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The Story Of NYC’s Official Magician, “Doc” Hurwitz..

The Story Of NYC’s Official Magician, “Doc” Hurwitz..

New York City’s official magician was a tiny man, somewhere between 5’2” and 5’5”. He kept the rabbits he pulled from top hats in his bathtub, scribbled jokes and trivia on napkins, and drove terribly. Name a card and he could pull it from his pocket. When he came back from work, neighborhood kids followed him from his car to his Parkchester home, Pied Piper-like, hoping to see a trick. His name was Abraham Hurwitz, but everyone called him “Doc.”

Truth be told, Hurwitz may actually have been the unofficial “official magician” of New York City. While a New York Times obituary notes that Mayor Fiorello LaGuardia gave him the title during the Great Depression, no family members could definitively corroborate this, and a search of city records yielded no evidence.

But this much is clear: For 18 years, Hurwitz was the only magician to perform on the City’s dime and was the chief architect behind the Parks Department’s youth magic program. In both these capacities, he was something of a pitchman for the idea that magic could transform lives and promote civic values.  Read more of this interesting article… 

http://gothamist.com/2016/02/19/nyc_official_magician.php

R.I.P. Tom Mullica 1948 – 2016

R.I.P. Tom Mullica 1948 – 2016

The Magic Compass has just confirmed that Tom Mullica passed away today. Tom had gone into the hospital for a routine hernia operation and due to complications, blood clots formed and he had multiple strokes. He was placed into a medically induced coma after he suffered organ failure and finally on February 18th he was taken off life support.

Tom Mullica born in Waupun, Wisconsin on August 19, 1948 and was a comedy magician and impressionist who performed on television specials, and appeared on television many times including Late Night with David Letterman, World’s Greatest Magic, Viva Variety, Penn & Teller’s Sin City. Read more..

http://www.magic-compass.com/r-i-p-tom-mullica-1948-2016/

Disney cruise-ship magician arrested on sex-attack charge..

Disney cruise-ship magician arrested on sex-attack charge..

lice arrested a 39-year-old Canadian magician — an entertainer who has performed on Disney cruise ships — after a woman reported he sexually battered her Saturday at a hotel in Orlando.

The woman said she has been friends — and only friends — with entertainer Andrew Pogson for about six months, and came to Orlando on Friday after he offered to take her on a Disney Cruise Line vacation, an arrest report states.

Pogson, whose stage name is Freddy Fusion, was an entertainer on an unspecified Disney cruise ship until recently when his contract was suspended pending the outcome of this case.  Read more…

http://www.orlandosentinel.com/news/breaking-news/os-andrew-pogson-arrested-sex-attack-20160215-story.html

7 Questions With … Cody Clark, who mixes magic with storytelling to talk about living with autism..

7 Questions With … Cody Clark, who mixes magic with storytelling to talk about living with autism..

There’s much more to Louisvillian Cody Clark’s magic than pulling a rabbit out of a hat. Clark, 22, has been performing magic for more than 11 years, but his show is a bit different — much like his life. He combines traditional magic show components with theater and storytelling to share his story on how living with autism has shaped his experiences. His one-man show, “Cody Clark: A Different Way of Thinking,” tells the story of his life through card tricks and illusions from birth through his recent graduation from the University of Louisville. It takes place Friday, Feb. 12, at the Alley Theater.

Clark tells Insider he got bit by the magic bug at age 11 while on vacation at Gulf Shores, Ala. He and his family were attending a show by magician Bart Rockett, and Rockett pulled Clark up on stage to help him out with his tricks.

“All my life, I had tried to find what I was good at, but to no avail until I succeeded at helping out this magician,” he says. “So from that point on, I’ve vigorously pursued the art of magic. A lot of magicians bring up audience participants to be the butt of their jokes. So the fact that Bart didn’t, instead using our moment on stage to empower me, is what inspired me to become a magician.”

http://insiderlouisville.com/lifestyle_culture/7-questions-cody-clark/