Magicians still casting spells across Canada and the world..
By Allan Maki for the Globe and Mail..
As curio shops go, Brent Smith’s Vanishing Rabbit is all things magical. Attached to the ceiling is a series of old billboards advertising the greats through the ages – Houdini, Sorcar, Mandrake and a young Doug Henning as Chou Chou (pronounced Shoe Shoe), the clown who actually sold shoes for a living.
Inside Mr. Smith’s store, a creepy-looking Charlie McCarthy puppet sits above display cases filled with easy-to-perform tricks and novelties, including the ever-popular Fart Extinguisher.
“It’s a big hit with the kids,” Mr. Smith says as he emerges from behind a counter holding a deck of Svengali playing cards. “I sell a lot of cards, too. Magic is really hot right now.”
Magic isn’t just hot: It is a bubbling cauldron of showy illusionists, polished prestidigitators and expert sleight-of-hand artists. Turn on the TV and out pop the master tricksters – Dynamo, known as Magician Impossible; David Blaine, street magician/endurance artist; and Criss Angel Mindfreak, who can lop off the arm of a willing volunteer using hypnosis and a power saw. Viewer discretion is advised.