Al Mann - The Invisible Men

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HBut what devil t ry must happen t o ma ke a I!I8.n i nvisi bl e,? " " I t's no deviltry . I t ' s a proc ess , Ba ne and i ntell i gent enoug.~ !

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The I nvisible Man

H. G, Well a

The above statement by Mr . Gr i f fi n , t he invis i ble man of Well ' s story . sums up tho secret of invi s ibili ty for the magi cian. It 113 simply a

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Several hund red s peotat ors saw Prince Thebb become invisible while lecturin g i n NYC . Then they s aid t hat he was t otall y invisible as he spoke to them and walked amongst them down t he center of the hall I They heard his voice continuo s l y but could not see him untill he r eached the back of the hall! The follo wing Sunda y , the l e ct ure hall ~a8 packed l Prince Thebb told his f o l l o ~ers that he ~aB n ev er aware when this phenomenon happens bu t t hat it had happened befor e and that he had. no control over i tl

The 'modus operandi ' use d by Prince Thebb matters l ittle . The fact is that the specta t ors said that he had bec ome i nvi sibl e . That they could hear his voice and fee l his presence amongs t them but cou l d not see him l fin .

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INVISIBLE MEN

AN AL MANN EXCLUSIVE

PRINCE TKEBB . . cont.

"It's very simple," said the voice, "1 am an invisible man l " Wells - -

Making yourself invisible is comparable. publicity wise, with walking on water or levitating. You only have to do i t once and get noted for it. You must make Bure it lands on the right eara and that it gets in print and become part of your life story l

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Prince Thebb simply used a two-way switch that turned on a tape recorder with his voice on it. He first told his audience to closs their eyes and bow their heads for a minute (prayer, concentration, yoga, or what-have - you) . The tape recorder continued the lecture while the Prince exited through a side door and ran around the outside of the building and then in through the front door where he picked up another microphone/s witched off the tape recorder and continued talking ! But as it usually happens, some of ths spectators did not bow their heads or close their eyes. These are the onss who received the brunt of the illusion l These are the ones who started the ball rolling. (some shills in the audience continue the momentum of the story) and the shut- eyes believers put the finishing touches to it! It is indeed a startling awakeningl First they see the lecturer on the stage talking to them over a microphone, then after the lecturer ducks out of sight everyone assumes that he is still there as they can hear his voice. Later they realize that the Prince first became invisible on the stage. A moment later the audience has to turn 180 degrees around in order to see the lecturer at the back of the hall. So they must assume that he walked by them but invisible!

01lL '11't()O..dWA'I' : "Visibili ty depends on the action of the visible bodies on light . Either a body absorbs light or it reflects or refracts it, -- If it neither reflects or refracts nor absorbs light, it cannot of itself be visible! " H. G. Wells In the 1950 , s, master magician William Neff had his Show at the Paramount Thsatre in NYC . During his introductory lecture and while standing behind a microphone on the center of the stage, Neff suddenly became trans lucent. Then he became transparent and then vanished all together ! But the audience could still hear his voice and could see the microphone! After a few seconds of time, Neff's form became perceptible like a ghost and then gradually Neff came back to our third dimensional world of visibility l

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J !HE INVlSIBLl!: MEN

A. ilL MANN -g,CLUSlVE

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ON BROIIDWIIY

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Fig . 1

Behind the closed front curtains, curtains "B" are a lready open a bit. The diagonal parts " COO r e present the two-way mirro rs. They stand at right angles to eaCh other and at a 45 degree angl e with the fro n t of the stage . Before the front curtains open, lights "D" a re turned on at full capacity, Th ese lights are behind the two-way mirror . Lights "E" (the f oot lights) are off. As the curta i n parts, the magician 1 s seen standing in the center. The audience is seeing the magician right through the two-

way mirrors. The bright lights behind the mirrors outshine t he weak pink s potli gh t that is thrown from the back of the theatre.

1111 the li gh t s "0 " and "E" are controlled by a rheostat. As soon 85 the magician starts talking the foot lights "E" are gradually turned on whil e li ghts "DM are gradually turned down . Lights ME" convert the t wo-way mi rror into a reflecting Burface and t he magician slowl y beco mes translucent , then transparent and then vanishes totally.

4 'I'KE INVISIBLE

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ilL Ml\NN K;{CLUSlVES

ON BR01\DWAY •• cont.

When asked about this strange phenomenon, Bill refused to discuss it and became annoyed at the inferrence. One spectator who saw Neff disappear at the Paramount was the late Long John Nebel of WOR Radio fame . Nebel wrote about his uncanny experience in an article for Fate Magazine and also wrote a report to the Psychic Observer and received much response from the readers. Some said that Neff was a spiritualist medium and knew the secret of dematerialization. others said that Bill used a little known secret of the Yogi masters. While others said that the Whole thing was a hallucination on the part of Nebel. Long John said, "I saw him disappear . To this day I say that

without hesi ts tion . " Later Long Jo hn wrote an amazingly detailed account of the phenomenon in his book "The Way Out World . " After reading Long John's detailed account as he saw it, any well versed magician can see the modus operandi. But to Long John it remained a true pheno menon! This in itself is truely amazing , since Long John had been investigating ' kook ' ESP experts and fraudulent psychics for several years. He knew all the tricks of deception practiced on the public, but yet he was completely stumpted by master magician Bill Neff! Why'? Simply because Bill denied i tl Magicians have been making people disappear for centuri e s, but only with the use of 'boxes' and other tri cky devices . The audience knows that the magician can do anything with a box although the me thod may elude them. Yet when the illusion of invisibility is denied by the magician i t becomes 'true' phenomenonl Following are t wo more methods for creating the illusion of invisibility. The stage of a theatre is r eferred to, but with a little replaning the props can he used on any platform. The method shown in Fig. 1, fits exactly with what Long John Nebel detailed in hi s book , The Way Out World. A combination of old principles are used. Namely, see - tr.rough mirrors (also known as two-way mirrors) and a form of black art. But since the audience is not aware that an illusion is about to take place, the method is never suspect. Before the curtains part (curtains A in Fig. 1) a pink small spotlight is thrown on the center of the stage. There is a good reason for using a pink spot light . Anything seen through a twoway mirror looks pinkish! This small spot light is not very bright. It will get the audience programmed for the 'pinkish' view of the magician ! The front curtains ·'A" can be of any color but everything else behind these curtains must be of one color. This inoludes the floor covering, the side walls, the ceiling and curtains. The preferred color is usually black, but other colors will also wo rk,

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l ::-!?: I1fVISIBL'E ON BROADWAY

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After the magic ian vanishes fro m sight , the audience can still hear his voice and see the microphone and lecternl The visible microphone is actually a dummy and is outside the mirrors. The real microphone is hidden inside oehind the mirrors. The t wo- way mirrors ~eet behind the vertical leg of the lectern and partly embedded into it and the lectern. ~hen the magician vanishes, the lectern in partly reflected in the mirrors and looks norrr.al. By reversing the lights . the magician becomes gradually vis ible. When the magician finishes his short lecture , curtains "II" are closed, All the props are then removed and the phenomena of i nvisibility remains a mystery ! It rrAttero little if Bome of the spectators in the wings and in the tlalcony do not get the full benefit of the illusion, What ever they see will look like a myster y and will appear as a stage effect,

"'."VILtf., A """"-44 .' Fig . 2 sho~ a different

method using only a pane of glass ! The glass panel is placed in a vertical pOSition perpendicular to the floor tlut slanted 45 degrees in relation to the front of the c stage, Fig, 2 "C , " The tllack-art principle is E ueed. Everything on stage behind o o the front curtain is covered in black. The magician hides behind the sido curtain at "D." Before the curta i ns part only lights "fI~ are on and play on the performer onl y. This eakes a mirror out of the plane glass 1\ panel . When the curtains part , 'the ~ audience see the rr.agician at cen~ tar a tage and facing the:n BUT wha t \ ~ th.y ar. looking at is tho r.fl.c- _ , ~ I II/ I 0,1 III ted image of tho magician . "E , ~ ~ ____",-~-",-,6",--,=,,-,,= ,,-,,,--,,,--,b,-,,,-_ When lights "B" are turned B on and made to bear on the glass pane, the magician becomes transparent and as lights "/I" are turned off, the magioian vanishes I The audience is now looking right through the glass pane and the void back stage ! 'iJhen the lights are reversed, the magician gradual l y becomes visible. But again , it i s only a reflection l

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AN ilL MANN E{CLUSlVE

INVISIBLE MEN

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HFFECT I As the Mentalist fi nishes his lecture before the show, he raises his hand to wave at the audience and mysteriously becomes transfixed and motionless like a statue I A few moments of profound ailence follo ws , then two assltante come from backstage and remove the performer who has changed into a lifesize cardboard photo of himself. SOLUTION . Just a simple magical metamorphosisl The reader may already know that the effect "Through a GlaSG , "

on page ). Fig. 2, is used 1n many ways by magicians to change one thing for the other . The illusion is used 1n the circus side -shows for changing a beautiful maiden into a l ive gorilla , which then escapes and scare e the daylights out of children and little old ladies. For our 'Bizarre Metamorphosis , ' the performer places a life si z e photo o f himself behind the glass pane in the same pOSiti on that his reflection will take. Position I'E" in Pig. 2. Before the curtains part. lights "11 " are aimed at the performer whioh reflects his image on the glass pane . The cardboard foto is not seen. 1111 "E" lights are off at this time so tha t when the curtains part the audience see the image of the per former as he makes his introdUctory lecture . At the end of the lecture lights "B" are turned on fully and ligh ts "li" are put out. The audience wi ll now see the cardboard foto of the performer. The audience will also see t he two assistants who come fr om backstage and r e~ove the cardboard toto I

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One of Hollywood ' s ' Count Dracula ' movies showed a magician who exihited a skeleton in a coffin with a wooden stake driven into the section where the heart would be. The magician tells hie audience that the skeleton belongs to the late Count Dracula and that if he would remove the stake from the skeleton Count Dracula would co~e back to life. The audience of course laughs at t h e magician and his story. The rogician then becomes highly insulted and in a rage removes the wooden stake f r om the skeletonl lind as promised the skeleton slowly changes into Count Dracula , diamond rings and coa t tails and all and flies away to the neares t blood bank ! This illueion can be done with the pane glass set up . A similar illusion with a coffin is performed sever al times each day at the Houdini Museum at Niagara Fallal The ' Glass Pane' illusion is also used in penetra tion effects which are seen on TV . The steel spikes v i sibly penetrate the lovely victim, bu t it is the reflected image of the victim that is penetrated !

7 AN ilL MANN E\CLUS IVE

THE INVISIBLE MEN

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Prince Thebb

Lady, "I saw Prince Thebb turn into a coconut with my very ovm eyes!" Grocer, "I suspected as much. My coconuts have been acting up lately , " (The reader may laugh at the follo wing true story, BUT Prince Thebb , with his de ep knowledge of the secret of the an cients , laughs all the way to t he bank . ) What follows , Gentlemen , is a bit o£ bizarre Mentalism as practiced by the ancient ~asters and which i s s till practiced to day a chosen few, A lady walks into Prince Thebb's office for a reading . The Prince gives the lady a life - span reading after firs t coll ecting his fee, He then reads the lady's ~ind (center-tear) and reads her future. He then states, "I am going to give you power . '/lith this power you will be able to make your every dream come true. You can get rich or ge t a l l the lovers you want. Do you know what this is?" Here Prince Thebb shows the lady a large woolen cloth with fancy edgi ngs. "This is a prayer shawl. It is sacred. It was given to me by a high priest in T~ibet. This shawl can make all your drea~s come true. I want you to think first of the most important wish you have. Then I am eoing to place this shawl over your head. I do not want you to pray. I want you to wish. You must wish and thi nk very strongly of your private wish. I want you to make the same wish three times, slowly. First make your wish and think about it. Then repeat that three times and remove the shawl when finished." Prince Thebb then places the prayer shawl over the lady's head and wraps it around her shoulder and under the chin . This is to prevent the lady f ro m seeing downwards. lis the lady is doing her wishes, Price Thebb quitely walks out and vanishes . His dog then walks in and sits in his chair. ~hen the lady ~inishes rraking her wish, she removes the shawl and is startled to see a dog where Price Thebb is supposed to be. She stares at the dog. The dog stares at her. She gigl es . All is quite. Too quite. She looks around the room . Price Thebb is n o where . She calls out , "Prince Thebb ! Where are you?" The dog barks, "Bow 'NOW!" The lady looks at the dog. The dog looks at her. Silly! Isn ' t it? But the lady begins to get a bit nervous. She gets up and walks backwards, afraid to turn her back on the dog. She reaches the door and runs ou t as fast as she can and then tells her friends and neighbors that Prince Thebb turned into a dog, right in fron t of her! (She has by then forgotten all about the ' power. ')

8 THE INVISIBLE MEN PRilYER SHAWLS

fiN ilL MANN EXCLUSIVE

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At other times , says Prince Thebb , I place a large coconut on the chair I That . Gentlemen , is Bizarre Mentalism ! So the lady laughs when she sese the coconut. But then the eerie silence comenOBS to crueh her. I f she speaks, the coconu t moves (palpitator) , GOOS8 pimples crop up and hairs stand on end . The lady runs out as f ast as she can. Later she will tell others. "Yes l " They will eay . "He has strange talents I "

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The Royal carpe t was roll ed out for Pri nce Thebb in his last visit to Africa . Being an expe rt in Afrioan Magi c. Prince Thebb was paraded and feas t ed by the local Magi. While there he was taken to the cave of an ancient high priest deep in the jungl es . While only three or fou r feet a wa y from his audience, the high priest levitated himself off the ground for a bout a foot or t wo. Prince Thebb was totally mystified a nd at a loss for a solu tion. Prince Thebb related his story to me at AME Headquarters on Nov. 4th , 1982. I aeked him if it was possible that mirr ors could have been used. He thought for a while and then said, "Yes! I hadn't thought of that. ,. Take another look at Fig. 2 , After the l ights are turned on the magician , his image will be reflected in the glass (or mirror). The viewing audience assumes that the r ef lected image is the real magician ! NOW if the mirror is ti l ted very slowly from the top edge towards the magician , i t will appear t hat he is slowly rising or levitated. All that is needed to produce this illusion is a little practice. The mirror must not be jerked but must be moved very slowly at a uniform pace. The background behind the magician mus t all be of one color and solid withou t any visible furniture, e t c, The levita t ions done in t he past by mystice and saints were done in most cases with t he reflected image. Bear in mind that the thought of it is awesome and is usually done in subdued light . When the stunt is done in a serious vein , it shatters all reasoningl Levitations done wi t h the reflected image are preferrable to other means , since there are no mechanical props to go wrong or detect . The glaaa or mirr or is simply covered with a curtain after the deed and there is nothing to find. The effect haa been performed in old ruins of churc hes / temples wher e no suspicion of any preparation can ariae . You do not have to fly high , All you need i s to levitate about 2 inchea off the ground and have it recorded, Under the right conditione you can create the illus ion of pasaing a stick ( a lightstick if possible) unde r the f ee t of the reflected image !

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FLASH I Magici an performs his ac t in two cities , thousands of miles apart , ON TKE SAME DAYI

The above is not a pipe dream . It is true fact I It is easy to do provided yOu want to do it . Al l it t akes is the ability to get booked for two shows plus an airline ticket , r ound trip . be tween Los Angeles and Tokyo l Tell your agent to arrange for you to give a show for a worthwhile charity or a fund raising dri v e ( in order to get newspaper coverage) in Tokyo on (say) Sunday , J an. 2), 198) (or any Sunday). Arrangements ffiust also be made for newspaper coverage via a 'head l ine prediction' etc . If you can give the show in the morni ng or early afternoon , so tr,uch the better. Next , you ffiuat also arrange to give a Show on t he BBme day l Sunday , Jan. 2J , 198J in Los Angeles , California ! Hefe you wil l also need to get newspaper coverage. (or in San Francisco). So you give your show in Tokyo , on Sunday, Jan . 2J , 1 98) and as soon as you are finish ed ge't on the jet plane :tor which you have ARRANGED R~~Vh TI ON and fly to Los hnge l es. You may arrive on t he next day , BUT due to the crOSSing of t he dateline (at the 180th Meridian) , the next day is also Sunday , Jan. 2), 1983 in Los Angeles. You wi l l have a chance to get some rest and then give yo ur show that night! Now you will have newspapers showing t hat you performed your act in t wo ci t ies thousands of miles apart on t he same day l

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THE INVISIBLE KJ'I

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