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- Herausgeber: Crown House Publishing
- Kategorie: Geisteswissenschaft
- Sprache: Englisch
Ormond McGill has hypnotised audiences all over the world with his exciting stage shows. Here are some of the secrets of his success. " ... fun-reading and additionally a resource of little-known information for magicians and hypnotists." Dr. Dwight F.Damon, President, National Guild of Hypnotists, Inc
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Veröffentlichungsjahr: 2005
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The Amazing Life of Ormond McGill
A new type of magic and hypnotism book in which a thoughtful professional reveals secrets of a lifetime
Ormond McGill Dean of American Hypnotists
This book is an autobiography. It is dedicated to my beloved wife, Delight. This autobiography is an original. It has to be, as it is about you, and you are the only one exactly like yourself in the entire universe.
Contents
Title Page
Dedication
Biographical Foreword by Charles Mignosa
Timeline
Preface
Introduction
Part One: Conception of a Magician/Hypnotist
Chapter One A Magician is Born
Chapter Two Early Adventures in Magic
Chapter Three Magic Clubs and Other Things
Chapter Four Conception of a Hypnotist
Chapter Five School Days
Chapter Six The Girl I Married
Chapter Seven Adventures in Hollywood
Chapter Eight The Language of the Eyes
Chapter Nine Which Path to Take?
Chapter Ten An Adventure with Dr. Zomb
Chapter Eleven Publicity Miracles
Chapter Twelve Donn Wood & Erna
Chapter Thirteen Spook Show Days
Chapter Fourteen East Indian Miracles
Chapter Fifteen South Sea Island Magic
Chapter Sixteen Military Daze
Chapter Seventeen Natural Science
Chapter Eighteen Once A Collector Always A Collector
Chapter Nineteen The Death of Delight
Chapter Twenty Friends of Influence
Part Two: The Greatest Magic In the World
Chapter Twenty-One Magical Presentation
Chapter Twenty-Two Let’s Pretend Magic
Chapter Twenty-Three Waving the Magic Wand
Chapter Twenty-Four Milkshake Magic
Chapter Twenty-Five Atomic Magic
Chapter Twenty-Six Some Very Tricky Tricks
Chapter Twenty-Seven A Treasure Trove of Mental Magic
Chapter Twenty-Eight The Greatest Magic in the World
Chapter Twenty-Nine Magical Wisdom
Chapter Thirty Some Famous Magicians I Have Seen
Part Three: Hypnotism
Chapter Thirty-One “Magic of the Mind” Contemplation
Chapter Thirty-Two Some Thoughts on Stage Hypnotism
Chapter Thirty-Three My Conscious Self-Hypnosis Method
Chapter Thirty-Four “Effort Without Effort” Self-Hypnosis
Chapter Thirty-Five Rainbow Self-Hypnosis
Chapter Thirty-Six Hypnotherapy
Chapter Thirty-Seven Cosmic Love Connection Hypnosis
Chapter Thirty-Eight Hypnotherapy of Zen
Chapter Thirty-Nine Vitality Hypnosis
Chapter Forty Whirling Dervish Hypnosis
Chapter Forty-One Acupressure Hypnotherapy
Chapter Forty-Two “I Can’t be Hypnotized” Hypnosis
Chapter Forty-Three Quotation Hypnotherapy
Chapter Forty-Four Computer Hypnosis
Chapter Forty-Five Transcendental Hypnotic Induction
Part Four: Entering The Esoteric
Chapter Forty-Six Oriental vs. Occidental Hypnotism
Chapter Forty-Seven My “Ladder of Colors” Hypnotic Induction
Chapter Forty-Eight Abundance Hypnosis
Chapter Forty-Nine A Message from Delight
Chapter Fifty Thoughts on Reincarnation
Chapter Fifty-One Yogi Pranayama Practices
Part Five: Literary Endeavours & Other Things
Chapter Fifty-Two Literary Endeavors
Chapter Fifty-Three Hypnomeditation
Chapter Fifty-Four Inventions & Innovations
Chapter Fifty-Five Concluding My Autobiography
Appendices
Appendix One Become a Thoroughbred
Appendix Two Advancing Your Senses
Appendix Three Exercises in Attention & Mental Discipline
Appendix Four More Treasures from My Treasure Chest
Appendix Five Antiaging
Appendix Six Review
Copyright
Biographical Foreword
Lifetime of a Magician/Hypnotist
Ormond McGill is a name to conjure with for those who know hypnotism. I use the word “conjure” as he is a magician in addition to being a hypnotist, and has combined those arts into stage shows of outstanding merit. His exciting magic/hypnotic shows have been witnessed by thousands throughout the United States and internationally in Canada, India, Hong Kong, Taiwan, Japan, Korea, Philippine Islands, French Polynesia, Australia and New Zealand.
Ormond was born in Palo Alto, California, June 15, 1913, and started his performing career in grammar school showing his classmates the ever popular “Wine and Water Trick”, which was made possible by a chemistry set received as a Christmas gift.
While attending high school in Palo Alto, the budding entertainer took the Tarbell Magic Course by correspondence, which, at that time, was being nationally advertised. Work in the high school manual training shop made possible the construction of various pieces of apparatus which resulted in his first full evening magic show, presented for the high school in 1928. It was the start of a career in show business which has continued for 70 years plus. During those high school days, Ormond became interested in hypnotism. An interest which eclipsed even the young performer’s interest in magic. Hypnotism became the feature of his shows, which, through the years, have been billed as “The Concert of Hypnotism”.
During the 1930s, in addition to attending college, the developing magician/hypnotist performed at California summer resorts. It was also during that period that his work as an author began, (he will tell more about that in subsequent chapters of his autobiography).
While attending the Pacific Coast Association of Magicians Convention in San Diego in 1940, Ormond met Arnold Furst who subsequently became his personal manager and booked his shows on many tours throughout the western United States and overseas.
The year 1942 marked a milestone in Ormond’s career as it was then that he launched his original Spook Show, under the title “The Great London Hypnotic Seance”. The show played the Fox and United Artists Theatres throughout the Pacific Coast and midwestern states, as well as in Famous Players Theatres across Canada, as far east as Quebec. He adopted the stage name of Dr. Zomb, for that phase of his career, and he continued playing theatres as Dr. Zomb. The name of the show was changed to “Seance of Wonders”, but the name Dr. Zomb stayed with him, being used as a subtitle even in his overseas tours, as “The Man Called Dr. Zomb”.
In 1943, Ormond married a girl named Delight. She was exactly her name, he says, and she became his “Girl Friday” in numerous performances.
An outstanding showman, Ormond McGill is also the author of numerous books on hypnotism, magic, and other things. In 1947, he began the writing of his now famous Encyclopedia of GenuineStage Hypnotism. It has gone through half a dozen printings, and become recognized as the “bible” of stage hypnotists. An enlarged edition called The New Encyclopedia of Stage Hypnotism was recently published in the UK by Crown House Publishing. Already it has gone through six printings, and hit “best seller” acclaim.
The year 1955 found the McGills touring in Australia, Japan and Korea, on a tour arranged by Arnold Furst. And, in 1958, in association with motion picture producer, Ron Ormond, they made a tour of the Orient, both filming and performing in the Philippines, Hong Kong, Taiwan and India. On returning from this trip, Ormond, in collaboration with Ron, wrote the book Into the StrangeUnknown, which was later rewritten and expanded into the book ReligiousMysteries of the Orient, published by A.S. Barnes & Company, Inc. in 1976. Ormond McGill and the late Ron Ormond were the first men to bring Western attention to the “psychic surgery” of the Philippines.
In 1969, Ormond and Delight made a pioneer tour to Tahiti and other islands of French Polynesia with the first magic/hypnotism show to play these remote islands of the South Pacific. On returning to the States, the couple designed their new show of “South Sea Island Magic” which combined with “The Concert Of Hypnotism”. During this period, Ormond, also, had featured roles in two movies produced by Ron Ormond Films, Inc.: Please Don’t Touch Me and Sacred Symbol with John Calvert (The Falcon).
The 1970s proved a time of writing five books: The Secret World of Witchcraft, Religious Mysteries of the Orient, The Mysticism and Magic of India, How to Produce Miracles, and Entertaining With Magic. These books were published by A.S. Barnes & Company, Inc. for public sale. How to Produce Miracles was also produced in a popular paperback edition by Signet. It was a busy time in which the couple managed to squeeze in their last overseas tour for Kerrig-Odeon Theatres in New Zealand.
Then, in 1976, tragedy entered Ormond’s life. His beloved Delight died. Ormond’s thought was to end his career then and there, but friends stepped in and encouraged him to continue on. Friendship with renowned illusionist, Lee Grabel resulted in his being booked to play sponsorship shows for the National Federation of the Blind, to raise funds for that worthy organization. The association lasted for 20 years. The last show for NFB was in 1999.
In 1981, in addition to performing hypnotism on the stage, Ormond McGill turned attention to teaching classes as a state-approved Hypnotherapy instructor at the Hypnotherapy Training Institute of Northern California (HTI). He developed some revolutionary techniques. He has written of some of these in the Hypnotism section of his autobiography, and also in The New Encyclopedia of Stage Hypnotism. Besides teaching at HTI, the conventions of the American Council of Hypnotist Examiners (ACHE) and the National Guild of Hypnotists (NGH) annually engage his services. In recognition of his contribution to the field of hypnosis, he has become internationally recognized as “The Dean of American Hypnotists”. He wears the mantle well.
Ormond McGill is recipient of numerous awards and citations including recognition by the New Hampshire House of Representatives, and the prestigious Dr. Rexford L. North Award. Likewise he is on the Faculty of the Hypnotherapy Training Institute, Northern California, and the advisory board of the American Council of Hypnotist Examiners (ACHE) and the National Guild of Hypnotists.
However, I believe the finest tribute to this man is the aura of friendship he radiates to everyone. Outside the field of hypnotism, his book Grieve No More, Beloved: The Book of Delight, written after Delight’s passing in 1976, has brought comfort to hundreds of people who grieve the passing onwards of someone they loved. It is known as a handbook of life after death, as channelled through Ormond by his wife, Delight, in spirit.
In writing his autobiography, Ormond McGill takes you on a journey through this lifetime from his birth in 1913 onwards into current space and time (2003), and along the journey you will learn some clever magic you can perform, innovative hetero-hypnosis and self-hypnosis methods you can use, and much more.
I close now this brief biological outline of Ormond McGill, and let Ormond tell his own story, in his own way, with magic and the magical-like sprinkled along the way.
Charles Mignosa San Jose, CA 2003
Timeline
Preface
Every life is individual and different, yet there are universal similarities, so reading an autobiography or a biography can be of value to one’s personal life. Each person serves the other in increasing the value of a lifetime.
This is my autobiography and it, also, gives you instructions in the arts of magic and hypnotism as an autobiographical sharing.
This autobiography, with its Biographical Foreword and Timeline, spans better than three-quarters of a century, and tells of enchanting things I have found of value to myself. I share them with you.
Ormond McGill Palo Alto, CA 2003
Introduction
This autobiography tells of my life from 1913 to 2003. In a way, it is a different kind of autobiography as it is also a Magic and Hypnotism book. It tells of my life adventures as a professional magician, hypnotist and transcendental author.
When one has used up their “three-score-and-ten”, and even more, it is high time to take stock of oneself, determine what is to be left to posterity, and write an autobiography of their life – if such is ever to be.
So, since I have reached 90, I have gathered things I cherish and am presenting them here. Have fun tossing these ideas about. Remembering …
While you will find much that is magical within these pages appreciate that the greatest magic of all is you!
As is my motto: “Join the crowd, but while you do it be an original as then you have value.” An original Van Gogh will sell for over a million dollars. A good copy of a Van Gogh will bring about fifty if you are lucky.
Part One
Conception of a Magician/Hypnotist
Chapter One
A Magician is Born
Somehow I always knew I was just a visitor on this planet; however, my birth certificate affirms I was born on June 15, 1913 at 5.15 p.m. in Palo Alto, California, USA. According to astrology, this makes me a Gemini (the Twins), as being a person with a sort of dual personality, as it were.
My mother was a relatively small woman with flashing brown eyes. Her maiden name was Julia Battele. She was born in Florida, spent her girlhood in Omaha and then moved to San Francisco where she met my father, Harry A. McGill, and said, “I do.”
My father was a gentle, soft-spoken man, who often told of having gone through the San Francisco earthquake of 1906. Harry and Julia teamed up together to live their lives. And they did until death bid them apart. Their union resulted in the birth of me in 3D space.
Harry joined the American Telephone and Telegraph Company (AT&T) in Berkeley, California, while living in San Francisco. He worked in that East Bay City for 15 years, and then was appointed telephone manager in Palo Alto. His work included the entire district from Redwood City to Mt. View.
Harry and Julia performed the magic of conceiving me one night in La Honda, a vacation spot in the West Coastal Mountains. Today, it takes less than an hour to get to La Honda from Palo Alto. It was a full day’s trip by horse-and-buggy in 1912. Nine months later I was born in a brown shingle house on Fulton Street in Palo Alto. That makes me a native son of the town. Anative son of Palo Alto is rare these days, as it has grown from a community to a thriving city adjacent to Stanford University.
Palo Alto in Spanish means “tall tree” or an approximation thereof. The old redwood tree still stands by the Southern Pacific Bridge, at the entrance to the city. Palo Alto is known as an educational center. Today it lies in “Silicon Valley”, a capital of the electronic industry. Many famous people lived there who contributed to world progress. Novelist Mary Robert Rhinehart wrote her stories there. Artist Swinnerton, creator of “Little Jimmy” and “The Canyou Kids” had his studio there. DeForest discovered the vacuum tube in Palo Alto, which revolutionized radio. Two young men, starting in a garage, advanced to Apple Computer fame. Hewlett Packard, from a small beginning in the town, became a billion dollar industry in electronics. And, of course, Stanford University nurtured many a prolific mind. Truly, Palo Alto was a creative place to grow up in. A few childhood memories stand out …
I recall my mother mentioning that she named me Ormond, using the last name of a friend she had known in Omaha. She also gave me the middle name of Dale. I have used this very seldom. Mostly, Ormond McGill is quite enough for identification.
I recall my father saying, “There is something different about Ormond.” What the difference was I haven’t the slightest idea. Maybe he had a premonition that I would grow up to be a magician/hypnotist if that can be called “something different”.
Most assuredly, I have always had a yen for the mysterious, which Einstein expressed so magnificently in saying, “The most beautiful and profound thing we can experience is the mysterious. It is the source of all true art and science. He to whom emotion is a stranger, who can no longer wonder and stand rapt in awe, is as good as dead for his eyes are closed.”
I recall my father going frequently to Army Station Camp Fremont in Menlo Park, a neighboring town to Palo Alto, to collect nickels from the pay telephones during World War I. My birth and his job kept Harry out of the service, but he did his share. He would bring the sacks of nickels back to the car (we had an old Overland at the time) to be counted later in his office. Frequently, slugs were used to make the phone calls instead of nickels. The nickels used, at that time, were “Liberty Heads”. Wish I had kept them; they are worth far more than a nickel now!
Occasionally I would go with my father to help carry the bags of nickels. One night, on returning to the car, a dog was sitting on the front seat – an Eskimo dog of the most affectionate nature. Somehow he had the good sense to sit in that car, as it would give him a happy life with people who liked dogs. He was obviously a dog of value, so we advertised for his owner to claim him. None showed up, so we kept him and named him “Sport”. He was the first dog I knew who became my friend. Also, a few other animals joined my family from time to time. I have always had a soft place in my heart for animals.
Another childhood event I still vividly recall was seeing fairies dancing in a bush across the street from my home on Forest Avenue (we moved there shortly following my birth) in Palo Alto.
The strange illusion of the “dancing fairies” is still clearly etched in my memory. I did not understand it then anymore than I understand it now. I saw a number of what appeared to be dainty little people dressed in flowing white garments, dancing amidst rose bushes. They vanished shortly, and I have witnessed nothing like it ever again. Possibly it was the imagination of a child, as I was quite an OZ book reader. All I can say is that it remains as definite an experience as any I have marveled about in this lifetime. In any event, it provides a nice memory of childhood days, and, in its way, was my first encounter with magic.
Some memories are not so pleasant. One that especially stands out in my mind is of an experience at an amusement park in La Honda, California, when I was bitten by a monkey. A small chimpanzee was chained to a post and people were allowed to feed him pieces of apple. When it was my turn, I held out a piece to him, and, in my childish excitement, dropped it as he was about to take it. I reached down to pick up, and the monkey, thinking I was trying to take it away from him, grabbed my arm, pulled my hand to his mouth, and bit deeply into my right forefinger. Blood poisoning set in. Fortunately, my mother knew how to use flaxseed poultices to draw out the infection and my arm was saved, but it is not an experience I would care to repeat. I still carry the scar on my right forefinger.
I started school at the age of seven, one year later than most kids did, but it worked out all right. Palo Alto had a good school system. In 1923, my father changed jobs and we moved to Berkeley for a year. In Palo Alto, my scholastic work was average; in Berkeley, I was a “genius”, as they were a year behind in the curriculum. It was fun while in Berkeley but not much fun when I returned to Palo Alto, as I was a year behind my classmates. It took some private tutoring to catch up.
It was to my classmates, in the fifth grade of grammar school, that I did my first magic trick. I have always had an interest in chemistry, so the trick I did was the popular one of “Wine and Water”. It was an ambitious trick for a kid to do, but my father helped me prepare it. I learned it from a book on chemical magic; the effect and “how to do it” go like this:
A glass pitcher half-filled with water is shown along with five empty glasses. The magician pours water into the first glass, wine into the second, water into the third, and wine into the fourth. Then, he pours the contents of the first and second glass back and forth, and they both become wine. He pours the contents of the third and fourth glasses back and forth, and they both become water. The first and second glasses of wine are poured back into the pitcher, making a pitcher of wine. The third and fourth glasses of water are poured into the pitcher, and the wine visibly changes to water. The pitcher seems filled with water, as it was at the beginning of the trick. For a surprise climax, the magician then pours water from the pitcher into the fifth glass, and it changes to milk!
It was a good trick then and still is. Years later I saw it performed by a famous magician billed as “Think-a-Drink Hoffman”, as the opening effect in his vaudeville act at the Golden Gate Theater in San Francisco.
Here’s how to do it using harmless chemicals:
From a drug store, get a bottle of strong phenolphthalein solution. Fill a second bottle half-full with powdered tartaric acid; then, fill the bottle to its top with water. Fill a third bottle half-full with potassium carbonate and make a solution by adding water. The chemicals for performing the trick are now ready. You also need five glasses and a clear glass pitcher with enough water in it to fill four of the glasses.
To prepare for the exhibition, arrange the glasses in a row on the table, and into the first glass place one-half teaspoon of potassium carbonate solution; into the second glass place a few drops of phenolphthalein; into the third glass place a teaspoon of the tartaric acid solution; into the fourth glass place a few drops of phenolphthalein; and into the fifth glass place one teaspoon of the phenolphthalein solution.
You are now ready to perform the trick.
Pour water from the pitcher into the first glass, filling it about two-thirds full. The water mixes with the clear solution of potassium carbonate in the glass and looks like water. Pour the contents of this glass back into the water pitcher. This makes a mild solution of potassium carbonate in the pitcher. Again pour the “water” from the pitcher into the first glass and place it on the table as a glass of water.
Then, pick up the second glass and pour the “water” from the pitcher into it; a chemical reaction occurs and the glass appears to be filled with wine.
Pick up the third glass and pour the “water” from the pitcher into it; it mixes with tartaric acid, but as no visible reaction occurs it passes for a glass of water.
Pick up the fourth glass and pour the “water” from the pitcher into it. The visible results, on your table, will be two glasses of water and two glasses of wine that appear to have been poured from a pitcher of water alternately.
Now comes more magic. Pick up glasses No. 1 and 2 and pour the contents back and forth between them. The result appears as two glasses of “wine.” The “wine” is poured from the glasses into the pitcher, which results in the contents of the pitcher turning red. You show it to the audience as a pitcher of wine.
Now, pick up glasses No. 3 and 4 and pour the contents back and forth. The result appears as two glasses of “water”. The “water” is poured from the glasses into the pitcher, and a chemical reaction occurs which appears to change the “wine” in the pitcher back to water.
To climax the trick, pour the “water” from the pitcher into glass No. 5, and you end up with what appears to be a glass of milk, as the concentrated phenolphthalein forms a milky solution.
The trick went over great with my classmates, and their acceptance gave me the confidence to perform more magic in the future. Really, it was rather bold of me to perform the trick, as I was a shy child. So shy, in fact, that when my folks visited friends I would prefer to stay out on the porch until refreshments were served. Refreshments have a remarkable way of curing shyness.
Shy as I was, I never seemed too bothered standing before a group; possibly, it was an inborn sense of theater, as I liked to dress up in costumes and pretend to be different characters.
I recall being a clown, a policeman, a cowboy, and an Indian. I even recited some poetry before a church audience and won a prize. Then, magic came along in the form of a Gilbert Mysto Magic Set under the Christmas tree, and a magician was born.
Chapter Two
Early Adventures in Magic
It was not until I started high school that my “career” in magic really took off. I was 14 at the time. The year was 1927, and the Tarbell Home-Study Course in Magic was being nationally advertised in all the major magazines. I wanted to take the course. My folks were a bit concerned that it might interfere with my studies, as I was just entering high school. However, Principal Walter Nichols assured them it would be the best thing in the world for a boy to have magic as a hobby.
Walter Nichols, what a fine man he was. We became good friends over the years; he even stooged for me one night during a “Stunt Show” at Palo Alto Union High School (“Paly Hi” as it is affectionately known). He pretended to become hypnotized and walked zombie fashion from his seat in the audience onto the stage. It caused a sensation at the school that some remember to this day. Some remember Walter Nichols through his work in the literary field; his book, Trust A Boy has become a classic.
And so, I took the Tarbell Course in Magic, and it provided a quantum leap. While in high school, the Manual Training Class gave me a chance to make equipment in the shop, and I finally presented my first full evening magic show on that Paly Hi stage.
I will never forget my presentation of “Sawing A Woman In Half” during that show. I tried to saw the box in half using a standard tree-cutting saw which had large notches between the teeth. The notches kept catching on the sides of the box during the sawing, and it took a full half an hour to cut it through. The girl used in that illusion ended her career as a magician’s assistant then and there!
As word got around that I was a Tarbell student and was putting on magic shows, invitations from various magic clubs came in inviting me to attend shows put on by their members. I attended and made some new friends interested in magic. By and large, magicians are a friendly group and, contrary to popular opinion, are not adverse to sharing their “secrets” and helping out a newcomer. They helped me.
Many of the members must have been Tarbell students too, as I recall much patter being exactly as it was given in the course.
Tarbell’s patter was often recited word for word as though his patter were some sort of sacred text. I did that too, at the start, until I finally had the good sense to patter my own way rather than repeat verbatim what I had read.
While many of his students, of those days, seemed to precisely use his patter line, Tarbell himself never said to do that. He emphasized the importance of being natural and being yourself when performing magic. Good advice! If you want to be outstanding in any field, you must be an original, not a copy. It was advice I eventually heeded, which led to developing my personal style of presentation; in my case, a leisurely one.
Some early adventures in magic, however, were not particularly leisurely ones, such as the time I was asked to present “something of an exciting nature” from an aeroplane during a 4th of July Show. This was way back in the late 1920s, and the Palo Alto Airport, at that time, was located just south of town off of El Camino Real. The planes used were one-motored biplanes.
I thought about it and finally decided to try a “Mailbag Escape”, The apparatus for this consisted of a canvas mail bag large enough to hold a person. Along the top of the bag were grommets, and a metal bar was laced back and forth through these, a padlock being then fasted on each end of the bar making the person inside the sack a prisoner. Escape seemed impossible to the spectators who didn’t know that the steel bar had been carefully machined so as to unscrew at its center. To escape, all one had to do was unscrew the bar, push it out of the grommets, get out of the bag, replace the bar through the grommets, and screw it up tight again. Usually, the stunt is performed behind a screen on stage; this 4th of July I decided to do it from the cockpit of an aeroplane as it flew over the heads of the assembled crowd.
To increase the mystery, I was handcuffed before being placed in the mail bag. Getting out of the cuffs was easy, as I had a duplicate key in my pocket.
Locked in the mail bag, I was deposited inside the plane. These early planes had an open cockpit, so that was convenient. Then, the plane took off and circled the airfield. Within the cockpit, I went to work and freed myself from the bag, replaced the bar, and tossed the locked mail bag out of the plane. It fluttered to the ground empty. The plane landed and I got out and took my bow. The stunt went over fine and garnered me some publicity. It made me appreciate a master such as Houdini.
In my early adventures in magic, I found I had a liking for sensational publicity stunts, so I dreamed up a way to perform the dangerous “Catching a Bullet in the Teeth” trick. This is legendary amongst magicians as being hazardous since Ching Ling Soo was killed performing it.
I knew the trick was dangerous, but I wanted to try it. When you are young and frivolous, you do all kinds of “nutty” things which you would never think of doing, as advancing years make you more cautious.
Anyway, I figured out a way to do the trick. I performed the feat a number of times and got away with it. (Obviously, or else I would not be writing these memoirs.)
As I designed the effect, a standard 22-bolt action rifle was used. A 22-caliber bullet was selected from a box of cartridges and carefully marked with a knife to identify it. The bullet was then loaded into the rifle. I took my position boldly across stage; the rifle was aimed and shot at me by a man from the audience. On the report of the rifle, my head jerked back and I staggered. Finally standing erect, it was seen that the bullet had been caught between my teeth. An assistant brought forward a plate, and the bullet dropped from my teeth onto the plate with a clatter. On being examined, the bullet still had the mark which had been placed on it. The mystery was complete.
How was it done? Very simply, by a method that really worked surprisingly well considering how brazen it was:
The man who did the shooting was a stooge who had been instructed to aim the rifle off to the side of my head and shoot into a sack of sand placed backstage in the wings. To the audience, the slight side-aiming of the gun was not noticed, as only a small displacement of the barrel caused it to give a wide berth to my head, as the bullet whizzed across stage into the sack of sand. From the spectators’ point of view, the gun seemed to be aimed and shot directly at me.
A duplicate head (lead part) of a 22 cartridge was used, the head being carefully removed and marked (scratched) with an “X”. This marked bullet head I secreted in my mouth between my lower gum and cheek. It remained perfectly concealed until I was ready to bring it forth by my tongue and grip it between my teeth during the course of the trick. I could even talk without interference.
In the presentation of the effect, several spectators were invited on stage to help in the demonstration. Among these was my stooge who knew how to fire the rifle to the side of my head. The rifle was examined by the committee and then handed to the marksman. A box of 22-caliber bullets were then dumped on a plate, and one selected. One of the groups was told to mark the selected bullet for later identification. No one knew how to mark a bullet, so I boldly took out a pocket knife and, while all watched, made an “X” with the knife on the lead head of the bullet. In doing this, I duplicated the “X” of the bullet concealed in my mouth. A bold procedure but it worked effectively. No one ever questioned this maneuver, and I simply asked them to look at it so that they could identify the bullet later. Sometimes it pays to be bold in magic. You can get away with many things if you work with confidence and do not get suspicious of yourself.
The marked bullet was then taken by one of the committees and placed in the rifle ready for firing. The loaded rifle was handed to the man who was to do the shooting. On stage, he was told to fire the rifle directly at my mouth, as I was going to attempt to catch the bullet in my teeth.
The rest was pure showmanship. The marksman took his position at one side of the stage, while I took mine at the opposite side, standing erect and bravely facing possible execution. The trick held the audience breathless, as it had been explained that others had been killed performing the feat. It was a sensation!
At the report of the rifle, I jerked my head back and staggered forward, which gave me the opportunity to bring the bullet from my jaw to the teeth. Finally, standing upright with lips stretched back in a mirthless grin, the bullet could be seen caught between the teeth. My assistant brought a plate, and I dropped the bullet onto it with a clatter. On being examined by the committee, the “X” mark was noted.
During my early adventures in magic, “The Bullet Catching Trick” was a featured presentation. However, I would not recommend that others try it, as there is always the possibility that something could go wrong. Frankly, I would not do it today. Life is too precious. Magic is lots of fun; but sometimes, a bit dangerous too.
For a young magician, every show is an exciting adventure. While working at a Russian River summer resort, I had added some hypnotism to my show and wanted something sensational to finish on. A carnival man came to my aid.
The name of the man I cannot recall, but he was an unshaven wanderer who happened to stop by the resort and wanted a meal. We talked a bit about magic and hypnotism. He told me he had performed a hypnotic stunt in a carnival, in which, while apparently hypnotized, he made himself rigid and allowed his body to be suspended between two chairs. A large block of rock was then placed on his midsection and was cracked in two with a sledgehammer. He said he could do it. I was willing to try. It sounded just like the sensational stunt I wanted to close the show with at the resort that evening.
Accordingly, we searched out a large block of rock and a sledgehammer. He said no rehearsal was necessary. Just place his body suspended across the chairs, rest the stone on his stomach, and smack down hard with the sledge to crack the rock in two with one swift blow. I said, “Okay.” To myself I said, “I sure hope it works.”
At the show that night, I introduced the man. He apparently placed himself into a hypnotic trance and became stiff as a board. For all I know, he may really have hypnotized himself; he sure was stiff. With the help of a couple of fellows, we placed him across the back of two chairs, and carefully centered the block of rock on his stomach. I held my breath as I came down with the sledgehammer. I came down hard, and, to my relief, the block cracked into two, and the halves dropped to the stage. We lifted the man to his feet; he opened his eyes and took a bow. He seemed perfectly okay. We gave him a wonderful meal before he went on his way.
How is the feat accomplished?
There is no trick to it other than to do it. A well-muscled man can make himself rigid enough to support his body across the space between two chairs, and the block of rock absorbs the blow of the sledgehammer. It is inertia that does the work. As long as the blow with the sledge is swift and sure, it will crack the rock, and the rock absorbs the force of the blow. The stunt surely did make a spectacular climax to my show that evening.
One time, way back, I got the bright idea that I would include a “Buried Alive” stunt in my show. I was booked to play in two theaters on consecutive nights: the Fox Sequoia (Redwood City) and the Fox San Mateo. To conclude my show the first night in Redwood City, I announced that I was going to allow myself to be buried alive, and that the following night my coffin would be dug up, and I would be revived on the stage of the theater in San Mateo, at the start of the show.
A stout wooden coffin was brought on stage. I appeared to “entrance” myself, became stiff, and was placed within the coffin. The lid was then screwed on. The coffin was taken from the stage, down the aisle, and carried out of the theater to a lot across the street. All had been arranged, and a waiting grave had already been dug.
As the feat concluded the show, the audience trailed out of the theater to witness the burial. All were curious to see the ordeal. Horror always does hold a theatrical fascination.
Theater ushers picked up the coffin and carted it off stage; it was too large to go down the steps, so the only way to handle it was to go via a backstage route, then out and down the aisle, and over to the lot with the grave waiting to receive it. The theater crowd was so excited that no one bothered to take in details. So as the ushers carried the coffin around they switched the coffin I was in for a duplicate coffin in the wings (it was weighted with a dummy inside) and continued their journey out of the theater to the grave. A large crowd tagged along.
Arriving at the grave site, the coffin was lowered into the hole and covered with dirt. All the rest of the night and the next day it remained buried. Persons were stationed to watch over it.
At the appointed hour, it was dug up and placed in a truck to take to the San Mateo Theater for the “revival”.
Meanwhile, backstage at the Sequoia Theater, I was let out of the coffin, and kept out of sight. When opportunity allowed, the now empty coffin was taken backstage of the San Mateo Theater, and I went along with it. Prior to the show, I was again placed in the coffin backstage.
Then, came show time that night; the coffin in Redwood City was dug up and taken by truck to the other theater. Again to get it on stage, it had to be carried via a backstage route, and was switched for the coffin I was in. Brought on stage before the expectant audience, it was rested on sawhorses. All that remained to be done to start the show was to open the coffin, and the showmanship of the revival.
The effect was great, and the publicity filled two theaters to capacity. I enjoyed the experience, but I have never tried it again. Why trust your luck a second time?
The principle of conjuring used in accomplishing my theatrical “Buried Alive” feat is known as screening. On first consideration, it seems impossible that spectators will not suspect the artifice. But they do not because in everyday life we are constantly temporarily losing sight of objects until they reappear and fill in these short gaps mentally as a continuation of appearance. For instance, if while watching a child play ball we lose sight of a hand, it would be ridiculous to conclude that the child had suddenly become one-handed. Upon that psychology was based the success of this “Buried Alive” illusion. The principle can be successfully utilized in performing many magic effects.
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As one looks at photographs of a person from babyhood, childhood, and onward to adulthood, it is wonderful to speculate on the changes which occur in the body. Every 7 years, each cell in the body has been replaced, and you wear a new body. It is like tossing aside an old suit of clothes and putting on a new one. And yet, somehow, the stream of memories of all that happened to the individual remains intact, and each person knows that he (or she) is the same despite what is reflected in a mirror. In high school, I knew this to be so for this lifetime. Now, it seems, for many lifetimes. If ever there was magic!
Think about it. Every moment you live, something inside your body dies and something is reborn anew. Life appears as a continuum. Reincarnation? Regeneration? Time has scant meaning. Even the stars proclaim this: a star is born, it exists for eons of time, and eventually it dies. More eons pass, and again it is reborn. Mankind is a miniature of the universe.
Chapter Three
Magic Clubs and Other Things
The first Magic Club I joined was the Mystic 13 in San Jose, California. The year was 1932, and my friend, A. Caro Miller, was the club’s first president. I was among the early members.
Magic Clubs provide a wonderful opportunity to develop friendships, talk magic, and watch other magicians perform. The interchanging of magic is the real joy of a magic club.
There is an unwritten “law” that the secrets of magic are to be kept secret. In general, most magicians respect that “law”. Of course, the question of exposé in magic is pretty much an arbitrary one. There is no point in being a blabbermouth in explaining magic tricks just because someone asked you how such and such was done. On the other hand, there is no need to be too much concerned over the exposure of a trick either. It certainly is not a world catastrophe. Years ago when Camel Cigarettes ran a series of national ads in which the exposure of some choice magic tricks was the theme, many magicians thought the “end” had come. Not so! Magic remained just as popular as ever as entertainment. Entertainment is the real secret of magic, not the tricks.
If a person really wants to know how a trick is done, almost any public library has a number of books on conjuring that will tell them. I suppose that even this book, which explains many tricks, will in time reach the shelves of some public libraries. My other books have. Persons who have enough interest in magic to do some research deserve to know. However, that’s a far cry from the magician being a blabbermouth. One must be a bit diplomatic.
I recall a friend asking me how “The Linking Rings” operate. I said, “Just go to the library and they have a book that tells all about the trick.” Two weeks later, I met the person again, and the same question was asked. I gave the same answer. To this day, the person hasn’t bothered to look it up, and he still doesn’t know how the trick works.
A humorous way to handle a request for an explanation of a trick is this one which some magicians use:
The person asks, “How did you do that trick?” The magician replies, “Very well!” This brings a laugh and settles the matter.
Other friends in magic, among the early members of the Mystic 13, were “Cig” Miller (father of the famous stage and screen star, Marilyn Miller), Harry Canar (a great card man), Art Heisen (who built my “Sacrificial Cremation” illusion), Everett Lyda (for years, secretary of the Club), Fred Faltersack (a fine magical craftsman who created numerous effects for me), Harry Shaw, Fred Tuttle, Joe Garofalo, Ted Slater, and Walt Cunningham, to name a few. Walt Cunningham is still in there pitching; the others have moved on to “The Great Theater in the Sky”.
Everett Lyda and I invented a trick which we put on the magic market. We named it “On the Spot”. It advertised:
Get “on the spot” and you’ll never be on the spot! Six clever tricks with 12 tricky red and black spot cards: a spelling mystery, a follow-the-leader effect, a number divination, a transposition trick, and a surprise climax in which every card turns up a different colored spot card.
All the sets we made sold out. The original trick used printed cards, but you can easily make your own.
From a magic store, get a pack of blank playing cards, and from a stationery store, get a group of colored-marking pens. Twenty-seven of the blank playing cards from the pack are used to make up the set for the trick. On seven of these, mark a large Red Spot. On another seven, mark a large Black Spot. On the remaining ten cards, mark a large spot of a different color on each. The set of “On the Spot” cards is ready, and you can perform the trick. The directions went like this:
Arrange the Red and Black Spot Cards in two packets. For one packet, place a black-spot card on your hand face downward. On top of this, place the 10 assorted colored-spot cards (in any order). On top of this, place a red-spot card. Put this packet in your right hip pocket, with the black-spot card against your body so that you can instantly locate either the red or black card of this packet, as desired.
The other set of six red-spot and six black-spot cards are stacked in this order: place five black cards (spot side downward) on the palm of your hand; on top of these, place two red cards, then one black, and lastly four red. Cards are now ready to go for the first effect.
“On The Spot” Spelling Trick
Explain how the spots on the cards respond to the name of their color when it is spelled out. Then, start spelling: remove one card from the top of stack and place it on the bottom. Spell out each letter, viz. R–E–D; then turn up the fourth card, and it is Red. Then, spell B–L–A–C–K and turn up the next card, and it is Black. Continue this spelling through the entire stack, putting reds and blacks as they appear in opposite piles until you finally have six red-spot cards and six black-spot cards separated – having been magically spelled out alternatively. Follow immediately with the next effect:
Follow-The-Leader “On The Spot” Trick
Pick up the six black-spot cards, place them face down in your left hand, and on top of these stack the six red-spot cards. Mention that you have six red-spot cards and six black, as you count out eight cards face down on the table. Casually show the four black cards which remain in your left hand and deliberately pick up the cards you have counted out on the table and place them directly on top of the cards which remained in your hand. By this simple maneuver, you have unobtrusively stacked the cards so that they lie in this order from the top of stack downward to palm of hand: Black, Black, Red, Red, Red, Red, Red, Red, Black, Black, Black, Black. Your set-up is now complete, and the rest of the routine works automatically.
Divide the cards into two piles of six cards each, side by side on the table. Now, turn both piles face up, being careful not to expose cards of opposite colors in piles. Comment that you have a pile of red cards and a pile of black cards, as you take the two face-up cards and place each just above its respective pile. These you explain are “Leader Cards”, and will serve to identify where the red and black card piles are respectively. Then, turn the two packets face downwards on the table.
Next, reverse the position of the two face-up “Leader Cards”, so that the red card is now over the pile where the black was originally and vice versa. Turn top card of each pile up and throw it on top of “Leader Card”, showing that the cards match and apparently have followed the leader. Reverse “Leader Cards” again and show that the top cards of each face-down packet still matches the “Leader Cards”. Reverse “Leader Cards” again and place top card of each pile face down on top of its respective “Leader Card”. Now, reverse the “Leader Cards” along with the face-down cards you have placed on them; suddenly, flip the latter over showing that they still match the “Leader Cards”. Finally, reverse the “Leader Cards” once more and show that the last two cards still follow the leader and match colors.
You will find it an exciting bit of magical business, as the colored spots seem to follow their leader back and forth.
Number “On The Spot” Divination
Have a spectator shuffle the pack of six red-spot cards and six black-spot cards until it is obvious that no one could possibly know the location of any of the respective colors. Then, take the shuffled cards and deal eight cards slowly face down on the table forming a large pile, and place the remaining four cards, forming a small pile, face down beside it. Next, ask a spectator which color he prefers – red or black? As soon as he tells you, instantly you announce that there are two more Red-Spot Cards in the larger packet than there are Black-Spot Cards in the smaller packet. Verify this divination by counting the cards face up on the table, proving you are correct. Continue right on for more divination:
Deal three cards from the larger packet onto the smaller after both packets have been thoroughly shuffled again and turned face down on the table. This gives you seven cards in the former smaller packet and only five cards remain in what was the larger. Once again ask a spectator which his favorite color is this time and, whichever he says, announce immediately that there is now one more Black-Spot Card in the larger packet than there are Red-Spot Cards in the smaller packet. Each packet is checked again, proving your prognostication is correct.
How does the trick work? Never mind. Just perform it as described, and it comes out correctly for you every time.
