Number 600 - 24th December 2011
TV's
50 Greatest Magic Tricks - Saturday 31st December on Channel 5: "A
countdown of the greatest TV magic tricks of all time. From the
astonishing set pieces of Penn and Teller to the mindbending of Derren
Brown and the street magic of David Blaine, be prepared to be amazed and
mystified. Contributions come from magic's greatest stars, including
Paul Daniels and Debbie McGee, new magician wonderkid Dynamo, Penn and
Teller, and magic fans Joe Pasquale, Stephen Mulhern, and Dick and Dom."
See TV Magic for
times.
24.12.11
The
David Berglas Award 2012. The British Magical Society was formed in
Birmingham in 1905 and is the oldest magical society in Europe. Its
first President was David Devant, and it initiated the growth of the
magical society movement in the UK including the formation of The Magic
Circle in June of the same year. This Trophy is awarded annually to a
British magician... 'For service to magic in general or performing
ability.' Members of the British Magical Society are invited each year
to make a nomination for the Award. The previous recipients of this
Award have been Peter Warlock, Paul Daniels, John Fisher, Ali Bongo,
Alan Shaxon, Pat Page, Roy Johnson, Ron Macmillan, David Berglas, Donald
Bevan, Wayne Dobson, Jeffery Atkins, Derek Lever, Edwin Dawes, Elizabeth
Warlock, Geoffrey Durham, Alex Elmsley, Paul Kieve, Mark Raffles, Terry
Herbert, Roy Walton, Bob Hamilton and the current holder, Derren Brown.
A committee of the five immediate Past Presidents decide the winner. The
BMS is pleased to announce that the winner of the Award this Year is:
Anthony Owen. The Trophy will be presented at our Annual Dinner on
Saturday 24th March 2012 at the Tally Ho Conference & Banqueting Centre,
Edgbaston, Birmingham. Paul Cadley, Hon Secretary, British Magical
Society.
www.britishmagicalsociety.co.uk.
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Portrait
of the artist: Paul Daniels, magician. "My breakthrough came at 35.
I employed a man to get me on television; he did, and that changed my
whole life" What's the best advice anyone ever gave you? "Practically
all my good advice came from my father. He'd say: 'Measure it twice,
you'll only cut it once – and that will apply to your life as much as it
applies to woodwork.'" Laura Barnett interviews Paul Daniels for The
Guardian. To read the full interview
Click Here.
24.12.11
The
Wheeltappers and Shunters Social Club... This is where it all
started for Paul Daniels's television career. The entire series is now
available on DVD from Amazon.co.uk. Complete Series 3 (with Paul Daniels)
Click Here, Complete Series 4 (with Paul Daniels)
Click Here. MagicWeek receives a commission from Amazon.co.uk sales.
24.12.11
‘Magic
Night’ at Madame Jojo’s, London. Friday, 20th January 2012: "Mind
reading, floating objects, a record breaker, sawings in half and scissor
hands! John Hicks and his unusual assistant will be breaking world
records by attempting 50 tricks in 5 minutes, Oliver Tabor plays tricks
on your eyes with some incredible illusions and Stuart Turner gets
mugging, Matt G picks at your mind and Anil Desai (master of a thousand
voices) gets scissor hands! Morgan and West, the gentlemanly Victorian
time traveling magicians will provide mind bending magic and all
proceedings will be overseen by Tommy Cooperesque Christian Lee." Magic
Night at Madame Jojos. Doors open 7pm show starts at 7.45pm. Tickets £12
including entry to 'Good Foot'. Show ticket plus dinner: £22.00.
Tickets:
www.ticketweb.co.uk
www.lastminute.com
or Ticket Web on 08444 77 1000. Madame JoJo’s, 8-10 Brewer Street,
London W1F 0SE (Map)
020 734 3040
www.magicnight.co.uk.
24.12.11
Newsflash
2.0 - Watch Axel Hecklau perform his brilliant Newsflash 2.0
Click Here and then ask yourself if it's not the finest Torn &
Restored Newspaper ever! Axel will be appearing at the
Blackpool
Convention in February.
24.12.11
Christmas
wishes from the British Ring: "The President and his Lady (Brian
Miller and Audrey) of The International Brotherhood of Magicians British
Ring Number 25 send cordial good wishes for peace and happiness to
magicians throughout the world and hope 2012 will be a successful year
for you all. The British Ring convention takes place in Great Yarmouth
from 26th-30th September 2012. It will truly be an all British
convention and acts confirmed so far include Nicholas Einhorn, Mandy
Muden, Roy Davenport, Steve Hewlett, Chris Woodward and Rajan. The
dealers’ hall is a very important part of any convention and we welcome
back after many years of absence, Davenports and Mark Mason. Further
information will be published when it becomes available. The members’
preferential convention (early bird) rate of £95 is available up to 31st
December 2011 and details can be found on
www.magicconvention.co.uk." Geoffrey Newton PRO.
24.12.11
Prodigy
Project - SP Magic:
Scott Perry writes: "My new year's resolution was to spend more time with a deck of cards in
my hand than without in 2012. I decided to turn this resolution in to a
project that will last the whole year with weekly video updates. The
project has been named the Prodigy Project and that's what I hope to
become, a prodigy.
Over the year I will look in to myths, science, stories and facts behind
card magic. I also hope to include interviews/appearances from well
known magicians from time to time.
I have uploaded a video to announce the project
Click Here
I will be posting updates on twitter @spmagicuk and using the hash tag
#prodigyproject."
www.spmagic.co.uk/V3/waiting.html
www.facebook.com/SPMagicUK.
24.12.11
Now
I like John Styles... but I also like Harry Hill... John Styles is
the man behind the ventriloquism and puppetry in three programmes and
films being shown over the Christmas period this year: Harry Hill's
Little Cracker, A Christmas Carol and The Polar Express.
John is also appearing as a guest on BBC Radio Kent's 'Special Sunday
Supplement', at lunchtime on Christmas Day.
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The
Magic of Showbiz. Controversial Hypnotist, Magician and Mentalist
Jonathan Royle is now offering several new lectures and workshops for
Magic Clubs and Conventions to book, worldwide. Full details of the
various services available, along with your chance to share in some free
Mentalism EBooks and Hypnosis Training Videos, together with a sneak
peak at some of Royle's surreal European Comedy TV series can be found
now at
tinyurl.com/bqynknw.
24.12.11
Dynamo: Magician Impossible,
four shows, back to
back on Monday 26th December on Watch. "At 5pm Street magician Dynamo performs a spectacular Matrix-style
levitation, physically moves a girl's tan line and performs magic with
rock star Ian Brown. At 6pm Dynamo turns snow
into diamonds, amazes ex-Pussycat Doll Kimberly Wyatt in a London
jewellers, and leaves Rio Ferdinand speechless. At 7pm Dynamo travels around
the world, dazzling those he meets with his illusions. In this episode,
he wows comedian Mat Horne, and vanishes in Miami. And at 8pm Dynamo hits LA where
he leaves Travis Barker stunned and Natalie Imbruglia in a flap. Back
home, he makes headlines with Radio 1's Scott Mills." See
TV Magic for details.
24.12.11
Rudy,
Santa and Elfin and the 85 members and guests who attended The Order
of the Magi (Manchester) President’s Christmas party send good wishes to
magicians and their families everywhere. Enjoy the Festive Season and
may “2-0-1-2- be good 4U”. By the way can you guess who the people in
the photo really are? First correct answer to
urbanwizard@uwclub.net wins
a prize. Geoffrey Newton PRO.
24.12.11
Coming
Up: Magic. "The local branch of magic enthusiasts suspect their chairwoman
Felicity has some involvement in the death of their favourite magician. So when
she suggests a dramatic and spectacular finale for the society, the members
resolve to stop Felicity at any cost." Starring Jane Horrocks, late night
Monday 2nd January - see TV Magic.
24.12.11
The Untold Tommy
Cooper.
9pm on Wednesday 28th December on Channel 4. "This one-off special looks at the untold life of British national
treasure, comedian and magician Tommy Cooper. Drawing on details from
the meticulous diaries of his life-long manager Miff Ferrie, The Untold
Tommy Cooper features previously unheard audio and unseen archive
footage from Cooper's personal and professional life, including material
never performed before. Fans as diverse as Johnny Vegas, Damien Hirst,
Ozzy Osbourne, Sir Roger Moore, Alfred Molina and Reece Shearsmith talk
about their love of Cooper, while voices never heard before - including
the man who tried to save Cooper's life - reveal their stories about and
passion for this comedy giant."
24.12.11
"Magician
invited to Kim Jong Il funeral"
Click Here • "Kim Jong-il's relationships: an unlikely sex symbol"
Click Here • "Jay Mohr Joins The Ever-Expanding Cast of Burt
Wonderstone"
Click Here • "Magic festival back for a ninth year"
Click Here • "Magic Colin takes top title"
Click Here • "Of all the places for a Vegas magician to land a gig"
Click Here • "The Sooty Christmas
Show"
Click Here
• "Sex, drink and Paul Daniels: The Krankies confess to their wild past"
Click Here • "Five-letter Word for Magic"
Click Here • "Recognise magic as an art form: Raghuvir"
Click Here •
"Mane United"
Click Here •
"Channel 4 to take over London's tube for New Year's Eve"
Click Here •
Ollie Mealing is offering magicians a free trick until December 27th via
his Facebook page, simply visit
facebook.com/olliemealingmagician and follow the instructions •
And finally, not magic (in fact totally off-topic) but if you
ever wanted to be a cowboy when you grew up (but didn't quite make the
grade) then you'll love this... Ennio Morricone's The Ecstasy of Gold,
from The Good, the Bad, the Ugly conducted by Ennio Morricone
himself. Crank it up and
Click Here (next week another orchestral cinema classic, to welcome
in the New Year!).
24.12.11
Merry Christmas and Happy New Year to all our readers worldwide
from the MagicWeek team - it's our 600th issue today! From Duncan, Keiko, Amelia and Louis. Thank you to everyone who
submitted news items and reviews throughout the year, and thanks too, to all our advertisers (the best on
the web) and of course to you for reading MagicWeek every week! Have a
great Christmas.
24.12.11