I loved magic…sleight of hand…illusions. I remember watching Doug Henning on TV
Specials in the 70’s…or maybe the occasional David Copperfield Specials. I remember going to the library and scouring
for any manuscripts that would allow me on the inside of the art of
legerdemain. I found one little
children’s paperback book…and I remember practicing the tricks….some worked
great….and others…not so well. But in
the mid 70’s there was no internet…no mass data storage of the magical
secrets….I didn’t know any magicians personally….and believe it or
not….Levelland Texas was not a hotbed of practitioners of the magical
arts. And so the interest begins to dry
up like a draught stricken cotton field…so isolated…if only I lived in a big city…if…
When you live on the outskirts of the universe….Television
was a way to at least peer into the looking glass. “That’s Incredible,” a hour long show aired
weekly spotlighting people or events that seemed beyond mortal
comprehensions. I remember vividly at
about age 12…the feature on the show was a man…I didn’t remember his name…but
he was a card sharp…a cheat….a pasteboard manipulator deemed the best in the
WHOLE WIDE WORLD…beyond comprehension…practicing hours a day…and he was legally
blind…he could deal perfect poker hands after someone shuffled…he could deal
seconds….he could do things I never imagined.
I was amazed…and thinking to myself in my 12 year old mind…to meet
someone like that…someone with such skill…maybe he could teach me...”But Hey
Dave, you live in Levelland”…so it was only a passing thought.
That's Incredible Episode with Richard Turner
A couple of years later…at our Sunday evening youth services, we were watching videos that were talking about fraudulent claims of psychics and the paranormal…it was hosted and written by a magician…I remembered his name…Danny Korem….a world class magicians…showing how people are deceived….and how to keep being deceived. Danny got James Hydrick to confess that he was a fraud in the telekinetic realm on national TV. I remember sitting there and thinking how cool it would be to be able to do the sleight of hand Danny was doing.
Fast forward about 8 years…at Texas A&M , I found a guy who actually performed magic…and
after wearing his poor soul down, I finally convince him to teach me. Like everything I do…It was all in…obsessive…practicing
sometimes 8 and 9 hours a day. I learned
where I could buy books. I began the
journey into the depths of the magical arts.
I began to attend some conventions where other conjurers would
gather. I made friends…became a member
of the Dallas Magic Club and Society of American Magicians. I competed in competitions. I won the best in close up magic at the 2003
TAOM Conventions. Along the way, I came
to find out that the “Blind Gentleman” that I saw on “That’s Incredible” was
Richard Turner. I attended a lecture of
his at Texas Association of Magicians in 1998.
But after witnessing firsthand what Richard could do with a deck of
cards, I couldn’t even bring myself to meet him. I wasn’t worthy.
Somewhere around 2001, my buddy Diamond Jim hosted a magic lecture. I couldn’t believe it…it was Danny
Korem. After the lecture we struck up a
conversation…we emailed back and forth...and before you knew it…we became
friends. A guy I watched and envied when
I was 13…was now a friend. We would meet
and discuss magic…laugh a lot…I would listen to stories…and Danny became a
mentor.
Dan Korem and yours truely
About a year later, I get a call from a buddy Mark
Jenson. “Hey Dave, Richard Turner is
staying at my house. We are meeting with
some of the guys tonight….why don’t you come over…and see if Danny wants to
come over too.” I call Danny…”Hey Boss,
there is a card guy named Richard Turner…He’s blind…and what he does with at
deck of cards is off the hook! See ya at
Jenson’s tonight.”
A quick glimpse into the dark dens of the underworld...That Famous Session - left Mark Jenson, in the back left to right Danny Korem, John Kline, Brian...Richard Turner in the white shirt.
That evening I sat to the left of Richard Turner…for about 5
hours…we shuffled…we listened…we watched…we learned…and we sat there in the
presence of greatness. I think there
were about 6 of us…and Danny and I were there…mesmerized.
Richard Turner Dealing Cards
Let me cut to the chase…for some reason I still can’t explain…the
world’s greatest card mechanic I saw about 25 years earlier on “That’s
Incredible” and I became close friends.
I really don’t know how it all happened.
Since that time, I have been invited into his home in San Antonio….we
talk frequently….he trusted me to look at a very very preliminary manuscript being written about his
life. (it will later be forged into a literary epic by John Racherbaumer to be released.) We will sit together and he will
ask me how my second deal is coming along…he will take his fingers and feel how
I am gripping the deck…seeing in his mind’s eye what the tactile sensation of
his fingers are saying. It’s like having
Louis Armstrong sitting with my son and teaching him how to play the
trumpet. I felt mildly responsible for
the introduction between Danny and Richard.
Danny had Richard, I and our wives over for dinner….and there I sat….thinking,
“Holy Cow! If you told me I would be
sitting and having dinner with these two guys when I first knew about them in
that tiny place called Levelland Texas….I would say you are crazy!”
It took me moving to Dallas where I have lived most of my adult
life….to learn that the world is just a little more smaller than I thought when
I spent my youth in a tiny corner of that small world. This week I learned that Luke Korem, Danny’s
son, is producing and filming a documentary on Richard’s life…and the
providence of a small town boy being on the very peripheral of that ….well…what
do I say….I am a blessed guy…
You can learn more about Richard and Danny at their respective websites:
http://richardturner52.com/
http://www.ifpinc.com/
You can learn more about Richard and Danny at their respective websites:
http://richardturner52.com/
http://www.ifpinc.com/
