Credit Question: Silk from Spectator's Sleeve Using a Thumbtip

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Richard Kaufman
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Credit Question: Silk from Spectator's Sleeve Using a Thumbtip

Postby Richard Kaufman » January 15th, 2011, 10:32 pm

See subject: anyone know who should be credit for this?
I know that Klause used to pull a spongeball from the spectator's sleeve with a thumbtip.
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Re: Credit Question: Silk from Spectator's Sleeve Using a Thumbtip

Postby David Garrity » January 15th, 2011, 11:00 pm

Richard,

I first saw this many years ago in a lecture by Timothy Wenk.

Hope that helps!

Sincerely,
David
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Re: Credit Question: Silk from Spectator's Sleeve Using a Thumbtip

Postby David Oliver » January 16th, 2011, 2:34 am

Head Genii -

As with David Garrity, I had seen Tim Wenk lecture (around 1987?), but I had already been doing the effect myself for about 7-8 years prior to that point. I remember thinking how cool it was to "think like the pros" at the time. Not sure who else may have published it.

I vividly recall being directly inspired at a kid show I performed at when I was 14 or 15. I had vanished the silk, then pulled it out of my other empty fist (standard stuff we all have done). One kid said "It was up your sleeve!" and the kid next to him, without missing a beat, immediately said, "make it go up MY sleeve!" I was a fearless rookie, and thought, "ok." So, I did it again. That was my first time. It was rough, but the seed was planted. Around that time I also started doing restaurants, and it became a staple of my repertoire then.

Better handling worked its' way out over the years, and I still use it to this day, to great response. Not saying I invented it, because I always thought this is one of those things that MUST have multiple origins. Maybe it's not as common or standard as I thought. But I have used it, and have been doing it since around 1979, 1980.

Anyone else? Bueller? Bueller?

The Klause bit with the spongeball actually did inspire a spongeball bit I do, only without the tip. But that was a few years later (around 1990?). It's another very strong bit, that, believe it or not, started my lifelong friendship with Bob Elliott because it had fooled him so badly. After he saw it, he started calling me "the Spongeball King." I always chuckled over that.
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Re: Credit Question: Silk from Spectator's Sleeve Using a Thumbtip

Postby Bill Palmer » January 16th, 2011, 4:27 am

I got the idea for doing it from Roger Klause's spongeball routine. However, I was fairly certain someone else had done it with a silk before I did.
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Re: Credit Question: Silk from Spectator's Sleeve Using a Thumbtip

Postby Tom Stone » January 16th, 2011, 6:05 am

Richard Kaufman wrote:See subject: anyone know who should be credit for this?

I think this is one of those things that many people comes up with, independently. I know, at least, that I started doing it without picking it from someone else.

A later favorite was to produce the silk from inside a spectator's tie, and then immediately, follow it with Mark Sicher's gag of pulling the tie's lining out.

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Re: Credit Question: Silk from Spectator's Sleeve Using a Thumbtip

Postby mrgoat » January 16th, 2011, 7:37 am

I'm working on a variation of this, combining it with Ms Ursula Andress' thumb tip work.

Admittedly, it got some shocked looks when I tried it at a wedding last week, but the photographer got an unusual shot for his portfolio.

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Re: Credit Question: Silk from Spectator's Sleeve Using a Thumbtip

Postby IrishMagicNews » January 16th, 2011, 9:03 am

Speaking of Ms Andress.

I saw her as part of the Speigeltent show in Dublin a couple of years back. She did three acts, the one we all know and are mystified by her for, a ukelele singing bit and a 'flash paper underwear/fire breathing' thingy.

The uke bit was actually very good. The rest well not so.

Sorry to go off topic just sprang to mind.

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Re: Credit Question: Silk from Spectator's Sleeve Using a Thumbtip

Postby AJM » January 16th, 2011, 9:43 am

Correct me if I'm wrong, but wasn't Ursula Andress the sexy siren who emerged from the waves in 'that' bikini in the 1962 film Dr No?

I think the Ursula we're referring to here is Martinez - she wears a bikini too, at least for a short while.

HTH

Andrew

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Re: Credit Question: Silk from Spectator's Sleeve Using a Thumbtip

Postby Richard Kaufman » January 16th, 2011, 10:41 am

Ursula Andress: Wears fabric bikini in Dr. No.
Ursula Martinez: Wears flash-paper bikini in Fringe Festival.

Which one will be remembered in 50 years?
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Re: Credit Question: Silk from Spectator's Sleeve Using a Thumbtip

Postby Doc Dixon » January 16th, 2011, 11:08 am

Richard Kaufman wrote:Ursula Andress: Wears fabric bikini in Dr. No.
Ursula Martinez: Wears flash-paper bikini in Fringe Festival.

Which one will be remembered in 50 years?


Considering Andress' appearance was just two shy of fifty years ago and we will still remember, smart money is on her.

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Re: Credit Question: Silk from Spectator's Sleeve Using a Thumbtip

Postby Glenn Bishop » January 16th, 2011, 11:30 am

Richard Kaufman wrote:See subject: anyone know who should be credit for this?
I know that Klause used to pull a spongeball from the spectator's sleeve with a thumbtip.


Pulling a silk or a dollar bill from the sleeve of a spectator was done back in the 70's at the old Marshall Brodien magic shop at Old Chicago Amusement park.

As part of a routine to sell thumb tips and the thumb tip book by the magicians that demonstrated magic there. If I remember right one of the magicians that used to play with this idea was Ken Tazlar.

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Re: Credit Question: Silk from Spectator's Sleeve Using a Thumbtip

Postby mrgoat » January 17th, 2011, 5:39 am

Sorry for the confusion, I meant Martinez. It was just a cheap joke about the idea of making a silk appear in a spectator's vagine.

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Re: Credit Question: Silk from Spectator's Sleeve Using a Thumbtip

Postby Jonathan Townsend » January 17th, 2011, 11:17 am

mrgoat - that's a novel version of "drop the hanky" though not likely popular outside of nude resorts.
Wasn't there a male version of that done as a semi-parody video a couple of years ago?

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Re: Credit Question: Silk from Spectator's Sleeve Using a Thumbtip

Postby Richard Kaufman » January 17th, 2011, 11:21 am

Okay, okay, enough about Ms. Martinez. We've already run that conversation into the ground.
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Re: Credit Question: Silk from Spectator's Sleeve Using a Thumbtip

Postby Joe Pecore » January 17th, 2011, 6:16 pm

Found this in the February 1957 issue of MUM on Abbott's Advertising page (page 399) http://askalexander.org/displaypdf.cgi?pid=1342372


BODY LOADING AND PRODUCTIONS
An easy-to-read-and-understand book, giving Eddie Joseph's own series of production effects for the first time, including all the necessary secrets and methods for doing different effects, such as pulling a stocking a spectator's sleeve....
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Re: Credit Question: Silk from Spectator's Sleeve Using a Thumbtip

Postby Bill Mullins » January 18th, 2011, 12:50 am

An ad for the same Eddie Joseph book appears in the Jan 1952 Genii.

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Re: Credit Question: Silk from Spectator's Sleeve Using a Thumbtip

Postby Philippe Billot » January 18th, 2011, 2:55 am

This book was published in 1950 (see Tops, vol. 15, no. 1, january 1950, page 3)and there is no thumb tip used to produce something from a spectator's vest, pocket or sleeve.
It's a very good book and I think the technique to production a bottle in a spectator's coat was described for the first time.

I check in Milbourne Christopher's 50 Tricks with a Thumb Tip (1948) but no production in the spectator's sleeve.


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