Category Archives: News

Paul Ketterer writes:

On behalf of Entertainers in the Tri-State and other magic enthusiasts…

I would like to sincerely thank Chuck Arkin for his significant contribution to magic by his completion and distribution of Cincinnati’s Legends and Leaders of Magic. Chuck’s overwhelming generosity and his enormous effort, coordinated with Pat Hartzel, has produced an extensive and detailed history of magicians in this area. Chuck has certainly demonstrated his commitment to the world of magic and the clubs are blessed by his membership. Thanks again, Chuck – great job!!!

Paul Ketterer

Chuck has kindly offered to provide a complementary copy of Cincinnati’s Legends and Leaders of Magic to anyone attending the February 24th Keith Fields lecture who does not already own a copy. Here’s another great reason to attend on the 24th!

Keith Fields will visit Ring 71 for a lecture on Friday, February 24th. Keith hails from the UK, and has been honored there with multiple awards including Magic Circle Close-up Champion, International Street Entertainer of the Year, Southern England Club Entertainer of the Year, and many others. Keith writes:

I have been very blessed and had an amazing career, making my living solely as a performing magician. Mainly working corporate events, cruise ships, trade shows and comedy clubs and in my early years Kids shows. And many of the things I have learned will be shared at my lecture.

This is the first lecture that I have put together and contains only material from my working repertoire… no pipe dreams, no half thought out ideas, no impossible sleight of hand. All my material has to work in front of real people who have paid to see me do a show, and that is exactly what you will get… guaranteed!

Alongside that will be loads of magic with my work on the chop cup, a borrowed bill routine, card tricks, close-up tricks, mentalism and my favourite routine for Kids of all ages!

And as a comedy club headliner with over 25 years experience I am sure we will have some laughs along the way!

Here’s a sample of Keith’s unique style of comedy magic…

Dear friends and fellow magicians,

If you missed the IBM/SAM Holiday party in January, you missed a great event, delicious great food and socializing, and also unbelievable entertainment.

First we honored Bill Brewe as the ‘Dean of Cincinnati Magicians – Emeritus’ for his many contributions to magic in Cincinnati. Also it was announced that Bill Pryor will reign as the current ‘Dean of Cincinnati Magicians’. Chuck Arkin also presented a certificate from the International IBM recognizing the 75th anniversary of Ring #71.

Patrick Thernes surprised most of us by demonstrating his musical talents as he sang several songs for our enjoyment.

Richard Osterlind followed with several mind blowing magic effects followed by a demonstration of his world renowned mental abilities.

On February 24th, Keith Fields will come to our ring for a lecture. Keith lectured last year for the SAM Assembly and did a fantastic job. He has a NEW lecture. Keith has also written a book on doing Children’s Magic and will be sharing his ideas with us. More information about Keith can be found in the article below.

More great magic will follow throughout the year: a lecture in March, our annual auction in April, and a lecture in May. We will also hold out annual elections in May. Of course we will conclude the year with a picnic in June, which will include the always fantastic War of the Wizards.

See you soon!

President – Ring 71
dhinton@cinci.rr.com
513-248-0773

The Ring 71 Annual Close-up Contest was held at our meeting on December 16, with four of our members taking part as contestants. Each contestant was to perform for between five and eight minutes. P. J. Arnold, Bill Boden, and Patty Bertsch served as judges.

(Click photos to enlarge.)

Larry Payne opened with several variations on the Hot Rod, a silk and ribbon routine that reminded me of the classic Sefalaljia, and closed with a deceptive ball and tube effect. ⇒

⇐ Don Hinton performed a Reverse Matrix effect, followed by an “Un-Card Trick” (performed with un-cards (blank cards), naturally). Don closed with a Card to Envelope effect.

Ian Adams, one of our youngest members, did a full program of card effects: a packet trick revolving around an odd back card, a behind-the-back location, a vanishing deck, and an effect using two Kings to hunt down the chosen card. ⇒

⇐ Patrick Thernes opened with the production of a glass of wine, then wowed the crowd with a five-minute Cups and Balls routine performed entirely to music. The final surprise, in which the three multi-colored paper balls merged into one, was especially effective.

After a brief break for snacks, the Ring reconvened and the judges announced their decision:

• 3rd place: Larry Payne
• 2nd place: Don Hinton
• 1st place: Patrick Thernes

Congratulations to all our contestants!

We are deeply saddened by the news that Dr. Harold Puff, long known as “The Dean of Cincinnati Magicians”, passed away on Wednesday, December 14th.

Visitation will be held Saturday, December 17th, from 12:00 PM to 2:00 PM at Oxford Presbyterian Church. The memorial service will start at 2:00 PM.

For further details, please visit the Zig Zag Archive.

Chuck Arkin, past president of Ring 71, has embarked on a project to commemorate the 75th anniversary of IBM Ring 71. Chuck writes:

As you may have seen from Zig Zag articles over the past few months, Pat Hartzel and I are creating a book to honor Cincinnati’s Legends and Leaders of Magic. These are intended as not-for-profit books (at no cost to the magic clubs or recipients), to be given out as gifts, early next year, as we celebrate Ring 71’s 75th anniversary, and will also acknowledge the 90th anniversary of SAM Assembly 11.

For the “legends” part, we invite all Cincinnati magicians who have been performing for twenty-five years or more to send me a promotional picture and a brief biography (perhaps a page of information, that we can edit down). Some people find it easier to just have me interview them.

The “leaders” part is intended to include past president’s of the Cincinnati magic clubs. We have all the names of past IBM ring 71 president’s, though we are missing the names of past presidents (and years served) for the other Cincinnati-based magic clubs. Any assistance or names/dates you can provide will be much appreciated.

Our preference is to receive your information electronically via email, or snail mail if you prefer. However, to help facilitate people who want to come in to be interviewed, Betty Winzig has agreed to allow me to conduct interviews at Haines House of Cards during its regular business hours on Friday, November 11th (it’s a Veterans Day work holiday day off for me), and on Saturday, November 19th. Please contact me (email carkinwzrd@aol.com or call 513-236-4015) to make an appointment if possible, so that interview times will not overlap.

If you meet the criteria listed above, please download this information form (Microsoft Word or Adobe PDF). After filling it out, please email it to Chuck. You can also print it out, fill it out by hand, and mail it to Chuck at the address listed at the top of the questionnaire.

The Los Angeles Times reports that a fire has broken out at the famous Magic Castle. No injuries have thus far been reported, but the club will be closed for Halloween.

Fellow conjuror Scott Meyer tells us that he will be joined by Sean Owens and Brahm Corstanje for the ‘Lebanon Theatre Hauntings’ at 8:00 PM on the evenings of October 28 and 29. Tickets are $13, and can be reserved by calling the theatre at 513-228-0932. More details at the Lebanon Theatre Company website, or see the show poster (click image at right to download).

Via Aaron DeLong, word of a very enterprising young lady who has organized a magic show to benefit special needs kids in the Columbus area:

Kelly Spangler is producing a charity magic show to benefit special needs kids. This is her project to attain the highest award in Girl Scouts, the Gold Award. Take a look at the video she made showing her work this summer with special needs kids. She performed some magic for them, and taught them a few basic tricks. Her project is called “The Magic of Self-Confidence”.

The show is scheduled for 1:00 PM on Saturday October 29, in Upper Arlington. Call 614-442-1228 or email Kelly for details.