Four Decades of Television Magic in Birmingham
By Tim Hollis

Probably no children's show host in Birmingham, Alabama, went through as many different formats as Cousin Cliff Holman, yet it was his own genuine, real-life personality that was the mainstay of all of them. For this reason, most of his now-adult fans remember Cliff more than his changing series titles and features.

Cliff had been performing magic tricks since his early teenage years, and by 1944 had joined the International Brotherhood of Magicians. By the time he graduated from high school in 1948 he was beginning to make a reputation for himself in Birmingham's nightclub circuit. (Read more)

Master Magic Maker
By Tim Arango

One morning when I was thirteen I woke up with a plan. It was 1944, and after several years of thinking about it I finally got up the courage. I hopped on my bike and rode the short distance from my house to Warren Hamilton’s workshop and home. At last I was going to meet the great Warren the Wizard.

However, when I got to his place, I chickened out and couldn’t make my self stop and go in. After the third time around the block – each time sneaking side glances into the open shop – a small, smiling man came running out and said, “Hey kid, quit riding around the block and come in and visit.” And my world hasn’t been the same since. (Read more)

This Up-and-Coming Star Heads to Nashville

Sixteen-year-old Kyle Eschen will be appearing at the I.B.M. Convention in Nashville, Tennessee (June 30-July), with his comic portrayal of a socially challenged, somewhat insecure individual, performing the classics of magic.

The Los Angeles-area magician performs regularly at the Magic Castle in Hollywood in the Close-up Gallery, and Kyle is the youngest performer ever to be featured at the Magic Castle’s Palace of Mystery. He has also appeared at the Laugh Factory in Hollywood. (Read more.)

Howard Thurston
1869 – 1936
By Samuel Patrick Smith

One of the hidden pleasures of attending an I.B.M. Convention is finding treasures in the dealers’ room and later fondly recalling the year and location of their purchase.

At the 1987 I.B.M. Convention in Nashville, Tennessee, I made the modest purchase of three handwritten letters by Howard Thurston. They were personal letters to his wife and daughter and made no mention of magic. This was not the Wonder-Show-of-the-Universe Thurston, but a devoted husband and doting father, writing playful letters home, revealing a warm and personal side of American’s greatest magician.  (Read More.)

Who Was the First Act at
the World's First Magic Convention?
By David Charvet

Over the past eighty years, hundreds of magicians have appeared on the shows at the annual I.B.M. Conventions. If you really want to stump your friends some time at a Ring meeting, ask them: “Who was the first act on the first show at the first I.B.M Convention in 1926?”

Give up?

His name was Jean Foley. (Read more.)

Cirque Du Soleil

A Review

By Vanni Pulé

Having read mostly negative reviews of Criss Angel’s show Believe, I decided to go see it for myself when I was in Las Vegas recently, and make up my own mind. What a pleasant surprise it proved to be! Both my wife, Mary Anne, who is not very tolerant in her criticism, and I were totally entranced with the whole show. We had no regrets at all, except for the seating arrangements promised and not delivered by the online booking agent.
(Read more)

Merlin The Series
Comes To NBC
By Mel Kientz

Every magician worth his or her pixey-dust knows the story of Merlin, the great magician of the Arthurian romances. If you have somehow escaped this principal figure of our entertainment art form, I would direct you to the writings of T.H. White (1906-1964) and his 1939 masterwork, The Once and Future King. Within these pages was another smaller abridged work later completed and turned into a stand alone book, the original manuscript of which now resides in the Humanities Research Center at the University of Texas in Austin. The finished work was finally published in 1958 and called The Book of Merlyn. Please note the spelling. (read more)

The I.B.M. Web Portal
A 2008 In Review
by MIKE DURANT

It is that time of the year when we take a look at the past twelve months and dream about the future.  There have been a great many really 'magical' things on the internet in 2008.  First and foremost, the I.B.M Web Portal site, where you are reading this right now. It came together and has grown into something really special. There are a lot of people that you can thank when you happen to run into them.  Kirk DeWeese and his Electronic Wizards at Micro.com did a great job of getting all the behind the scenes heavy lifting done to put this together and kept it working. Great job guys! (read more)