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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)[1] and R.A.P. (Riffle Action Palm).[2] He maintained longtime friendships with Milt Kort, Jack McMillen, Don Alan, Ed Marlo, Dai Vernon, Charlie Miller, "Senator" Clarke Crandall, Bruce Cervon, and many others.
Contents
Biography
Early years
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, 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 Bobo.
Shortly thereafter, Bauer's family moved to Memphis, Tennessee. He met and began learning from Jack Dean and Charles Aste, Jr. He also started training in acting, and got involved in local radio, television, and live theater. In fact, Bauer was the first magician to appear on the first two television stations in Memphis.
In 1959, Bauer married and moved to Detroit, where he became the first full-time professional close-up magician working in the area. Several years later, he started his 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.[3] 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
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.[4] 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.[5]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.[6] 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.[7] 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 Bruce Cervon. The same photo without the inscription can be seen on the right.
Easy DOS It!
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 England!) Bauer spent the late eighties operating Easy Way Press, 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 less than fifty of the top "workers" in the world to discuss and present ideas on a single card trick. Although Bauer was invited, he was unable to attend, but he sent his contribution for the benefit of everyone there.[8] When Lance Pierce published a private book containing all the material from the event in 1997, 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.[9]
The nickname caught on among magicians, and Bauer has often been known since as "THE Underground Legend."[10][11][12]
Private Studies Series
The Ron Bauer Private Studies Series is a series of 24 "annotated performance scripts" written by Ron Bauer and illustrated by Sandra Kort. The first 12 were originally published by John Luka's Magic by Mail in 1998-99. In late 1999, Sandra Kort began publishing the series at her Electronic Graphic Art Design Studio (E-GADS), and released expanded and revised editions of the first 12.
According to Bauer:
...each of the items in my series is an "annoted performance script." They're intended to help out those with aspirations to perform in front of the public and (now get this part) have something to say that is at least somewhat as clever and amusing as the trick. Sometimes, performing a trick for friends or doing a little show is a person's only chance to be clever in public. Having the words and some help on the technical details can (almost assuredly) make the difference between having some fun and volunteering for humiliation.[13]
# | Title | Creator | Close-Up | Parlor | Platform | Stage | Luka | E-GADS |
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
1 | Gadabout Coins Revisited | Ron Bauer | 1998 | 2000 | ||||
2 | Sudden Death Gypsy Curse | Ron Bauer | 1998 | 2000 | ||||
3 | Feminine Side (Out of This World) | Tony Chaudhuri | 1998 | 2000 | ||||
4 | Butch, Ringo, and the Sheep | Ron Bauer | 1998 | 2002 | ||||
5 | Hornswoggled Again! | Ron Bauer | 1998 | 2001 | ||||
6 | Owed to Poker Dan | Ron Bauer | 1998 | 2001 | ||||
7 | Dixie! (Cups and Balls) | Ron Bauer | 1998 | 2002 | ||||
8 | The Cursed Ring | Ron Bauer | 1998 | 2000 | ||||
9 | Fair and Sloppy | Ron Bauer | 1998 | 2002 | ||||
10 | Left-Handed Hank | Charlie Miller | 1999 | 2001 | ||||
11 | Mechanical Deck | Ron Bauer | 1999 | 2001 | ||||
12 | Bar Bill Stunt | Paul Chosse | 1999 | 2001 | ||||
13 | Cut-Up Card Trick | Senator Crandall | ---- | 2003 | ||||
14 | Four Squares and a Knot | Ron Bauer | ---- | 2003 | ||||
15 | The Siamese Goose Egg Bag | Ron Bauer | ---- | 2003 | ||||
16 | Time Machine | Ed Marlo | ---- | 2004 | ||||
17 | Second Finger Top Deal | Ron Bauer | ---- | 2004 | ||||
18 | Xerox Money (Himber Wallet) | Ron Bauer | ---- | 2000 | ||||
19 | All-Outs Think-of-a-Card | Milt Kort | ---- | 2005 | ||||
20 | That's the Spirit! | Ron Bauer | ---- | |||||
21 | Final(ly) Aces | Brother Hamman | ---- | 2006 | ||||
22 | Hat Trick | Jim Bergstrom | ---- | 2007 | ||||
23 | Worn Out Deck | Bob Longe | ---- | |||||
24 | Sneaky Nudist Rides Again | Don Alan | ---- |
Private Studies Special Editions
- Don Alan's Devano Card Rise (1999)
- The Chick Trick (2002)
- Basic Cups & Balls Technique (2004)
- The Complete Don Alan’s Chop Cup (2005)
The Ron Bauer 2008 Lecture
In 2008, several friends on the West Coast persuaded Bauer to lecture at the Golden Gate Gathering in San Francisco. He published lecture notes prior to attending the convention. The next year, he released a revised edition with more detail for those who were unable to attend the lecture. It's the first time Bauer published his famed R.A.P. (Riffle Action Palm).
- The Ron Bauer 2008 Lecture: Notes from "THE Underground Legend" (2008)
- The Revised Ron Bauer 2008 Lecture: Notes from "THE Underground Legend" (2009)
Contributions to Books
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.: Luka in New Tops
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."
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 |
"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 |
"Slick Sticker Trick" | Mystifying Card Tricks | Bob Longe | 2005 | 37-44 |
"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 |
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."[14]
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
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 |
Other Tricks
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 |
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 |
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 |
Contributions to Ebooks & Ezines
Ebooks
- Lots o' Lock (2003), ThinkLikeaConjurer.com
- CENT-sitivity (2005), YouDoMagic.com
- Senator Crandall's Everything Fair Poker Deal (2007), ThinkLikeaConjurer.com
Cogitations
In 2005, Steven Youell briefly published an online magic magazine called Cogitations. Bauer sent several items which Youell published.
- "Is This a Good Trick? part 1" (April 4, 2005)
- "Is This a Good Trick? part 2" (April 25, 2005)
- "Is This a Good Trick? part 3" (June 18, 2005)
- "Hofzinser’s Only Theorem" (written by Steven Youell) (May 15, 2005)
- "Colorful Magic" (May 18, 2005)
- "T. T. T. (Two Card Turnover Technique)" (May 26, 2005)
References
- ↑ The Ron Bauer 2008 Lecture, pp. 17-22
- ↑ The Ron Bauer 2008 Lecture, pp. 23-28
- ↑ Chuck Romano, The Art of Deception, 2008, p. 194
- ↑ The Revised Ron Bauer 2008 Lecture, 2009, p. 5
- ↑ E-GADS Press Release, "Now Through Sunday, Ron Bauer is the Featured Guest on England's Premier Web Forum!", MagicTimes, February 20, 2003
- ↑ Dai Vernon, Genii 1983 August, Vol. 47, No. 8, p. 25
- ↑ Jon Racherbaumer, "Vernon - Marlo, mutual respect?", The Genii Forum, November 5, 2004
- ↑ Bill Kalush's New York City Conference 1994 by Lance Pierce, 1997, pp. 11-12
- ↑ Bill Kalush's New York City Conference 1994 by Lance Pierce, 1997, p. 103
- ↑ John Luka, The Linking Ring, Vol. 77 No. 12, December 1997, p. 39
- ↑ Dennis Loomis, M-U-M, Vol. 100 No. 6, November 2010, p. 30
- ↑ Dennis Loomis, M-U-M, Vol. 101 No. 1, June 2011, p. 60
- ↑ Ron Bauer, "Special Guest Randy Wakeman: Scripting", The Magic Café, March 6, 2003
- ↑ Ron Bauer, "The Screened Leipzig Pass," Genii 1983 February, Vol. 47 No. 2, p. 114.
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