Someone asked him if he was to reveal it, he again said that it was his that he didn't feel the time was right for him to reveal it. I can understand that, but why tempt an entire crowd of magicians with one of the greatest bill in lemon acts and not tell us? The club spent enough money on the lecture, he could have at least revealed it, or just not performed it at all. It would have been completely different if it was just a show and not a lecture.

As for my favorite bill in lemons, I like Bill Malone's and Doug Malloy's Lemon Game. I think Doc Eason's was okay but I never liked the bag part and the fact that the spectator can't hold the lemon.

And you go to your local magic club and tip all of your personal best tricks?

Give me a break.

I suppose if you "pay good money" to see a magic act you would expect the magician to tell you how he did all of his tricks after the show?

Michael Ammar has done a lot for the advancement of magic through his lectures and teaching videos and books but he does have the right to NOT show everybody how he does some effects.

Even some videos ("Smoke and Mirrors" comes to mind) contain performance only tricks as well as the explained ones.

If Michael's approach is so intriguing, you should, with some effort on your part, be able to figure it out or come up with your own handling to achieve a similar outcome.

For the record I have not seem Michael's Bill in Lemon trick but I must agree from reading the above posts that the restoration of the lemon is a double climax and maybe even anti-climactic. If people remember only the lemon restration part the the effect has failed in my opinion.

Just my $ .02

In my own lectures, I tip everything I show; however, that doesn't mean that every lecturer is obligated to do the same thing.

There are some things that are not for everyone. This said, I agree that restoring the lemon after doing the routine is gilding the lily.

Actually, to be more correct, I should say, it is painting the lily and gilding the rose.

Of course I realize that one doesn't need to reveal everything and I have of course seen videos that don't reveal everything as you mentioned. But when I saw Michael Ammar lecture he also included a private lecture that costed $50 extra. Everything that we paid the $50 extra to see was already in every one of his videos. And his lecture was the same, pretty much everything that he showed was in a video or in someone else's video. All except the Bill in Lemon.

Pretty much every other lecture besides the Ammar lecture that I've seen included unreleased or prerealeased material. The only thing in Ammar's lecture that he didn't reveal was his bill in lemon which also happened to be the best thing in the lecture.

Now I'm not saying it wasn't cool to see Michael Ammar perform and to meet him, but why waste our time and money for stuff that we could have seen without paying the extra fee for having him come to lecture? I can see why he didn't reveal it, but he could have at least put new material into his lecture instead of everything in his videos.

I have seen Ammar's bill in lemon on tv a while ago and it is not ant-climatic. It is incrediable. Ammar cuts open the lemon and shows the bill, has the spectator refold the bill and place it in the lemon, he then restores the lemon, and finally the spectator cuts open the restored lemon and inside is the singed bill. The trick was great and his presentation was very amusing and entertaining.

What tv show was he on?

It was on PAX about a year ago, some kind of magic awards.

I have been doing Doc Easons version for years however in Barry Richardson's book Theatre of the Mind, there is what I consider to be maybe the strongest bill in lemon method to date. Check it out

Thank you, Bill. The language thanks you. I love you, man.

It is possible using the intercessor

Here's a version no one has mentioned.
I saw Michael Ammar do a Bill in Lemon with the lemon he produced in his Cups and Balls routine.
It was sweet!

Also, the Bill in Lemon Doc Eason does is not "his version". It is Steve Spill's version just to clear that up.

Why does any lecturer have to reveal anything...oh and by the way his price to lecture is only $200....and his last tour was picked by the IBM or some other magic organization.....he makes his living seeling stuff....and hes peaking interest in his new and his own effect or version of this classic efect ....you can bet it will be out there for sale////and if you liked it that much...BUY IT!

Because then it wouldn't be a lecture anymore but rather a show.

Martin Sanderson (Corporate Close Up) does a lightning fast chop cup routine which then leads into 'Bill in Kiwi'. Although I have modified the routine to fit my own method/ style, it does appear to give a logical link. I use a lemon instead of a kiwi for reasons of patter. A DVD that is well worth a look, for this and other effects. I use a cling film / stretch wrap liner (in the fruit) to avoid 'soggy note syndrome'

Look, your money has reappeared. As has this cling film.

My personal brazilian TV presentation routine here (card and money in orange)in june 13,2008 (a friday 13):

- PART ONE (7 minute): http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=r7sjUuSlW38

- PART TWO (continuation/finale, 7 minute) : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=pwi1SCTC41w

(Sorry, in portuguese, my idiom)

KARDINI
Brazil

Here is Gali-Gali performing Bill in Orange on the Ed Sullivan show. Great version. Simple and a real fooler.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3ZBVWHzJwZ8