Friday, February 13, 2009

Siegfried & Roy #1


Scan11337, originally uploaded by bucklesw1.

I chatted with Bill Biggerstaff on the phone yesterday who reminded me that the CFA Convention will be held in Las Vegas in June.
Included in the events will be an award to Siegfried and Roy.
With that thought in mind I dug out this program for today's Blog.

I never was a great Magic fan but I wouldn't mind getting a professional opinion of Zing Zang Zoom.

Posted by Buckles at 2/13/2009 06:24:00 AM

14 comments:

Buckles said...

Magicians sometimes have the reputation of being difficult, in fact I once heard Kenny Feld state, "saner people have been jailed!"
One winter with the Hanneford show Fay Wray did a magic number which was usually followed by a rant directed at the highly incompetent prop crew.
Lots of illusion props cluttering up the back area.
One day between shows, Chico and I were sitting by the elephants when an elderly Shriner passed by with the aid of a cane and as he approached the forbidden zone his curiosity insisted that he lift the lid on one of the cabinets.
Immediately a shrill voice screams, "Don't touch that! Are you insane? Don't you realize people's lives are at stake?" by this time the Shriner is clutching his heart and staggering around.
We invited him to sit on the hay pile until his breath returned but later laughed our asses off.
I'll bet Warren Bacon has a few stories along this line.

13 February, 2009 09:03
Mike Naughton said...

Magicians have worked themselves into a state of shock by BELIEVING they can really do magic.

As a guilty 18 year old Class of 74 CC comedy magician who was all wrapped up in the "mystery of the magical force", I was abruptly brought back to reality by instructor par excellance, Robert K. Smiley.

Bobby Kay pounced on my "taking the magic too seriously" bit and sternly informed me that, "You do NOT do magic to IMPRESS them, you do magic to AMBUSE them."

I have an idea that is inspired from the dramatic poster of SR. With all due respect, I think a "LEGENDS TOUR", impersonators of the famous, with Lee Stevens and Wade Burck as SR would be highly successful.

The showmanship, flash, expertise of Lee and Wade would be perfect for the SR Legends Tour.

I am surprised that there hasn't been a SR-LEGENDS ALIVE tour before, it would fit nicely into the arena format.

Seriously, the Elvis Legends shows, when done correctly, are very popular.

Wade, it is time to dig out those "hooker boots".

13 February, 2009 09:49
Anonymous said...

Once, I witnessed Ray, during a blackout, trip over a guyline. I promptly took him the mechanic from the riding act. My kind action was met with a verbal barrage that still hangs in the air over Lake Michigan. I also, on more than one occasion laughed my ass off over he and his sidekick's antics! Their parking "spot" would inevitably lead to a heated debate.
Erik Jaeger

13 February, 2009 10:01
Mike Naughton said...

In 1989, SR did a multi-week stand at Radio City Music Hall produced by IKFeld, "Beyond Belief".

While the show was big, splashy, amazing, etc, the thing that "stunned" me was the lady who bought 3 white tiger plushes at the Ringling styled and owned novelty stand in the lobby of the Cathedral-like Radio City Music Hall. She whipped out the cash and the agent placed the three tigers into a large plastic bag and kept them safely till the end of the show. The tigers were $100. each (approx $175 in todays depression dollars).

The show was tops.

I visited the Royal Hanneford Circus in Rhinebeck, NY at the fair, a hot and sweltering August afternoon-- Ray was wearing a platimum hairpiece and a short sleeved custom-made shirt and knickers, all bedazzled, and knee high boots.
I mentioned rather shyly, "New wardrobe?" "I have to wear this, the weather is too damn hot."
The audience loved Ray.

13 February, 2009 10:25
Anonymous said...

On one occasion, two of my tent hands decided they would rename the resident show magician. The moniker they selected was "Hou-weanie". Needless to say, fallout ensued, they were not asked to help write the bios for the upcoming program! I strongly suggested to them, if the subject came up again, to plead the 5th. I assured management, that when the one-dayers resumed, they would not have time for such foolishness.
Erik Jaeger

13 February, 2009 10:32
Mike Naughton said...

I misquoted Bobby Kay. my apologies. His line was, "You do not do magic to AMAZE them, you do magic to AMUSE them."

I am at the mercy of painkillers for my slipped disc -- I request 24 hour editorial re-writes during this foggy time. My mind is thinking OK, but there is a short somewhere between my brain and my typing fingers.

I often think overzealous men of the cloth have a lot in common with the "I really think I can do it" magicians.

Pondering points, topic at show folks --
* The pope is German
* Our cars are Japanese
* We buy everything from China
* We can buy DVD of a movie 4 weeks after we paid to see it in the theatres
* The slide backwards started when we starting pumping our own gas

13 February, 2009 13:10
Big Al said...

I had the opportunity to see what a stray wire can do to a hair piece of a magician. LOL

13 February, 2009 16:33
Wade G. Burck said...

Mike,
So that there isn't a big beef in the middle of the tour, possibly leading to it being shut down, I want to go on record as needing something more then your word on the "guaranteed position/billing of husband." Let Lee work out his own deal, he should have gotten here first. LOL
Wade Burck

13 February, 2009 18:01
Mike Naughton said...

Wade,

You can do some SR LEGENDS spots and then take your one man show with the life sized cardboard cutout of you and NIXON. It could be like the new movie FROST/NIXON/BURCK.

Wade...the hooker boots? Are they still around?

13 February, 2009 20:33
Wade G. Burck said...

Mike,
I have a priceless picture of my son Eric holding up three fingers to show Nixon his age, and Nixon is holding up two, to show him he thinks Erick is only that age. Years later Eric said, Pops what was he doing in that picture. I told Eric, "I think he was assuring you he was not a crook."
One pair of the boot's are at Baraboo, awaiting a display case, and the others were given back so the new presenter had something to wear.
Wade

13 February, 2009 23:30
Anonymous said...

Buckles,I do havequite a fewstories of the Adventures with Rai and Mike as well as Mike Phillips and Tricia and the Phillip Morris crew. I'm not sure this is the forum to share them, however.
I actually enjoy good magic even if I know the tricks. Unfortunately, the likes of Criss Angel and David Blane have really ruined magic as entertainment for me and I have a feeling Zim Zang Zong will continue this trend.
Magic and the circus don't mix well mainly on logistical terms but it can be effective.
I do take issue with the Hanneford prop crew, under my supervision, being incompetent. They were actually quite good Problems arose when some people decided they were "stars" not part of a show.
Warren

14 February, 2009 00:49
Buckles said...

"Incompetent" was the Senor's word not mine.

14 February, 2009 06:23
Anonymous said...

Fully what I expected, Buckles, There were times that Rai wasimpossible to deal with, especially on the parking issue and with his illusions. But, he was popular with the sponsors and the audiences. He never approached the arrogance of Eric Michael Gillette on the GGW Farewell tour of RBBB when Eric threw a fit over a climbweb being in the ring for a performer's entrance and Kenneth turned to him and said, "Surely, Eric, you have the stage presence to overcome a piece of rope." and walked off. The web remained in place so that theentirecrew wasavailable to deal with the logistics of getting all of the stuff required for Gunther's tiger act out of the arena. As beautiful as the act was, it was a logistical nightmare to clear in about 4 minutes, 30 seconds. In many buildings, the loss of one man to hold the web back until the announcement was completed would have resulted in a stall. Each of the 18 non nesting or stackable by one person seats had twist lock electrical connections for the lights, there were the four tall pedeestals for the pyramid,the bridge, the mirror ball and all of its control and power stuff, getting the mesh stuffed back in the ring curb and covered by the steel tops Tim Holand, the GM, insisted had tobe steel, and stashing the gate /door sections andthe poles. I would deal with Rai anyday over Eric.
Magiciansnever seem to have enough assistants to work their act without additional crew, expect to have private passageways so thier one box jumper can change boxes out of sight, and in 10 secconds have the new box in place 120 feet away, and have no idea how to load their truck once you take the stuff apart (big selling point for illusions is "folds flat for packing") by removing 28 different sized metric bolts or other fasteners that require some obscure tool to operate. Then wheredo you put the stuff? Arena sized illusion props are huge. I think I agree withKenneth in that "saner peoplehave been jailed".

14 February, 2009 23:10
Anonymous said...

S&R in Vegas;
Saw their show at the Frontier then later at the Mirage. Pure Vegas, an all around two thumbs up from a guy who paid full price both times.
Not to say magical men of mystery do have their creative moments.My more recent times spent around Steven Diamond in Puerto Rico made for some good story telling including a hair pulling dispute between male dancers during the show.Never the less none of this came close to the recent showing of the "Cat Dancers" on HBO. halfway through this thing, my comment was " WOW" at the end it turned in to a F'in "WOW"

15 February, 2009 12:23

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