'A TINY WALTZ PLEASE
LITTLE, R. H. 13356014 Paul
Magical Qem3 A Memorial BY W. F. ( RUFUS ) STEELE
With Contributions by Leading Magicians
Edited by Robert Parrish
Published by W. F. (RUFUS) STEELE
Wacker Hotel, Chicago, Illinois
S-Wb
DEDICATED TO THE CHICAGO ROUNDTABLE OF MAGICIANS
OTHER BOOKS BY RUFUS STEELE •
Card Tricks You Will Do
(out of print)
•
Card Tricks You Can Do
(out of print)
•
Card Tricks Easy to Do
(1935)
•
50 Tricks You Can Do
(1946)
•
52 Amazing Card Tricks
(1949)
Copyright, 1950, by W. F. (Rufus) Steele THE INTERSTATE PRINTERS & PUBLISHERS DANVILLE, ILLINOIS
FOREWORD In 1947, Paul Rosini asked me to help him write a book of his tricks. We spent a great deal of time talking over its contents and had gone so far as to pick out a cover design when Paul was called away to work at the Brown Hotel in Louisville. Other engagements followed and the book, which we had planned to publish by Christmas, did not materialize. When the next Christmas came around, the magic world had lost Paul Rosini. Since then, I have wanted to produce a memorial volume of tricks used by this great magician and good friend. I had the details of a large number of the card tricks which Paul did so masterfully. And I asked several other magicians who were close to Rosini to submit additional material. They obliged wholeheartedly. Paul Rosini was essentially a showman rather than an inventor of tricks. He knew how to select good tricks which proper showmanship could make great. And he had a knack for redressing these tricks so that they became more effective. The tricks which he used in his floor show performances were among the oldest in magic. Their effectiveness was due to his personality, his humor, and his clever use of music and various touches to build them up. His large repertoire of intimate tricks contained many effects which were exceedingly baffling to magicians and laymen alike. No matter where the original tricks came from, he made them his own through his individual handling. They should be treasured by all who love magic, as they are treasured by those of us who were privileged to see him do them. W. F. (RUFUS) STEELE
LITTLE, R. H. 13306014 PAUL
ROSINI
BY JOHN BRAUN
John Northern Hilliard said of him ". . . one of the natural magicians who play by ear, and he never makes a wrong move— a great showman." Paul Rosini WAS a great showman. He had perfected his methods of presentation to a degree that seemed unbelievable. I say his methods of presentation, for though he was an unusually skillful sleight of hand artist, it was not sleight of hand artistry that he sold to audiences. He had mastered a greater art—that of blending dexterity and psychology with a priceless ingredient that was his by birthright—PERSONALITY-and the result was always entertainment—unalloyed, unadulterated entertainment. I have seen him step into the spotlight in a noisy night club, the closing act of an excellent bill, Irs entire apparatus in a small velvet bag. From the moment he began his first trick, the egg bag, until he closed 35 minutes later, the audience gave h'm undivided attention and enjoyed assisting in the tricks. His act was filled with little laughs, surprises, changes of tempo, sly innuendos and tonguein-cheek impudence. He himself was suave and polished, as immaculate as Adolph Menjou, and there was something of the continental about him, too, which he played up for effect. He liked people, so he performed FOR them, not AT them, and h? always won them over. Shy and unassuming off stage, onstage he was an actor gifted with a rare sense of the comic. The character he played was that of a delightful mountebank—at once disreputable and elegant, waggish yet serious. All his art was utilized in building into miracles the tricks he presented. And they were all old tricks. Nothing new or complicated, just the old tricks. The egg bag, the thumb tie, the card in cigaret, the stabbing trick, the cups and balls, the vanishing birdcage, the bill in lemon, Everywhere and Nowhere, various card locations—but he could hold a noisy night club audience in suspense while he paused, looked quizzically at the pack, and slowly turned over a card! Paul talked but little of early life and family, but we have it on good authority that he was born in Trieste on September 29, 1902, (the family name was Vucci) and came to this country with his parents in 1912. Fate had marked him for magic even then. The family settled in Chicago, and one of the boy's most thrilling discoveries there was the magic shop of A. Roterberg. By the time
he was thirteen his heart was set on a career in magic, and he stuck at it until he attained his goal. In January, 1919, Theo Bamberg (OKITO) taught him the cups and balls in New York City, and recognized then the boy's gift for magic. It was at Bamberg's that Paul met Julius Zanzig, with whom he subsequently became associated. Later he worked as an assistant to Grover George, and also to Carl Rosini. At one time he teamed with Martin Sunshine in an act. He first attracted individual attention when he opened in Chicago's famous College Inn (Hotel Sherman) in the 20's. His actual rise to prominence in the entertainment world began in Philadelphia, where he frequented the magic shop of Mike Kanter. Kanter introduced him to Jack Lynch, a leading night club operator. This introduction resulted in a booking for Rosini in the club of the Adelphia Hotel. From there he went into the best night clubs and hotels throughout the country, playing many spots magicians had never played before. The famous Empire Room of the Palmer House, Chicago, once billed him as "The World's Greatest Magician," and he carried the title with honors, for he set a record by playing there for 28 consecutive weeks! Chicago, scene of many of his triumphs, was the city in which he died on September, 19, 1948, in his 46th year. Nothing ever went into his act that was not "right" from every angle. His sleights and secret moves were always executed at just the right moment; the little details that were meant to mislead the audience were chosen with care and subtly accentuated by word and gesture. Little mannerisms, a quizzical or reproachful look, or a pause, counted for much. Everything was planned and carefully spotted—including his recurring request for that "tiny lettle waltz, please," and that sly query, "Did you see me do something? I did something!" The tricks, always small tricks, were never complicated; as a trick unfolded, each step was clear and easy to follow, and the climax reached was always astounding. Whatever he did was always magic, beautiful to see! Paul was a true artist, always seeking perfection. His stock of table magic was as artistically presented as his stage repertoire, and he loved the magic of cards. His magical idol was Max Malini, from whose presentation he adapted several effective touches. "Every magician who has seen his act," wrote Robert Parrish in The Linking Ring, "has learned something about magical showmanship. Rosini's act will not be duplicated, but its impact on the art of magic will continue to be felt, even where it may not be acknowledged."
TABLE The Life Saver Trick Was It There? Somewhere in the Deck Hold My Wrist A Card in Flight The Card Under the Hand You Put It In Change in Hand The Fair Count Two Decks—Red and Blue Impossible Reflection Poker Prediction and a Principle The Card That Went to Pieces Coin and Pencil Card Through Handkerchief Daub Complete Cover Indicator Card A Comedy Card Trick The Card Through the Case Your Number—Your Card Rosini's Favorite Trick Do a Trick The One-Armed Magician The Coin Star Ace Delusion Skidoo A Sure Thing The Best Prediction Prediction Variation The Cigarette Trick Impressive Card The Peek Trick Aceo-Changeo A Card Turns Over Follow Your Card Okito Card Control (and a Trick) Kings and Queens Double Reverse Purely Mental While I Turn My Back Easy Enigma The Ten of Diamonds With a Short Card Aces Running Wild Secret Writing A Guess That Is Right Repeating a Good Guess The Homing Aces Tap
OF
TRICKS
Al Leech
Joe Berg
Ed Mario Bill Simon Theo Bamberg
Jack Chanin Al Leech Paul LePaul
"Chic ' Schoke
Theo Bamberg
Harry Blackstone
Arthur Buckley
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