Axel Adler’s Beautiful Ring and Scarf Act on Penn & Teller: Fool Us

 A metal ring and a silk scarf may seem like simple props, but in the hands of Swedish magician Axel Adler, they become the center of an elegant visual performance.

Adler presented his “Ring & Scarf” act on Season 4 of Penn & Teller: Fool Us, in the episode “Does This Trick Ring a Bell?” The episode also featured Dyno Staats, Aiden Sinclair, and David Parr, and originally aired August 10, 2017.

The routine is built around the changing relationship between the ring and the fabric. Adler’s movements are measured and clear, giving the audience time to follow each moment as the objects seem to defy their ordinary properties. The result feels less like a rapid sequence of tricks and more like a small piece of visual theater.

That artistic approach fits Adler’s larger body of work. On his official website, he describes his magic as a combination of object manipulation and visual art, with an emphasis on surreal scenes and the theatrical possibilities of illusion.

Adler’s performance also shows how much character a magician can create without relying on spoken comedy or a complicated story. The ring, scarf, music, and movement work together to hold attention and make a familiar kind of magic feel fresh.

Adler later returned to Penn & Teller: Fool Us for another appearance, but this 2017 performance remains a lovely example of his visual style. 

Digital Visions by Matthew Wright video DOWNLOAD

 

Now available at www.magiciansmagicshop.com

For seven years, Digital Visions has been the pre-kicker Matthew has kept a closely guarded secret.
It sits in front of his world-renowned Visions routine - an effect used by top magicians and mind readers around the world - and it has stayed private, used by him and him alone. Until now.
This new release allows for not just one reveal....but two!
Two entirely different methods. Two entirely different reveals. Dovetailing into one routine that builds instead of repeating.
Three incredible performance variations.
A message arrives on your phone. Not an app, not a magic trick - a message, from a friend, with a video attached. You play it. Someone is drawing.
You pause it, right before the drawing is finished. The spectator names a drawing. You press play- the video resumes - and the drawing shown on screen is exactly the one your spectator has in mind.

• 50 pre-rendered videos, built to match the Visions deck perfectly
• No wifi. No rendering. No waiting. Everything is already on your phone
• No AI surprises. You know exactly what the drawing will be, every single time, because it's already made
• Instant - there's nothing to load and nothing to go wrong
• Three different routine ideas, all using the same messenger-style reveal
• A unique input method - the video can be paused and changed right in front of their eyes
• iOS and Android

Digital Visions works beautifully as a standalone effect. But paired with Visions, Visions 20/20 or Magical Visions, it becomes something else entirely - one routine, two impossibilities, no repeat method for anyone to work backwards from.
Seven years in the working repertoire. Now in yours.
Beginner level magic. Professional level results.

Note: Digital Visions currently is only supported on the Apple App Store. An Android version is in the works and should be launched soon.

On This Day: Remembering Max Malini

 

Max Malini died in Honolulu on October 3, 1942. He was celebrated for close-up magic that could happen right in the middle of a conversation, using everyday objects and seemingly effortless sleight of hand.

Malini’s performances were built around timing and surprise. One well-known story describes him borrowing a spectator’s hat, covering a coin with it, and then lifting the hat to reveal a block of ice. The effect was simple to describe, but the transformation—and Malini’s casual way of presenting it—made it unforgettable.

Unlike a grand stage illusion that depends on elaborate scenery, Malini’s magic thrived at close range. He could perform for a small group at a gathering, turning an ordinary object into the center of attention. That kind of intimate magic made a lasting impression on fellow magicians, including Dai Vernon and Ricky Jay.

There is some disagreement in published sources about Malini’s birth year, so his October 3, 1942, death date offers a firm occasion to revisit his work and influence. His career shows how a magician can create a lasting reputation with sharp technique, strong timing and the ability to make the impossible feel as if it happened by chance.

On This Day: Celebrating Dante the Magician

October 3 marks the birthday of Harry August Jansen, the magician who became famous around the world as Dante. Born in Copenhagen in 1883, Jansen moved with his family to St. Paul, Minnesota, when he was six. He took an early interest in magic and began performing while still a teenager.

Jansen’s career included a remarkable mix of performance and practical craft. He worked as a builder of magic apparatus and helped improve the staging of the sawing-in-half illusion. In 1921, magician Howard Thurston hired him to tour with a second company and gave him the stage name Dante. Jansen would use that name for the rest of his performing career.

Dante went on to tour internationally and build his own large-scale show. Its title, Sim Sala Bim, came from a phrase he remembered from a Northern European children’s song. He began using it as a magical incantation onstage, and it became closely associated with his act.

Dante’s story is a reminder that a magician’s legacy can be built from more than tricks: technical skill, imagination, a memorable stage identity and the ability to carry a show across the world. On his birthday, magic fans can celebrate the performer behind the name—and the theatrical tradition he helped keep alive.

 

Remembering Roy Horn on His Birthday

 

October 3 is a day to remember Roy Horn, the German-born entertainer whose work with Siegfried Fischbacher helped create one of Las Vegas’s most spectacular magic productions. Horn was born on October 3, 1944; this year would have been his 82nd birthday.

Siegfried & Roy built a theatrical world of grand costumes, pyrotechnics and large-scale illusions featuring tigers and lions. Horn was known for his connection with the animals and helped shape many of the show’s concepts, while Siegfried developed ways to bring those ideas to the stage. The pair captivated Las Vegas audiences for more than 25 years.

October 3 also carries a difficult association with the duo’s history. In 2003, during a performance at the Mirage, Horn was critically injured by a tiger. The incident ended the show’s run, bringing an abrupt close to a production that had become a fixture of the Las Vegas Strip.

Remembering Horn means recognizing both the scale of the spectacle he helped create and the risks and challenges that came with performing alongside powerful animals. His birthday offers an opportunity to reflect on a career that helped define an era of Las Vegas magic.

Harry Blackstone Jr. Appeared in a CigArrest Commercial

 Magicians have long brought their stage presence to television, but one vintage commercial took Harry Blackstone Jr. somewhere unexpected: a pitch for CigArrest, a product marketed to people trying to quit smoking.

The archived spot is listed as a 1987 commercial featuring Blackstone. Instead of inviting viewers into a theater, it uses the magician’s familiar showmanship to deliver a direct message about changing a habit. That makes the clip a curious crossover between magic, celebrity advertising and the public campaigns of the 1980s.

Blackstone Jr. was a natural fit for a television audience. A magician’s work depends on attention, timing and personality—qualities that also help a short commercial stand out. Even without a stage or elaborate illusion, his appearance gives the ad a touch of theatrical flair.

The product itself has its own place in advertising history. CigArrest was promoted as a smoking-cessation aid, and contemporary coverage questioned some of the success claims made for it. The commercial is best viewed today as an archival snapshot of how products were marketed at the time, rather than as health guidance.

For magic fans, the clip offers a small but memorable glimpse of Blackstone Jr. outside the theater. It’s a reminder that magicians’ public personas can travel well beyond the stage—and sometimes turn up in the most surprising places.

Aiden Sinclair Brings Séance Magic to Penn & Teller: Fool Us

 A séance table, a mysterious doll, and a room full of people wondering what might happen next: Aiden Sinclair’s performance on Penn & Teller: Fool Us builds its magic around atmosphere as much as surprise.

Sinclair appeared on Season 4, Episode 5, “Does This Trick Ring a Bell?” The episode, hosted by Alyson Hannigan, originally aired on August 10, 2017.

Sinclair introduces the act as séance magic. He invites Hannigan to join him at the table, where a spirit board and a doll named Evie help set the scene. He tells a story about the doll’s supposed history, then turns the performance into a game involving several audience members and a small object hidden among others.

The strength of the routine is how its pieces work together. The props create an eerie setting, the story gives the objects a reason to be there, and the volunteers make the outcome feel immediate. The result is a mentalism performance with the tension of a ghost story, while keeping the audience focused on the mystery unfolding around the table.

Sinclair’s official biography describes his work as theatrical séance and paranormal illusion. That style is on full display here: the performance invites the audience into a supernatural story while leaving them to decide what they believe they just saw.

The clip is a memorable example of how a magician can use character, pacing, and carefully chosen props to make a routine feel like more than a puzzle. Watch Aiden Sinclair’s performance and see how the séance unfolds: