Number 103 - 15th June 2002
Gary Ouellet died
last Saturday of a heart attack aged just 57. Known to magicians in the UK
primarily for his magic series "The World's Greatest Magic" he inspired a whole
new generation to take up magic. Gary was in Portugal with Luís de Matos, who
emails: "Directly or indirectly Gary influenced the life of more people than
many would realise. Gary was a gift. So many talents, so much knowledge. A great
magician, director, producer, composer, writer and designer but above all, Gary
was a great man. He will always live in the hearts of those who really knew who
he was." He is survived by his wife René, son Ryan and two daughters Marie and
Jamie.
(Photo by Luís de Matos)
15.6.02
Michael Jackson and
David Blaine in London on Friday doing a spot of sight seeing (and no doubt
in David's case checking out the city for next year's big stunt). In the
afternoon they headed off to Exeter on a private train for a charity event at
Exeter City's football ground.
15.6.02
Secret History -
Magic at War will be shown at 9pm on Thursday 27th June on Channel 4.
Paul Zenon has been heavily involved in this new documentary that should
provide a fascinating insight into the amazing wartime feats of magician
Jasper Maskelyne. His illusions included making Alexandria Harbour
disappear, hiding the Suez Canal and disguising hundreds of tanks as
innocent trucks.
15.6.02
Paul Kieve has
collaborated with performance artist Marissa Carnesky and Alva Evans Horse
drawn Funeral Carriages to create a Peppers Ghost style illusion which will
travel through the streets of London's East End. Magic, street performance and
morbid carnival combine to present a most unusual experience for audiences in
the festival "Nightbird" which is taking place in venues around London during
June. "On the evening of the Summer Solstice, the longest day of the year,
witness Marissa Carnesky's horse and carriage apparition. Is it a solemn
occasion or a joyous affair? Is it a traditional East End funeral procession or
a bizarre carnivalesque stunt? Four black feathered horses ride on pulling a
genuine glass Victorian hearse that contains the weeping burlesque ghost of
Carnesky as she visits the sights of her former glories and downfalls." The
event is free, and spectators are encouraged to wear black gloves and join the
procession en route. Starting point: Car park at the Old Truman Brewery, Brick
Lane (next to Bodyworlds exhibition) at 10pm. Details of stops en route: 020
7737 4043.
15.6.02
Many
congratulations to Mike and Lou Fairall on their wedding in Chichester last
Saturday - and the sun shone. Mike specialises in
close-up magic and children's parties and Lou is a stewardess for Virgin Airways
(I think it was all those free flights to Las Vegas that finally
clinched the deal!).
15.6.02
How to be a Wizard
has just been released and stars Magic Circle wizard Terry Herbert. 45 minutes of
fun and magic tricks for young magicians everywhere. Available from MagicWeek in association
with Amazon.co.uk
Click Here
15.6.02
Paul Gordon lectures
at
The Surrey Society of
Magicians on Thursday July 11th at their Leatherhead headquarters. Paul will
be lecturing on his unique style of professional and 'usable/practical'
impromptu card magic from which Paul makes his living. The lecture will
feature new items from his latest book, Professional Card Magic Miracles. For
more info on Paul's magic visit:
www.thebestinmagic.com
15.6.02
Paul Hallas is busy
applying the finishing touches to his new book "Small But
Deadly -The Packet Trickster's Companion." This is a book about packet tricks
from 1908 to the present day, discussing classic plots, the people who created
them, and the variations that followed. With plenty of references plus lots of
fully described routines. The close-up worker will find this a valuable addition
to their working library - planned for release at the IBM British Ring
convention in Eastbourne in September. Paul has also just produced the latest and final issue
of Alchemy magazine, completing two full volumes which will no doubt be sought-after by collectors. Each issue featured five effects, and, as all subscriptions
started at the beginning of a volume one or two, no subscriber was "short changed!"
Website: Click
Here
15.6.02
Black Artefacts,
Europe's premiere manufacturer and dealer in weird, bizarre and psychic magic,
have this week announced the addition of two new and very unusual items. First
'Vampyre Slayer' a Bizarre game of chance for two players where each take it in
turn to be the vampyre hunting for victims, and the vampyre slayer who is out to
stop the vampyre. The winner is the vampyre with most kills! And secondly 'Rune
Cubes' a brand new method of rune reading where the rune symbols are on the four
corners of each face of three pewter cubes (photo). Black Artefacts boss Keith
Hart said, "I'm really pleased with these two new items and we have been
developing them for months. 'Vampyre Slayer' is the very first game that we have
produced, it is both gothic and modern and will appeal to those interested in
the weird and bizarre and also to fans of the Buffy TV series. The rune cubes
were another great find. They are an unusual but convenient way to do rune
readings and they look and feel good which is very important with psychic tools.
Being like dice they will also lend themselves to any magic presentations using
dice where someone wants to add a more weird or macabre presentation, so they
have multi uses." Both items can be seen on the Black Artefacts website:
www.blackhart.co.uk
15.6.02
The Creative Careers
Fair takes place at the Wembley Conference and Exhibition Centre, London on
Wednesday, June 19th (10.00am - 5.00pm) targeting the creative arts industry
covering: Music, Film, Media,
Fashion, Design, and Games. The event includes exhibitions, practical
workshops and a chance to meet representatives from the industry. Attendees can
hand out CVs and portfolios and view presentations and displays from exhibitors
and attendees alike. Exhibitors include some of the best names in the industry:
Aardvark Swift, Bloomberg Television, Datascope Recruitment, Frontier
Developments, Hotgen Studios, OPM Response, Random Media and Smoke & Mirrors.
Allure Entertainment will also be collecting CV's and portfolios on behalf of
present and future clients. Note that each company will be recruiting from
several areas of creative expertise. Pre-registration is required. Admission is £20 + booking fee. For more info, visit
www.creativecareersfair.com
Alternatively, call the booking line on 0870 733 1020 or book online at
www.wembleyticket.com
15.6.02
Extreme Magic: Challenge of the Death Dive starring magician Robert Gallup is being repeated on Channel 5 tonight at 8pm. Not the best magician in the world, but... his escape from a locked cage that is tossed out of the back of an airplane is perhaps the best genuine "TV escape" of recent years. TV Magic 15.6.02
David Blaine keeps his
cool in his 62 hour endurance test in New York's Times Square. The
show is being repeated on Channel 4 tonight at 9pm. TV
Magic
15.6.02
We've just finished
designing a new website for Noel Britten, one of the country's busiest (and
best) comedians: www.noelbritten.co.uk Noel has performed all over the world and will be know to many
readers for his brilliant emceeing at Ron and Martin MacMillan's International
Magic Shows every year • MagicWeek has just gone past the 3,000 unique visitors
per week figure at a time when you'd expect things to be slowing down a pinch as
we go into the Summer • Thirteen year old magician Cathal Kielty offers Tips and Advice from a Young
Magician this week in the first of two articles on the subject: Click Here
(Thanks Cathal) • In July Dream Makers will be presenting their full
evening show at La Cripta Magica, a small magical theatre in the centre
of Madrid. For reservations telephone: (34) 91 539 9696 • If you're ever
offered any magic props via the 'For Sale' ads that you think may be
pirated copies of genuine products, videos, or whatever, please email me so that
I can remove the offending advertiser • That's
it for this week, your news and reviews are welcomed as ever, see you next week,
Duncan.
15.6.02