reach this level of fame , and what truly inspired him ?
Mullica was born in Waupun , Wisconsin on August 19 , 1948 . As a child , he was deeply interested in circus acts ; he was especially interested in clowning . Much of his inspiration to become a comedic magician came from the TV shows he watched as a young boy .
In an interview with The Magic News Wire , Mullica said : “ One of my favorite shows when I was a kid was International Show Time with Don Ameche . It was a weekly circus show that was a half hour , that showed circus acts from Europe and around the world , and that next to Don Alan ’ s Magic Ranch and Mark Wilson ’ s Magic Land of Allakazam were probably my three favorite shows . That ’ s what really got the bug going .”
Watching circus acts so often made Mullica clown-mad as a child . He continuously checked out the same books about clowns from the Wisconsin public library , and almost every Halloween he would dress up as a clown . In later life , his love for clowns never left , and he described the makeup clowns use and the characters they portray as “ beautiful ”.
His interest in magic was taken to the next level when his mother bought him a Sneaky Pete Magic Kit for Christmas at age seven . He put on his first magic show when he was in the fourth grade , and he has said that the magic kit “ changed it all ” for him .
Within his career he combined both his passions for clowning and magic to create fun and unique acts , but initially he never considered mixing the two . “ When I started my magic career I was like most other magicians ,” said Mullica . “ I had doves and I took the Chavez course later on , and I was very interested in sleight of hand .” During his high school years , Mullica would put on amateur shows , performing at Boy Scout banquets and parties . When he graduated , he had “ no idea what [ he ] wanted to do with [ his ] life ” aside from being a magician . After serving in the army for three years ( between 1966 and 1969 ), he travelled to Alaska for nine months with a friend , where he lived in his van and made a small living selling Svengali decks .
It was during a show in Alaska that Mullica realized he could mix comedy with magic . He had made a mistake when performing one of his tricks , but the audience had laughed it off , thinking it was part of the act . “ I figured , what a great thing to be doing a show and make a mistake , and have the audience think it ’ s part of the show . If you ’ re a serious magician , and something goes wrong , you ’ ve just got to stand there and take it , but if you ’ re a comedian you can get away with it .”
Life in Alaska became too hard for him however , and he moved back to Wisconsin to work in a pizza bar , where he began doing bar magic . Bar magic was something that fascinated Mullica from a young age .
Before he was able to legally visit a bar by himself , his mother took him to a bar in Fond du Lac , Wisconsin before its opening hours . There he met a bar magician who inspired him greatly . The magician , called Ken Grunwald , had a style that reminded Mullica of his idol , Red Skelton , and he adopted this entertainment style for himself .
Mullica then gave up his position at the bar , and ended up moving to Colon , Michigan ( sometimes called “ The Magic Capital of the World ). He accepted a position working in the wood shop of Abbot Magic , which sells handmade magic props and runs magic conventions .
Working at Abbot Magic taught him the valuable skill of woodworking ; a skill which he used up until the end of his career . As a magician he was able to build all of his own props , another
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