I know this is an old,post but I came across the YTube clip of Benson performing his Billiard Ball routine at. https://youtu.be/w-h_cM5hZ7o

I’m interested in knowing what magicians have adapted the billiard balls routine using other objects using a theme. . For example golf balls. What about multiplying onions with a cooking theme?

Ade Duval.

Thanks for posting the video!

Are you asking about what other objects may have been used following the Roy Benson ball routine specifically ? Or more generally what objects have been used in a similar manner to billiard ball manipulation, with the objects held between the spread fingers?


I believe the first use of golf balls is documented in "Ireland Writes a Book" by Laurie Ireland (1931) , which included his routine for the 'New Multiplying Golf Balls'. Around that same time Ireland also made his Multiplying Golf Balls available to the magic fraternity with the necessary props.

Gregg Webb mentioned Ade Duval's use of Golf Balls (which were the balls made by Ireland Magic Co.) , but he didn't mention that he and Charles Reynolds wrote a detailed description of Ade Duval's routine , which appeared in Genii magazine , December 2002. It's worth your time to look it up.


Over the years I've seen multiplying candles , pocket watches , tennis balls (Finn Jon) , tangerines, shot glasses, Oreoâ„¢ cookies.

Jack Kodell made parakeets appear at his fingertips (see: https://youtu.be/TQO9WMbD79w?t=119 )

Click here to view attached image.

Ken Brooke sold me a set of Multiplying Lighters that worked like the Multiplying Candles and were an engineering marvel. Set was for left and right hand and the routine could end with 8 lit lighters. Grant sold a set of multiplying shot glasses. I personally have seen performers do multiplying Playing Cards, Multiplying Coins, multiplying Golf Tee's, multiplying Eggs (a Fakini product), multiplying bubbles (clear plastic balls), multiplying sponge balls and clown noses, multiplying cigars (I have a set from Arlen Studios), multiplying Jumbo Thimbles.

I am sure that almost any object that can be held between the fingers can become an object subject to a multiplying routine. Go for it!

I believe I read that Roy Benson taught Alan Wakeling and other notable his Billiard Ball routine.

I have Tim Star's Multiplying candle, and it ia great routine.

I also have 2 sets of standard Multiplying candles, the one candle to 8 candles.

I also have the multiping Lighters from Englind, I believe I purchased them from the Harry Stanley magic shop, before he went out of business.

I could not believe the reaction from the audience when the candles started multiplying.

Yes, IIRC Alan Wakeling relates in _The Magic of Alan Wakeling_ that he learned the billiard ball routine directly from Roy Benson. Dai Vernon saw Alan perform the billiard balls at an "It's Magic" and asked Alan where he had learned it. Alan said that Roy Benson had taught it to him. Being skeptical, Vernon called Benson and asked if that were true, and Benson confirmed that he had indeed taught Alan the routine.

Since the publication of _The Magic of Alan Wakeling_, other magicians have worked on their own versions of the routine.

----- Amado "Sonny" Narvaez

Thanks for the mention, David. Watching that video (Ade Duvall) at Charlie's place was a revelation. I saw it once and then saw it again a year later. What I remembered of the effect was completely wrong, showing how we misremember. So, then we watched it over and over until we got it. I confess I had a small error that I fixed later in my newsletters, near the end. I'll try to reconstruct that part and will report here if I can.

As for Roy Benson, he was a friend of Charles Reynolds. One move of his I always liked was when he has three and seems to take one and make it disappear. The other main thing is that he wouldn't do the roll-out of the shell move. He'd steal the ball from the shell with his other hand and produce elsewhere which. I thought was brilliant.

O.K. The mistake I think I made was near the end when there are several balls in the left fingers and one in the left palm. I think I wrote it as if the right hand took the ball from the left during a turn toward your left, in a right hand palm. I then realized that during the turn to the left, that he only took it at the right fingers from the left palm and then acted like a ball had just appeared at his right fingers and thumb. Then it gets placed between some fingers, etc.

What Ade did was simpler than what I thought happened. That's how I remember it.

I've since edited the routine for my own use. If anyone is interested, I got rid of the hat and put a pocket in my right breast side of my jacket for 2 balls. You reach in and bring out 1 palmed and 1 in view. Also, I put a few Roy Benson moves into the routine, and I shortened the ending...when you dump some in the hat/bucket, so you don't have to do his ending sequence with each ball, just 1. For the final vanish, Charles felt a silk and a Topit was the way to go, seem to put the ball in the silk, it really goes in the Topit and when the silk is shown, it is empty and your hands are clean.