Uri
Geller: in the words of Vice President Biden, this was “a big
fucking deal."
Despite
his reluctance to associate with magicians, Geller has been an
influence on magic for five decades.
When I
was becoming interested in magic I knew only an handful of names and
his was one of them. I would watch Doug Henning and Mark Wilson on
American TV and “Magic Tom” Auburn on our local channels and I
would read about Geller.
He
came to North America in the early 1970's at precisely the right
time. There was a boom in interest in all things paranormal and, as
a result, his talents were eagerly received. Each deformed spoon or
key, each restarted clock seemed to demonstrate that despite all of
the upheaval of war and social and economic unrest, it was within our
capacity to control our environment.
It
should be noted that this was also the time of Rod Serling's “Night
Gallery,” “Ghost Story” with Sebastian Cabot and a host of
other TV shows with paranormal themes like “The Sixth Sense” and
“The Night Stalker.”
I'm
not sure that I ever fully bought into the notion of Geller's unique
abilities. I had read enough about Houdini's campaign against
fraudulent spiritualists to be convinced that Geller was doing sneaky
business and was very good at it.
But
while bunking down in Camp Skeptic, I was nonetheless impressed by
his powers of self-promotion. Believe him or not, it was hard not to
know about him and the abilities he claimed.
And
two generations later, it was possible to still see his impact on the
magicians gathered in Orlando for Genii's 75th Anniversary
Birthday Bash.
In a
number of comments made from the stage it was clear that some
performers were uncomfortable sharing the program with Geller. And
in the lobby, there were conference attendees lined up two and three
deep to have their picture taken with him.
Needless
to say, there were very few empty seats at his morning lecture.
It is
not overstating it to say that Geller played his audience
masterfully. At least indirectly, through the power of his mind, he
was able to transform the room from a group who had the previous day
snickered at comments about spoon bending to one that gave him a
standing ovation and he did it all without exposing his methods.
That
in itself is a great trick.
Instead
of lecturing about effects and methods, Geller told his life story
with the same kind of optimism and good humor with which earnest and
sincere people on television convince you that you can lose weight
without exercise, or earn vast profits without risking any money.
After
years of hearing magicians complain about his refusal to acknowledge that his
effects are the product of skill and technique rather than paranormal
abilities, Geller's response is that he doesn't have to respond. He
demonstrated through a series of examples that the only thing that
matters to him is, in essence, that they spell his name right. (It's
pronounced “Ooo-ree” and not “U-ree.”) At one point he said
that he didn't bother to read the articles written about him, he just
measured the number of column-inches.
And so
now he travels the world selling versions of a competition show the
goal of which is to ostensibly name his rightful successor. He has
reinvented himself as the Simon Cowell of “mystifiers.”
Despite
all the too-clever remarks and the manufactured animus between him
and magicians, it is too easy to dismiss him as a footnote. He did
something significant in the history of magic. He built an original
act and sold it to the world. He made his reputation on deforming
flatware and the general public knows his name. These are all feats
to which magicians of every stripe aspire.
Regardless
of what magicians may think, there is much to learn from Geller about
building a career and continuing to stay relevant in the eyes of the
public. He's done it, is doing it and should be celebrated for that.
That's
what I think..., or maybe that's just what he wants me to think.
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