Was Vernon a success

[Matthew Field]

Thanks to Paul Chosse and Pete Biro for wonderful anecdotes.

Matt Field

[Guest]

Originally posted by Pete Biro:
Mike Perovich AKA "Zambolini" has written a huge number of Vernon anecdotes (he's very close to Bruce Cervon) and published them somewhere online.

I believe there are a bunch of Zambolini's anecdotes in the archives of the Electronic Grymoire. The EG isn't what it used to be -- too many places like the Genii Forum for magicians to post have eaten into the "market" -- but it's worth the minimal annual dues just to have access to the archives. Someday maybe Bruce will compile the back issues into a CD or DVD, and it will be a valuable archive of magic at the turn of the millenium.

[Leonard Hevia]

Hi Sphaleros--I suspect the child abuse incident went far beyond rejection of dinner table food. It sounds like a lot of anger and frustration with a husband who didn't care if the rent was paid or not.

There's a 1940's photograph of someone's backyard at a house in New York that was published in the back page of Magic . It was a magician's gathering of some sort, and Vernon is in the picture along with his wife. It's the 1940's, she looks older, and very unhappy...

[Guest]

And now we can compare and contrast THAT photo with the one on the back page of the June 2006 issue of MAGIC: Dai frolicking in a pool, surrounded by tasty dishes.

Can you imagine the impact the young wolfish Vernon, with his cocktails and color-changes, had on those bathing-beauties? (They must have had to take numbers, but I digress...)

No WONDER his wife was pissed.

P.S. I have started the initial paper-work to copyright "Cocktails and Color-Changes" so don't even think about it...har har

[Guest]

Originally posted by castawaydave:
And now we can compare and contrast THAT photo...I have started the initial paper-work to copyright "Cocktails and Color-Changes" so don't even think about it...har har

The link for "colorchanging cocktail" with a pre-order page went up a few minutes ago, better hurry.

[Guest]

My Dai Vernon Meeting at the Magic Castle...

It was circa 1973...I was in LA with my family and sent a letter to the Larsen family asking permission for an underage kid to get in to the castle accompanied by his dad. I met Charlie Miller who was very gracious and took me out to the parking lot to see my Egg Bag from Ken Brooke - he was amazed by the material...and very cool....then later I wanted to meet Dai....had read Genii alot and wanted to say Hi..
but as some of you have said...He was at the Bar upstairs..This overzealous guy offered to introduce him to me....but apparently Dai did not like this guy...so he came down by himself apologizing for the rude interruption of this fellow....Dai was very nice...and introduced my to some friends with a very beautiful blonde daughter....and that was it. I met a legend. I kind of remember him having a highball or something in his hand

[Guest]

Originally posted by Geno Munari:
Other than Richard Kaufmann, there really has not been a posting from anyone really close to Vernon on this topic. What say you?

Come forth.

Personally, he was as successfull in the area of magic. Just look at his legacy.

I saw Dai Vernon often when he lived in NY. In those days I doubt he gave much thought to whether he was a success or not. As stated by others - success is a subjected thing, anyway.

It's true he often had a drink in front of him, but I never saw him drunk to the point where he couldn't function. He could stay up all night and play chess with the bottle and a shot glass right next to the board.

As for the wine, women, and song comment... I never knew Vernon to be a womanizer. Magic was his mistress.

Jean was no slouch in the drinking department, either. She was bright, talented, sharp witted and sharp tongued, but she was always nice to me.

[Alan Bursky]

Ask Irene Larsen, Milt Larsen, and Bruce Cervon.

[Guest]

Originally posted by Matthew Field:
Thanks to Paul Chosse and Pete Biro for wonderful anecdotes.

I second that.

Clay

[Guest]

As a youngster in the 60's Dai Vernon was a major contributor to Genii and a figure father to me as a growing up magician. I read his column faithfully as I did Charlie Millers....I lived in Detroit and started buying magic from Evanston Illinois...a dealer that advertised in Genii...My father worked for Chrysler and we moved to England...the summer of 1969 before moving to England we went to the Abbotts convention....In England we went to Harry Stanleys, Davenports, Supreme etc....One summer in 1973..we went to Los Angeles and I wrote to the Magic Castle..got passes...Dad and I went on a Saturday or Sunday....Charlie Miller was there and we went outside to talk...I think he smoked...he loved the Egg Bag I had...the material from Ken Brooke....later in the Castle..I asked to meet Dai Vernon and someone said he was upstairs at the bar...the guy went to Dai and interrupted him with the people he was with....Dai came down to meet me...and apologized for this gentleman...he said he was a celebrity creep a rude fellow...and then Dai introduced me to his Hollywood friends..and I remember a beautiful blonde hot young woman was there....that was it...but at least I met him

[Guest]

My sister hates magic. She's grown up with three brothers performing magic badly (and now has a son who performs magic badly too).
But - she saw Dai on TV years ago, and says he was good.

To me, that is a pretty good measure of success.

[Mike Rozek]

One of the unique things about any artform is that success is not just defined on a monetary scale. It's not even defined on how broad an artist's appeal or exposure is. It *can* be defined using these criteria, but they aren't the only basis. Personal growth within the art is really the only scale to measure by, and it shouldn't be compared to other's journeys.

I've seen many "hobbyists" perform beautifully, and I'd certainly consider them successful. I think the more poignant question is how much of an influence Vernon had on the art. It seems that the answer to this question is universally agreed on.

-Mike