The Newest Tops

Photo by David Linsell

December’s cover features columnist Alexander “Sandy” Marshall. Sandy, the offspring of Jay Marshall, has just completed a biography on his father, “Beating a Dead Horse: The Life and Times of Jay Marshall” available through Magic Incorporated in Chicago.

Sandy has more than forty years’ experience as a writer, director, producer, and actor. For twenty-five years he was CEO of Sanmar Productions, Inc., a successful New York-based film company. He has won The American Film Festival, two Emmy Awards (seven nominations), Gold medals at the New York Film & TV Festival, and a dozen international awards. No stranger to magic, Sandy comes by it honestly. He is related to two Deans of the Society of American Magicians: his grandfather was Al Baker and his father was Jay Marshall.

I’m thrilled to have him returning as a columnist for The Newest Tops! Returning, you ask? Sandy’s first stint as a columnist was entitled “Just for Us Young Guys,” and out of respect to Sandy, I won’t mention the dates when that column appeared in print.

Another month has flown by and as I write we should all be out doing holiday gigs and making some money.  Although things seem to be picking up somewhat…. they are far from seasons past.  I can remember around years back that we were running around sometimes doing up to five shows, with illusions in one day.

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Dec. 6 2009. Tiger Amanda Jobs Zhu Zhu Warm Cold Left Right Fat Slim Iran Iwalk. Life is a gay spoof an old funny man told me.

OK, shall we begin … Mysterioso was great. The combination of music and magic. Integrated professionally. Les and his cute daughter are great. Joseph Gabriel was very nice and helped me with my parakeets. David and Dania were swell and David Sandy and his Mom and shop teacher were very nice. And last but not least the music was wonderful. Go to the symphony. Get good seats and soak it up. An old friend was there, Martin Preston, who has a tribute show as Liberace. Go to http://www.liberaceshow.com. He remembered a Johnny Carson suit I had on when we first met. What a memory. That should tell you how long ago it was. I still remember that suit and the Countess Mara tie.

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Colon’s Hidden Treasure

Many things are hidden within the confines of Colon, Michigan.  There are some great fishing spots, beautiful scenery, and some really nice people.  Spend a week there during Magic Week and you can learn all this first hand.

But in magic one of the real treasures, is a lifelong resident of Colon and a real trouper.

He has worked shows all over the United States and Canada.  He has never missed a show until this last year when his health just failed him.  He once worked for Abbott’s in the workshop during his off time.  To call him by name is not enough.   It is more than appropriate to add the show title “Amazing”.  Jerry Conklin is all that and more.

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Jay and Sandy Marshall

After three and a half years, my book, “BEATING A DEAD HORSE: The Life and Times of Jay Marshall” is finished. This is the point where I can finally take a deep breath. It’s printed, shipped, and will “officially” go on sale January 7, 2010. The book is 540 pages, full color, has an index and sells for $69.95 plus $10.00 postage (in the U.S) if you want it shipped. There are 500 advance copies accessible to the magic community exclusively through Magic Inc. available (right now) in time for Christmas but they are going fast.  You can check availability at: www.magicinc.net. At the end of January (or beginning of February) two tiers of leather-bound collector’s Editions will become available (69 Platinum editions for  $1,000, and 69 Gold editions for $350) exclusively through Junto Publishing. I’ll tell you more about that in my January column.

It has been truly a labor of love, and putting this book together was alternately great fun, and excruciatingly painful. I’d spend one day laughing out loud remembering lots of funny incidents that took place. The next day I’d be in the fetal position, remembering things best left forgotten, but determined to honor my word to my dad to “tell the whole truth.” I had the help of many wonderful people as this project unfolded. If I named them all it would take up my next five columns, but a special nod has to go out to my fantastic wife, Susan, my son, Sandy Jr., and my good friends, John Fisher, Max Maven, John and Pam Thompson, Penn & Teller, Mac King, Terry Seabrooke, and the inimitable Aye Jaye.
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I want to take this time to wish everyone in the magic world a very happy, happy holiday season and a great new year.  I know mine will be very hectic.  I just winged it back from the Big Apple, where I was invited to see Hugh Jackman and Daniel Craig in “A Steady Rain”.  It was great, but more about that later.  My real purpose was to meet Marc Gilday and talk about his great new show.  Marc met us at Sardi’s and he and I jackpotted about it, as my niece took notes.  He brought his computer, and we watched what he had done before.  He is indeed a very talented performer and very charismatic man.  I am a very good judge of character, and he will make it very big.  The show boasts a cast of 25, plus tech people.  He had all the backdrops, and knows the business.  And I am so proud that he wants my touch on everything.

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Car Accident

I spent a couple years touring in a casino revue called “Spellbound,” my blog entry (www.magicopolis.com) “Out of Africa” has other memories from the show.  Our souvenir program said “…brought to you in part by your local Nissan dealer.”  Since Nissan paid for the printing of the programs and provided complimentary cars for us to drive they got a big plug in the middle of the show.

Our star illusionists made mystical gestures in front of a white picket fence as Nissan theme music played.  There’s a puff of smoke… and a new Nissan Maxima appeared in front of the fence as a recorded announcement said “The new Nissan Maxima, built better to last longer.”

When the Nissan appeared a glamorous showgirl got out and caressed the car as the music came to a crescendo.  It was a spectacular illusion and a highly entertaining way to advertise a new car.  The audience was impressed. Here’s how it worked:  Before its magical appearance, the car was behind the fence.  The background was black and the car was covered with a big black velvet covered nylon cloth. The Nissan was a super light weight replica… just a shell of a car on a big skateboard, the heaviest part being the showgirl inside.

With the aid of special lighting and under the cover of the puff of smoke, when the announcer said “The new Nissan Maxima, built better to last longer” the picket fence opened as a gaggle of hooded stagehands dressed in black, whisked away the black cloth covering the car and pushed it into view and the picket fence closed behind it.  The illusion required split second timing to coordinate the lighting, smoke, stagehands, and showgirl.

Nissan executives are in the front row tonight, eagerly awaiting their commercial.  They’re all excited about the application of magic to their advertising and public-image needs.  Anticipation is high as we see a puff of smoke and hear the words “The Nissan Maxima, built better to last longer.”

The timing is off for this performance.  As the smoke clears one of the stagehands trips and his end of the black velvet gets caught in the door at the same instant the flimsy car is pushed forward.  That’s just the potatoes, here comes the gravy…

The mix of the cloth pulling one way as the car is being pushed the other way in combination with the girl’s actions causes the light-weight door to fall off… as the showgirl stumbles forward the last part of the black cloth is whisked away… taking the front bumper with it. “The Nissan Maxima, built better to last longer.”

Few places can boast a cemetery as a bona fide tourist attraction but the Lakeside Cemetery in Colon is fast becoming just that. It is the final resting place for over 20 magicians of note and its population (and popularity) is growing.

During the last magic week in Colon, There were “broken wand” ceremonies for Marilyn Abbott (Daughter of Percy, but not buried in Colon) and Roy Huston (Who’s ashes will be split between his Florida resting place and Colon). A year earlier a Broken Wand ceremony was held for long time Colon Magician Jack Barrows who was buried in Colon in 2007. (continue reading…)

Abbott’s regular attendees and native Michiganders Michael Mode and TNT columnist Jeff Hobson were both guests on iTricks’ Magic Week in Review podcast. The pair touch on various topics from dealing with hecklers, the art of telling jokes, and shill promote their new iPhone/iPod Touch app, “Best Jokes Ever.”

You can download the podcast at www.itricks.com.

Also, Colon Cemetery tour guide Al the Only makes an appearance on MagicNewswire.com’s This Week in Magic podcast. You can download the podcast at www.magicnewswire.com.