The Genii Forum

Bill Mullins

Jason Alexander (Seinfeld) joins Andy Richter to discuss how a trip to magic camp as a young boy changed his career path forever, finding his place in theater, the joys of being a grandfather, and his new podcast, “Really? No, Really?”.

Bill Mullins

There is use of the word "pinhead" in Jack Henderson Down South 1905 p. 72. You are correct in that this is not the usage I am looking for. Interesting to note the none-carnival ways those words were used, in derogatory ways in describing people, that the links in this thread list. Yes, &...

Bill Mullins

I read Harry's obituary in the New York Times, and ran across this story which I had not known about: For many years Mr. Lorayne lived in a gracious townhouse at 62 Jane Street in the West Village of Manhattan. (In sly tribute, his friend Mel Brooks planned to give that address as the home of the pl...

Bill Mullins

Thank you. Unfortunately it doesn't actually use the word "pinhead".

Bill Mullins

At one time L&L was selling digital editions for $10 each. What a deal that was.

Bill Mullins

I'm researching the earliest use of the carnival terms "blockhead" and "pinhead":

https://listserv.linguistlist.org/pipermail/ads-l/2023-June/163696.html

If you know of any earlier examples in print, I'd like to know of them.

Bill Mullins

From a 1949 ad in TOPS: YOU CAN SEE ALL THESE TRICKS DEMONSTRATED at our Branch Stores: In Indianapolis — Second Floor, Ohio Theatre Bldg., 40 West Ohio St.; in Detroit — Street Level, Tuller Hotel Bldg., 115 Adams St.; in Chicago — 2nd Floor, Woods Bldg., 54 W. Randolph St.; in New York — Conjurer'...

Bill Mullins

There was an Abbot's branch location at 6505 Sunset in the 1950s. At 2:42, you can see the Chavez College of Magic at 6767 Sunset Blvd. We've been binge-watching Adam-12 lately. The stories hold up okay (not near as dated as Dragnet, for example, even though both were made by Jack Webb), but what's ...

Bill Mullins

For paywalled articles, you can also try: a different device (your phone, or tablet, or a different computer) a different browser (I have Chrome, Edge, and Firefox on each of my machines for this reason, and have had Brave and other browsers on machines in the past) opening the article in an incogni...

Bill Mullins

Richard Kaufman wrote: They don't humor you,

I dunno, a dog will put up with a whole lot of crap from his human.

Bill Mullins

https://www.cam.ac.uk/research/news/sleight-of-hand-magic-trick-only-fools-monkeys-with-opposable-thumbs

Bill Mullins

top ten of 2023

Bill Mullins

Gene Sheldon, who played Guy Williams' sidekick "Bernardo" in the Zorro TV show, was a performing magician from the 1930s and 1940s.

Bill Mullins

Variety's obit.

Bill Mullins

See "Mental Marvels" by Albert Cohn in Hugard's Magic Monthly , Dec 1945, p. 171. I'm sorry, Cohn's trick is a predecessor to "I've Got Your Number" on p. 227 (the trick where you force 37 by "any number from 1-50, both digits different, both digits odd"). I don't have...

Bill Mullins

See "Mental Marvels" by Albert Cohn in Hugard's Magic Monthly, Dec 1945, p. 171.

Bill Mullins

Joe Lyons wrote:A first edition of The Expert just went for $5040 with buyer's premium.

I believe that's the lowest it's been for a while.

Recent sales (from Liveauctioneers):

5/2023 $5250
12/2022 8750
3/2022 10,625
1/2021 11,875
3/2020 10,625

Bill Mullins

This artist is strongly influenced by Escher.

Illusions From a Visual Magician

Gallery

Bill Mullins

Gopnik wrote this article about magic in the New Yorker, and is in this podcast. And his newest book is full of references to magic.

Bill Mullins

Please leave the ad up. I've gone through the Forum archives many times looking for book values and this is valuable information.

Bill Mullins

There doesn't seem to be any reference to the release of the notebooks in Genii, Linking Ring, or MUM when they came out. Surprising.

Bill Mullins

Speaking of other prop storage issues: Camera lens cases are a nice solution to storing cups and balls sets (I first read that in one of the late Pete Biro's columns, I think). However, I have not yet found a sturdy, affordable case to safely transport a single champagne glass (coupe). Most of the ...

Bill Mullins

Supposedly David Blaine is in issues #468 and #497

Bill Mullins

Mad Magazine artist (since 1955!) Al Jaffee died yesterday, age 102. https://static.secure.website/wscfus/5177501/uploads/THE_MAD_BOOK_OF_MAGIC_AND_OTHER_DIRTY_TRICKS_197011.jpg (I always hoped Todd Lassen would get some nitroglycerin and make the coins that would stick to your arm . . .)

Bill Mullins

Meir Yedid posted on Facebook a little while ago that Harry Lorayne passed away this morning. One of a kind . . . . RIP

Bill Mullins

Just ordered my copy!

Bill Mullins

TerryTerrell wrote: I would share a jpg, but everything is in climate control storage at the moment.

I keep my jpg's in climate controlled storage, too.

Bill Mullins

Query to the Openai Chatbot: Who was Erdnase? Answer: Erdnase is a pseudonym used by the author of the book "Expert at the Card Table," which was first published in 1902. The true identity of the author is still unknown and the subject of much speculation. The book is widely considered to ...

Bill Mullins

Note that the "monstrous Vermont hog" in lot #350 has only three legs. Why, you ask? "A pig like that, you don't eat it all at once."

Bill Mullins

Richard -- It was the first one we watched tonight. Haven't seen the sequel, "Glass Onion", yet. Living in Alabama, I have trouble with affected Southern accents, and Daniel Craig's is pretty broad. But otherwise, I liked "Knives Out" okay.

Bill Mullins

Watched "Knives Out" with the family this evening. When it came out, I saw it mentioned that there were magic posters in the backgrounds of some scenes, so I knew to watch for those. What I didn't know until I read the IMDB trivia about it was that Ricky Jay was to have been in it (in the ...

Bill Mullins

I've seen clips of "Thinking in Person" online. Was the whole show ever recorded?

Bill Mullins

Name reversals: actor Robert Trebor.

Bill Mullins

Sort of. But mainly, I just wanted to say "Erdnasing".

Bill Mullins

Dustin Stinett wrote:Unless you are thinking of trying to monetize your work

I've been Erdnasing for decades now. Not rich yet, but soon . . . .

Bill Mullins

Bob Farmer wrote:Once again, the two guys on here that can find anything are Philippe and Bill Mullins. Since they are never seen together, they may be the same guy.

I never find anything myself. I just email Philippe, he tells me, and I reveal it and take credit.

Bill Mullins

What was in the package?

Bill Mullins

PressureFan wrote: Carrot Top was in the front row and Lance did The Web on him. Carrot Top freaked and kind of froze in fear. It wasn’t pretty.

There's never been a situation where Carrot Top and "pretty" go together.

Bill Mullins

Philippe Billot wrote:I must admit that the idea is not mine. I was inspired by "Mission: Impossible"

I think this was part of Bill Woodfield's Castle Act, which is why it made it into Mission Impossible.

Bill Mullins

It looks like Bob Dylan has done the same "hand-signed" autopen trick that Copperfield did.

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