|
Secret World of Magic
Sky One, April - May 2005
6 x 1 hour shows
Preview by Sky TV
Top magic buddies Pete Firman and Alistair Cook take us on a magical
mystery tour of the globe. From Paris to Los Angeles and Vegas, from Buenos
Aires to Madrid to New York we follow Pete and Ali’s ‘road trip’ as they meet
their heroes of magic, reveal the true stories behind some of the world’s most
legendary tricks and attempt to wow the locals with their unique brand of magic
entertainment. Sometimes they succeed….
First stop is MADRID where Pete and Ali get close and personal with Mago
Migue, a former Spanish pop star who is now a World Champion card magician. They
also meet the Woody Allen of Spanish magic, Juan Tamariz, who is a former TV
star and film director and are invited to perform to his students at the
world-famous Tamariz school of Magic – where a precocious 11 year-old threatens
to out perform them. Pete tries to dazzle with a card trick only to discover
that the temperature and humidity makes the cards bend and warp. Meanwhile Ali
tries to impress with his Spanish but, in his own words: “…when I ordered
coffee I kept being served portions of trifle…”
Then it’s across the border to PARIS, where they find out that Gaeton
Bloom, France’s answer to Tommy Cooper, is performing at a topless revue bar.
They make it their mission to seek him out. Magic and girls - Pete and Ali’s
idea of heaven. Not quite so heavenly is Pete’s reception at Le Double Fond - a
magic bar owned by magician Dominique Duvivier. “My magic has a lot of
banter. I was ranting on about how the coin was in my hand and I realised they
didn’t have a clue what was going on.”
Next it’s touchdown in NEW YORK. They meet one of their all time greats
Harry Lorayne, the fast-talking magic legend whose bible The Magic Book
sparked David Blaine’s interest in Magic. They also meet David Acer, Canada’s
finest close-up magician and blag their way in to Monday Night Magic (the Big
Apple’s premiere magic venue) where they perform to a sell-out crowd. Pete also
gets to fulfill a personal goal by performing on the boardwalk at Coney Island.
“Awesome”, he says.
On to LA, the city of stars, where our hard-working magicians cruise, eat
sushi, hang out with Gary Oldman (nearly) and attend a premiere. In between they
catch up with the world famous close-up magician Dean Dill, who is an expert at
coin magic. They also share stories with John Gaughan, a legendary magic
inventor who taught Blaine how to chop off his ear and interview the outrageous
performer Max Maven, the ‘Ming the Merciless’ of mind reading. They also get to
perform at the prestigious Magic Castle. “A life-long ambition”, says
Ali.
Next destination are the casinos and showrooms of VEGAS where Pete and
Ali reluctantly watch a bevy of showgirls perform an erotic magic show and
marvel at the old ladies wheeling their oxygen tanks from slot machine to slot
machine. They pop in to the Rio Hotel to watch Penn & Teller weave their magic
skills and chat to the Emo Philips of comedy magic Mac King and the pagan
persona that is Jeff McBride, a magician whose act embraces mine, masks and
martial arts. Fuelled by the Vegas vibe, our ‘swingers’ hit the bamboo lounges
to perform some close-up magic of their own.
Another day. Another continent. BUENOS AIRES, home to the world’s only
professional one-handed magician, Rene Levand and some nice young ladies who
give Pete and Ali some tango lessons “they showed us some of their moves, we
showed them some of ours,” says Ali. They also talk to Henry Evans, who is
famous in Argentina for his card tricks and sleight of hand. Revealing some
sleight of hand of their own, our magic mavericks perform on the streets and at
the Bazar de magia and get to eat a lot of cow.
© Sky One, April 2005