Latest / The Magic Guys / Remembering The Amazing Kreskin! #211
Transcript
- 0:00Are we guys? Do we do magic? Are we the magic guys?
- 0:07Is that our intro, Nick? Are we live? We are live. It didn't play the intro,
- 0:11though. No, I did it for us.
- 0:12We're guys. We do magic. We're the magic guys live on the Internet.
- 0:18There's the there's the intro. Well, welcome to the Magic Guys podcast.
- 0:22Episode two, one, one. I'm your host, magician Nick Kane. And joining me this
- 0:27week is the illustrious Doug Kahn. Say hi, Doug.
- 0:30Bonsoir, mon ami. So bonjour, I guess, if you're in Australia.
- 0:34It's daylight time still. It's evening in Las Vegas. How y'all doing?
- 0:38Yeah, well, so yes, sunny Melbourne is. It's only 11 a.m. here,
- 0:41but you have now made the big move to Las Vegas. And how is that going, friend?
- 0:47I mean, it's been, you know, it's actually been great.
- 0:49Arriving in Las Vegas with the wife and the cats. The whole transition has gone well.
- 0:53Our furniture is late, so that's kind of weird, but we're getting by. I don't know.
- 0:57I don't think we've chatted since I drove here from New Orleans,
- 1:00but man, we went through a sandstorm in Arizona. I thought I was going to die, literally. Whoa.
- 1:05What's the client? It's insane. They call them a haboob. It's 60 mile an hour winds.
- 1:11And this lasted for 90 minutes through the desert of Arizona.
- 1:16I'm white knuckling it with, you know, you can see 20 feet in front of you.
- 1:20Tumbleweeds are bashing into the car and breaking. And these tumbleweeds are like not little.
- 1:26You know tumbleweeds are big kidding me it
- 1:29was harrowing i think is the word so you're
- 1:32you're in the suv you're holding a trailer so it
- 1:35was just that we're driving a corolla cross it's like an suv yeah
- 1:38no trailer we get our stuff's being
- 1:41delivered in a pod storage unit that's how that's going down
- 1:44but it was a full car you know there's no room
- 1:47in the car and man literally you can't see 20 feet in front of you never wanted
- 1:53to come in here says i thought you said a seance storm could you imagine that
- 1:57just everywhere i was trying to catch a ride and it was just like you want to
- 2:02believe it man the ghost of christmas spirit was all like hi.
- 2:09Hitchhiking but guys thank you for being here in the chat thomas congo scotty
- 2:12p tim asking thank you all for being here we have a question from scotty he
- 2:17just wants to affirmation he wants to know did the cats the cats made it they're
- 2:21they're starting to adjust yesterday our third piece of furniture we bought was a little cat bed.
- 2:26So they're all happy to have their own sofa now.
- 2:29They have technically more couch than we do at this point.
- 2:32It's hilarious. It'd be like, oh, the cats have this palace to live in and you like sleep on the floor.
- 2:36Yeah. I mean, it is their universe. I just live in it. So we accommodate them as best we can.
- 2:43Yeah. Do you have cats? Do you have any pets, Nick?
- 2:46I don't know. I love the idea of having pets, but because I am an animal lover,
- 2:52I don't, I feel it's unfair to have animals
- 2:55cooped up in a one bedroom apartment when I work as
- 2:58much as I do and especially i travel as much as i do and it's purely
- 3:01because of that that i i would not like i
- 3:03i can't say more than anything i'd come home and i think myself like
- 3:06i'd love it if i had a labrador yeah you know like
- 3:09you're right the way you're like a super bachelor heavy worker travel a lot
- 3:14that's not conducive you might get by with like a gerbil correct yeah or a snake
- 3:20that would be ideal because even like this this very weekend i'm off to brisbane
- 3:24where i'll be teaming up with the good guys at the theater of magic.
- 3:27Yep. And there's also a magic convention called the assembly.
- 3:30There is going to be an abundance of really awesome lecturers and so forth.
- 3:35You know, Christian grace, if you want to look it up, look up the assembly or
- 3:37through Piper magic, who's putting that together. So we'll be up there for that convention.
- 3:42I'll be flying up on Friday. I get to hang out with Nobito, which is great. He sends us love.
- 3:46He just like you, Doug, for the listeners, he's currently moving house himself.
- 3:50And that's why he was unable to kind of make it today
- 3:53but yes scotty p is also going to be there at the
- 3:56assembly one of our awesome listeners and in the chat and
- 3:58i'm looking forward to hanging out with him because that guy always blows my mind every
- 4:01time we hang out so no doubt it's gonna be
- 4:04a great weekend yeah and for that reason i don't
- 4:07do pets curious what's a
- 4:10attendance at an event like this or do you know is it
- 4:13a new thing or will it be okay good
- 4:16good question so last time we had the assembly we
- 4:20that was in 2019 and we've not done one since i
- 4:24wonder why yeah that that kind of happens when
- 4:27we did do it it was amazing we had we had jason ladani
- 4:30and we had dan harlan wow so
- 4:33piper spending a few bucks to get some talent across the
- 4:36seeds that's cool it was amazing it was actually really really
- 4:39well done i had the pleasure of emceeing i i was you
- 4:42know like this workshop that dan harlan did was one of the best things
- 4:45that i've ever seen the guy's genius is
- 4:48like you don't appreciate it until it's in front of you like
- 4:51and and he's unboxing brilliant ideas
- 4:54and putting it together for you so that was really really
- 4:57wonderful so yeah unfortunately it's been
- 5:00many years and we're doing one again you know we we were begging him to do it
- 5:05for a long time and the lineup this year is going to be pretty great as well
- 5:08with some awesome international acts so yeah by all means scope it out and those
- 5:12guys will also be performing at the theater of magic on the uh saturday night
- 5:16the night before. So I'm actually informing.
- 5:19Yeah. So for me, I mean, no pressure, but I have to follow Christian grace.
- 5:24Yeah you know come on
- 5:27that's probably a good spot
- 5:30for you you know i love christian grace but i might think
- 5:32of him more of a creator you know and a
- 5:35genius level thinker but you know it's time
- 5:38to rock the house you want a guy who's done a thousand shows i don't know what
- 5:42his professional life's like is he a pro performer i don't know that's a good
- 5:46question man i know you are you know i'll take a pro performer and a close spot
- 5:51over a great magician you know theoretically any day of the week.
- 5:54I love Christian Grace's material.
- 5:56Well, the cool thing is that after this weekend, we can talk about it a whole
- 5:59bunch in next week's episode.
- 6:01So for those of you who are listening today, do not miss next week because this
- 6:04week we are actually paying some respects to someone who had only passed away last year in December.
- 6:12I had wrote this report some while ago with the intention of paying our respects
- 6:16to the greats as we do in all of our history podcasts.
- 6:19So i think without any further ado we
- 6:22should begin the story of the amazing creskin are
- 6:25we ready to begin let's do it here's that's
- 6:29the intro for the yeah we need some beatboxing or something no norbeeto no beatboxes
- 6:36no no audio clips we're struggling today put your hat on backwards perhaps so
- 6:41we can just fill the gaps maybe let's try that look the samuel jackson Kangol look. Oh, yeah.
- 6:47Yeah. It doesn't work too good for me. No.
- 6:51What about an eye patch? I can get an eye patch from the back.
- 6:57I got some Groucho glasses, something like that.
- 7:01That'd be kind of cool if you had an eye patch and then you did this and then
- 7:04it became two and that was your blindfold and then you did a blindfold routine.
- 7:07Cool. Let me go in the warehouse. I'll be right back.
- 7:10All right. While you're doing that, let me tell this story.
- 7:13Let's learn about Kreskin instead. Let's do it.
- 7:17George Joseph Kresge, formerly known as the Amazing Kreskin,
- 7:21was born January 12, 1935, in the bustling suburban town of Montclair, New Jersey.
- 7:27From an incredibly young age, Kreskin exhibited a deep fascination with the
- 7:32mysterious and the extraordinary.
- 7:33His journey into the world of magic and mentalism began when he was only five
- 7:38years old, inspired by the classic comic strip Mandrake the Magician.
- 7:43Mandrake was a fictional stage character with hypnotic powers with a knack for solving crime.
- 7:49It captured Kreskin's imagination and planted the seed, but would later become his lifelong pursuit.
- 7:54We don't actually have this in Oz, Mandrake.
- 7:59Yeah, he's pretty prominent, you know, kind of a vintage, really classic magic figure in the States.
- 8:06You know, maybe a little passe these days, but I can see how
- 8:09Kreskin would be inspired by this you
- 8:12know certainly this image of a magician that solves crimes
- 8:16and stuff and you know yeah yeah so this was just like a short three panel strip
- 8:21in in newspapers back in the day i think it might have been a full-fledged comic
- 8:25book and man did someone make a show of mandrake i'm not sure but i think it
- 8:30was more of an actual page turner but also maybe the strip too.
- 8:35We found a we found a great spot in my my knowledge
- 8:38there okay well yeah i mean i i tried looking it
- 8:41up but yeah i couldn't find the the minor details with
- 8:44that time period so right but what i did find out
- 8:47was this by age seven kreskin had
- 8:50already begun performing for small magic tricks
- 8:53for his family neighbors and school friends these weren't just simple card tricks
- 8:57he was experimenting with such psychological aspects of performance such as
- 9:01using subtle gestures and influencing what the audience had noticed even at
- 9:06a young age kreskin displayed an uncanny ability to engage and mesmerize people,
- 9:12a skill that would later be the hallmark of his career.
- 9:15As he grew older, Kreskin's obsession with understanding how people think and behave deepened.
- 9:25He began studying psychology independently during his teenage years,
- 9:30devouring books on suggestion, hypnosis, and the mysteries of the mind.
- 9:34This self-taught Foundation prepared him for his formal studies later on,
- 9:39where he combined his academic rigor with his innate curiosity.
- 9:43In high school, Creskin became known as the kid with the magic tricks,
- 9:48frequently impressing his classmates with slighter hand and the ability to seemingly read minds.
- 9:53Yet, even at this stage, he was less interested in the flashy aspects of magic
- 9:58and more drawn to the psychological underpinnings, how the human brain processes
- 10:03information and how it can be used to guide and focus and misdirect attention.
- 10:08So this passion led him to Seton Hall University, where he formally studied
- 10:14psychology in the late 1950s.
- 10:18At Seton Hall, Kreskin delved into subjects such as perception,
- 10:23memory, and the power of suggestion, all which would later become the building
- 10:26blocks for his mentalism performances.
- 10:28His academic work was driven by a single question.
- 10:32How far could human thought and behavior be understood and influenced by the
- 10:38fact that with subtle cues.
- 10:40He treated his university years not as a means to learn, but as a laboratory
- 10:45where he could experiment with the principles that would later define his career.
- 10:48That's pretty cool. Yep.
- 10:51You know? Like, even during his time at the university, Kreskin continued to
- 10:56perform, honing his skills at small local events and private parties.
- 11:00What set him apart from other performers was his ability to integrate his academic
- 11:05learning into his acts, creating a performance style that was equal parts entertainment
- 11:11and psychological experiment.
- 11:14The guy's kind of the real deal when you think about it, don't you think?
- 11:17Yeah, he kind of blurred the lines. He didn't really call himself like,
- 11:22I guess he did proclaim to have a little bit of mental powers,
- 11:25but maybe not be psychic per se.
- 11:28And he would often do also like magic tricks in his show where,
- 11:31you know, it was just a trick, but he wouldn't call it a magic trick either.
- 11:36You know it was like a gray area but yeah yeah
- 11:41i wonder you know i wonder how much of this bio
- 11:45is like he was in college studying
- 11:48these things and then went on or then he went to college to
- 11:51like pursue like how do you pursue memory work in the 50s that's a good point
- 11:56i'll cover that because we leap into the 1960s and the 70s so yeah so he's earlier
- 12:03it's a great question so his earlier life was a mixture of the curiosity and
- 12:07everything that surrounded the magic.
- 12:08But by the time he graduated college, he was not just a magician,
- 12:11he was a mentalist who had already laid the groundwork for the career,
- 12:15which now, in his later years, would astonish millions.
- 12:19After completing his studies at certain whole university, he transitioned from
- 12:25performing at small local events to becoming one of the most sought-after mentalists in the world.
- 12:31His career took off in the 1960s and the 70s, an era where live performances
- 12:35and television appearances played a crucial role in building a performer's reputation.
- 12:40What made Kreskin stand out was his ability to combine the drama of stage magic
- 12:46with the psychological intrigue of mind reading, earning him the title The Amazing Kreskin.
- 12:52So his first major breakout on television was on The Tonight Show starring Johnny
- 12:58Carson. I was going to guess that. It had to be Johnny Carson.
- 13:01Johnny Carson did so much for Magic. It might even be worth doing a history lesson on him.
- 13:07If you guys think that would be kind of cool, because when you see so many of
- 13:11these ones that we do in the past, whenever anyone does anything great in the States, especially,
- 13:17I don't know, I guess with the time period and my age and us being in Australia,
- 13:21I don't even know if it was broadcasted here in Oz.
- 13:24But if it is something you guys would like to figure out or learn,
- 13:28if Johnny Carson did play a role, I'll do the research. Just put it in the comments.
- 13:31Yes. Tell us about Johnny Carson and I'll, uh, I'll look into it for you guys.
- 13:35Now, I would love history of all the magicians that he put on that show.
- 13:40And I also love to see a compilation of all those performances and you can see
- 13:45many of them on YouTube, but have it all under one umbrella. That would be.
- 13:49Absolutely. Cause he really did. like you said he did
- 13:52so much for magic and you know when i was a young man this
- 13:55is what a rare opportunity to see some amazing artists you know pre-internet
- 14:00pre-dvd johnny would have you know if he had a magician on i was staying up
- 14:04late that night i'm sure yeah and for those that don't know carson was a foreman
- 14:09magician himself which i learned while doing this research on kreskin so.
- 14:15So he was captivated like captivated by kreskin as
- 14:18a whole so like for a magician it's a beautiful moment like
- 14:21with talent knows talent and then away you
- 14:24go so kreskin's performance on the show
- 14:27was nothing short of spectacular he would
- 14:29ask members of the audience to think of specific objects names
- 14:32or places and then accurately reveal
- 14:36their thoughts these segments quickly became audience
- 14:39favorites and kreskin went on to appear on the show over 80
- 14:42times what on the tonight show
- 14:45yeah 80 times yep 80
- 14:49times and that's just a testament to his popularity that is
- 14:52right that should be a record i would imagine it probably would be it probably
- 14:57would be i should have actually uh that one he must have been a good fill-in
- 15:01for johnny johnny's like hey uh john wayne canceled can you get over here kresky
- 15:05yeah well he became a regular guest on several shows when I did my research.
- 15:10So his charisma, along with his astonishing feats, made him a regular guest
- 15:14on other talk shows, including the Merv Griffin show.
- 15:18Yeah, I remember that. Yep. There was Late Night with David Letterman.
- 15:23Okay. The Mike Douglas show as well. Yeah. All the old school. Yeah.
- 15:30I mean, yeah, those are talk shows from like the 70s, right?
- 15:33Yeah. So I guess that would be the equivalent of being like he did Fallon.
- 15:36He did Kimmel. Yeah. Did.
- 15:38Yeah. Yeah. Some of those are like morning shows. Some of those are afternoon shows. He got around.
- 15:44Yeah. So these appearances brought Creskin into the millions of homes and helped
- 15:49solidify his reputation as a world-class performer.
- 15:51His ability to predict outcomes, find objects, and read minds fascinated audiences
- 15:56sparked widespread discussion about whether his abilities were real or just
- 16:00cleverly executed illusion.
- 16:03In the 1970s, Kreskin's fame reached new heights when he starred in his own
- 16:10syndicate television series, The Amazing World of Kreskin.
- 16:15The show featured his signature mentalism routines, as well as live audience participation.
- 16:21One of the most thrilling parts of the show was Criskin's ability to find his paycheck.
- 16:26I love this idea.
- 16:29I'll mention it a few times as we go along through the stories.
- 16:32So his paycheck, which was hidden by the audience before the performance began, right?
- 16:39If he failed to locate it, he forfeited his pay. That's a hook.
- 16:45Bro, it's a daring challenge, most definitely, right? And it added to the mystique of what he did.
- 16:52And I believe he almost always found it is what it said.
- 16:58Like, that'd be pretty gnarly. Imagine like you putting out there,
- 17:01like being that caliber of magician, it would be like a $10,000 sort of fee.
- 17:06And you're just going like, I'm going to hide it. And if I can't find it, I'm broke.
- 17:10Like that is. I find it surprising. There would be times where he didn't find
- 17:14it. Like his method was fallible.
- 17:17That's like. well this is the thing this is the
- 17:191970s my guy like he's not as if he's got
- 17:22some sort of like beacon like me now have the
- 17:26earbud 3000 right yeah
- 17:29yeah so so the show not only entertained viewers but also gave kreskin a platform
- 17:34to showcase his mentalism abilities his act included everything from hypnosis
- 17:41and suggesting to large-scale predictions right it cemented his place as one
- 17:46of the greatest psychological performers.
- 17:50Kreskin didn't just captivate audiences in the US, though. He became an international phenomenon.
- 17:55His live tours took him across other countries such as Italy,
- 17:59Japan, Canada, and the United Kingdom, where he continued to astonish crowds with his mentalism.
- 18:05Some of the most memorable international feats were in Italy,
- 18:09and I'll explain these a little bit further down the track, but Kreskin,
- 18:14would have locals hide objects in the
- 18:17public square and using only the clues like he
- 18:20had to find them using clues like by the audience in japan
- 18:23he didn't speak the language but he was
- 18:26still able to read minds in
- 18:30canada there was a major hockey game naturally and he
- 18:33was able to like predict that with like
- 18:36amazing accuracy so i'll
- 18:40tell them in a little more in depth a bit later on but it's
- 18:44it's really inspiring it's super inspiring when
- 18:47a magician or any performer decides i'm international
- 18:51now and they hit the road and like i'm gonna go to japan no
- 18:54i don't speak japanese but i'm good enough we'll work this out yeah what i what
- 18:58i love about this is that his influence on pop culture i really dig this bit
- 19:03as i was doing it because as his fame grew his influence on pop culture did
- 19:07as well now he became so frequent on tv shows and movies that And even in comics,
- 19:13his name became synonymous with mind reading to the point where people would
- 19:16say, you're pulling a Kreskin.
- 19:19Yeah, let me see if, can I share screens? I was looking like,
- 19:22we got a few titles on our website at Trick Supply.
- 19:26I don't have the ability to share right now because I'm technically.
- 19:30Oh, maybe I can do that. Oh, there we go.
- 19:33Like, here's one. Look at this guy. This must have been released in the 70s.
- 19:37He's wearing like a denim shirt with fat collars.
- 19:41Kreskin's Mindpower book. So I guess this would, yeah, 1977,
- 19:46second book that Kreskin wrote.
- 19:49And there's several titles in our inventory. I think someone recently found
- 19:54a stockpile of old Kreskin tomes that were released back in the day for the general public.
- 20:03Yeah, I tried looking up his entire discography, and I did make mention of it
- 20:07a little later in the storyline, But I'll definitely make mention of those.
- 20:11And of course, if you guys want to scope it out.
- 20:13You got some more. All right. I'll quit trying to pretend to be technically
- 20:17savvy here and you can unleash.
- 20:21Just go back to talking, Nick. Okay.
- 20:25So I want to talk about some of his notable predictions. So throughout his career,
- 20:29Chris King became famous for his large scale predictions.
- 20:32Some of the most notable ones are this. He predicted the outcome of political
- 20:38elections, including famous incidents where in the 1970s, he correctly forecasted
- 20:43an Italian election result before the votes were counted.
- 20:47He was making predictions about global events, sports outcomes,
- 20:51and even the trends in the entertainment industry.
- 20:53These bold statements kept audiences intrigued and ensured that he would remain
- 20:57a topic of conversation.
- 20:59There was also some unconventional challenges. One of Kreskin's trademarks was
- 21:04his willingness to take on these really gnarly challenges.
- 21:07For example, he often asked members of the audience to hide objects or write
- 21:11down secrets, which would later be uncovered with uncanny precision.
- 21:17This interactively not only engaged audiences, but it also blurred the line
- 21:21between the performer and the participant because there was this notion of like,
- 21:25how could he know that? Is he legit?
- 21:27But I guess he blows that line beautifully by going, I'm highly educated in
- 21:31this realm and I also practice it because I am magical.
- 21:36So, Kreskin's career is filled with remarkable moments that left audiences stunned
- 21:40and cemented his reputation as one of the greatest mentalists of all time.
- 21:44Here are some of the most memorable performances that he did.
- 21:48So, of course, there was the paycheck challenge.
- 21:50One of Kreskin's, so what he would do is before the show, an audience member
- 21:54would hide the paycheck somewhere in the venue.
- 21:58The rule was simple. If Kreskin couldn't locate it, at the end of the performance, he wouldn't get paid.
- 22:02It wasn't just a publicity stunts it was literal high stakes and it was just
- 22:07drama being added to every performance i'm thinking if i couldn't find it suddenly
- 22:11my performance is longer right.
- 22:16Well day three doug's on his hands and knees looking under the chair hey buddy
- 22:21how are you going finding that paycheck,
- 22:24He's like, oh, I've just got four more routines. We've been here for three weeks, Doug Conn.
- 22:30There's six devoted fans left in the theater. Yay!
- 22:36Oh, my. Okay, so he relied on subtle cues from the audience's body language
- 22:41and reactions to track down his hidden paycheck.
- 22:43Astonishingly, he almost always found it, whether it was tucked under a seat,
- 22:47taped to a ceiling, or sometimes hidden inside a piano.
- 22:51In one notable instance, Creston located his paycheck after it had been buried
- 22:56under a pile of books backstage.
- 23:00This challenge became a fan favorite. It was one of the most amazing elements
- 23:04of his show and it highlighted his ability to engage in the audience in a completely unique way.
- 23:09I challenge anyone else to do that. No way.
- 23:13We got ifuji in the comments says he's fit. The comment was,
- 23:17I failed to find the check nine out of 6,000 times.
- 23:21Oh my God. I had a haunting experience in New Zealand where the paycheck was $50,000.
- 23:28Oh my Jesus.
- 23:31Wow. That's a check that you'll want to find probably. Yeah. Yeah. You betcha.
- 23:37Do you have any, any thoughts on his methods for doing this?
- 23:40Are we talking about like any of how he might've accomplished that?
- 23:44Man, you know, like you can, you can take the easy route by going,
- 23:49he would just stooge it in some capacity or,
- 23:53If I'm not mistaken, the guy's was that he was using the spectator's body language to guide him.
- 24:00So he would hold a spectator or they would hold a handkerchief or something like that.
- 24:04And he would supposedly use their influence to guide him.
- 24:10That sounds like poppycock, but maybe.
- 24:12I'm half wondering if it's some
- 24:14sort of kinesiology-based type thing with like a bit of muscle testing.
- 24:18You know that thing they do? you know how reliable
- 24:22is that when you're looking under a stack of books man it's
- 24:25like oh yeah dude yeah i would
- 24:28i would have to have a stooge involved like even if it's someone on my team
- 24:32who's watching them hide it or you know sometimes you can you can pre-show things
- 24:38to a degree where you make it like i i lean very heavily into this when i do
- 24:43any sort of routines of this nature where I'll say,
- 24:46the notion is this, be restrictive.
- 24:49Without seeming restricting.
- 24:51So it's the type of thing where I'll tell somebody of all the colors of the rainbow, choose one.
- 24:56Now, what that sounds like is name any color, but it's not. They're not going
- 25:01to name fuchsia. Yes. Right.
- 25:04Yeah, there's like eight colors in the rainbow. So, well, seven technically,
- 25:08but they can really choose from.
- 25:09So you just sort of say like, you know, of all the colors of the rainbow, choose one.
- 25:13So, you got a one in eight chance of sort of getting things involved at that
- 25:17point. You know what I mean?
- 25:18So like whatever it is, whatever thoughts he had, it's obviously diabolical,
- 25:23but yeah, this, this, this town square search in Italy was an interesting one actually.
- 25:28So not in a theater, but outside in the public.
- 25:32Yeah. So he's taken the same principle, but done it further.
- 25:36So here's, here's what I, my research found. So during a performance in Italy,
- 25:40Crescom was asked to locate a hidden object that had been concealed somewhere in a public square.
- 25:47The item was a small key, okay, and had been hidden by a local volunteer in
- 25:53an area surrounded by hundreds of onlookers.
- 25:56Using only mental cues, subtle body language from the crowd,
- 26:01Kreskin navigated to the square, located the key in a flower pot at the edge
- 26:07of the square, and the audience lost their minds.
- 26:10The performance became one of Kreskin's most celebrated international moments,
- 26:13demonstrating his abilities to transcend language and cultural barriers.
- 26:18That's gnarly like there's a story of david burglas doing the same thing.
- 26:23Where i can't remember what the object was but i
- 26:26read it in i'm pretty sure i read it in the burglas effect where
- 26:30he was they it was an object that was hidden
- 26:33and it was basically like
- 26:36on an island surrounded by water like there
- 26:39and he had to he was like going around the city doing this type of
- 26:42thing and then ended up going there like you
- 26:45know and finding it like it's just it's
- 26:49so gnarly but you gotta you gotta appreciate the gravity of
- 26:52this as well you know the showmanship alone like
- 26:55the thought process involved is pretty great like when the stakes are
- 26:57high the stakes are high i mean at the end of the day that's
- 27:00what made kreskin great his showmanship right he
- 27:03was a very strong performer so you could
- 27:06have this effect is killer but if your showmanship sucks it
- 27:09doesn't matter absolutely and but what i
- 27:12love is this next story especially which
- 27:15is him mind reading in japan so on a
- 27:18tour in japan kreskin faced this really unique
- 27:21challenge performing for an audience that largely spoke no english
- 27:24despite the language barrier he successfully
- 27:28demonstrated his mind reading abilities kreskin asked
- 27:31several volunteers to think of personal details such as their
- 27:34favorite childhood memory or an object that they are
- 27:37imagining and he was able to describe those thoughts
- 27:40with incredible accuracy for one instance he correctly
- 27:44identified a japanese man's childhood pet as
- 27:47a white dog which had never been mentioned aloud.
- 27:50The man was so astonished he began like bowing repeatedly in disbelief just
- 27:56blown his mind like that's that's crazy so once again it just solidified not
- 28:04only that his magic can transcend languages.
- 28:08As far as him being able to break these barriers of the linguistic entities
- 28:14involved with being a mentalist, when language is so important,
- 28:17suggestion is so important, and the cultural differences, that's enormous.
- 28:21Yeah, it's terrifying even as a magician where we can rely on visible magic and stuff like that.
- 28:29But to think about taking my act to, say, Japan, where people don't speak English is unfathomable.
- 28:35For what I'm doing with just sleight of hand magic, doing minimalism.
- 28:40I mean, how many times have you tried to do an effect where there is a level
- 28:43of suggestion or even a magic effect where they just need to follow very basic
- 28:48instructions and you ask them, do this or say this, and they still muff it up.
- 28:54Like, you know, like I can't tell you how many times I've said,
- 28:57like, choose a value between one and 13, you know, like as in like ace through
- 29:0210, jack, queen or king, choose a value and they go spade and i go that's not
- 29:05what i said yeah what i said was choose a value,
- 29:13dickhead so yeah so there's that alone like phenomenal but there was also one
- 29:20where in in canada so during a live performance in canada kreska made headlines
- 29:24by predicting the outcome of a major hockey game the prediction was made in
- 29:29front of a live audience and written down on a sealed card,
- 29:32which was then stored in a locked box.
- 29:35After the game, the card was open and it revealed not only the winning team,
- 29:39but also the exact final score.
- 29:42It was a feat that baffled everyone in attendance.
- 29:45The prediction created a media buzz and reinforced Kreskin's reputation as a master of foresight.
- 29:51And some skeptics attempted to explain that it was a coincidence or guesswork,
- 29:56but for those who saw it live said it was nothing short of a miracle.
- 30:00A right i'm wondering
- 30:03what his influences were beyond mandrake i'm
- 30:06kind of rewinding a little bit because it had to be more
- 30:09than that you know it was who was going on 60s dunninger he was probably a guy
- 30:16that'd be some dunninger ploy stuff there for sure but you know also you sort
- 30:21of need to appreciate that he probably was heavily influenced by the academics
- 30:25yeah and he just kind of wrote his own story,
- 30:28I guess, because he was a four-figure for mentalism as public performance art.
- 30:33There was guys doing it.
- 30:36Alexander, the man who knows, right? We could go back to that.
- 30:39I had the pleasure of seeing his turban in the Copperfield Museum.
- 30:45This guy used radio technology before it was popular.
- 30:49He built it into the turban. He had the guy on the stage telling him the information.
- 30:55And yeah, any technology is like magic before we know it's technology,
- 31:00right? Yeah, absolutely.
- 31:01Well, you know, Blackstone, oh, actually, Scotty just mentioned that.
- 31:04Blackstone was also kind of amazing in that realm as well, where he was doing
- 31:07those sliding light bulbs.
- 31:09And I guess at that time in life, like it's pretty...
- 31:11Pretty rare that's that's magic though you know i'm
- 31:14thinking like how can you say i'm going
- 31:17to perform minimalism as a performance art
- 31:21and get fifty thousand dollar checks that
- 31:23i may or may not find you know like i've
- 31:27like i got luggage tags for example that are like about
- 31:30as thick as maybe a credit card
- 31:33four or five playing cards right
- 31:36and you put it like you can put it in your wallet and that would be like
- 31:39your air attack for where your wallet is and so forth but
- 31:42man like we're talking about a paycheck in an envelope it's
- 31:45probably probably a ton of transparency in it as well like it's
- 31:48you know yeah and no technology in
- 31:52the 70s could have you know supplied what he needed for that
- 31:54effect yeah yeah yeah no chance no chance
- 31:58like you'd have to be a pretty big operation maybe with a
- 32:01ton of confederates even if it was like done legitimately but everyone
- 32:04was kind of watching it happen and then
- 32:07somehow like speak easing it to him in some
- 32:10of this what if he really had mind powers and then sometimes he
- 32:13would just do magic tricks on the side to make the
- 32:15smarties not know he really had the goods it's like
- 32:20let me throw a nail bend in here so no one knows i'm really predicting the future
- 32:23have you ever been criticized of that where someone's like you're you're really
- 32:28magic and you're just you're cosplaying as a human you know I've had a couple
- 32:32people not happy to be around me because what I was doing and I,
- 32:36and I was thinking, wow, you're stupid.
- 32:40Magic trip.
- 32:45I mean, I'm not, I'm not Mr. Mr. Mystery guy when I'm performing.
- 32:49It's not, I don't even pretend it's real for a minute.
- 32:51So I don't know how someone's like, yeah, it's one of those things where like,
- 32:56if, if you were truly magic and magic costs some of your essence to do what
- 32:59you had to do, like genuinely, like it cost some of your essence.
- 33:02Would you use a cutting rope?
- 33:04No. Would I have a sponge bunny? Probably not. Yeah. You know? So...
- 33:10I call myself a magician, but I've just professed to be somebody with a high set of skills.
- 33:14I don't even say that anymore. I guess I say it in the generality,
- 33:18but when I'm telling people what I do, I'm a sleight-of-hand artist is what
- 33:23I like to think of myself.
- 33:25It's not magic. It's entertaining, skill-based, amazing effects.
- 33:35It's funny. things of this nature i haven't really seen
- 33:39done before the last time i can remember someone
- 33:42doing a prediction of this caliber as far as the outcome of a game rich ferguson
- 33:48did one on youtube where he predicted the super bowl i think and it really launched
- 33:53him into the sphere after that that's the only thing i could think of as far
- 33:59as anyone else doing that yeah trying to think of any prominent.
- 34:03Predictions of recent note if there
- 34:06was any they weren't prominent enough for me yeah yeah
- 34:10maybe it's good that they're forgettable so they're repeatable
- 34:13perhaps maybe the performers just aren't good at promotion you know that's probably
- 34:18more likely yeah there's some great hits for doing predictions these days yeah
- 34:22but here's the thing right hockey game for example would typically typically
- 34:26be single digits as far as a you know like a score would be.
- 34:31It might be 6-0 or 6-5 or even 3-0.
- 34:34We're talking three-minute periods. It's not three minutes, three periods in
- 34:38a hockey game, and away you go.
- 34:40When he predicted the political election, so in the 1970s, he accurately predicted
- 34:48the results of this national election.
- 34:51So before the votes were counted, Kreskin revealed his prediction to a room
- 34:54of journalists when the officials results were announced the prediction was
- 35:00spot on like spot on so we're talking a population now big numbers.
- 35:08You know it's like what
- 35:11i'm saying is that if i had a thumb writer
- 35:14i could do something of that nature a single digit
- 35:16but if i had to write and in population where
- 35:20there's like a million people here in melbourne alone and i'll have to write
- 35:23that 648 944 like come on man i can't do that like you know yeah yeah he must
- 35:32have some cool methods yeah this wasn't the only time that he actually did that.
- 35:38He also correctly forecasted several US president elections as well during his career.
- 35:44I bet before he did it, he had a room full of journalists.
- 35:47Yeah. Just like you said, the first story, you know, right.
- 35:50Yeah. And, and again, the, the predictions just kept adding to his mystique,
- 35:53you know, and it kept the audiences wondering about like, you know,
- 35:56what is it? Was it rooted into intuition?
- 35:58Is it psychology? Is it something supernatural?
- 36:01What is it? But this one, this story that I found, and I just kept finding more
- 36:06and more and more, but this one blew, there's a couple of more. This one blew my mind.
- 36:10During a live performance in New York, Kreskin was approached by a volunteer
- 36:14who claimed to have lost a family heirloom.
- 36:16It was a gold watch and they lost it weeks prior.
- 36:20The man asked Kreskin, could you help me locate it?
- 36:24Now, except in the challenge, Kreskin asked the man to close his eyes and focus
- 36:27on the last time. I remember seeing the watch.
- 36:29And after a few moments of silence, Kreskin directed the man.
- 36:33He said, check the pocket of an old winter coat stored in the attic.
- 36:39The man later confirmed that the watch was exactly where Kreskin had described it.
- 36:45Come on, man. That's like some Uri Geller stuff there. Come on, man.
- 36:50I mean, Uri Geller, do you remember when, you probably don't remember this,
- 36:54but I'm pretty sure, I think it might've been an Australian company.
- 36:57They paid him a ridiculous amount of money to fly around a helicopter to predict
- 37:03where there's oil to be dug.
- 37:05You know? I dig. Uri Geller, come on, man.
- 37:09Like, you know, this is why I love the Institute of Magic in Australia.
- 37:14So the australian institute of magic like one of
- 37:17the things we have is that like we don't believe what we're
- 37:20doing is real we do it for entertainment purposes irigella
- 37:24doing stuff like that was kind of like bro like that's
- 37:27charlatan that's you should i don't know it was
- 37:30totally taboo like yeah now he's
- 37:33all buddy buddy with the magic world but back
- 37:36in the day it was like not that way at all i
- 37:40think johnny carson i don't johnny carson busted
- 37:43him on the tonight show was kreskin involved with
- 37:46that there was some magician oh they had they had geller on and had him ready
- 37:52to do a stunt and then they tricked him to where he couldn't pull it off yeah
- 37:56i thought it was actually with randy james randy oh yeah randy randy these spoons
- 38:02if memory serves yeah and he was like.
- 38:06Trying to do a spoon bend you know yeah i
- 38:09love that yeah but what i
- 38:13love about this is the more i started him the more i started seeing these
- 38:16parodies between him and the amazing nature of
- 38:19which darren brown performs so for example on the
- 38:22mike douglas show kreskin performed a mass hypnosis
- 38:26act that became one of his most talked about television
- 38:29appearances he hypnotized a group
- 38:31of audience members simultaneously instructing them to act
- 38:35as though they were driving race cars in
- 38:38a race all right what followed was a hilarious yet very
- 38:41impressive display as the volunteers mimicked steering wheels and made car noises
- 38:45and were completely unaware of their surroundings right so chriskin's ability
- 38:48to influence a group of people right in that dramatic way showcased his mastery
- 38:53of suggestion and psychological influences like it's it's a testament to again.
- 39:01Almost reinventing magic in a sense the same way that Darren Brown did so when
- 39:05you see the scale this guy works on,
- 39:07That to me just blows my mind. And also this, he's working like out of his pockets for the most part.
- 39:13That's a huge win. He's just like, what are his props?
- 39:17You know, it's not like he has to wheel around the death saw,
- 39:20like David Copperfield or, you know, 12 cast members and yada, yada.
- 39:25Yeah. Like, you know, 18 wheeler trucks, you know, rocking up and doing whatever they got to do.
- 39:31Like that's. Bring your thumb writer and your book for the book cast.
- 39:34Take about 20 minutes to find that check. and then it shows over.
- 39:39Now, again, there's probably countless stories, but there's just one more I
- 39:43want to make mention before we move on to his later life and his legacy, and it's this.
- 39:48Kreskin often used his stills for more personal challenges.
- 39:51In one story, a couple approached him during a performance, asking him for help
- 39:56with their troubled relationship.
- 39:58Kreskin invited them on stage and asked them to write down their biggest concerns
- 40:02on these separate cards, which were then sealed in envelopes.
- 40:06After a few moments of thought kreskin revealed what
- 40:08each had written and encouraged them to communicate openly
- 40:12about these issues the couple later credited
- 40:15kreskin with helping them understand each other better and saving their marriage
- 40:20a unique and heartwarming example of the ability to connect with people on a
- 40:25personal level come on come on talk about that's so clever and cute
- 40:33i mean i thought i'd do it in a cute way my roving sets where
- 40:36you know it's like i get a guy to say
- 40:39stop and i go you count that count that amount of cards and
- 40:42i say to the lady i go choose a number one two three or four and she's just
- 40:45four and i throw four cards down and i go how many cards do you have because
- 40:48i have 10 i go this many and i turn over one of the cards and it's 10 and i
- 40:52turn over all four cards and it's the four tens and i'm like wow you two are
- 40:55so in sync that's amazing I thought that was cool That is cool No,
- 41:01but that's still cool for a card trick Oh, thanks, man No, it is cool It's Hobson,
- 41:05sir So, yeah Is it Hobson's your plot?
- 41:09Yeah It's great I'll talk you through it later.
- 41:14So these stories exemplify Creskin's extraordinary talents and his ability to
- 41:18leave a lasting impression on audiences worldwide Each performance was a blend
- 41:22of psychology intuition and showmanship creating moments of awe and wonder that
- 41:26remain unforgettable to those who witness them.
- 41:29Amen. So as Kreskin aged, his passion for mentalism and the art of performance never waned.
- 41:37Into his later years, he remained an active and highly respected figure in the entertainment world.
- 41:42His career spanned more than seven decades.
- 41:46A testament to his dedication at adaptability, which I can't even speak. That's how good he was.
- 41:53Adaptability, adaptability, that's better adaptability and
- 41:56timeless appeal welling to
- 41:59his 70s and 80s kreskin continued to perform
- 42:01live shows proving that his talents were as sharp as ever his
- 42:05performance remained interactive and dynamic
- 42:08and the audiences of all ages were captivated by his ability
- 42:11to read minds predict outcomes and
- 42:14uncover hidden objects kreskin often quipped that
- 42:17mentalism kept him sharp and it was clear that
- 42:21his love for the craft was as strong as when he first started his
- 42:24live shows became more intimate over time after taking
- 42:28often taking place in smaller
- 42:30venues where he could engage directly with his audiences these
- 42:34performances offered fans a unique up-close experience of his abilities showcasing
- 42:40the personal and charismatic side of kreskin that endeared him to so many in
- 42:46his later years kreskin authored several books sharing the insights and techniques of the psychological.
- 42:53Uh, the, sorry, the philosophy behind his work.
- 42:55The books include the amazing world of Kreskin, Kreskin confidential,
- 43:00and the secrets of the amazing Kreskin.
- 43:03There is more, but these are the most like the ones you can actually get.
- 43:08And of course we can get them from well, trick supply.com has them for sure.
- 43:12Yeah. Is it this type in Kreskin in the search bar?
- 43:15You'll find four or five items that come up. And look, if you're a video learner
- 43:20in the five minutes i had pre-show i grabbed this off our dvd shelf you can
- 43:24be amazing just like kreskin and i'm gonna take this home and i don't have my
- 43:29dvd player yet it'll be here tomorrow.
- 43:33My furniture is still on route i don't you know i don't
- 43:35the cats have a couch not me absolutely yeah and they'll
- 43:39probably be mad if you try to share it with them so you know they get
- 43:41territorial but these teachings explore topics such
- 43:44as the power of suggestion the psychology of
- 43:47human behavior and how people can improve their focus and
- 43:50intuition in everyday life his books were
- 43:52not only instructional but inspirational offering readers
- 43:56tools to better understand themselves and others you
- 43:59know he also had he had a board game kreskin's board game psychic things i saw
- 44:06it in the window of a vintage shop in new orleans one day i'm walking by i'm
- 44:09like the kreskin board game like wonder who licensed that right it looked like
- 44:16you know something from Mattel,
- 44:17like the Ouija board people kind of thing. Yeah.
- 44:20Wow. Yeah. I bet that's a nice collectible. You get a, get a Kreskin board game.
- 44:25That would be cool. Yeah. So.
- 44:28Through his writing, Kreskin extended his legacy to aspiring magicians,
- 44:32mentalists, and anyone curious about the mysteries of the mind.
- 44:35Even as he stepped back from a spotlight in his later years,
- 44:39Kreskin's influence remained deeply embedded in pop culture.
- 44:43His name became synonymous with mind reading and intuition.
- 44:47Often references in movies and TV shows, saying that he was pulling a Kreskin.
- 44:53I guess it's probably an older saying, but Speaking of movies,
- 45:01is the great Buck Howard in your story here? The great Buck Howard? No.
- 45:08Let me see if I can share screen again here. This is a gem of a film,
- 45:14and it features John Malkovich, Colin Hanks, and even Tom Hanks is this in this movie.
- 45:23And this is essentially a reflection of Kreskin later in life.
- 45:30So, boy, John Malkovich and Colin Hanks. Ricky Jay is in this movie.
- 45:34Are you kidding me? So this is everyone's recommendation to watch later. It is a good film.
- 45:41And it's not like the most glamorous look at Kreskin as it is looking at him
- 45:49later in life and how someone that's declining in their later years might be struggling.
- 45:55But yeah, the great Buck Howard.
- 45:59Put that on your list if it's not already. Yeah, definitely.
- 46:02That's movie recommendations.
- 46:04There we go. That's a fun time. Yeah, it is. Yeah.
- 46:09So I was trying to see if there was any sort of mentorships and so forth.
- 46:14Although he didn't formally train students or establish a mentorship program,
- 46:17many mentalists credit him as a massive inspiration for their craft.
- 46:21His innovation of psychology and suggestion pushed the boundaries of what mentalism
- 46:25could achieve, encouraging others to experiment and innovate within that art form.
- 46:30Krescombe was also known for his generosity in sharing his knowledge.
- 46:33He frequently attended magic conventions where he would interact with younger
- 46:36performers, offering advice and encouragement.
- 46:39His willingness to connect with aspiring magicians and mentalists ensured his
- 46:43impact would continue to be felt for generations.
- 46:47Kreskin's final performances was celebrated as a milestone of his incredible career.
- 46:53While details of his very last performance remain elusive, it's widely recognized
- 46:58that he continued to perform well into his late 80s. Love it.
- 47:03Unreal, leaving audiences in awe to the very, very end.
- 47:07His shows were a testament to his enduring skill and the joy he found in creating
- 47:11connections with people in his
- 47:13craft He stopped performing after being injured in a fall in early 2024,
- 47:20He had a period of poor health in the weeks leading up until his death Chriskin
- 47:25died from complications of dementia at an assisted living facility in Wayne,
- 47:31New Jersey on December 10,
- 47:332024 At the age of 89 yeah
- 47:37just a few months ago yeah yeah kreskin's
- 47:41life was a celebration of curiosity creativity and
- 47:44the human mind's potential he transformed mentalism into a niche art from a
- 47:50niche art let me say that again because he deserves this he transformed mentalism
- 47:54from a niche art form into a global phenomenon inspiring countless performers
- 47:59and leaving audiences with memories of the impossible.
- 48:02His ability to connect with people, entertain with a sense of humor,
- 48:07and make them question what they thought they knew about the world's.
- 48:13Was just thrown out the window, honestly. But Kreskin, the real magic wasn't
- 48:19in the tricks of the illusion.
- 48:20It was about the connection he shared with the audience and the joy of creating
- 48:24these moments of true wonder.
- 48:26Kreskin will be missed and I'm really thankful we have an opportunity to remember him today.
- 48:32It's so cool. I agree completely. And dude, thank you so much for putting together
- 48:37that wonderful presentation.
- 48:38I mean, I learned a lot today about Kreskin. yeah you yeah yeah man it's staggering
- 48:45it's staggering how influential like.
- 48:48I guess because he was really on the rise during
- 48:51the rise of media and he knew how to make that work
- 48:54for him you know with all the television shows and you
- 48:58know i would say that has a lot to do with his popularity that
- 49:01plus he's an original and you know
- 49:04people ask me a lot i hear it from the kids and people want
- 49:07to know how do you become good the way you
- 49:10become good is you do something unique you know that no one
- 49:12else is doing and he very much did that he found his own
- 49:15his own style and was able to deliver something people haven't seen before or
- 49:21if they had seen it not that way you know i guess you see it nowadays you know
- 49:25i guess where he was coming up through the 50s where you know color television
- 49:29and so forth were becoming a thing and talk shows and, and whatever else where,
- 49:33you know, people would, you know, effectively be part of the audience in the lounge rooms.
- 49:37You know, I don't think people nowadays are going to experience that.
- 49:40Like we used to have a show. It was an awful show. It was called Hey, Hey, It's Saturday.
- 49:43That was our Johnny Carson's, right?
- 49:47And we were able to sit there in our lounge rooms as kids with the family,
- 49:50watch it on a Saturday night and, and have a giggle.
- 49:53You know what I mean? And we would have like, there's a hilarious,
- 49:56if you watch that, you'll, you'll laugh your ass off.
- 49:58We had like an ostrich puppet on the
- 50:01show there was this thing called dicky knee and i
- 50:04remember it scared the crap out of sophista stallone in one
- 50:07of the interviews i remember as a kid growing up you know those days
- 50:11are gone now you know now it's like they're using different mediums obviously
- 50:14and they're using social media but what i really dislike
- 50:17is that a lot of people ask me how to like do well
- 50:20in magic and seldom is
- 50:23the advice ever be good be
- 50:27really good be so good be world-class good it's always get your promo right
- 50:34look good get your but like and then what happens we hire you and you suck you
- 50:41know i know one guy who is all about aesthetics all about aesthetics and.
- 50:47And I guess this is a semi gig story because I was performing and I got,
- 50:51I got to share this story real quick.
- 50:53Cause it's just like, when you hear someone performing of this caliber versus
- 50:56somebody else, who's all about the aesthetic, I was performing and I approached
- 51:00this group and I say, hello, welcome.
- 51:02I'm Nicholas is now a good time for magic. And she goes, do we have to do magic?
- 51:05So of course not. What do you want to do? She goes, can we just have a chat? I go, sure.
- 51:10What do you want to know? She's like.
- 51:12Why do you do magic? And I go, cause it makes people happy. And she goes,
- 51:16well, what makes you happy? And I said, making people happy. She goes, cool.
- 51:20What was your favorite band in the nineties? I go this. And then she just asked
- 51:23me a mirada of questions.
- 51:24And I answered every one of them politely. And the guy, and I wasn't like in
- 51:27her face. I was in between these two dudes. She was like on the edge of the table on the far side.
- 51:31And I just sat with the guys and we just had a chat and I made us,
- 51:34I pulled us together. I'm like, just to make her feel comfortable for whatever
- 51:36reason, she was uncomfortable.
- 51:38I read the room and we had a chat about it. sometimes that's
- 51:42your job when you're the magician here's where
- 51:45i got great she then turns she then says okay i'm
- 51:48ready to see magic now and and i perform and actually before i do that the guys
- 51:55go she needed to establish trust before we do this and i said i understand that
- 51:59yeah not a problem i start performing my piece and it's blowing her mind and
- 52:05she's loving it she's like this is unbelievable.
- 52:07And she stopped me halfway through my set to tell me this. Like I wasn't done
- 52:10with my routine yet, but she stopped me and she said, five years ago,
- 52:15there was this magician who was so bad that I hate magic.
- 52:21And I went, where was it? And she told me where it was. And I went,
- 52:25I know exactly who this magician is. It was Josh Norbedo's house, huh?
- 52:34And I'm going to keep all the details out, but I'll fill you in off the air.
- 52:39And I'll show you a photograph because she took a, she goes, I hated it so much.
- 52:44That's pretty bad, man. You couldn't let it go. You had to burn it into the memory.
- 52:50Yeah. She was like, he was so bad. i took a photograph of him because this guy
- 52:54was not very professional and probably not even sober.
- 52:59For this but it's just one of those
- 53:02things where aesthetically they're so
- 53:04great and they look so good but when
- 53:07they actually do the work yeah they're not
- 53:10and they forgot to care about the people
- 53:13they forgot to care about the people now you look
- 53:16at kreskin would you say that he is channing
- 53:20pollock movie star gorgeous and and was
- 53:22fighting girls off of the stick or the
- 53:25exact opposite well maybe not
- 53:29i i'm sure he was classically handsome for sure
- 53:32but the work speaks for
- 53:35itself the work do the
- 53:38work man do the good magic thing care about
- 53:41your audience give them a reason to care about your magic and
- 53:45put on deodorant yeah in nick's
- 53:48case roll it all over your body do i smell
- 53:54that bad no i just know you're a deodorant fan
- 53:57you put on that nose sweat stuff no sweat stuff
- 54:00is important man and yeah and doing shows in
- 54:03brisbane where it's going to be considerably hotter i will be running a bathtub
- 54:05of it for sure in my accommodation so yeah but man like i i gotta i admittedly
- 54:11i'm so impressed by by these stories i really am like it's it's it's so inspiring
- 54:16yeah like it's just staggering you know.
- 54:22So look, we're wrapping up soon. We got a few minutes left. I want to mention
- 54:24you're going to a convention next week. I'm going to a convention next week.
- 54:28I'm going to work my first dealer's booth with Trix Supply in St. Louis, Missouri.
- 54:34Awesome. It's a close-up convention. So if there's any kindred spirits listening,
- 54:38if you're going to be in St.
- 54:39Louis, you got about 20 hours. If you have a special request, I'll bring you.
- 54:44Maybe, maybe you want the new Juan Tamari book. Let's go.
- 54:50Flamenco in the house. I got to do a little product promotion from trick supply.
- 54:54You know, this is Juan's newest, really it's a trick book, which is kind of
- 54:59rare for him. You know, sometimes his books lately are all theory.
- 55:02You can't have this one. Cause it's mine now.
- 55:07It's just remarkable. Cause I, if I were in your position, I would be,
- 55:11I'd be paying to work there because I would just be hemorrhaging all my wages.
- 55:15Don't tell my boss that. Cause I would, but so far this is working out.
- 55:22No truth be told turns out having doug con in a magic shop's
- 55:25all right for the magic shop you know i think it's a good give and take
- 55:28but yeah i am literally living the dream i mean
- 55:30i was like what are we going to talk these are just the things that
- 55:33came across my desk today like here's a couple of
- 55:36things i grabbed the christian we got the big headline from
- 55:40david kaplan this is great he's actually
- 55:43right in town he's going to be visiting us for the for the
- 55:46magic festival i believe so yes indeed so i was happy to see that we got this
- 55:51is ariola i can't pronounce the first name paviato which i recall reading his
- 55:56work in some early books from john mendoza he's a fissom award-winning artist
- 56:00i think he did a duo act with tamarie back in the day what is his name.
- 56:06Ariolo paviato let me put that right in the front there and i know he's got
- 56:11some wonderful card and coin handlings.
- 56:13I recall studying them, but I haven't seen a volume dedicated to his work.
- 56:17Nice book. We all know who Roberto Giobbi is, and I guess this is maybe a Penguin release, right?
- 56:25So Unexpected Agenda from Roberto. This is more of a theory book.
- 56:29You know, that's interesting.
- 56:31Considering his books, Card College, are very much the concrete of card magic
- 56:37to some degree. You know what I mean?
- 56:39They're a very good foundation. That's what I tell people about.
- 56:41How do I learn card magic? Get card college.
- 56:43It's all that. Yeah. And it's remarkable because I've sat up as a guy who's
- 56:46just been like, everything you do fools me. And they just go,
- 56:49it's all card college, man.
- 56:50And I'm like, shh. Yeah. All the great stuff is in there.
- 56:53Yeah. It's hard to believe like what else could be in that book?
- 56:57Like the hidden, what is it called? A hidden agenda?
- 56:59This is the unexpected agenda. And it's a follow-up to a volume that he released,
- 57:04I think, which was called hidden agenda. And it's a book, I think mainly of
- 57:08magic theory, tips, advice, just on how to be a better magician.
- 57:13You know, maybe not the ambitious card routine, but you know,
- 57:17how to make someone care about the ambitious card routine. Yeah.
- 57:21So yeah, I get to live the dream. I'm getting, like, that's the day.
- 57:24Yesterday it was, you know, Torah Torah magic. And the day before I'm curating
- 57:29the brass wares in the cabinet.
- 57:31And, you know, the day before that I'm learning some new packet tricks.
- 57:34Yeah. A good one that I'm really enthusiastic about. This thing.
- 57:39David Haydon's Babel book test. This is one volume of many that he's published.
- 57:44It incorporates the mother of all book tests, the flashback book test,
- 57:48and a couple of unique things that he's integrated into this.
- 57:51It's been a while since I've had a book test, but this one is going to go home
- 57:56with me and looking forward to, if nothing else, performing it at my house,
- 58:00you know, having the book around and it's a very organic piece.
- 58:04Well, yeah, we actually have these on sale for like 40 bucks right now.
- 58:07It's ridiculously cheap as far as high-end.
- 58:10For a book test. That's crazy. Yeah, especially for something that's related
- 58:14to the mother of all book tests, which is normally hundreds of dollars to get
- 58:17something without publication. Yeah.
- 58:19Yeah. Like normally you're looking, like you got to sort of have 300 bucks in your pocket.
- 58:23Yeah. You even enter the word mother of all book tests.
- 58:26So what Haydon did with these books is he published several of them in different
- 58:30sizes. So you can use the same techniques for books that appear to be different, right?
- 58:34So it's the same methodology. So you can have eight books on the shelf.
- 58:37You say, go grab one of those.
- 58:39And they all work the same way, but they all look different. Pretty cool.
- 58:44Look, I'm done plugging products. I actually have a customer in my store now.
- 58:48So it's time to wrap up our podcast so I can actually make some money today.
- 58:52Well, guys, thank you for listening to our podcast. And thank you for helping
- 58:56us pay respects to the amazing Kreskin.
- 58:58Like, I wish I knew more about him earlier. and it just goes to show you don't
- 59:02know what you got till it's gone but of course,
- 59:04you got to know where you came from to know where you're going history is important
- 59:07if there's anyone else you would like me to sort of scope out let me know
- 59:10i've written three or four in advance so as far as history lessons go if you
- 59:13enjoy them do let us know thanks much for listening i'm letting you know i enjoy
- 59:18them nick thank you thank you doug you can scope out my links below or scope
- 59:23on instagram at nick kmagic you can see doug at con man go to dougcon.com that's a good dot com.
- 59:30Thanks for listening. We'll see you guys next week. Lots of love. Au revoir.
- 59:35Thanks for listening. It's time for us to disappear now. Disappear now.
- 59:40But we'll see you again on the next episode of The Magic Guys.