Posted by Ian on 2010-02-13
in News
PAT PAGE
I am writing this on Friday 12th but feel that really it should be Friday 13th: because today is the day I heard the news that Pat Page has died.
Pat was the man responsible for getting me into magic. I began to get interested in card tricks when I was round about 17 and went up to London to a magic shop called Davenports. I asked for a book on card tricks and the man behind the counter recommended The Royal Road to Card Magic. I didn’t know it then – but I did later on – that the man was Pat Page.
Pat was the most knowledgeable man on magic I ever encountered. He just had an incredible memory for detail about tricks, acts, personalities that went right back to the pre-2nd world war era. And he was always so generous with his information and bits of advice.
His own act was formed in the hard working conditions of the pubs and clubs. He often worked with strippers and x-rated comedians; so his style was fairly hard-edged. Sometimes, to modern sensitivities, he could come across as slightly aggressive. But it was understandable, given some of the places where he had to earn his living.
His magic was immaculate though and the skill with which he conducted almost anything he did was a joy. Only a few weeks ago he showed me his vanish and production of billiard balls that he used to perform. Such routines normally involve some sort of gimmick – but Pat did it without. It was just sheer dexterity and timing.
He was a regular at The Magic Circle and his favourite question was: “What are you working on at present?” Because that is what magic was to him – always looking for something new to practice and perform. In his later years he worked on a lovely silent piece of magic that was basically clowning. I saw it a few times when he did it to the general public at The Magic Circle: and they loved it.
The lack of references to Pat Page was probably my biggest omission in my book on Stand-Up Comedy Magic : I’ve got no idea why I didn’t interview him for it because he would have come up with something insightful – he always did. I did get him to sign the book though: I have one copy where I get top comedy magicians to pen their autograph at the back: it was a privilege to have Pat’s signature.
One of his aphorisms was started by a question (he usually dropped his pearls of wisdom this way): “Why haven’t more magicians made it?” I scrambled for an answer; but he put me out of my misery: “It’s because they always like to get home after a gig”, was his response.
As so often happened with Pat you had to think through his answer carefully. What he meant was that to get on in showbiz, you have to network well. And most magicians aren’t good at that (they are too absorbed in themselves and their magic). It was certainly true of Pat: he wasn’t good at flannel and I’m sure, partly for that reason, nobody outside magic has really heard of him.
But, by god, they should have done.
I am writing this on Friday 12th but feel that really it should be Friday 13th: because today is the day I heard the news that Pat Page has died.
Pat was the man responsible for getting me into magic. I began to get interested in card tricks when I was round about 17 and went up to London to a magic shop called Davenports. I asked for a book on card tricks and the man behind the counter recommended The Royal Road to Card Magic. I didn’t know it then – but I did later on – that the man was Pat Page.
Pat was the most knowledgeable man on magic I ever encountered. He just had an incredible memory for detail about tricks, acts, personalities that went right back to the pre-2nd world war era. And he was always so generous with his information and bits of advice.
His own act was formed in the hard working conditions of the pubs and clubs. He often worked with strippers and x-rated comedians; so his style was fairly hard-edged. Sometimes, to modern sensitivities, he could come across as slightly aggressive. But it was understandable, given some of the places where he had to earn his living.
His magic was immaculate though and the skill with which he conducted almost anything he did was a joy. Only a few weeks ago he showed me his vanish and production of billiard balls that he used to perform. Such routines normally involve some sort of gimmick – but Pat did it without. It was just sheer dexterity and timing.
He was a regular at The Magic Circle and his favourite question was: “What are you working on at present?” Because that is what magic was to him – always looking for something new to practice and perform. In his later years he worked on a lovely silent piece of magic that was basically clowning. I saw it a few times when he did it to the general public at The Magic Circle: and they loved it.
The lack of references to Pat Page was probably my biggest omission in my book on Stand-Up Comedy Magic : I’ve got no idea why I didn’t interview him for it because he would have come up with something insightful – he always did. I did get him to sign the book though: I have one copy where I get top comedy magicians to pen their autograph at the back: it was a privilege to have Pat’s signature.
One of his aphorisms was started by a question (he usually dropped his pearls of wisdom this way): “Why haven’t more magicians made it?” I scrambled for an answer; but he put me out of my misery: “It’s because they always like to get home after a gig”, was his response.
As so often happened with Pat you had to think through his answer carefully. What he meant was that to get on in showbiz, you have to network well. And most magicians aren’t good at that (they are too absorbed in themselves and their magic). It was certainly true of Pat: he wasn’t good at flannel and I’m sure, partly for that reason, nobody outside magic has really heard of him.
But, by god, they should have done.
