I started out as a street performer.
Back in 1973, not long after San Francisco’s Summer of Love, I started my performing career on Fisherman’s Wharf. There were jugglers, acrobats, mimes, musicians, you name it. What a colorful time. In order to make it, you had to learn how to “work the crowd.”
Then, in 1977, Barrett Felker, Sean Morey, Magical Mystical Michael, and I brought street performing to the Pearl St. Mall in Boulder, Colorado.
Known throughout the world as one of the epicenters of street theater, I am proud to be one of the guys who started it all.
“Working the streets” gave me the solid foundation in performing which I have drawn on my entire career.
Yes, that’s real fire that I am putting in my mouth!
Here’s a picture of me backstage with the great Doug Henning, star of Broadway’s “The Magic Show.” At the time, Henning was one of the most famous magicians in the world.
( I’m the one with the long hair, mustache, and patterned shirt. )
I honed my skills as a dinner theater entertainer.
OK, so enough of this passing the hat stuff.
The turning point for me was working at the Jolly Jester Dinner Theater in Aspen and the Brookfarm Inn of Magic in Washington, DC. I went from doing a show or two every so often to over 200 shows a year! Working on stage, night after night, with two of the greats, Bob Sheets and Steve Spill. We did close up magic. We did stage shows with floating ladies and a Houdini escape trunk. We even had a magic bar. Talk about fun.
So, although I had already been doing magic for a number of years, this is where I turned into a real pro.
Speaking of magic bars, this is what it looks like from my side. Lots of happy faces, ready for a good time. Ready for a “show.”
I learned how to entertain all sorts of audiences
by traveling all over the world.
I know it sounds trite, but, the more I traveled, the more I realized how much we are all the same. I have to tell you, it’s a thrill to be able to make people smile, no matter what their background or culture. Even on the side of the road in Indonesia.
Here I am, center stage, in one of the busiest shopping malls in Singapore.
I just launched a diabolo (Chinese yo-yo) 35 feet into the air. (It’s the little orange thing that the yellow rocket is pointing at.) Launching it is the easy part. The hard part is catching it on a string.
All of those experiences have made me the performer I am today.
My long time mentor, Bob Sheets, once said, “Your job is not magician. Your job is professional partier.” That’s been my philosophy ever since.
Whether in your living room . . .