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This Site Is Two Years Old - March 2010 First, a tip of the magic top hat to Brent Smith (www.vanishingrabbit.com) for donating into our temporary care an original JG poster (c. 1950s). Both Brent and I have agreed it will be given to the Giordmaine family as soon as possible for their personal archives. Immediately below is Brent's own story of how he came into possession of it. UPDATE: JUNE 2010. During Joseph Giordmaine's recent visit to Toronto, I presented him with the original poster (below) as well as the original colour transparency of the photo appearing on Page One (which his Dad had given me in the early 1970s). He expressed his sincere appreciation to both Brent and myself at the time. I am pleased to have helped ensure the safe return of such unique historical documents to the Giordmaine family.
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BRENT SMITH WRITES... John, A little background if you care... I was at magician Micky Hades' house [late in 2008] having coffee when I looked over and saw seven large wooden crates. I asked Micky what was in them. He said that they were magic posters from when he had a display of magic posters at the museum in Edmonton. I asked him if they were for sale and he said that he didn't know what was in the crates. The posters were all mounted on foam core and he would have to heat them with a hair dryer to take them off. I said that if he didn't look into the crates I would buy them sight-unseen. He said OK. I purchased seven crates of magic posters in good to mint condition - everyone from original Thurston, Doug Henning, and a lot of other Canadian magicians from times past... Regards, Brent Smith/Owner - The Vanishing Rabbit - Calgary, Alberta "Western Canada's largest brick and mortar magic shop"
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What a wonderful old poster! And now - with thanks to Joseph Giordmaine for the scan - this site is proud to have presented it to you in all its magnificent b&w glory. Readers with 20/20 eyesight will be able to make out the description "The Gay Magician". Of course, Johnny was using the word with its original meaning - "happy" and "carefree" - and not its more contemporary one! When its more modern implications were explained to Johnny, he changed his nomenclature to "The Merry Magician". The Magic Cafe even has an amusing old thread about this: CLICK HERE. | |||||||||||||||||||||||||||
(RIGHT) This colourful caricature was another of Johnny's numerous promotional giveaways. (BELOW) A rare old colour 8mm amateur film of Johnny performing has surfaced on line via You-Tube. It's fuzzy and it's incomplete... but it's Johnny! It's from 1961. I have better quality colour Super 8 footage of Johnny performing in the 1970s which I must figure out how to digitalize. Meanwhile, here's a link for the You-Tube clip below...
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Kudos to Rick Fisher at "Fab Magic" for putting this fun old home movie on You-Tube for everyone to enjoy... On the next page is my Summer 2010 update... I found Sid Lorraine's tribute to Johnny in a back issue of the old LEVITATOR magazine published by the Society of Canadian Magicians (now sadly defunct). I don't know where it had been hiding. I hadn't read it in decades. Anyway, I'm happy to have rediscovered it in my files and to be able to share such eloquent words about Johnny from a real friend of his who knew him so well...
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