wow--- almost a classic Mal triplet !
Re: Carnac--
Steve Allen had--"the Question Man" and I
suspect that the schtick probably has roots in
vaudeville.
Carnac the Magnificent
Moderator: Jesus H Christ
wolfman,
You're right, a lot of that schtick came from vaudeville...but there's another story. The inspiration for Carnack came from an old carnival game. You know those old glass boxes with robotic fortune tellers?
There was one that was the start for Johnny Carson, and it is on display, kind of in a corner out of the way, at the Magic Castle in Hollywood. Carson was a member there from the inception of the Magic Castle sometime in the 60's, so the original Madame Carnak carnival thing is sitting there where people who love magic stuff can see it.
Awesome place, old historic mansion made into a private club for magicians sometime in the 1960's. Only reason I know about it is that I was in LA for a convention a couple of months ago and the Evil Euro (from several boards back) is a member there. So we went to see magic, close up in small rooms and further away in large rooms and on a little table in the bar where no one could figure out wtf happened to the card we just saw disappear...there were people doing magic everywhere.
Anyway...Carson has a presence there, along with other magicians past and present. As well as his talk show persona, he was a magician, so they love him there and keep the original inspiration of Madame Carnak on display.
You're right, a lot of that schtick came from vaudeville...but there's another story. The inspiration for Carnack came from an old carnival game. You know those old glass boxes with robotic fortune tellers?
There was one that was the start for Johnny Carson, and it is on display, kind of in a corner out of the way, at the Magic Castle in Hollywood. Carson was a member there from the inception of the Magic Castle sometime in the 60's, so the original Madame Carnak carnival thing is sitting there where people who love magic stuff can see it.
Awesome place, old historic mansion made into a private club for magicians sometime in the 1960's. Only reason I know about it is that I was in LA for a convention a couple of months ago and the Evil Euro (from several boards back) is a member there. So we went to see magic, close up in small rooms and further away in large rooms and on a little table in the bar where no one could figure out wtf happened to the card we just saw disappear...there were people doing magic everywhere.
Anyway...Carson has a presence there, along with other magicians past and present. As well as his talk show persona, he was a magician, so they love him there and keep the original inspiration of Madame Carnak on display.
