767: Randy Wakeman - I've Been Around for a Long, Long Years

Randy Wakeman has been around for many decades and was often seen lecturing and performing at magic conventions. Nonetheless, I have always seen him as an “underground” magician who appeals to the true sleight-of-hand experts. He is one of those guys who has “been there, done that, has the t-shirt” as he was one of the regular performers about the Chicago Bar Magic Scene before the turn of the last century. He has written several books on magic (card magic mostly) and is still relevant in our community as a performer, teacher and author.

While at the recent Senior Tour close-up convention in St. Louis, The Magic Word spoke with Randy as part of the convention report content. He was preparing for a workshop, so we didn’t get a chance to go in-depth as I had wanted. But we agreed to get together at the 4F convention in Buffalo a couple months later. True to his word, we sat down to complete our chat which results in this episode. The content of our chat in both places was a little disjunctive, so the editing required us to put the second conversation first then plug in the chat in St. Louis and finish with our talk while in Buffalo. This sounds more confusing that it actually is, but I know you will understand and enjoy our chat.

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632: Rick Thomas - Big Cat on the Porch

No trip to Branson, Missouri, would be complete without seeing the amazing stage show of Rick Thomas. Among the many honors presented to Rick Thomas include the coveted “Magician of the Year” by the Academy of Magical Arts and Magic’s highest recognition "Illusionist of the World" by the World Magic Awards. Thomas has also been featured on numerous national television specials including the NBC series "The World’s Greatest Magic" and “Masters of Illusion” on the CW plus other appearances on MTV, FOX, TLC, Animal Planet, the History Channel plus his own special on ABC.

Rick has completed five world tours covering over 50 countries, including sold out performances at Caesars Colosseum, headlining the Sydney Opera House in Australia and performing both on Broadway and Las Vegas.

Few entertainers have succeeded in Las Vegas like Rick Thomas. His show ran consecutively for 15 years in the most magnificent theaters on the Las Vegas Strip, performing a staggering 600 shows a year. He is honored to have received the Key to the City of Las Vegas and also titled the most successful show for families in its history.

In this podcast, you will get to know the man behind the illusions and the cats. Though Rick no longer works with big cats on stage, he is still committed to helping this endangered species. He chats about working with big cats and the dangers. He also talks about his career in Las Vegas and around the world that has landed him “softly” in Branson where he may end up retiring…if there is such a thing for a world class illusionist.

629: Escaping Reality with Garry Carson

It seems that illusionists are getting fewer in today’s entertainment world and the best way to see them in while they are in residence at a casino or showroom. Garry and Janine Carson have a show, “Escape Reality” in Branson, Missouri where they take their audience on a 75 minute whirlwind journey of illusion and fun. Their theater is not one of the larger ones in Branson, but they fill out the stage Having put their show in Branson in 2020 seemed to be bad timing, but tourism continued despite the pandemic and they captured the coveted awards of “Best New Show” and “Best Dinner Show” in the 2020 Best of Branson Awards presentation.

Branson, Missouri, hosts a lot of variety shows including magic. One of the many shows in town is “Escape Reality” with Garry & Janine Carson. After I watched his late afternoon dinner show, we retired to his dressing room to talk about his career on cruise ships to Las Vegas to Branson.