"Dai Vernon: The Spirit Of Magic" Documentary about the life and work of magician Dai Vernon, aka "The Professor" (David Frederick Wingfield Verner, 1894-1992).
This man was amazing and sparked, my true interest in Magic. Although my father actually fooled me the first time with a trick, where a washer was on a rope, and he was able to make a special knot to remove the washer from the rope. I bothered him for well over three months until he finally told me how it was done and after that I was hooked. Then I started doing magic simple stuff as a kid and more complex stuff as I got older. Now I still do magic and really enjoy, the look on peoples faces when they see something that is truly magical
I was very fortunate to have known Dai Vernon. In 1975 my wife and I joined the Magic Castle, my wife was a beautiful Korean woman just oozing with charisma. She would dress in Korean traditional dress and Dai was fascinated with her. Her name was Shim and the professor called her princes which stuck for 30 yrs., she was always billed as Princess Shim. The second we would enter the Castle and glance at Dai in the love seat he would say, Princess come sit with me, how lucky could I be I got to sit across from Dai watch his magic, and listen to end wonderful stories. One night at a card table she actually fooled him for about three seconds, then he smiled and said, there's only one way. Dai was a humble man, one night I was taking a pain pill at the love seat. Dai says, what's that for? I said it's for my back pain (I had a surgery). Dai said, I've never taken a pill in my life. I said, not even a aspirin? He said, you have to have a brain to get a headache. I never forgot that, and now it's 2017.
I was lucky enough to have spent some time with Dai at the Magic Castle. He was critical of your performance but only to make you a better Magician. His was "constructive" criticism and he told you not only what was wrong but how to do it better. He wanted everybody to care about being the best "Artist" of Magic they could be. He was no less critical of himself. Thankfully, he left videos and books so future generations can continue to be inspired and learn from his wisdom and expertise.
Philip Henderson Did Harry Houdini ever do sleight of hand tricks ? I saw a old advertisement poster that associated him with card tricks. Never been a big fan of modern big stage acts, disappearing cars, etc.etc.etc. or the escape escapades of Houdini. It's the close up " street style " magic thats really amazing to me. Nothing wrong with a well thought out apparatus, but it seems with this style , the real magic is in the design of the contraption rather than the presentation. Sleight of hand , art of deception and stage presence is , for me anyway, far more amazing and entertaining.
Houdini was started out trying to be a card magician. that was his passion. he tried to do it but card magic was not bringing in much money. then he did an escape effect and it was amazingly successful. so he started doing escapes.
Life would be so boring without magic and comedy. God bless these people. Their entertainment has kept me and countless others positive throughout our dark times.
It was an honor to finally see this legend at work. Not only was he a leader in magic but an outstanding motivator. Thanks for this outstanding presentation.
OMG! I just saw Celebrity Ghost Stories, I think it was, with Carrie Fisher & she had bought this mansion! I just saw that YESTERDAY! SAME MANSION! Another actor had lived there, also, as I looked him up, as well, yet there was no mention of Dai Vernon! WOW! So many coincidences happening! Can’t wait to watch this whole documentary!
Very good documentary on Vernon. I was lucky enough to see many times in the late 1970's into the early 80's I never knew him only seen him at conventions in Vegas. The very first time I ever met Vernon was in the Eldorado Casino in Henderson Nv.
and then Richard Turner comes and becomes his student then ends up defining what it means to be a card mechanic today. Inspiring tricks that were thought to be impossible.
great documentary on one of the all time greats,also alot of history on magic and magicians.a bunch of these names are great in their own right.if you are interested in magic this is a valuable resource for futher research.i enjoyed seeing the video again thanks.
thanks for posting this. I work so hard; dai v.'s style and fluidity are a defining part of the art. This will keep me working a long time. Thanks again,
my 2nd cousin Shaun his idols in the magic world are Vernon , Dough Hemming , PT Selbit , Lewis Ganson , Marlo , Robert Harbin, Slydini ,Tommy Wonder, Roberto Giobbi , Lance Burton. Penn and Teller. Also Sir Paul Daniels , Wayne Dobson , Jamy Ian Swiss and Jason Ladanye .Great video i just love watching the history of magic and Shows . I do not want to know how tricks are done it's just magical and so entertaining . Thank you
Me, as a hobbyist of card magic, really enjoyed this documentary. Very great! Although synchronization of sound/video is pretty poor and with the tricks you see it matters most.
DAI VERNON THE GREATEST MAGICIAN OF ALL TIME, EVEN THOUGH HE IS NO LONGER WITH US, I HAVE THE GREAT FORTUNE OF HAVING TOM STONE FOR A FRIEND, WHOM FOR ME IS THE DAI VERNON OF MY TIME, THUS SAID THE PROFESSOR LIVES ON......
Married with Children is one of my favorite sitcoms of all time. I'm surprised this entire video never once mentioned Dia Vernon's favorite Magician Slydini!
To everyone out there who says that Dai Vernon is the greatest magician of all time, PLEASE put that "one of" phrase in your statemnet in respect for the names like Alex Elmsley andEd Marlo. Thank you.
At 12:51 he didn't put the card to the middle of the deck. He put it right beneath the top card. If you look carefully, the top card drops after he puts the selected card underneath it
One more thing. When he fooled Houdini, he had Houdini write his initials, not his name. Also, the trick was to place the card second from top, not in the middle.
No...That would be a tilt, which he did not do. Although Vernon published material with the tilt(which many credit to him), that is not how he fooled Houdini. The effect was that the card jumped from the second position to the first position in the deck.
Ok you smart guys, in that ambitious card that is shown, it is not actually Vernon performing, it was just recreated and filmed in grey scale to show people what it looked like when he performed for Houdini. Also there is no double backer there, he started with picking up two cards from the table one was signed and another one under. Then he puts it on the deck does simple double lift then in the middle of the deck and it jumps to the top. After he used tilt to set up for he’s second double lift, card apparently jumped to the top again and then he put it in the middle and card came to the top third time. This was just recreated it wasn’t Vernon performing. That’s something I did back when I was 9 years old.
Skip, Thank You for sharing this great tribute to Dai Vernon. Did you know him? I may have seen him at the Rainbow Room? I took a Tour there in 1965 ? World's Fair included a visit to Rainbow Room. Sounds like he was in California at that time?
A Great Tribute to Dai Vernon! The only problem I have with this is the "Accidental" inclussion of JOHN SCARNE handling the Cards at around 11:13 the Two Card Transpo with the Glass that he Scarne popularized on The Budweiser Commercial and then a few seconds later they show Scarne again doing The Scoop Cut with one hand.... SCARNE AGAIN!!!! This would have pissed both of those Masters off!!!
Does anyone know where I can find more videos like these and the others this channel has posted? Whether it's I.B.M archives or Genii or ConjuringArts, etc. I'd be fine making a purchase to have access, I just really love seeing these old videos.
You are lucky. I am too as I'm Happy I got the set of 17 DVD's, the "Revelations" set. I WILL SAY however, while Dai was more a "Jack of All Trades" and could do with Greatness ANY Type of Magic, Ed Marlo ONLY studied Cards, so I think he was probably a touch better. I know he DID fool with other Magic AT ONE TIME, but then was called The Cardician. I have a tape on him. I'd love to see Dai Vernon, and Ed Marlo if alive have a Card Session, then a "Card Off" if you will. I think Marlo would win.
It is a very basic routine and has many variations. I don't know the name of this trick, but it is a variation of "Here or There" by Jamison and published in 1936, so I guess it is public domain now. It seems he does two double lifts with a duplicate card. However, this is such a trick where presentation is key and if you do perform it correctly it will seem like a miracle otherwise spectators think it's not that special.
I think most of videos from dai vernon are lectures and i think there quite a lot of them. but only for magicians. vernon didnt perform in the late years of his life either.
That is the Ambitious Card. Dai Vernon's routine is the book 'Stars of Magic', but if you start out in magic I'd say it is better to read Card College (it is in volume 2), but these books are great. Or if you prefer video, Ellusionist's Crash Course 2 is a DVD around this trick where you can set up your own phases.
Wooow well i have a friend and fellow american in papanga philippines his name is Robert la rue hes my teacher were gonna meet soon after along time im located in hagony bulacan philippines then Robert has done some good illusions for great magicians of his time he even knows Ricky Jay because his son is in the documentary buisness his son is stil a producer , me i just like his friendship hes a very wise man i look up at him he even showed me his picture performing in a cruise linner..
As to know the professor no i hevent hadn the honor as far as my secrets ill never ever reveal my performances now a days any punk can ruin the art just byb looking at it and reveal8ng its secret when is it gonna start i wonder i hate to think our art form is vanishing before our very eyes ever scince that masked magician showed up i wanted to choke him
He was consumed with a passion, a childlike intrigue for all things that were mysterious and profound. He surely was a delinquent father and husband but Dai was on this Earth for a higher purpose than the mundane tasks of being a breadwinner. He was a gift to this world
11:05 Those are the hands of John Scarne! That is his Double Lift! Why include Scarne? They weren't TIGHT! LOL!!! Both Amazing though!!! An accident or intentional? I say a COMPLIMENT to BOTH Great Magi!!!
because he was an old fart who wasn't in the mood for some stranger coming up to him to ask him to do a card trick while he was getting his drink on, so in true magic fashion he made the card deck disappear.
Id probably say a duplicate card. one duplicate card can make you seem like a demon lol. But idk theres some dan and dave stuff thats crazy but I doubt there would be tricks like that in this video.
This isn't totally accurate. At least it leaves a lot out, especially in the beginning. I have read the Professor's biography(which I HIGHLY recommend), and it is much more detailed. Read the book if you're interested in magic and Vernon's life.
Reputable Subterfuge I woudn't say Dai was a "troll" yes he liked to stir things up here and there but what he often did was caused others to really think about what they were doing. Granted he would cause friction between some of his students prime example would be Jennings and Cervon. He would give them both the same card problem to work on without letting on that he had told the other about the same problem and to find a method or effect for whatever it was.
This man was amazing and sparked, my true interest in Magic. Although my father actually fooled me the first time with a trick, where a washer was on a rope, and he was able to make a special knot to remove the washer from the rope. I bothered him for well over three months until he finally told me how it was done and after that I was hooked. Then I started doing magic simple stuff as a kid and more complex stuff as I got older. Now I still do magic and really enjoy, the look on peoples faces when they see something that is truly magical
I was very lucky to meet Dai Vernon (only once) in 1981 in Melbourne, Australia. He signed my copy of his book Dai Vernon Book of Magic.
I was very fortunate to have known Dai Vernon. In 1975 my wife and I joined the Magic Castle, my wife was a beautiful Korean woman just oozing with charisma. She would dress in Korean traditional dress and Dai was fascinated with her. Her name was Shim and the professor called her princes which stuck for 30 yrs., she was always billed as Princess Shim. The second we would enter the Castle and glance at Dai in the love seat he would say, Princess come sit with me, how lucky could I be I got to sit across from Dai watch his magic, and listen to end wonderful stories. One night at a card table she actually fooled him for about three seconds, then he smiled and said, there's only one way. Dai was a humble man, one night I was taking a pain pill at the love seat. Dai says, what's that for? I said it's for my back pain (I had a surgery). Dai said, I've never taken a pill in my life. I said, not even a aspirin? He said, you have to have a brain to get a headache. I never forgot that, and now it's 2017.
Art Johnson
Fantastic memories.
Now I have more questions than when I started reading
♥️♥️
@@Kevin-fu5qc 😂😂😂😂😂😂
Did he f.uck your wife?
To Finndigg:
He may not have had much money when he died, but he had many friends and the undying admiration of every magician on earth!
I was lucky enough to have spent some time with Dai at the Magic Castle. He was critical of your performance but only to make you a better Magician. His was "constructive" criticism and he told you not only what was wrong but how to do it better. He wanted everybody to care about being the best "Artist" of Magic they could be. He was no less critical of himself. Thankfully, he left videos and books so future generations can continue to be inspired and learn from his wisdom and expertise.
This is magic. thank you Dai Vernon.
Philip Henderson
Did Harry Houdini ever do sleight of hand tricks ? I saw a old advertisement poster that associated him with card tricks. Never been a big fan of modern big stage acts, disappearing cars, etc.etc.etc. or the escape escapades of Houdini. It's the close up " street style " magic thats really amazing to me. Nothing wrong with a well thought out apparatus, but it seems with this style , the real magic is in the design of the contraption rather than the presentation. Sleight of hand , art of deception and stage presence is , for me anyway, far more amazing and entertaining.
Houdini was started out trying to be a card magician. that was his passion. he tried to do it but card magic was not bringing in much money. then he did an escape effect and it was amazingly successful. so he started doing escapes.
DAI VERNON and SLYDINI are my two favorite magicians. I still can't believe what they were able to do with magic and tricks. Just incredible.
Life would be so boring without magic and comedy. God bless these people. Their entertainment has kept me and countless others positive throughout our dark times.
watching this in 2021 magic , mentalism changed to the worst to many informations no real magiciens/mentalist wish i was present in that time .
It was an honor to finally see this legend at work. Not only was he a leader in magic but an outstanding motivator. Thanks for this outstanding presentation.
classic history thanks for sharing
OMG! I just saw Celebrity Ghost Stories, I think it was, with Carrie Fisher & she had bought this mansion! I just saw that YESTERDAY! SAME MANSION! Another actor had lived there, also, as I looked him up, as well, yet there was no mention of Dai Vernon! WOW! So many coincidences happening! Can’t wait to watch this whole documentary!
Who got goosebumps!! Dai Vernon thank you!!
Thank you for uploading this!
Great documentary. Dai Vernon.
Wonderful tribute to the father of modern close up magic.
Very good documentary on Vernon. I was lucky enough to see many times in the late 1970's into the early 80's I never knew him only seen him at conventions in Vegas. The very first time I ever met Vernon was in the Eldorado Casino in Henderson Nv.
That was great fun. Thanks.
and then Richard Turner comes and becomes his student then ends up defining what it means to be a card mechanic today. Inspiring tricks that were thought to be impossible.
44:20 is that Richard sitting behind him?
@@rays5163 yes it is!
What a delightful documentary! I loved it.....
Thank you for this upload!
Superb and inspirational.
wow! that was amazing! Thanks so much for posting this. What an amazing magician!
lovely
great documentary on one of the all time greats,also alot of history on magic and magicians.a bunch of these names are great in their own right.if you are interested in magic this is a valuable resource for futher research.i enjoyed seeing the video again thanks.
thanks for posting this. I work so hard; dai v.'s style and fluidity are a defining part of the art. This will keep me working a long time. Thanks again,
Fantastic! Great to see, even though I've read much of it in the Chronicles..
The best ♥️
Ricky Jay was on the X-Files! It was a great episode! Season 7. :-)
my 2nd cousin Shaun his idols in the magic world are Vernon , Dough Hemming , PT Selbit , Lewis Ganson , Marlo , Robert Harbin, Slydini ,Tommy Wonder, Roberto Giobbi , Lance Burton. Penn and Teller. Also Sir Paul Daniels , Wayne Dobson , Jamy Ian Swiss and Jason Ladanye .Great video i just love watching the history of magic and Shows . I do not want to know how tricks are done it's just magical and so entertaining . Thank you
Thanks very much.
Thanks for posting!
Beautiful Documentation :) Thank's for Sharing
The greatest
Strong Imagination + Practice = Vernon
Me, as a hobbyist of card magic, really enjoyed this documentary. Very great! Although synchronization of sound/video is pretty poor and with the tricks you see it matters most.
really inspiring!
Wonderful
DAI VERNON THE GREATEST MAGICIAN OF ALL TIME, EVEN THOUGH HE IS NO LONGER WITH US, I HAVE THE GREAT FORTUNE OF HAVING TOM STONE FOR A FRIEND, WHOM FOR ME IS THE DAI VERNON OF MY TIME, THUS SAID THE PROFESSOR LIVES ON......
thanks a lot for sharing ;))
That pass at 18:00 awesome!!!everyone should watch this!
Not so awesome
thanks for posting this documentray :)
Magic was his one true love to him it was a elevated performance art he didn’t do tricks he naturally presented the impossible.
Slydini with Vernon at 27:57...2 greatest magicians ever.
Married with Children is one of my favorite sitcoms of all time. I'm surprised this entire video never once mentioned Dia Vernon's favorite Magician Slydini!
To everyone out there who says that Dai Vernon is the greatest magician of all time, PLEASE put that "one of" phrase in your statemnet in respect for the names like Alex Elmsley andEd Marlo. Thank you.
i still enjoy it more then most things i waste my time
with
very interesting
That one guy he told to sell shoes disliked the video.
At 12:51 he didn't put the card to the middle of the deck. He put it right beneath the top card. If you look carefully, the top card drops after he puts the selected card underneath it
One more thing. When he fooled Houdini, he had Houdini write his initials, not his name. Also, the trick was to place the card second from top, not in the middle.
The illusion was to make it look like it was in the middle-the second from top was the trick to enable the double lift...
No...That would be a tilt, which he did not do. Although Vernon published material with the tilt(which many credit to him), that is not how he fooled Houdini. The effect was that the card jumped from the second position to the first position in the deck.
thank you!!
IT was with the doubble backer
Ok you smart guys, in that ambitious card that is shown, it is not actually Vernon performing, it was just recreated and filmed in grey scale to show people what it looked like when he performed for Houdini. Also there is no double backer there, he started with picking up two cards from the table one was signed and another one under. Then he puts it on the deck does simple double lift then in the middle of the deck and it jumps to the top. After he used tilt to set up for he’s second double lift, card apparently jumped to the top again and then he put it in the middle and card came to the top third time. This was just recreated it wasn’t Vernon performing. That’s something I did back when I was 9 years old.
Skip, Thank You for sharing this great tribute to Dai Vernon. Did you know him? I may have seen him at the Rainbow Room? I took a Tour there in 1965 ? World's Fair included a visit to Rainbow Room. Sounds like he was in California at that time?
A Great Tribute to Dai Vernon! The only problem I have with this is the "Accidental" inclussion of JOHN SCARNE handling the Cards at around 11:13 the Two Card Transpo with the Glass that he Scarne popularized on The Budweiser Commercial and then a few seconds later they show Scarne again doing The Scoop Cut with one hand.... SCARNE AGAIN!!!! This would have pissed both of those Masters off!!!
Very interesting:-)
respect
Does anyone know where I can find more videos like these and the others this channel has posted? Whether it's I.B.M archives or Genii or ConjuringArts, etc. I'd be fine making a purchase to have access, I just really love seeing these old videos.
My Magician Friends Idols are the likes of Dynamo and Blaine etc. while my Idols are Marlo and Vernon;)
Pokemonplayer6928 ya because only of those guys like Marlo Vernon Houdini Erdnase people like blaine dynamo Angel could come up
so true
But that's a different style.
they're equally good.
Vernon and Sadowitz
Does anyone know where I can learn card vanish/production at the beginning. It's very amazing , thanks.
when i watch these i get bummed always thinking that i wont reach this level
+Kyle J. K. H. Whats that?
He was one of magic's very best !
Most will never achieve his level of expertise.
What is the name of the control at 3: 50 or is he using a duplicate? Seriously, im fooled and im in magic for couple of years
the most amazing magician ever walked on earth!
You are lucky. I am too as I'm Happy I got the set of 17 DVD's, the "Revelations" set. I WILL SAY however, while Dai was more a "Jack of All Trades" and could do with Greatness ANY Type of Magic, Ed Marlo ONLY studied Cards, so I think he was probably a touch better. I know he DID fool with other Magic AT ONE TIME, but then was called The Cardician. I have a tape on him. I'd love to see Dai Vernon, and Ed Marlo if alive have a Card Session, then a "Card Off" if you will. I think Marlo would win.
It is a very basic routine and has many variations. I don't know the name of this trick, but it is a variation of "Here or There" by Jamison and published in 1936, so I guess it is public domain now.
It seems he does two double lifts with a duplicate card. However, this is such a trick where presentation is key and if you do perform it correctly it will seem like a miracle otherwise spectators think it's not that special.
Grand Illusions! When did all of those eps air? I have the two disc set but there are Way More eps than on those two discs! 🖖👀👽👽👽
I think most of videos from dai vernon are lectures and i think there quite a lot of them. but only for magicians. vernon didnt perform in the late years of his life either.
That is the Ambitious Card. Dai Vernon's routine is the book 'Stars of Magic', but if you start out in magic I'd say it is better to read Card College (it is in volume 2), but these books are great. Or if you prefer video, Ellusionist's Crash Course 2 is a DVD around this trick where you can set up your own phases.
oh, i´m the visit number 1000
How does he do the trick at 12:31?
What is the name of the move and what dvd can I learn it on?
if Max's hair arrow goes any further back is gonna point straight up.
Approx 38:44 Jackie Flosso Trick, anyone know the name of it?
Whats the name of the trick with the Queen and Ace of clubs at 11:10? Thank you!
His name was supposed to be pronounced like "Day" not "Die" because it's short for David.
maybe it the Australian pronunciation?
i want the songs with the saxophone or the piano in the begining
★★★★★
42:53 Mel Cooley from Dick VanDyke show!
Yes, that's actor Richard Deacon , who was often at the Magic Castle in Hollywood.
those arent vernon's hand at 12:30 are they ?
Wooow nice knowing ya proffesor i learned a lot i will learn more and contribute to our art M A G I C ...
Wooow well i have a friend and fellow american in papanga philippines his name is Robert la rue hes my teacher were gonna meet soon after along time im located in hagony bulacan philippines then Robert has done some good illusions for great magicians of his time he even knows Ricky Jay because his son is in the documentary buisness his son is stil a producer , me i just like his friendship hes a very wise man i look up at him he even showed me his picture performing in a cruise linner..
As to know the professor no i hevent hadn the honor as far as my secrets ill never ever reveal my performances now a days any punk can ruin the art just byb looking at it and reveal8ng its secret when is it gonna start i wonder i hate to think our art form is vanishing before our very eyes ever scince that masked magician showed up i wanted to choke him
Was this on TV?
how he do tht card trick in very beginning. wow
since long time I did ten count with my sponge balls. but just know if it s Vernon idea. it s cool.
I believe the "10 Count" was
Frank Garcia's.
5:35 Rocco
WTF @ 36:25? He throws the deck away?
36:51 Go sell shoes... Thus al bundy was born
I could be interested what are the names of the magicians at the picture in 27:56 - 28:01
27:56
Al Flosso left ?
Channing Pollock behind.
Tony Slydini front.
Dai Vernon right.
28:01
Dai Vernon left.
? ? behind.
Lewis Ganson right.
dale was like the tesla of magic🤣
Didn't want to work or pay bills to support his family?
What a POS!
I grew up loving him, idolizing Dai.
Never knew he he was irresponsible!
He was consumed with a passion, a childlike intrigue for all things that were mysterious and profound. He surely was a delinquent father and husband but Dai was on this Earth for a higher purpose than the mundane tasks of being a breadwinner. He was a gift to this world
i wonder if he was somehow related to me? the Wingfield part of my surname isnt super common.
36:19 is this a candid?
the name of the music in the film?
:)))))
the secrecy of majician guilds
11:05 Those are the hands of John Scarne! That is his Double Lift! Why include Scarne? They weren't TIGHT! LOL!!! Both Amazing though!!! An accident or intentional? I say a COMPLIMENT to BOTH Great Magi!!!
because he was an old fart who wasn't in the mood for some stranger coming up to him to ask him to do a card trick while he was getting his drink on, so in true magic fashion he made the card deck disappear.
WTF @ 28:45 He's laughing about that ? That's terrifying
Am I the only person who thinks that the guy in the middle of the three men on 28:01 looks like Charlie Puth?
Vernon is great but Edward Marlo is my favorite
There is no question that they were both great wizards,cardician and conjurers
Id probably say a duplicate card. one duplicate card can make you seem like a demon lol. But idk theres some dan and dave stuff thats crazy but I doubt there would be tricks like that in this video.
This isn't totally accurate. At least it leaves a lot out, especially in the beginning. I have read the Professor's biography(which I HIGHLY recommend), and it is much more detailed. Read the book if you're interested in magic and Vernon's life.
They kind of left out the fact that Vernon was often a troll to other magicians, which is more entertaining than it is disheartening.
That is also true. But the magicians he trolled were often times trying to take advantage of him and his skill.
Not necessarily, he was kind of just a troll in general haha.
Have you read the biography?
Reputable Subterfuge I woudn't say Dai was a "troll" yes he liked to stir things up here and there but what he often did was caused others to really think about what they were doing. Granted he would cause friction between some of his students prime example would be Jennings and Cervon. He would give them both the same card problem to work on without letting on that he had told the other about the same problem and to find a method or effect for whatever it was.
36:18
I still don't get it...why does vernon do that?
Come on. $20 in the 30s was not the equivalent of $1,000 in the 80s or 90s or whenever this was made.