Rain Man

Another effect in my Intimate Illusions show revolves around real life megasavant Kim Peek. Kim was the inspiration for the character of Raymond Babbitt, played by Dustin Hoffman in the movie Rain Man.

Kim had an extraordinary mind. He was classified as a genius in over 15 categories including mathematics, geography, history, and literature.

In this piece, I demonstrate one of the most unbelievable abilities that Kim did everyday – effortlessly. Something that doesn't seem realistic, logical or even possible. It was as if he was performing real magic in his everyday life.  

It has taken me many years to master this one effect. Anything can go wrong. And every time I perform it, I don't know what is going to happen. I receive lots of emails after each show about it and how guests talked about the demonstration all the way home.

On a side note, it almost never made it into the show because of the degree of difficulty it took to master, but I persistently worked and worked at it, and consequently, it has become a highlight of the show and a very popular demonstration of Kim's actual abilities.

Also, Hans Zimmer, who scored Rain Man's music always calls on virtuoso cellist Tina Guo for any cello work in all of his movies.

See you at the show.

Harry Kellar Story from my book

Harry Kellar (July 11, 1849 – March 3, 1922) was an American magician who presented large stage shows during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Kellar was the predecessor of Harry Houdini and the successor of Robert Heller. 

Here's a great story from my book about this great magician.

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“Real Magic” from Magic’s Most Amazing Stories

Doug Henning was a huge force in the world of magic during the 70's. Though I never saw him perform live, I almost had the chance to see him on Broadway, but he had an understudy that night.

I was disappointed, but I still really enjoyed the show and it had a huge impact on me. His understudy even looked exactly like him. That was a great trick in itself.  

Here's an inspiring story about Doug from my book.

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