Bob Read book

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Bob Read book

Postby Guest » January 5th, 2008, 5:33 pm

There was mention of a new Bob Read book on the Magic Caf. This would be published by Kaufman and Co. Is this factual?

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Richard Kaufman
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Re: Bob Read book

Postby Richard Kaufman » January 5th, 2008, 6:23 pm

No, there is no Bob Read book and there will be none.

All of Bob's existing books and lecture notes are included as pdf files on the new four DVD set on Bob from International Magic in London.
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Guest

Re: Bob Read book

Postby Guest » January 15th, 2008, 7:37 am

It is a WONDERFUL collection!

My only disappointment was that there was no video of Mr. Read performing his penultimate cups and balls routine. Nobody loved the cups more than Mr. Read, his routine is fantastic, and hysterical. It is a shame that performance video wasn't included. But, it is still worth every penny of the asking price, the pdfs of the manuscripts alone are worth the asking price. Just great, great, stuff! He truly was a genius and a wonderful performer.

Best,

Dan-

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Re: Bob Read book

Postby Richard Kaufman » January 15th, 2008, 7:46 am

Bob's props were stolen from his car one day, many years ago, and he stopped performing the Penultimate Cups and Balls after that.
While he did do it once in a while, it was no longer the staple of his act that it had been. Because of that, we were unable to locate video of it in good enough quality to include it on the four DVD set.
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Re: Bob Read book

Postby Bob Farmer » January 15th, 2008, 2:47 pm

I may be wrong about this, but I believe that Bob performed it at FFFF and it was taped (just like all the other acts).

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Re: Bob Read book

Postby Guest » January 15th, 2008, 3:14 pm

Does the DVD set contain:-

1.
performance and/or explanation footage of Bob's legendary bottle production

2.
footage of Bob's performance at the Magic Circle Centenary celebrations in 2005?

Cheers

Andrew

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Re: Bob Read book

Postby Richard Kaufman » January 15th, 2008, 4:14 pm

AJM, the four DVDs contain many performances of the Bottle Production, using three different kinds of effects for cover (one of which I'd never seen before). And it is thoroughly explained--and I mean thoroughly! I videotaped the explanation and it goes on for over 30 minutes.

And, yes, his final performance at the Magic Circle Centenary is on the tape in full--32 minutes.

There are over 8 hours of video on the four discs, plus all of Bob's books, booklets, lecture notes as pdf files on the fourth disc.
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Re: Bob Read book

Postby Guest » January 15th, 2008, 5:43 pm

A few years back, i attended the McMillan London international magic convention. After a long day of watching magic competitors and the occasional lecture, we reached an end at 11 o clock at night, where most of the attendees were tired from having been there the whole day.

Most people were leaving or about to leave and so was i, til i turned to my right and saw Bob Read chatting to someone. He said then that no he wasn't competing but that he'd just do a few bits.

He went on momentarily and i think his appearance was not on the schedule so there were only about 15 people or so left.

His few bits rocked! From his coins and silk to the bottle production and then the newspaper hat act to the card trick about the soldiers prayerbook and the chop cup with the newspaper wrapped cups.

He was just so funny with the non-sequitors and the magic hit me hard, even though i had read 'Thank for Pepys'.

To be honest, most magic competitors are bad, and having to sit through a lot of them to watch a good one can be very tiring. Watching Bob Read after that was like watching a legend after amateur nite.

Easily this was probably the best live performance of magic i got to see.

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Re: Bob Read book

Postby Richard Kaufman » January 15th, 2008, 6:02 pm

You're lucky, Seth--in fact anyone who got to see Bob perform live was lucky. Yet he was so ubiquitous, around so much, that it was easy to take him for granted. Not anymore!
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Re: Bob Read book

Postby Guest » January 15th, 2008, 6:23 pm

When the IBM convention was in Quebec, Bob was on the bill for close up. He did his normal 10 minutes in each room but when he got done in his last scheduled room he asked the audience if they would like him to continue. Everyone, of course, said yes and Bob had the room rolling for at least another hour.

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Re: Bob Read book

Postby Guest » January 15th, 2008, 6:37 pm

Originally posted by Randy DiMarco:
When the IBM convention was in Quebec, Bob was on the bill for close up. He did his normal 10 minutes in each room but when he got done in his last scheduled room he asked the audience if they would like him to continue. Everyone, of course, said yes and Bob had the room rolling for at least another hour.
I was blessed to be sitting in the front row of that show. One of the best convention performances ever. Everyone left the show feeling like they experienced a one of a kind performer giving a once in a lifetime show. Beyond great.

DD

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Re: Bob Read book

Postby Richard Kaufman » January 15th, 2008, 6:47 pm

What's amazing is how often Bob was able to give his audience the feeling they were having a once-in-a-lifetime experience. That's true showmanship!
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