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Ron Bauer

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Ron Bauer
BornRonald Raymond Bauer
1938
Portland, Oregon

CategoriesBooks by Ron Bauer

Ron Bauer (b. 1938) is a professional writer in the computer and video industries, and a semi-professional magician. He's the author of a series of 24 "annotated performance scripts" for magicians, called the Ron Bauer Private Studies Series. He's also well-known for his T.T.T. (Two-card Turnover Technique)[1] and R.A.P. (Riffle Action Palm).[2] He maintained longtime friendships with Milt Kort, Jack McMillen, Don Alan, Ed Marlo, Dai Vernon, Charlie Miller, "Senator" Clarke Crandall, Bruce Cervon, and many others.

Biography

The Mr. Trix MagicFun Time Mall Show, with Bauer as the MagicFun Man
The Mr. Trix MagicFun Time Mall Show, with Bauer as the MagicFun Man
After being intrigued by a sign in the window, Ron Bauer walked through the door of his first magic shop at age 11, and he was hooked. He trained in Portland, Oregon, under Ted and Marie Hall, R. Vernon Cook, and Stan Payne of Star Magic. He voraciously devoured every magic book he could get his hands on, and in 1952, he was the first one in town to get a copy of the brand-new Modern Coin Magic by Bobo.

Shortly thereafter, Bauer's family moved to Memphis, Tennessee. He met and began learning from Jack Dean and Charles Aste, Jr. He also started training in acting, and got involved in local radio, television, and live theater. In fact, Bauer was the first magician to appear on the first two television stations in Memphis.

In 1959, Bauer married and moved to Detroit, where he became the first full-time professional close-up magician working in the area. Several years later, he started his training in marketing at Maxon Advertising. In 1968, he founded Mr. Trix Enterprises, a children's entertainment company based in the prestigious Detroit-suburb Birmingham.[3] Employing magicians, clowns, puppeteers, and party planners, Mr. Trix's popularity grew and it became the largest and most successful children's entertainment company in the Midwest. Children couldn't get enough of the MagicFun Man, Elmo D. Clown, Professor B'loon (sometimes played by Milt Kort), Kelly the Klorophyll Klown, and of course, the group's rabbit-in-a-hat mascot, Mr. Trix. Their shows included the "Mr. Trix MagicFun Time" show, the "Elmo D. Clown Show," "The Instant Puppet Show," and the "B'loon Circus." During this time Bauer also produced several Mr. Trix television projects.

Vernon, Miller, Bauer, and Marlo in Santa Barbara, June 1983
Vernon, Miller, Bauer, and Marlo in Santa Barbara, June 1983
After almost a decade running Mr. Trix, Bauer turned his attention to television production. He was writer and producer for over 100 episodes of the Bozo the Clown show at WJBK-TV in the late seventies.[4] Then, with an eye on the emerging video industry, he wrote, produced, and marketed the first training course in non-broadcast video production. After seeing his video production course, Sony contracted Bauer in the early eighties for a new project, so he headed to California.[5]

In the summer of 1983, Bauer managed to persuade his friend Ed Marlo to venture out of Chicago and attend the Pacific Coast Association of Magicians' 51st annual magic convention in Santa Barbara, California, much to the delight of West Coast magicians, many of whom had never had a chance to see Marlo.[6] The convention was a huge hit, with Marlo, Dai Vernon, Charlie Miller, and Jack McMillen all in attendance. It was the only time Marlo and Vernon ever shared a stage.[7] A photograph of Vernon, Miller, Bauer, and Marlo, posing on a sunny Santa Barbara beach, appears in The Vernon Chronicles, Volume 2: More Lost Inner Secrets by Stephen Minch (1988, p. 216). It's inscribed by Ron Bauer to Bruce Cervon. The same photo without the inscription can be seen to the right.

Bauer with Milt Kort and Stephen Minch, c. 1998
Bauer with Milt Kort and Stephen Minch, c. 1998
Returning home to Detroit after finishing his work with Sony, Bauer turned his focus to a new technology: personal computers. He wrote the first book for the public on Microsoft DOS, called Easy DOS It! (1986), which went on to become one of the best-selling computer books of the 1980s. (It's also how Alex Elmsley learned DOS!)

In 1994, Bill Kalush held a private convention in New York City, inviting less than fifty of the top "workers" in the world to discuss and present ideas on a single card trick. Although Bauer was invited, he was unable to attend, but he sent his contribution for the benefit of everyone there.[8] When Lance Pierce published a private book containing all the material from the event in 1997, he described Bauer like this:

Ron Bauer is the underground legend. A strong creator of routines and effects, he is rarely seen by the cogniscenti and even lesser known among the majority of the fraternity. For those who know, though, Ron represents the type of artist many of us would aspire to be.[9]

The nickname caught on among magicians, and Bauer has often been known since as "THE Underground Legend."[10][11][12]

Works

Ron Bauer Private Studies Series

This is a series of 24 annotated performance scripts written by Ron Bauer and illustrated by Sandra Kort. The first 12 were originally published by John Luka's Magic by Mail. In late 1999, Sandra Kort began publishing the series at her Electronic Graphic Art Design Studio (E-GADS), and released expanded and revised editions of the first 12.

According to Bauer:

...each of the items in my series is an "annoted performance script." They're intended to help out those with aspirations to perform in front of the public and (now get this part) have something to say that is at least somewhat as clever and amusing as the trick. Sometimes, performing a trick for friends or doing a little show is a person's only chance to be clever in public. Having the words and some help on the technical details can (almost assuredly) make the difference between having some fun and volunteering for humiliation.[13]
# Title Creator Close-Up Parlor Platform Stage Luka E-GADS
1 Gadabout Coins Revisited Ron Bauer Green check.svg.png 1998 2000
2 Sudden Death Gypsy Curse Ron Bauer Green check.svg.png 1998 2000
3 Feminine Side (Out of This World) Tony Chaudhuri Green check.svg.png 1998 2000
4 Butch, Ringo, and the Sheep (Thieves and Sheep) Ron Bauer Green check.svg.png 1998 2002
5 Hornswoggled Again! (Bamboozle) Ron Bauer Green check.svg.png Green check.svg.png 1998 2001
6 Owed to Poker Dan Ron Bauer Green check.svg.png 1998 2001
7 Dixie! (Cups and Balls) Ron Bauer Green check.svg.png 1998 2002
8 The Cursed Ring (Ring off Wand) Ron Bauer Green check.svg.png 1998 2000
9 Fair and Sloppy (Slop Shuffle) Ron Bauer Green check.svg.png 1998 2002
10 Left-Handed Hank Charlie Miller Green check.svg.png Green check.svg.png Green check.svg.png 1999 2001
11 Mechanical Deck (The Pack That Cuts Itself) Ron Bauer Green check.svg.png 1999 2001
12 Bar Bill Stunt (Bill Switch) Paul Chosse Green check.svg.png 1999 2001
13 Cut-Up Card Trick Senator Crandall Green check.svg.png ---- 2003
14 Four Squares and a Knot (Sympathetic Silks) Ron Bauer Green check.svg.png Green check.svg.png Green check.svg.png ---- 2003
15 The Siamese Goose Egg Bag Ron Bauer Green check.svg.png Green check.svg.png ---- 2003
16 Time Machine Ed Marlo Green check.svg.png ---- 2004
17 Second Finger Top Deal Ron Bauer Green check.svg.png ---- 2004
18 Xerox Money (Himber Wallet) Ron Bauer Green check.svg.png ---- 2000
19 All-Outs Think-of-a-Card Milt Kort Green check.svg.png ---- 2005
20 That's the Spirit! Ron Bauer Green check.svg.png Green check.svg.png ----
21 Final(ly) Aces (Ace Assembly) Brother Hamman Green check.svg.png ---- 2006
22 Hat Trick Jim Bergstrom Green check.svg.png Green check.svg.png Green check.svg.png ---- 2007
23 Worn Out Deck Bob Longe Green check.svg.png ----
24 Sneaky Nudist Rides Again Don Alan Green check.svg.png ----

Private Studies Special Editions

  • Don Alan's Devano Card Rise (1999)
  • The Chick Trick (2002)
  • Basic Cups & Balls Technique (2004)
  • The Complete Don Alan’s Chop Cup (2005)
  • The Ron Bauer 2008 Lecture: Notes from "THE Underground Legend" (2008)
  • The Revised Ron Bauer 2008 Lecture: Notes from "THE Underground Legend" (2009)

Magazine Articles

Title Magazine Vol. No. Date Page(s)
How to Perform Magic on Local TV*** The New Tops 22 2 February 1982 6-7
D-D-T!** The New Tops 22 2 February 1982 25-28
Television Time*** The New Tops 22 3 March 1982 19-20
Hoppy** The New Tops 22 3 March 1982 23-28
Bauer’s Delusion Genii 46 3 March 1982 169-171
The Jellis Ring Genii 46 4 April 1982 237-239
What is a Stereotype–Really?*** The New Tops 22 5 May 1982 6-9
A Timely Escape** The New Tops 22 7 July 1982 11-13
Who’s Who in a TV Production*** The New Tops 22 7 July 1982 31-32
Instant Lunch The New Tops 22 8 August 1982 6-8
The Shot*** The New Tops 22 8 August 1982 16-18
More Staging Ideas With Abbott’s Jet Set* The New Tops 22 9 September 1982 45-46.
How to Porta-Drape Your Abbott’s Jet Set* The New Tops 22 9 September 1982 47-48.
Staging and Blocking, Part One*** The New Tops 22 10 October 1982 41-43
Staging and Blocking, Part Two – Subjective Close-Up Magic*** The New Tops 22 11 November 1982 24-25
T. T. T. (Two Card Turnover Technique) Genii 46 11 November 1982 750-751.
Staging and Blocking, Part Three – Objective Close-Up Magic*** The New Tops 22 12 December 1982 24-25, 30-31
Card Technique (Ovette Master Move) Genii 46 12 December 1982 824-825.
Preparing for Local TV Interviews*** The New Tops 23 2 February 1983 8-10
The Screened Leipzig Pass Genii 47 2 February 1983 113-114
The Clones From Brazil Genii 47 7 July 1983 464-466
Spirits Genii 47 9 September 1983 616-618
Dianathe Enchantress (Profile of Diana Zimmerman) Genii 47 11 November 1983 760-762.
The Presidential Production (Dick Zimmerman) Genii 47 11 November 1983 773-775
  • A 3-part series on the Abbott's Jet Set.
    • A 4-part series called "The Key Ring Cycle."
      • A 9-part series, called "How to Perform Magic on Local TV."

Other

References

  1. The Ron Bauer 2008 Lecture, pp. 17-22
  2. The Ron Bauer 2008 Lecture, pp. 23-28
  3. Chuck Romano, The Art of Deception, 2008, p. 194
  4. The Revised Ron Bauer 2008 Lecture, 2009, p. 5
  5. E-GADS Press Release, "Now Through Sunday, Ron Bauer is the Featured Guest on England's Premier Web Forum!", MagicTimes, February 20, 2003
  6. Dai Vernon, Genii 1983 August, Vol. 47, No. 8, p. 25
  7. Jon Racherbaumer, "Vernon - Marlo, mutual respect?", The Genii Forum, November 5, 2004
  8. Bill Kalush's New York City Conference 1994 by Lance Pierce, 1997, pp. 11-12
  9. Bill Kalush's New York City Conference 1994 by Lance Pierce, 1997, p. 103
  10. John Luka, The Linking Ring, Vol. 77 No. 12, December 1997, p. 39
  11. Dennis Loomis, M-U-M, Vol. 100 No. 6, November 2010, p. 30
  12. Dennis Loomis, M-U-M, Vol. 101 No. 1, June 2011, p. 60
  13. Ron Bauer, "Special Guest Randy Wakeman: Scripting", The Magic Café, March 6, 2003

External Links