Magicians spread out, take over other venues

August 2, 2010

One is in a casino commercial. Another is in a cab. Another is making cupcakes. Another is investigating a friend’s death after a fight with a rock musician. I don’t remember a weekend where magicians got so much coverage for non-magical things. Only way to break something like this down is with bullets:

We knew Rich Ferguson was good with poker chips and cards. But he’s also good as a commercial actor. He appeared in a casino commercial standing in a wine cellar and, like the Old Spice guy, on a horse. They used his hands for some commercials to air in the future; we can’t wait to see them.
Lance Burton will be a competitor on Cash Cab sometime next week on Discovery Channel. Dodd Vickers at the Magic Newswire reports that he is also to appear on a new show called “Restorations.”
Justin Kredible, the magician who can be made to dance with a simple command from Ellusionist’s Shawn Mullins, is hosting Cupcake Wars on the Food Network. Justin Robert Young at iTricks found the promo.
Scottish magician Jerry Sadowitz is getting involved in a mother’s campaign to find out what happened to her son after a fight with Pete Doherty. Specifically, he will auction the secret of one of his famous card tricks to help the mother fund an investigation. This Daily Record report has the details.

At least Criss Angel is sticking to magic. The new season of “Mindfreak” starts Wednesday.

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Posted by Joe Hadsall | Filed Under Criss Angel, General

Illusionist to attempt his own ‘world record’

July 30, 2010

Sammy Cortino is after his own world record. Not exactly a Guinness record, but close.

Next week, Cortino will attempt to make 300 playing cards disappear and reappear in 90 seconds, using both hands simultaneously and blindfolded. The intended stunt is detailed in this report from the Hickory Daily Record.

He plans to video the feat and post it on YouTube and other sites, hoping that Guinness will take notice. He’ll also live feed the video on his Facebook page. His judge: Hickory, N.C. Mayor Rudy Wright.

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Posted by Joe Hadsall | Filed Under General

Fisher to publish new podcasts this week

July 26, 2010

Aaron Fisher is amazing with a deck of cards, but we’ll accuse him of, as it’s said in the journalism business, “burying the lede.”

Over the weekend, we got an e-mail from the creator of Search and Destroy reporting that his past podcasts are available on iTunes. Then, as a p.s., the very last sentence said he’ll be publishing a new season of podcasts starting this week.

Keep an ear out for the audio goodness — they should show up in t iTunes if you subscribe. Or keep watching his Web site. Fisher’s podcasts rank up there with the most educational, informative resources out there.

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Posted by Joe Hadsall | Filed Under General

Photo triggers tweet from Penn Jillette

July 23, 2010

Photo triggers tweet from Penn Jillette Penn Jillette, half of the great Penn & Teller, made this tweet in response to the upside-down Blaine photo:

Hmmm. When we did this decades ago on SNL it was funny, when David Blaine does it - it’s physically challenging -

We’re assuming it went something like this:

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Posted by Joe Hadsall | Filed Under General

Esquire staffers learn card trick from Blaine

July 23, 2010

Fresh on the tails of yesterday’s Esquire pic, Dodd Vickers of Magic Newswire spotted this video of David Blaine teaching a magic trick to staff at Esquire magazine. Blaine has taught a few tricks before, but this is the best explanation of a trick he performs that we’ve seen.

The vid is pretty cool, and presents an interesting trick, but if you watch all the way through the end (there’s some outtakes attached) and look at the related videos, you can find a few more performances for the staff. Good stuff.