his bicycle to the store became a ritual for him every Saturday . It was here that he met many top performers including Marvin Roy and Channing Pollock . Also , at twelve he discovered Milt Larsen ’ s It ’ s Magic ! Show . He and his father attended the show and as Mike says , “ there was nothing about the experience that didn ’ t appeal to my core being .”
Eventually Mike achieved two major goals : he got to work at Owen Magic alongside master craftsmen Les Smith and Carl Owen . and in 1981 he achieved another goal by appearing on the It ’ s Magic ! Show . As Mike says , “ The plan I formulated at twelve had worked to perfection .”
YOUR PROPS
One of the things you will notice about Mike ’ s act is that his props are comprised mostly of ordinary objects such as his Linking Coathangers , Knife Through Coat routine and Bill in Cigar . He talks about this in his book , and it ’ s not that he suggests everybody uses ordinary objects but that his goal was to make you think about each decision that you make . It was Joel Hodgson who said , “ the difference between professional and amateur magicians is the number of artistic decisions they have to make .” An amateur makes just a few while a professional makes
Publicity photo of Chicken on railroad tracks 1987 photo by Jack Reinhold