Ron Bauer

Ron Bauer
Ron Bauer, circa 1958, performing the Multiplying Golf Balls
Born	Ronald Raymond Bauer 1938 Portland, Oregon
Nationality	American
Notable works	The Ron Bauer Private Studies Series, Founded Mr. Trix Enterprises
Known for	R.A.P. (Riffle Action Palm), T.T.T. (Two-card Turnover Technique)
Categories	Books by Ron Bauer

Ron Bauer (b. 1938) is a professional writer in the computer and video industries, and a semi-professional magician. He's the author of a series of 24 "annotated performance scripts" for magicians, called the Ron Bauer Private Studies Series. He's also well-known for his T.T.T. (Two-card Turnover Technique) and R.A.P. (Riffle Action Palm). He's maintained longtime friendships with Milt Kort, Don Alan, Ed Marlo, Dai Vernon, Charlie Miller, Jack McMillen, "Senator" Clarke Crandall, Don Lawton, Bruce Cervon, Jack Dean, Leo Behnke, Jerry Andrus, Dick and Diana Zimmerman, and many others.

Biography

Early years

Ron Bauer, c. 1960, performing close-up at the Kenwood Club in Detroit

After being intrigued by a sign in the window, Ron Bauer walked through the door of his first magic shop at age 11, and he was hooked. He trained in Portland, Oregon, under Ted and Marie Hall, R. Vernon Cook, Will Desmond, and Stan Payne of Star Magic. He voraciously devoured every magic book he could get his hands on, and in 1952, he was the first one in town to get a copy of the brand-new Modern Coin Magic by J. B. Bobo.

Shortly thereafter, Bauer's family moved to Memphis, Tennessee. He met and began learning from Jack Dean and Charles Aste, Jr., who was doing illustrations for Ed Marlo's books at the time. Bauer also started training in acting, and got involved in local radio, television, and live theater. In fact, he was the first magician to appear on the first two television stations in Memphis.

The Mr. Trix MagicFun Time Mall Show, c. 1971, with Bauer as the MagicFun Man

In 1959, Bauer married and moved to Detroit. For several years, he performed at the Kenwood Club in Detroit, and was the first full-time professional close-up magician working in the area. He also started training in marketing at Maxon Advertising.

Mr. Trix Enterprises

In 1968, Bauer founded Mr. Trix Enterprises, a children's entertainment company based in the prestigious Detroit-suburb Birmingham. Employing magicians, clowns, puppeteers, and party planners, Mr. Trix's popularity grew and it became the largest and most successful children's entertainment company in the Midwest. Children couldn't get enough of the MagicFun Man, Elmo D. Clown, Professor B'loon (played by Milt Kort), Kelly the Klorophyll Klown, and of course, the group's rabbit-in-a-hat mascot, Mr. Trix. Their shows included the "Mr. Trix MagicFun Time" show, the "Elmo D. Clown Show," "The Instant Puppet Show," and the "B'loon Circus." During this time Bauer also produced several Mr. Trix television projects.

Television & Video

Vernon, Miller, Bauer, and Marlo in Santa Barbara, June 1983

After almost a decade running Mr. Trix, Bauer turned his attention to television production. He was writer and producer for over 100 episodes of the Bozo the Clown show at WJBK-TV in the late seventies. Then, with an eye on the emerging video industry, he wrote, produced, and marketed the first training course in non-broadcast video production. After seeing his video production course, Sony contracted Bauer in the early eighties for a new project, so he headed to California.

The Convention of the Century?

In the summer of 1983, Bauer managed to persuade his friend Ed Marlo to venture out of Chicago and attend the Pacific Coast Association of Magicians' 51st annual magic convention in Santa Barbara, California, much to the delight of West Coast magicians, many of whom had never had a chance to see Marlo. It had been over 30 years since his last convention appearance or lecture. The convention was a huge hit, with Marlo, Dai Vernon, Charlie Miller, and Jack McMillen all in attendance. It was the only time Marlo and Vernon ever shared a stage. A photograph of Vernon, Miller, Bauer, and Marlo, posing on a sunny Santa Barbara beach, appears in The Vernon Chronicles, Volume 2: More Lost Inner Secrets by Stephen Minch (1988, p. 216). It's inscribed by Ron Bauer to his longtime friend Bruce Cervon. The same photo without the inscription can be seen on the right.

Easy DOS It!

Bauer with Milt Kort and Stephen Minch, c. 1998

Returning home to Detroit after finishing his work with Sony, Bauer turned his focus to a new technology: personal computers. He wrote the first book for the public on Microsoft DOS, called Easy DOS It! (1986), which went on to become one of the best-selling computer books of the 1980s. (It's also how Alex Elmsley, a budding computer expert, learned Microsoft DOS in the U.K.!) Bauer spent the late eighties operating The Easy Way Press in downtown Rochester, Michigan, which published his The Learn-in-a-Day Way series of books, including The Easy Modem Book (1987) and Hard DOS It! (1988).

"THE Underground Legend"

In 1994, Bill Kalush held a private convention in New York City, inviting 29 of the top "workers" in the world to discuss and present ideas on a single trick. Invitees included Daryl, Rafael Benatar, Bernard Bilis, John Carney, Michael Close, Tom Gagnon, Brother John Hamman, Ricky Jay, Ray Kosby, Bill Malone, Max Maven, Gary Plants, Bob Stencel, Juan Tamariz, David Williamson, and Herb Zarrow. Although Bauer was invited, he was unable to attend, but he sent his contribution for the benefit of everyone there. When Lance Pierce published a private book containing all the material from the event in 1996, he described Bauer like this:

Ron Bauer is the underground legend. A strong creator of routines and effects, he is rarely seen by the cogniscenti and even lesser known among the majority of the fraternity. For those who know, though, Ron represents the type of artist many of us would aspire to be.

The nickname caught on among magicians, and Bauer has often been known since as "THE Underground Legend."

Magician and author Stephen Minch has said that Bauer:

...can turn the simplest puzzle into a magical masterpiece. For forty years I've watched him deploy deadly difficult sleight-of-hand, cloaked in his whimsical performance style, to "garden path" the best in the game.

Private Studies Series

Main article:Ron Bauer Private Studies Series

The Ron Bauer Private Studies Series

In the mid-nineties, at the urging of several close friends like Milt Kort, Paul Chosse, and John Luka, Bauer decided to start a new project, with the goal of teaching students of magic how to "Think Like Conjurers." The Ron Bauer Private Studies Series is a series of 24 "annotated performance scripts." Each script explains a trick, which can be learned from that script alone. But the true purpose of the series is to teach certain theatrical principles, which are covered cumulatively throughout all twenty-four scripts.

The series is illustrated by Milt's daughter, Sandra Kort.

Special Editions

Main article:Ron Bauer Private Studies Series#Special Editions

Bauer has also published several Private Studies Special Editions. Two of the items were signature effects by his long-time friend, Don Alan.

The Ron Bauer 2008 Lecture

Main article:The Ron Bauer 2008 Lecture

In 2008, Bauer published a set of lecture notes for appearance at the Golden Gate Gathering in San Francisco. The following year, he revised the notes, adding more details for those who were unable to attend the lecture. It's the first publication of the famed R.A.P. (Riffle Action Palm).

Contributions to Books

J. B. Bobo's New Modern Coin Magic (1966)

The New Modern Coin Magic

After meeting him at an Abbott's Get-Together in the early sixties, Bauer became friends with John Braun. A few years later, when Braun was compiling the new edition of J. B. Bobo's Modern Coin Magic, Bauer contributed these three items. The book was published in 1966 as The New Modern Coin Magic.

Title	Page(s)
"Made in Japan"	485-486
"The O-Korto Box Routine" (with Milton Kort and Walter Wilson)	497-498
"Gag Penetration with an Okito Box" (with Milton Kort)	504

L. I. N. T.: Pocket Stuff for Close-Up Magicians

L. I. N. T.: Luka in the New Tops (1997)

During 1993 and 1994, John Luka had a column in The New Tops focused on "Pocket Stuff for Close-Up Magicians." Longtime friends with Luka, Bauer sent him several items. In 1997, Luka compiled a book of the material from the column, along with several new items, one of which was Bauer's "Devilish Trickery." The title of the book, L. I. N. T., is an acronym for Luka In the New Tops.

Title	Page(s)
"The Lie Detector"	1-8
"Key to the Draw"	20-26
"The Magic Coin"	65-69
"Second Sight"	77-82
"Devilish Trickery"	133-141

Other Books

Title	Book Title	Author	Year	Page(s)
"Beanie Puppet Routines 1&2" (written by Oran Dent)	Ireland Yearbook 1960	L. L. Ireland	1960	30-32
"Off Color Elevator" (with Milton Kort)	Off Color Card Tricks	Milton Kort	1970	5-6
"Off Color Prediction"	Off Color Card Tricks	Milton Kort	1970	49-51
"The Screened Leipzig Pass"	Daryl's Ambitious Card Omnibus	Stephen Minch	1987	73-77
"Peek, Look, & Think"	Cardfixes	Jon Racherbaumer	1990	142-147
"Bauer's Delusion"	Secrets for the Part-Time Magician	John Luka	1992	17-20
"The Hofbauer Force"	Card Finesse II	Jon Racherbaumer	1992	116-120
"Screened Leipzig Card Pass"	Card Finesse II	Jon Racherbaumer	1992	190-200
"The Real Color Change"	The Rainbow Deck	Randy Wakeman	1995	7-9
"These Cards Are Marked"	The Rainbow Deck	Randy Wakeman	1995	30-32
"Sleightless Switches"	The Rainbow Deck	Randy Wakeman	1995	41-42
"Win at Gin!"	Bill Kalush’s New York City Conference 1994	Lance Pierce	1996	104-117
"Slick Sticker Trick"	Mystifying Card Tricks	Bob Longe	1997	37-44
"Good Luck"	Card Tricks Galore	Bob Longe	1999	48-49
"The O-Korto Box Routine" (with Milton Kort and Walter Wilson)	KORT: The Magic of Milton Kort	Stephen Minch	1999	209-227
"Let Sleeping Dogs Lie"	Clever Close-up Magic	Bob Longe	2003	151-152
"Super Toothpick" (John Dowdy)	Clever Close-up Magic	Bob Longe	2003	152-153
"Drawn Instead of Quartered"	Switch: Unfolding the $100 Bill Change	John Lovick	2006	293-294
"R.B.'s Delusion"	Uncovered: Secrets for the Serious Magician	John Luka	2006	73-76
"Let Sleeping Dogs Lie"	Mind-Blowing Magic Tricks	Bob Longe	2007	82-83
"Bauer Biddle Move"	Jack McMillen (ebook)	Michael Landes	2011	205-206

Contributions to Magazines

How to Perform Magic on Local TV

Series of nine articles, each on a different aspect of performing magic on television.

Title	Magazine	Vol.	No.	Date	Page(s)
"How to Perform Magic on Local TV"	The New Tops	22	2	February 1982	6-7
"Television Time"	The New Tops	22	3	March 1982	19-20
"What is a Stereotype–Really?"	The New Tops	22	5	May 1982	6-9
"Who’s Who in a TV Production"	The New Tops	22	7	July 1982	31-32
"The Shot"	The New Tops	22	8	August 1982	16-18
"Staging and Blocking, Part One"	The New Tops	22	10	October 1982	41-43
"Staging and Blocking, Part Two – Subjective Close-Up Magic"	The New Tops	22	11	November 1982	24-25
"Staging and Blocking, Part Three – Objective Close-Up Magic"	The New Tops	22	12	December 1982	24-25, 30-31
"Preparing for Local TV Interviews"	The New Tops	23	2	February 1983	8-10

Abbott's Jet Set

Series of three articles on ways to use Abbott's Jet Set, a portable backdrop hanger.

Title	Magazine	Vol.	No.	Date	Page(s)
"Staging Ideas With Abbott’s Jet Set"	The New Tops	21	9	September 1981	47
"More Staging Ideas With Abbott’s Jet Set"	The New Tops	22	9	September 1982	45-46
"How to Porta-Drape Your Abbott’s Jet Set"	The New Tops	22	9	September 1982	47-48

Card Technique

Series of three articles on card moves that, according to Bauer, "have been given my interest and attention over the years because they're 'ON THE PLOT-POINT' moves. That means they most usually must be done while the spectators are looking at the hands during all or part of the critical action. This means misdirection is extremely difficult. ...TECHNIQUE must be carefully devised and executed. And, details make all the difference."

Title	Magazine	Vol.	No.	Date	Page(s)
"T. T. T. (Two Card Turnover Technique)"	Genii	46	11	November 1982	750-751
"Card Technique (Ovette Master Move)"	Genii	46	12	December 1982	824-825
"The Screened Leipzig Pass"	Genii	47	2	February 1983	113-114

The Key Ring Cycle

"The Key Ring Cycle"

Series of four tricks revolving around a unique key ring with three different keys and a skull-shaped key chain. Each item on the key ring is used for a different trick.

Title	Magazine	Vol.	No.	Date	Page(s)
"Lots O’ Lock"	The New Tops	21	12	December 1981	30-32
"D-D-T!"	The New Tops	22	2	February 1982	25-28
"Hoppy"	The New Tops	22	3	March 1982	23-28
"A Timely Escape"	The New Tops	22	7	July 1982	11-13

Is This a Good Trick?

In 2005, Steven Youell briefly published an online magic magazine devoted to "cogitating about effects on an audience of a good trick." Bauer published an article to stimulate discussion among the members of the subscription website. He described a card trick, as it would appear to an audience, and asked, "Is This a Good Trick?" In the second part, Bauer discussed various aspects of the presentation he had described in terms of their "effects on an audience." The final part included his full Performance Script for the piece.

Title	Magazine	Date
"Is This a Good Trick?"	Cogitations (ezine)	April 4, 2005
"Is This a Good Trick? Part 2"	Cogitations (ezine)	April 25, 2005
"Good Trick, Part 3"	Cogitations (ezine)	June 18, 2005

Other Items

Title	Magazine	Vol.	No.	Date	Page(s)
"The Far East Far Out Coins"	The New Tops	1	2	February 1961	8-9
"Gagbag Routine"	The New Tops	1	12	December 1961	32
"Linking Pins Routine"	The New Tops	2	2	February 1962	6-7
"Phony Cast Gag"	The New Tops	3	3	March 1963	23
"Yogi Bear says... 'Thanks'"	The New Tops	3	8	August 1963	13
"Silver Replacement"	The New Tops	20	7	July 1980	49-50
"Susan B's Diminishing Dollar"	The New Tops	20	8	August 1980	6-9
"Your Pencil – My Ring!"	The New Tops	20	8	August 1980	24-26
"Tootsie!"	The New Tops	21	8	August 1981	6-10
"The Big Bag of Tricks and the Little Black Hat"	M-U-M	71	5	October 1981	41-45
"Pig Pad"	The New Tops	21	11	November 1981	6-7
"Bauer's Delusion"	Genii	46	3	March 1982	169-171
"The Jellis Ring"	Genii	46	4	April 1982	237-239
"Instant Lunch"	The New Tops	22	8	August 1982	6-8
"The Clones From Brazil"	Genii	47	7	July 1983	464-466
"Spirits"	Genii	47	9	September 1983	616-618
"The Presidential Production" (Dick Zimmerman)	Genii	47	11	November 1983	773-775
"The Lie Detector"	The New Tops	33	10	October 1993	6-10
"Key to the Draw"	The New Tops	34	1	January 1994	22-25
"Second Sight"	The New Tops	34	10	October 1994	10-13
"The Magic Coin"	The New Tops	34	11	November 1994	26-28
"Sure-Fire Think of a Card" (Milt Kort)	The Linking Ring	77	10	October 1997	113-115
"T. T. T. (Two Card Turnover Technique)"	Cogitations (ezine)			May 26, 2005

Articles

Title	Magazine	Vol.	No.	Date	Page(s)
"Diana, the Enchantress" (Profile of Diana Zimmerman)	Genii	47	11	November 1983	760-762
"Milton Kort (1917–2003)" (Obituary for Milt Kort)	The Linking Ring	83	10	October 2003	69-70
"Colorful Magic"	Cogitations (ezine)			May 18, 2005

Reviews

For a few months in 2008, Bauer wrote reviews published in M-U-M magazine.

Product Name	Creator/Author	Vol.	No.	Date	Page(s)
Very Best of Modern Coin Magic by J.B. Bobo (DVD)	Jason Greenamyer	97	10	March 2008	70
"Final Fusion" (Trick)	Jay Sankey	97	11	April 2008	72-73
"Safety Hole Lite" (Trick)	Menny Lindenfeld	97	11	April 2008	73
"Neat and Tidy" (Trick)	Wayne Fox	97	11	April 2008	76
"The Bammo Monte Monster" (Trick)	Bob Farmer	97	12	May 2008	70
Cocktail Card Magic (Book)	Bill Abbott	98	1	June 2008	71-72
"Mutanz" (Trick)	Bob Farmer and Roy Walton	98	1	June 2008	76
Classic Palming with Coins (DVD)	Reed McClintock	98	2	July 2008	74
"Strange Change" (Trick)	Bob Solari	98	2	July 2008	74
"No Salt Added" (Trick)	Bob Solari	98	2	July 2008	74-75
"Street Cents" (Trick)	Andrew Gerard	98	4	September 2008	21

Ebooks

• Lots o' Lock (2003), ThinkLikeaConjurer.com
• CENT-sitivity (2005), YouDoMagic.com
• Senator Crandall's Everything Fair Poker Deal (2007), ThinkLikeaConjurer.com

Unpublished

Surprisingly, given the volume of Bauer's published material, the majority of his work remains unpublished.

He has teased the "Someday..." release of the following:

• "Extended Coverage"': Handling and presentation, as well as the full history, of the so-called LePaul Wallet.
• "The Legend of the Flying Coin": Handling and presentation of the Coins Across/Coins Through Table, including techniques for the Han Ping Chien move.
• "The Fastest Little Game in Las Vegas": The real work on this overlooked Don Alan presentation for the Cap and Pence.
• "Goofy Dice": Handling and presentation for an obscure Ralph W. Hull trick.
• "Decoy Cigars": Handling and presentation of Nate Leipzig's "Cigars from Purse."
• "The Mr. Trix Coloring Book": A unique, unpublished version of the classic Coloring Book that he developed while running Mr. Trix Enterprises.
• “The Mr. Trix B'loon Act”

External Links

• Think Like a Conjurer Official Ron Bauer Private Studies Series Website
• Ron Bauer Riffle Action Palm & TTT Video demo on YouTube
• Ron Bauer Interview MagicBunny.co.uk