Excerpts from an interview for Magic Castle Members, courtesy of Jonathan Levit.  

Howard Hamburg is a magical legend. Known to be particularly secretive, yet he now shares more than 60 years of magical experience with you. He experienced the golden age of the Magic Castle in Hollywood and was a personal friend of Dai Vernon and Charlie Miller, and now shares many fascinating anecdotes with you. As if you were there! In this episode, he tells you about the time Dai Vernon is supposed to have missed his trick, and against all odds, he succeeded! “I never miss!”  

This interview of Claude Rix by Alexandra and Dominique Duvivier is dedicated to the "Fruits d'Or", which is a magic brotherhood created by Claude Rix in 1973. We have seen Fred Kaps, Ali Bongo, Tommy Wonder, Richard Ross, Guy Lammertyn, Léon Chapelier, as well as Franck Garcia and Jean Ludow... And in the last few years, we have always seen: Gaetan Bloom, Alexandra and Dominique Duvivier, Francis Tabary, Devil, Pavel, Horace, the Blackfingers, Piet Forton, Quoc Tien Tran, Marc Paul, Antony Owen, Christopher, Jean Régil, Jean de Merry, Norbert Ferré, Bertran Lotth, Boris Wild... to name just a few! Every year the brotherhood meets for two or three days near Reims, France in the small village of Montaneuf to talk magic, perform magic, drink together, create magic tricks, eat together, exchange magical ideas, drink together, eat, laugh and especially drink a little to celebrate the new "Fruit d’Or" of the year (the new magician elected by the brotherhood)! The induction ceremony for a new member involves quite a ritual, including a rather original "test" since the "candidate" magician has to swallow a knife using a method that has never been used before by all the other members of the "Fruits d’Or".  

Openers: the opening trick. What is a good opener? Henry Evans gives you his theoretical and practical thoughts on this crucial subject for magicians. Ideas to follow to the letter to ensure the success of your act or your show. Golden tips!  

The mentalist asks a spectator to project his thoughts into the magician's head. The experiment takes place in three steps: first he guesses the letter that the spectator "sends" him, then a two digit number, and finally the card he has chosen. And the icing on the cake is that the magician shows that the card was predicted in advance! A very personal application of Viktor Vincent's double reality principle.  

An interview with an atypical mentalist, in which Viktor Vincent talks openly with Alexandra and Dominique Duvivier about his career, his aspirations, his ideas... everything that has led him to become one of the most successful mentalists of our time. Not to be missed!  

This video is an excerpt from one of Dominique Duvivier's shows. Here is the introduction of the routine: "Michel, as promised here is one of the routines I perform in my shows. I'm lucky that you are my friend, but you are also, your true, passionate self: Michel Polnareff. I composed this magical performance that works quite well on the public, which is logical in a way: you are everywhere in it and as everything you do is magical, I can’t take any credit. Your friend Dominique Duvivier "  

Bertran Lotth is one of the best magicians of great illusions in Europe and he is French! He was awarded the "Baguette d'Or" in Monte-Carlo and twice the "Mandrake d'Or", and has twice received the award for best magic show of the year. He has been performing exclusively for the Futuroscope for almost 20 years and has been working for the Puy du Fou (voted best amusement park in the world) for 30 years. An exemplary career from which every magician can draw inspiration.  

You will share a privileged moment with Dominique Duvivier. In a questions/answers form, he reveals himself as never before: you will discover the secrets of his magic, his vision of life, as well as his art. You will benefit from precious advice to make your horizon grow and become more competent in your way of doing magic. A unique opportunity to discover the theoretical aspects behind the practice!  

Howard Hamburg shares with us a subtlety from Dai Vernon for the execution of this technique for "Triumph". The effect is greatly enhanced!  

The principle: the people present have a freewheeling discussion on Mentalism. Today, three protagonists: Philippe de Perthuis, Alexandra and Dominique Duvivier. This videocast takes the form of an interview with Philippe de Perthuis, who specializes in this field.  

The idea is to present works of magical literature and the people involved have a freewheeling discussion about what they think of it. Today, three protagonists: Gaetan Bloom, Alexandra and Dominique Duvivier. The book of the day: "Will Goldston's Exclusive Magical Secrets". Not to be missed under any circumstances!  

Get ready to virtually descend into the mythical hall of the Double Fond; it is March 31, 2005, and you are about to attend one of the most successful shows in our theater: "Intimist" with Dominique Duvivier. "Like a rocket, Dominique has long developed his own spirit of Magic... Some of his favorite shows are called "Intimist". All of them are at the cutting edge of Art and a great source of inspiration... It's simply real magic." Gaëtan Bloom  

The principle: a picture of a magician is shown, and the people present have a freewheeling discussion about what it evokes in them. Today, three protagonists: Gaetan Bloom, Alexandra and Dominique Duvivier, who share their memories, anecdotes and real-life stories about these great figures of magic. The pictures of the day: Dai Vernon, Howard Schwarzman, Walter Zaney Blaney and Gaetan Bloom. Not to be missed under any circumstances!  

Freddy Fah (1916-1998) is one of the greatest French magicians of the 1950s and one of Dominique Duvivier's mentors. His wife and stage partner, Yvette Fah, made a point of entrusting Dominique Duvivier with some video archives, which you can enjoy exclusively today. Dominique Duvivier himself comments on these very rare images to share with you the thrill he experienced with this exceptional artist.  

What a beautiful subject! And so vast... If you want to learn from Eric's experience in this field, watch this interview which is extremely rich in secrets. How do you tell a story? To whom can it be told? Why tell a story? And how to tell it? Thirty minutes to get to know the world of this giant of French magic and learn how to ask yourself the right questions before putting together your own show.