As a kid I remember a magician who appeared on the old t.v. show "Hollywood Palace" and two effects he did have remained in my memory for all these years. One was him taking a playing card and making it circle his body (Hummer's Whirling Card) and the other was a floating ball effect in which he placed a zombie like ball against his cane and it remained stuck to it. He then removed the cane and the ball remained suspended in mid air. I also remember that he did great card productions and everything he did was incredibly precise.That's about all I remember except that he wore tails and was just about the coolest performer I had ever seen! I would love to know who that was. Does anyone know who I'm referring to?

Check this list. There are a handful of magicians listed.

http://www.imdb.com/title/tt0057755/full......_sm#cast

Many thanks Michael! I will.

I think you are describing the act of Finn Jon.
Do a search on YouTube and check if he is the magician you're looking for.
Success!

There are a bunch of the Hollywood Palace shows on YouTube. Just search "Hollywood Palace." Some great acts.

Wouldn't it be great if ABC--or whoever owns the rights--would release a "Great Magicians from Hollywood Palace" DVD?
They had Silvan, Channing Pollock (dove act on 26 Feb. 1966 as well as the double sawing on a later ep), Milo and Roger, Mac Ronay, Prassano Rao (a new name to me--an illusionist from India); Ralph Adams; The Steckles; Carl Ballantine; Michel de la Vega; Kirk Kirkham; Jacques Ary.


The episode of Hollywood Palace where Channing Pollock did his classic dove act was on 26 Feb. 1966. Liberace was the host for the episode and for a while Pollock toured with Liberace. IIRC, Pollock did a multiplying candles routine as a kind of comedy byplay--making a "chandelier" appear for Liberace!

I compiled the list above by checking the episode guides for all seven seasons of "Hollywood Palace" on the IMDB-International Movie Data Base. I was hoping that the IMDB would have a similar detailed list of acts that appeared on "International Showtime"--but no such luck.

I'd love to see an article in one of the magic magazines about magicians from "Hollywood Palace" and "International Showtime."

If anyone lives near any library/archives of television series (like the Museum of Broadcasting in NYC), it would be great to see a list posted. They probably have such libraries in Chicago and Los Angeles, too. You could posdibly even get a printout of the catalog search results. I first saw the NBC Festival of Magic at the NY Museum of Broadcasting--long before The Miracle Factory obtained the rights to release a DVD of that special.

----- Amado "Sonny" Narvaez

Thanks all for the input! (by the way David, your Blackstone presentation is uncanny in it's similarity) This question has baffled me for the last 40 years. I am wondering if the magician I saw was Sylvan, perhaps. I know it wasn't Cas Boxley or Ralph Adams. I actually spoke at length with Ralph regarding his appearance on "Palace" and he told me about his audition, performing the act for four executives, at close range without the benefit of a stage and was still able to amaze them!

Yes, Sonny, I fully agree a DVD of the magicians, along with the escape artists, who appeared on The Hollywood Palace over the years would be wonderful! I still think of the performances I saw and the effect they had on me as a kid.

Jimmy, I am more than sure that John Wills hit the spot when he said it was Finn Jon.

Regards.

I'm going to go out on a magic limb here and suggest that the Finn Jon appearance that Jimmy is thinking of might not have been on "Hollywood Palace" but rather on NBC's "International Showtime." I have a distinct memory of seeing someone who in retrospect looked like Finn Jon doing a floating ball routine on an all-magic special of "International Showtime." (There were two or three all-magic specials on the NBC show, one of which was the Kalanag full evening show and another one which was a magic convention.)

I would love to see someone put out a DVD of the Internatonal Showtime magicians. One episode was a "collage" from various past shows that included Kalanag, Jacques Olton (performing zombie), Cretesco, Sampson, Paul Arland and Carlo Tornedo.

----- Amado "Sonny" Narvaez

Here is Bill Larsen's October 1961 GENII review of the NBC "International Showtime" special I mentioned above.
-----quote-----
"International Showtime"
Presents "The World's Greatest Magicians", N.B.C. - TV,
Friday, September 29.
While certainly not the six greatest magicians in the world, this show did present magic in a very good light and gave magicians in this country a lot to talk about.

JACK OLTON of France opened with cigarette manipulation in which he used a puppet. His Zombie floating ball was excellent. He produced fruit, glasses and made a lamp appear and disappear. 8 minutes.

CRISTES CO. from Spain was picked up on tape during a circus performance during which he got a lot out of the Vanishing Radio, Guillotine (head) and a pickpocket routine. 6 minutes.

KALANAG billed as from Vienna presented magic's greatest levitation after the girl did a 3-minute dance that I could have done without. The levitation is unbelievable going from the floor to high in the air. 8 minutes.

SAMSON from Italy appears empty-handed, with a Cape. Seven minutes later he is surrounded with props. Very funny act. Tables produced all over the place.

KALANAG back again with his version of the Disembodied Princess which was excellent. 6 min.

PAUL AARLAND, the Happy Angler from Denmark. Does aerial fishing from the audience. 3 min.

TORNADO from Sweden - good dove production, card manipulation and Doll House illusion. 10 minutes.

A very interesting show. Let's have more of them. N.B.C. would appreciate your letter.

WWL (Jr.)
-----end quote-----

Bill misspelled Carlo Tornedo's name in his review. It was Tornedo's card manipulation act that inspired me to take up magic seriously. If any of our European colleagues have recordings of Tornedo's act on tape or DVD, I'd love to get a copy. A video service in Virginia can convert PAL to NTSC if it is available only in PAL format. Bill does point out that the note that Kalanag was from Vienna was a mistake. IIRC, he was German. Irene Larsen translated Kalanag's biography for a continuing series in GENII.

----- Sonny

There was also a "Jackie Gleason Show" that was an hour long all-magic special. The description at
http://www.tv.com/shows/jackie-gleason-a......-866722/
states that on 12/22/1962:
-----quote-----
The entire program displays the powers of prestidigitation belonging to that great magician Reginald Van Gleason III. Joining him is real magician Milbourne Christopher who performs various classics like sawing a woman in half and levitation. In a new trick, a cake is baked in Frank Fontaine's hat. Two big productions numbers revolve around magic, including one in which Jackie is playing with toy soldiers that turn into the June Taylor Dancers.
-----unquote-----
That was from Season 1, Episode 13 of The Jackie Gleason Show. IIRC the levitation that Milbourne Christopher performed was the Asrah levitation. I had just read the description of the Asrah illusion in the Glossary of Henry Hay's _The Amateur Magician's Handbook_ and was pleased to see an illusion that I had only read about performed.

----- Sonny

Thanks for this great information!

Surfing the 'Cafe'. read something about the "Asrah Levitation" - Ahhhhhhh, Memories - In 1960, Wife and I assisted Ken - Ken & Bert Griffin's Illusion Show. My Wife was the Counter Balance, for the Asrah. She would crank the lift. Had to ALWAYS remember NOT to step OFF the gimmic platform or the "Princes"(Bert) would tip and fall off. -The Tour was, Fun fun fun -We also learn'd a lot for later, Our Show- Ralph ROUSSEAU (Russo)..

Ken Klosterman has Mike O'Dowd "Griffin Levi". It is a great piece and very practical though a little heavy by today's standards and requires that extra person for counterbalance. Have letters from Griffin when he continually sold his and then had a new one made. As you know, Ken was not known for his business expertise but a great performer none the less.

Ken and Bert were great people - we would visit each other at our / their, homes - still have casual photos (1960-/70's) and current, a the time, Posters. On the tours - Ken paid for our rooms and meals, at each small town. We have a 1956 photo in Kens Book "Illusion Show Know-How"..