Frank was trashed that night. See him stumble out, drop the cane, etc. Tony Spina said Frank crapped his pants and stunk up the hall and was banned from Tanner's.
To those interested here is one of my most cherished moments when I was just a teenager. I was managed by a talent manager who called me up one day and said "hey I want you to take a ride with me we are going to go see someone I want to introduce you to" So we got in the car and we ended up about 45 min out of town at a golf resort. I walked into a big open room with about 20 people standing around a table. They were all laughing and the look of ASTONISHMENT was on all their faces. The man they were watching was talking to a rabbit and the rabbit was following his every command. Then he brought the bird out and the bird was LISTENING to the audiences directions. I WAS FLABBERGASTED. For the next 35 minutes I witnessed real magic. I was roughly 16 yrs old. He finished his show and began to greet each person who attend the show. My manager John said "Del I want to introduce you to one of my newest talented clients, Justin this is Del Ray" From that point on Del became a mentor and dear teacher in my life. Del taught me how to be a magician in the world, how to BRING people INTO the world of magic. he was NOT making the magic happen HE was GUIDING THEM TO THE MAGIC and was WITNESSING the magic WITH THEM. It changed everything I knew about our craft. I am forever grateful for that man. The Manager of mine was also (unbeknownst to me) Del's manager at the time. Thank you Frank for the memories of a man who is and will always be the MASTER of the Table:)
Frank, thank you for posting this footage. I have seen countless magicians in my life, including myself, but few have compared with Del Ray. I witnessed his show in the same year as your video and, both in close-up and stage presentations, every spectator must have concluded that Del was approaching omnipotence! To say that his act was astounding would be such an understatement! RIP Del Ray, and thanks, Frank, for a treasured memory.
That was a much younger Harry Lorayne seated behind Dick Cavett. I feel lucky that I got to witness one of Del's performances, although not at this event. It was beyond amazing! I still remember the chirping canary and Butch, the inebriated bear.
So great to see my uncle del again! He did many magic shows after Christmas dinners with our family. A wonderful entertainer and was a real joy in our family .
Thank you for this, I was curious for a lot of time about him. He seemed like nervous. Also, what's the thing with the close up pad, putting and removing every time?
He didn't seem at all nervous to me. Quite the opposite. Many magicians use a mat for card work because it makes picking up cards much easier. It isn't totally necessary but it makes things smoother. Dice stacking is the opposite. Better on a solid surface.
I met Del Ray in Pittsburgh and watched his performance. Del Ray totally amazed me. After his performance, he invited his manager, myself and another friend to dine with him. A good meal followed by a wonderful performance in the restaurant as he entertained kids from one table after another with tricks. What a wonderful gentleman. Oh! how the kids loved him.
Yes there are rub on sticks these days or spray roughing fluid (my favorite) that I use to make my own visible decks i do make and sell my own props also
After seeing the part of the routine with cigarettes, and card flourishes while wearing gloves; I suppose that it was Del Ray`s homage to Cardini... Katalyzt
