Johnny Thompson is one of the true masters of our craft and Jamy Ian Swiss is one of the best writers in magic. Without a doubt in my mind, I predict that the forthcoming book will be something wonderful.Jamy Ian Swiss flew in from New York just to surprise Johnny. Jamy is writing a book on the work of Johnny Thompson.
I'm hoping that the book will, in addition to the magic, include a significant biographical component and an assortment of Johnny's recollections and experiences over the years.
From the September 2003 issue of MAGIC:
Hopefully some of the material that Louis Falanga referred to in the MAGIC interview will be included in the forthcoming book.MAGIC: Are there any projects that you wish could have come together, but never make it to the production stage?
LOUIS FALANGA: There's one. The week of 9/11, Johnny Thompson was coming up to Tahoe with Lance Burton to shoot this material that no one has ever seen, stuff that he learned from Charlie Miller, Dai Vernon, and other greats. Lance was going to host the videos. I met with everyone at the 'MAGIC Live!' convention to confirm the schedule. Then boom! - 9/11 happened and the video never got shot. It's one of those moments that may never happen agaian. I still have hopes to shoot the material, but with everyone's schedule as hectic as it is, who knows?
I had the good fortune of meeting Johnny and Pam Thompson when they visited Australia several years ago. They're both wonderful people - warm, friendly, and very down-to-earth.