Rumors have Siegfried & Roy re-negotiating their contracts so they will be performing 8 shows per week instead of the current schedule of 10. The show tickets are also being increased to $100.50 per person. They currently have two years left on their contract -- this is their 11th year at the Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Siegfried is now 61 years old and Roy is 56 -- an eventual retirement is always being rumored. To read the Nov. 25 story by Kate Maddox titled "No illusion: S&R tickets $100" click: HERE.(12/4)

The Lance Burton Variety Club Golf Classic which was rained out on Oct. 23 has been rescheduled for Monday Dec. 4.(12/4)

David Copperfield appears in Sacramento this week where he is profiled in the Sacramento Bee. In a phone conversation Copperfield explains the new illusion he is working on "We're having some problems with it… It's a tornado. I have to be pulled into it and stay in for a few minutes without getting blown to pieces." To read the Dec. 3 article by Jim Carnes titled "Tricks of the trade: Magician Copperfield brings his 'Unknown Dimension' tour to Sacramento" click: HERE.(12/4)

Aldo Colombini, Earl Nelson, Dale Salwak, Steven Youell, Rick Gerber, Lee Bayless, Matt Marcy, and Tony Daniels appearing at the Magic Castle in Los Angeles, on Dec. 4-10. Dale Salwak lectures on Sunday Dec. 10.(12/4)

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Jerry Sadowitz' new weekly TV series, The Jerry Atrick Show," on Channel 5 in England is reviewed in the Evening Standard - London. The review goes, "...he's now appearing in The Jerry Atrick Show (C5), and reminding us that, besides being a highly original comic, he's also one of the world's finest close-up magicians." The review continues "Grossly underfunded and underproduced though this series is, Sadowitz shines through, and it's high time he was given a budget and a network slot commensurate with his talent. ...and he's undoubtedly one of our finest talents, both as comedian and magician." To read the Dec. 4 review titled "Brilliance up his sleeve" supplied by Infoseek and YellowBrix click: HERE.(12/5)

NEW JERSEY: George Schindler and Nina will be performing at the annual JMMRT Christmas Party on Wednesday Dec. 13 at the V.F.W. (Pennsylvania Railroad Ave., two blocks from the NJ Transit - Linden train station) in Linden. The party will begin at 7pm with an 8pm buffet and 9pm show. It is free to all members and only $12 for non-members. Reservations must be made well in advance by phoning Al Hillman at: 732-257-3456, Carl Bajor at 732-969-2566, or Walt Mattingley at 908-904-4733. For more information click: HERE.(12/5)

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Teller has just released a book titled "When I'm Dead, All This Will Be Yours" about the lives of his parents with the main focus being his father who also drew the cartoons throughout the book in the 1930s.  In a Philadelphia Inquirer story Teller explains why he decide to write the book, "They say things that fit the situations in such frank, funny, unexpected ways that it often sends shivers up my spine. When it hit me what a treasure I had taken for granted, I started writing down whole long conversations. If I didn't write down what went on, those stories would vanish forever . . . And I knew they were worth preserving." To read the Nov. 21 review by Murray Dubin titled " Teller captures magic of father's early years" click: HERE.
--Buy the book from Amazon for $19.96 by clicking: HERE.(12/6)

David Blaine's stunts are discussed in a Village Voice article about the history of endurance stunts and extreme performance art becoming part of mainstream entertainment. Blaine is described as "...reviving an old vaudeville tradition: the death-defying act. His last piece, in which he lay six feet under in a Plexiglas coffin for a week, was supposedly a stunt Houdini wanted to do." To read the Dec. 6-12 article by C. Carr titled On Edge: X-treme Performance Art Moves From the Margin to the Mainstream Ready for Prime Time" click: HERE.(12/6)

Excerpts from a very interesting P.C. Sorcar, Jr. chat on the India Times website titled "Magic today will be science tomorrow." Asked if he hypnotizes his audience during his shows he said, "No, the word hypnotism comes from a Greek word Hypnos which means sleeping. If my audience sleep who will watch the magic then?" To read the chat click: HERE.(12/6)

Bill Hager who performs under the name Darby McGill is featured in an Intelligencer Journal Lancaster story where he is described as, "Blending his sleight of hand with comedy and the celestial light show of the museum's planetarium, the magical leprechaun from County Cork is part of North Museum's holiday programs." The show runs on weekends through Dec. 30. To read the Dec. 4 article titled "Holiday magic 'Darby McGill' returns with surprises to North Museum" supplied by Infoseek and YellowBrix click: HERE.(12/6)

NEW JERSEY: Rocco, Simon Lovell, and Bret Mazzei will be performing at S.A.M. #161's Holiday Banquet/Show on Monday Dec. 11 at The Willows in Greenbrook. For more information click: HERE.(12/6)

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Brother John C. Hamman, S.M. (Sep. 3, 1927- Dec. 5, 2000) died on Dec. 5 at the age of 73. Bro. Hamman has made major contributions to the art and craft of card magic with several classic sleights and routines bearing his name. His style of magic influenced many magicians who fell in love with his slow and deliberate performance style that truly added focus and maximum impact to his routines. His contribution to card magic will never be forgotten due to the fact that his routines can be found in the repertoire of just about every professional close-up magician. ...Go to full story.(12/7)

The official Nielsen Media Research ratings are in and the David Blaine: Frozen In Time TV special finished 20th for the week of Nov.27 - Dec. 3 with a 10.1 rating and a 16 share which translates to a viewership of 15.88 million people. Around three million people more than his last TV special.(12/7)

An E!Online story credits David Blaine and Regis for making ABC win the ratings war against NBC. To read the Dec. 5 story by Marcus Errico titled "ABC's Ratings Magic: David Blaine, Regis, power network to weekly win" click: HERE.(12/7)

"David Blaine: Frozen In Time" is picked as a winner in a Washington Post story which explains that "Blaine's core 18-to-49 audience, no programming has done better in the slot since coverage of the Columbine High School shooting." To read the Dec. 6 story by Lisa de Moraes titled "Ice Guys Finish First: David Blaine Warms Up ABC" click: HERE.(12/7)

Lorie Velez replaces Jenny Alexander and Maria Gara in Hot Trix. The name of the show at the Plaza in Las Vegas also changed to Naked Angels. To read the Dec. 5 Las Vegas Review-Journal article by Mike Weatherford titled "Plaza taking topless-show concept one step further" click: HERE.(12/7)

Ross Skiffington's show Lounge Wizard at the Glen St Theatre in Australia is reviewed in the Sydney Morning Herald. To read the Dec. 6 review by Bryce Hallett titled "Wizard could fade into a lounge lizard" click: HERE.(12/7)

A lengthy article about David Blaine appeared in The Observer which describes what he does as "The sheer brilliance of Blaine, combined with his capacity to turn his art into a great public spectacle, has helped lift magic on to a new plane." To read the Dec. 3 article by Edward Helmore titled "Magic touch of the new Houdini" click: HERE.(12/7)

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NEW JERSEY: David Acer will be lecturing for I.B.M. Ring #200 on Tuesday Dec. 12 at 8pm at the Villager Theater (on DeMott Lane) in Somerset. Admission is $10 per person for non-members. For more information phone Frank Valenti at: 732-752-7736 or e-mail: mvalenti@bellatlantic.net.(12/8)

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The lawsuits that have been going on within the International Brotherhood of Magicians for the past few years were the subject of a Wall Street Journal article which reported that "Embittered magicians have set up dueling Web sites. The plaintiffs recently placed an ad in Genie [Genii], a popular magic magazine, complaining about the group's record-inspection policies." The story by Rachel Emma Silverman titled "No Chads, No Electors, But This Vote Dispute May Need Magic Act..." appeared on page B1 of the Dec. 8 edition.(12/9)

Mario Carrandi is scheduled to appear on "Saturday Early Show" on Dec. 9 at 9-11am ET on CBS-TV. He will be part of a segment titled "What's It Worth -- antique magic trick props" which will be hosted by Tony Hyman and will cover the major areas of magic collecting.(12/9)

Brother John C. Hamman's obituary appeared in the St. Louis Post-Dispatch where they know him as "a former teacher at St. John Vianney High School." The obituary includes his life story and career outside the world of magic where he was a Marianist brother and a teacher. Memorial contributions may be made to Society of Mary, P.O. Box 23130, St. Louis, Mo. 63156. To read the Dec. 8 obituary click: HERE.(12/9)

David Blaine was the 12th most searched term on the Lycos search engine for the week ending Dec. 2. A Guardian article points out "Surprise climber: David Blaine excited great interest as he encased  himself in ice in Times Square for two-and-a-half days. To read the Dec. 8 story titled "The Editor: Weblife: Click count" supplied by Infoseek and YellowBrix click: HERE.(12/9)

David Copperfield's show is described in the KCRA where he is quoted "I really enjoy the people who obviously that dream and go with the whole thing, but there's a large percentage of our audience who comes there that tries to analyze and figure out that kind of thing." To read the Dec. 7 article titled "Magician Mesmerizes Capital City Crowd: David Copperfield Brings Bag Of Tricks To Town" click: HERE.(12/9)

Le Grand David’s Anthology of Stage Magic will appear on Saturday Dec. 9 and 30 at 2pm with a special show on Thursday Dec. 28 at 7:30pm at the Larcom Theatre (13 Wallis Street) in Beverly, MA. Tickets are $15 for adults and $10 for children under 12. For more information and tickets phone: 978-927-3677.(12/9)

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David Copperfield and Penn & Teller are both performing in Seattle at the same time so the Seattle Post-Intelligencer decided to run an article comparing the two acts. Copperfield's message is that magic fulfills a basic human need for reverence and mystery while Penn and Teller "describe the illusions they do ...as a stand against the very notions that Copperfield champions." Local magicians Brian Cook, Sheila Lyon, Steffan Soule, and Steven Minch are also quoted in the article about the popularity of magic which is summed up as "Copperfield and Penn & Teller couldn't be more different, but appearances by both acts in Seattle next week will benefit the local magic scene, fans and magicians." To read the Dec. 8 story by Erik Derr titled "Copperfield, Penn & Teller have divergent views of their acts" click: HERE.(12/10)

Brother John Hamman's obituary appeared in the San Antonio Express-News where he is described as "He became world renowned in the realm of magic, an interest and skill he had been developing from his youth. He spent hours during his recuperation for polio learning, practicing and inventing card tricks and other magic involving sleight of hand." To read the Dec. 8 obituary click: HERE.(12/10)

Puck, David Acer, Jeff Moche, Todd Robbins, Frank Brents and Dennis Kyriakos appear at Monday Night Magic on Dec. 11 at 8pm in NYC. For tickets call Ticketmaster at: 212-307-4100.(12/10)

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