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rattlestar wrote:I have a question.
Does David Copperfield in anywhere in any of his routines use stooges?
I think he does...ive just always wondered, ive seen the show twice.

Naughty naughty. Ask Copperfield or ask no one.

I remember Paul Daniels saying last year that if stooges or secret assistants are being used then you haven't thought the routine through hard enough!! Does that make sense???
I've personally never used one but I can see the plus points for it!!

I only have one trick in which I use a stooge. I really don't like using stooges. During that trick, I don't get that thrill that I do in other tricks when the reactions happen. I don't know if any of you guys have heard of it but it is one of Houdini's old vanishing coin tricks. You place a coin on your hand and then place a handkerchief over your hand. Then you ask like 3-6 spectators to place their hand under the handkerchief and feel that the coin is still there. After all of that, you tie the hanky around your hand, give a magical wave, and bam the coin has disappeared. LOL it sems easier to figure out when the steps are in writing.

rattlestar wrote:I have a question.
Does David Copperfield in anywhere in any of his routines use stooges?
I think he does...ive just always wondered, ive seen the show twice.

It depends on which show he's doing... in that it changes each season then there's a good chance you've seen him use stooges in things like Haunted House/Spirit Cabinet routines where four or five people vanish & reappear, in the Flying and any number of other routines of that sort. The reason is very simple; HE'S AN ENTERTAINER!

As to what Paul Daniel states about using stooges, I believe you're taking things a bit out of context... Paul knows there are points and specific routines where you'll have no choice... especially in an illusion show.

Siegfred & Roy did a "Paper Balls Over the Shoulder" Kind of moment in their show, supposedly with a random person from the audience behind whom an 800+ pound white kitty cat was seen on a lift, reaching down at her and all sorts of other things... it was a very funny piece of business. Now do you think they'd be stupid enough to put a real patron on stage next to a big cat like that? Think of the liability.

Not to be rude, but there's a lot of "opinions" being expressed on a method few of you have the background to justly weigh and understand. There are numerous reason for using secret helpers there are ways of employing them that most would never even suspect and then you have the classic Blackstone application of the stooge during his famed Pick-Pocket act and the removal of a man's shirt... all of which is done for one single reason -- ENTERTAINMENT!

The moral of the story being, it's not that big of a deal so long as logic and moderation are part of the formula that leads to such things.

It's a bit rich for Paul Daniels to be tut-tutting about the awful use of stooges when he uses one himself in what is arguably his best trick. Agreed it is an instant stooge but it is still a stooge nevertheless.

I suppose when he was referring to the wickedness of stooges he wasn't referring to himself.

Paul Daniels is going to be lecturing at the club I go to at some point in October, I'll make sure to ask him.

It seems from this and most other discussions about stooges that everyone has nearly the same opinion, namely that stooges are a part of magic but should be used sparingly and wisely. I can see the frustration in buying an effect and looking forward to performing it only to discover that you need an accomplice.

I was about to ramble on a bit but the Losander DVD I bought a month ago has just dropped through my door, woohoo!

The disadvantages of stooges are as follows:

One. Audiences are sometimes quite sharp in sussing them out. Sometimes they overact and give the game away or sometimes the trick is just a mite too impossible.

Two. The inconvenience. You have to set up things beforehand or carry a stooge around with you.

Three. Stooges have big mouths. As time goes by they might well regale people with the anecdote of how they once helped a magician and God forbid they might even mention your name.

Four. You might become a stooge addict and be tempted to overuse this method because of the supposed ease in doing so and the potential startling results. The trouble is with being a stooge addict though is that it can be destructive in the long run.

On the other hand the advantage of stooges is that you can sometimes get an astonishing effect that you could not get otherwise.

My final verdict on the matter is that if you do use them be careful and use them sparingly. You can have too much of a good thing and that can end up being a bad thing.