I have appeared with all sorts of stage acts in my time such as singers, comedians, jugglers, musicians and of course magicians. However, for the very first time in my long career I will be sharing a double bill with a psychic medium----note NOT a mentalist----a psychic medium! She will do an hour and then after an intermission I will do my hypnosis show.
Oddly enough I had forgotten how to do my stage hypnotism show because of the pandemic and I have been busy doing other things. I therefore had to learn it all over again. So where did I study how to do stage hypnosis all over again? My own book on the subject! I hope to God I had a good teacher!
Anyway here is a little promotional video of the event:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PSipAfdmrBs
Hypnosis Show
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Bob Farmer
- Posts: 3395
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Re: Hypnosis Show
Mark, you may not know this, but while representing Reveen, I broke the Ontario Hypnosis Act ban on stage hypnosis. It's a great story involving many characters, including The Great Morton, a crazed member of the Hat and Rabbit Club and a guy whose last name was Dedman (which I insisted on pronouncing as "Dead man" to his great annoyance).
Re: Hypnosis Show
I actually had something to do with that repeal of the hypnosis act myself although I don't doubt you had something to do with it too. If I get time I will relate the tale of how I approached the government in that matter and as a result of the conversations they started to send clients to me for hypnotherapy to my great amusement. And one day they phoned me to inform me the act had been repealed. I do know about the guy in the Hat and Rabbit club who was connected to the government and detested stage hypnotists. And what did he do after the act was repealed? He became a hypnotherapist!
Re: Hypnosis Show
Here is an extract from my literary masterpiece "The Lives of a Showman" concerning the matter.
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................
However, the hypnosis law was also on the books and it made life difficult for stage hypnotists in Ontario for quite a while. The story behind the law was quite interesting. It seems that there was a local amateur magician who was a physician and who held a post in the Ontario Ministry of Health. He lobbied against hypnosis and caused a law to be brought in saying that only a doctor or dentist could hypnotise anyone. This put paid to stage hypnotists of course but it also affected hypnotherapists who were not always medical doctors.
Now here is the amusing part. When this fellow retired from the ministry he also retired from medicine. However, he took up a new career. What was it? A hypnotherapist of course! By bringing in his law he effectively eliminated a great deal of his competition. Some people have all the nerve!
However, the hypnosis law was also on the books and it made life difficult for stage hypnotists in Ontario for quite a while. However when I first came to Canada and started to practice my hypnosis show I realised that this statute would be an obstacle to my ambitions in this regard. There were still a few stage hypnotists around despite the ruling because after the regulation had been around for a few years it wasn’t enforced terribly strongly. However, the stage hypnotists felt very uncomfortable concerning the matter. One fellow called himself a “mentalist” rather than a hypnotist. This caused confusion since up to that point the term “mentalists” referred to magicians who perform tricks with a mind reading theme in their acts.
Another stage hypnotist tried to get around the regulations in a clever way by advertising “The hypnotic artistry of…” filling in his name.
This was quite ingenious because it put the idea across that he was a hypnotist but it also could have meant that he was an excellent acrobat or ballet dancer.
I wanted no part of all these verbal shenanigans and I resolved to see if there was another way around the regulation. Consequently I phoned up various government departments to see if anybody knew anything about this law. Nobody did and in fact nobody had even heard of it. Finally I was referred to the Ministry of Health and, of course, they had never heard of the law either. They told me to get in touch with their legal department and gave me their phone number. I called and spoke to someone in a position of authority and guess what? You got it! They had never heard of the law either!
I explained that I was a stage hypnotist who had just emigrated from Ireland into Canada and I was anxious to comply with the law. However, in order to do so I needed to know what that law actually consisted of. They congratulated me on my good citizenship and responsible attitude informing me that they would get back by telephone after researching the matter.
After a week or so they were as good as their word and called me back to inform me that there was indeed a law against stage hypnosis but the reality was that it was never enforced. I told them that if it wasn’t enforced then what was the point of having it in the first place? Since the staff in the legal department knew nothing whatever about hypnosis they couldn’t answer the question. However, they advised me to just carry on doing my shows unless there was a complaint and someone in authority specifically told me to stop.
That was good enough for me for a while although I wasn’t entirely satisfied. However, I did notice a very odd thing. I would keep getting
phone calls asking for hypnotherapy sessions to stop smoking or lose weight. I did indeed do a bit of this and have had good results but I hadn’t advertised it in any way so I was a trifle puzzled as to where all these new enquiries were coming from. I asked the clients where they had heard of me and was greatly amused to hear that they had got my phone number from the Ontario Ministry of Health! It seems that when people phoned them up to recommend a hypnotherapist I was the one that they sent the referral to!
I reasoned that they therefore viewed me with favour and I called to thank them and kept in touch dropping joking hints that they were in fact breaking their own law by sending me clients when I wasn’t actually a doctor or dentist. Then one day, to my surprise, they phoned to inform me that the law had now been repealed. This was a cause of rejoicing among stage hypnotists and hypnotherapists. The amateur magician doctor turned hypnotherapist did not object since he was extremely dead at that point in time. I have always suspected, and in fact am reasonably certain, that I had something to do with making that particular law
disappear.
I am a magician after all.
..........................................................................................................................................................................................................
However, the hypnosis law was also on the books and it made life difficult for stage hypnotists in Ontario for quite a while. The story behind the law was quite interesting. It seems that there was a local amateur magician who was a physician and who held a post in the Ontario Ministry of Health. He lobbied against hypnosis and caused a law to be brought in saying that only a doctor or dentist could hypnotise anyone. This put paid to stage hypnotists of course but it also affected hypnotherapists who were not always medical doctors.
Now here is the amusing part. When this fellow retired from the ministry he also retired from medicine. However, he took up a new career. What was it? A hypnotherapist of course! By bringing in his law he effectively eliminated a great deal of his competition. Some people have all the nerve!
However, the hypnosis law was also on the books and it made life difficult for stage hypnotists in Ontario for quite a while. However when I first came to Canada and started to practice my hypnosis show I realised that this statute would be an obstacle to my ambitions in this regard. There were still a few stage hypnotists around despite the ruling because after the regulation had been around for a few years it wasn’t enforced terribly strongly. However, the stage hypnotists felt very uncomfortable concerning the matter. One fellow called himself a “mentalist” rather than a hypnotist. This caused confusion since up to that point the term “mentalists” referred to magicians who perform tricks with a mind reading theme in their acts.
Another stage hypnotist tried to get around the regulations in a clever way by advertising “The hypnotic artistry of…” filling in his name.
This was quite ingenious because it put the idea across that he was a hypnotist but it also could have meant that he was an excellent acrobat or ballet dancer.
I wanted no part of all these verbal shenanigans and I resolved to see if there was another way around the regulation. Consequently I phoned up various government departments to see if anybody knew anything about this law. Nobody did and in fact nobody had even heard of it. Finally I was referred to the Ministry of Health and, of course, they had never heard of the law either. They told me to get in touch with their legal department and gave me their phone number. I called and spoke to someone in a position of authority and guess what? You got it! They had never heard of the law either!
I explained that I was a stage hypnotist who had just emigrated from Ireland into Canada and I was anxious to comply with the law. However, in order to do so I needed to know what that law actually consisted of. They congratulated me on my good citizenship and responsible attitude informing me that they would get back by telephone after researching the matter.
After a week or so they were as good as their word and called me back to inform me that there was indeed a law against stage hypnosis but the reality was that it was never enforced. I told them that if it wasn’t enforced then what was the point of having it in the first place? Since the staff in the legal department knew nothing whatever about hypnosis they couldn’t answer the question. However, they advised me to just carry on doing my shows unless there was a complaint and someone in authority specifically told me to stop.
That was good enough for me for a while although I wasn’t entirely satisfied. However, I did notice a very odd thing. I would keep getting
phone calls asking for hypnotherapy sessions to stop smoking or lose weight. I did indeed do a bit of this and have had good results but I hadn’t advertised it in any way so I was a trifle puzzled as to where all these new enquiries were coming from. I asked the clients where they had heard of me and was greatly amused to hear that they had got my phone number from the Ontario Ministry of Health! It seems that when people phoned them up to recommend a hypnotherapist I was the one that they sent the referral to!
I reasoned that they therefore viewed me with favour and I called to thank them and kept in touch dropping joking hints that they were in fact breaking their own law by sending me clients when I wasn’t actually a doctor or dentist. Then one day, to my surprise, they phoned to inform me that the law had now been repealed. This was a cause of rejoicing among stage hypnotists and hypnotherapists. The amateur magician doctor turned hypnotherapist did not object since he was extremely dead at that point in time. I have always suspected, and in fact am reasonably certain, that I had something to do with making that particular law
disappear.
I am a magician after all.
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Bob Farmer
- Posts: 3395
- Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
- Location: Short card above selection.
Re: Hypnosis Show
Here's some more background.
"The guy" we're talking about was friends with The Great Morton. Apparently, TGM had some moves the guy wanted to learn but TGM refused to tip. They fell out and the guy, who was well connected with the government, told TGM he would put him out of business and managed--in one day--to have the Hypnosis Act passed.
I learned all this from a hypnotherapist who had an office in the lobby of my building. Once I told him I was representing Reveen he dropped the "professional" facade and became the carny I suspected he was and gave me the full story.
Now that I had "The Guy's" name, I approached him at the magic club, and without revealing my true interest, began asking him about hypnosis. He went babbling on about how powerful it was and topped off the discussion by telling me that with hypnosis you could communicate with the martians!
At the same time, I was in discussions with the Ministry of Health, who were charged with enforcing the Hypnosis Act. I had discovered that there was no accepted definition of hypnosis so how could you make a law outlawing it if you couldn't define it. The government doctor admitted they had no enforcement powers and merely sent out warning letters.
I also pointed out that there would be no way for someone in the audience to know if the person on stage was hypnotized (whatever that might mean) so any case would fail.
I was also thinking that if the government did bring some sort of action, I would get "the guy" into court to testify as to the origins of the Hypnosis Act and would ask him about talking to martians. I may have told the doctor this. He may have gulped.
Anyway, I called Reveen and he opened at the Royal York shortly thereafter.
Another time, the Toronto school board had banned a particular hypnotist from performing in the schools because, they claimed, he exercised mind control. I told him to say that if he indeed could exercise mind control, why didn't he make the Board change its mind.
"The guy" is also famous for another story. Max Maven was giving a theory lecture in Toronto. I introduced him as the sound of one man rapping. Max had made it clear that this was to be a theory lecture.
"The guy" was sitting about three feet from Max and as the lecture progressed he was getting more and more agitated. Suddenly, he jumped up and started yelling in a thick accent, "Zee trix!!! Zee trix!!! Vere are de trix! De trix! and then ran out the door.
Max continued. It was a great lecture.
"The guy" we're talking about was friends with The Great Morton. Apparently, TGM had some moves the guy wanted to learn but TGM refused to tip. They fell out and the guy, who was well connected with the government, told TGM he would put him out of business and managed--in one day--to have the Hypnosis Act passed.
I learned all this from a hypnotherapist who had an office in the lobby of my building. Once I told him I was representing Reveen he dropped the "professional" facade and became the carny I suspected he was and gave me the full story.
Now that I had "The Guy's" name, I approached him at the magic club, and without revealing my true interest, began asking him about hypnosis. He went babbling on about how powerful it was and topped off the discussion by telling me that with hypnosis you could communicate with the martians!
At the same time, I was in discussions with the Ministry of Health, who were charged with enforcing the Hypnosis Act. I had discovered that there was no accepted definition of hypnosis so how could you make a law outlawing it if you couldn't define it. The government doctor admitted they had no enforcement powers and merely sent out warning letters.
I also pointed out that there would be no way for someone in the audience to know if the person on stage was hypnotized (whatever that might mean) so any case would fail.
I was also thinking that if the government did bring some sort of action, I would get "the guy" into court to testify as to the origins of the Hypnosis Act and would ask him about talking to martians. I may have told the doctor this. He may have gulped.
Anyway, I called Reveen and he opened at the Royal York shortly thereafter.
Another time, the Toronto school board had banned a particular hypnotist from performing in the schools because, they claimed, he exercised mind control. I told him to say that if he indeed could exercise mind control, why didn't he make the Board change its mind.
"The guy" is also famous for another story. Max Maven was giving a theory lecture in Toronto. I introduced him as the sound of one man rapping. Max had made it clear that this was to be a theory lecture.
"The guy" was sitting about three feet from Max and as the lecture progressed he was getting more and more agitated. Suddenly, he jumped up and started yelling in a thick accent, "Zee trix!!! Zee trix!!! Vere are de trix! De trix! and then ran out the door.
Max continued. It was a great lecture.
Re: Hypnosis Show
What the Ontario government and others (including hypnotists!) don't realise is that there is a very good argument that hypnosis doesn't exist in the first place! Of course that is another discussion entirely. This excellent book gives the reasoning:
https://www.amazon.ca/They-Call-Hypnosi ... 0879755768
Incidentally, I do have a story about the Great Morton and how he got started in hypnosis. I will relate the story when I get time.
https://www.amazon.ca/They-Call-Hypnosi ... 0879755768
Incidentally, I do have a story about the Great Morton and how he got started in hypnosis. I will relate the story when I get time.
Re: Hypnosis Show
Here is my story about "The Great Morton" otherwise known as Tex Morton. This is an excerpt from my book on stage hypnosis (The Royal Road to Stage Hypnotism). The "cowboy singer" in this anecdote is the Morton in question.
...........................................................................................................................................................................................................
Once upon a time, a cowboy singer and a stage hypnotist were touring across America. The cowboy would open the show by doing his rope spinning and western songs after which the mesmerist would perform his spellbinding show. There was a certain amount of friction between the two entertainers mainly on account of the cowboy’s drinking habits. He would often perform in a state of intoxication that offended the
hypnotist’s sense of professionalism. One night, matters came to a head when the cowboy showed up for the performance even more inebriated than usual. The hypnotist was furious and refused to perform on the same stage as our alcoholic friend, whereupon the cowboy slurred, “Who cares if you don’t go on; I can do your act just as well as my own!” So saying, he staggered out on stage and recited the hypnotist’s patter word for word just as he had heard it every night for the preceding three months. He performed the hypnotist’s exact act and created a sensation. All the subjects went into trance and performed in the usual way despite the cowboy’s intoxication and lack of experience. After this incident, the cowboy and the hypnotist, not surprisingly, parted company. The sequel to the tale is that the cowboy turned hypnotist subsequently went on to become one of the most famous stage hypnotists of his generation.
...........................................................................................................................................................................................................
Once upon a time, a cowboy singer and a stage hypnotist were touring across America. The cowboy would open the show by doing his rope spinning and western songs after which the mesmerist would perform his spellbinding show. There was a certain amount of friction between the two entertainers mainly on account of the cowboy’s drinking habits. He would often perform in a state of intoxication that offended the
hypnotist’s sense of professionalism. One night, matters came to a head when the cowboy showed up for the performance even more inebriated than usual. The hypnotist was furious and refused to perform on the same stage as our alcoholic friend, whereupon the cowboy slurred, “Who cares if you don’t go on; I can do your act just as well as my own!” So saying, he staggered out on stage and recited the hypnotist’s patter word for word just as he had heard it every night for the preceding three months. He performed the hypnotist’s exact act and created a sensation. All the subjects went into trance and performed in the usual way despite the cowboy’s intoxication and lack of experience. After this incident, the cowboy and the hypnotist, not surprisingly, parted company. The sequel to the tale is that the cowboy turned hypnotist subsequently went on to become one of the most famous stage hypnotists of his generation.
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Dzuckerbrot
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Re: Hypnosis Show
More on Morton:
https://www.nzedge.com/legends/tex-morton/
https://www.nzedge.com/legends/tex-morton/
Re: Hypnosis Show
Amazing! He sounds quite a character and showman!
Re: Hypnosis Show
Incidentally I came across the Ontario law that both I and Bob Farmer were discussing. Here it is:
https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90h22
https://www.ontario.ca/laws/statute/90h22
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Bob Farmer
- Posts: 3395
- Joined: January 17th, 2008, 12:00 pm
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Re: Hypnosis Show
This is a perfect example of a completely unenforceable law. There is no definition of hypnosis nor is there any indication of how the law is to be enforced. In practice, the Ministry of Health would send a letter ("You bad boy, big brother does not approve of your activities. Please stop immediately or we will send you another letter."). The government bureaucrat I talked to admitted that's all they could do.
Re: Hypnosis Show
Yes. They told me the law wasn't enforced. I responded to them, "Well, if it isn't enforced what is the point of having it?" Shortly afterwards they called me to say it was being repealed!
Having said all this I do know there are strict restrictions on stage hypnosis in the UK although not an outright ban. Mainly because of a lot of bad publicity generated by mediocre performers. I only remember seeing one negative reference to stage hypnosis in Canada although there may be possibly more. This is the example I am talking about:
https://www.feelguide.com/2012/06/17/th ... in-trance/
Having said all this I do know there are strict restrictions on stage hypnosis in the UK although not an outright ban. Mainly because of a lot of bad publicity generated by mediocre performers. I only remember seeing one negative reference to stage hypnosis in Canada although there may be possibly more. This is the example I am talking about:
https://www.feelguide.com/2012/06/17/th ... in-trance/
Re: Hypnosis Show
I think it was noted before some that like Kreskin, would have volunteers do standard stage hypnotism routines on his show, but (perhaps because he was from Canada) made a point of saying it wasn't hypnotism and didn't even believe it existed.
I also remember seeing a Paul Goldin (from England?) decades ago appearing in San Francisco and he advertised himself as a mentalist and his show had advertising blurbs like, "Take the ultimate trip with ESP!" But there was NO mental/mentalism at all, it was essentially a standard hyp act, only hypnosis was never mentioned.
The show I saw was well received and he received a mostly positive review in THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE.
I also remember seeing a Paul Goldin (from England?) decades ago appearing in San Francisco and he advertised himself as a mentalist and his show had advertising blurbs like, "Take the ultimate trip with ESP!" But there was NO mental/mentalism at all, it was essentially a standard hyp act, only hypnosis was never mentioned.
The show I saw was well received and he received a mostly positive review in THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE.
Re: Hypnosis Show
I knew Paul Goldin! In fact he was the one who told me to take up stage hypnotism in the first place! When I was about 16 years old my uncle who was a doctor in Wales knowing of my interest in magic asked me if I had ever heard of Paul Goldin. I said no and was told that he was a friend of my uncle and they both went to medical school together. In fact over the years some of my other relatives confirmed this fact saying that Paul had visited their homes. He was a controversial figure and because of some hypnotic mishaps or other he had to move to Ireland where he had a terrific stage hypnotism career.I think it was noted before some that like Kreskin, would have volunteers do standard stage hypnotism routines on his show, but (perhaps because he was from Canada) made a point of saying it wasn't hypnotism and didn't even believe it existed.
I also remember seeing a Paul Goldin (from England?) decades ago appearing in San Francisco and he advertised himself as a mentalist and his show had advertising blurbs like, "Take the ultimate trip with ESP!" But there was NO mental/mentalism at all, it was essentially a standard hyp act, only hypnosis was never mentioned.
The show I saw was well received and he received a mostly positive review in THE SAN FRANCISCO CHRONICLE.
Many, many years later I moved to Ireland and met Paul and mentioned my uncle whom he did remember. I got to know Paul and one day he said to me "You should try stage hypnotism---you have the chutzpah for it" And that is exactly what I did!
To me Paul was one of the greatest hypnotic showmen of the 20th century. He could hold an audience spellbound. And yes---he never used the word "hypnotism" in his advertising.
Re: Hypnosis Show
I remember a news story in the 1970s about some people who were arrested or questioned about some scheme and it listed among those was, "entertainer Paul Goldin." It may have been you or someone else who said he left the U.S. for _______. Was he working in a magic store, in the U.K. or ________ in later years?
Re: Hypnosis Show
Paul never worked in a magic store and in fact he knew very little about magic. He did know personally David Berglas and Maurice Fogel and mentioned them to me but Paul wasn't really a magician. He would get into trouble for all sorts of things and this article will give some idea of his escapades. Despite all the negativity I liked and admired Paul very much indeed. A showman of the old school.
https://www.dib.ie/biography/goldin-paul-a9661
https://www.dib.ie/biography/goldin-paul-a9661
Re: Hypnosis Show
Mark, It must be someone else working in a magic shop who said, "I used to be _______."
Wow, the attached article is amazing! A lot of stuff I never heard about...his professional and personal missdeeds included.
Great that the article has a link to a TV appearance, which was how I remembered him decades ago.
His professional/personal escapades remind me of a U.S. showman that I and a friend know. Once we were comparing notes of his checked past and she said, "There are some people for whom it is pointless to try to burden with any moral expectations...the best you can do is appreciate him as the entertaining personality that he is, and not let allow yourself be disappointed beyond that."
Wow, the attached article is amazing! A lot of stuff I never heard about...his professional and personal missdeeds included.
Great that the article has a link to a TV appearance, which was how I remembered him decades ago.
His professional/personal escapades remind me of a U.S. showman that I and a friend know. Once we were comparing notes of his checked past and she said, "There are some people for whom it is pointless to try to burden with any moral expectations...the best you can do is appreciate him as the entertaining personality that he is, and not let allow yourself be disappointed beyond that."
Re: Hypnosis Show
This is the video you are no doubt referring to.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h94-vm5nYms
It is rather long but for those who are interested in the subject it can be quite educational. It gives a glimpse of Paul's charismatic personality. Incidentally I also know Barry Sinclair the other hypnotist on the show. Both he and Paul Goldin were two of the best three stage hypnotists I have ever seen work. The other one was Lorde Payne who had an association with Blackpool rather than Ireland. The other stage hypnotist I would have liked to have seen was Peter Reveen. I never did see his hypnotism show but his full evening magic/illusion show may have been the best I have ever seen.
Oddly enough I did perform my own hypnosis show last night for the first time in many years and it actually worked out well. I had to study my own book on stage hypnosis to learn it all over again! Here is a video excerpt taken 20 or so years ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GH6Gz4C0HaQ
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=h94-vm5nYms
It is rather long but for those who are interested in the subject it can be quite educational. It gives a glimpse of Paul's charismatic personality. Incidentally I also know Barry Sinclair the other hypnotist on the show. Both he and Paul Goldin were two of the best three stage hypnotists I have ever seen work. The other one was Lorde Payne who had an association with Blackpool rather than Ireland. The other stage hypnotist I would have liked to have seen was Peter Reveen. I never did see his hypnotism show but his full evening magic/illusion show may have been the best I have ever seen.
Oddly enough I did perform my own hypnosis show last night for the first time in many years and it actually worked out well. I had to study my own book on stage hypnosis to learn it all over again! Here is a video excerpt taken 20 or so years ago:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=GH6Gz4C0HaQ
Re: Hypnosis Show
Yes, same video.
I can't imagine trying to do a hyp act at one of those workingman's clubs that I have heard about...you had to succeed or die in more ways than one in those venues.
I have only seen Reveen do a brief illusion show. I did hear him give an interesting talk about his career at a history conference. He emphasized the number one factor for his success for his hypnosis shows in Canada...setting box office records with many repeat engagements, was doing a completely clean/family friendly show year after year.
Some have told me Reveen they thought Reveen was losing money trying to do an illusion show that was too expensive to do, and not attracting the business it needed, at the expense of the good money he was making doing hypnosis.
I can't imagine trying to do a hyp act at one of those workingman's clubs that I have heard about...you had to succeed or die in more ways than one in those venues.
I have only seen Reveen do a brief illusion show. I did hear him give an interesting talk about his career at a history conference. He emphasized the number one factor for his success for his hypnosis shows in Canada...setting box office records with many repeat engagements, was doing a completely clean/family friendly show year after year.
Some have told me Reveen they thought Reveen was losing money trying to do an illusion show that was too expensive to do, and not attracting the business it needed, at the expense of the good money he was making doing hypnosis.
Re: Hypnosis Show
I have actually seen a few stage hypnotists do quite well in the working men's clubs. They were tough places to work but there was something very fair about them. When I worked London night clubs everyone was drunk and rowdy from the very moment I came on. However, the Northern England working men's clubs gave you one valuable minute to prove yourself right at the beginning. They would be very quiet during that period. If you went over well during that minute they would certainly show their appreciation. If however, after that one minute they decided they didn't like you then God may have mercy on your soul! They would either heckle or ignore you.
However, that very first minute was valuable. It was a bit like going before a jury!
However, that very first minute was valuable. It was a bit like going before a jury!
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Dzuckerbrot
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Re: Hypnosis Show
Many years ago I had the pleasure of seeing Reveen perform his hypnosis show at the Royal York Hotel in Toronto. Without first hand knowledge of working men’s clubs I imagine that they were venues quite different from where I saw him. I’m no expert but I’ve seen a few hypnosis acts (never seen Mark’s to my regret) and Reveen’s show was a cut (or two) above anything which I am familiar. Similarly to the stories Diego mentions, I was told that his real love was the grand illusion show, but it didn’t make money and after a tour he’d go back to the hyp act to raise money for his next go. However, though we chatted a couple of times in passing I never knew him. Perhaps one of those who did could tell us more.
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Bob Farmer
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Re: Hypnosis Show
Reveen was my client and we worked together to make it possible for him to open at the Royal York. This was quite an honor for me because it completed a circle that had started when I was about 12. At that time, the Hypnosis Act was still a problem so Reveen was doing a show just across the Ontario border in Gatineau, Quebec. He could attract all the Ontario customers that way.
I still remember that show: it was fantastic. One thing he did was so impressive: as he was explaining what would happen if he had hypnotized hypnotized someone and then he suddenly dropped dead--he dropped his mic but then caught it just before it hit the floor.
After the Royal York shows, time passed and Reveen decided to make Brockville, the small town where I live, his base of operations for a series of shows around Ontario and in Quebec. We had a great time when he was here.
I did see his illusion show in Toronto and it was great but that's an expensive proposition to tour, so eventually he had to sell it off.
I still remember that show: it was fantastic. One thing he did was so impressive: as he was explaining what would happen if he had hypnotized hypnotized someone and then he suddenly dropped dead--he dropped his mic but then caught it just before it hit the floor.
After the Royal York shows, time passed and Reveen decided to make Brockville, the small town where I live, his base of operations for a series of shows around Ontario and in Quebec. We had a great time when he was here.
I did see his illusion show in Toronto and it was great but that's an expensive proposition to tour, so eventually he had to sell it off.
Re: Hypnosis Show
At a magic history conference, I did a talk on Mel-Roy the radio mentalist and later someone told me he reminded him Reveen, someone who made a lot of money doing one thing, (Mel-Roy=radio/mail mentalism Reveen=Hypnotism) and pour it into an illusion show that bleeds money. Many have the dream of doing the big show like ______ did when they needed to focus on what do people want and will pay for....no matter how pretty your illusions are.
Re: Hypnosis Show
I saw Reveen's illusion show in Toronto. It was a damn good show! I never saw his hypnotism show though. I wish I had!
Re: Hypnosis Show
At a magic history conference, I did a talk on Mel-Roy the radio mentalist and later someone told me he reminded him of Reveen, someone who made a lot of money doing one thing, (Mel-Roy=radio/mail mentalism Reveen=Hypnotism) and pour it into an illusion show that bleeds money. Many have the dream of doing the big show like ______ , when they really needed to focus on what do people want and will pay for....no matter how pretty your illusions are.
Re: Hypnosis Show
The hypnosis show which started this thread off worked out quite well considering I haven't done it for years and years and in fact had quite forgotten how to do it! Anyway, here is a little video for reference:
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1752757582137430
And this comment from my psychic medium co-star was quite welcome too! Not bad for an old man!
"Mark is exceptionally talented and hilarious. His skills in magic, stage hypnosis, and psychic abilities truly set him apart. I was genuinely honored to participate in our show, Mystic Minds, and I look forward to future opportunities. I highly recommend Mark—whether you're looking for guidance, laughter, or outstanding entertainment, he is the one to turn to!"
https://www.facebook.com/reel/1752757582137430
And this comment from my psychic medium co-star was quite welcome too! Not bad for an old man!
"Mark is exceptionally talented and hilarious. His skills in magic, stage hypnosis, and psychic abilities truly set him apart. I was genuinely honored to participate in our show, Mystic Minds, and I look forward to future opportunities. I highly recommend Mark—whether you're looking for guidance, laughter, or outstanding entertainment, he is the one to turn to!"