talkmagic.co.uk

ach...i dunno...i like him being ultra offensive and more himself (if that is himself, it seems to be)...

i read an interview with him quite a while ago, and he seems to be in regular poor health too...

i think he's right that you can make a joke about anything and everything within the right contexts...people often enjoy being offended...

he suffers from what i'd call "angry preacher" syndrome, bill hicks, lenny bruce had it...and look what happened to Bruce...

i'd love him to have his own magic show...that would be absolute genius...he was my teen memory of magic...

EDIT: plus he summed up swearing rather well, why use several words to describe someone when one will do?

perhaps he's happy just to get by, and not bother about filthy lucre...dunno...i saw him once in HMV and really wanted to say "ta for writing Cards on the Table" and tell him my most offensive joke, but i thought against it...he'd probably hate it all...

i really would like him to do more though, a dvd release, or other such whoring devices would be most excellent...

DOUBLE EDIT: yeah, wasn't his opening remarks at Montreaux were "the problem with you lot is that half of you speak french, and the other half of you let them..." something like that, but obviously funnier...

Actually at the Montreal Festival for Laughs he was accosted by an irate French Canadian for using lines like that and he ended up being punched.

Nope. I am sorry. He needs to change his approach. And quick before it is too late for him.

Opening with 'Hello moosef***ers' may also have been a factor, but the word is 'assaulted' and the audience member was an idiot.

I wish Sadowitz got a lot more recognition as a magician and a comedian. He doesn't get what he deserves. I don't think he would stand any chance of success though if he tried to be something that wasn't Jerry Sadowitz, but that's unlikely to happen anyway.

From what I understand he isn't eking out a living at a magic shop. I don't think he's paid to be there.

isn't it refreshing that he has a somewhat 'unique' style and isn't obviously in it for the money? He obviously does what he does out of the love of doing it and he has chosen (or maybe it has chosen him) a character that is different from the norm.

He may not be the most popular magician but you can't take away from him his individuality nor his passion for both magic and comedy.

I drop my rabbit to him!

Which means of course that he is getting even less money than I thought he was. As for my allegations of his poverty I am afraid they don't come from me but from his own lips. I read an article all about him in a Scottish newspaper and it made him look a very sad specimen indeed. I felt very sorry for him after reading what I consider a brilliant piece of writing.

Whether the word was "punched" or "assaulted" I imagine the result would be just as painful both physically and for his career. The audience member may well have been an idiot but so is the "performer" (and I use the word loosely) for provoking him.

He may or may not get success if he changes his approach. I would say it is a 50/50 chance. However I know that as sure as hell he ain't gonna get anywhere with what he is doing now. Where is he going to work? His venues have been restricted by his behaviour and manner of performing.

Methinks he should give up the comedy entirely for a while and concentrate on being a more mainstream magician. Actually a comedian once opened my eyes by telling me that magicians were far better off and he envied them. Why? Because we have more places to work.Think about that for a moment. A comedian can't do a kids party. We can. A comedian can't do walk around magic. Or trade show work. We can. A comedian can't do certain venues where too much talk is inadvisable and the audience need something more visual.

And here is something that is quite an eye opener. Comedians make less money than magicians in most cases!

If Jerry is truly the brilliant magician everyone says he is he needs to give up the filthy and disgusting comedy that is holding him back and in fact not do any comedy at all. He should focus on the magic only.

If he does that he will be in with a chance. If he doesn't then his unworthy career will surely go down the tube as it well deserves to.

Some of you may well be fans of his but that isn't going to pay his rent.
Nope. He should get back to the magic and let that speak for itself. By dropping the comedy entirely he may be able to clean up his image easier.

And he badly needs to.

Here is the article I referred to:

http://living.scotsman.com/index.cfm?id=404392004

I met Jerry Sadowitz years ago when I was still doing comedy. He had a girlfriend (who did a bit but I can't remember her act) with him the times I spoke to him. I'm not sure what I think of him as a person. It's tempting to say he's authentic... but then again it's easy to see him as copping out. As far as comedians go, I prefer Ian Cognito

MR Lewis ~ how dare you tell someone how to do their act... Jerry at a children's party???

Put it this way ~ I have seen him at the Soho Theatre twice (travelling 250miles for it) and it was full both times at 17quid a shot. Now, taking into account there are overheads I reckon Jerry must walk away with at least a grand a night... 12 shows = 12grand. Tell you what, I'd take that pay for 12 x 1 hours work. As regards to work he does stuff around the country (Edinburgh every year), I can't see him being destitute. He has had various TV shows on both BBC (incredibly) and Ch 4 and 5.

Jerry is known for his 'abrasive' style. I saw the Canada show on TV ~ Channel 4 had the Montreal Comedy Fest on many years ago and Jerry walked on and said "Hello moose******s" and a guy got up out the audience and walloped him. I call that assault. Would you belt Robert De Niro for his work in Cape Fear? Should we wallop Robbie Savage or Craig Bellamy cos they annoy us? Well, actually I'm on shaky ground there!! It's an act ~ so I agree with Charles... it's assault in my book.

In fact Jerry brought this incident up at his latest show.

And Mark, Jerry is truly the great magician everyone says he is. There are some who say he is the best.

M

Mr.Lewis is not only a long standing profesional performer, he's also entitled to respect for his opinions - as are we all. Also, we don't expect to see expletives such as the one edited above - please bear in mind that not only is it impolite, there are youngsters on TM and we therefore have a duty to keep things reasonably clean and to an acceptable standard of decency.

I think Mikeyo needs to read the article again. It says plainly that "he needs the money" and that he lives frugally in a one bedroom flat.

I am of course of a prudish disposition in my position as a holy man of the cloth and psychic reverend. However I don't think this type of "comedy" pays in the long run. It certainly doesn't for Sadowitz by the tone of the article. And it shouldn't.

If he is truly a "great" magician and if there are some who "say that he is the best" then presumably that is what he should be doing. And no. I am not suggesting he performs at children's parties although it might be a wondrous transition for him if he has the knack. Sometimes you have to think "out of the box"

I didn't realise he got assaulted in front of the audience. I heard it was offstage that the incident happened. Since it actually happened in front of everyone that makes it even worse in my opinion.

Of course the audience member was at fault. But dealing with idiots is regrettably sometimes part of an entertainer's job. However there is no need to provoke that idiot in the first place. I have had dozens and dozens of idiots and hecklers in my career (for some odd reason 90% of which have been in Britain) but none of them have yet found the need to assault me.

I remember Harry Stanley once telling me that magicians were the lowest rung on the entertainment ladder. At one time there used to be advertisements in the Stage newspaper where entertainers were wanted but it specified "no magicians"

However times have changed. A magician has so many places to work nowadays. I think that if Jerry truly is a great magician as people keep telling me that he is then perhaps he should take a step on that low rung on the entertainment ladder which isn't quite as low as it used to be.

Can I just say that "I" am offended by the amount of 'If Jerry were a great magician' sentiments that seem to crop up at several places in this thread!

Jerry IS a great magician, one of the best in fact. Unfortunately because he refuses to change who he is, not what he pretends to be, it means that he is not commercially viable for the fame and fortune he truly deserves. If he were to calm his act down he would no longer be the Jerry Sadowitz we all admire so much.

It's true that in certain matters he doesn't help himself but, he is at least being honest, which is far more anyone can say about certain magicians out there who seem to thrive so much on plagerism that the thought of an original idea entering their heads would be a paradox in itself. Certainly one that cannot be solved with a DL.

Whether or not Jerry accuses Canadians of bestialty or makes light of the Ipswich murders or says he'd like to sexually punish Russell Brand, is besides the point. I for one am VERY grateful that he makes these statements, as all too often in this society/culture we life in, it's a breath of fresh air to know that it's OK to laugh at these things. Otherwise the social stigma around these subjects would build up to such a point, it would burst in other more deconstructive ways.

That is the point to the offensive nature of his monologues. Coupled with that, you get some world class sleight of hand magic that is honest in it's origins and proves that art needent be a means to make money (although I wish him every luck in this department) but, a reason for living in many instances. I'm sure he does both comedy and magic because he has no choice in the matter, and he has every right to be proud of both of them.

I don't know if "great" would be the description I would apply but I did see him do some adequate card magic but it was surrounded by a sea of filth in a television programme. 5 minutes of card tricks and 25 minutes of dubious "comedy".

Regrettably the filth ruined the magic and I do not feel the art I love was enhanced or dignified by it.

I am not sure he should be "proud" of the comedy as the last poster indicated but it seems that if that is the path of self destruction he insists on going then it is his own choosing.

I do think his fans are doing him no favours by their encouragement. A certain type of individual may like this sort of rebellious "humour" and applaud his "honesty" and so called artistic stance in doing things which allow him to not sully himself with grubby things like money.

However these people do not pay his rent and unfortunately in this capitalist society one does have to earn money in order to survive.

There is an old saying "Art for Art's sake and money for God's sake!" I think Jerry would do well to heed the wisdom of it.

I've watched this post for some days now and am neither a fan or a critic of JS.

However, a particular post above attracted my attention.

Whether or not Jerry accuses Canadians of bestialty or makes light of the Ipswich murders or says he'd like to sexually punish Russell Brand, is besides the point. I for one am VERY grateful that he makes these statements, as all too often in this society/culture we life in, it's a breath of fresh air to know that it's OK to laugh at these things. Otherwise the social stigma around these subjects would build up to such a point, it would burst in other more deconstructive ways.

There are times and places for all things but to say that you're greatefull to someone for making jokes about the Ipswich murders is crossing the mark. I suppose that you'll be saying that it's OK to make humour of a little girl being ripped to shreds by a dog?

There are certain things that cross beyond the moral bounday and to say that you're GRATEFUL to someone for making light of these types of situation and someone elses grief is something that I personally find offensive.

I speak as someone who has experience of a close family member being murdered. It's NOT a breath of fresh air if you're connected to such a tragic event. It's not OK to laugh at some things. Try putting yourself in the position of the parents and family of one of the Ipswich victims - how would you feel if it were your family.

I can tolerate jokes about celebrities and various nationalities but as I said earlier, there are boundaries. No wonder that large parts of society no longer appear to have a conscience about what they do and the effects of their actions when certain things are now targerts for a cheap laugh.

In the case of JS, my opinion is that his magic and apparent humour have little if anything to do with each other. One is his bright side and the other shows his dark side.

I agree with that and in fact I was going to remark that I saw nothing whatever funny about the Ipswich murders and that far from being a breath of "fresh" air I thought the air stunk if this is the type of "humour" that Jerry advocates. However I bit my tongue concerning the matter.

And yet he has his fans as indicated by many of the posts here. In my view it is a sad reflection of society and the British entertainment scene if this is the type of mentality that is pervasive in the UK.

I suppose I am getting old.

I feel you are both severely missing the point. I am not advocating the crime nor the fact that there is anything comical about taking someones life. However, there are matters that relate to the human psyche that ARE dark and to address these matters is to overcome them in my opinion. Which is just that MY OPINION. However, it is not my wish to glorify or advocate the said acts of extreme misfortune or directly offend anyone as a result. Therin lies a MASSIVE difference.

I'm sure we have ALL experienced some horrific things during our lifes some of which are incredibly unfair (to put it mildly) and out of our control. But sometimes the only way to truly deal with these matters is to meet them head on, which is why I AM grateful of voices like Jerry or Lenny Bruce or indeed Bill Hicks. It gives me relief when compared to my personal life's experiences regardless of whether it's suitable for TV.

I feel that my point is going slightly off the path to which I intended it and I apologise in indirectly feelings have been hurt. However, The underlying point of all this is, regardless of his choice of stand up material, Jerry has made some outstanding contributions to magic, more often that not overlooked or plagerised.