Mark Kalin, Jinger Leigh and Jeff Hobson's Carnival of Wonders was named as the show of the year in the Reno-Tahoe area by Mel Shields who wrote the, "Carnival of Wonders is consistently enjoyable and often fascinating. Hobson's comedy is stellar." His pick for Comedian of the Year was Mark Kornhauser, who "...almost single-handedly carried the Greg Thompson production of Cirque Berserk at Harrah's Reno. ...Kornhauser managed to make what are usually the centerpieces of a production show -- the dance segments -- seem merely interludes." To read the Dec. 26 Sacramento Bee story click: HERE.(12/27)

Monday, Dec. 27

Magicians are scheduled to appear on Daniel Barenboim Conducts: New Year's Eve on Monday Dec. 27 at 9pm ET on WLIW-TV (US-PBS). This show is syndicated and may appear at different times and channels -- check local listings.(12/26)

MagicTimes | TV Magic Guide | Live Magic Guide | Search | Info | Links

The 32nd Annual Academy of Magical Arts Awards Banquet has been set for March 11, 2000. This time the event is being held at the Wilshire-Ebell Theater which holds close to a thousand people. Honorees will include: Johnny Thompson (Masters Fellowship), John Gaughan (Lifetime Achievement), Bruce Cervon (Performing Fellowship), The Keeners (Performing Fellowship), Val Andrews (Literary Fellowship), Martin Breese (Special Fellowship), and Silvan (Magician of the Year). Tickets are $25-$50 for the awards show. There will also be a black-tie dinner prior to the show for $100 per person. For reservations and information phone Yvonne Smith at 323-851-3313, Ext. 301.(12/28)

Tuesday, Dec. 28

Salty-Come-Lately/It's Magic is a magic themed episode of Salty's Lighthouse on Tuesday Dec. 28 at 9:30am ET on TLC-TV (US-cable).(12/27)

MagicTimes | TV Magic Guide | Live Magic Guide | Search | Info | Links

Michael Paskevich lists his top ten shows of 1999 in Las Vegas with magic shows appearing in three of the spots. Number 5 - Siegfried & Roy: "The German-born duo has become a Las Vegas landmark." Number 8 - Penn & Teller: "...were a nonstop delight." Number 9 - David Copperfield: "He's a self-effacing performer with a surprising light touch. He also adds new illusions almost every visit." To read the Dec. 26, Las Vegas Review-Journal story click: HERE.(12/29)

Wednesday, Dec. 29

Illusions Of Legend episode of Grand Illusions: The Story of Magic on Wednesday Dec. 29 at 3pm ET on Discovery Canada.(12/29)

America's Funniest Home Videos features "not-quite-professional magicians" on Wednesday Dec. 29 at 8am ET on USA-TV (US-cable).(12/28)

MagicTimes | TV Magic Guide | Live Magic Guide | Search | Info | Links

The December issue of the Canadian magazine The Gambler featured David Copperfield, Siegfried & Roy, and Lance Burton on the cover. Inside the magazine there were six pages and lots of photos dedicated to their life stories and careers. The article is prefaced with this disclaimer: "Even though we refer to our great illusionists  as magicians, they really aren't -- not in the true sense of the word. Magic is an occult art by which nature and natural events are controlled or influenced by supernatural means, whereas conjuring is the accomplishment of the apparently supernatural by natural means. So these artists really should be called conjurers. But 'magician' sounds better, and the term has stuck." There is also a two page spread featuring "A timeline of the greatest magic tricks" which begins with Dedi in 2000 BC and ends with Stevie Starr in the 1990s.(12/30)

Thursday, Dec. 30

The Linguini Incident (1992) features a waitress who dreams of becoming an escape artist on Thursday Dec. 30 at 8pm, and Dec. 31 at 12:30am and 1pm ET on ROMCL-TV (US-cable).(12/29)

The Magic Of Magic episode of Grand Illusions: The Story of Magic on Thursday Dec. 30 at 3pm ET on Discovery Canada.(12/29)

Tommy Cooper Christmas Special features highlights of his career on Thursday Dec. 30 at 9pm on Channel 4-England.(12/29)

Paul Zenon's Tricky Christmas features Zenon performing magic on the streets of London, Blackpool and Dublin on Thursday Dec. 30 at 10pm on Channel 4-England.(12/29)

MagicTimes | TV Magic Guide | Live Magic Guide | Search | Info | Links

Joseph J. Jellinek died on Dec. 27 at the age of 94. He was the Dean and Past President of IBM Ring #26 in NYC and was a member of both SAM and IBM for more than 50 years. Born in New York City on Aug. 24, 1905 his interest in magic was sparked when he met Houdini at a young age. He was a very active member of both local organizations for many years. Ring 26 is planning a Broken Wand Ceremony for Jellinek on Jan. 28 at their monthly meeting.(12/31)

Uri Geller announced that he is planning to sue Nintendo for around $100 million because one of their Pokémon characters, ''Un-Geller'' which is only released in Japan and is known as Kadabra in the US, is based on him. The Pokémon (Pocket Monster) is a psychic which induces headaches in people around him and carries a spoon. Geller told USA Today, ''The last thing I want is for a whole new generation of children to think I am bad or that spoon-bending is evil.''
--To read the Dec. 30 US Today article by César G. Soriano click: HERE.
--To read a similar article by Lisa Brownlee in the NY Post click: HERE.(12/31)

Adam Guy gets some press, in the Dec. 30 Missourian, about his New Year's Eve show where he plans to saw his sister in half. To read the Amy Vincent article click: HERE.(12/31)

Friday, Dec. 31

The Linguini Incident -See 12/30.(12/30)

MagicTimes | TV Magic Guide | Live Magic Guide | Search | Info | Links

Stuart Kaplan who is the owner of U.S. Games Systems is featured in the December, 1999 issue of The Costco Connection. The focus of the article by Carlene Canton is The Stuart and Marilyn R. Kaplan Collection which contains more than 1,600 card games, 700+ decks of cards, 200+ versions of Authors, 800+ tarot decks, and much more. Our loyal followers may remember that our first appearance on the Web was in Richard Robinson's Magic Show where our Muses column dated 1/2/96 and was written in 1995, featured the Kaplan collection which was then being exhibited at the Bruce Museum in Connecticut. Portions of that collection are scheduled to be displayed in October, 2000 at the Bruce Museum and the Stamford Museum and Nature Center.(1/1)

PENNSYLVANIA: Rich Marotta lectures on Wednesday Jan. 5 at 8pm for Marc DeSouza in Gulf Mills. There will also be a special workshop at 6:30pm. For more information phone: 610-941-4132 or 6l0-668-9300.(1/1)

Penn & Teller perform in the South Shore Room at Harrah's Lake Tahoe on Saturday Jan. 1at 9pm. Tickets are available for $39.50 each by phoning 1-800-427-7247. For more information click: HERE.(1/1)

Saturday, Jan. 1

Ricky Jay in House of Games (1987) on Saturday Jan. 1 at 10:30pm and Jan. 2 at 3am ET on BRAV-TV (US-cable).(12/31)

Penn & Teller's voices are used in the animated movie Light Years (1988) on Saturday Jan. 1at 3am ET on STARZ-TV (US-cable). (12/31)

Breaking the Magician's Code: Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed 3 on Saturday Jan. 1 at 8pm ET on FOX-TV (US). (12/31)

Breaking the Magician's Code: Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed 4 on Saturday Jan. 1 at 9pm ET on FOX-TV (US). (12/31)

MagicTimes | TV Magic Guide | Live Magic Guide | Search | Info | Links

David P. Abbott who invented the Talking Teakettle was voted the most underrated Omahan in the American Heritage magazine. Teller wrote of Abbott as "...a portly, rubicund Omaha businessman who in his spare time investigated the tricks of 'spirit mediums' and became an exceptional amateur conjurer." Teller continues, "...he baffled them all, including some of the canniest magicians who ever lived: Blackstone, Thurston and Kellar." Abbott's headstone reads "Here lies David P. Abbott, Scientist and World Famous Magician." To read the Dec. 23 article from the Omaha World-Herald supplied by NewsReal click: HERE.(1/2)

David Blaine appeared on ABC's New Year's Eve coverage swallowing a thread and then pulling it out of his stomach.(1/2)

The Majestics, Earl Nelson, and George Tovar appear at Caesars Magical Empire this month. The Majestics  perform Jan. 11-Feb. 5, Nelson appears through Dec. 5, and Tovar Jan. 4-Feb. 5.(1/2)

Will Shaw, Robert Baxt, Jamy Ian Swiss, Rocco, and Todd Robbins appear at Monday Night Magic on Jan. 3 at 8pm in NYC. For tickets call Ticketmaster at: 212-307-4100.(1/2)

Sunday, Jan. 2

Ricky Jay in House of Games -See 1/1.(1/1)

MagicTimes | TV Magic Guide | Live Magic Guide | Search | Info | Links