8.28.2007

Bruce Cervon: The King of Cool



When I first met Bruce Cervon, in the 70’s I found him just a little intimidating. For a start there was his act; which was about as perfect as any close-up I had ever seen. Then there was the classic Cervon cool. He pretty much made Clint Eastwood’s Dirty Harry look like an awkward high school kid. I was however pleased when I was booked to perform with him at a promotional event in a Los Angeles saving and loan bank.

Much to my surprise Bruce was not performing close up magic but was hosting and performing in the stage show. The opening of the show featured two dancing assistants who flourished silks that turned into canes as they shouted, “Here’s Bruce Cervon!” Much to my surprise Bruce was a superb stand up performer. Not only did he perform a couple of illusions including a tip-over trunk, but he also floored me with one of the most commercial comedic stand up routines I had ever seen. The effect he performed was a slick blend of the 6 Card Repeat/Cards to Pocket. His performance also featured a variation on the Kapps notes that seemed totally impossible to me: and I had learned the trick from Fred Kapps himself!

During the course of the afternoon Bruce and I began to chat and we discovered we had a mutual interest in music and our rather extensive record collections. Bruce suggested I drop by one afternoon to explore the gems in his collection. I happily agreed.

I ended up spending quite a few afternoons at Bruce’s home and enjoyed listening to his erudite and entertaining run down of American popular music. One thing the two of us never did was talk about magic. I guess many people lucky enough to spend time with Bruce would dream of coming away with a new double lift. I was overjoyed to leave his home having discovered Mose Allison. The album of Mose that Bruce gave me is still in my collection along with many others I have acquired over the years!

A few months later I was booked on another ‘Savings & Loan’ show with Bruce but this time we were joined on the engagement by Scottish master magician Ron Wilson. I told Ron about the mysterious manner in which Bruce could perform the Blank Paper to Dollar Bills without any of the usual folding or covering of the paper. I was hoping to find out how it was accomplished this time.
When Bruce performed the trick we were both watching intently. He fooled us both completely. There were six more shows and Ron and I managed to watch the trick six more times from six different angles and positions. We went up to the second floor of the bank building and watched, we stayed backstage and watched and by the end of the engagement we were no wiser to Bruce’s methods.

To be honest I still have no idea how he does that trick but that’s Bruce Cervon for you, as close to perfection as any magician ever need to be.