The world of magic became much poorer this week with the passing of one of the best, Max Maven. I was honored to have had the opportunity to meet and speak with Max on numerous occasions and always came away a little better from the experience. As one of my early guests on the podcast, Max set the bar very high for all those to follow. I am sharing…

From numerous sources, we have sadly learned of the passing of the Amazing Johnathan. According to Rolling Stone, "An exact cause of death was not immediately given, though Johnathan — born Johnathan Edward Szeles — had previously revealed he had been diagnosed with a heart condition. Szeles’ wife, the performer Anastasia Synn, confirmed her husban…

My guest on this episode of the Magic Newswire's "Spirit of Magic" podcast is more than just an amazing performer, he's a respected thinker and creator in the art of magic and mentalism. Banachek was also a part of the now famous Project Alpha hoax in which he convinced scientists from Washington University that he was actually demonstrating parano…

The James Randi Foundation has today announced that "The Amazing Randi" had died at the age of 92, saying simply that its founder succumbed to “age-related causes” on Tuesday. Randi joined us on this episode of the "Spirit of Magic" podcast before appearing as a featured performer at the 100th Anniversary Salute to Magic show in New York City. Rand…

Today we lost yet another true luminary in the world of magic, Marvyn Roy, better known to many as Mr. Electric." Marvyn and Carol Roy performed the "Mr. Electric" Act for over fifty years. Mr. Electric toured the world during the fifties, sixties, seventies and eighties. Marvyn & Carol were featured at Radio City Music Hall, the London Palladium, …

Dorothy Dietrich is one of the world's foremost female magician and escapologists. She was the first woman to catch a bullet in her mouth. Dorothy is also the first woman to perform a straitjacket escape while suspended hundreds of feet in the air from a burning rope and has been referred to as on of the "eight most noted magicians of the late twen…

It goes without saying that the magic community is still reeling from the loss of one of our mentors, the amazing Johnny Thompson. It was because of him that I put together this interview with him and some of Charlie Miller's students and friends. The original description of this interview follows: "Seconds, bottoms, the pass, Malini, Vernon and so…

Here is another redo of a prior episode of the podcast. This one highlights a non magician, Gary Vaynerchuk. Gary has been featured in The Wall Street Journal, GQ, and Time, has appeared on Late Night with Conan O'Brien and Ellen. He also makes regular appearances on Fox News, MSNBC, CNN and the major network news outlets. Vaynerchuk has been descr…

"Some demented magician would take over a movie theater at midnight on Saturday. He'd choose creepy tricks and return-of-the-dead patter and the show would climax with him producing a monster, like a mummy, who would stagger into the audience as the lights went out. All the teenagers would clutch their dates and scream and giggle," he adds, "and ta…

Both Johnny & Pam Thompson Joined us for a rip roaring chat on an episode of This Week in Magic and it is a great one to listen to while thinking of him. Rest Easy my friend!By Dodd Vickers

I am so very sad to report on the passing of yet another of the greats in our art. Johnny "The Great Tomsoni" Thompson was my guest on several episodes of the Magic Newswire's Spirit of Magic Podcast. This is one of my favorites and the earliest. Please listen and remember in his honor! Johnny was much more than an extremely well respected performe…

On April 1st, 2009, Magician John Rotellini Jr. will spend the day sightless- having silver dollars duct taped over his eyes topped with custom-made stainless steel blindfold placed over his face. Throughout the course of the day, John will visit area businesses and schools performing mentalism. Why is he doing this? To raise money for Kidd's Kids,…

Paul Diamond may not be a household name in the world of magic today, but everyone that I speak to from Johnny Thompson, to Mac King & Lance Burton, etc... all knew "Mr. Humble." I was very sad to learn today that he had passed away. As a boy discovering the art of magic while living in South Florida, making the trip to Paul's shop in the Lauderdal…

It has been a rough week for magic. This afternoon I learned that we had lost yet another member of magic's royality, "Princess" Irene Larsen. From Erika: It is with the greatest sorrow imaginable, that we announce the passing of my beautiful, beloved mother, Irene Larsen. She left us suddenly, but not before touching many, many lives deeply and pe…

YOU ARE ALREADY MISSED MY FRIENDAs a native Atlantan, I have very fond memories of seeing Tom Mullica perform at his magic bar on Peachtree Street, The Tom Foolery. I am sad to report that today, we lost one of magic's great performers and a genuinely nice guy. When we recorded this, Tom had been battling leukemia, but it was in remission and Tom w…

Chris Ramsay is a magician. He's a photographer. He's a guy that can't be easily categorized, which is probably exactly how he likes it. Chris discovered magic as a child and honed his skills as a traditional magician while working in a restaurant, but it wasn't until he discovered cardistry and flourishing that he really came into his own. These d…

Jim Steinmeyer & Mike Caveney rejoin me on the Magic Newswire's "Spirit of Magic" podcast to talk about several topics including magic snobbery, the 20th anniversary of the LA Magic History Conference which just wrapped in Los Angeles, their new release from Taschen Books, "Magic: 1400 - 1950", and their current projects including Steinmeyer's biog…

In the conclusion of my interview with magic creator, consultant, historian and author Jim Steinmeyer we cover a wide range of topics. What makes the Masked Magician Specials possible? Can the secrets of magic really be protected from exposure? What challenges are faced by Cirque when developing a new presentation of magic for the public? What's mi…

Magic creator, consultant, historian and author Jim Steinmeyer is our guest on this episode of the Magic Newswire podcast. In addition to talking about his magical youth, Jim shares his experiences working with some of the biggest names in magic. Doug Henning, David Copperfield, Lance Burton and Siegfried & Roy are just a few of the professional pe…

Here is a repost of the two part interview with David Ben which was originally published in October of 2009. It has been remastered to remove the ads and consolidate both parts into one continuous interview. David talks about Marlo, Vernon and many other notable figures from the history of magic. From the original post: The public, the press and hi…

On this episode of the Magic Newswire's "Spirit of Magic" podcast we have a chat with Australia's honest conman and one of the hosts of the latest incarnation of The Real Hustle, Nicholas Johnson. The concept for the Real Hustle as a television program originated in the UK and has gone through several incarnations in various countries. Nicholas is …

As we approach the 100th anniversary celebration of the mansion that serves as the permanent resident for the Academy of Magical Arts, we continue to explore the rich history of the Magic Castle. My guest on this episode of the podcast is George Seigel. George is the architectural historian for the Castle and the man that knows the complete history…

A long time promise is now fulfilled for MagicNewswire Podcast listeners. Some time ago, I recorded a fantastic interview with "Magician's Magician" Armando Lucero. Unfortunately, due to a perfect storm of technical issues, I thought that it had been lost. In addition, time constrains placed upon me by my nob and family have prevented me from dedic…

The public, the press and his peers have recognized David as one of the world’s foremost sleight-of-hand artists. In Dai Vernon: A Biography (2006), David penned the first half (part two being in production) of the definitive portrait of Dai Vernon, the most influential magician of the twentieth century. He is the co-founder and Artistic Director o…

By now, everyone will be aware of the tragedy that has hit the country of Haiti after a major eathquake rocked the region. The magic community is representing us well in the face of the disaster through the efforts of James L Clark, Daniel Ramirez & David Blaine. Yesterday, David Blaine announced that he would be doing magic in Times Square for the…

Paul Wilson is much more than an award winning conjuror. He's a scam artist, movie consultant and television presenter. He has studied sleight of hand, cheating and conjuring since the age of eight. He consulted on the 2004 Sylvester Stallone film "Shade" in which he directed and starred in the highly acclaimed opening titles which featured his exp…

Bob Wallace, retired CIA Director of the Department of Technical Services is one of the co-authors of the new book,The Official CIA Manual of Trickery and Deception. In 1953, against the backdrop of the Cold War, the CIA initiated a top-secret program, code-named MKULTRA, to counter Soviet mind-control and interrogation techniques. Realizing that c…

Just before heading off to the 2009 MindVention in Las Vegas Alain Nu joins me on the Spirit of Magic podcast. Alain is “the man who knows, ” a mentalist and mystery performer who explores the hidden potential of our minds. Join Alain and me as we discuss modern mentalism and the ways in which he entertains even the most skeptical audiences with th…

My guest for this episode of the Magic Newswire's "Spirit of Magic" podcast is the comedy magician Levent. As a fan of Mac computers, I have to include the fact that he is one of only a handful of entertainers to be invited to Apple Computer Company headquarters in Cupertino where he performed for the Apple staff. Levent is a noted magic lecturer a…

Shawn Farquhar returns to the Magic Newswire's "Spirit of Magic" podcast to share his FISM experience with our listeners. As you will know, Shawn was awarded First Place in Cards and went on to with the Grand Prix in close-up at the event in Beijing. We talk about both the good and the bad of this year's FISM. Shawn also discusses the controversy t…

Jeff Hobson is one of the most in-demand comedy magicians working today. His refreshing and clever mix of comedy and magic has brought him back for repeat performances all over the world. Hobson has won numerous awards for his skills. Among the most recent is his Best Comedy Magic award given by the International Magic Awards Association as well as…

The founder of the Magic Castle and the producer of the annual "It's Magic" show is my guest on this special edition of the Magic Newswire's Spirit of Magic Podcast as we explore the history of the Castle which celebrates it's 100th anniversary next week. In the podcast, Milt shares his experiences as the founder of one of the most magical places o…

The Misfit of Magic is a fitting title for magician, comedian and actor Ed Alonzo. Ed was named "Best Comedy Illusionist" on the 2008 World Magic Awards and is a featured performer on Episode 3 of Masters of Illusion. Ed began his career in magic as a member of both the Long Beach Mystics and the Junior program of the Magic Castle. Ed Alonzo won th…

In Part Two of my interview with the legendary Jon Racherbaumer, we explore the many influences on Jon and his passion for magic. Marlo, Vernon, Cardini, Slydini, Chan Canasta, Channing Pollock, Tommy Wonder, John Scarne and more all enter into the conversation. In addition, we discuss 75th anniversary edition of the Jinx that he and Harry Anderson…

Barrie Richardson may be one of magic's most soft spoken thinkers, but he has contributed a great deal to the art of magic an mentalism. With the 1990 release of "Theater of the Mind," Barrie became instantly synonymous with great mentalism. The release of his second book "Act II" continued his legacy. Barrie joins me on the Magic Newswire "Spirit …

Joining me from Budapest, Hungary is the newly dubbed World Champion of Stage Magic, Soma! Soma has become widely recognized in magic circles over the last several years after winning the such awards as the Golden Lion and the Magic Rings Grand Prix. After being named the Champion in the General Magic category at this year's FISM in Beijing, China …

Who was the stunt double that did the backflips for John Belushi in the movie "The Blues Brothers?" Who grew up in Harry Anderson's garage? Which magician overcame the hardships of dyslexia, ADD, severe speech impediments and other learning disabilities to become a world renowned magic performer? You've probably guessed that I am talking about Jona…

When we posted the first part of our interview with Jonathan, we talked about the challenges that he had to overcome in order to become one of the top magicians in the world. It is no secret that the Pendragons are facing a new set of challengesas I post these interviews. In this episode, Jonathan talks in detail about meeting and romancing Charlot…

After many years of writing magic books Stephen Minch decided to found his own publishing house which he called Hermetic Press. Today, the Hermetic Press is one of the most prestigeous magic publishers in the world and Stephen is considered one of the best editors and authors of magic books. Also recognized for his encyclopedic knowledge of magic h…

My guest on this episode of the Magic Newswire's "Spirit of Magic" podcast is more than just an amazing performer, he's a respected thinker and creator in the art of magic and mentalism. Banachek was also a part of the now famous Project Alpha hoax in which he convinced scientists from Washington University that he was actually demonstrating parano…

On Friday, September 11th, 2009, our friend magician Eric DeCamps was invested as a Dean of the Society of American Magicians Parent Assembly #1. Eric has been performing for more than 30 years. Among his many honors, he was voted Magician of the Year by The Society of American Magicians and is only the second person in the 107 year history of the …

Nathan Burton returns to the Magic Newswire's Spirit of Magic podcast after his appearance on the current season of America's Got Talent. Nathan was also a contestant on the first season of the show in which he placed 11th. Nathan returns to a show which seems more receptive to magic acts than it has been in the past. In addition to discussing the …

Doc Eason is known today as one of the premier bar and close-up magicians in the Magic. Most recently, Doc was honored by the Academy of Magical Arts at their 41st annual awards ceremony where he was named "Close-up Magician of the Year." This was not Doc's first award from the AMA as he was named WC Fields' Bar Magician of the Year in 2005. Know f…

We continue to celebrate making it to our 100th episode of the Magic Newswire's "Spirit of Magic" podcast with Part 2 of our chat with Master Magician Lance Burton. In this segment, Lance talks a bit more about people like Channing Pollock , Johnny Thompson and others that have impacted his career. In addition, we joke about his reaction to the Mas…

If you don't know the name of Jon Racherbaumer, you should either walk away from magic or take some time to explore his influence on our art form. Jon is one of those guys that managed to connect to some of the greatests names in the modern history of magic including Ed Marlo, Eddie Fields, Orson Welles, and Senator Crandall. Given the controversie…

As discussed in our interview with Robert Wallace regarding the recent release of the manual that John Mulholland producedunder contract for the CIA, I thought it only appropriate to explore this topic further. In this episode, we talk to Ben Robinson, the author of the only biography of this individual,MagiCIAn : The Secret Life of John Mulholland…

Welcome to the launch of a new addition to the MagicNewswire.com podcast lineup. When I first began podcasting on the subject of magic, it was just me and a microphone talking about the news of the week. I quickly grew bored and the interview concept that you now know as the "Spirit of Magic Podcast" was born. This is a return to the magic news dis…

On the second episode of "This Week in Magic" Scott Wells, Cameron Ramsay and I are joined by special guest, Brian Brushwood. During last weeks show with guest Jim Callahan, one of the topics discussed was exposure and Jim expressed the opinion that Brian was essentially exposing the secrets of magic and mentalist on his Revision 3 podcast "Scam Sc…

One of the most controversial figures in mentalism joins me on this episode of the Magic Newswire "Spirit of Magic" podcast. Why is Jim such a debated personality? Does he actually claim to possess supernatural powers that allow him to speak with the dead or is he simply misunderstood as a performer? Has he actually applied to participate in the Ja…

Among the top stories of 2015 in the world of magic was Mat Franco's winning the ninth season of "America's Got Talent." Keep on mind that 73 magicians or magic acts have appeared on the whow over the years including the Pendragons, Kevin James, Murray Sawchuck, Michael Grasso, Nathan Burton, Brett Daniels, Rudy Coby, Bizarro and many more. Mat bec…