The Newest Tops

One Hundred… and Counting!

Some folks who apparently have the time for this sort of accounting patience have combed the voluminous files of the Colon archives and determined that this particular offering from me is the one hundredth column I have offered up for readers of Abbott’s publication. You armchair economists out there are no doubt well aware of the financial generosity of the Bordner family and can realize that these multiple decades of submissions means that my declining years will be free of any monetary concern as I continue to cash the handsome residual checks drawn on the Abbott account at the First Bank of Colon.

From time to time I have been approached about assembling all the “Subject: Illusions” articles into a book, but I have never pursued this concept. I am aware that a number of magicians have already done this on their own as I have seen their homemade, photocopied, bound volumes of just my writings over the years. What about a “Best of” compilation? (continue reading…)

Here’s how, simply purchase David’s book from Abbott’s at the regular price and you will get an instant download with 100 articles.

David Seebach first wrote an article called “Subject:Illusions for Recil Bordner (Publisher) and Neil Foster(Editor New Tops) in 1970, 4 decades later he has just wrote his 100th article for Greg Bordner (Publisher) and John Sturk (Editor Newest Tops).

During that period one of the most asked questions was “Where can I find every issue of David’s article?” Good question and with the release of David’s book last August Abbotts decided it would be a great bonus if we could put all his articles together. After 6 long months of research you can have the results downloaded in html format. In other words, if you can view this page you can view these articles. (continue reading…)

JOHN CARNEY is no ordinary “magician”. His approach is smart, engaging and always surprising. He is widely acknowledged as one of the top sleight of hand magicians in the world with smart, unique, and often hilarious presentations. Hollywood’s Magic Castle has awarded Carney more awards than anyone in their history, the only performer to win in every category. He is an accomplished actor, with a number of plays and television appearances. His many instructional books include The Book of Secrets and Carneycopia, which are considered modern classics by his peers. He teaches his approach to the craft in seminars to magicians throughout the world. Carney studied under Dai Vernon, the greatest sleight of hand expert of this century. Carney embodies the state of his art, combining exceptional skill and creativity with pure entertainment.

John will be lecturing and performing at the 2010 Magic Get Together in August.

All of the Abbott Magic family are all deeply saddened by this news. The funeral arrangements have been set. Visitation will be on Friday at the funeral home from 2-4 and 6-8. The funeral home is located next door to the Shell gas station in Colon. The funeral will be on Saturday (April 3rd) at 11:00am at the New Life Assembly of God Church which is about 1 block north of the stoplight on Blackstone Ave.

Ironically 23 years ago on April 3rd Shirley Conklin (Jerry’s wife) was buried at the Colon Cemetery.

Read the Sturgis Journal Article

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THIS IS NOT AN APRIL FOOL JOKE!!!!!!!!

Abbott Magic has decided to do a huge promotion beginning now and ending on May 1st at the annual Flea Market and Auction.  To begin with, if you come into the Abbott showroom on May 1st (the day of the Flea Market and Auction), you will receive absolutely free 10 (TEN) New Tops Magazines simply for coming to Colon and visiting Abbotts on May 1st, 2010.

Also, as a Bonus for attending the Flea Market and Auction you will receive over $100 retail value of the following books free IF you register (Full Registration) for the Get Together that day (The price goes up ten dollars on May 2nd).

For more information on any one book simply click the link(s) below.

(continue reading…)

Foster Children and Brewe Boys

Long before contests  which  contracted performances to help bolster the talent at a magic convention; there were the Abbott’s Get Together contests.  The competition was real and fierce.  One year, a few unknowns at the time competed head to head….Lance Burton, Mac King, and Jeff Hobson placing 1, 2 and 3.

The contests were so competitive that the Tops would advertise that only the first 10 junior and 10 senior contestants would be accepted.  That is all that could be handled in the allotted time.  It was two full mornings of contests on back-to-back mornings.  Not only was it tough for the contestants to get up in the morning, but at times the audience would bundle in blankets to watch the contest.  Understand that the air conditioning had to run full blast all night long to get the gym cooled down enough to have it be bearable for the night show when it was full of people. (continue reading…)

Abbott Magic would like to thank all who made the 2010 Closeup Convention such a fun and successful event.   We have come a long way with this even and it’s sometimes hard to believe that it has been 31 years since Harry Lorayne came to Colon MI as the first lecturer for this event.  Looking back we thought it would be fun to to list all the guest lecturers that we have had and also 80 pictures from this years closeup convention. (continue reading…)

I think everyone will enjoy this brief story by Karrell Fox on Joseph Dunninger and the fun they had with him when he would come to Detroit.  I’ll let Karrell finish the story, straight out of the New Tops magazine of 1975.

The world’s greatest mentalist, JOSEPH DUNNINGER, died recently. Anyone who has switched a billet, picked up a slate, or gone “one-ahead” has certainly been influenced by the GREAT DUNNINGER. I was fortunate to meet him when I was very young…16 years old to be exact. And the story of that meeting was told by Frances Marshall in her excellent book “You Don’t have to be Crazy”. For the benefit of the newcomers to magic, I’ll relate it again. (continue reading…)

The last time I spoke to Dan Jones was on January 29th, he was in stage 4 cancer but still in good spirits, please keep him in your prayers. He was a former employee of Abbotts and used to work the print shop here and also demo’d behind the counter.  Below is the info I received from Al the Only and Tony Gerard (continue reading…)

THE COSTUME THAT ALMOST STOPPED A SHOW

Yes dear readers, that is little me when I first went into the circus. Look at the wardrobe closely and tell me where I had SIX dove loads. Impossible? No, it’s a fact. As you see I was almost naked! The back was cut very low, just a trifle too low (I played it that way). Well the show owner Mrs Hanneford was somewhat shocked, the audience loved it, I was in a 5 ring display, and some people asked if anyone else was performing. So my little ploy worked.

In those days there were not too many places to buy black underwear, and as I was doing 3 shows a day I couldn’t go out. So dear Mrs Hannford had to go out and buy me women’s black panties. She said the Shriners would pull my act out if I didn’t cover up more. This is the costume I wore in all the night clubs and it worked great as there was no place to hide the doves. All the other 4 acts had big illusions, I had one tiny table and a assistant and got all the attention. Sure it took guts, but you have to take chances. (continue reading…)

Re-Classified is a new website where people can post classified ads on their used magic.  In addition it will also provide the latest info and product reviews but its main purpose is to serve people who want to get the word out that they have used magic for sale.

What’s the catch?  Well we don’t think there is one, it is free and you can post as many items as you want.  The idea is to bring sellers and buyers together at one place.  We would love to hear feedback from you on how to make it better on both the seller and buyer side so please don’t be afraid to make suggestions.

Heres a few FAQ’s and Rules.  (continue reading…)

On Tu Long

It is said that “brevity is the sole of wit”, but a Shaggy Dog story doesn’t get a laugh unless you drag it out to near boredom.   Even in the movie industry, a common criticism is that the film was great but “it went on too long”.  Entertainment seems to have cornered the market on a dichotomy.

There are many timing elements to a successful performance that the audience never knows about.  There’s the pacing of show, the speed of the performance, dramtic pauses for effect, etc..  However, there always seems to be a show element that a magician often neglects to examine; the length of an indiviual trick or routine.

The author, Dariel Fitzkee, states in his book Showmanship for Magicians, and I paraphrase, “go ahead and produce a full rack of billiard balls and a triangle, IF you can make it entertaining”. (continue reading…)