John Calvert was a featured performer on more than one occasion for the Texas Association of Magicians in Corpus Christi, Texas. Dan Garret was his emcee one time and introduced John as magician, adventurer, actor and legend who's "address is the world." I thought there has never been anyone who so embodied that "mailing address" as John and Tammy Calvert as they traversed the globe in their yacht, called The Magic Castle". Every week they were docked at some exotic destination and made friends wherever they went.
John and Tammy Calvert spread joy and mystery all over the world for so many years until it finally came to an end on September 27, 2013. John was 102 years young. He never stopped giving and loving people and magic. He was passionate about our art. There are many tributes posted elsewhere on the Internet as well as his complete (and summarized) biography. But nothing can come close to the complete life story of John Calvert that was written and published by William Rauscher entitled, John Calvert - Magic and Adventures Around the World.
When John and Tammy came through Houston, Texas in 2009 on one of their lecture tours, they spent a few nights in our home. They were such splendid guests. While here, John sat down with me to record a short account of some of the thing that were outside of his biography, John Calvert - Magic and Adventures Around the World. I edited the video to comply with the then required time constraints of YouTube. I posted a second, more candid, video interview with John where he talked about his family and the secret to his longevity. These videos are linked below, but the audio portion is captured in this week's podcast.
Also included with this podcast is my chat with John's "Boswell", William Rauscher. This was my interview with Bill during the 2011 M.A.E.S. convention.
John Calvert shares some insight on his many years in magic in a brief interview with Scott Wells.
Scott Wells talks with John Calvert who turned 100 years old on August 5, 2011 and talks about his secrets to longevity. Plus a look at him filling in as a stunt double for Clark Gable. These are some out takes from another interview with this incredible man.
When magicians think of the famous magician John Calvert, his wife and assistant, Tammy, comes automatically to mind. The Calverts were inseparable for over 50 years as they traveled the world with the Magicarama illusion show. In recent years they made scores of appearances at magicians’ gatherings, sharing their lifetime of knowledge with others. Although Calvert continued to perform into his 101st year, his health declined in recent months and expenses mounted.
For those who wish to send cards and/or financial gifts to Tammy to help with medical and funeral expenses, she is currently staying with John’s nephew, Fred Calvert, at 4399 Irvine Avenue, Studio City, California 91604.
Friends have also set up a PayPal account for her, ready to receive donations. You don’t have to have a PayPal account to send funds to her. Go to www.PayPal.com. Click on "Send Money.” Enter the following e-mail address “EpicProductions@Juno.com.” Enter the donation amount and click to send to "Family and Friends"..
I understand that the following link will make it easy to send a financial gift to her: https://www.paypal.com/us/webapps/mpp/send-money-online.
What else can you do? Visit www.johncalvertmagic.com and www.johncalvertmagician.com to purchase the video about Calvert’s life and other unique collectors’ items.
Time stamps for this podcast:
00:07:05 - John Calvert talks about his magical life
00:16:27 - John talks about his private side: his family and the secret to his longevity
00:21:27 - William Rauscher tells us some great stories about John that were not in the book.
Download this podcast in an MP3 file by Clicking Here and then right click to save the file. You can also subscribe to the RSS feed by Clicking Here.
Magic & Martinis Thursday
Though John Calvert was a teetotaler, that does not preclude me from toasting to his life and legacy. He said he was once approached by the Calvert whiskey distillery about promoting their brand. Despite the financial incentive, John had higher morals and refused the sponsorship. And although he was well-known for his cigarette manipulation act, he never smoked either. He always made a point of saying to his audience after his manip act that he did not advocate smoking and admonished the youth from ever starting the habit.
John Calvert "floated" a Coca Cola bottle with nothing but a straw and so impressed the management of Coke that they agreed to sponsor his tour. He shared that secret with me when he visited in 2009. Being the teetotaler he was, I will have my vodka martini but lift a bottle of Coca Cola to John. Cheers!
