the lecture notes of the very same performer, given in Dublin around 1979.

[performer]

Performer wrote: " It seems that he demonstrated one trick and explained it. It went over incredibly well and everyone loved it. He then asked, 'Would you say that one trick alone is worth the price you have paid for this lecture?' There was an enthusiastic 'yes' from the audience whereupon he said, 'OK' packed up his stuff and left!
The lecture was over in ten minutes or so! I really must try that and see what happens!"

I am willing to bet 10 Svengali decks to 1 that you will not try it. You will not be able to walk away from the adulation of the gushing attendees. Besides you will enjoy giving the lecture as much as they will receiving it. I'm psycho, and I know these things!

I won't try it. I want to get paid! Still, I would love to know more about the Jardine Ellis story. There must be more to it. Something must have irritated him to leave so suddenly. Anyway I read this in Roberto Giobbi's book. He said he heard the tale from Max Maven.

As for "gushing attendees" I highly doubt it. Canadians do not "gush"

Oddly enough I have only had one gushing attendee in the very few lectures I have done over the years. Well, perhaps not gushing but highly enthusiastic. Strangely enough it was Jerry Sadowitz, who one would imagine is not the gushing type. And even more strangely it was a lecture purely on psychic matters such as tarot, palmistry etc; It took place in London and was sponsored by International Magic.

I was quite surprised to see him there and even more surprised that he sat through two evenings of it. I had to do two sessions because I couldn't fit everything into one lecture.
I wouldn't have thought psychic matters would have interested him but there we are.

He kept laughing all through the lecture with great delight although I think that was because I took the opportunity to say rude things about various celebrated magicians as I often like to do. Alas Martin MacMillan edited out all the rude bits to my great distress. Anyway, Jerry came up gushing that it was the best lecture he had ever seen. I am still surprised that such a well known comedian and card magician would be so interested in metaphysical matters such as palmistry and tarot.

[MagicbyAlfred]

PEFORMER wrote: "I was quite surprised to see him [Jerry Sadowitz] there [at my lecture] and even more surprised that he sat through two evenings of it. I had to do two sessions because I couldn't fit everything into one lecture.
I wouldn't have thought psychic matters would have interested him but there we are."

Clearly, Performer, your psychic abilities were not as highly cultivated back then as they are now. Otherwise, you wouldn't have been surprised in the least to see Jerry at your lecture, or that he sat through two evenings of it, or that psychic matters interested him...

[performer]

It was only in 2010! I became psychic in 1987!

I have actually met Jerry Sadowitz once before. In Glasgow as a matter of fact. I did the Notis Cascade in front of him. He was expressionless at the time and I forgot all about it. Then around 30 years later I met him in London at the lecture. He said, "I have been wondering about something for thirty years. I saw you do the Notis Cascade and I have been trying to learn it ever since but have never been able to do it"

I told him the description was in the Vernon card book written by Ganson. He said, "I know. That is where I have been trying to learn it but I just can't do it!" I requested that he show me so I could advise him where he was going wrong. And he did but he wasn't doing anything wrong! All the fingers were in the right place but it still didn't work. I told him to crimp the cards lengthwise as this helps. He did but it STILL didn't work! I couldn't figure out why he couldn't do it since he was doing everything perfectly.

So I did it with my cards and it worked perfectly. He did it with his cards and he couldn't do it at all! I couldn't figure it out. But then I had a hunch. I borrowed his cards and tried it with his. And then I couldn't do it! The cards went all over the place just like his did! And then I knew what was wrong. He was using a poker bicycle deck whereas I was using a bridge size Waddingtons deck. He tried it with my deck and suddenly he could do it! After thirty years of trying! So the secret is using the right deck!

When I do the flourish it falls around 14 inches or so. This is far superior to what other people seem to do with only a two or three inch drop. The secret is to experiment and use the right deck. I can do it with poker cards as well as bridge cards but it is more difficult unless you have long fingers which I don't. But also use the right brand. Bicycles didn't seem to work in London although perhaps they do. In any event you have to experiment and get the right deck otherwise it will end in failure.

[performer]

There is a report of the lecture in the Linking Ring. Someone posted the whole thing on Facebook. I would reproduce it here if I knew how to. But I don't so I won't.

[performer]

Maybe this will work. I don't understand this computer stuff:

https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?fbid ... nt_count=1