The Lives of a Showman

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performer
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The Lives of a Showman

Postby performer » July 31st, 2016, 6:14 am

It occurs to me that I hardly ever promote my products mainly because I am too busy pontificating about other matters and besides I am too lazy. Anyway, I have decided to exert myself to advertise my most wondrous memoirs which oddly enough have attracted some very positive reviews. There was only one snarky and insensitive review but that was from some silly Magic Circle person so of course it doesn't count.

Anyway here you are:

https://www.amazon.com/Lives-Showman-Ma ... 0986732907

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby performer » July 31st, 2016, 6:18 am

Oh, and while I am at it here is my author's page. I must say I feel terribly distinguished to have to have such a thing.

https://www.amazon.com/Mark-Lewis/e/B00 ... pop_book_1

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Mahdi Gilbert
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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby Mahdi Gilbert » August 2nd, 2016, 9:22 am

Looking forward to reading this when you lend me a copy Mark.

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby performer » August 2nd, 2016, 2:33 pm

LEND you a copy? LEND!
You are supposed to buy them you know. LIke your silly red hats to "make magic great" again.

Oh, very well. Since you have given me sufficient praise and glory on the other thread I shall GIVE you a copy free of charge. I am always susceptible to flattery. However, you will have to promise me that when you write out your patter you won't learn it off by heart and sound like those dreadful "magicians" who have taken acting training. I will tell you how to go about things properly so you don't sound like you are reciting from Hamlet when all you are trying to do is a card trick.

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby Joe Mckay » August 18th, 2016, 3:12 pm

Hey Mark,

The September 2016 issue of GENII has a lovely new move for use with Svengali deck. It is the best display I have seen for this deck (and I have read your book).

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby performer » August 18th, 2016, 4:54 pm

Fiddlesticks! I shall believe it when I see it!

Who came up with it anyway?

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby Joe Mckay » August 18th, 2016, 5:23 pm

It is called The O'Ferrall Display and is by a chap called Jafo.

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby lybrary » August 18th, 2016, 5:55 pm

performer wrote:Oh, and while I am at it here is my author's page. I must say I feel terribly distinguished to have to have such a thing.


Mark you can feel twice as distinguished because you also have an author page on Lybrary.com http://www.lybrary.com/mark-lewis-m-70610.html And we can all be honest and agree that the Lybrary.com one is a lot better :D
Lybrary.com Magic & Gambling
preserving magic one book at a time

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby performer » August 18th, 2016, 6:18 pm

Joe Mckay wrote:It is called The O'Ferrall Display and is by a chap called Jafo.


I just saw a vídeo of it. It is a mere in - the-hands display and not terribly spectacular.
Naturally not in the same league as muy most wondrous spread move. I will check it out further when I get a chance though.

However I know it already! I was annoying some Green magician on alt magic years ago and he tried to annoy me in return byt telling me he had a far better way of doing the svengali deck than me and described essentlally the same move under discusión. Itold him his description was awful and I did not understand it and it was all Greek to me. He retorted that every magician un Greece knew the move and in return I made some rude remarks about Turkey invading.

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby performer » August 18th, 2016, 6:29 pm

lybrary wrote:
performer wrote:Oh, and while I am at it here is my author's page. I must say I feel terribly distinguished to have to have such a thing.


Mark you can feel twice as distinguished because you also have an author page on Lybrary.com http://www.lybrary.com/mark-lewis-m-70610.html And we can all be honest and agree that the Lybrary.com one is a lot better :D


Indeed but the Amazon page has more pretty colours!

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby performer » August 22nd, 2016, 5:23 pm

I have been reading the old thread from alt.magic. A very odd Greek magician by the name of Jason something or other was arguing with me and trying to tell me about all the moves with the svengali deck which are eons old in Greece but nobody had ever heard of them in North America. Alas I couldn't understand his descriptions as his English was poor. I do vaguely remember that one of the moves was a bit like the one in Genii.

Here is another one of his descriptions. I can't really make head or tail of it but maybe someone else can:

"I will tell you some get-ready moves if you can't think of any. They are
pretty easy. Try lifting the whole deck holding only the short edges. You
will notice that if you do not apply much pressure the short cards will stay
down. Lift half a centimeter and then apply pressure and keep on lifting.
You get your prepared deck in hand and can spread it either way. You can
also fan it close the fan and re-fan with this technique. There is another
getready move done on the table instead of your hand. Hold the cards
vertical with long side touching the table. Hold them loosely. To spread the
on the table you would normaly drop the deck horizontal on the table. Use
your finger or just lift it a little before dropping so that the "pivot"
point is 1cm away from the deck. There are many other techniques and I am
surely open to new ones if anyone can think something.
Now for the other move. The double domino flip or whatever you can call it.
I didn't manage to learn much. Only one vital detail. The deck is a stripper
svengali with the short cards being inverted. Any ideas are welcome. I like
this move and I want to learn it."

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby performer » August 22nd, 2016, 5:24 pm

I have been reading the old thread from alt.magic. A very odd Greek magician by the name of Jason something or other was arguing with me and trying to tell me about all the moves with the svengali deck which are eons old in Greece but nobody had ever heard of them in North America. Alas I couldn't understand his descriptions as his English was poor. I do vaguely remember that one of the moves was a bit like the one in Genii.

Here is another one of his descriptions. I can't really make head or tail of it but maybe someone else can:

"I will tell you some get-ready moves if you can't think of any. They are
pretty easy. Try lifting the whole deck holding only the short edges. You
will notice that if you do not apply much pressure the short cards will stay
down. Lift half a centimeter and then apply pressure and keep on lifting.
You get your prepared deck in hand and can spread it either way. You can
also fan it close the fan and re-fan with this technique. There is another
getready move done on the table instead of your hand. Hold the cards
vertical with long side touching the table. Hold them loosely. To spread the
on the table you would normaly drop the deck horizontal on the table. Use
your finger or just lift it a little before dropping so that the "pivot"
point is 1cm away from the deck. There are many other techniques and I am
surely open to new ones if anyone can think something.
Now for the other move. The double domino flip or whatever you can call it.
I didn't manage to learn much. Only one vital detail. The deck is a stripper
svengali with the short cards being inverted. Any ideas are welcome. I like
this move and I want to learn it."

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby performer » August 23rd, 2016, 9:51 am

Curiouser and curiouser. I have now had a chance to view the video in question a bit more thoroughly. I will comment on it and the move once I have had a proper look at it. However, it seems the chap doing it is a guy named Jason Fields. I was arguing with someone called Jason on alt. magic around 15 years ago or so concerning the svengali deck. I was informing him that I was the greatest svengali expert of all time and he took exception to this saying that he was and he kept rattling off all sorts of moves to me that I could not understand because of his lack of literary skills.

I wonder if this is he on the video doing the svengali move. The only thing is that I was arguing with a Greek Jason. This guy does not sound Greek on the video. Furthermore he said he was a juggler and lived in Greece. This chap seems to be resident in Florida so I have no idea if it is the same Jason. The video does show something like he was describing on alt.magic. How practical the move is in actual performance I have no idea. It is the get ready that looks a bit iffy to me. I can't take up valuable seconds when working. And of course a spread in the hands is nowhere near as spectacular or effective and showy as a long spread on the table.

I will not post the link to the video as it seems to be a private one. It does seem to be a technically demanding and difficult move and it may not be worth the effort particularly as there are easier and more effective ways available to achieve the same ends. Besides the sort of people who like difficult moves are not generally the sort of people who like to play with svengali decks.

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby MagiCanuck » August 23rd, 2016, 6:10 pm

"Lives of a Showman" - a belated review

This is actually a very good read.

Full disclosure: I paid full retail for my copy (which no doubt will please its author even more so than my words. As he would almost certainly agree, you can't eat praise. ) I also attended its official launch party several years ago at the renown Browser's Den of Magic in Toronto as a member of the general public.

Frankly, I had no idea I would enjoy it as much as I did.

Beyond the colourful characters and entertaining personal recollections (as well as iterations of its author's idiosyncratic philosophies of life) what surprised and delighted me most was that this memoir also has heart. Those who have read it will know it contains an emotionally intense description of a very fraught encounter. This is not just a series of amusing anecdotes (although the book is full of them); this is the story of a living, breathing, feeling individual with greater appreciation of the human condition than his infamous public persona would seem to suggest.

Many of its most memorable passages seem cinematic in composition. They are written with a strong visual component; indeed, if any film producer is looking for source material about an almost Dickensian life set in the world of magic and grafting they would do well to find a copy and immediately begin negotiations.

I have heard rumours that an earlier version was being supervised by a well-meaning editor who wanted to remove all of its most meandering, self-indulgent, quirky qualities. We can be grateful that this was not the book that emerged.

"Lives of a Showman" is a well-written, greatly intriguing account of a complex and contradictory real-life character who - as the title implies - has experienced a variety of different, difficult and often painful lives. Many of them may even be true. :-)

I'm not sure I understand its author any better but I am glad he wrote it and I am even more glad I have read it and own a copy.

Highly recommended.

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby performer » August 23rd, 2016, 11:31 pm

I thank the above poster for his review. Furthermore I can assure him that EVERYTHING in the book is true! There are still witnesses around who can confirm the incidents described.

At first I was wondering who wrote the above review. Obviously a Canadian of some kind. However, on researching his other posts it dawned on me who it was. He is a professional writer and of course I find positive reviews from such a source to be particularly gratifying. I do thank him again for it.

There were indeed editorial differences but the "well meaning editor" in question was actually the person who originally came up with the concept of the book in the first place as well as the title and for this at least he should certainly be given credit.

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby performer » August 24th, 2016, 5:09 pm

Interestingly enough my reviewer has put together as a labour of love a website devoted to Johnny Giordemaine which is worth checking out. Here it is:

http://www.johngiordmaine.com/

I never met Johnny as I first infested Canada just after he passed away. I used to come here and work at Christmas and then go back with my ill gotten gains to Britain. Everyone used to talk about Johnny in Toronto when I was here and some of them still do, both laymen and magicians. I heard he was a real entertainer.

He worked in Eatons department store for decades as an employee selling magic tricks. After he died I used to run svengali deck promotions in the very same store over the Christmas period. I remember there was a lady there by the name of Mrs Noseworthy who knew Johnny so naturally I asked her about him. She told me, "Johnny worked here 30 years and he was so pleased when it was time to retire. He said to me, "Mrs Noseworthy, this means I won't have to tell lies any more." I am not quite sure what he meant by that-perhaps it had to do with the magic tricks he used to sell. I am not afflicted with this ailment myself and I am perfectly happy to tell lies to get people's money with the svengali deck. It is part of the job description after all.

Anyway, I asked Mrs Noseworthy why he said that and her response was merely, "Johnny was very religious you know". She never expanded on that so I have no idea what he was forced to tell lies about.

I wish I had met him. I would have taught him to anaesthetise his conscience with great efficiency.

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby MagicbyAlfred » August 24th, 2016, 6:49 pm

I am happy Performer shared this link regarding Johnny Giordmaine You won't be sorry if you explore the treasure trove of articles and information about him you will find at the link. It is filled with delightful gems about the man and his work in the magical arena, and is super-inspiring. It will light up your heart.

Reading about Johnny brought me to the verge of tears and really has given me a new burst of magical adrenalin.
On of the most amazing things I learned about Johnny, among many, was that he commenced studies with Tarbell. To pass the course, he had to memorize every one of its thousands of tricks.

As to Johnny's religiousness of which Mrs. Noseworthy spoke, she must have been referring to the fact that he was a devout practicing Roman Catholic. Interesting that he spent the better part of his life telling what he considered to be lies in conflict with his religious creed, which forbade lying. But then there is lying, and there is lying, one being harmless. But I don't know if he made that distinction, and I guess guilt finds a way to rear its head one way or the other.

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby performer » August 24th, 2016, 7:45 pm

To be honest I am not sure what Johnny meant by not having to lie any more. It may have been some department store matter involving his employer rather than the selling of tricks. I wish I had pressed Mrs Noseworthy for more information concerning the matter.

One thing I heard about Johnny is that he would frequently be hired by Lady Simpson at Christmas to entertain the children. Simpsons deparment store was the deadly rival to Eatons. It seems he got quite a kick out of working for his employer's deadly rival.

I also worked at Simpson's and used to play one store against the other for business purposes. I often do that when dealing with two companies in competition with each other. I used to get great joy when Simpsons employees would come in secretly to check the prices of the merchandise in the toy department of Eatons. They would be taking surreptitious notes and I would yell out, "The spies are in today" and embarrass them. They would put their fingers to their lips and say "shh" to me.

To this day I am still amazed at an incredible coincidence regarding Simpson's. There was a store detective there who looked very familiar to me. And when I heard his Irish accent I realised exactly who he was. He was also employed at an Irish department store I worked at and used to come watching me all the time. He emigrated to Canada and got a job in Simpsons doing the same kind of work and used to come and watch me just as he did in the Irish store!

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby MagiCanuck » August 25th, 2016, 2:19 pm

Mark, many thanks for your very generous and completely unexpected reference to my tribute site. It is greatly appreciated.

I have no doubt you would have enjoyed meeting Johnny. As I have no doubt he would have enjoyed meeting you too. And reading your wonderful memoirs!

MagicbyAlfred, thank you for your kind thoughts.

Johnny Giordmaine was a really fine magician, a true gentleman and an exceptionally good human being.

Indeed, even to this day, I still find inspiration in his memory. That's why (in part) I created the website - I wanted to share that inspiration with others.

I'm so pleased you found it and enjoyed it.

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby performer » August 25th, 2016, 4:57 pm

I performed at an old age home in Toronto for a couple of years and on both occasions the same elderly gentleman would ask me if I had ever heard of Johnny Giordmaine. Interestingly enough the Canadian government had heard of him. A number of decades ago I saw an advertisement in the "Stage" newspaper, (a theatrical paper in the UK) looking for entertainers to work in Canada. The contact number seemed to be the Canadian Embassy in London. However, they didn't seem to know anything about it. I remember going down there and talked to two Canadian guys in a room. One had a faint interest in magic as I recall. They didn't seem to know anything about the advertisement but they told me they would look into it. They seemed to think I would do better in the United States. Anyway, they said they would look into the matter and that was that. This was many, many years before I started to work in Canada.

Lo and behold a couple of weeks later a letter from the embassy arrived with two names and addresses of prominent Canadian magicians who they deemed might be of assistance to me. One was Sid Lorraine and the other was Johnny Giordmaine. I never did anything about it but it was interesting that the Canadian government knew about them.


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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby MagiCanuck » August 28th, 2016, 12:22 am

I asked Johnny Giordmaine's son Joseph for his thoughts on the Mrs Noseworthy quote noted by Mark in one of his posts (above). He was kind enough to send along these words for use on this thread:

--

My father demonstrated and sold close-up magic tricks in Eaton’s toy department for decades, entertaining thousands of visitors and inspiring many young people to take up magic seriously. His performances of effects like the multiplying balls were awesome, and in the hands of a master could look deceptively easy. Dad was always careful to make some remark like “this takes only 15 minutes practice….. for twenty years!”.  But I’m sure that beginners often found when they got home with their purchase that it was a lot harder than they expected. I occasionally sensed that Dad at some deep level was just uncomfortable with having to disguise the art to make the sale. If the Mrs. Noseworthy quote is accurate, I believe that this tension is one reason for Dad’s being relieved that it was time to retire from Eaton’s.

- Joseph Giordmaine

---

So I think that throws some definitive light on the matter!

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby performer » August 28th, 2016, 6:09 am

Ah! That must be it!

Naturally I have a different attitude to these matters. I would not be able to sleep at night if I thought my punters were getting value for money. I have always made sure the instructions to anything I sold were as incomprehensible as possible. One does have to protect the secrets of magic you know. I really should be given an award from the Magic Castle for doing so.

When people come back asking to have the trick explained I just snarl, "read the instructions" and of course I never see them again. I have never been a one to encourage repeat business otherwise they stand around all day for a free show. Of course this mode of operation works best if you only have a few items for sale. I suppose if you had a large variety of magic then you have to be a bit nicer.

But then have you ever seen a happy magic dealer? Think about it. I have always said anyone that sells fun should be as miserable as possible. It really is a job requirement. And I am delighted to say that most dealers fit into that category. And all of you would be too if you had to deal with all the daft people you talk to all day.

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby Joe Mckay » November 17th, 2016, 5:58 pm

Just finished reading this.

What a life Mark has led.

And the last couple of chapters were really quite moving. Mark is a really warm hearted guy.

Very interesting book. There is no other book like it in magic.

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby performer » November 17th, 2016, 10:00 pm

In that case it is about time I made some money out of it. I don't make anything when you buy it from Amazon so I suggest you all purchase it direct from ME at http://www.marklewisentertainment.com/h ... cians.html

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby performer » November 23rd, 2016, 6:36 am

I don't seem to be getting any money out of this useless lot but I have just had a brilliant idea that might just do it! Never mind my book. I have a most wondrous offer that has just come into my head that might just do it!

I completely forgot that I have a special deal to offer. I can sell a three 90 minute DVD set that I produced some years ago on pitching svengali decks and other magic items such as the Dutch Looper, the mouse, the worm and the cups and sponges. Explanations of the mechanics of these tricks are explained and more importantly how to deprive the punters of their money and put it in your pocket instead of theirs. I am rather good at this you know having done it for over 50 years.
I have sold 400 decks a day at Christmas in several countries including Her Majesty's Realm of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland.
However, as part of this deal I will also give away FREE my Long and the Short of it book which is the finest book on the svengali deck in existence. And the greatest routine of all time.
But not only that I will also give away FREE my most wondrous book on Marmaduke the Wonder Mouse and include a free mouse. This is a wonderful pitch item and makes a good "lump up" item. I don't suppose any of you innocent people know what a "lump up" is but once you start in the grafting business you will soon find out.
And on top of all this I will include a top secret manuscript on the Dutch Looper otherwise known as the grafter's three card trick.
And how much do I want for all this extravaganza?
A mere $100. You can pay by paypal. Oh, plus $40 postage. I will have to be contacted by private message or email since this offer is not on my website since I don't understand complicated things like that.
If by chance you already have one or two of the items listed you can give away the surplus as a Christmas present or sell it on E-Bay or the next auction at your magic club. I don't really care.
Anyway that is the deal. I expect you all to get your money out immediately and learn how to rip off the public in the most efficient manner possible.

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby performer » November 23rd, 2016, 9:47 am

Oops! I just realised that $40 price for postage was to the UK only. To American and other parts of Canada it would probably be cheaper. Mind you mail to Britain is faster than mail to America which is just next door. And even other parts of Canada. If I send a package to Manchester it will get there in half the time it would take to New York. Or even shorter. I have always found that odd I must say.

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby performer » November 24th, 2016, 4:21 pm

Aha! I have been able to get the postage costs down a trifle by putting all three DVDS in one case. Only $25 now! to the UK. Even cheaper within North America.

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby Jafo38506 » January 4th, 2018, 2:45 pm

performer wrote:...it seems the chap doing it is a guy named Jason Fields. I was arguing with someone called Jason on alt. magic around 15 years ago or so concerning the svengali deck.


Funny, my name is Jason, but I'm not Greek. Nor have I ever been on alt.magic.

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby performer » January 4th, 2018, 3:10 pm

How very odd. Are you the guy on the video? And if you are, then are you saying you did not write the remarks I quoted? This fellow was definitely Greek and his name was definitely Jason. And what he described seemed a bit like what was on the video. I shall try to find that thread on alt.magic again. It was many years ago so has probably disappeared by now.

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby Bibliophage » January 5th, 2018, 5:26 pm

The short-long sidejog is good but Bill Kalush, Chris Kenner and Michael Webber were all doing it with Mene-Tekel decks more than 25 years ago, so while Jafo may be the first to have the idea in print, the idea is far from new.

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby performer » January 8th, 2018, 1:16 pm

I am not overly keen on it no matter who the bloody hell came up with it!

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby Jafo38506 » September 24th, 2018, 5:18 pm

performer wrote:How very odd. Are you the guy on the video? And if you are, then are you saying you did not write the remarks I quoted? This fellow was definitely Greek and his name was definitely Jason. And what he described seemed a bit like what was on the video. I shall try to find that thread on alt.magic again. It was many years ago so has probably disappeared by now.

I am the guy in the video. I've never been on alt.magic, plus I'm a Tennessean - not Greek lol. So no, I'm not the guy in the discussion. Just a coincidence in the name.
Bibliophage wrote:...so while Jafo may be the first to have the idea in print, the idea is far from new.

Oh, I have no doubt that this has been independently discovered by who knows how many in the past - I only started my work on this back around '04 or '05. I'd love to see the ideas and work from others on this as well.

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby performer » September 24th, 2018, 6:55 pm

In that case I suppose I had better show you my routine. All sorts of unusual moves that I have stolen from various sources.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?time_cont ... MacPlKVKQo

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby Jafo38506 » October 8th, 2018, 5:23 pm

performer wrote:In that case I suppose I had better show you my routine. All sorts of unusual moves that I have stolen from various sources.


Oh nice! Thanks for sharing that.

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Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby performer » October 8th, 2018, 6:13 pm

Jafo38506 wrote:
performer wrote:In that case I suppose I had better show you my routine. All sorts of unusual moves that I have stolen from various sources.


Oh nice! Thanks for sharing that.


Actually that video does not show you all the weird and unusual moves I stole after all. However, I do have another alternative. If you go to
http://www.marklewisentertainment.com/h ... eshow.html at the bottom of the page you can download a very poor quality video showing the trick again but this time with the inclusion of 4 unusual moves that are not in the other video. You will also see what is known as a "rehash" trick which is used to lengthen the demonstration when considered necessary. I apologise for the poor quality of the video but I think you will find the moves of interest and hopefully you will be able to see them properly.

The first move is at 2.53 and is known as the Stuthard Drop. I am pretty sure it was invented by Joe Stuthard whom I have talked about in the past.
The second move is at 3.18 and was invented by a non-magician known as Jackie Cook. Jackie was a svengali pitchman and the deck was the only magic trick he knew.
At 5.59 you will see a move showing the cards to be all the same. I have no idea what it is called but I learned it from David Walker a famous American svengali pitchman.
Finally, it is possible to fan a svengali deck showing the cards to be either all the same or all different. This move is shown at 6.24

performer
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Joined: August 7th, 2015, 10:35 pm

Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby performer » October 8th, 2018, 6:16 pm

Oh, and I can do the pitch in Russian too! However, I wish to deny any suggestion that I have been interfering with the US election processes.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-5QIAVxICJk

performer
Posts: 3508
Joined: August 7th, 2015, 10:35 pm

Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby performer » October 8th, 2018, 6:53 pm

There is one more move with the svengali deck which is not shown in the video. I hardly ever use it but it may be of interest nevertheless. Alas I cannot reproduce illustrations of the move but they are in my most wondrous "The Long and the Short of It" book on the svengali deck. Here is the description:

Hold the deck face outwards with one long edge against the table. The other long edge will be facing you. The deck is held in the right hand, thumb at the very edge of the corner nearest you and the second finger at the very edge of the corner away from you. The index finger presses on the back of the deck so that it is bent slightly. Tilt the hand to the right forming a small bevel in this direction.

Now move the deck to the right gently releasing cards from the tip of thumb and second finger. The index finger continues to apply pressure against the back of the deck.

This gentle action allows cards to slide down to the table in an overlapping manner. The interesting thing is that the cards will fall face upwards showing indifferent cards. The key cards will be completely hidden if the move is done well.

There. See if you can figure out the explanation from the above description without the aid of illustrations. Crusty old Wilfrid Jonson once wrote that it is "only an inattentive reader and an incompetent author who requires batteries of drawings to amplify the text". We will now be able to see how incompetent I am and how inattentive you are!

I think Wilfrid had a point at least where photographs are concerned. I was driven nuts by all the photographs in both the Ganson and Fulves books on the works of Slydini. I found it a very irritating way to learn his techniques. The Slydini Encores book was far easier to read because of the far fewer photographs.

Jafo38506
Posts: 4
Joined: January 2nd, 2018, 11:23 pm
Favorite Magician: Teller

Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby Jafo38506 » October 8th, 2018, 11:36 pm

performer wrote:words


Thanks for all the extra info. Also, that video is in the old Real Media format. I had difficulty playing it until I transcoded it. If you want a copy of that video in mp4 format, reach me through facebook (https://www.facebook.com/theuncannyjafo) and I'll send you a link.

That move at 5:59 is real similar to something we used to do when pitching Svengali at Universal Studios. Except after all the cards were sprung onto the waiting left hand, the right hand would come down on top of the display, fingers first and grab half of the cards. Then both hands would come up with about half the deck each, up to shoulder level, and display all the same cards to the audience (we had 20-30 people at a time watching our demos, so we had to give the clearest display to everyone).

performer
Posts: 3508
Joined: August 7th, 2015, 10:35 pm

Re: The Lives of a Showman

Postby performer » October 9th, 2018, 12:36 am

Alas technology is beyond me and I haven't the slightest idea what MP4 format even means but I shall take your word that you do therefore I will indeed contact you on facebook for the link. I will never put it on the website because I am not even quite sure what websites are for but at least I will be able to view my own video properly once again. I do thank you kindly for the offer.


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