Full Bloom Vol 1

GAETAN

BLOOM

FULL BLOOM VOLUME

\

ONE

GAETAN BLOOM

GAETAN BLOOM

Volurne One: Tbe ldea Gard.eru

EDITOR AND DESIGNER TODD KARR ILLUSTRATOR

JAMES HODGES EXECUTIVE PUBLISHER

KEVIN JAMES

THE MIRACLE FACTORY 2013

Gaetan Bhom FULL BLOOM Volume One

2013 Gaetan Bloom and KeuinJames All cornmercial and manafacturing ri.gbts reseraed Copyrigbt

@

Design copyrigbt

Tbe

ta ut u.

@

2013

Tbe

Miraclc Factory

Miracle Factory 2013

Mi.rac lz Fa ct o ry.

n

e

t

Photo credi.ts

Arto Airaksinen: pp. 210,273,285,340-1, 393, 400 Alexander: pp. 281,297,301,305,309,313, 317,320, 322, 368 Jenny Z*"ry Belamy: pp. 324, 335 Pierre Delavie: Back cover, pp. 2,217 Thanla also to Michel Fontaine, Zoulct Galli Galli, Claudia Mendoza, and Mickaelkl

Ori gina I p ub lic ati o n cre di* t and No. 2, and The New Orleans Lecture Georges Proust's Acaddmie de Magie: Tlte Paris Lecture

Paul Stone: Gaetan Bloorn Series No.

All other lecture notes privately published by Gaetan Bloom

CONTENTS

VOLUME Publishert

ONE: THE

Note

Introduction

l{arr

11

Bloom

13

Todd

Gaetan

IDEA

GARDEN

Preface Keuin Jarnes 15 Acknowledgments 16

CONVERSAT CREAT

M

T

I ONS

Y

GaetanBhomandTbddKarr

GaetanBloom

l. GAETAN BLOOM 1. Plexiglas i la Carte 67

19

6l

SERTES

NO. 1 (r982)

SERTES

NO. 2 (1982)

2.HaveYou Had An Oeuf 71 3. The Ultimate Flying Ring 75 4. The

Hen

81

2. GAETAN

BLOOM

All Strung Out 87 2. News Headlines 93 1.

3. THE

NETT ORLEANS

1. The Bandage 99 2. The Bell 103

3. Lapping for the Standing Performer 107 4.The Pull and the Rubber Bands ll3 5. The Alarm Clock ll7

LECTURE

(L982)

BLOOM

FULL

6. Smokey 121 7.Two Sponge Balls 125 8. The Cards and Bottle 129 9. Silk to Egg Exposed 133 10. Button 11. \7hat?

Button I37 No \7all? l4l

LECTURE

PARIS

4. THE

(1987)

Connection 147 2.The\WatchTiick l5l 1. Padlock

3. The Card on the Human 4.-Ihe Standing Card 159

\7all

157

5. Prestidigitational Prediction 163 6. The Yoyo King 167 7. Bloomentalism 169 8. S.T.O.\r.R.C.T. (Signed, Torn, Oil and \rater Restored Card 9. The CrazyBicycle PumPs 179

r.July

14

173

(1990)

GAETAN

5. SIGNED,

Tiick)

189

2.Force 2, Power 4 1'91 3. Remarkable 195 4.'Ihe\Wishing Box 197

Clever 201 6. Silksack 203 T.LoveMe Tbndeur 205 8. The Lasso Card 207 5. Clearly

6. GAETAN

BLOOM

LECTURE

1.Top Chrono 215 2.Fiflq,-Fifty 219 3. The

Maxfia

223

4. Fakir Royale 227 5.

Bonux

231

6. Springdicdon 235 7. Kit-KIop 237 8. The Red Circle 241 9. The Ball Thap 245

7. r999

NOTES

1. Blind Complicity 249 2.Easy Ramo Samee 253 3. TiansparentMemory 259 4.Mac Fast Bloom 263

(1999)

NOTES

(ree7)

CONTENTS 5. Filature 267 6. Quart6 271

8. THE

IDEA

BOX (2OO2)

1. The Silk in the Ball 277 2.'Ihe \Torldt Longest Tirbe 279 3. The Knot Machine 283

4.MyEye 5. 6.

\7ink

287 291

ATwistedTrick 295 7.-IheLottery 299 8. The Ring and

Card

303

9. The Devilt Hand 307 10. Pinned 311 11. The Luclry Charm Box 315

12.-Ihe Demonic Cigarette 319 13. The Confetti Bags 321

9. EFFECT

AND

Plot 325 Card and the Box 327

1. The Effect and the

2.-Ihe

3. Fragile 333

Circle 337 5. My Egg Bag 343

4. Literary

6. Cigar lWatch 347

7.'IheGrater

349

B. The Egg and Bulb 353 9. Vegas Cups 355 10. Back in Vegas 357 11. Papat Theatre 359 12. SumTotal 363

10. FISM 1.

2006

A Pure Racket 371

2. Cards in the Bag 373 3. Padapple 377 4. Crush Pack 381 5. Astral Flash 383 6. On the Rocks 387 7.'Ihe King of Manipulation 391 8. Standing Ovation 395 9. A Fishy Game 399

PLOT

(2004)

BLOOM

FULL

TWO.. BLOOMERIES

VOLUME

(1999)

1. BLOOMERTES 1. Jojo the

Fish

41

1

At the Bar 413 3. The Balloon House 417 4. Tlte Snry of O(eaf) 421 5. Son ofSefala\ia 427 6. Annemann Forever 433 7.1he Shame Deck 439 2.

B. The Enchanted

Ribbon 443

Coin

447 9. The Melting 10. Himber Ring and Company 453 11. Hanging by a1\read 455 12. Knock and Roll Prediction 463 13. Straw, Coke, and Glass 467 74. MyTriangle from Bermude 477 15. Espresso Prediction 477 16. The Futurospace 483 lT.Phoenix 489 18. Vacation Homework 493 19. Quintessences 497

2}.BabyBoom 503 21. Broken\fands 507 22.-Ihe Blind Psychic 513 23. SpringVanish 521 24. Blendo-Vision 523 25. The Fold 529 26.

Attamove 531

27. Spirit

Initials

533

BLOOMS

2. NEW

Tirbe 537 Carrot 541 Bloom Phantom Tirbe

1. The All-Purpose

2.The Bill in 3. The

545

4.'Ihe BookTest Cart 549 5. Bottle

It!

553

6. Costume Conversion 557

7.'Ihe Eggs, Cards, and Glasses 561 8. Gaetant Card in'Wallet 567 9. The Gift Box 573 10. The Grocery Cart 577 11. Houdinit Shirt 579

CONTENTS 72.-Ihe Invisibility

Box

583

13. The Levitation Machine 589 14. Mobile Mental 591 15. The Pirate 595 16. The Rotating Box 599 17. Salami Slice 603 18. SilkThrough Ears 605 19. Silver Bend 608 20. Technicolor Needle Swallowing 609 21. Topsy-Tirrvy Light Bulb 613

22. TheTiansforming

Chair

617

23. Thansparent Chinese Sticks 621 Intermission: Cooking Class with Chef Gaetan 623

3. BLOOMS

FOR

SALE

MarhetedEffec*

1. The Intercessor 629

2.The Escorial Monte 643 3. The Escalator 653 4. Mission Impossible 657

4. BLOOM 1. Balls in

2. 3.

4.

IN

PRINT

663 Close-Up Encounters of the Third Escorial Cubio 669 Falling 673 Fan-Card 675

5. 6. Fiat

PublisbedEffec*

Motion

Kind

665

Lrl;l. 677

7. Knife Through Arm 681 8. Pen Gag 684 9. Point ofaTack 685 10. See-Through Divination 689 11. The Sh-h-h-op Cup 693 12. Smoke 697

5. THE

GENIUS

OF WINSTON

FREER

of'lTinston Freer Gaetan. Bloom 709 2. \Tinston Freer and his Original Mystery Clinic Tbdd Karr 7I7 1. The Genius

A LOVE

AFFAIR

729

ru .i ^, a\)

PUBL

I S H E R'S NOTE Todd Karr

nnreN Bloom creates magic with such original, clever methods that when you finally discover how the effect works, the secret is almost always as amazing as the routine itself. Gaetant not only one of the greatest inventors in the history of magic, het also one of the artt most dynamic, wide-ranging performers, a master of comedy, close-up, cabaret, stage, and even large illusions, as you'll see. And after knowing him for most of my life, I'll add that het also one of the most good-hearted, generous, unpretentious people you might ever encounter. During the eight years I lived in Paris, I shared many moments with Gaetan as friends, performers, fellow parents, and bons uiuants. It's my serious pleasure, then, to be able to help bring this collection of his incredible magic to you. A small note: In France, his name is properly spelled with an umlaut, as in "Gadtan," but we've opted for the career-long U.S. tradition of using a plain

e.

Kevin James, whom I ve known since we were teenagers in Michigan, coordinated this epic project, which is filled with his affection for both Gaetan and his work. All three of us are indebted to the incomparable James Hodges for his hundreds of superb drawings, which have turned this set into a gallery of his beautiful, unique artwork. I'm even more in awe of my friend Gaetan now after translating his French texts, studying his effects, assembling his years of photos, and editing his whimsical writings. As a magician and as a person, Gaetan is truly a rare gem. These books are filled with the sublime artistry of a man whose heart is full of love.

Merci, mon ami!

Et

mainteruarut, on czmmence le spectacle!

Mesdames et messieurs... Gaetan Bloom!

DEDICATION I

dedi.cate tbb boob to myfamily.

My

paren*,

Georges andtcanni.ne, and my sister, Syluie

Stepbanie Vaudagne and ruy uife Corinne Bluru, the wonderfulmotbers ofrny

cbildrm

And of course to rr! turo boys, Julien and Bapt*te, phr my granddaughter, Romy. Tbqr are tn! roots and my future..,and tbqr are magic! With Eecial tboughx to: tarues Hodges

He is lihe ruy otherfathel.

and Christian Fechner He was afriend and a. tnEntor, and I rniss him eaery day.

-

Gaetan Bloom

INTRODUCTION Gaetan Bloorn

ELLo, my friends!

I never thought this beautiful book would be finished. I can say beautiful, because Todd Karr, Kevin James, and James Hodges are the real fathers of the whole thing. They did so much. You see, I rea)ize that I ve dedicated this book to my family, but my other real family, you are going to meet through these pages, and all these people were or are part of me forever...and deeply inside I thank them all for whatever we have shared together. I can start with my first core family: Dominique \Webb, Jean Merlin, James Hodges, Georges Proust, Guy Lore, Jean-Claude and Carla Hasl6, Gdrard Majax, and G6rard Kunian, and then Juan Thmariz, Finn Jon, Max Maven, Ken Brooke, Dai Vernon, Albert Goshman, Channing Pollock, Philippe Fialho, Freddy Fah, Jean Ludow, Dominique Duvivier, Mago Anton, Stefan Leyshon, Luis de Matos, and JeffMcBride. Really, all of them have given me so much. Christian Fechner was definitely the most incredible man I've ever known. I think RobertHoudin would have been proud of him and bafled by his creations and thinking. Juan Thmariz is like a slightly older brother, and the most joyous magician in the world, every day completely and richly living the best magic possible. His books are incredible, and his devotion to the art as well. I have a special hero: \flinston Freer, nearly unknown, but a great source of inspiration to me. And another one, Al Baker, and of course Malini...and Robert-Houdin. Through these pages, you will see my big family...and some really wonderful women, who have always been a real source of love and inspiration...and this is also real magicl I realize I havent mentioned my tricks, my little world of wonders, but of course they're like my babies! Theyve made my life so happy. \Wow!

t4

FULL

BLOOM

It will take some time to meet my whole family, but I hope you will enjoy the trip. Even today, as I grow older, I am surrounded by people I love: my big brothers Dominique Duvivier and Juan Tamariz, my younger brother Kevin James, my daddies James Hodges and Dominique \X/ebb, and I have my two uncles, Georges Proust and Jean Merlin. Grandma Yvette is gone, along with Freddy Fah, but they are here with Christian Fechnet in my heart. Stefan Leyshon is like a spiritual son, Sylvie Ia Fde is like a sistet and I love my Portuguese branch of the family, with Luis de Matos, Vanessa, and the gang. I really enjoy this feeling. Your friends are your chosen family. This is so true! Thanks again to my brother Kevin.... and to Todd... and to you. Please...join us. Have a drink with us...and cheers! P.S.: Todd wanted

wait and

Gaeran and Kevin James

see!

to do the "Full Bloom"...but I am still alive, and thatt

a problem! So...

PREFACE Keain James

can remember the very moment that this book was conceived. I was sitting around Gaetan Bloom's kitchen table one night. This was in St.-Ouen, France, so it was quite a while ago. I was still working at the Crazy Horse and it was after work one night. Gaetan was telling me abour some of his latest inventions. There was nothing special about that, really. He was always telling me about some cool new effect he was working on. I suggested that we work on a book of just his ideas, for historyt sake. I was always so impressed with the sheer amount of qualiry material he has come up with. In his simple, nonchalant way, Gaetan agreed. 'We decided it was Ten years later, I was back in Paris, and I brought up the book again. time to get serious, so we began to write down all the effects that he could remember creating. Just offthe top of his head, we had filled more than rwenry pages on a legal pad in a heartbeat. Now it was time to bring in someone to help organize it and make it real. Enter Todd Karr. I ve always been impressed with Toddt Miracle Factory books and knew he was the right choice. Living in Paris for many years, Todd was very familiar with Gaetant work, and we were all longtime friends. \7e started by collecting everything from Gaetans brain that had ever been released. This 'We then included many lecture notes, magazine submissions, and effects from videotapes. added many amazingeffects that Gaetan had never published. Todd and I spent the next period recording interviews, listening to stories, scanning tons ofpersonal photos, and asking lots ofquestions. Next, we contacted the amazing artist James Hodges to redo some illustrations and fill in the gaps with dozens of new ones. This was no small job. Todd then wenr ro work translating, organizing, and laying it out, then requesting more revisions and additions. Years passed, as they do when everyone is busy.

16

FULL

BLOOM

ago, we all decided that we were so close, it was finally time to finish it up. About ^year Hopefully, a few months from now, I'll be reading this essay in the beautiful hardbound book set Full Bloorn. It feels like itt been a fifteen-year pregnancy and now we're ready to deliver the baby. In a sense, we are. These thoughts and notions are all Gaetant children, born from his mind. Every effect, technique, presentation, and nuance holds a little of his DNA, his genius. This is a treasure trove of great ideas and inspiration, and I know it will be a major resource for any performer looking for something fresh to add to his show.

Itt also a historical record of an amazing man, his inspirations, and his career...so far. I feel that Gaetant best is yet to come, and that he's just getting warmed up. I'm so proud of publishing this book and of the team that put it together. I learned so much about my friend Gaetan while working on this epic project. Now you will, too. As a friend, itt been a joy to climb into the amazing brain of Gaetan Bloom to create Full Bloom. As a performer, I'm seriously grateful that het decided to share all of this with the magicians of the world.

-

Keuin James

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Keuin James tbanks: Gaetan Bloom for being a creative genius, a great friend, and the brother I never had. Todd Karr for being my book publishing guru and walking me through the whole process. James Hodges for sharing his talent and beautiful art. My wife Claudia for being the love of my life and constant inspiration. Finally, to our three boys Bruno, Jarrett, and Daniel...you all make me very proud. Todd Karr is grateful ra.'Ron Aldrich, Thierry Collet, Megan Flowers, Christian Gambin, Greenspon, Joan and Ernest Karr, Jovann Karr, Schuyler Karr, Sierra Karr, Max Maven, Jaq Shawn McMaster, Fabienne Mulliez, Frangois Normag, Hugues Protat, and'SToody Pittman. Gaetan Bloom would like to also thank: Eugene Burger, Lance Burron, John Carney, Mike Caveney, Paul Daniels, Bill Kalush, Mac King, Paul Srone, Eric Aatoine, Paul Mz, G6rard Souchet, Gdrard Bakner, Alpha, Christophe Henriet, Frddiric Brown, Frid6rique Dard, Michel Laclos, Frangois Veirtemet Michel Jonasz, Didier Kaminka, Yves Carlevaris, Juan Arton, Shimada, Jacques Delord, Claude Ho-Hang, Sylvie la

ACKNOWLEDGMENTS Durary Jacques Laurenr. \lichel Harre, Srewart James, Jos Houben, Zouki Gali Gali, Francis Thbary Frantz Rejasse, David Ethan, Zakary, Mickaelk. Ilichel Polnareff, Pierre Switon, Moru, Pierre Mayer, Bernard Bilis, Charlie Frye and Sherry, Johnny and Pam Thompson, Doddy \\'hvhon, Marcalbert, Marc Arroine, Caroline Mas, Ilva Scali, Hugues Protar, Frangois Normag, Mike Chao, Miredieu, Franqois trlarrinez, Mathieu Bich, Norbert Ferrd, RaFael, Rafael Navarro, Patia Bourgeois, Sophie Consrantinidis, Ophie Levraur, Sophie Evans, Suzanne, Michael Weber, Nesror Hato, Marcus Zink, David Ben, Jorge Blass, David Copperfield, Chris Kenner, Etienne Lorenceau, David Berglas, Gene Marsuura, Josd Varga, Josd Garcimore, Kassagi, Jean Ducatillon, Jean-Jacques Sanverr, Pau[ De Rhuis, Philippe Socrate, Mu Tassel, Jean-Yves Prosr, Boris Wild, Damien Vappereau, Jean Garance, Pierrick Tenrhorey, Jean Garin, Nirag, Alexandra Duvivier, Quoc Tien Tran, Ardrd Mayetre, Guy Lammerryn, Mystag, Jean-MarieTavignot, Guy Sanz, Claude Klingsor, Joe Waldys, Xavier Morris, Oona Hodges, Marga Nicolau, Cathy Diamond, Ton Onosaka, Consuelo Lorgia, Vikror Vincent, Vincent Delourmel, Silvan, Vanni Bossi, Alberto Sitta, Patrik Droude, Topaz, Jonarhan Pendragon, Pete Biro, Vito Lupo, Hylarouf, Xavier Hodges, Pau[ Gormand, Julien Danie[, Harold Voyt, Dany Da Orriz, Juan Luis Rubiales, Stdphane Gali, Anroinerte Marteret, Eruan, Dani Lari, Gilles Arthur, Pierre Jacot, Patrick Hourdequin, Bernard Lion, Annick Viet, Lou Morin, Anabel Garcia Jurado, St6phanie Leboulanger, Murielle Emme, Raoul Cremona, Tony Binarelli, Alexander De Cova, Tommy Wonder, FIip, Fred Kaps, Lisa Menna, Sylvester rhe Jester, Chris Broughton, Earl Chaney, Joe Pon, Denny and Lee, Joe Stevens, Vadini, Eric Przybysz, Scotry York, David Roth, Rocco Silano, Juan Mayoral, John Gaughan, Perer Din, Maurice Pierre, Mac Ronay, Salvano, Edernac, Tom Mullica, Elan, Arne. Eizenberg, Bertran Lotth, Jean-Pierre Blanchard, Monique Nakachian, Patrick Sibastien, Sophie Pascal and Didier Bernardin, Jean Lecat, V6ronique Labenne, Adrienne Larue, H6ldne de Valombreuse, Claude Zidi, Gemma Navarro, Claude Geraldy, Patricia Devallieres, Georges Talmon, Rend Laquie r, Olivier Taquin, Alana Moelhmann, A]ain Noel, Alain Demoyencourr, Jos6 Angel Suarez, Gusravo Lorgia, Raley, Pdp6 Carroll, Ren6lys, Gilles and VaJdrie Mageux, Jean Regil, Llorens, fuchard Ross and Vdronique, Pavel, Jean Garance, Claude Kingsor, Claude fux, Bob Kohler, tpper Marryn, Ali Bongo, Patrick Page, Vic and Fabrini, The Blackwits, Alain Bernardin, Paul Harris, Michael Ammar, TimTiono, Bruno Copin, Siegfried and Roy, Penn andTeller, Lennert Green, Paul Kozak, \Wayne Dobson, JeffHobson, Keverne Mapp, Katell Sevestre, The Flying Debons, Arturo Bracherti, Mago Sales, Pierre Eraix, Alain SIim, Fanch Guillemin, Didier Puech, Darell, Jean-Louis Dupuis Dauby, Fernand Coucke, David Srone, Michel Martial, Patrick Hourdequin, J6r6me Sauloup, Tom Stone, Ali Nouira, Juliana Chen, Sebastian Nicolas, Bruno Kupfer, Fafa, Romain Lalire, Rend Frangois Lemaire, Jo Maldera, Alfredo Marchese, Michel Marrial, Marie-Hdline Remacle, Bob Alan, Bob Sheets, Nick Lewin, Vitaly and Elena Gorbatchebsky, Vanessa Viana, Michael Finney, Michael Close , Ramon Mayrata, Shoot Ogawa, Mickael Stutzingeq Orlane Vermo, So Hope, Yann Sicamois, Angelo Carbone, Chrisrian Gabriel, Alicia Tamariz, Ara Tamariz, Jason Baney, Thierry Schanen, Rafael Benatar, Eric Mead, Jack Barlett, Adam Fleischer, Bernard Darber, John Calvert, Tom Noddy, Greg Wilson, Norm Nielsen, Markku Purho, Cirs, Armando Lucero, Gary Daruin, Julie Eng, Christian Chelman, Dean Dill, Isadora Le Chapelain, Tina Lenerr, Ron \(ilson, Bill Larsen, Irene Larsen, Jamy Ian Swiss, Martin Nash, George Carl, Rudy Coby, Bev Bergeron, Marvin Roy, Fantasio, Doc Hilford, Paulino Gil, Ignaki Zabaleta, Ren6 Lavand, Francis Menotti, Bill Goldman, 'Wickman Braco, Scom Alexander, Jenny AJexander, Michael Chaut, Jim Steinmeyer, Ricky Jay, Daniel Cros, Yves Carbonnier, Xavier Mortimer, Sylvie Coulon, David Sousa, David Williamson, Carm6[o, Michel Dejeneffe, Bertran Crimet, Bebel, Dick Koornwinder, Ed Alonzo, Henry Evans, Lecusay Martin, Rdmy Demanres, Omar Pasha, Marc Setteducati, Barry fuchardson, Ian Rowland, fuchard Sarmiento, Yann Frisch, Meir Yedid, Keith Clark, Robert Clifton, Philippe De Perthuis, Ed Marlo, Jay Marshall, Malin Nilsson, Jerry Lewis, Sammy Davis Jr., Lupe Nielsen, Karrell Fox, Richard Kaufman, Cyril tkayama, Debbie McGee, Guy Hollingworrh, Luis Pedrahita, Marco Tempest, Michel Clavello, Richard STiseman, Jerry Andrus, Stan Allen, Bill Malone, Akira Fujii, Apollo Robbins, Ava Do, Chris Power, Chrisrian Engblom, Dan and Dave Buck, J.J., Jordan Gomez, Barry and Stuart, Carlos Vaquera, Devo, Dan Sperry, Timo Marc, Yamina Bulteau, Henry Mayol, Eric Eswin, Gazzo, fuchard McDougall, Michelle Ulrich, Frank Garcia, Sonny Fonrana, Adrian Soler, Albeno Giorgi, Dion Van fujt, Johnny Paul, Merer Becker, Nefesch, StewartJames, JeffBusby, Michel Hortet, Quoique Marduk, Marrin Pacheco, Fabiensoudiere, Diamond Diaz, TimothyTiusr, Solange Fechner, Marie-Christine Duvivier, Joseph Gabriel, Katalin Czekman, Serjo, Elone Attlan, Aaron Crow, Raymond Crowe, Ariel Frailich, Mireldo, Vivianne Mireldo, Marc Mdtral, Erika Larsen, Mih Larsen, Doug Henning, Vicroria and Sos Petrossian, Tigran and Sos Junior, Jewel Good, Chad Long, Gwen Aduh, Abdul Alafrez, Arturo de Ascanio, Jandro, Inds Molina, Yunke, Roger KJause, Barbie McNaughton, Marc de Souza, Jack Birnam, Vincino, David Jarre, Pierre Jacques, Robe rt Tarze, Max Ie fuoche, Herbay Montana, Sylvain Solustri, Jo Patrick, fucky Igolen, Marcel Curier, Charles Barbier, Yves de Sr. Lary, Michel Seldow, Fernand Odin, Yogano, Damao Oshan et Naga, Harry Excelsior, Maurice Gauthron, Benoit Rosemont, Vanessa Paradis, LarryJennings, Mag Lari, Ratcekou, Sacha Messiez, Ted Lesley, Marhias Raugh, John Fealey, Hervi Duca, Carthamus, Patry Bad, Jean-Pierre Vallarino, Ton Onosaka, Mama San, Makka Tendo, Otto and Chrisra \Wessely, Amazing Johnathan, Carthamus, Party Bad, Gay Blackstone, Harry Blacksrone, Jr. Fde, Georges and Sylvie Colomb,

I'm sure I have omitted many people I ve known who have given me happiness, friendship, sometimes love, and always a sense of wonder and magic. To all of them, thank you. You've made my life rich and beautiful. - Gaetan

t7

CONVERSATIONS WITH GAETAN Gaetan Bloorn

and Todd Karr

What

is

yourfull

My full name

name?

is Jean-Louis Gaetan Georges

Henri Blum.

Where were you born? Paris, 24 October, 1953. What's your motheri name?

Jeannine Vingon. Arud your father?

Georges. Siblings?

I have one sister, Sylvie. How did you end up calling yourself "Gaetan Bloom"? Gadtan is part of my real name, but my uncle was named Gaetan. He didn't like the name Gaetan at all, so all his life everybody called him Jean, which was his middle name. \When I was eighteen years old, a friend of mine said, "You have the name Gaetan, too." I said, "Yeah, and I love that name. AIso, I love my Uncle. Maybe the name Gaetan is not for

him."

with "Mister Blum," but I had problems with the name "Blum" because it was not international. It was not pronounced the same way in every country. I realized that if the name was spelled with a double 4 it was more visually fun, so my name became Gaetan Bloom, and thatt it!

I

started

FULL

20

BLOOM

Gaetan as a baby at the Parc Montsouris in Paris with his parenrs

rod grendmorher

(top

lO; Gaettis

parents (right); Gaeten wtrh PireNoEl (belou)

What did yourfather and mother do? They were not in show business at all.

They worked for the city government. I never knew my grandfather, but he was an astronomer by profession.

An astronomer? Astronomer, yeah.

I know he loved magic, because he had one or rwo very small books about magic. I still have them today. He was an inventor, too. He was an inventor of things related to his work. In a museum in Paris, the Mus6e des Arts et M6tiers, there is a big exhibition called Foucault's Pendulum. It is in a huge room and explains why the earth is revolving. I was very impressed by my grandfather because he did the very same thing on a smaller scale, and he received an award for that.

Besides

the magic books, the

only

memento I had from him was a Mysterious Pocket'Watch. \fhen I was ten, my mother said, "That was your grandfather's." It was a transparent watch. In fact, it was like a

miniature Robert-Houdin clock. For F.I.S.M. , in 1973,I loaned my watch for an exposition they had. The works were not visible. I had this beautiful watch in my house and about two years ago, it went missing. So I dont know in whose hands itt in now. I would love to know. Who was tbe

frst

magician you saw?

I grew up in Paris. The first magician I saw is dead now. His name was Georges Thlmon. He was a very old man, working the hotels. You know, in France at that time you had magicians

CONVERSATIONS

27

Georges Talmon performs the Needle Swallowing (top) ; poses

with his dog (below

lO;

atd, presents an

outdoor suspension at a resort in the Alps (below right).

working hotels during the holidays. I think a little bit like Malini was doing...not for

millionaires, though. I was on vacation seaside, and there was Professor Thlmon. It's very funny, because my first memory of magic is linked with the smell of fish soup, because it was just after dinner. This guy was pretty old by that time, with a big beard like Karl Marx a little bit. He did some impressive tricks for me, like the glass penetration with the needle and things like that. He played his music with a record and a record player. In the second part of the show, he was supposed to be a fakir. He turned the record over, took offhis tux jacket, put on something vaguely Indian with a turban, and now he did the show as a funny fakir character. It was really funny. He did the needle swallowing, a little fire eating, and a little mentalism. It was a lot of fun. Also, he had games, these kind of games where you have to say something very difficult, like a tongue rwister. I loved that, and the winner received a trick deck or a little magic trick, a very small prize.

22

FULL

BLOOM

He was performing in

a

small town where there were four major hotels. He did all of them,

to the next hotel where his show was. I had all day long to rehearse the rongue twister, so the next day, as soon as he started asking, "Can you repeat after me..." I said, so the next day, I went

I can!" Boom! Okay! I think it was a Svengali Deck. Oh, I was so hrppy with that. And the third day, just looking around, and after nobody said, "Yes, I can," he said, "\7ell, you can do it," he was and pointed ro me. Okay! I did the tongue rwister perfectly again and he reluctantly gave me the prize again, and that's how I started to be hooked. That's what I wanted to do. The last trick of the show was the chair suspension with his beautiful daughter. Some years ago he died, and his wife and his daughter auctioned his apparatus at an A.F.A.P. convention. Everything was there. He had some nice props, but nothing really out of the ordinary. I told myself that I wanted something from this guy, who was really magical for "Yes,

So I won;

me. The collectors were buying the pieces up at a pretty high price, which was discouraging for me. At one point, the auctioneer said, "And now we have this," and I remember he was holding the glass and a thin needle, making the same noise as Thlmon during his needle swallowing routine, and it was like really going back in time instantly! I remembered that moment so

vividly. And that sound: "Ding, ding, ding." I actually said out loud, "I want this one!" and I got special for me, and they didnt compete with me for it.

it. The other bidders knew it

was

How old were lou when you saw bim? I was ten, something like that. When did you start Performing magic? I was already interested in it a little bit.

In fact, I think I started at school. I was not so graceful. I ve always been big, and then not so big, and then bigger, and then not so bigger, like a yoyo. \[hen I was young, I was pretry big. I was a bit of a target to be picked on. Outside the school was a roy shop, selling toys and jokes. Before doing magic tricks, my interest was jokes, like hand buzzers and all those kinds of surprises...anything with a surprise, because I was a clown. I became the "funny guy." I think many magicians are shy a little bit, and I was very shy. It was a way to escape from being the fat guy to being the guy who made everyone laugh. I had a small booklet of magic which was a reprint of a very old book, and I read it. Oh, oh, I loved it. I remember one of the tricks was how to cut the neck off of a goose, a live one, 'W'ell, it was difficult for me to find a live goose in Paris, and I was seven. In fact, and resrore it. I needed to find rwo geese for this trick. I remember that I started to try. I needed to make a hole in the center of the table. I didn't have any geese, but I remember my mother stopping me when I tried ro cur a hole in her table, and that really was the end of it. She thought I was crazy, and it was almost the end of my career. Tell me about tbe

frst

trick you inuented.

Oh, it was shortly after seeing Georges Talmon. Bretagne is pretty Catholic, and most people there go to church. But they're really afraid the devil is alive, you know?

CONVERSATIONS

23

Gaetan at school

I had seen a picture of a guy purting a needle through his arm, and I wanted to do that. In Bretagne, they eat a lot of pork, and the way they do pork there, you can peel the external fesh pretty easily, so you have a kind of big ribbon made of fesh, and it looks more or less like human skin. So I just put this thing on top of my arm, and I put a bandage on each side, and then I said, "Oh, Mama, look!" I poked a needle in the skin and back out, and Mom almost fainted. 'We were renting a house from an old lady at this time for the vacation, and the landlady ran out the door screaming, because she was sure she'd seen the devil. That was my first trick. You learned some trichs

fiom the book, and then...?

I was looking for more magic books, but in normal libraries, you had nothing at the dme. Then not much happened for the next couple of years. I found one or two small books, but nothing important. It wasnt easy back then. I was about ten. I wanted to learn more. My mother found an address for a magic shop. \7hen we got there, it was a laundry business. I was so disappointed. The girl said that several others had asked her the same question about the magic shop. She said, "I know a place that sells tricks and jokes not so far from here." She pointed out the way. The first time I saw the Mayette magic shop, it was like Harry Potter when he enters wall. You know, it was the same kind of Wow! The shop was loaded with magic tables, the

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Gaetan, Fafa, and

Dominique Vebb

(lef) mdPxisian magic shop owner

Andr|.Mayette (right)

maBic cubes, magic rings. I had no idea you could find a shop selling that. That was the beginning of everything, the real beginning.

The first person I saw was old Mr. Mayette. He was a pretty austere character. My mom was able to break through his tough veneer. Later, I saw him nearly kick people out of the store if he didn't want to sell to you.

Did you buy anythirug? The first thing we bought was a catalog. Everything was so expensive. I was a prefty lazy student. So magic became rhe "carrot" to be a better student. You get the idea. Eventually, I bought everyrhing in there over the years. I now know that his two best customers were

Dominique Duvivier and me. I did not know Dominique at the time. Funnily enough, Dominique owns Mayette today. What happened next? tWell, I was watching

TV and this magician-hypnotist Dominique'Webb was on. He was doing mostly hypnosis and big illusions, very similar to Reveen. At the end of this show, he mentioned that next week, he will be opening a magic shop and school in Paris! I said to myself that I have to Bo ro see this guy, it will be really fantastic. So I go. It was like a 45-minute train to the complete opposite, north, in Paris. It was anorher magic shop, much more modern. Dominique \Webb was there and my mother asked, "Do you give lessons?"

He said, "Yes, every Thursday," because that was a day off from school. She said that she was interested in her boy taking lessons. Now, I don'r remember how much it was. tVhen he said the price, I asked, "Is that for the year?" He said that no, that was for the month. I gulped and told him wed just forget it. But my mother said, "No, no. I'[ pay for three months in advance." My mother always helped me a lot in doing my thing. My father was interested, but not always. My mother really encouraged me.

CONVERSATIONS

25

Gaetan in 1966 (top); an early comedy act (below)

you studied with him? took lessons with Dominique W'ebb, but the thing is, Dominique is not really a So

I

technician, but he is a very, very good, strong showman, and he taught me how to go for

it. He had this

energy, which he still has today. Het also a dreamer. I mean, he bought casdes in France, and made them kind of like mini Magic Castles, but at the time many magicians did not like him because he was a hypnotist; it was a little bit on the edge. Other teachers I had at \Webbt school

were Georges Proust and Jean Merlin. I Iearned all the classics from them, including billiard balls and Linking Rings. They were my real foundation. I met a lot of other magicians there and began to learn about other clubs and shows. I started to network. How long did you study with Jean Merlin?

lVith Jean, I studied at least three at

years

\7ebbt school at the magic shop, and then later I took private lessons from him. When did you start doing shows?

I think I was thirteen or fourteen. My first real paid job was not very well paid. Dominique 'Webb was putting out magic sets for the lay audience, and he was selling them in a big store in Paris, so for my first real gig, he said, "\(/hy dont you do the demo, because you are so young?" That was a very strong point, because when people in the stores saw a guy thirteen years old

26

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doing everything, they thoughr it must be easy to do. I was too young to technically receive money, so he paid me in books. I was so happy. It was a wonderful way to have an audience. I know I sold a lot of products for him because I was so young. Parents thought, "If this kid can do it, so can mine." Wbat did you perform in your frst real sbow? I was doing the Chinese Sticks, that's for sure. I think itt the first trick where really I was thrilled by the method more than by the trick. Sometimes you are a little bit disappointed because a trick is not up to your expectations. It takes a long time to realize that sometimes a very simple thing can be able to fool. But the Chinese Sticks...wow, the principle was cleve! and I ve always remembered that.

I was doing the rings and all the classics. I was doing doves, not in my jacket, but things Iike the Dove in Balloon and appearing canes. Some of my friends from the magic class and I combined our shows to make one big show. Sometimes they asked me to keep it to twenty minures, but most of the time I went 45. It was because I wanted to do everything I knew. Were

you doing arytthing origirtal at that time?

I was fourteen or fifteen now. I was doing classic tricks, but I found original presentations and ways to link the tricks. I remember I built myself a big travel case, which became a table ifI put it vertical. I was doing the Sticks at rhe time. There was this game with two plastic balls and two strings, and you had to make noise with them by bouncing them together. My first idea with the Chinese Sticks was to use balls like that instead of tassels, so I was presenting it as a Chinese version of the game. The idea was that in China, they dont like noise, so there is one with one ball down and one ball up, and if the children pull on this one, the other goes up, and I dont know why it works, but it works. Before I did the Sticks, I pulled a stiff wire out of the table and I hung a paper Chinese lantern on it. I did the Chinese Sticks with the balls, and at the end, I put one stick away. I said, "Okay, let's leave China." I put the remaining stick in the hole in the tabletoP, so it would stay verrical. I took the Chinese lantern and just pushed it on top of the stick, and now it resembled a \Testern lamp and lampshade. Now I just pulled on rhe string and the ball and nothing lit up. I said that I forgot the bulb. I pulled out a light bulb and held it in my other hand. Now when I pulled the ball on the Chinese Stick, the light bulb would light up. So the tricks were what we know but I would add some twists. Where were 1ou performirug your shows?

Oh, you know, I started to do Christmas shows. Dominique \7ebb had a lot of what you would call corporate shows now. I was one of his best pupils at his school, so he asked me to do some gigs and Christmas shows. My parents were very cool, really, and didnt ever say, "You have to go to work and then you can do your magic." I was still living with them at the time. I started to get money a little bit. I could really concentrate on my magic.

CONVERSATIONS

)7

Gaetant early Chinese act, designed

with

JtmesHodges (ight)

When did you ttart creating original material?

really started to develop my own material when I knew Ken Brooke. But in between I met James Hodges, and I fell in love with one of his daughters. She and I had a fou-year relationship. I was nineteen, and she was seventeen when we started. I knew James because rhere was a club, the French Ring, which was from the I.B.M. He gave his free time for these people when they were meeting, and every ye r he put a show rogerher with the members, and it was a wonderful experience. He was the artistic director of the club. 'When I was fifteen, I started to be part of this thing, and with James it is so easy to develop material because he is always ready for anything, so I had this big, big chance to be part ofthat. And really I had a wonderful time with Oona, his daughter. tMhen we broke up, I loved the girl, but my main concern was to Iose James' friendship. The first thing he told me was '\?'ell, he already had "Your Iife is your life, but you will always be like a son to me." Lucky me. six children, so one more...

I

James Hodges helped

yu

ueate

)/lur

Chinese tbeme act around tbis time.

\7ell, the act was designed by me and James as my first "international" act or supposed to be, the goal being to travel with it for international conventions. In it, I was talking all along but in a kind of Germano-Chino gibberish, with real Chinese exotic music as a background.

FULL

28

Caeran in his Chinese

atr

assisred br

Quoc Tien Tran

BLOOM

It was a ten-minute act, with a lot of visual comedy. The first time I saw Ali Bongo, I was so impressed that I wanted to do something along this line. Instead of a funny "shreek," James and I opted for a funny Chinese character, and the tricks were completely different. James first designed the costume. It was like a robe, with a large flexible ring in the bottom, a little bit like some Russian dancers, so you never see the feet, and it looks like you glide across the foor. AIso, there was a cartoonish dragon face on the costume with both the eyes and mouth animated. By pulling a thread on the side of the robe, I could open the mouth and make it smile. The eyes were simply rwo ping-pong balls painted black and linked together via a long cord hanging inside the costume. A weight from an old set of Chinese Sticks was hooked on the cord. The cord always had a slight tension, but my natural body movements made the eyes move slightly all the time. This adjustmenr was also used as a finale for the Chinese Sticks. For the last step, the sticks were supposedly broken, with the two long strings down. I had to just pull on both eyes and the tassels of the sticks would fly r'rp. Then, just by releasing the eyes, they went back in place on the costume. This was a very funny visual ending. There was also a gong. It was a kind of running gag during the whole act. For every effect, I was hitting the gong, most of the time with a different faked or funny stick. I adapted many "comedy wands" already on the market, like the breakaway wand, etc. At one point, the ball just few into the wings but reappeared on the stick, as in the Marconick cane. All this added rhythm and comedy. The Chinese Sticks were visible from the beginning, as if they were decorations for the main prop. There was a preffy big feather tassel hanging from each stick. The Sticks routine began as a supposed accident. After hitting the gong, the audience saw one tassel was hanging down. I had just secretly pulled on it as I turned my body toward the gong.

Then I realized what the audience saw and pulled on the short tassel, and it became long. The sticks were acring like a see-saw. So I dismantled the thing and ended with the sticks in my hands, and from then proceeded to the routine. I had another touch on thar. As I pulled on the big feather tassel, it stayed in my hand, as ifdetached from the cord, and in its place, a big black feather spider appeared at the end of the cord. It became sticks with spiders hanging from their threads, which was quite funny. \With the character pretty disgusted by the thing, near the end, I removed an insect spray to kill the spiders, but a bigger spider appeared from the spray can. It was an empty spray can with no

bottom.

CONVERSATIONS

29

The spider was made from a feather boa and pipe cleaners, and it was pretty healy, thanks a to weight inside. It was attached to a cord, and the other end was attached to the spray button. The spider stayed in the tube of the spray can, but with a gentle shake, it fell and appeared hanging under the spray can. I yelled and only had to hold the button and let the body of the spray can drop, to make the spider vanish back into the tube. And the big finish was, as I told you earlier, pulling the dragon's eyes. So it was a pretty

with a lot of surprises and action. remember other effects, too. I had a red Chinese Drawer Box. I showed it empty with the classic move, closed it, and after hitting the gong, I started to produce from it many small white silks. Then, one more hit, and I produced a full-size Kleenex box from the Drawer Box. Then, more hits of the gong and each time another Kleenex box, ending with a huge pile of them. It was a funny routine, of course. Everything was in the large Drawer Box, and I had made fake Kleenex boxes like folding appearing dice. I had also a routine with a comedy Change Bag covered with a tiger-print material. The tail was hanging and the bottom had a zipper. The move was funny; I put my hand inside, went through, and pulled the tail ro turn over the bag. It was a funny visual. I also had a weight at the end of the tail, and I could hit the gong just by swinging the bag toward it. The routine was to blow up a balloon and put it on top of the Ion my table, benveen two wires (2 laaBaJloon to Dove production). Then the balloon popped by itself (just a needle stuck to a thumb tip). I pretended to blow up an imaginary balloon with a kind of pumping action. Then I removed from my robe a fully infated balloon. This was easy as the robe was so wide; the infated balloon was there since the srart, just clipped inside the robe via a clothespin. Then I did the Change Bag, with the funny tiger touches, and produced a real dove. The dove was put in a velcro bag and became a shower of dny feathers. At the same time, my eyes followed an invisible path through the air to the balloon, and then the balloon exploded. A crazy routine,

I

funnyJooking destroyed dove appeared inside. The last effect was this: I presented a tiny dragon puppet and placed it in the main box. I removed the gong and put it away. Then I covered for one second the small dragon with a red cloth and instantly, the whole box became a huge funny-looking dragon. The head and top of the dragon were attached to a kind of scissors extension system. I just had to pull on the head, which had folding ears, and the whole thing came up. The four panels of the box popped open automatically and red fabric covered the whole thing. So many nice memories! Ken Broohe was a big influence 0n ))our magic. How dld you meet him?

James had a huge library and I spent hours and hours going through these wonderful books. I found some copies of Abracadabra, and in this magazine I found the wonderful ads from Ken Brooke, full page. That was also when I started to learn English, because I wanted to read magic books, and most of the magic books were in English. One day I took my pen and wrote, "Mr. Ken Brooke, I know you are very busy, but I put some money in this envelope, if you could send

me a catalog, etc." Ten days later, I received his beautiful catalog. Everything in there was professional level. started to buy things and correspond with Ken.

I

30

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FULL

Gaetan wirh Ken Brooke

I went for the first time to London for a few

I could speak I couldnt read

days. The funny part is that

"magic" with a magician, since I'd learned my English from magic books, but a newsPaPer.

bit hidden. It was on the second foor of an inconspicuous 'Wardour Street. Inside, you had a studio with a kind of counter for demos and

Ken Brooket Magic Place was

building ar

145

a

several sofas, and then you had the office behind. He was a partner with a man named Frank Farrow who was much older. Frank was the one who put up the money for him to be able to

open the studio. The first time really, I didnt see Ken. I just remember seeing packages fying from the office to the sofa, all day long. I was not speaking very good English, but I had the catalog, and I bought a few things, and it was marvelous. The next day, I came back and it was the beginning

of

a great friendship.

I

bought was a Haunted Deck-type effect by Finn Jon called Esoteric. You had three cards chosen and put back in the pack. Then you Put the pack on the foor and made a circle with everybody and they watched as the deck started to cut itself and go back; one card was there, then the second card, and so on in three steps like that. That was the first time I learned about thread magic. The most interesting thing for me, firstly, was that the thread was very thin and was so strong. It felt as if I was to really pull on

One of the things that

CONVERSATIONS

3t Lef: Ken Brooke at his shop; Right: Finn Jon (far right) floating a bill with Carla and Jean-Claude Hasld, Pablo Domenech, Juan Trmartz, and Gaetan

(fion lefi)

that, it would break, and no! And the second thing was that you just put a fishing weight on the end, so you had complete control,

and when you pulled on the thread, the weight automatically fell in his hand; it was genius. And that was the first thing to start me thinking about thread. Two weeks later, I came back. Now I was saving money to make the trip, just to go and spend a weekend there. It was always the same. I took the very cheap ferry boat at night at four o'clock in the morning. I would spend two days with Ken, then come back with the more expensive train, because I wanted to sleep and relax.

I did this for rwo or rhree years. It really ended when Ken died. After a few meetings, Ken told me that there is really someone that you need to meet in Paris: Finn Jon. He was working at the Crazy Horse. "I would love to," I said. Ken said to go to the Crazy Horse, wait for him, give him this note, and tell him you come from me. That I met Finn. I will remember always the first meeting with Finn. I was outside the Crazy waiting, and then came a guy. I saw his tall silhouette. I introduced myself. "Finn Jon?" "Yes?" "Hello, I am Gaetan Bloom," and I gave him the note from Ken. He had a big smile and said, "Let's have a drink." It was two in the morning. \7e went to the Champs-Elys6es and he started to do the foating bill, Iong before I knew other versions But it was two in the morning, he was not expecting me, so he was ready, all the time! He did two hours of flying things all over the place. Every time Finn was in Paris, every week we had a meeting for five hours. Thatt where really I started to find my first thread tricks. One night I fooled him with my Standing Card, and I was so happy. I was fooling the master himself. It was really indirecdy inspired by his

was the way

Esoteric effect.

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Back to Ken Brooke. Every visit was not only a pure joy, but also the nicest way to meet the top people in the business. They were all visiting the place, and he was friends with the best. Some of the people I got to know through Ken were Dai Vernon, Fred Kaps, Paul Daniels, Paul Stone, Johnny Paul, Johnny Thompson, and Tommy Cooper. Wheru

Gaetan in the television series Le: Galapiats

did

llu

start performirug

in

the

cabarets?

I never did a lot of cabarets, never wanted to. You know, in Paris, you have not so many choices. You have the Crazy Horse, the Moulin Rouge, the Lido. The three big spots. Besides this, you have a lot of smaller clubs, but you really make no big money. It means you need to do three or four cabarets a night to make a living, and I always thought, "I don't wanr to do that." I'm too lazy. Before I knew Finn, I was a spectator at the Crazy Horse. I had the pleasure of seeing George Carl, Milo and Roger, Se6or \7ences, and Mac Ronay. Mac Ronay was a very good comedy magician. From then on, I knew it was my dream to be on that stage someday. Actually,

because

So

I

you were doing just priuate

shows?

I was doing a lot of close-up, and

then

I did private shows. I did some movies. started to do some TV with Majax. Back then, there was a thing called cafe-thd,itre. I did some acting, and often I was doing special effects. For three years or so, I did after,

I

some cruise ships. Tell us about your

W

I did

and mouie worh.

TV

with eight episodes. I was fourteen or fifteen. It was "The to Little Rascals." It was a treasure-hunting story. called Les Galapiats, which translates I got the job because the director went on a major TV program and said he was casting this project. He had an arrisr sketching what this character should look like. I saw the drawing and was sure ir was me. So I did the audition and the director asked, "\7hat do you do?" I showed him some magic. He said, "You're not right for that part, but I have another part that will be perfect for you." The lesson is to go for it; you never knowl It was filmed in Belgium and showed lots of great landscapes. It became a kind of cult series in Belgium. Check the Internet if you want to know more about it. A few years ago, Belgian TV issued it as a DVD, and I was watching it with my youngest son. I didnt tell him The first project

was a

series

CONVERSATIONS

)) Gaetan with Slydini and Christim Fechner

that I was in it. After rwo episodes, he said to me, "Itt funny, but the big, stupid kid looks a little bit like you." In 1970,I met the famous director Louis Malle. I was cast in his movie Le Soffie au Coeur, which means "The Heart Murmur." I was cast as an extra, and you barely see me in the movie. Offthe set behveen shooting, I was doing some close-up for some of the other actors, and the director saw that and it stuck with him. Nearly two years later, I just happened to run into him on the Champs-Elysdes. He remembered me and was very nice. He said that he was making another movie and had a part a small but important part. The film was called Lacombe Lucien. It was a beautiful movie and a huge success. It was released in 1974. Four years later, I met Christian Fechner at a Spanish magic convention. At that time, he was already a major movie producer and a big fan of magic.'W'e became instant friends. One day, he asked me to do some special effects for a movie called Bite Mais Disciplirud that he was producing. It translates to "Stupid but Disciplined." The director, Claude Zidi, asked me to do some special magic effects for the end of the movie. The scene was a funny tennis match. He wanted a tennis ball to land on top of the net, roll from side to side, and finally when one player blew toward the ball, it would fall to the

for me if I wanted. It was

other side.

I also had to create some trick tennis rackets. One of the rackets extended when a player couldnt reach the ball. Another was for a player to serve the ball very hard and blast a hole

FULL

34

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Gaetanir, Les SousDouis wirhDaniel Arteujl (top), and having fun on set with actor Dominique

Hrlin

(below)

through the other playert racket. My solution was to make the strings out of uncooked hard spaghetti. There were parts held in with glue, so when the ball hit, it made a nice hole. I had to make fifteen of these rackets, so for

a while, I was really despising spaghefti. The director was very h"ppy with the final solutions and realized that this kid is good at solving special-effect problems. During this period, I started to do more special magic effects for theatre. One of the more memorable jobs was a play where there was a girl in a clinic waiting for an abortion.

She has number l27B and they called number 3. So as she was sitting there, I had to make her grow to the size of nine months pregnant in full view, but very slowly during the whole one-hour play.

In the same theatre, I met Didier Kaminka, a very funny author. I created a lot of magic contraptions for him and we became friends.

CONVERSATIONS

35

He was the favorite dialogue writer for Claude Zidi. They began working on another movie called Les Sous-Dour's, which translates to "7/le Underachieuers. "It was about some smart kids who had some grear ways to cheat on tests in school. I was asked to create funny and clever ways for these students to cheat. -When Didier was writing the script, he wrore a character named Gaetan, without thinking that I would do the parr. I was too old. As they were casting, the director couldnt find an actor who was eighteen for the lead part. He ended up choosing an actor who was 28. Now they realized that the guy will stick out from all the younger actors. So they raised the age to make him look a little more normal. I was suddenly pretry close to the right age. So I auditioned, and they cast me for the part of Gaetan. I was around 28 at the time. I created a lot of crazy gadgets for the film. It was a huge success. In fact, the year it came out, the movie was only second at the box office to Kramer us. Kramer. It is a cult film in France now, and it's on TV pretry often. During this period, I was also performing at the Paradis Latin. It was a nightclub created in 1803. Then it was rebuilt in 1887 by Gustave Eiffel of Eiffel Tower fame. In 1930, it closed and was forgotten. Then, in 1973, the building was rediscovered by real estate developer Jean

Kriegel by accident. interesting history.

It

has a wonderful and

Arturo Brachetti was part of the show and had to leave. My good friend Gdrard Majax knew the artistic director, the famous Jean-Marie Rividre, and got me the job.

For a few months, I did my comedy Chinese act. But for the new revue, the new director asked me to create a hunchback character. He was to do some magical effects in a scene. I devised the effects and played the character for a yeag and it was the only time I did something non-comical. The Hunchback act began with a pro;ectlon onstage of a very dark, oldlooking carousel. Instead of horses, they were monsters with some strange dancers riding them. They used this projection to set up the real carousel behind the screen. It took a little

time because it acually folded up, as there was not much space backstage. Then when the screen few, you saw the real carousel. It was a very dreamlike transltlon. A classic ballerina danced downstage. She wanted to exit this nightmare, so she ran to one side of the stage, but a tall, cloaked figure blocked her. She tried to escape by

Gaetan in his hunchback act at the ParadisLarin (top) and backstage with

Christian Gambin (belou)

36

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More moments from Gaetan's Hunchback act at the Paradis Latin

the other side, but another figure was in her way. They looked like they were from the

Klu Klux Klan, only in bright red costumes. One was holding a tray with a candle, and his costume had a fake arm so I could do the arm through body. The other guy in red was holding a big, lit candle that had lycopodium powder ready to fare up. I entered as the Hunchback from the audience with a lit torch, trapping the ballerina. I want to calm her and seduce her, but in a nice way. She was dancing with a ribbon and she dropped it out offear. My torch became a cane.'W'ith the cane, I picked up her ribbon from the foor and tried to give it back to her. She didnt want it. I blew on it, and it became a white fower, just the top of the flower without a stem. I threw it toward her and it appeared on her costume. She was surprised. She took it off and threw it on the ground. I picked it up and went ro the guy with the big candle. I gestured at his candle and the fame fared up. I burned the bloom and it changed to a necklace. I offered it to her. She hesitated but again didnt want it. In despair, I dropped to my knee. I took a white fower from my cloak and gave it to her. I begged her to take it and she just looked at it with disdain. The flower slowly became red, and eventually it began to drip blood on my hand. I noticed the blood on my fist. This was when the audience first realized that it was blood. I became furious. I went behind the tall hooded red guy who was holding the tray and candle. It looked like I shoved my hand and the bloody fower through his body! I lit the bloom on fire. It flashed and vanished. I dropped the stem and removed my hand from his midsection. In my fury, I knocked the head offthis guy, and a big burning fame came out ofhis neck! I went to the other cloaked figure and knocked his head off, too. Again, fire came shooting out of his neck! It made a very nice display, bookended by these two big human torches. Then they put some fire effect lighting on the carousel as if everything in the nightmare was burning to the ground.

CONVERSATIONS

)/ Gtettnin

Catrd Magique with James Hodges md G6rard Maju

As you can see, the act was short, with Iots of gimmicks and preparation. Most of the things were fash paper. V/hen I entered, I had a catgut loop on a piece of elastic on my left thumb. This was to vanish the ribbon. On my right thumb,

I

had a special gimmicked thumb tip with two terminals. This was connected with an electrical wire going to a fairly large battery on my back. (This was before lithium batteries.) There was also a pull attached to the thumb tip to get it out of the way when I was done with it. Of course, I had the Torch to Cane in my right hand. I will always remember the dress rehearsal. I had just received the Torch to Cane and no time to really rehearse it. Just to be sure to have a good fame, I put a lot of lighter fuid on it. I entered with this big faming torch. Then, at one point, I held it vertically to do the cane

transformation. Big mistake! The excess lit fuid began to drip down to my hand, plus the metal was getting really hot. I just remember throwing the thing in the air and screaming. Then I gathered my senses. I realized that I had lost both pulls and I was really burned! That didn't happen again.

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Gaeran in his

One of my favorite effects was the color-changing rose. It was really nice and dramatic. It was also very low-tech. I tried many differenr things, but the best was just a modified squirting fower bulb and tube. Instead of the fower itself, I had a transparent plastic disc covered with little pieces of white toilet paper. I used double-stick tape to attach the paper. The tube came through the center of the disc, and the bulb was filled with stage blood. The bulb was attached to the stem behind some leaves. Just by pressing the bulb a little bit, it began to slowly soak into the paper. 'When the paper was saturated, it began

Las Vegas debut

to bleed on my hand. It

was simple and

effective. You worked on a stage production called Carrl Magique in 1982. Yes, it was a combination of magic, music, and theater featuring G€rard Majax. James Hodges and

When did

yu

I were the consultants.

start worhing internationally?

\7ell, that was when I was just beginning to develop the microphone act. I had gotten booked for a big convention in Las Vegas. It was the first Las Vegas Magic Seminar in the early 1 980s. It w as through a collaboration of Ken Brooke, Paul Stone, and Joe Stevens. I didnt wanr ro do the Chinese Act, as it wasn't really for magicians. The hunchback act was impossible to do. But I had lots of ideas. I had talked with Ken about some ideas for the microphone act. I only had six monrhs to get it together, which is really not a lot of time. Ken was really starting to be very ill around this time. There was quite a lot of pressure there. Dai Vernon and Slydini were in the front row, just to name a few. It was packed with magic celebrities. It was a hit, and I got a standing ovationl What bappened afier the Wgas conuentioru? 'Well, -When I came back, I was a Iittle French guy not so much. It opened my eyes a bit. who had a big hit in Vegas, and that was just great! At this time, going to Vegas was really something. It was a big deal. But I didnt care so much about Vegas at the time, but I did finally get to go to Disneyland and the Magic Castle. It was like living the dream. Comedy turned out to be your dooruay to greater success. You euentually worked at the Cra4t Horse Saloon in Paris for years.

I love to laugh, and I love to make people laugh. I think, in fact, I could have been a clown. Maybe I would have been h"ppy like that. George Carl was really amazing at comedy. There are nor many magicians I'd want to see more than Id want to see George Carl. But he

CONVERSATIONS

39

was also a magician. In fact, he did one trick with a harmonica. One moment, he is playing the harmonica in the mike. Then he moves the mike forward, and all of a sudden his arms are linked on the mike stand. Then he had some crazy rwisring move that got him unlinked. It was a great piece of choreography, like an optical illusion. Oh, yeah, that was fabulous. This guy was so funny, so funny. I would love to be a

clown person,

as

funny

as he was,

for

sure.

When yu started working at the Crazy Horse in Las Wgas, was it easy to connect witb the s?ectatort?

It took me a good month to feel confident with this audience. It took me a while to correct some words, or some things which were really funny in Europe. Everybody laughed, but the funny thing is that even in Paris, at the Crazy Horse, it's not so many French people coming;

it

is really an

international audience. So how did you make them kugh and ca?ture their axention?

I wanted them to have a good time. That is always the same.

Thking the car there and spending the half-hour before to prepare, this is boring to death. Then you have this ten minutes before itt your thing and aII the energy

your show;

just comes, just like that. The more I did it, the more I wanted to put myself in a good frame of mind. If I had somebody important in the audience and I wanted to be good, then it was too much pressure. I tried not to think about them. I ignored that situation. M"yb. because I am too emotional, so I had more pressure. You know, after fifteen years at the Crazy,I knew this act by heart, even if I was changing something. Before I did the Crazy Horse, I was doing gigs and things, but not on a twice a night, every day basis. I discovered this, really at the Crazy Horse. I never wanted to do all the small cabarets where you are p rid nothing, and you have to do your ten minutes there, take your bicycle or whatever, and jump to the next cabaret. I didnt want to this part of the magic business, no. So I escaped that by doing conventions, close-up, and galas.

Many years before, I d had this idea that I wanted to perform at the Crazy Horse one day. It was like dream. And I did it, thanks to Kevin James again. It became a realiry. Also, it was my thought that this is the real magic, because I always wanted to do the Crazy Horse, and eventually, it was Kevin, an American guy doing the Crazy Horse, that allowed me to do the Crazy Horse.

Onstage at the Crazy Horse Saloon

40

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Keuin helped lou get booked?

Gaeran rvirh the Crazy Horse dancers

Kind of. Monique Nakachian was the talent agent for the Crazy. She wouldn't book me. She told me the boss, Alain Bernardin, would never hire a French guy, because he wanted international acts, and I said that's bullshit, you know? I was back from working with Tamariz in Spain. I did26 episodes with him on his TV show. Kevin and I selected footage for a new promo video. I gave the stuff to Dominique Duvivier to edit. Kevin took the tape with him to work, watching the boss every day to see if he was in a good mood or a bad mood. One day, the boss was having a good time with several other people in the office, and Kevin gave him the tape and he watched it right away with the other people. They all laughed and had a gteat time. Bernardin asked Kevin, "\(/here does this great act live?"

Kevin said, 'About ten miles from here." "Can meet?" That was the start. we The next day I got a call. 'Oh, I want this funny thing with the sticks and \7hen we met for the first time, he said, tassels. I've never seen this, itt very funny. Yes, yes. Okay, I want that, okay, and the thing with the mike and the shoe is pretty good." I said, "Yes, and the boxing glove." He said, "No, this is too long. It will be too long for us." I told him, "The only problem I have is that normally I talk, and there I know you dont want people to speak French. I can do it in English, but I need some time to prepare." He says "No, no, but it's okay in Spanish. It's funny, itt different, exotic. Can you do it in Spanish?"

I said, "Yes, okay." That was it. I did my act in Spanish at the Crazy Horse for fifteen years. And even now, itt really difficult for me to do it in French! And in English?

And in English, it took me a while to learn! Because the words iust came out in Spanish; you know, automatic pilot. you must haue performed thousands of shows there. Tbat was a major boohing. The funny thing is that I had done an audition ten years before, before I knew Monique. I was just back from the convention in Vegas in 1981, and I had this new act with the glove and the microphone and all that, and I thought, "Oh, now I am ready," so I called and I did the audition. It was during the afternoon, and there was nobody in the room, only him and Iru ffieen years,

his wife.

After, the boss came back and he gave me some advice: "You have some good ideas. It needs to cook. There is something there, and I think you have to go to Italy or Germany to work, and then you ll come back and maybe have something."

CONVERSATIONS

4r Gaetan on the "Thtayet Show'

in Belgium

"Okay, thank you very much," I said. Bye! That was the end of it. I had no desire to go on this trip to Italy, or whatever, so I decided to forget the Crazy Horse. \(hen I met him again, he never mentioned it, or he did not remember. At one moment, he said, "It's funny. Have we ever met before?" I told him we'd met ten years before. During a run-through with the boss on the day of my first show there, he said, "It's not a rehearsal. Itt just for the light," but it was a rehearsal. I had no background music, nothing. I was just talking all through, and he stopped me and said, "Itt okay, but give me a minute," and he came backstage. He had this pretry old recording, blowing dust off it, and he gave this to the sound guy, saying, "Can you take just thirty seconds from that and make ten minutes out of it?" Of course, the problem was rhat it was kind of Chinese music, because he had asked me to do the Chinese Sticks. He said, "You know, I dont want any silence, but I don't want to hear the music. Itt just to break this kind of silence. It's kind of background. If it's too loud, itt bad." Thatt a good point for talking acts. Sometimes they think they don't need any music, but itt always good to have some kind of background. Do you tend to do that wben you dre nzt workirug at the Crazy Horse?

Oh, yeah, especially if I do a small set, when I did a one-hour thing. You can't have like thirry seconds of music all along, but it is good to have an ambience, some sounds or somerhing.

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Where was yur one-hour show?

In a very small caf6-th6itre in

Paris called Le Plato, very small. For this,

I

had live music

and it was marvelous.

What was the name of tbe show? No name, it was just "Gaetan Bloom." But that reminds me of something else. At the Crazy Horse, I saw George Carl

many times there when

I

was a teenager.

They had a three-piece orchestra with a drummer, piano, and guitar, but George was using the drummer like nobody else. I mean, the drummer was really following him bit by bit, with every move. Crack! Bangl (Drumroll sounds)

tffhen I started rhe Crazy, that's the first thing I told him. And I said "I'm so happy because this will be the first time I will have a real orchestra".

He said, "Forget it! I'm firing them next week." Gulp! I loved George Carl, but I saw him on some occasions on TV with just music, and it's not the best he could be.

can have a real drummer or pianist, there is no comparison to any

If you

recorded music. AbsolutelY.

I think that kind of

investment

is

magic show' You something to really consider if you do a magic show, especially a one-hour I mean, you can can have IU ,t. new high-tech music you like, but if you have a real pianist, play with the guy, too. You are not by yourself anymore' on the harp This o.r.-ho,r. show I did, I had one girl playing the cello, and another one theatre. It turned out to be and piano. I had to work with them, because they were Part of the one of the most wonderful things. me, It was especially great b..r,rr. the girl with the cello was not stiff; she was following you know? on some tricks, like the Hindu Thread, it was really wonderful.

first night at the Crazy Horse' when the boss found this music, he said, V/hen I started ar the Ciazy, on the "ft...roo, 'Okay, can you do it for two months?" I said, "Great!" and I did. I'll always remember the first night, because the Crazy Horse is really a show where they You have to be dont wait for you. The show go., o.rl They don't check if you are there or not. there. I mean, that's it. Tell me about your

CONVERSATIONS The first time you do that, youre about to take the subway, you're on the stairs, and you hear the train coming, and you dont know if itt on the right side or not, but you rush because you dont want to miss this one. My first time at the Crazy was like that. You can't go in the wings, because the artists are not supposed to mix with the dancers. You have thirty seconds to set everything, then - pssst - the curtains open and you do

your thing.

downstairs and asked the boss: "So...?"

And you know, the owner was not the guy who would pat you on the back, and he also didnt have a lot of time to give you; it was like three seconds. He said, "Normally it doesnt work that well the first time. I don't understand why it worked so well. Can you do it again?" And I was, like, jumping inside! After, my concern was that I had to do this show twice a night. I d never done that. After ten years, we finally started to have a day off, but at that time, there was no day ofi so when you did three months, it meant you did three months with no day off Six months was really six months. It was tough.

I know

some people wouldnt do the Crazy Horse because there was no day off; they couldnt handle that. I thought, "I do the same act, ten minutes. In one month, I will be bored to death doing that." If you do a half-hour show, you can inject a three-minute trick, no problem. Itt so easy, you put in a new trick, you work on a new piece. You cant do that if you have ten minutes. But the more you do it, the more you find many touches, many details. So you start to work on seconds instead of minutes, and you still find things. Thatt why some people say, "Oh, this professional, how can they do that? He's been doing this act for twenry years." But the realiry is that it takes ten years of doing it two times a night to reach this point where it's kind of really tight. Do you watch uideos ofyourself

Oh, I dont like to watch me, but yeah, sometimes.

yu take notes afier a show? I try ro take notes after. I ve also used an idea I read in Lou Dermant

Yes,

years ago. He said

Gaetan magically skewers his tongue.

Afterward, I came back to the room upstairs, thinking, "Shit! How was it?" My mind was really worried. I d waited ten years now, so it really affected me. I came

Do

43

to take a recorder when you go onstage, turn it

lecture notes on, and after listen to it.

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Gaetan in Chinese garb a cast member and consultant for

Girard Maju's TV series "La Caverne

d'Abracadabra'

Sometimes you have an audience reaction you never had before and you dont know it, and then you reac ro the reaction and you find a new line or bit. But when you come offstage, you

"Damn! \[hat did I just do? I don't remember!" because it was just spur-of-the-moment. If you dont work a lot, I think recording is very, very good. say,

during ffieen lears of doing your act at the Crazy Horse, how did you keep it fruh? Hal Itt a big problem! Sometimes it's difficult, especially if you arent feeling well, have a bad cold or something. So,

if you

CONVERSATIONS

45

Your mind can be on auromaric pilot, you know, although this is something you can only do ifyou really know your act by heart. It's not the best, and I try to avoid that. One technique ro ger back in the moment is to think "This one is for Kevin, because he has his new show tonight," or "This one is for Roy." The idea is to find somebody I like and \Wow!" And be hrppy, and that's it, but just at the very last say, "\7ell, this one is for you, guy. moment before I go on. If I think about that fifteen minutes before, then we are back to this whole thought of "Oh, nol I have people in the room, and I want to be good!" and that is a disaster.

It

is a kind of magic to get back into the moment. Especially at the Crazy, you have absolutely no eye conract. Here, in America, a little bit more, because in the front row you can rheir faces. In Paris, you see just a huge, black blob. They are seated really low and you have this bright spot in your eyes. You don't see anything. You dont even know where they are, and that's not a good thing.

see

You know they're there.

Yeah, you know they are there, but sometimes, if it's not crowded, you dont really know. Sometimes I talk to them. One time, I realized that I was talking to empry seats. I didnt realize it at first, but later people told me there was nobody there! So every night, I would take a look before, so I wouldnt look stupid. It's a good concept. You had a set period of time to work, but

did you euer improuise a little bit?

'Well,

Crazy? yes and no. If i changed anything, I had to tell them before. The problem was, they didn't know anything about magic. But generally, when I was onstage, I did whatever I liked.

At the

How many fficts did you do in the act? Not many. In fact, I basically did three tricks, but there were a lot of small details. consuhantfor man)) teleuision shows. I ve done a lot of work with G6rard Majax, like his TV shows "La Caverne d'Abracadabra' and "Magic-Hall." The first one was a weekly show, aimed at children. I was playing a Chinese character. This show ran for several years. The other one, "Magic-Hall," was a shorter program, but more for adults. In this one, I was a kind of a mad scientist, every week inventing a crazy machine able to do anything: a machine to have good holidays, a machine to stop smoking, a machine to meet a sweetie, a Yoube deuised

fficts

as a

machine to clean babies, etc.

Gaetan wirh Maju and Michelle Ulrich

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Gaetan with Juan Tamariz on

"Chantatachail' (top) andwith NcI