Saturday, December 15, 2007

DOC ANDREW


Doc Andrew out of Dallas, Texas area.

His teachers are;Eugene Wilkes, J.B.Bobo, and Dal Sanders.

Sidewalk magician/elixer salesman.

Fast talkin, fast dealin, Doc Andrew works up and down sidewalks all over the world.

I first met Doc back home in New Orleans years ago.

I was learnin how to street perform and I saw these 2 guys with all this stage and illussion equipment out in front of the St. Louis Cathedral in the square they were tryin to build a crowd….needless to say it’s a tough town to build a crowd and what makes it worse there’s people everywhere but their not stopping.

Eventually they stopped a crowd and did a funny and bazaar magic show using some effects that fooled and impressed me.

The 2 guys were Bizzaro and Doc Andrew.

Doc already a seasoned vet on the street by that time, was showing Bizzaro the ropes at busking New Orleans. Bizzaro had been doin magic for years but busking New Orleans is a whole different world.

Bizzaro got the hang of it but he preferred to do larger shows and me and Doc wanted to work the sidewalks for awhile, so we shared the pitch on St. Peter and Decatur.

Show after show, Doc whipped em out. Fat hat after fat hat, givin me a run for my money.

For doc it was like taking candy from a baby. He does a brilliant elixir show that can play for any size crowd. The patter is authentic from the day and so is the costume…. Your left with no tell, that your in this century.

The thing, once again, about doc’s show, is it can play any size crowd but packs small really small.

The basic ideas is he’s doin an vintage elixir or medicine sales pitch as a sort of historical show of what you might have seen in the late 1800’s. As the magic happens Doc gives the bottle of medicine all the credit for the miracles that happen before the spectators eyes.

he looks like a carpetbagger and gives off that same sort of sneaky/ shifty personality.

it really is genius and I remember people saying they never thought they ever would see such a great show on the street.

JERRY SALAZAR


JERRY SALAZAR,

Student of Cellini master in his own right.

San Francisco - Fisherman’s Warf ‘s sidewalk Icon.


full time working pro on the sidewalk for over 40 years probably a lot more I don‘t remember how long.

Cellini talks about him in “The Royal Touch” he’s been around for years.

you can not see it in the picture, but he’s wearing knickers, it’s his signature look.

When I first saw jerry I had no idea who he was. He was doing a 3 ring routine on the sidewalk in the Fisherman’s Warf area.

He did it to music through his amp but he didn’t speak till it was over, then he went into patter for his cups and balls which had a couple of interesting moves, one that will fool you… another one of his signatures.

He was protective of his spot, very old school in his ways of thinking about territory, and this has worked well for him over the years in one of the most dangerous places to work in the country.

I asked him if he wanted to see my show and he gave me permission to work his spot for the one show. He was very strict and it was all business till I started performing and his face changed.

He was like a little kid I saw his first smile and he got excited, I realized that he just loved magic and show business you could tell why he got into it and why he had stuck with it for so many years.

After my show he took me out for coffee and we spent the evening talking shop and smoking cigarettes.

He told me about the old days with Cellini and all the old pros.

If you get a chance check him out, if your ever in Frisco on the Warf.

Class act, fun to watch, very elegant atmosphere. What I loved was he still does the trick called, “the sidewalk shuffle.”

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HE HAS AN EXTREMELY CONVINCING CHARACTER OF A RUDYARD KIPLING PROFFESSOR TYPE, VERY CHARMING AND INTERESTING, IT IS VERY DIFFICULT FOR THE SPECTATOR NOT TO BE INTERESTED.

He’s written a book on the rings, you can track it down on the web.


to show you how much of an icon he is. he's in this mini documentry of buskers on fishermans warf, frisco;

Thursday, December 13, 2007

TOM PICCARD


TOM PICCARD,

another one of those legends from the day.


Student of Cellini, master in his own right.

Tom Piccard has been performing since 1970

In 1981 he met Cellini in New Orleans and took to the streets, Cellini helped him a great deal with learning how to build a crowd, keep a crowd, and on magic.

Sonny Holliday told me Tom started out as a clown, but told Cellini he wanted to learn our art.

Much of that clown is still showing;




In 1986 he toured with Cellini in Italy.

The following summer he returned to Europe and has been performing at various festivals and events there ever since.


Piccard also won the European Championships for street magic 4 times...At age 59 he is still at it..

Working 4 months out the year and then wintering in Thailand.

He’s living my dream. A full time pro and has been for along time. You hear about Tom up and down pitches all over the world.

I have not met him in person yet, but I will this season, I’ve kept in touch with him through mutual friends and via the internet.

I have mentioned him here, because he’s important, I’m also gonna list others here I haven’t met yet in the future, because I think there’s other guys who should be here…I just haven’t got to meet em all yet.

Tom is a great example of how a large body of working pros, who will work in the first world and live in the third. Gypsy genius.

Visiting his myspace is visiting another world. Theres plenty of footage and fun strange things to see….but if your like me you’ll make it your business to try and meet him.

http://www.myspace.com/piccardmagick





Piccards Cup Routine

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Tom, Gazzo, and Patrick


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Thanks Tom, for the life time of devotion

GEORGE GILBERT


GEORGE GILBERT student of Jesse Stickley, Jimmy Talksalot, Eric Evans.

works Ocean city Md.

So me and Eric Evans were workin O.C. and we walked up to the pitch and there was these 2 guys hangin out. A big rough lookin one and a quiet small one. The big one came up and said you fellahs thinking about workin this and we said, “yeh we didn’t know anybody was here.” so the big guy says “hey lets share the pitch”

The thing about these guys is they were a comedy act. The one big guy beat up on the little guy and kept yellin at him that he was screwing everything up and the little guy kept apologizing and promising to do better. The bigger guy was teaching the little guy to busk, and the little guy didn’t want to go out, he was shy and awkward.

This went on for about a half hour and people stopped and watched….till we all realized this wasn’t a show!

this was REAL!

Finally the big guy went out to show the little guy how to do it. The big guy went out and did a mentalist show which blew me away and fooled me bad. He hatted em and then made the little guy go out.

The little guy went out and did silent manip. It was silent cuz you couldn’t hear him he was too quiet he only gotta small edge.

The next time around,

The little guy didn’t want to go out and finally we all urged him and I gave him a Cellini wand made by Eric Evans and he gotta a huge edge and did a beautiful show.[ Cellini’s power at work again].

The big guy was Jesse Stickley and the little guy his student George Gilbert.

Jesse Stickley, - George’s teacher, is a big abrasive outspoken guy with a heart of gold and amazing skills at magic. I’m jealous that he found George before I did.

Since then I have watched George improve. The thing about George is he is one of the few U.S. magicians that can stop em and build a crowd and make money with a silent manipulation act.

Watching George perform is watching poetry.

GEORGE GILBERT is a genius at our art.

As a young performer he has 2 things that few or none of the other young guys have,

1. he’s got some of the best parlor chops I have ever seen,

And

2. he has no ego problem to ruin it for the spectator.

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George is humble and this is what makes him great loved and respected by anyone that comes into contact with him…..a rare quality.

Me and Eric taught him a lot, but we learned a lot from him. Not just tricks but about friendship and humility.


He’s a modern Cardini or sympathetic character. When you see him as a spectator first thought is, “wow! What just happened, oh hey, the poor guy’s having trouble, I want to route for him, I hope he can do this finale.”

And when George does the finale the crowd goes wild.

George is pure Buster Keaton silent film dexterous sad clown. I have seen no other in the U.S. that can touch him in this field on the street. I’ve seen many in Europe, but none here. Due to the tough conditions here I doubt that many of those European silent acts could compete with him here on crowd build and hats.

Here’s a photo of George with his proud teachers.

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George Gilbert, Jimmy TalksAlot, Jesse Stickley, Eric Evans




check out his myspace for more info about him;

http://www.myspace.com/georgegilbertmagic

Wednesday, December 12, 2007

HARRY ANDERSON


Harry is one of those guys who has done so much for magic, accomplished the impossible so many times and never seems to get any credit.

Here’s a guy who started on the street, worked there for years, and in his heart never left. A guy who always stayed loyal to our art and us.

Brought up in the old school, back in the day, he learned the rules and he believed in them. When the other guys around him found fame and fortune they forgot where they came from,

but not Harry, cuz he never stopped believing….the thing about Harry is, he’s not shallow, he’s a real guy.

Funny thing is, he made as much or more then those other guys, but when you talk to him he’s just one of us.

in fact, I remember hangin around his shop in New Orleans and there was a bunch of Hollywood movie stars and big wigs waiting to talk to him. His wife told him they were waitin and he told her to let em wait he was talkin to us…a bunch of shifty eyed, fedora wearin, cig smoking, buskers.

Funny thing about harry, was it pained him to hafta keep up appearances. When I first met him, I walked into his shop and I was lookin at some tricks I wanted. I saw him in the side of my eye and I said “hey I was wondering how much….oh, hey, you’re Harry Anderson”

He was beeming that I recognized him, and he began puttin on his promo face and I just interrupted him and asked, “how much for this trick..” Harry loved it that I didn’t care, you see that’s why he moved to New Orleans to get away from that Hollywood shallowness.

In New Orleans he would make it his business to catch every street guy's show at least once.

back in the day he had worked there himself.

Thats where he fined tuned his routines.

He's got some incredible acts, funniest man alive with ingenius magic. I don’t need to go on his life’s work shows.

Harry’s got that royal touch and he proved, you can take it anywhere. He’s hugely contributed to our art. His magic and entertainment leave you in awe.

THIS IS A MASTER.

And I’m glad I was alive to meet some one like this.

HARRY, HAVN’T SEEN YOU IN A WHILE, BUT I HOPE GOOD THINGS.




http://www.myspace.com/harryanderson

Wednesday, December 5, 2007

DANTE


DANTE,

A student of Doug Conn and studied under Cellini and some of the greatest performers of Europe and the world.

When I think of the perfect street magic show, it’s Dante’s show no question. You may have seen him on the Cellini dvd.

Kozmo told Cellini that Dante was the next Cellini. One thing’s for sure Dante got Cellini’s grace in performance.

DANTE IS A PRO.

REALLY,REALLY,FAT HATS! IMPECCABLE MAGIC! 45MIN ACT OF PURE MAGIC THAT LEAVES YOU BUMMED OUT THAT IT’S OVER.

No one ever called him a bum because he dresses with style and holds himself with a dignity that can only be described as aristocratic.

But the guy is all street and the hoodlums know it, they don’t fool with Dante.

His crowd usually begins with an edge of hot young chicks…he’s a chick magnet, yeh, we all hate him. His crowds are massive in the U.S. and this was his undoing. You see he’s gone indoors for now with his short cabaret act [I hear good things]. He got sick of doin the streets because he got sick of bein yelled at constantly before he even set up. It was the cops, the shops, and the other buskers.

DANTE IS STILL A LEGEND IN NEW ORLEANS.

When I was learning he took me under his wing and helped me. When I went to Europe it was his name that opened doors to the other buskers they respected him there. I’m gonna write more about him later cuz he’s important.

He was the first to tell me to do a circle show and taught me a lot of tricks of the trade that literally saved my life a few times.






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YOU WANNA LEARN SOMETHIN ABOUT IMAGE AND FULL TIME PRO CHECK OUT HIS SITE;

http://www.dantemagic.com/entertainment.html

JOHNNY BALLOONS

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NEW ORLEANS/ NEW YORK, SIDEWALK ICON

Johnny’s an old buddy of mine.

He walks around harassing the passer by, never lets a person get by em. Blowing ballons and wisecracks at everybody he sees. He stops em on a dime with his lines.

He’ll go up to a body builder and say, “put’em up, I’ll take you right now!”

He’ll stop a group of hot blondes with his arm up in a curled fist to show off his muscles and say, “I’m single!” “hey you need a ring!” and he’ll make her a balloon ring.

He’s been around forever has taught me loads and is friends with all the big guys like Cellini, Sonny Holliday, Toot, and not only that but he knew a lot of the guys the big guys at Tannen’s magic shop back in the day.

One of the funniest guys you’ll ever meet, but definitely all street.


He’s an old pro with cards {close up} and a ring routine that kills, but he hardly ever does it on the street he’s a balloon guy now. Says, he never made as much money with the magic that he’s does with the one liners and balloons.

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i couldn't find any pics of him in full costume on the street. these are pics of him doin his ministry with kids. yeh, he's a christian and you'd never guess if you'd meet em, cuz he's all street. But if you think back on your visit with him you'll realize as rough and tumble as he was, he didn't do any thing really unchristian just a little street fun.