/
SUPREME
I
"7
H A R O L D
R I C E
Pre s e n t s
KtlT-H CLARK5
EDITED BY JOHN
BRAUN
wi th Introduction by
JOHN MULHOLLAND
EDITOR OF THE SPHINX Illustrations
by
NELSON
LEADING MAGICAL ILLUSTRATOR
p u b l i shed by
SILK KING S T U D I O S Wynnewood, Pa.
HAHNE
Copyright,
1942
By
HAROLD
R.
RICE
ALL
RIGHTS
RESERVED
No p a r t o f t h i s book may be r e p r o d u c e d in any form w i t h o u t p e r m i s s i o n in w r i t i n g from t h e publ i shers. The m a n u f a c t u r i n g r i g h t s f o r a l l of the devices described o r i l l u s t r a t e d h e r e i n are r e s e r v e d by t h e publishers.
Printed
in the United States of
America
FOREWORD I t i s not o f t e n t h a t an o u t s t a n d i n g m a g i c i a n w i l l release any o f h i s c u r r e n t program t o t h e magic f r a t e r n i t y , so i t i s w i t h a f e e l i n g o f p r i d e t h a t I p r e s e n t t o you "SILKS SUPREME", the s i l k r o u t i n e presented by Keith Clark w i t h g r e a t s u c c e s s in E n g l a n d , F r a n c e , Norway, Sweden, and t h e U n i t e d S t a t e s . The r o u t i n e has met w i t h favor before a l l types of audiences and under a l l c o n d i t i o n s . Mr. Clark presented i t w i t h g r e a t success d u r i n g h i s engagements at New York C i t y ' s famous Rainbow Room and Loew's S t a t e T h e a t e r on Times Square. I saw i t a t one o f K e n t u c k y ' s newest supper c l u b s ; t o say the act i n t r i g u e d me is t o put i t m i l d l y , f o r never had I seen magic so r o u t i n e d t h a t the t r i c k s f i t t o g e t h e r l i k e t h e pieces of a j i g - s a w puzzle. I had no r e s t u n t i l I had concluded p u b l i s h i n g arrangements w i t h K e i t h C l a r k , and now I g i v e you a b e a u t i f u l r o u t i n e , e x a c t l y as d i s c l o s e d by K e i t h C l a r k - - SILKS SUPREME! H a r o l d R. R i c e , February 13, 1942
INTRODUCTION At the u l t r a smart and famous Rainbow Room of New York's Radio C i t y , i t was my p r i v i l e g e to see Keith Clark's s i l k routine. Because of my enthusiasm at that time, he has asked me to introduce the w r i t t e n version. Disregarding for the moment, which is a d i f f i c u l t task, both Keith Clark's masterful s k i l l and extraordinary showmanship, i t can be said most t r u t h f u l l y that the magic i t s e l f was outstanding. While everything that happened was both a s u r p r i s e and a mystery, i t also was exactly what an imaginative author would dream t h a t a magician would be able t o do. During the entire act, the audience was most attentive. These sophisticated people were well aware that they were watching a series of novel, c o l o r f u l , d e l i g h t f u l mysteries and that each was blended with a subtle humor. They showed t h e i r delight by frequent bursts of applause during the act, and, at i t s close, showed t h e i r enthusiasm by applause both loud and long. I t was magic devised by a magician of unusually wide experience and of most ingenious mind. It was devised to please laymen and so successfully that i t met the test of public performance before metropolitan audiences and won acclaim. It was pretty, novel, entertaining and mystifying. What more can anyone want? JOHN MULHOLLAND
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CONTENTS Page FOREWORD
i ii
INTRODUCTION
iv
AS THE SPECTATOR SEES IT
I
PROPERTIES
2
PREPARATION
3
PRESENTATION
7
(1)
A S t r i k i n g Experiment
(2)
The "Naughty" Knots
7 .,
7
(3)
Squeegie, Squeegiel
9
(H)
The Fourth Dimension
II
(5)
Another S i l k Appears
12
(6)
The Conjurer Counts - - and Counts Again! . . . .
12
(7)
The Sympathetic S i l k s
13
(8)
The M u l t i p l i c a t i o n
16
Finale
AS THE SPECTATOR SEES IT The magician, after lighting his cigarette with a paper "book" match, studies the match for a brief moment — then, carelessly flicking the match away, a yard square silk appears at his fingertips! Surprised, he tosses away the cigarette and attempts to tie a knot in the silk. The first attempt fails; nothing daunted, he tries again -- and fails again. Gathering himself for a supreme effort, he tries once more and succeeds, for a knot appears in the center of the silk; his moment of triumph is brief however, for the knot dissolves when he shakes the silk! Gravely displaying the silk on toth sides, he throws it over his right fist; as he mutters the magic words "squeegie squeegie, " something is seen to materialize under the silk. Excitedly he snatches the silk away -- and discovers the index finger of his right hand, pointing toward his forehead! Ke pulls the silk through his right hand, twirls it into a loose rope while he patters about splitting it along its fourth dimension, and forthwith takes from it a second yard square silk identical with the one he has been using! He ties the two together, tosses them into the air, and a contrasting yard square silk appears tied between them! Untying the three, he counts them -- one, two, three, FOUR, FIVE, SIX! But the count is greeted with a laugh, for to the audience it is obvious that there are only three silks. "Six!" persists the magician, as he holds up the silks, appears to "split o f f " another bunch identical with the bunch he holds, and slowly and fairly counts out six silks! He places three of the silks on a chair at his right, then knots the other three together in a string and places them on a chair at his left. The knots mysteriously pass from one set of silks to the other, and the audience fails in an attempt to guess where the knots are, for they vanish entirely. Once again the silks are counted and seen to be separate, but when they are tossed into the air, they descend tied together by a single knot, and the performer catches them, taking a bow. Smiling, he strokes the silks with his hand, and from them removes a second bunch of six silks of contrasting colors to the first six! Counting these, he "splits o f f " another bunch of six silks -and counts again -- eighteen silks — yard squares -- produced from nowhere! Surprise has been added to surprise; the audience has been well entertained by a fast moving, streamlined routine of magical effects climaxed by a most amazing production of silks. There, in very truth, is the kind of magic the idealists dream about, for it is produced on a bare stage or in the middle of a night club floor; the magician enters and with him comes surprise, color, a deft touch of comedy, and a generous measure of mystification!