My name is Mark, and I have been learning and performing magic for over 40 years. My love of magic started when my father taught me my first card trick, and it grew from there. When I performed my first birthday party shows, for the princely sum of $5.00 each, the children called me Magic Mark, and that name has followed me ever since.
As a young magician to be, my first magic books came from the local public library. There I found books of magic tricks, and, even better, books about some of the great magicians of old, like Robert Houdin and Harry Houdini (who took Houdin’s name as a form of tribute, as well as to aggrandize himself).
The most momentous event in my young magical life was when K-Tel started selling Marshall Brodien‘s Money Magic Kit on TV. As soon as I saw that first commercial, I knew that I had to have that set. Luckily my parents indulged me, and the secrets of the money maker and the Okito box were mine.
This would be followed by another magic set from K-Tel, and then, by orders from the magic catalog that Marshall Brodien had thoughtfully included in every magic set. I can still remember the Christmas that a large package, containing some new tricks, including a French Arm chopper, sat there tempting me underneath the Christmas tree.
Magic has taught me many things, about public speaking, entertaining, perception and mystery. It has also helped me to learn about myself, and to meet some very talented and creative people. In this blog, I would like to share these things with you. And if you are a young magician, wondering where your love of magic can lead you, read on. I hope that you will find that the time that you invest in magic will be well-spent.
Magic Mark