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The day that changed Paul Daniels’ life: The magician, 75, on how he discovered his calling inside a dusty old book on a soggy family holiday in North Yorkshire..

The day that changed Paul Daniels’ life: The magician, 75, on how he discovered his calling inside a dusty old book on a soggy family holiday in North Yorkshire..

When I was 11, in the summer holidays just before I went  to grammar school, I came across a book that would change my life. 

Mum, Dad, my brother Trevor and I were staying in a country holiday cottage for a couple of weeks in North Yorkshire. That summer the weather wasn’t good and I was forced to look at whatever books were lying around the place. 

I was an avid reader and discovered an old tome on Victorian pastimes which covered lots of subjects, and in one chapter, magic tricks. I read it carefully, as it contained an intriguing mathematical magic trick. Laboriously I copied it out by hand, practised it a few times then showed it to my family, who were quite impressed. 

The bug had bitten. When we got home to South Bank, Middlesbrough, I borrowed more books on the subject from the library and my interest grew. I liked entertaining and performing, so from then on at family gatherings I’d do magic tricks. I had my first taste of performing on stage at 14, doing a spot in a revue for the Normanby Road Methodist Chapel.

Read more: http://www.dailymail.co.uk/femail/article-2585345/The-day-changed-Paul-Daniels-life-The-magician-75-discovered-calling-inside-dusty-old-book-soggy-family-holiday-North-Yorkshire.html#ixzz2wigtxk7s 
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HOUDINI AND ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE SOLVE MYSTERY IN NEW NOVEL..

HOUDINI AND ARTHUR CONAN DOYLE SOLVE MYSTERY IN NEW NOVEL..

GREENVILLE, S.C., March 21, 2014 /Emag.co.uk/ – Harry Houdiniis getting the perfect present for his 140th birthday on March 24: a new novel in which the legendary magician solves a mystery with the help of Sir Arthur Conan Doyle!

In Sir Arthur Conan Doyle & Harry Houdini in The Adventure of the Spook House, by C. Michael Forsyth, the two famous men—who were friends and later enemies in real life–probe a disappearance in a hellish haunted house.

There’s a huge resurgence of interest in Houdini, with a TV miniseries starring Adrien Brody set to air in 2014 and a Broadway musical in the works. The plot of the novel in a nutshell:

The year is 1922. A respected judge inexplicably vanishes in a decrepit mansion and two of the world’s most remarkable men are summoned to investigate: Sir Arthur Conan Doyle, creator ofSherlock Holmes, and Harry Houdini, the world’s greatest escape artist.

Aided by a beautiful young psychic, the unlikely partners probe a mystery that becomes murkier and more perilous at every turn and brings them face to face with evil incarnate. To solve the riddle of The Spook House—and to survive its dangers—they must call upon all of their extraordinary mental and physical powers. As the tension mounts, sparks fly between Conan Doyle and Houdini, two vastly different men brought together by their fascination with the paranormal.

Sherlock Holmes societies around the world are rejoicing at the publication of a novel that puts the creator of their hero in an adventure of his own. The book is getting rave reviews.

“An exciting mystery full of twists, hair-breadth escapes and feats of derring-do. The author bringsArthur Conan Doyle and Houdini back to life as fully fleshed out characters who make splendid heroes. Thanks to Forsyth’s exhaustive research, the reader truly feels immersed in the 1920s. I recommend this book to people who enjoy mystery, suspense and intrigue woven into real historical settings.” — Dacre Stoker, co author of Dracula, the Un-dead, and great-grandnephew of Bram Stoker.

Forsyth is a Yale graduate and author of The Blood of Titans, The Identity Thief and Hour of the Beast.

The paperback and Kindle editions are available at Amazon.com. Here’s the link:  HERE    The  Nook version can be found HERE    

It’s available in all other popular eBook formats at Smashwords.com

https://www.smashwords.com/books/view/416765

Publisher: Freedom’s Hammer ISBN 978-0-9884780-4-6

Paperback $13.46 at Amazon.com. eBook $5.99

More information on C. Michael Forsyth at http://freedomshammer.com

Media Contact: C. Michael Forsyth, Freedom’s Hammer Productions, 864-386-1146,cfors10917@aol.com

News distributed by PR Newswire iReach: http://freedomshammer.com

Teller Wins Lawsuit Over Copied Magic Trick Performance..

Teller Wins Lawsuit Over Copied Magic Trick Performance..

 Eriq Gardner writes a detailed article for the Hollywood Reporter…

Teller is widely known as a great magician, but he has just pulled off a feat that is without equal among his peers. He has prevailed in a lawsuit against another magician who put up a copycat illusion on YouTube.

Technically speaking, magic tricks aren’t copyrightable. In a ruling by a Nevada federal court on Thursday, U.S. District Judge James Mahanstates that explicitly.

What is protectable under copyright law is pantomimes, the art of conveying emotions, actions and feelings by gestures. The theatrical medium where magicians work has some of the flavor of pantomimes, and Teller has used it to his advantage.

Teller’s magic performance was called Shadows and is described as such:..

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Andrew Mayne on conjuring magic and taking chances..

Andrew Mayne on conjuring magic and taking chances..

Thanks to the Manila Bulletin and Yahoo News for this article..

Magician-illusionist-writer Andrew Mayne wants to visit the Philippines, which he admitted is among his dream destinations.

“I’ve never been (there) but I would love to go visit the Philippines,” he said in a phone interview, adding that he knows a lot of “very intelligent Filipino people,” which he counts among his “mentors.” Of these, he cites his head magic consultant Enrico dela Vega, as well as his Judo teacher as both Filipino.

Born in Opelika, Alabama, Mayne’s interest in magic began when his grandfather showed him how he could make a quarter vanish, only to make it reappear moments later in his shoe or sometimes, his belly button.

“Until now I still don’t have any idea how he did it,” Mayne confessed.

He earned recognition being the second youngest illusionist to embark on a world tour (the first was American illusionist David Copperfield)…

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