Tag: tony hassini

Magic of the Middle East, Magician Feature

Two-Time Merlin Award Winner Named – Controversy Ensues

Inside Magic Image of the Burj KhalifaThe International Magicians Society honored Arab performer Dr. Montaser Al Mansouri a second Merlin Award for Magic.  The award makes the Emirati magician the first Arab to receive two Merlin Awards.  A fellow Emirati performer told reporters he turned down the award last year when he learned he would have “to pay” to receive it.

Dr. Al Mansouri told the English-Language news site The National, “The Merlin is like the Oscars of magic,” he said. “I’m happy to get the Merlin Award and it’s big for a magician, the UAE and for Arabs.”

Dr. Al Mansouri gained notoriety and the International Magicians Society’s notice after giving 70,000 performances over 25 years.  (Our math may be off, but that averages 2,800 performances a year or more than 7-1/2 shows a day every day for each of the 25 years – that is a ton of shows).

But it is not mere quantity, the International Magicians Society also looks for the qualitative attributes award worthy magicians possess.  The Society’s Chairman Tony Hassini told reporters, “We look for showmanship, skills and talent and so it’s an award that the magician has to work hard for. The idea is to be persistent and stay with it and get it.”

The Emirates Zoo flew Mr. Hassini to Abu Dhabi to present the award.  The zoo, you say.  Why would Dr. Al Mansouri be honored in a zoo?

Mr. Hassini explains, “some of the greatest magicians who received this award worked in adventure parks. This is where the audiences are. They do five to six shows a day to mass audiences like Disneyland.”

Ah, that explains the incredible volume of shows.

Whilst Dr. Al Mansouri makes snakes and tigers vanish as part of his act at the zoo, he looks forward to bigger objects upon which to practice his magic. “I could make an airplane disappear in Dubai Airport and make it appear at Abu Dhabi airport,” he said. Continue reading “Two-Time Merlin Award Winner Named – Controversy Ensues” →

Magic of Asia

Magic TV Series Set for Ho Chi Minh City

Inside Magic Image of Iranian magician Mahdi MoudinIranian magician Mahdi Moudini intends to cause buildings to disappear from Ho Chi Minh City, Vietnam this month.

World-famous illusionist Tony Hassini and Mr. Moudini held a press conference in the heart of the Mekong Delta earlier this week to detail their plans to film a 13 episode series in Ho Chi Minh City or HCMC as it is known by those in the know.

Mr. Moudini has almost 30 years of experience as a magician and will need that background to pull off the planned stunts. He told reporters he will cause buildings to vanish, walk on water and perform a dangerous underwater escape.

The magic will be performed in, around and on HCMC’s historic locations and filmed to make up the first Vietnamese television program about our art. Mr. Moudini will host all 13 episodes to be broadcast in September.

More than 70 percent of the show will be filmed in the city and the remainder will use other famous locations to promote Vietnam’s tourism industry.

Mr. Hassini is no stranger to Vietnam or its unique approach to magic. “This is my fifth time visiting Vietnam. I know about 20 magicians of Vietnamese ancestry living around the world.”

We will keep tabs on the project and bring video when it is available.