#ken brooke

[scottwellsmagic]

715: Paul Stone - No Stone Unturned

Paul Stone has been a mainstay in the world of magic without gaining the true notoriety he deserves because of his work behind the scenes. Paul is the driving force behind his company, SHOWSTEALERS LLC. Paul is an experienced Producer of hundreds of Corporate Events and Shows, amongst them in the UK include shows at the Theatre Royal, Drury Lane, Her Majesty’s Theatre and 18 shows at the world famous London Palladium Theatre, including the widely acclaimed ‘Tribute to Siegfried & Roy at the London Palladium’ in 2008. Paul has produced Shows in Las Vegas at Caesars Palace, Mirage, Harrahs, Orleans and the Suncoast Hotel & Casino.

The working pros know him and go to him when they need help producing a gala event. Not only a producer, Paul is also a trade show performer and creator of magic tricks such as “Overboard” which is a quality prop with endless possibilities and is in my personal trade show.

In this episode, Paul tells one story after another about Ken Brooke, Paul Daniels, Fred Kaps, Hans Moretti, John Fisher, Wayne Dobson, and so many others. As a producer who works behind the scenes on big events, he has all the great stories. From a young man in Liverpool to a grown man in Las Vegas, Paul has met and worked with all of the top magic names from one side of the pond to the other.

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[scottwellsmagic]

569: Joe Stevens - Magic Dealer Trailblazer

Joe Stevens opened Stevens Magic Emporium in 1973 and over the decades has been a trailblazer introducing new ideas and concepts now ingrained into our magic landscape. His Greater Magic Video Library set the standard for professionally presenting magic instruction on video. He also created the GeMiNi Network in the 1990’s which was the forerunner of every magic forum we see and use today. He also instituted the Wichita Conclave that moved to Las Vegas where it became the Desert Magic Seminar with big dollar prizes and trophies from Siegfried & Roy. These are but a few of the innovations developed by Stevens Magic Emporium and they still thrive as a brick-and-mortar magic shop plus a successful online presence guided by the next generation of the Stevens family, Mark Stevens.

There was so much to talk about this week but Joe only had a limited amount of time to chat. So unfortunately we never got around to talking about the GeMiNi online magic forum that used to be a “dial-up” service in the early days of the internet. Some of that content is still available on their website, including some of my offerings. We also talked briefly about Nick Ruggerio, former co-owner of Collectors’ Workshop. Since we recorded this episode, unfortunately Nick has passed so I never got a chance to have him on the podcast.

Download this podcast in an MP3 file by Clicking Here and then right click to save the file. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed by Clicking Here. You can download or listen to the podcast through Stitcher by Clicking Here or through FeedPress by Clicking Here or through Tunein.com by Clicking Here or through iHeart Radio by Clicking Here..If you have a Spotify account, then you can also hear us through that app, too. You can also listen through your Amazon Alexa and Google Home devices. Remember, you can download it through the iTunes store, too. See the preview page by Clicking Here

[egyptianhall]

Ken Brooke Performing Although better known as a dealer of magical apparatus here's some old footage of Ken Brooke performing.  Commentary by the legendary Pat Page.

[egyptianhall]

Ken Brooke's Autograph

 Ken Brooke (1920-1983) was a magic dealer, a skilled demonstrator and a magical consultant.

Although his public recognition was not great, Ken Brooke had a profound influence on the greats of the UK magic scene, the likes of David Nixon, Tommy Cooper, Paul Daniels, David Berglas, Geoffrey Durham, and Wayne Dobson.

British magician and magic dealer does not do him justice. Ken Brooke wasn't just another magic dealer. When he sold someone an effect, many times it included his own instructions sheets, which reflected the real experiences of a performer who not only cared about how the tricks should be performed, but who also cared enough to provide information on the proper performance to those who bought his products.

Even for those who do not do particular effects that were sold by Ken Brooke, reading these instructions sheets provided real lessons in magic.

Invented a version of "Chase the Ace" (1955), "Fido" (a card trick), "Squircle"(1952), and may have invented "Professor Cheer's Comedy Rope" (at least he was the first magician on record who performed the trick at Glasgow, Scotland).