Magical Mildstones
Across decades of performing, Barry Levy’s magic has been shaped by legendary places and unforgettable moments. From lively afternoons at Rosoffs’ famed Magic Table, where New York’s magicians gathered to share secrets, to the celebrated Tannen’s Jubilee, where masters of the craft convened, Barry’s journey has been woven into the fabric of magic history. Along the way, critics and audiences alike have praised his sleight of hand and storytelling—testaments to a lifetime dedicated to wonder.
The Magic Table – A New York Tradition. Plus An Article in The New Yorker
For 63 years, Rosoffs restaurant on 43rd Street east of Times Square was the lunchtime gathering place for magicians—amateurs and masters alike. One day, a visiting reporter from The New Yorker witnessed Barry Levy’s close-up magic firsthand:
“Working with playing cards, Levy did an effect called Card Thought and another called Thought Detector—effects so impressive that, as far as we could tell, required sheer magic.”
The Impossible Revelation
Many magician's have published tricks they created. Some became household names among magicians. “The Invisible Deck” , ““Cheek To Cheek”, “McDonalds Aces .” Why couldn't I create a miracle. I wanted this to be a mind reading card trick. An Impossible Revelation. I had the idea and I come up with the method. Magician friends thought it was a miracle and so did Tannens who produced it.
Here is a description
A deck of cards is introduced and shown to a spectator.. The deck is cut in half and the spectator is asked to choose a half. The magician fans those cards and asks the spectator to merely think of a card. The halves are reassembled, shuffled and handed to the spectator. The spectator then names the card he is thinking about. He is asked to spell out the selected card removing a card from the pack for each letter. When the last letter of the selected card is spelled out, the spectator is asked to turn over that card. It is the very card he had selected.
Tannen’s Jubilee
The Tannens Jubilee was a three day magic convention held at a Hotel in the Catskills Mountains in upstate New York. It was run by Tannens Magic company for over 25 years. Today, The Jubilee and the majestic hotels are just a memory.
Tannen’s presented their Louie award, each year to their choice for magician of the year. The Louie was named after Lou Tannen, the founder of the firm. Recipients ranged from David Copperfield, to Tony Slydini, Dick Cavett, Zelpi, Maurice Fogel, Al Goshman Johnny Thompson and Ricky Jay, to name just a few. There were close up performers, stage acts, and dealer rooms where magic dealers from around the world would set up and sell the latest and greatest magic tricks, books and other items.
The year after the publication of my magic trick, The Impossible Revelation, I was asked by Tannens to perform close up. This was a great honor as some of the greatest close up magicians in the world had performed close up at the Jubilee.
About Magic Street
Founder – Magic Street Foundation
I created A Foundation for Children with Special Needs called Magic Street.
It was designed as a program to teach magic to children with special needs. And in so doing, helped develop their cognitive skills, their confidence and their creativity through Magic..
For over 10 years, Magic Street brought magic to children in several schools in Connecticut and New York. The program taught over 500 children ages 7 through 18. Students attended classes either on a weekly basis or on a scheduled format depending on a specific schools needs. Students performed at community events and for social organizations. The students created and published their own Magic Street newsletter.
Where school phycologists were initially concerned that students could not stay focused and work together for an hour, they were pleasantly surprised to witness just how well the students did focus and were able to work together to learn the tricks.
I learned that by not prejudging them, and giving them the motivation and the encouragement they needed, the students easily achieved goals that people did not think were possible.