Category: Magician Feature

Latest Magic News, Magician Feature

Jonathon Bryce to escape from Corn Burial

Jonathon Bryce, a 30-year-old escape artist from Bloomington Minnesota Readies to Escape from Corn BurialJonathon Bryce will be performing a different kind of burial escape this Saturday in Shakopee, Minnesota.

Anyone can escape from beneath 128 cubic yards of packed soil, cement, or even ice.

Mr. Bryce is going to escape from corn.

According to the Pioneer Press, the 30-year-old Escape Artist wanted a different kind of escape for his leg of the International Brotherhood of Magician’s World Wide Escape Artist Relay.

Corn is different.

Mr. Bryce will allow himself to be handcuffed, chained, and securely locked into a wooden coffin buried four feet beneath approximately three tons of corn. He hopes to not only escape with his life but also raise money for the Twin Cities Shriners Hospital for Children..

“I’ve always wanted to do a buried-alive stunt,” Bryce said. “It’s very heavy and dark. The corn is freezing cold. When you’re under that much corn, the weight is indescribable.”

He tells reporters that he revised his vocabulary as he prepared for the stunt.

Continue reading “Jonathon Bryce to escape from Corn Burial” →

Latest Magic News, Magician Feature

Fox Sisters in the News Again

We have not withheld our admiration for The Fox Sisters as both innovators and debunkers in the past.

True, both Katie and Maggie Fox recanted their recantation of Spiritualism before they died but for a brief, shining moment, they did the right thing.

On the way to the right path, they developed a whole new industry catering to those in sorrow and doubt.  Through their single-handed innovation of the modern seance, they struck gold figuratively and literally in the fearful psyche of the common man or woman.

The three sisters established the ground rules for all who would claim skills in Spiritualism; darkened room, physical contact with the medium, coded responses from beyond, and even physical manifestation of a passed loved-one’s body in part or in whole.

As we head into the Seance Season, it is proper to recall that the three girls from New York who began the practice also sought to end by complete exposure of their methods and motivations.  But it was too late,  common wisdom had already accepted the principles and ritual behind Spiritualism.  Even complete exposure of the methods used to dupe those who now held fast to their conviction that it was real, was insufficient.

Victor Hugo wrote, “An invasion of armies can be resisted, but not an idea whose time has come.”

Apparently that was true whether the idea is based in fact or fiction.

Continue reading “Fox Sisters in the News Again” →

Magic News, Magician Feature

Ft. Myers’ Magician Frank Mikeska Profiled

magic frank mikeskaFormer Ford Executive Frank Mikeska was pronounced dead on arrival after a horrendous automobile accident in 1973.

Over the more than five years it took to recover, he learned to walk again, and found a new passion in performing magic.

The Lehigh Acres Citizen (Florida) has a great profile on the man known as Magic Frank. He works restaurants in the resort area of Ft. Myers, Florida.

“They took me to the hospital DOA (dead on arrival). I died three more times there, spent 30 days in a critical coma, and went from critical care to intensive care, then step-down care,” he said. “Finally, about four or five months later, I got into my own room and they started putting me back together again.”

During one of his many hospital stays while recovering, an uncle introduced Frank to an old-time Ringling Bros. Barnum and Bailey magician.

“He knew how everything worked with magic, but his hands were so arthritic. Of course I was a young pup then, so my hands were young and agile, and he showed me everything he knew,” the magician said.

“After that, I started attending numerous magic lectures, magic seminars, weekend schools I just became fascinated with the craft and wanted to learn all I could about it.”

Check out the great profile of this remarkable man in today’s Lehigh Acres Citizen.

Continue reading “Ft. Myers’ Magician Frank Mikeska Profiled” →

Magic News, Magician Feature

Scarlett – The Inside Magic Celebrity Interview


Scarlett is Hot!Scarlett is the newest subject of our Inside Magic Celebrity Interview.

Even in the midst of opening of her new show at Riviera in Las Vegas, she took the time to answer our tough questions with the style and aplomb for which she is known.

The beautiful magician, dancer, escape artist and polyglot is the star of Scarlett and her Seductive Ladies of Magic in the Versailles Theater at the Riviera Hotel and Casino.

Background:

Inside Magic: Tell us a little about yourself.  Do you come from a family involved in show business?

Scarlett: “I was born and raised in Reno, NV.

I moved from Reno to Las Vegas summer ’07 to pursue the magic show.

I’ve always been on stage. I started dancing very young and have studies everything from ballet, tap, Irish, jazz, hip-hop, lyrical, salsa, tango, ballroom, etc. and was a featured dancer of the Reno Irish Dance Co. for over 8 years.

Additional performing and studies in acting made my desire to be a professional entertainer.”

Continue reading “Scarlett – The Inside Magic Celebrity Interview” →

Magician Feature

Just a Tease: Scarlett Inside Magic Interview

Scarlett - Seductive Lady of Magic - SmallWe are not suggesting Scarlett, the newest magic star on the strip is a “tease” in any sense.

We are teasing her upcoming interview on Inside Magic.

She will join the long line of great magicians to subject themselves to the harrowing process known as the Inside Magic Celebrity Interview.

She survived and you will have a chance to read the results of this time-honored rite of passage for all great peformers.

We hope to have it published this Friday.

In the interim, check out our coverage of her newest show at the Riveria in Las Vegas.

Magician Feature

Doc Eason: The Best Advice Bob Sheets Provided

Doc EasonThe Aspen Times profiled Inside Magic Favorite Doc Eason this weekend.

The article traces incredible story and his involvement in Aspen’s increasingly important role in the world of magic.

In what he described as a life-changing event, Mr. Eason tells how he came to see “California buddies who had just convinced John Denver — flush with the success of “Rocky Mountain High” — to invest in a bar and restaurant, the Tower, that featured performances of magic. He headed straight to the Tower, saw Bob Sheets, the Tower’s first magician-in-residence, perform his act, and decided to try his hand at sleight of hand.”

He felt at home with Bob Sheets. His performances from behind the bar “created an atmosphere of congeniality that translated into a sound that was magic to Eason’s ears.”

Mr. Eason worked the Tower Bar for more than 27 years (about 14,000 shows). His venue may have changed after the bar closed in 2004 – he now performs trade shows, corporate functions, and lectures.

Read the full article over at The Aspen Times’ web site to learn the best advice Bob Sheets ever gave Doc Eason. It is excellent advice for all of us.

And be sure to check out Doc Eason’s web site at www.doceason.com.

Magic News, Magician Feature

Dean Gunnarson – The Coffin Escape Ordeal

Dean Gunnarson Upside Down and Under Water

[In honor of Dean Gunnarson’s most ambitious escape yet, we thought we would re-publish his story from June 3, 2006.

He tells us what it is like to die during an escape].

Dean Gunnarson was kind enough to describe what it feels like to die in the course of an escape that went horribly wrong.

As loyal readers of Inside Magic know, we have a special fondness and respect for escape artists.

It could be because Houdini was an inspiration to all of us to study and perform magic.

Dean Gunnarson has long been a favorite practitioner of this ridiculously dangerous but exhilarating art.

The man is talented, able, charismatic and clinically insane. How dangerous are his escapes?

We was watching a video tape of his escape from a straight jacket while hanging by his toes over the top of Hoover Dam.

Now, we know that he survived the stunt. After all, he sent us the video tape.

But we were so nervous and tense that we actually turned it off half way through, took a break, and then we finished watching.

We don’t want to ruin the show for you but we can tell you that he successfully escaped and survived.

If you visit Mr. Gunnarson’s website, you will see that you can order a deck of bubblegum cards featuring his greatest escapes.

Continue reading “Dean Gunnarson – The Coffin Escape Ordeal” →

Latest Magic News, Magician Feature

Lance Burton Interview: Retirement, Criss Angel

Lance Burton Agrees to Stay with Monte Carlo for Six More Years!The Las Vegas Weekly interviewed Master Magician Lance Burton for their “A Few Minutes With . . .” feature today.
The piece is very short but to the point. You can read his thoughts on retirement, Criss Angel, innovation in magic, and what today’s audiences expect from a “magic show.”
In case it is not obvious, we worship Lance Burton and are delighted he decided to stay at the appropriately named Lance Burton Theater in the Monte Carlo Hotel and Casino.
Mr. Burton brings more than a great show to Las Vegas, he brings his compassion and willingness to help others through his own charities or the work of others.
Continue reading “Lance Burton Interview: Retirement, Criss Angel” →

Latest Magic News, Magician Feature

“The Las Vegas Kid” Chris Randall Featured

Magician Chris Randall - The Las Vegas Kid Las Vegas Weekly gives Magician Chris Randall the type of coverage we have often sought but never found.

The profile runs above and below the fold and features an interview with Mr. Randall, also known as ‘The Las Vegas Kid.’

First, let’s establish Mr. Randall’s bona fides:

Before Criss Angel and Steve Wyrick became headliners in town, “The Las Vegas Kid” was here.

As a native, he was known for making watches and wallets disappear from unsuspecting owners, performing card tricks in the back of a Las Vegas Academy theatre class or appearing to stick nails up his nose.

Learning the ropes on The Strip while still attending high school, Randall has now toured the world with his unique brand of Vegas-based classical magic that doesn’t involve sawing ladies in half or massive amounts of gaudy jewelry.

The interview traces Mr. Randall’s trek to his current well-deserved position, on the cusp of hitting it big in the biggest of all venues.

While not an overnight success, he is a success and on the verge of becoming a household name.

Continue reading ““The Las Vegas Kid” Chris Randall Featured” →

Latest Magic News, Magic of Asia, Magician Feature

Magic Babe Ning’s Controversial Escape Stunt Teases World Record Illusion Act

Magic Babe Ning Risks Life in Daring Straight Jacket EscapeInside Magic Favorite ‘Magic Babe’ Ning Cai literally elevated the risk level of her renown straight jacket escape last weekend.

Miss Ning is famous for her signature Straight Jacket Striptease routine.  She describes the act as “Harry Houdini meets the Pussy Cat Dolls.”

Her most recent presentation, however, moved from tease to terrifying. 

Inversion saw her completely restrained by a regulation straight jacket, blindfolded, and held upside down over a very real and very sharp bed of spikes.

Magic Seen calls Miss Ning “the sexiest woman in Magic” but this latest stunt could easily have ended in a decidedly less-than-sexy manner.

Honestly, we don’t know why they (escape artists) do this type of thing (risk their lives).

If our fellow performers risk their lives for our entertainment, they can skip it because we cannot handle it.

While we admire their skill, we tend to worry.

Inside Magic Favorite Dean Gunnarson sent us a video of an insane escape that took us a couple of hours to watch.

We kept stopping the video, visited our “happy place,” recalled that we were watching an event that happened in the past, and because Mr. Gunnarson sent us DVD himself,  there was every reason to think he was not killed in the footage we were viewing.

Like Miss Ning, Mr. Gunnarson performed an inverted straight jacket escape.

Miss Ning was over very sharp and sturdy steel spikes.

Similarly, Mr. Gunnarson was high above The Hoover Dam while hanging from a free-swinging bar using only his feet; no tether, no strap to hold the top of his shoes in place as he contorted his body.

Yes it was an amazing feat, but it also brought us nightmares and an additional five weeks of therapy.  And as many know, most insurance policies refuse to cover so-called “Puppet Psycho Therapy” beyond two weeks of visits.   Our recovery was costly and left emotional scars.

Continue reading “Magic Babe Ning’s Controversial Escape Stunt Teases World Record Illusion Act” →