This Program featured the following Magicians: Kevin James, Paul Kozak, Rudy Kobe, Mark Sweet, Tina Lennert, Brian Gillis, Jonathon Neal Brown & Leann, Steve Smilk, Goldfinger & Dove. This Program was actually filmed at the Hollywood Magic Castle, which RARELY lets Movie or Television Crews inside to film its interiors. Plenty of footage of the interior of the Hollywood Magic Castle. Magicians to watch on this Program are: Rudy Kobe, Tina Lennert, and Kevin James. Host William Marshall (King of Cartoons from Peewees Playhouse) and Peter Scolari are your hosts for this evening at the Castle. Rudy Kobe well known for his "Tall Hair" provides us with a small taste of his weird brand of Magic. Female Magician Tina Lennert gives us a glimpse of her unique mime magic that was very popular with kids theater back in the late 1980's, and early ninety's.
2 Reviews
Best TV Magic show ever!
LarryBrownHouston20 November 2015
Warning: Spoilers
New Year's Eve style partiers are enjoying an evening of magic at The Magic Castle as our butler, a distinguished gentleman in tails introduces each act. Tom Hanks' old partner from "Bosom Buddies," Peter Scolari comes off well as an invisible ghost haunting The Magic Castle and serving as our co-host and comedy relief. He wants to show us some magic tricks but bungles them all, alternately dousing himself with vanished milk or setting himself on fire while in a straight-jacket and turning himself into "barbecued meat on nails." The magic is all legit.
FOLKS, IT'S GONNA GET HOT IN HERE! Exclaims Paul Kozak while tossing a giant fireball into the air. Keeping up a stream of wisecracks, mysterious fire burns like a fuse, giant fireballs appear from thin air, his torch instantly transforms into a cane, streamers fly from his hands, he holds fire in the palms of his hands. All done with silky smooth, lightning fast and skillful movements. This guy's good, and he demands the applause that he deserves. "C'mon folks, I'm WORKIN' here." Torn paper is placed into an empty wine goblet where it visually and gradually transforms into an egg which is then broken. Perrier water is poured into a Styrofoam cup only to find that the water has vanished and the cup is pierced with a switchblade to show it empty. An endless stream of paper falls from his fist, and finally a giant snowstorm erupts from his empty hand including beautiful flecks of artsy embellishments. The egg is done with difficult to get prestidigitation paraphernalia from a former meticulously handcrafted era, it's a privilege to see this fine effect in action. One of my favorite magic acts ever.
Rudy Kobe does his signature four legged creature act. I've seen this act in person at Astroworld in Houston. He struts on stage to techno music and does a magical quick change into his lab coat. Walking behind his magic table he sprouts two extra legs and does hip-hop around the stage. After starting and holding a cloth in front of it, the chainsaw magically begins to fly around on its own and, what's this? Cuts off one of Rudy's four legs!!!! Rudy then repeats his hip-hop dance but with only three legs it's a little lame, hahaha, see what I did there? Returning to his table the chain saw again magically levitates and, oh no! Cuts off another one of Rudy's three remaining legs! Rudy puts down the cloth but then for reasons known only to him he picks it up again - will he lose one more of his two remaining legs??? No! Instead the chain saw appears to have cut his torso in two because while Rudy's two legs continue to dance to the new wave music and his two hands continue to hold the cloth, his head now magically levitates high above the stage while peering down on us from over the cloth with a stoic expression (how much emotion would your face show if your head was cut off?). Youtube it and you will see that someone back in the 60s was already doing this act.
Tina Lennert does an incredible mime/magic act. She plays a cleaning lady as she glumly reflects upon her lonely life suddenly her coat and mop come to life and turn into an imaginary debonair gentleman! He cheers her up by fixing her hair, transforming fire to a beautiful bracelet, and dressing her up with a beautiful magically produced scarf. She ends up blissfully hugging her coat and mop, a bittersweet and moving dramatic piece and I'd like to see someone show me any other magic act that is done with only one real hand.
Kevin James pulls out of a box a dismembered hand that looks like "Thing" from the Addam's Family. After putting the living hand away back in the box, Kevin segues into his centerpiece, a custom one-of-a-kind magic trick that is truly astonishing. It's hard to feel bad about spoiling a 25 year old magic show but I won't reveal this one, but it's worth the trouble of locating and viewing this show.
Lance Burton closes the show with the act that made him famous. This is a young and gorgeous Lance Burton. Suddenly a flash of fire and a dove appears. He produces fire and doves with a variety of super smooth moves. After about ten doves and bemusedly watching them fly around the theater he rolls up his sleeves and gets down to some serious magic. He magically produces a white silk handkerchief and flops it around uselessly when, hold on, suddenly a tall white candle appears from nowhere, with his sleeves rolled up? He magically produces a lit match and lights the candle, only to wrap the silk loosely around it and it vanishes. He continues producing and vanishing candles at will until he's left with three lit candles and a silk around his neck. Lance blows out the candles by one and deposits them into a waste container at the foot of a Paris inspired gas lamp where he apparently expected to find his "escort" for the evening. Too bad, she must have been "busy," so he'll just have to entertain us with excellent magic. Lance brings out his centerpiece and cements the suspicion that he is destined for stardom. He holds up a birdcage. Lance removes his hands and it floats. With mystical gestures Lance causes it to float around. Finally Lance tosses the ball far away from him and motions for it to return to him, whereupon the ball floats lazily back to him and Lance removes a wire hoop from around his neck and the ball floats right through it to Lance's waiting hand. Lance gives us about a 3 million dollar smile, or probably much more than that, and accepts his applause, although there really isn't any because we are totally mesmerized by his smile.
FOLKS, IT'S GONNA GET HOT IN HERE! Exclaims Paul Kozak while tossing a giant fireball into the air. Keeping up a stream of wisecracks, mysterious fire burns like a fuse, giant fireballs appear from thin air, his torch instantly transforms into a cane, streamers fly from his hands, he holds fire in the palms of his hands. All done with silky smooth, lightning fast and skillful movements. This guy's good, and he demands the applause that he deserves. "C'mon folks, I'm WORKIN' here." Torn paper is placed into an empty wine goblet where it visually and gradually transforms into an egg which is then broken. Perrier water is poured into a Styrofoam cup only to find that the water has vanished and the cup is pierced with a switchblade to show it empty. An endless stream of paper falls from his fist, and finally a giant snowstorm erupts from his empty hand including beautiful flecks of artsy embellishments. The egg is done with difficult to get prestidigitation paraphernalia from a former meticulously handcrafted era, it's a privilege to see this fine effect in action. One of my favorite magic acts ever.
Rudy Kobe does his signature four legged creature act. I've seen this act in person at Astroworld in Houston. He struts on stage to techno music and does a magical quick change into his lab coat. Walking behind his magic table he sprouts two extra legs and does hip-hop around the stage. After starting and holding a cloth in front of it, the chainsaw magically begins to fly around on its own and, what's this? Cuts off one of Rudy's four legs!!!! Rudy then repeats his hip-hop dance but with only three legs it's a little lame, hahaha, see what I did there? Returning to his table the chain saw again magically levitates and, oh no! Cuts off another one of Rudy's three remaining legs! Rudy puts down the cloth but then for reasons known only to him he picks it up again - will he lose one more of his two remaining legs??? No! Instead the chain saw appears to have cut his torso in two because while Rudy's two legs continue to dance to the new wave music and his two hands continue to hold the cloth, his head now magically levitates high above the stage while peering down on us from over the cloth with a stoic expression (how much emotion would your face show if your head was cut off?). Youtube it and you will see that someone back in the 60s was already doing this act.
Tina Lennert does an incredible mime/magic act. She plays a cleaning lady as she glumly reflects upon her lonely life suddenly her coat and mop come to life and turn into an imaginary debonair gentleman! He cheers her up by fixing her hair, transforming fire to a beautiful bracelet, and dressing her up with a beautiful magically produced scarf. She ends up blissfully hugging her coat and mop, a bittersweet and moving dramatic piece and I'd like to see someone show me any other magic act that is done with only one real hand.
Kevin James pulls out of a box a dismembered hand that looks like "Thing" from the Addam's Family. After putting the living hand away back in the box, Kevin segues into his centerpiece, a custom one-of-a-kind magic trick that is truly astonishing. It's hard to feel bad about spoiling a 25 year old magic show but I won't reveal this one, but it's worth the trouble of locating and viewing this show.
Lance Burton closes the show with the act that made him famous. This is a young and gorgeous Lance Burton. Suddenly a flash of fire and a dove appears. He produces fire and doves with a variety of super smooth moves. After about ten doves and bemusedly watching them fly around the theater he rolls up his sleeves and gets down to some serious magic. He magically produces a white silk handkerchief and flops it around uselessly when, hold on, suddenly a tall white candle appears from nowhere, with his sleeves rolled up? He magically produces a lit match and lights the candle, only to wrap the silk loosely around it and it vanishes. He continues producing and vanishing candles at will until he's left with three lit candles and a silk around his neck. Lance blows out the candles by one and deposits them into a waste container at the foot of a Paris inspired gas lamp where he apparently expected to find his "escort" for the evening. Too bad, she must have been "busy," so he'll just have to entertain us with excellent magic. Lance brings out his centerpiece and cements the suspicion that he is destined for stardom. He holds up a birdcage. Lance removes his hands and it floats. With mystical gestures Lance causes it to float around. Finally Lance tosses the ball far away from him and motions for it to return to him, whereupon the ball floats lazily back to him and Lance removes a wire hoop from around his neck and the ball floats right through it to Lance's waiting hand. Lance gives us about a 3 million dollar smile, or probably much more than that, and accepts his applause, although there really isn't any because we are totally mesmerized by his smile.
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