Vital Stats

The good folks at the Fringe put up my "vital stats" on their web page.  They're my responses to a little survey.  You can check it out here:


Fred's Vital Stats

And just for fun, here is a picture of me from a magic catalogue, circa 1940.

Movie tab

I just created a new tab for movies.  The first ones give a preview of the sideshow section of my magical memoir, "Man of Mystery."  Click on the "movie" tab and enjoy.

Note:  This is what happens when someone tries to collapse a top hat that is not collapsible.

 

Garden Romp

This past weekend I had a chance to romp through Philadelphia's Magic Gardens with Nicole Kline, senior editor at "Gaming Target" and pal.  Her wonderful pictures will give you an idea of the astonishing venue at which I'll be performing my show, Man of Mystery, in September.  Romp with us:

The Boy Behind Bars

I am the boy behind bars. It's a detail from a picture taken in 1969 in a novelty photo booth on Million Dollar Pier in Atlantic City, New Jersey. If I look sort of dazed, it's because I had just seen "The Ape Girl," a sideshow attraction in which, as the loudspeaker said, "Satanya slowly changes before your very eyes; from a beautiful girl into a big... hairy... ugly go-rilla!" I was not a stupid child. I knew that a woman could not transform into a go-rilla. But that didn't stop me from being petrified.

That same weekend my father got me a gift of a magic deck in which each card could turn into the ace of spades. One card couldn't transform into another any more than a woman could transform into a go-rilla, but that didn't stop me from being obsessed. From around that time until today, over 40 years later, a day has never passed when I haven't thought about magic, performed magic, read about magic, or written about magic. I even dream about magic; but that will be the subject of a later post.

My show in the 2010 Philadelphia Fringe Festival is about a powerless boy who transforms into a man of mystery. I hope you come to see it.