There's something kind of odd about tricking people for a living
October 19, 2021 9:46 AM Subscribe
The collection of Ricky Jay, actor, sleight-of-hand master, and scholar of magic history, is going to auction.
You can view the catalogue here. Some highlights: A marvelous horse, Berta Beeson on the high wire, many articles pertaining to Matthias Buchinger, whom Jay wrote a book about, Houdini, and the modern priestess of Delphi.
You can view the catalogue here. Some highlights: A marvelous horse, Berta Beeson on the high wire, many articles pertaining to Matthias Buchinger, whom Jay wrote a book about, Houdini, and the modern priestess of Delphi.
I still miss him and his amazing schtick.
posted by lalochezia at 9:59 AM on October 19, 2021 [4 favorites]
posted by lalochezia at 9:59 AM on October 19, 2021 [4 favorites]
For those of you who don't know Ricky Jay there's a significant amount of stuff on YouTube. A good start is his 52 Assistants movie, an hour of him doing sleight of hand tricks. Mostly cards but a great version of cup-and-balls at the end. Directed by David Mamet (!).
posted by Nelson at 10:10 AM on October 19, 2021 [15 favorites]
posted by Nelson at 10:10 AM on October 19, 2021 [15 favorites]
Parting out and privatizing the life’s work of a scholar and talent like Jay is some sort of criminal act.
So much this. This hurts my heart.
posted by ApathyGirl at 10:25 AM on October 19, 2021 [4 favorites]
So much this. This hurts my heart.
posted by ApathyGirl at 10:25 AM on October 19, 2021 [4 favorites]
I assume Penn Jillette is going to buy all the good stuff.
posted by Faint of Butt at 10:45 AM on October 19, 2021 [8 favorites]
posted by Faint of Butt at 10:45 AM on October 19, 2021 [8 favorites]
I’m sure he’d have to fight David Copperfield for it. Dude has a private museum in Las Vegas stuffed to the gills with one-of-kind artifacts (Houdini’s escape trunks, Ching Soon Lee’s rifle, etc).
posted by dr_dank at 10:52 AM on October 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by dr_dank at 10:52 AM on October 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
I’m sure he’d have to fight David Copperfield for it.
If I remember correctly from this amazing profile of him from 1993, he already did.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 11:09 AM on October 19, 2021 [5 favorites]
If I remember correctly from this amazing profile of him from 1993, he already did.
posted by BlackLeotardFront at 11:09 AM on October 19, 2021 [5 favorites]
It's nice seeing this kind of stuff.
That's it, that's the note
posted by kfholy at 11:22 AM on October 19, 2021 [2 favorites]
That's it, that's the note
posted by kfholy at 11:22 AM on October 19, 2021 [2 favorites]
I hope somebody can keep this collection intact and somewhere the public can see it. Parting out and privatizing the life’s work of a scholar and talent like Jay is some sort of criminal act.
Jay's wife, Chrisann Verges, apparently offered the collection to a few institutions, but they weren't interested.
For what it's worth, according to the Times today, Sotheby's was only interested in about 2,000 of the objects. The collection, the vast majority of which remains with Verges in their house, was over 10,000 objects. Did Sotheby's take the "best" stuff? It probably selected the most commercial stuff. Sotheby's is good at that. "Best" is a more complex question.
posted by The Bellman at 12:00 PM on October 19, 2021 [2 favorites]
Jay's wife, Chrisann Verges, apparently offered the collection to a few institutions, but they weren't interested.
For what it's worth, according to the Times today, Sotheby's was only interested in about 2,000 of the objects. The collection, the vast majority of which remains with Verges in their house, was over 10,000 objects. Did Sotheby's take the "best" stuff? It probably selected the most commercial stuff. Sotheby's is good at that. "Best" is a more complex question.
posted by The Bellman at 12:00 PM on October 19, 2021 [2 favorites]
"My motherfucker is so cool, when he goes to bed, sheep count him."
nthing the recommendation for "...and his 52 Assistants", it's amazing. Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women is also tons of fun. He was a very evocative writer.
posted by hearthpig at 12:12 PM on October 19, 2021 [7 favorites]
nthing the recommendation for "...and his 52 Assistants", it's amazing. Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women is also tons of fun. He was a very evocative writer.
posted by hearthpig at 12:12 PM on October 19, 2021 [7 favorites]
God, his History Lesson with the cups and balls is so good. "Bosco had only one contemporary rival, the slightly older Frenchman named Koniss, who in 1795 announced that he would make his wife, who was 5'7", appear under one of the cups. Practice though I have, I have been unable even to get married."
posted by mhoye at 12:46 PM on October 19, 2021 [9 favorites]
posted by mhoye at 12:46 PM on October 19, 2021 [9 favorites]
For those who can’t afford to buy this, his book is very fun.
posted by Ideefixe at 12:51 PM on October 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
posted by Ideefixe at 12:51 PM on October 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
Deceptive Practice, the documentary about Jay, is also terrific.
posted by Inkslinger at 1:14 PM on October 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Inkslinger at 1:14 PM on October 19, 2021 [1 favorite]
A good start is his 52 Assistants yt movie, an hour of him doing sleight of hand tricks.
This is a remarkable performance.
posted by vverse23 at 2:35 PM on October 19, 2021
This is a remarkable performance.
posted by vverse23 at 2:35 PM on October 19, 2021
I hope somebody can keep this collection intact
There was just so much stuff that Sotheby's "nearly 2,000 items" apparently barely dented the collection. His wife is quoted in this NYT article saying:
“Sotheby’s took their shipment,” she said. “And you can’t even tell it’s gone.”
posted by achrise at 4:55 PM on October 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
There was just so much stuff that Sotheby's "nearly 2,000 items" apparently barely dented the collection. His wife is quoted in this NYT article saying:
“Sotheby’s took their shipment,” she said. “And you can’t even tell it’s gone.”
posted by achrise at 4:55 PM on October 19, 2021 [3 favorites]
I guess this is what happens if arrangements haven't been made to preserve a collection way, way ahead of time. I suspect the remainder will be divided up and sold at auction through Potter & Potter, and the items will become parts of other magicians' and magic collectors' collections, until they die and the process starts anew.
posted by Devoidoid at 7:50 AM on October 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by Devoidoid at 7:50 AM on October 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
The NYTimes briefly explains why the collection didn't go somewhere as a whole:
All this made me wonder if there were any academic programs in the world dedicated to stage magic. It's traditionally a carny art, beneath academia. But given the combination of acting, applied psychology, and diverse cultural traditions it seems like some slightly quirky professor could really make a career for themselves as the world's academic expert on stage magic.
posted by Nelson at 8:05 AM on October 20, 2021
Verges first approached a few institutions about acquiring the entire collection, but they deemed it too diverse. She then invited representatives from Sotheby’s auction house to explore Jay’s accumulated treasureAt first I thought "too diverse" was a euphemism for "there's a lot of junk" but the article as a whole explains how personal the collection was and how Ricky Jay collected, well, a diverse set of things of interest to him.
All this made me wonder if there were any academic programs in the world dedicated to stage magic. It's traditionally a carny art, beneath academia. But given the combination of acting, applied psychology, and diverse cultural traditions it seems like some slightly quirky professor could really make a career for themselves as the world's academic expert on stage magic.
posted by Nelson at 8:05 AM on October 20, 2021
A good start is his 52 Assistants yt movie, an hour of him doing sleight of hand tricks.
I’ve watched this a million times and it occurred to me at some point that Ricky Jay had a brilliantly meta schtick as a magician. He’d never claim to be magical, of course, just a master of the ancient art of sleight of hand. But in fact while he was one of the best at that, some of his explanations with elaborate backstories of techniques that only a few people know are likely themselves patter, disguising clever use of classic techniques that lots of magicians know. Says a lot about what being a good magician is really about, I think.
posted by atoxyl at 9:18 AM on October 20, 2021
I’ve watched this a million times and it occurred to me at some point that Ricky Jay had a brilliantly meta schtick as a magician. He’d never claim to be magical, of course, just a master of the ancient art of sleight of hand. But in fact while he was one of the best at that, some of his explanations with elaborate backstories of techniques that only a few people know are likely themselves patter, disguising clever use of classic techniques that lots of magicians know. Says a lot about what being a good magician is really about, I think.
posted by atoxyl at 9:18 AM on October 20, 2021
threads like this, and the sharing of the 52 Assistants link, are the real gifts of MetaFilter. Truly grateful, thanks.
posted by elkevelvet at 9:33 AM on October 20, 2021
posted by elkevelvet at 9:33 AM on October 20, 2021
52 Assistants is Hall of Fame great, but the one I really, really like is called A Correctly Structured Drama, which I just learned is difficult to find if you don't remember the title.
posted by rhizome at 4:30 PM on October 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by rhizome at 4:30 PM on October 20, 2021 [1 favorite]
Thanks rhizome, I just watched that last night. It's a remarkable set of tricks; I guess almost entirely forces and deck memorization? But it's his performance that sells it. He's just so angry. And full of flim-flam, totally steamrolling the marks. Fun stuff.
I rewatched 52 Assistants last night and it's as good as I remember. What stands out most is just how good his patter is. Partly the Professor shtick, but also very well rehearsed lines delivered in perfect flow even with the occasional (seeming) improvisation. The writing is very sparkly too and I assume David Mamet had a hand in punching it all up.
But that's all just acting. And that's cover for the sleight-of-hand. Jay is really, really good. I have absolutely no idea what he's doing most of the time and while I'm certainly no legerdemain expert I can generally make a pretty good guess at the techniques used in, say, Fool Us performances. Just no idea at all what's going on with Ricky Jay most of the time.
posted by Nelson at 7:38 AM on October 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
I rewatched 52 Assistants last night and it's as good as I remember. What stands out most is just how good his patter is. Partly the Professor shtick, but also very well rehearsed lines delivered in perfect flow even with the occasional (seeming) improvisation. The writing is very sparkly too and I assume David Mamet had a hand in punching it all up.
But that's all just acting. And that's cover for the sleight-of-hand. Jay is really, really good. I have absolutely no idea what he's doing most of the time and while I'm certainly no legerdemain expert I can generally make a pretty good guess at the techniques used in, say, Fool Us performances. Just no idea at all what's going on with Ricky Jay most of the time.
posted by Nelson at 7:38 AM on October 21, 2021 [2 favorites]
Ricky Jay - Magician - Doug Henning's World of Magic - 1976 (cw: 1976 clothing styles, Doug Henning, Michael Landon)
posted by mikelieman at 8:27 AM on October 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by mikelieman at 8:27 AM on October 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
a related film that I really enjoyed is Dealt, about the life and incredible talent of Richard Harris. There's a fairly major twist in the tale that I won't spoil here but it's
A M A Z I N G.
posted by hearthpig at 9:39 AM on October 21, 2021
A M A Z I N G.
posted by hearthpig at 9:39 AM on October 21, 2021
Nelson, that performance is the best example I can think of to illustrate what a hustle is, and once I started seeing it that way I started noticing it in everyday interactions. ANY time someone's trying to rush me through an exchange or argument or something, the spidey sense, it tingles.
posted by rhizome at 1:47 PM on October 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
posted by rhizome at 1:47 PM on October 21, 2021 [1 favorite]
I watched the Doug Hennings World of Magic linked by mikelieman and then Youtube pointed me towards this late 1970s David Copperfield show with Loni Anderson and Bill Bixby and others!
Man, I had a huge crush on David Copperfield as a kid. And when I saw him live, I was crushed that he said the same things that he did on the tv show. Nobody had explained the concept of patter to me. But I still got an autograph on a photo of him in a tux, standing next to a duck, also in a tux.
posted by PussKillian at 2:17 PM on October 22, 2021
Man, I had a huge crush on David Copperfield as a kid. And when I saw him live, I was crushed that he said the same things that he did on the tv show. Nobody had explained the concept of patter to me. But I still got an autograph on a photo of him in a tux, standing next to a duck, also in a tux.
posted by PussKillian at 2:17 PM on October 22, 2021
« Older VIRUSCRAFT II | languages, customs, avatars, and nasty safeguards Newer »
This thread has been archived and is closed to new comments
posted by mhoye at 9:54 AM on October 19, 2021 [25 favorites]