The Newest Tops

Photos below are by Abbott’s Official Photographer David Linsell and are copyrighted to David. To commemorate this historic event high quality photographic prints may be obtained at: http://www.backprint.com, use the password Percy. Performers include Michael Finney as MC, David and Dania, David Charvet, Gay Blackstone, Stuart and Lori #gallery-2 { margin: auto; } #gallery-2 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-2 img { border: 2px... Read more

Photos below are by Abbott’s Official Photographer David Linsell and are copyrighted to David. To commemorate this historic event high quality photographic prints may be obtained at: http://www.backprint.com, use the password Percy. Performers include Tom Mullica as MC, Gordon Miller, BJ Mallen, Tim Wright, David Seebach #gallery-4 { margin: auto; } #gallery-4 .gallery-item { float: left; margin-top: 10px; text-align: center; width: 33%; } #gallery-4 img { border: 2px solid #cfcfcf; } #gallery-4 .gallery-caption... Read more

We have been monitoring the reviews and feedback on the 75th Get Together there are some really great articles and blogs going on. There are some excellent podcasts on The Magic Word, many radio and newspaper reports such as WKLM, Sturgis Journal. Another one of our favorites was Artie Kidwell’s reviews on YouTube that we have posted below for your... Read more

Its amazing how sometimes the simplest little thing can trigger a memory of someone you miss very much. Promoting the Get Together sometimes presents minor issues, for instance the performer page We have a total of 22 performers for the Get Together and I lined up their pics and bios in rows of four on our “Performer Page” at the... Read more

75 years of magic was a theme for this years 4th of July parade and Abbotts participated with a float to help celebrate this. Several different floats were in the parade with a magic theme and we got pictures of a couple of those as well. Greg is on the float doing magic tricks, in one picture he... Read more

Noted Magician and Busker John Sturk will be heading up a new event for Colon called “The Colon Busking Experience”. It will feature several different Magicians busking around Colon at strategic times and places. In fact, there will be 10 different Busking slots during the Get Together and these shows will be free to the public. We will provide a... Read more

23rd Annual!!! (And I still golf as bad now as I did 23 years ago.) Hello Friends, I received a call from Michael Finney today asking about the “Open Colon.” He needed to get his flight arrangements made. That made me realize that I haven’t sent out the official notice for this year’s “Open!” Even without sending out the announcement we already... Read more

Greg Bordner from Abbotts attended and also maintained a booth at the Kramien Magic Jamboree. Greg (and Abbotts) would like to express our sincere gratitude for all the hospitality, kindness and assistance shown to Abbotts during this event. Below are some of the pictures taken by Greg at this very special event – The last Magic Jamboree. ... Read more

The State of Michigan honored Abbotts and the city of Colon with a resolution acknowledging 75 years of magic. The event was covered by the press and you can “read all about it” in the following links. Sturgis Journal River County Journal Colon MI To hear the full interview with Greg Bordner and Tom Whitford, click on the following link: Greg Bordner and... Read more

Its hard to believe another Flea Market/Auction has come and gone (pictures can be found at the bottom of this post). We had a pretty good turnout on a rainy spring day and as always the bargains were spectacular. Lots of magic changed hands this weekend and we hope that everyone is satisfied with their purchase and/or sales. Thanks to... Read more

Just a beautiful day today in Colon so I put the “back in 10 minutes” sign on the front door and walked my dog down to the Colon Park to check out the latest work. The childrens playground is the ongoing project now and it is so new that the swings have not yet been added to the swing... Read more

In April a delegation of prominent American magicians visited North Korea, the first group of U.S. performers invited to that country since the New York Philharmonic performed in Pyongyang, the capital, in January, 2008 Led by Dale Salwak of Southern California, the delegation included Rich Bloch of Washington, D.C., Danny Cole of Southern California, and their assistants Ryan Salwak and Stacey... Read more

Memoirs of a Small Town Entertainer Harry Opel (1883 – 1955) was a professional stage magician, juggler and amateur poet. Opel became a professional stage magician around 1900 and toured the United States in vaudeville, fairs, and theaters. Later he gave mainly full-evening shows. From Abbott’s TOPS Magazine, March, 1967; by Harry Opel: CHAPTER SEVENTEEN; “The rain... Read more

Abbotts has signed off to Warner Brothers to allow them to use the Abbott name as a backdrop/reference, etc. for the upcoming movie Burt Wonderstone. Below is a brief synopsis of the film Burt Wonderstone and Anton Lovecraft are a pair of superstar magicians who have their own theater at the Aztec, one of Vegas’s premier resorts. They’ve made... Read more

Colon Getting Set for Abbott’s 9th Get-Together From TOPS Magazine, August 1942: “Despite curtailed transportation facilities, many reservations for room accommodations and reserved seats for the public shows at Abbott’s Ninth Annual Get-Together have been received, in fact so many more than last year at this time, that even a bigger crowd is expected this year. The dates for... Read more

Memoirs of a Small Town Entertainer Harry Opel (1883 – 1955) was a professional stage magician, juggler and amateur poet. Opel became a professional stage magician around 1900 and toured the United States in vaudeville, fairs, and theaters. Later he gave mainly full-evening shows. From Abbott’s TOPS Magazine, February, 1967; by Harry Opel: CHAPTER SIXTEEN;... Read more

Here are a few more pics from the Abbott 2012 Closeup Convention, big thanks to Gary Sagadi who sent these to us. As those who attended can attest, this was truly a memorable experience for all and Abbotts hopes to accomplish the same next year. These pics we have not resized since they are group shots and many... Read more

The first round of closeup convention pictures are below along with a big thank you from Abbotts to all the visitors attending this event. Bill Abbott and Richard Sanders were both phenomenal and everyone enjoyed the hospitality of the Costello Castle. The winter weather chipped in with some really mild weather for this time of the year and... Read more

Harry Opel (1883 – 1955) was a professional stage magician, juggler and amateur poet. Opel became a professional stage magician around 1900 and toured the United States in vaudeville, fairs, and theaters. Later he gave mainly full-evening shows. From Abbott’s TOPS Magazine, January, 1967; by Harry Opel: CHAPTER FIFTEEN; “As we came north it grew much colder. We had a... Read more

By definition, magicians are pretty special people, but Eugene Burger is considered exceptional even by other magicians. He has written fifteen best-selling books for the trade, starred in eight instructional videos, lectured extensively to magicians’ groups in over a dozen countries, and his writings have been translated into several languages. His deep understanding of the psychology and philosophy behind the... Read more

Jeff Grow Returns to American Museum of Magic Jeff Grow is returning to the American Museum of Magic on Saturday, February 18, and he’s bringing friends. Grow, an award winning magician, first performed at AMM in May of 2011. His visit was one of last year’s most popular events at AMM. This year, Jeff is bringing fellow magicians... Read more

The first 400 or so Abbott instructions are now available online. Theses are primarily for. -Replacing damaged or lost instructions -Assisting sellers and buyers of used magic -Increasing the value of collectible Abbott magic “Most people don’t realize we get at least a call a week asking for replacement instructions” said Abbott president Greg Bordner. “It takes someone away from their job... Read more