144: Marshall Brodien - The Magician's Magician

During one of my visits to Chicago, Illinois to visit my friend, Don Wiberg, he drove us out to Geneva, Illinois to visit a legend in magic, Marshall Brodien. One cannot say that Marshall is best known for this or that because he was a master of so many things and known to so many for different reasons at different times in his life.

To our sons, he was Wizzo the Wizard on TV, The Bozo Show. To some he was a carnival talker on the midway in Riverview Park. To others he was known for his trade show work when he blazed the trail for many of us so many years ago. Still others know him for his magic sets. He created over 230 different sets. Some people knew Marshall from his nightclub act as a hypnotist. The Chicago underworld (or "mob") knew him as a clever magician who was their "go-to" guy when they wanted entertainment for a private party. I first heard of Marshall when he sold his TV Magic Cards on my television set.

During our visit to Marshall's home, I used my Kodak camera to not only capture shots of some of his amazing collection of magic in his basement, but also to record a few segments of Marshall himself. Unfortunately, I did not understand my new camera enough to know not to turn it sideways while capturing a video. So one of the taped segments is sideways. At least now I know. But it is his "bally" that I wanted to capture which I think you will enjoy as well as Marshall's clarity and presence of mind.

I mention that because unfortunately, Alzheimer's is getting hold of his mind. It is unfortunate to see someone, anyone have to suffer this disease. Chicago's television station WGN, where Marshall appeared as Wizzo the Wizard on the Bozo Show for so many years, recently did a story with his wife, Mary Doyle, about dealing with his condition. You can see the video interview at: http://wgntv.com/2015/08/29/author-mary-doyle-wife-of-wizzo-the-wizard-on-living-with-husbands-alzheimers/

While I was a guest in his home, I recorded a bit of history with Marshall. Please enjoy these few video tidbits from the recollection of his early years as a carnival talker.

Marshall Brodien aka Wizzo the Wizard, once worked at Riverview Park in Chicago as a Carnival Talker. Here you can hear him giving his pitch to encourage passers-by to come in to see the shows.

Part 2: A brief bally from Marshall Brodien as a Carnival Barker to attract people to the side show to see the fat man.

Here's a commercial for TV Magic Cards, a product created by magician Marshall Brodien (Bozo's Wizzo) who starts off showing one of his tricks, and then describing what the cards are about. This commercial was memorably parodied by Son of Svengoolie as "Real Life Magic".

Marshall Brodien has a whole "museum" of his life in his basement. It is huge and complete with a bathroom, sitting room and hide-a-bed couch. These are important because there is no way to appreciate all he has down there in just a short visit. It takes time to see his collection and hear his stories. I took several photos as he led us down memory lane of his life. I captured many of these in the photos below.

Although I did not record an interview with Marshall in 2008 when I visited his home, I did recently chat with his long-time friend, Mark Holstein. Mark has known and worked with Marshall for many decades and remains close even today although they are separated only by distance from Houston to Chicago.

Mark talks about Marshall's magical life including his days at Riverview Park as a carnival talker through his war years in the USO as a stage hypnotist, to a nightclub entertainer, trade show performer, bar magician, to the invention and marketing of his TV Magic Cards and magic kits through his appearances on the Bozo the Clown show as Wizzo the Wizard. Along the way, Mark relates a lot of fun and funny stories about Marshall.

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Wizzo the Wizard's magic phrase was "Doody Doody". This toilet seat lid says it all...literally!

I can only recommend that you find a copy of John Moehring's excellent biography, "The Magical Life of Marshall Brodien" or you might find it Here on Amazon. The book may be hard to find and the link here may not take you to where you can buy one now, but if you do a little searching on the Internet, I think you might still find a copy. As I read the book, I could hear Marshall's voice telling those stories word for word as we traveled through time during this magical visit to his home in 2008.

Thank you, Marshall, for all you have done for magic and magicians all around the world and thank you, Mark Holstein, for sharing your memories of your good friend.

Magic & Martinis Thursday

It's not exactly Louis XIII cognac, but "Cheers" anyway to a magical life!

Click on the graphic above to read an obituary, “Now Appearing in Heaven” written by his bride, Mary.

143: Bye Buy Brick and Mortar - The Vanishing Magic Shops

Over the past several years, physical magic stores (or as they are called "Brick and Mortar" shops) have been slowly and quietly closing their doors as they make way for the online stores. Many of these Brick and Mortar shops have an online presence, but the closing of these stores has left a hole in the fabric of magic by eliminating the fellowship and physical presence of a dealer/demonstrator behind the counter who gives personal instructions and personalized customer service and who responds to what customers need and not necessarily what they want.

With the disappearance of the magic shops, no longer can we see what's new at the magic shop in our local community and see a live demonstration of that trick. We can no longer ask questions of a live person, one on one and get immediate answers or alternate handlings and/or presentations. Purchasing magic online has become easy and accessible to anyone and everyone with a credit card account. No one has to expend any effort to buy or learn magic. With magic shops there was an investment of your time not only to learn the trick but to physically drive, walk or bike to the magic shop during their hours of operation. One had to make a commitment whereas now most everything can be viewed, learned purchased and/or downloaded from the privacy of your home with a click of the mouse.

Not that this is a bad thing. i totally embrace online magic stores. There are a lot of proprietary magic items that one can only find online from around the world that aren't or can't be carried by your local magic store. A magic shop cannot stock everything in its inventory. But part of the beauty of a Brick and Mortar shop is the browsing...physically picking up the book, looking through its pages, seeing the props on the shelves, and holding the prop or gimmick in your hand before making the purchase. And of course there is the immediacy of owning the item right now. No waiting for your item to be shipped and you anxiously awaiting its arrival.

Robert Johnson sent an email suggestion to TheMagicWord@ScottWells.com requesting that I consider talking with Emory Williams about his traveling magic shop and the plight of the "Brick and Mortars". I thought to expand it to include a couple more perspectives: Top Hat Magic in Tulsa, Oklahoma and Denny & Lee Magic Stdio in Baltimore (and Las Vegas). Each has their own unique story and set of circumstances that reflect different, umm, shall we say "challenges" to their longevity.

I encourage you to visit and patronize real brick and mortar magic shops. When you travel, see if there is a shop nearby. You can check get the names and addresses at this website: http://www.backroommagic.com/apps/forums/show/4381872-brick-and-mortar-magic-store-locations I do not know how current or valid this list is, so I suggest you contact them by phone before you try to visit...and perhaps before they are gone!

And let me say that none of these select magic dealers (or any others) have paid for their ads herein or are otherwise sponsoring The Magic Word in any way other than offering their time and voices to this podcast. And for that, I thank them.

Click on the picture above to see more photos of the inside of this Mobile Magic Shop and to read the full story of how and why it was built.

Please Note: This video was uploaded to YouTube in 2011. Their large, physical, brick and mortar shop of Williams Magic closed in March 2013. They still operate this van and a small kiosk near Tucson, Arizona plus their online store

Click on the photo above to visit my video interview with Denny Haney on "Now Y

The time stamps for this podcast are as follows:

00:01:44 - Steve Lancaster, Top Hat Magic (Tulsa, OK), talks about the evolution of his magic shop from his humble beginnings in 1977 to his rise (and fall) as the largest costume retailer in Oklahoma to where he is today. The temporary Halloween stores that are only open for a month or so around October have wreaked havoc on his business and others across the country.

00:20:53 - Denny Haney, Denny & Lee's Magic Studio, started with a shop in Baltimore, MD then opened another shop in Las Vegas, Nevada with the intent and hope of ultimately moving out there. And now that his 18 year old pet pig, Baby, died in late February, he has less reason to stay in Maryland. Denny also has a lot of good advice on how magicians can learn magic and what's important to be a professional.

00:56:03 - Emory Williams, Williams Magic (Tucson, AZ), closed his Brick and Mortar shop in 2013 after 24 years in business. But he tried an innovative idea by taking magic "on the road" and direct to the customers with his 47 foot trailer full of 4,000 magic items. He talks about the challenges that Brick and Mortar shops face in their struggle for survival and longevity.

Magic & Martinis Thursday

Add a brick, take a drink. Practice a trick, take a drink. Take a drink, take a drink.

142: Walter "Zaney" Blaney, his Ladder Levitation and David Hoy

Walter "Zaney" Blaney's career has spanned well over 50 years. He is a creator, innovator, performer, engineer, politician and an all-around great guy and friend to thousands of magicians and non-magicians alike. Over the many decades of his professional career, Walter has appeared on many television shows that are now part of broadcast history such as the Mike Douglas Show, the Dinah Shore show, The Merv Griffin show and of course, the Tonight Show with Johnny Carson. He has won multiple;e awards in magic not the least of which is being in the S.A.M.'s "Magicians' Hall of Fame".

Walter has been the subject of many articles, broadcasts and discussions. I spoke with Walter in 1996 about his history of his Ladder Levitation and his hoop that had several funny anecdotes behind its making and his performances over the years.

One of the earlier interviews was done "on the radio" in 1965 by his good friend, David Hoy as Walter was on his way to perform at Abbott's Get-Together. Perhaps David Hoy is best known among magicians today as the creator of the "Tossed Out Deck". But David contributed so much more than that to our magic community that you can read about elsewhere on the internet. In this famous (infamous?) radio broadcast, David hosted their mutual friend, Logan Pritchett (aka Doctor Zuko) as one of the guests that featured Walter talking about his "new" levitation.

A rare audio recording highlights a look back at Walters banquet show career. http://www.walterzaneyblaney.com Including commentary from David Copperfield, Lance Burton and Stan Allen.

00:01:18 - On January 26, 1996 Scott Wells interviewed Walter "Zaney" Blaney using a rather cheap cassette recorder. So please pardon the quality of the sound, but the content is golden. Walter talks about how he got the nickname of "Zaney" and the evolution of his famous Ladder Levitation/Suspension and the long history and problems with developing his hoop and funny (and sad) anecdotes along the way.

00:49:15 - During the I.B.M. national convention in Phoenix on July 17, 2013 I asked Walter to share the funny story behind the "radio" interview with David Hoy.

01:01:00 - July 1965 in Evansville, Indiana, David Hoy greeted guests Logan Pritchett and Walter "Zaney" Blaney on a radio broadcast hoax that has never before been available on the internet.

Walter Blaney tells the story of one of Magics greatest practical jokes. http://www.facebook.com/StillZaney Part of the documentary series " Still Zaney After All These Years" Featuring Lance Burton, Rick Thomas, Steve Dacri, Peter Reveen, Jeff McBride and Stan Allen

Magician Walter "Zaney" Blaney's seven year effort to debut his Ladder Levitation Illusion on Johnny Carson's Tonight Show. https://www.facebook.com/StillZaney This is part of a documentary series "Still Zaney After All These Years" . Tonight Show Footage courtesy of Jeff Sotzing - Carson Entertainment Group.

On August 15, 2017, David Copperfield paid tribute to Walter "Zaney" Blaney at the dedication of the Walter Blaney Exhibit at the David Copperfield Museum and Library of the Conjuring Arts in Las Vegas. (Produced by Timothy Drake) http://www.walterzaneyblaney.com

Magic & Martinis' Thursday

"Elevating" the art of the martini! Thanks, Walter.