Ron London’s Lecture – An Inside Magic ReviewInside MagicMagic News Updated Daily for the Professional Magician

Ron Performs

One incident last night defined for me the type of person Ron London truly is. While performing sort of a mini dealer?s demo following the first half of his lecture, Ron was asked questions about the tricks from two newer magicians. Their questions were straightforward and demonstrated their relative newness to our world but they were clearly sincere.

Ron did not hesitate a bit in answering, and answering a manner to make them feel very comfortable for asking their questions. As you know, I am a world traveler and attended a lecture in the big city of Chicago where such questions would have almost required the performer to humiliate the questioner ? certainly the crowd of very experienced magicians would have been required to guffaw and smirk. But here, last night, not only was the club supportive but Mr. London?s responses showed he cared for the feelings of the magicians.

What a very neat guy.

Mr. London?s lecture was essentially themed, ?New Things You Can Do with Equipment You Already Have.?

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Ron Performs

What a very neat guy.

Mr. London?s lecture was essentially themed, ?New Things You Can Do with Equipment You Already Have.?

He began with a very clever and visually attractive appearing cane based on a Hen Fetch concept. You display a wooden hoop covered on one side with newspaper. There is a small slit in the paper and you show a red silk passing through the paper. Your hand is then shown empty and immediately you thrust it through the paper and the silk has vanished and a red cane has taken its place.

The effect was simple enough to perform but starts out with such a sound and visual presentation, that I could see how it could be used with perhaps two or three different colored silks and two or three appearing canes for a great opening to a manipulation routine.

Mr. London then performed and demonstrated the ?King of Hearts.? A card is selected, or actually it is shot at the spectator through a clever arrangement of the deck and a rubber band, and placed into an envelope. The magician then takes a strip of newspaper, makes two cuts in the strip and proclaims proudly that cuts in the paper will reveal the choice. This fails and so when the strip is opened, four hearts are seen to be cut from the strip. But the card was not the four of hearts. So, the strip is then wrapped into a loop and it resembles a crown. Mr. London donned the paper crown and proclaimed that the selected card must have been the ?King of Hearts.?

Again, this effect required minimal set up, the gimmicks were easy to make and the ending with a paper crown was perfect for a kid?s show.

Mr. London taught us how to turn chocolate milk into a chocolate candy bar, how to use a ?strong man flea? to bend a nail the spectator has freely chosen, and a couple of quickies.

Sure, you say, but did he demonstrate how to use the popular ?Popcorn Mold Gimmck? or any derivation of Dick Stoner?s popular ?Eenie, Meenie, Weenie?

The Old Popcorn Mold Gimmick

In fact, the answer would a have to be yes. More than that, he taught us how to make your own popcorn mold. Once the glue dries, you can use the popcorn mold to produce virtually any small item or items. In the case of the lecture, Mr. London changed the popcorn into lima beans. It was very clever and he has clearly worked with the prop and his thought was evident in his description of how to handle the gimmick. Frankly, I was surprised this was not an item he had for sale ? it is that commercial.

Mr. London did demonstrate the ?Fish Lariot,? based on Dick Stoner?s Eenie, Meenie, Weenie. He told a story of how cowboys were fishing without luck. The elder cowboy told them they needed to make a lasso out of the rope. He demonstrated and with a toss of the lasso, the fish is caught.

Mr. London finished his first half of the lecture with a Cut and Restored Turban Ribbon. This was a pretty cut and restored effect using flat white tape or ribbon. He showed how to allow a spectator to cut the ribbon in the center and yet have the ribbon restore to its original length. The handling on this was perhaps the most sophisticated of any of the effects but still it was well-explained and worth the practice.

The second half of Mr. London?s lecture was a dealer?s demo of some of the newer effects in his collection. I won?t describe all of the effects but his handling of the first provided such a fitting representation of Mr. London?s persona.

He held a packet of cards in his right hand, they instantly snapped open into a fan and he said with a matter-of-fact tone, ?Are You Impressed?? He used to make a big production out of the spring fan, but now offers it as his opening and with the line. It is both self-deprecating and almost sweet. You know from the second he begins his routine what type of person you are watching. He comes across as a kind, caring person with a great love for magic and without an over-inflated self opinion. Not ironically, this matches well with his true nature.

If you have a chance to see Mr. London?s lecture, see it and be inspired. I know I was.

INSIDE MAGIC RATING: Four out of Four.