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there would be blood-letting and bitterness that the music industry would never get over! I really don't want to hear reviews from other magicians in public print. I prefer the private letter or a conversation over drinks. I learned a hell of a lot more about your feelings
on ___________ over drinks at Rosie
O'Grady's than I could have in print. You also found out that we all agree.
"I want to read non-magicians' viewpoints such as a Variety review. The reason is that what counts is the entertainment
value, not the novelty. ___________ is
very novel, but if you discount his novelty and creativeness, he is boring. In his case being a 'magician's magician' is a hidden putdown. I don't think that you can get a fair review when the reviewer is also interested in the technical workings of the trick and the secret moves or the changes in patter from the normal way. This stuff doesn't mean 'diddly squat'. The question always is: Was the audience entertained and did it help the image of magic?"
As always, I appreciate all my correspondents, whether they share my views or not. If you feel motivated, please do not hesitate to write.
A local amateur theatre group contacted me last February for some help in staging their original old-time melodrama Potboiler. The production spoofs all the cliches of the turn-of-the-century, damsel-in-distress situations. The group's lighting designer, John Dolphin, is co-owner of Midwest Scenic Limited, a Milwaukee stage equipment outfit. This company's equipment goes all over the world. Custom-made curtains and drops, orchestra shells, as well as complete lighting systems and dimmer boards are just a part of their line. John suggested the group call me since he remembered I owned a prop that was perfect for Potboiler.
That is how it came to pass that I was at Milwaukee's beautiful Pabst Theatre last weekend with my friend Jim Ceb
and my stage manager Brian LeBoeuf and his brother John, plus my fiancee, Lisa. We were assembling the Abbott Buzz Saw illusion for the play. No magic is involved, just the awesome visual appearance of the Buzz Saw.
In my teen years, the Buzz Saw became quite an important point in my daydreaming about magic since it was the most expensive item in the Abbott catalog. I believe the first one I ever saw, other than Sorcar's on CBS television, was the one presented by Ron Urban at the University of Illinois' ill-fated magic show of 1970. One year later, at age twenty, l ordered one in a massive illusion purchase.
This is a big and complex prop. I suspect that the Abbott workshop plans are a popular item for would-be illusionists who have dreams of building one in the basement. They must remain dreams as I cannot imagine undertaking the construction of this illusion. To be sure, the woodwork is pretty basic. The prop resembles a set of Lincoln Logs with all its notched four-by-four pieces which bolt together.
Beyond the basic woodwork, though, is the very clever and deceptive table upon which the woman is secured. This table, also, is pulled through the spinning circular saw by a motor. Years ago, Abbotts produced both a Grade A and a Grade B Buzz Saw illusion. The less expensive Grade B version did not have this second motor and the passage of the table and the woman through the saw blade was accomplished manually.
As for the saw blade, it is twenty-eight inches in diameter and is spun by a three quarter horsepower motor. As most readers know, there is absolutely nothing faked or gimmicked about the apparatus. Sharp-eyed magic buffs have probably noticed that Copperfield's supremely impressive Death Saw is turned by a rubber-wheeled friction motor. I do not want to minimize the danger of his very heavy blade falling on him, but

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