This podcast may not be for everyone. If you are interested in magic history and like to hear stories about days and magicians gone by, then you will enjoy this podcast. It also notes the passing of some of the greats, particularly to Texas magicians and to me personally. I attended the funeral of long-time magician Doug Kornegay who was a Past President of the Texas Association of Magicians (T.A.O.M.) and Dean of S.A.M. Assembly #19. Many magicians turned out for his service.
And while there I spoke with Madeline and Eugene Willard, a couple children of the late "Willard the Wizard", who told me some stories of their famous father.. A few days following the service we learned of the passing of another T.A.O.M. President, Claude Crowe, who was the driving force behind the Texas Collectors group and a frequent attendee and presenter at the Los Angeles Conference on Magic History. Clause hosted our annual Texas Collectors meeting during the Austin Magic Auction which always takes place the night before the auction. Despite the inclement icy weather, Claude made the 80 mile drive to be with us that night.
And while searching through the internet, I happened upon a short recording I did with Aldo and Rachel Colombini. That recording is separate from the podcast as it resides on a server with AudioBoom.com but the link is provided below in this blog.
So I guess what I'm saying is to treasure the memories of friends and times gone by. But remember that we are creating new memories now because "these are the good old days".
The story of the Willard magic family, who presented one of the largest magic shows in the world in their own tent throughout the southern U.S. from 1880-1970.
00:01:12 - During the Texas Magic Collectors Meeting hosted by Claude Crowe the night before the Austin Magic Auction, Kent Cummins talks about the origins of the World Famous Magic Auction. This may have limited interest to a regional group, but it is nice to hear some of the names and dates Kent talks about in this talk. If your club is thinking about hosting a magic auction, Kent tells how Austin began which could be applied to your own local group. You will hear the voice of Claude Crowe introducing Kent at the beginning of his talk. We learned that Claude passed away 12 days later after this meeting.
00:32:31 - Noted collector of Houdini memorabilia, Arthur Moses, talks about some of his recent acquisitions among his 5,200 artifacts. He also talks briefly about Harry Houdini's brother, Hardeen. Arthur gave a brief presentation of some of his items that he talks about in this chat.
00:43:22 - During a memorial service for Doug Kornegay (Dean of the Houston, Texas S.A.M. Assembly #19), I spoke with Madeline and Gene Willard, two of the children of Willard the Wizard. They delighted me with many stories of their father's tent show. Near the end of our chat, we were joined by Walter "Zaney" Blaney who had some stories of his own.
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I recently ran across a five minute chat I had with Aldo and Rachel Colombini in 2011. I had arranged what they prophetically called their "Farewell Lecture Tour". I think you will enjoy hearing our old friend one more time.
