After a long ordeal fighting a terrible disease, Roger passed away yesterday, 30th August 2008, at around 1pm.
The name Roger Klause is known to magicians the world over. For over 50 years, Roger has been an icon in magic, making himself available at conventions, sessions and private meetings whenever and wherever the opportunity allowed.
Roger’s friends and students are innumerable, both his antics and his magic are legendary, and he’s contributed either directly or indirectly to shaping many of the major forces and events in magic over the last half-century.
Roger Klause was a respected performer and instructor. He has long been known as “The Leader of the Underground,” a title bestowed upon him by Michael Skinner during a lecture in Wichita, Kansas, as Roger is the quintessential “session magician,” sitting in private sessions with magicians from all walks of life.
Communications may be sent to Wanda Klause, PO Box 1256, Borger TX 79008.
Magicians world wide will miss Roger, and our thoughts are with Wanda and the Klause family.
The critics gave it a mixed bag. Wienstein all but sent it straight to DVD. Now Death Defying Acts has been given a packaging face lift in a an attempt to convince potential purchasers it’s a more ‘Houdini’ like experience.
Houdini Lives reports that Amazon is showing a repackaged and re-titled version for sale. Gone is Houdini’s Death Defying Acts’ and in, is just Death Defying Acts, incorporating a new subtitle of Houdini’s Secret. Also it appears the DVD will no longer be marketed under The Weinstein Company’s ‘Classics’ label.
The Amazon page still does not give a firm release date for the film, but if you sign up you’ll be among the first notified of when you can expect this title delivered to your home… whatever it’s called by then.
Here is a look at the first art courtesy of Houdini Lives.
The 1-on-1 training section at theory11 has been updated tonight with the latest edition by Chris Kenner : The SWE Shift. The SWE Shift is one of the most widely practiced and rarely perfected moves out of Erdnase’s classic Expert at the Card Table from 1902. It’s applications are endless, and it’s utility is beyond measure. A card control, a pass, a tool in your arsenal.
Taught in vivid detail with over the shoulder angles by Chris Kenner, illustrating his work, thoughts, and ideas on the move after over 25 years of practice. See it now in the 1-on-1 section at theory11.com.
The Daily Telegraph reports today about two ex-students of the famous Eton School in the UK, Drummond Money-Coutts and Tom Lyon met at Eton where they taught each other sleight of hand behind the bike shed.
They decided in August last year to swap their thriving business putting on conjuring displays at smart London parties and head off to do some real good.
The Kipungani Schools Trust, a British-founded charity that has built six schools along the Kenyan coast, planned to build another near Mombasa. For this, the charity needed £20,000 and that’s where Lyon and Money-Coutts came in. They’d already raised £11,000 (£10,000 from investment bank Merrill Lynch and £1,000 from their mentor Uri Geller)
So, packing a video camera and a few props, they flew to Kenya and filmed an impromptu magic tour of the country. In the hope that people would buy the DVD and raise the much needed funds for the Kipungani Schools Trust.
They traveled Kenya and performed their mini-miracles wherever they went. They were chased by prostitutes, bribed to cheat in a casino and gave one man a seizure.
“At one point, we found ourselves in a park in the nether regions of Mombasa, where homeless people congregate. We did a trick for one man in which we made an orange appear under an empty cup, and of course when this chap saw this piece of lovely fresh fruit, he ate it, which is not what normally happens at parties in Knightsbridge.”
The DVD Kenyan Conjurations costs £12.50 inc p&p. Order via the website www.kenyanconjurations.co.uk. To find out more about the Kipungani Trust schools, see www.thekstrust.com, or contact the trust at 9 Shalcomb Street, London, UK SW10 OHZ, 077385 64655.
According to the New York Post. Ultimate Fighting Champion president Dana White’s recent appearance on the Criss Angel’s Mindfreak was payback for a favor the star did for him.
White called in Angel to help out his son, Dana Jr. who’d been having nightmares of “monsters under his bed.” Angel visited the Whites’ Las Vegas home to hypnotize the boy. After an hour with Dana Jr, Angel emerged from his bedroom and told Dana and his wife, Anne, “You won’t be hearing about monsters again.” White’s representatives said:
“To this day, Dana doesn’t know what was said, but it worked. Now Dana’s wondering if Criss can do something about his love of the F-bomb.”
Walking on water, banishing monsters… bring on that dragon, anyone have a damsel in distress?
As we look forward to the grand opening of Criss Angel’s Believe at the Luxor, it might give some perspective to look back at another major magic undertaking: EFX at the MGM Grand.
For instance, you think the Believe delay was bad? Check out this story from the San Francisco Chronicle back in 1995.
Tomorrow night’s opening of “EFX” — a $41 million production that is the most expensive Las Vegas show ever — has been postponed. Technical difficulties caused the delay, according to a representative for “EFX.”
The show, which is to play at the MGM Grand hotel, stars Michael Crawford.
Opening night of “EFX” was almost sold out. No new opening date has been set.
The DAY BEFORE! As in, 24 hours. Imagine you had flown to Vegas for the debut. Crazy.
So why do things like this happen and what makes a show like Believe or EFX different from all the other Strip magic spectaculars? Let’s ask Andrew Mayne…
When MGM launched EFX it was the biggest magic show in history and it went through several delays. It’s the only precedent in magic to compare it to. Copperfield, Lance Burton and Siegfried & Roy had decades to get their shows to where they are. It’s understandable that Criss and Cirque in launching what’s probably now going to be the biggest magic spectacle are also going to encounter some problems. It’s not easy to create the impossible.
What they’re trying to achieve has never been done before. You got to cut them some slack.
Well said.
Even though our sources are still telling us that another delay might be in the cards Believe, it’s important to realize that kicking off a show of this size, with this much pressure can sometimes take longer then anyone expects.
Forbes.com has a nice roundup of failure. Not this kind. But rather the kind that is first necessary for anyone to truly be great.
Take entrepreneur Bob Compton…
Compton teamed up with magician David Copperfield to launch a magic-themed restaurant in New York City’s Times Square. They had raised $40 million and had completed 80% of the project when a majority equity partner blocked another interested investor to avoid further dilution. “After several years of work, the project imploded,” recalls Compton. “I was extraordinarily depressed.
Although the 90’s certainly didn’t need another “theme restaurant,” a Copperfield branded magic restaurant sure would have been interesting.
After a long ordeal fighting a terrible disease, Roger passed away yesterday, 30th August 2008, at around 1pm.
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