Desert Island Tricks
Each week we invite one of the biggest guests in the world of magic to maroon themselves on a desert island. They are allowed to take with them 8 tricks, 1 book, 1 banishment and 1 non magic item that they use for magic! We discuss their 'can't live without' lists and why those items were chosen.
Episodes are uploaded every Friday and are available via all Podcast service providers!
To find out more about the team behind Desert Island Tricks, please visit: www.alakazam.co.uk
Desert Island Tricks
Marvin Berglas
This week we welcome Marvin Berglas, President of The Magic Circle and the creative force behind Marvin's Magic, as he shares the extraordinary journey that shaped his legendary career.
Marvin's story begins with a powerful lesson in resilience, when a Harrods buyer dismissively tossed his product aside calling it "that old stinker," he responded not with defeat but determination. Returning weeks later to a different department, he secured a promotion that blossomed into a 40-year relationship and millions of units sold. This pivotal moment embodies the positive mindset that would become his hallmark.
Growing up as the son of magic legend David Berglas provided Marvin with a unique perspective on the art form, though he admits he wasn't initially drawn to magic as a child. It wasn't until his late teens when he unexpectedly assisted his father at a convention that the magic bug bit him. From there, he forged his own distinctive path while honouring his father's legacy , "We reached the top differently," he reflects, "I used my first name while he used his last name."
Throughout our conversation, Marvin reveals the philosophy behind Marvin's Magic's enduring success, prioritising quality, innovation, and the genuine joy of performing. His product line has evolved from classic boxed sets to cutting-edge creations like iMagic, which seamlessly blends physical props with augmented reality. These innovations have inspired countless performers, with many of today's professional magicians tracing their initial spark to owning a Marvin's Magic set.
The episode culminates with Marvin's reflections on his role as Magic Circle President, where he's spearheading initiatives to preserve magical heritage while embracing new technologies and supporting the next generation through the Young Magicians Club. His unwavering commitment to positivity shines through as he declares what he'd banish if given the chance, negativity itself.
Join us for this captivating conversation that peels back the curtain on a magic legend and reveals how magic can transform lives when powered by the belief that nothing is impossible.
Marvin’s Desert Island Tricks:
- Deck of Cards
- Book Test
- Pseudo Psychometry
- Dice
- Appearing Helicopter
- Lights from Anywhere
- iMagic
- Thumb Tip
Banishment. Negativity
Book. Mind and Magic of David Berglas
Item. Mobile Phone
Find out more about the creators of this Podcast at www.alakazam.co.uk
I mean I started on that product in Hamleys, right by the front door on a cold February 1979, I think it was, and it was. Just it was an old product even then and I took it from Hamleys to Harrods An old boy buyer at the time. He picked it up with tweezers, put it in the bin and said not that old stinker. You know, it made me feel terrible. A few weeks later, rather than being negative, went back to Harrods but their art and craft department happened to be on the ground floor and we had a one-week promotion there. Been there 40 years thereafter Went on to sell literally millions of that item. So when that guy said, not that old stinker, it sort of rings a bell. You know, be nice to people.
Speaker 2:Did you ever get the chance to see him again?
Speaker 1:I saw him some years later when I was a bit more experienced in the industry and he had obviously left Harrods or lost his job there and was working for a toy company. He was on his hands and knees dusting some shelves on the bottom and I was sort of looking and I didn't say anything.
Speaker 2:I just thought something Hello and welcome to another episode of Desert Island Tricks. Now you could be watching this or listening to this, because this is actually a video version as well, so you can go to our YouTube and watch this if you want to. I would recommend that because today's guest is an actual legend. Now. We've had some incredible guests on this podcast and I've been incredibly blessed to speak to some of my heroes growing up, but there's probably one person who, without I, would not have been a magician.
Speaker 2:I definitely grew up on a certain kind of magic set, owned every single one of these, from Executive Collection 1 to Pub Tricks, which is in like a tube. I had the magic circle, green and red boxes, quite literally everything, and I even this is how sad I am, guys, do not judge me for this I even stayed up on qvc and filmed a qvc segment and I would watch that back over and over again. Now today's guest, I would say, has probably inspired and influenced not just a generation of magicians, but certainly multiple generations, and still does to this very day. Of course, he doesn't really need an introduction, but it would have been rude for me not to. Today's guest is the president of the Magic Circle, the wonderful Marvin Burgloss. Thank you so much, marvin.
Speaker 1:Great pleasure. What a nice introduction.
Speaker 2:Well, it's true, when I think about all of the friends of mine who are now magicians, and all of the guests that we've had on the podcast who have spoken about you and your dad, and the influence that you've both had on the community, it's substantial really.
Speaker 1:Oh, it's amazing, and that's, you know. If there's one legacy that I hopefully will leave, it's that I like to think we've encouraged literally thousands, if not hundreds of thousands, of young magicians over the 38 years we've been going, and two generations, as you say. And what's really fantastic is amongst them, obviously, there's hobbyists. You know, everyone starts off with a magic set and the idea is to get them to want the next one or the next one, like you, yeah, yeah.
Speaker 1:And if you have success fooling your friends and family, you tend to sort of build a sponge for knowing the next thing. And we really put a lot of effort into making quality, innovative sets for the marketplace, specifically for the sort of ages that they were intended. And you know, what's really encouraging is that not only have so many then gone on to become demonstrators over the years, but so many have gone on to become members of the magic circle and professionals and even elite magicians. You know, I constantly.
Speaker 1:I was at FISM recently in Italy and the guy who won the one thing in Blackpool, robin Deville he won the main prize for that and he was a European FISM champ. He showed me a picture when he was here for our convention of him on his seventh or eighth birthday opening a Marvin's Magic set and that's what got him in. So things like that are great. People like Justin Willman, for example, when I I saw him in Vegas he said that when he came on holiday was about 12, 30, 14, went to Harrods, bought an executive magic set. That's what got him on the road. So these are great stories. I just love hearing that.
Speaker 2:It's great yeah, well, I like I say, um, I used to collect all of them, and you you just mentioned that it's good to get people to collect them. I think one of the clever things that you did with Marvin's Magic, certainly when I was growing up, is you had the draw boxes, yeah, and I ended up wanting every color because you released them with different colors, um, and at one point, I literally just had one of everything, but also all of the executive collection boxes and and that's what was so clever about it it really made you want to buy.
Speaker 1:Yeah, we tried. As I say, even the packaging was a magic trick as well, and so I always you know, through my background, I suppose, in art and design and magic, and I always try to do something a little bit different. What would I like if I really, you know, collected magic or wanted to get into it, and I think it's so important. And what's really strange is that now some, you know, probably 20, 30 years later from that, we're literally the ideas. It's a different management team in, but I'm still head of product development and still, you know, the ambassador for the brand, but I am working with them and they're tending to go very much back to the old ideas you know that we had in those days.
Speaker 2:So that made me feel good as well yeah, well, like I say, uh, if you don't know about marvin's magic, my goodness, you're missing out. But do you go check out some of the sets? Um, because they're still producing some amazing innovative sets, even the the recent rubik's cube one was incredible, um, but as we're recording it, we're actually on the stage at the magic circle hq, where you are now president yeah, it's a big honor.
Speaker 1:Um, obviously, the magic circle, the number one magic society in the whole world, uh, promoting excellence in magic and and um, I feel very at home here because I've grown up, obviously, in the magic world. My father, as we mentioned, david bergus, was president. In fact we were the the first father and son elected president, so it's in my blood and you know he put his heart and soul into getting us this marvellous building and getting magic recognised as an art form and getting monies raised for it, and with a group of other people. And we're sitting here on the stage in the theatre, which I know very well because I'm here most weeks now, and, yeah, it's, it's a special place. We're going from strength to strength and really delighted.
Speaker 1:You know we have, as I said, about 1800 members around the world. We have a young magicians club which is thriving and so the next generation is going to be coming through and these kids I I mean honestly some of them they know more than some of the masters of yesteryear. You know the access of information has improved, the coaching has improved and the expectations. So, just generally, you know a lot of good things happening and I'm really proud of what we're doing here, and it's really nice when people tell me that it's got a great vibe about it. Uh, club club nights are busier than ever and and we're doing some wonderful stuff press wise, getting the profile and the prestige up, which is really what I said I'd want to do if I came in yeah, and it's great, and you mentioned the young magicians club.
Speaker 2:Um, if people around the world want to become a part of that, how can they go about it?
Speaker 1:um, well, the young magicians club is, uh, from 10 to 18 years old and, uh, we have, you know, some fantastic mentors who look after it. Best way is probably to look on the on the website. It's got all the information there. Um, and the difference between magic and music or sport is that you know places like this you get. It's a very unusual situation where literally the very elite in our industry rub shoulders with people who just starting out, or you know their journey in magic and if you're a nice person and you engage with them correctly and know how to do that, you it becomes almost a social thing and then they take you under their wing and they can show you and and help you with things which you know certainly, as I said, doesn't happen in you know, elite sport or elite music yeah, I agree, and it's a wonderful place to come.
Speaker 2:If you're not a member, please do look into joining, because it's a phenomenal club. Now you've been around magic your entire life. Obviously, your dad was an absolute legend, who we've had so many people talk incredibly highly of.
Speaker 1:There's so many stories, but that must have meant that reducing your entire life into eight tricks will be really difficult yeah, I mean, um, dad was a huge influence on us and um, and watching, watching him him was never easy when we were youngsters. Still, he was your dad, so I used to get a little bit nervous if we went on. Let's say he was doing a theatre show. He was doing a theatre show a summer season in Brighton I'm showing my age here Peter Gordino and Nina and Frederick and I was probably seven or eight in the wings or watching the show and it was nerve wracking seeing your dad on stage in front of 2,000 people, you know and the reactions you get on TV.
Speaker 1:And he made a conscious effort of coming off the air in the UK when we were younger. So we had a relatively normal upbringing but he was away a lot. He was traveling a lot while we were younger. Mainly he worked mainly abroad and was on the ships. And then he had his own TV series in Sweden and America and then in Holland where he became the first overseas TV personality of the year.
Speaker 4:Oh wow.
Speaker 1:So when we went to Holland with him and people started really sort of looking and pointing in restaurants and getting his order off and whatever, it was a weird experience for us, you know, and to be honest I wasn't we weren't me and my late brother Peter we weren't really that interested in magic, as you know, as youngsters we were busy playing football and doing all the things that young kids do, you know. It wasn't until I was about 16 or 17 that I really sort of got into it with Dad. I went to a convention in Lyon. A guy who was helping him became ill and I got a last-minute call from my mum at school saying you know any chance you can help Dad. Tonight he's going to Lyon to this convention. He's got this new pack of cards that do all sorts of flourishes. It'd be great if you could help him. His book's coming out and I thought, yeah, it's better than this geography lesson, absolutely so.
Speaker 1:All of a sudden that night I was on a plane to France and in the hotel room it was a pack of cards that did some amazing fans and flourishes and springs and all that sort of thing. And he taught me how to do it and I got a bit of a penchant for doing it and and it came quite naturally and we had a sort of dealer's table, as it was called, sort of right at the back, and he was doing his lecture and me being a little bit cheeky, entrepreneurial and whatever, I thought this is not the place for it. So I managed to negotiate to get the table literally right by the escalators in this convention hall and when my dad came back and he saw I had a huge crowd around me demonstrating and selling these things, he thought that's my boy, you know. Yeah, so that's really where I got bitten by the bug. I was probably at 16 or so.
Speaker 2:Yeah, oh, wow well, so let's get into the the concept. If this is the first time listening to the podcast, the idea is that we're about to maroon marvin his very own magical island. When he's there, he's allowed to take eight tricks banish one item, take one book and one non-magic item that he uses for magic Particulars like who's there? What's there? Other animals, all that good stuff? We do not mind. This is in Marvin's own imagination. So let's go to your island and find out what you put in position number one.
Speaker 1:Well, before we go into position number one, you put in position number one. Well, before we go into position, what number one that's that's? You said it could be my own island, of my own imagination. So when you say desert island, I like to think, I like to think big, I like to think differently, I like nothing is impossible. That's something that has been instilled into me. So my island is not a little island, my island is huge and my island is, if you think, more, tracy island. You know that's probably close to, is my. My home would be right at the top of this mountainous thing, glass all around, panoramic views, it would have a leisure center and it would have the pools, and you know, and then it would be protected by rocks for access. And then you know, on the other side of the island, of course we've got just I walk onto a beautiful sandy beach, of course, and as you'd expect, uh, but I wouldn't necessarily be fending just for myself, because just probably a quarter of a mile away is a beautiful health centre, leisure centre, all the other things. I've got all my mates, my family, my friends. I've got Arsenal Football Club Unbelievable. They've relocated a whole stadium just down the road, so I'm not missing any of the match days as well, which is great, and yeah, so there's different ways of looking at things. So what would I take? Let's have a thing I've got my audience now anytime I need them, and I've got my privacy.
Speaker 1:But obviously I'm sure every magician must come on and say they use cards, they want cards. As I said, I was bitten by the bug. Firstly, with these flourishes slights. The good thing about cards is that they're so adaptable and versatile. Firstly, obviously, for flourishes slights, you can keep yourself occupied with learning those and you'll never know them all. You're always learning and I'm enjoying doing that even many years on, uh. But obviously they're great for storytelling, they're great for tricks, they're great for sleight of hand, they're great for all sorts of other things.
Speaker 1:My personal trick and my my go-to trick has got all the um. I like to think within a moment or two, because I don't. I really don't enjoy um long drawn out things with cards, you know, or counting to 21 and I just and piles. That's not for me at all. You often have to make an impact in a relatively short space of time. So this trick works for me within a minute and a half to two minutes tops. Uh, yeah, it's memorable. People tell me they they remember it for the rest of their lives, which is what it's all about. It's how you make people feel. Um.
Speaker 1:My go-to trick is you know, someone would take a card and remember it. I would probably do some sort of fairly show-off slights and shuffles and all sorts, put it behind my back, pull out a card, lo and behold, it's the wrong card. Bit of comedy by play with it, tear the card up, give him a corner and then spring the cards and then find the card in. So then I'd hold the pack up and their card would jump out. I'd literally spring it back and one card would pop up right by my face, their card, which gets great reaction. Then, as I pull the card out of that pack, it's got a corner missing and lo and behold, they've been holding that corner the whole time and it fits perfectly. So that's got all the magician in trouble. It's got sleight of hand, it's got comedy, it's got everything and it's a souvenir. So that would be, yeah. The trouble is I suppose I'd go through quite a few packs of cards. If it was just one pack, I'd have to have a warehouse full of them, yeah.
Speaker 2:Okay, well, you've got a wet.
Speaker 1:we'll put the warehouse on there along with arsenal football team and all of your friends and family, that's good, um.
Speaker 2:So what was it about this trick? Is this just something that you've done throughout your entire career?
Speaker 1:you know it was one you you tend to. You tend to it was my dad actually taught me this know, learn a few tricks really well, rather than lots badly, right. So we as magicians, we are a sponge for wanting to learn new stuff all the time. We're always trying to improve, always try to see what the new things are out there at conventions and with dealers and stuff like that. But really I think the presentation is much more important than anything.
Speaker 1:So this was something which was inspired by Tom Mullica. He's a great magician, a fantastic comedy magician, but also a superb sleight of hand guy, and it also had something, a move, that was taught to me, I think, first show. It's probably an old move, but it was shown to me by, I think, mike O'Brien years ago actually, and I combined that with two or three things of my own as well. So I feel it's a unique trick and it feels like mine and it just works and gets a reaction. And you know, sometimes you can really do knuckle-busting stuff, learning new things. I always wanted to do a one-hand fair, a shuffle, and you know that sort of stuff and you finally learn it and you do various things. I don't get the reaction that you want them to. So your B material to get to your A material it's got to be better than you know. So that trick, historically, because I've done it so many times, is probably in my A material and and uh never fails to get a good reaction amazing.
Speaker 2:Well, that's a great one in at number one, and we're in there with a car trick as well, so we'll see where this goes. So what did you put in your second spot, um?
Speaker 1:second spot, I'm going to put a book test, um, because a uh, the selection of books would be from a library, uh, any book from any shelf, of course, you know, make it as, and that would give me some reading material in my downtime. Um, but the book uh test. I think it's got some really clever things to it and presentation wise and uh, so, yeah, I think that would fit in quite well. Uh, as I said, hasn't has a a double up of of, uh, all sorts of reading material as well okay now do you have a preference to which book test you would take, because obviously there are lots.
Speaker 2:We've had mark paul on here. I know he has his very popular triple a book test as well. Obviously there's lots. We've had Mark Paul on here. I know he has his very popular AAA book test as well. Obviously there's lots of marketed book tests, like Mother of All Book Tests. We've got the Zanman book test, which is quite popular nowadays. What is the one that you would go for? Because you mentioned an entire library, so one would presume that maybe we're going for a gimmickless version.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I think that's the strongest version. Going for a gimmickless version, yeah, I think that's the strongest version. If you know, um, I think you, the idea is to for people to have the feeling of a really free choice. So we're talking, if we're talking, uh, magician's choice, I think that's okay. People would know what I'm talking about. And you know, we know certain very good exponents of that, and that's really important how you can literally narrow, uh, dozens, thousands of things down to one thing, and I think that's very strong to be able to do that. So that's, that's partial methods. And and then, on top of that, there's, there's differing, um, different things.
Speaker 1:I, I, I have changed various, I've tried, tried various things, the sort of corporate and private work that I tend to do. I always try to, if possible, personalise it to my client or to my host, you know. So there's something really truly memorable, you know. So it would be a book off their show. I did, for example, I did the launch, for it was a stand-up show at Langlands actually for Alex Scott I don't know if you know Alex Scott.
Speaker 1:She's the broadcaster from the One Show and Football Focus and she's an ex-Lioness 100 caps for them and she brought out a book and in front of most of the Lionesses were there Leah Williamson and all those people, and it was. She just brought out a book. I had a prediction there, book, and in front of most of the lionesses were there, um, leah williamson, all those people, and, and it was, uh, she just brought out a book. I had a prediction there and the, the um version that I had, with the, with the uh sentence that was rung out, something about you know, if my mom could see me now, type of thing, and her mom was in the audience and it literally brought her to tears and I think that was more important than than you know just the method of this.
Speaker 1:That the other, you know, it just fitted in. It just seems to fit in nicely. You know, I was, I was doing a spot. Anyway, it was the uh, it happened to be her book, it was her launch, all the publishers were there, all you know, all her friends and family and her mum, and it worked out. So things like that.
Speaker 2:It's really important to me yeah, I agree, personalizing stuff is great. Now, before we started, we did talk about the order of your list yeah so and you said does that matter? With your list? How have you constructed this list? Did you go? These are just things that throughout your life, you've used, or are these common things?
Speaker 1:no, I, I actually, um, didn't have much time to really think about this and sometimes I prefer that, uh, so I can talk off the cuff effectively. But then I looked at sort of my routines and and unfortunately a lot of them would be to do with cards or a lot you know versions of. So I was trying to look at all the things that weren't using those and bring it down to, hopefully, a few. So I think my next one would be I'll call it pseudo-psychometry. Shall we Okay?
Speaker 2:Okay, so let's go straight into it then. So what did you put in your third spot?
Speaker 1:So the third spot would be literally just some A4 whiteboards and some thick markers. Okay, and you know, with that and an audience I'm able to get people to draw anything they like or write anything they like and through some hopefully entertaining by play, I can tell who's done what and finally I can duplicate the last person back to back with whatever they've drawn. Now, the reason I like that is again, I mentioned I had a. I enjoy drawing, enjoy art. I always have done. I find it very easy to do cartoons and sketches, so that comes very naturally to me. But also, being dry wipe and whiteboard, it's just a useful thing to have on a desert island.
Speaker 1:I would think Credit to my dad then. I mean, his whole philosophy was you can take the smallest trick and he used to say and this, this is sorry for your older listeners a six penny trick from walworth's. Firstly, six pence on, isn't there walworth's, isn't it? But in other words, or a or a 10 quid trick from marvin's magic, how about that? Um, and you could literally which is meant for close-up or whatever, but you could. He could adapt a way of putting on the stage and filling the bigger stage, orup or whatever. But he could adapt a way of putting it on the stage and putting the bigger stage or TV or whatever through his presentation, and that sort of rubbed off on me quite a lot. Really. I think that philosophy is pretty good.
Speaker 2:Well, I think that's a great one, and it's our second mentalism piece. So we've gone from book test to pseudo-psychometry. So what did you put in your fourth spot?
Speaker 1:Well, I would say it's probably another mentalist thing. I tend to do sort of comedy mentalism, and that's sort of my style, more a little bit. I purposely you know I haven't said A-can or anything of that nature, because that's what you'd expect of me. I am quite interested in it and obviously I've had seen it at first hand. But the last thing I want to do is try and be a version of my dad, a bad version of my dad. You know, let him what was really good, I sort of. We hopefully reached the top differently. You know, I used he used his last name and I didn't use my last name. You know, I used my first name to get there. What's nice, as I said, we met at the top, you know.
Speaker 1:So my next thing, I would say it's just another tool really, which would be dice. You know, because dice seems a very fair way to select something and the use of dice, it seems quite portable and the game plays small, plays big. But it wouldn't be how I tend to use dice, for selection is not the emphasis on the dice but the emphasis on the number. So, for example, you know, if someone says at a party or something, you know, let's just see something. I just say, well, you know, put any six objects on the or something you know. Um, let's just see something. I just say, well, you know, put any six objects on the table, you know, and they would literally scramble around getting glasses, case, napkins, glass bottle, whatever you know. In any way. They wanted to and I would make a big thing about that and mix them up. So so far, dice is out of the question. You know, and just say, right, I'm going to ask you just and I haven't even taken the dice out just to literally think of one of those objects and I'm going to try and tell you which one I think you're thinking of. And you know you could play it, whether you're saying it's down to nlp or body language or whatever, or you could just be in a mind reader. I mean, I, I don't make any claims and I don't want to be this big. I am because I want to be able to just get on with my life and not have to hide behind a character. It's just a slightly different version of myself when I perform, but they're thinking of this object, et cetera, and playing around with other people, and then I do a lot of.
Speaker 1:I don't know if I mentioned this before, but when I cut my teeth, really doing combining my hobbies, which I always thought was really important. So, as I said, I used to play football and go to football and I became the first Premier League resident magician at Arsenal Football Club and I have very close links with that club. And so when hospitality started there in the Premier League in 1993, I was I, you know, they had a room where all the corporate sponsors and VIPs were with an ex-player and a comedian and me and it was a really good thing, did the gig, got wine and dine on the top table, then get tickets to the match and get paid to watch the game. Wow, you know, it's the best gig in the world. And as that, as my reputation grew and as we did more and more, we went as they moved to the new stadium. We moved to from, let's say, 200 people who could be doing vip hospitality to 6 000 people that could be sitting there. So we had a team of people and stuff and it's moved and changed, but I still do the the thing, for they have, you know, they have a high rollers club there and you know it's amazing. I have very close links with the club and from that I got to meet a lot of my good friends from both in show business and in sport, because I did all the stuff for the players over the years. Even the vice chairman at the time became one of my best friends and, you know, go on holiday with him.
Speaker 1:It's just crazy what magic can do. As long as you're a nice guy and you handle it well, you know, or a nice girl, it's really important you know, and just get on with it. So, coming back to this dice routine, so I do a lot of things where, for example, I do the Barbarians rugby team whenever they come over. I have done that for many, many years and these are guys, top guys, from all over the country, all over the world, rather, fiji, south Africa, australia, france, tonga. They literally their first night or second night together. It's very much a macho thing and who's you know and how, their personality.
Speaker 1:So, as a magician doing that gig in quite a tight restaurant, they are thinking you better be good, otherwise, mate, we are going to slaughter you, all right, and so it's you know, and so it's quite a challenge, quite um, so this would be a really good thing and and so, for example, I'm doing that trick with a dice. It's six objects out, you know, um, and you think of one, and then I say, right, when I do this, normally some of you guys you know, if I say it's number six, you're gonna say it's number one, even if it's number six. So listen, I've got a dice here just so we can verify afterwards. Keep it out my sight, but put your number, then we can see check afterwards if you're right, so you can't change your mind. So now the emphasis is totally on them thinking that and this dice is just superfluous. But that's how it works for me, you know, and that's how I do it yeah, that's great.
Speaker 2:Now, when you talk about dice, let's talk about the prop for a second, because obviously there are. Again, we can't give methods away, so I'm skirting around this a little bit for you guys at home. But, um, there's obviously newer ones that, with technology, allow us to do certain things. There are older versions which allow you to force the outcome of one of those items. There's also gaffed dice and special dice.
Speaker 1:Well, I don't think actually any of those is important. I think it's just the usage of them. You know you could, because to the spectator they're all the same.
Speaker 1:So, it's just got to be an everyday object. It's like if you see one of the top, top card magicians, for example, and he blows you away with various things. I'm thinking of some of our top practitioners in this country. They're absolutely superb. So if they were God, god forbid to put a gimmick card in there. Whatever I mean, does it, you know it. To us it still looks like huge skills and you know, and they shouldn't have to apologize for that's just part of what they're they're doing, but they've earned the chance of doing. It's like a. To me, that's just, you know, it's just a byproduct of what they're doing. You don't expect it because you know they can do stuff without it, but throw something in as well to take it to the next level, why not?
Speaker 2:Yeah, I agree. Well, I think that's a great one in the number four. So let's go to number five. So what's in your fifth spot?
Speaker 1:Five spot. If I'm in a fifth spot, this is a bit flippant, but if I'm in a desert island, I would be able to want to do an appearing helicopter or appearing boat, a speedboat, because I'm sure they would be useful. And no, I don't do those in my close-up back or in my state act, but it would be useful if you're on an island.
Speaker 2:Okay. So if we were to hold you to one, a helicopter or a boat, which one would you go for?
Speaker 1:They both work. Yeah, sure I'd go for the helicopter. I've always I've always liked the aerial views of things, you know, seeing the surroundings.
Speaker 2:Yeah, I've always fancied a helicopter actually yeah, I think that'd be great now in terms of your set. So far, this is your first stage piece, so what is it about an appearing helicopter for you makes it the stage piece that you would do.
Speaker 1:I've seen it done a few times. It's definitely not me, if I'm honest, you know it's just it's, but it's the unexpectedness of it is, I suppose, really what has got the audience. Seems like a lot of hard work to get that moment, but it's all about setting that moment and I think that's really what illusions are we enjoy. Everyone who's into magic enjoys watching a really great illusion as much as we enjoy a close-up piece. The first time you see some really great magic it should make the little hairs on the back of your neck stand up and it's memorable. And that's really what it is.
Speaker 1:The best illusion I've ever seen was when I saw with my dad. We saw the great late Hans Moretti live in a relatively smoky small cabaret environment and there was this. He was a mate of Dad's and stuff, so we got to be really close up. There was him and Helga, his wife, and this big chunky guy you know comes out sweat on his brow. It was raw talent, you know.
Speaker 1:Big guy chained up, you know, in this cardboard box, not a wooden, you know box, with all bits in a cardboard box, sort of moving around balancing on this rickety old table, so there's nothing underneath you could see, he gets in there chained up and literally Helga gets someone from the audience putting these knives right the way through, these swords right the way through. There's no conceivable space whatsoever. How could this guy even be in there? And when it's opened up, not only is he unharmed but he's out of his chains and he's a costume change and there was a live bird and a monkey or whatever. It blew me away and I'll remember that for the rest of my life. You know that's what a great illusion should be, you know yeah, yeah, I agree, that's again.
Speaker 2:That's one that we've spoken about on the, on the podcast before and we always talk about there are certain tricks in in history that if you could, well you have been there in this case. But if you could be there in the audience, like the first time the buzzsaw was performed, or the first time the zigzag was performed, all of those times, how amazing would that be. And I bet for you, I mean you got the chance to be there.
Speaker 1:Yeah, that was a great moment. Yeah, yeah, add to that, flying from David Copperfield would be amazing, amazing, yeah, yeah, yeah, yeah, add to that Flying from David Copperfield would be amazing to see that yeah, yeah, and Wayne Dobson's Voices at the Palladium. That was a classic bit of magic. You know? Yeah, I mean just what an incredible set he did with literally just three or four very standard props that could fit in your pocket. Yeah he, he made 15 minutes of all-time great you know, hello you amazing human beings.
Speaker 3:Mark spellman here to tell you about something I'm so excited about for 2026, and that is the inaugural alakazam magic convention in ashford, half an hour from london and a short journey from most European countries. Come and join us at what will be an incredible day. For all of you that already know about Alakazam, what I'm going to say will be no surprise, but for those of you that haven't had a chance to meet the team in person, it is like a family. This is going to be an intimate gathering. Tickets are limited but it's going to be the most incredible day.
Speaker 3:I will be lecturing and I don't lecture half as much as I used to and it's all new material and some things that I've kind of held on to for a while, that I've not even done in previous lectures, that I'm kind of ready to let go, ready to let them fly and for you to enjoy them. But equally, I'll be performing my one-man show in the gala show, which has never been seen before. It's completely new, completely different. It's the stuff that I do for real corporate clients and also private events as well. So get your tickets. It's an amazing venue. I've seen the venue itself. It is super modern, super contemporary hotel nearby. Come over and stay the night before. We're going to have jam sessions, brainstorming sessions, a few drinks, maybe We'll see how it goes, but ultimately we're going to have the best time. Tickets are limited. Get them now so that you can say I was there the first one. I was there. Get your tickets now. See you soon.
Speaker 2:So now we're moving on to a number six, so that was our first stage trick as well. So where are we going with number six?
Speaker 1:um, I've got to give credit to uh one that's in us, in our sort of range, uh, and I'm gonna call it lights from anywhere, okay, okay, uh, for a variety of reasons. A, we have sold a lot of the movies, so thank you. I know the. It's very interesting. People call them delights and stuff. I know the origins very well.
Speaker 1:I was part of the research of that before we took it on and we paid for the inventors royalties very important for us to do things correctly and now it's copied in many different ways and there's different versions of it, but some of the versions now with white, bright lights for phones they look great, you know, and all that sort of thing. But it'd be useful if you're going out on a walk at night. You don't have to carry much with you and you can just look at something close up or whatever and and see your way through. Uh, and it's good fun. Yeah, I think that I think uh magic often is better. The less is more so.
Speaker 1:For example, best ways to use these lights from anywhere you're at a hotel or at the airport and you're literally waiting with a few people behind you and you're waiting for the elevator, looking up, nothing's there and then you just press the button, it lights up and you just literally pick up the light, look at it in your hand, put it back and that's it. And then just get in the lift and see people's reaction and now, of course, they seem much brighter than in those days. We have different versions and stuff, but actually just the idea of it, it's the movement and the poetry of the movement which really makes it and everything else. It's a real lesson to actually. You know, like when you, if you take a coin and you haven't really taken it but you're looking like you have taken it. It's the same with passing the lights through. It actually teaches you very confidently about acting and where to put your hands, your expressions and all that so you can guide people to look where you want them to look.
Speaker 2:Yeah, and I'm glad that there was at least one Marvin's Magic trick on there.
Speaker 1:Well, there's not one, there's several.
Speaker 2:Yeah, good, that's good, Right? So we're all now playing Marvin Burglass bingo, which is another trope that we have on this podcast. So we're all now playing Marvin Burglass bingo, which is another trope that we have on this podcast.
Speaker 1:So let's go to our next one then. So this is number seven, I think. Yeah, um, so a quick thing. So, so I'm going to, I'm going to say another Marvin's magic trick because, obviously, having designed it and you know we've done quite a few over the years and people often ask what is my favorite, you know, and that's very difficult because they are like kids, you know to come up with the concept, design it, get it onto, get it made, get it onto the shelves, and then it become a popular thing, it. You know, it's a whole process, a year and a half, two years for that whole process, and we've, we've dozens and dozens of them over the years. But what are my favorites?
Speaker 1:Um, you know, we started off, um, with the sort of boxes that you know, I unearthed a few. Actually, we're just changing our warehouse and I just literally found a box full of mint condition stuff we put by a real collector's thing, you know. And then we did the first and only magic set for the Magic Circle, which is ironic. It helped raise, you know, up to about 180 grand uh towards this building, actually through the royalties of its sales over the year, which is the purpose of doing it. Dad was president at the time and and, uh, we wanted to help that and we and we got.
Speaker 1:So the magic circle wasn't really known but it was just a beautiful box set. Sorry, it wasn't really known in retail environment, it was known to older people at the time, but it was a good way of getting getting the name out then and putting it. So it's a real quality set which still stands up, you know, for scrutiny. It was much better quality than a lot what was out there at the time and and you know we said we put it on TV, on QVC and all that sort of stuff as well, and it got really well known. Michael Jackson came into the store and it got pictures of him holding it and kissing it. He was so thrilled it's crazy.
Speaker 1:So that was an important set. There was also, as you said, the executive set, which was how to make money appear in front of your bank manager or whatever. And in a little attache case we did a beautiful magic shop which was a for younger kids with really nice uh artwork, a secret box which was an empty box full of close-up magic. Uh, it's one of my favorites but the real and, as you say, the rubix one was a recent one, which is really good, which we worked with erno rubik, who was the actual inventor. They came us which is great saying for their 40th anniversary we made it a giant Rubik's Cube box that had all Rubik's Cube themed stuff inside there. Funny enough, the cleverer we tried to be, and this was called Freaky Body Illusions. Do you remember what?
Speaker 2:it was yeah, you had Street Magics as well. Yeah, pop Tricks as well, yeah, so you could see.
Speaker 4:We worked hard over the years, you know.
Speaker 1:I'm just, you know, I'm sat back working hard.
Speaker 1:But the thing is, even when you come up with these really great themes and stuff, it doesn't necessarily you can be too clever, because you know it's a little bit, becomes a bit niche if it's too clever, and so the most successful sets over the years tend to be, unfortunately, the big box with a certain number of tricks and good design and that type of thing and value. Unfortunately, that's how the consumers see it, whereas obviously as magicians, we see it the collectability and the fun side of it. But, having said that, the one that probably I'm most proud of, which was a collaborative effort with a few people and still going very strong, is our eye magic, marvin's eye magic, because it came with a great series of tricks, but it also came with an app and you could use all those same tricks plus more. So in other words, for example, let's just say I had some lights from anywhere in there, you could actually say, oh, look at my phone, now it's out of charge, and you could do the same action with lights from anywhere, but touch your phone and it would go as if it's charging your phone and then, yeah, it's fully charged now, things like that. Um, you know that little dice canister, we put a dice inside a little uh canister and then put it into another canister, you can divine the number. Uh, now that's a great trick. It's been around for years actually, but through iMagic we we were able to you cleverly have. The magicians would know how to get the number first, but then you get the phone, you put it over and with augmented reality it's scanned, or appears to scan, the top of that little canister and will show you and reveal in an x-ray form the actual number that's top of the dice. Now, that's a fantastic thing, and that's cleverer to me than anything we've done. And there's a whole series of the dice now that's a fantastic thing, and that's cleverer to me than anything we've done. And, and there's, you know, a whole series of these things there's another one which is in that, so it had a whole load of bonusy sort of tricks.
Speaker 1:Another one where you said, oh, I've got a bug in my phone, and then you show it and it's, there's a fly flying around in your phone, stuck in your phone. And then you, um, and then you've got like a we call it a little fly swat thing. It's actually a paddle, but you just know what I'm talking about. But in fact you get two pedals and you touch the phone and all of a sudden it disappears from inside your phone. Now you've got a three-dimensional fly on your phone and now you take out the other one. You can make the fly jump from one to the other, you can make him go back and forth, then put him back in your phone he's buzzing around with sound again and then you would blow on it and it would freeze over and then you would literally with your hand wipe it away, like on a cold winter's day in your car, and you'd see now that little fly is inside an ice cube. And then you get a glass underneath and you shake it and the graphic of that falls down and a real fly in a real ice cube-ish goes into the glass. So things like that routines, those are superb.
Speaker 1:So nowadays I mean this is now five we won some design awards with that and it was really successful. It was a good team effort, a lot of people involved in different ways, but what was really good, we now that mark as our app as free with everything. So it has, for example which hopefully a point of difference we've got you do the qr code from the app. Inside the instructions you've got video instructions in different languages of everything, and it has these bonus types of tricks and augmented reality characters that pop up, and so you know we're trying to use the props that you get, which are good anyway. The instructions are great because they're meant to be, but what's better, if you use them in conjunction with the app, it's then bingo, you know really great stuff.
Speaker 1:So I'd say marvel dimension, I would say at a good old mention, of course, for dynamic coins. How could you not? You put that in there, as you know. But yeah, so I'm very proud of what we've done over the years and it's really nice to hear I still get stopped. You know, because you started me. I saw this and this and that and that really makes me feel great, you know.
Speaker 2:I can't believe I'm about to do this to Marvin Burglass, but we do have Devil's Advocate on this podcast and devil's advocate always pops up. So if you were to take that magic set and you were to take one trick in particular out of that set, what is the one trick that you would take out in particular?
Speaker 1:you know I think it's a very simple card trick called kings to aces, and I love that trick because I've learned through slight of how I was lucky enough to lecture at FISM quite recently and the huge screen behind me and you know some absolute giants in the audience.
Speaker 1:You know Michael Amar, sylvain, all these top people from and, and I was.
Speaker 1:It was brilliant to show how to explain how we it was called Secrets of a Magic Empire and I'm normally quite humble about what we've done, but they said no, no, I really want to hear some of these stories.
Speaker 1:So I wanted to explain the difference between a Marvel's or how we come up with a Marvel's magic trick and I worked really hard to learn over the years a really good, unusual four ace production and then how they swap places and all this type of thing and twist it in the aces and it's a combination about four or five different things where you could. You could, if you wanted, to, entertain for quite a few minutes with just four cards. You know from making appearances, but then I showed how exactly the same thing, I could teach pretty much anybody within a minute or two to perform what looks like very similar magic in moments, just with these special cards trick. You know the trick where they change places and then you know the reds, the blacks and then they change totally to all the four aces and you can show front and back of all the cards, just the four cards that you're using.
Speaker 2:It's great trick yeah, one of the first ones that I got in your I think it was the executive card collection, yeah, and then you release that into individual sleeves in a box set with different colors. That's one for you guys to look out for, but it does lead us rather sadly onto number eight. So your final selection.
Speaker 1:Well, it's a sort of combination of what we've said before, and I think there's a little known gimmick that all magicians use very subtle, if I said lights from anywhere, it gives you a good hint what I'm talking about. But with that little thing you can just do some amazing things. A bill switch has been always. Just imagine being able to borrow a £20 note and then, right in front of someone or a camera, being able to change to a £50 note or pouring some salt into your hands, and then it disappears or it ends. Someone or a camera or whatever. Being able to change to a 50 pound note or pouring some salt into your hands, and then it disappears or it ends up in a cup, or you know.
Speaker 2:There's just so many different things and I'm sure on a desert island in particular, uh, you can't be without that yeah, yep, yep, and I think, uh, so again this we did like a sum up of the first year and I'm fairly sure this was in our top five or our top eight sorry of Ever Arse.
Speaker 2:And although the guys didn't get the chance to see this on video, I had Mark Spellman recording ears and he literally picked up a case and opened it up and it was just thousands of them where he just collected them over the years and he loved them in the magic circle here, if you go downstairs opposite the library, there is a very cool room that the general public don't get to go into when they're here and that's of gimmicks through the years. Yeah, and there is a collection down there of this particular prop. Well, I think that's a great one. So we've had one big stage trick there. We've got a couple of mentalism tricks with the the book test that we had at the very beginning. We had your card trick opener as well, so it's a great set. That now leads us to the controversial one. So if you were to dig a big sandy hole on your island and put something from our industry in there to banish forever, what would it be?
Speaker 1:Negativity. Okay, that's what I'm going to banish, because I am very much, if you know me. I mean, we're here on the stage of the magic circle. I'm president of the magic circle and we have all sorts of members all around the world and collectively we can do so much in our industry and we have done so much and we are doing so much. But there's always one or two people who are half glass empty rather than half glass full.
Speaker 1:And I think to get on in life and to get on and be positive, you've got to be forward thinking life and to get on and be positive, you've got to be forward thinking, and I've always really preferred to find solutions to problems rather than just giving reasons of why things can't be done.
Speaker 1:So I'm a positive person and I just think that there's no room for negativity. Sure, things have got to be considered and discussed and financially looked at or whatever, but together we can do anything. You know, all things in mankind have started with an idea. You know, whether you're building up the largest magic company in the world, or wanted to get to president of the magic circle, or wanting to do whatever you want to do in life, everything can be done. They're all small little moments in life that you earn that chance, and it's down to integrity, it's down to politeness and respect. But positivity is so important and you know, that's the main thing that my dad has rubbed off on me, you know is that nothing is impossible. Yeah, we recently had Neil Henry on, who spoke very much in the same way. The main thing that my dad has rubbed off on me, you know, is that nothing is impossible.
Speaker 2:Yeah, we. We recently had Neil Henry on, who spoke very much in the same way, and he attributed his sort of positive mindset to almost um coincidental things happening around him. So the fact that he was open-minded and positive about something, things would just start happening. Doors would start opening sliding doors, moments.
Speaker 1:That is life's one thing leads to another, leads to another. You can't always get to the way. You need to get straight away, but you'll find sliding doors, things, opportunities happen and people say to me so how can you do that? You're in 68 countries, how do you do this now? Do you know? I don't know it's. It just has happened gradually because we've been reliable, we've got a good brand, we've got good design, we care and things happen and people want to associate with Good and with positive people as opposed to negative people.
Speaker 2:Yeah, can you think of one of those sliding doors moments from your career?
Speaker 1:Yeah, I mean I can. My biggest one, which was probably back in 2000 or so when after we got into we'd been Hamleys and Harrods and FA Schwartz in New York and places like that, we had this slot on QVC when they first opened in 94. You mentioned it and it was 1994. Qvc wouldn't normally have people your age watching it because it was quite frankly boring. It was like mainly jewellery and it was just close-ups of something and they moved it slightly. Can you see it glinting now if I do this? Can you hold it if I do this? And it was like yawn, yawn, yawn. But that was the model.
Speaker 1:So the buyer then of Harrods moved on and knew of me and obviously we did a good job there. So they said look, our bosses are wanting to get new names, people watching this, we want to attract more viewers. So they gave us a two-hour slot on a Sunday. I used to do it with Mark Paul and Bruce Smith and that's pretty good to be able to sort of do two hours live magic, good experience and over 125 hours of live TV on there and you can't just sort of say I'm just going to go under there and get this ready while you're. You can't. You have to be able to be to segue through things seamlessly and show them and hopefully you know you said you watched as a young kid. Hopefully it looked quite professional.
Speaker 1:It was great. We had different ways of you know, talking to each other and hurrying up or I'll go next, or whatever you know, but it was all very good. It's a good learning curve anyway. From that moment, uh, we, we actually got, um, our sales were pretty good and we got the opportunity to go into, uh, qvc usa, which goes into 63 million homes it's the biggest live studio in the world, uh, in philadelphia, and uh had to go over to negotiate and basically that was a big, big thing for us.
Speaker 1:We had two one-hour shows Marvin's Magic with Marvin Burgos in November and then another in December and the story was they bought a lot of product and each product had to be separately wrapped up and labelled, like mail-order packaging now. But the thing was, as a young company, it was all sale or return, so in other words, if it didn't sell it was all coming back. So no pressure had to finance all this. And uh, funny, if it wasn't a magic product, it was a non-magic product.
Speaker 1:The magic drawing board that did the best and and uh, which was a art and craft way which we I turned into magic, by the way, we demonstrated it. But they bought a lot of those and I sold more in that one slot in the four minutes with a thousand odd people on the switchboard, and it just snowballed. From that we came back to do the next lot, the next lot, the next lot, and then eventually they built a TV commercial direct response tv commercial around us using our name, moved into america and got into all the big retail stores and, etc. Etc. But you know again, all from just one thing leading to another.
Speaker 2:so that was, that was a good sliding doors moment, you know wow, that's amazing and the magic drawing board you had when I watched um yeah when I watched you on QVC as well, and what always amazed me was not even the board, it was how you guys demonstrated the pictures so perfectly every time, and then you would just wipe it off, then do the next design perfectly.
Speaker 1:Well, I mean, I started on that product in Hamleys, right by the front door, on a cold February 1979, I think it was, and it was an old product even then. But I just brought it to life and I just did. I told you I enjoyed drawing. So those same drawings and demonstrations were what I came up with back then and you know, many, many people have done them afterwards since. But what was fantastic, you know, being an old product then, and the old adage was well, I took it from Hamlet to Harrods an old boy buyer at the time.
Speaker 1:He picked it up with tweezers, put it in the bin and said not that old stinker. You know, it made me feel terrible as a result. A few weeks later, rather than being negative, remaining positive, went back to Harrods but their art and craft department happened to be on the ground floor and we had a one-week promotion there, literally right by the front door and the drawing board did fantastically well. I've been there 40 years thereafter went on to sell literally millions of that item, uh, in a few year period. So when that guy said, not that old stinker, it sort of rings a bell. You know, be nice to people over there. You know, you never know.
Speaker 2:Yeah, did you ever get the chance to see him again? Just to be like.
Speaker 1:Do you know? Funny enough, I did. I saw him some years later when I was a bit more experienced in the industry and he was on he had obviously left Harrods or lost his job there and was working for a toy company was on his hands and knees dusting some shelves on the bottom and I was sort of looking and I didn't say anything. I just thought something yeah, yeah, absolutely.
Speaker 2:Well, that brings us to our last two things. So book. So, out of all of the books that you must have um, of course, your dad we've had quite a few of his books on the podcast which book would you take with you?
Speaker 1:um, well, a few near misses. Um, I think one of the books that I really enjoyed when I was getting into magic was uh, now you see it from bill tar, which was a beautifully illustrated book, and for me that was the drawings, and it just made it so much easier to understand and to to see those things. So that was, that was wonderful. Um, and I still remember those teaching you various moves and all that type of thing. Obviously. Uh, if you think of the my, the magic of michael and mar, or williamson's wonders, these, if you could do everything in those books you would have an act for life. You would be able to go anywhere around the world with, with a few props, and earn a great living, trust me, you know. Um, so they're honorable mentions for sure. I enjoyed all of those books.
Speaker 1:I'm not an avid reader of books. Um, for some reason I'm time poor really, and I find it easier to to be shown and and whatever. But it's always interesting when you, when certain books resonate with you and you hear it in the words of the actual author, you know you get to know their character. But you know, I don't want to be boring, but the book that I'm going to have to say is my dad's book, because it was the Mind and Magic of David Burglass, which is a bit of a tomb. Unfortunately, it's not easily accessible. Accessible now it's, you know. Uh, there is one in the magic circle library and, and, uh, and, but why that book? Uh, first, I remember the hard work that david britland and my dad and um, jim steinmeier, the publisher, you know, put into that all the efforts and the and the illustrations and the. You know. You know he put his heart and soul into that and it was really. It had his personality in it and I think people who really get it know that it's. Actually reading between the lines is the bigger thing. He makes you think about things in a very different way and I probably actually haven't read it all the way through.
Speaker 1:I read bits and pieces as as needed sort of thing and and um, which is criminal really, but it's, it's, uh, actually, you know it's on my bookshelf in my office right by. You know, it's always there. Uh, some pretty sick pictures of me when I was a kid, with glasses on, looking quite embarrassing. But I love the way that also my dad. We had a mutual respect and love and he was a great family man, but I think the generation before us weren't as effusive with their love and affection in the way. Maybe I am with my kids or whatever now, but he paid the biggest compliment because the book finished and if you read the last paragraph he goes.
Speaker 1:I'm now in my I think it was 70s or something like that 70s and having a walk around Hyde Park at the moment or Reason's Park and feeding the ducks, feeling quite pleased with myself, and then there's a rather attractive girl or lady behind us who's sort of looking at me and thinking sorry, there was a lady who'd stopped me from my autograph. And then the lady behind rather attractive lady, and it was coming up to me and I'm thinking why is she coming up to me? Is it because I'm president of the Magic Circle? Is it because she's watched some of my corporate things over the years? Is it because she watched my TV series or et cetera? So I held my stomach in and, with her big blue eyes though, I looked at her and said are you really the father of Marvin Burglass? And what a way to finish. I mean God, that's just unbelievable. His way of that will always be with me. You know that he did that. You know his whole unbelievable career with all film stars and movie stars and he finished on that. I loved that.
Speaker 2:Well, the thing is, you mentioned about not reading the book, but I guess the difference is and we've had your dad's book quite a few times on the podcast Tony Antonio, which was this week's guest at the time of recording this interview, he mentioned it as well and the difference with all of those guys and you is you lived it. You, you didn't really need to to read the book. You had your first-hand experience of being there and soaking in all of that information and all of that wisdom. So for you it and I think this a lot about harry a lot of the time as well it must be such a weird thing for you and I think this a lot about Harry a lot of the time as well it must be such a weird thing for you because for you he was dad, but to the rest of the world he was someone so instrumental in our industry.
Speaker 1:Yeah, I've definitely got some very special memories and experiences and, you know, whilst people the elephant in the room for me sometimes was that people would suggest, you know that maybe he started the Mamas Magic. You know, obviously it was just me and I started it and whilst he was obviously really helpful, as needed, the real help he gave was actually the hidden, invisible help of just a mindset, you know, that you can do anything, nothing is impossible, and just an assumption of positivity. Really, that's basically what it is. You know, I think I'm in awe now. I mean, you know, the more people, as I've got further and further into magic, you know, and I meet people all around the world, the love and respect they have for me is is vast and deep and his thinking he was very ballsy. When I think back, you know, like if you were to think of someone similar today, you know, to have their own TV series or open for the Rolling Stones or do a huge stunt or whatever, they would have teams of people and publicity working with them, you know. But you know he did tons of things like he was on film. He was on, he loved doing the film sets, you know where he was a magic advisor or consultant on. You know James Bond. He was a magic advisor or consultant on you know James Bond movies, batman movies, working with tons of different people, and he loved that creativity and I can see that.
Speaker 1:But also as a performer, you know he started off doing six shows a day, six days a week. You know windmill theatre, then moving the variety halls as was needed back in the 50s and 60s, and you know, on walls at home was his all the posters where they measured their billing. And he's on with Morecambe and Wise and Ruby Murray and Harry Werther. It's just mental, it's just crazy. That's my dad, you know. But yeah, obviously he's influenced me greatly. Yeah, it was actually three months before I got voted in. No, sorry, three months after I got voted in. So he saw me get voted. There's a lovely quote that he put out there and it's still out there, I think, and you know that means a lot that he saw that at least you know. But yeah, his heyday was obviously a lot earlier, but his legacy will live on and hopefully mine will one day as well uh, no doubt, no doubt at all.
Speaker 2:Now we've obviously had some amazing choices. I'm so glad you put that book in there, but you do have one more thing, which is your non-magic item that you use for magic. Now, rather interestingly, you had a dice earlier which is technically depending on what. What dice you're using, a non-magic item that you use for magic. So you could have put that in there, but you haven't. So what is the non-magic item that you use for magic?
Speaker 1:well, this is going to sound a bit dull, um, because, but it would probably be a phone, because every you know if you actually think, what do people carry around now? I mean, we started with cards and coins and silks People don't have silks anymore, do they, you know? And stuff. So what do you have in your pockets really? And everyone at this moment in day and age has a phone, and a phone is obviously great on a desert island for communication, as long as you've got power and charger and all that sort of stuff. Great on a desert island for communication as long as you've got power and charger and all that sort of stuff. Uh, and you know it's amazing that you've got.
Speaker 1:You know, if we think back a generation, so they won't believe us that we used to have the encyclopedia britannica on our shelves when we were kids, you know, and and that all that information is inside there. You had your record collection. All that information is inside there. All your best games and entertainment isn't and you can communicate, and you know it's just, it's, it's crazy, but obviously in um I, I don't uh, I was talking to, you know, mark kirsten, who's a great uh inventor of apps and stuff, and you know. He rightly said it shouldn't be. Oh, that's clever, your phone's it should be. If you're doing magic with a phone, it should be the byproduct of just the prop, you know, as opposed to that's a clever app, you know. But there are many different things out there and I too would use that if required, you know.
Speaker 2:There's some great, great apps out there and I think that's a great choice to close off your list. So now we do have to get off the stage because they've got something going on in here in a minute, but before we go, if people want to find out more about joining the circle the young magicians club, marvin's magic about you as president. Where can everyone go?
Speaker 1:um, well, obviously your phone is a good thing, or a computer, because obviously all of those things each has their own website and information about it on the magic circle site itself. It's very informative about how to join, and if you are a magician and you haven't joined, I really would urge you to, because it's it's never a better time, I mean, uh, we've answered pretty much all the questions. We get some superb lecturers in regularly and shows that we put on here. We also have got an amazing building. So if you are in london and you're able to get here, you have access to the museum and an incredible library 13 000 books000 books and a superb collection of things to see. But it's a beautiful building and you also have access to over 100 years of magical magazines, which has all been catalogued and digitised, so you can see all those, and all our videos are soon to be digitised as well, so you'll be able to access various things. And for out-of-town people who can't make it in regularly doesn't matter, because we now stream all our lectures and shows and then you know they are on the library, so you've got access to all of those. So what's not to like.
Speaker 1:It's an incredibly collaborative environment and some great people, and we particularly like to think uh. During my leadership we've got a fantastic council. I and and and a lot of people who give uh so much time and energy uh to this society. Um, and they care drastically and it shows and and uh, long may it continue. And I'm really proud of that, and and and I'd like to thank them really, because it's a big team effort but we get some great things done and I really think it's very important for Magic for the future.
Speaker 2:Amazing. Well, thank you so much again. It's been very much a full circle moment for me, going from young me watching you on QVC to this moment. So, thank you so much. Do get check out marvin's magic as well, and if you've never been to hq, my goodness, please come here. It is, quite honestly, one of the most magical places I think I've ever stepped into. There's so much history here, and when you think about the people, uh, who have walked through the corridors here over the years and the entire place is a museum it's absolutely incredible. We've got Tommy Cooper's props here. We've got the original Zigzag Lady here. We've got some of Chung Ling Su's outfits downstairs in the museum as well. There's some absolutely incredible things here.
Speaker 1:So please, do go check it out. We've also got the actual cups and balls that were used by King Charles. It was Prince Charles then when he became a member. So we've got the best people here as members. And if you just want to see a great public show and you just love magic, we have close-up magic shows on Friday evenings. We have kids' shows on the weekend we have and a whole diary of new types of shows are coming from our live events team over the next few weeks. So check out the website. We're selling our christmas show tickets. We've got a really good christmas show this year, halloween, etc. So more and more chance to get in, you know amazing.
Speaker 2:Well, there you go. If that isn't a reason to come here, then I don't know what is. But thank you guys. Of course we're going to be back next week with another episode of desert island tricks, but for now, have a great week when I perform at gigs, I look at effects that tick these three boxes.
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