Page 74 - 2008 DT 12 issues
P. 74

September                                 Mag-ic-al, continued from p. 1  has  seen  Lance’s  Dove  Production
                                                                                  Routine can appreciate the time that has
             Desk Schedule                                                        gone into bringing it to perfection.
                                             the Imposible), a charity supporting a   By the time Lance was seventeen
                                             magic school in Cape Town offering op-  he  was  winning  prizes  for  his  act,
        Mon/1  N./T. Hughes   V./D. Wray     portunities to disadvantaged persons.   and in 1980, twenty-year-old Lance
        Tues/2  M. Slagle     Open               In response to an Associated Press   became the first winner of the coveted
               B. Jackson                    report on December 2, 2007 that Sieg-  Gold  Medal  for  Excellence  award
        Wed/ 3  G. Fazio      R. Porche      fried and Roy might yet return to the   presented by the prestigious Interna-
               P. Herman                     stage, Roy said, very appropriately, “A   tional Brotherhood of Magicians for
        Thur/4  V. Sperry     J. Barrett     magician never lets the cat out of the   his Dove Production Routine. But his
               R. Keough      F. Davis       bag.” Their return would not just be   big break came when Johnny Carson
        Fri/5   V./D. Wray    V./D. Wray     magic, it would be a miracle to look   invited him to do a spot on the “Tonight
        Sat/6   W. Barbuck    W. Barbuck     forward to. Siegfried and Roy will,   Show.” Carson was no mean magician
               L. Mills                      however, perform for one-night only
        Sun/7  OPEN           B. Jackson     in the “Keep Memory Alive Power of   himself and was able to appreciate
        Mon/8  S./S. Stenzel   L. Coleman    Love Gala” on January 7, 2009 to ben-  Lance’s skill. At the end of the appear-
                              J. Ponder      efit Lou Ruvo’s Brain Institute.     ance, he described the performance as
        Tues/9  M. Slagle     D. Powers                                           “a beautiful classy act—the best I’ve
               H. Weldon                                                          ever seen.”
        Wed/10  G. Fazio      R. Porche                                              As a result, offers poured in and
               P. Herman                                                          Lance accepted a two-month trial at the
        Thur/11  K. Jackson   J. Barrett                                          “Folies Bergere.” The brief trial became
                              F. Davis                                            a nine-year stay. Lance had arrived! It
        Fri/12  R. Kinn       P. Boghossian                                       must have taken some courage for him
        Sat/13  P. VanDooremaal  C. McLaughlin                                    to ask for time off so that he could
               K. Nelson                                                          compete against an international array
        Sun/14  D. Langdon    OPEN                                                of world class magicians at the Fédéra-
        Mon/15  N./T. Hughes   M. Pults                                           tion International Société de Magie
        Tues/16 B. Jackson    M. Goesmann                     Lance Burton        convention in Lausanne, Switzerland.
        Wed/17  G. Fazio      R. Porche                                           He need not have worried. On July 10,
               V. Sperry      C. Camburn         At the same time, another magician   1982, he carried off the Grande Prix,
        Thur/18  N. Platin    J. Barrett     was creating his own style of magic in   conferring on him the title of “World
                              F. Davis       Vegas. A young boy born on March 10,   Champion Magician.” He was the first
        Fri/19  OPEN          D. Powers      1960 in Louisville, Kentucky was taken   American and the youngest performer
        Sat/20  J. Kisosondi   OPEN          to a Christmas party by his mother. The   ever to win.
        Sun/21  B. Jackson    L./M. Utah     magician, Harry Collins, asked for a    In 1991, he opened his own show
        Mon/22  S./S. Stenzel   L. Coleman   volunteer and Lance William Burton   at the Hacienda Hotel and played to
                              J. Ponder      literally jumped at the chance. One can   packed houses for five years until he
        Tues/23 M. Slagle     OPEN           imagine the boy’s astonishment when a  moved into a new theatre at the Monte
               H. Weldon                     seemingly endless stream of silver dol-
                                                                                  Carlo Hotel, built to his own specifi-
        Wed/24  G. Fazio      R. Porche      lars poured from his ears. From then on,  cations at a cost of some 27 million
               P. Herman      C. Camburn     Lance Burton knew what he wanted to  dollars. He has had the honor of being
        Thur/25  N. Platin    J. Barrett
               R. Keough      F. Davis       do in life. Soon he was avidly reading a  invited to perform for heads of state on
        Fri/26  OPEN          P. Boghossian  book called Magic Made Easy, given to  both sides of the Atlantic—President
        Sat/27  K. Nelson     OPEN           him by a neighbor. He quickly learned  Ronald Reagan and England’s Queen
        Sun/28  D. Langdon    L./M. Utah     all the tricks described in the book and  Elizabeth  II.  He  is  also  widely  ac-
        Mon/29  B. Jackson    M. Pults       started to perform for friends at five  claimed by his fellow magicians. Dai
                              J. Geier       cents a time. Collins became his men-  Vernon,  the  “Patriarch  of  Magic,”
        Tues/30 OPEN          J. Geier       tor and although magic came naturally  called him “the most brilliant magician
                                             to him, Lance soon learned that it was  of this century.” He is equally praised
                                             only through diligent practice that his  for the support he gives to young aspir-
        Changes?  Call  Kate  at  515-5350   skills could be perfected. Anyone who  ing magicians.

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