Can you talk about Doug’s moral issues with performing in Vegas? Sure! By 1982 – Doug was frustrated with Vegas. He didn’t like the smoking, drinking, and gambling of the town. He felt like he had to work extra hard to overcome the energy of the city to stay spiritually pure. And he basically said,…
Category: Interview
Lance Rich “Neon Dreams” Interview: Part 2
What were the things you found out that you didn’t know before you started? During the course of my research, there were several new and exciting discoveries. But there was one big one! And it’s that discovery that has drawn the most attention… Very early in my research people started asking me, ‘Who was the…
Lanch Rich “Neon Dreams” Interview: Part One
For all those looking for the perfect holiday gift, look no further than Lance Rich’s recent book “Neon Dreams: The Story of Las Vegas Magic.” I was delighted that Lance was more than happy to answer some questions regarding it, as well as Doug’s time in Las Vegas. Enjoy…I know I did. What inspired you…
Michael Mitnick on Doug and Magic
Today, I have a treat in that Michael Mitnick, playwright, screenwriter, and magic enthusiast, has graciously agreed to participate in today’s post. On the stage, Michael has written such productions as “Fly By Night,” “Spacebar,” and “Sex Lives of Our Parents. ” For the movies, Michael has written “The Giver,” “The Current War,” as well…
Buffalo Courier Express Focus: 4/30/1978
The article featured below was sent to me by Ken McCreedy. Thanks Ken. The article covers many things, but has a nice anecdote of Doug’s journeys to Buffalo as a youth where he would buy illusions at Gene Gordon’s shop on Franklin Street. It’s a nice snapshot of Doug’s life as a 31 year old…
San Francisco Examiner-2/14/1980
I liked this article because it gives you a real window into Doug’s hectic daily life circa 1980. A lot of articles at this time tend to rehash a lot of the same bullet historical points. But, this one mixes things up, and even throws in an anecdote about Doug’s abandoned shark illusion. Doug’s old…
The Desert Sun (Palm Springs)-12/14/78
Today’s post profiles Doug gearing up for “World of Magic ’78” starring Brooke Shields and Tom Bosley. It’s a fine article hailing out of Palm Springs. Not least of which are the vintage advertisements for the “House of Bamboo” and the “Lord and Lady Inn.” Did any of you ever attend these swinging 70s places?
“Oakville Beaver” Interview-March, 1982
Five years ago, I posted a 1982 interview Doug did with the “Oakville Beaver.” Oakville, as you may know, was Doug’s old stomping grounds, and where he lived and attended high school. Recently, that same article was sent to me again by chance. I realized that in the original 2018 post, I posted it as…
CBS Morning News: Doug and Maria Shriver
The above clip ties in nicely with the “BBC History of Magic” post that I had put up a couple days ago. In fact, it’s an expanded version of an interview clip featured within that original special’s segment on Doug. Found now on Bill Green’s You Tube Channel, Doug performs a whimsical illusion with a…
10 Questions with Carisa Hendrix
Today ‘s special guest is renowned magician Carisa Hendrix. Along with her alter ego, Lucy Darling, Hendrix has taken the magic world by storm over the last ten years. Awarded the 2019 Stage Magician of the Year by the AMA, Hendrix continues to breathe new life into magic through innovation and comedy. If that weren’t…
Entertainment Tonight Candid Interview Shot
The above photo comes from the “Mr. Camera” Instagram page, and is from an unknown date and venue. According to the page, the man doing the interviewing is “Mr. Camera” himself, Don Jacobs. Don Jacobs is the founder of, you guessed it, “Mr. Camera.” By Doug’s look, and the “Entertainment Tonight” microphone it is definitely…
New York Daily News Interview-Dec. 1976
Today’s article comes from the promotional blitz that surrounded Doug’s second “World of Magic” special in 1976. In it, Doug talks about the special’s main illusions, “The Flaming Miracle” and the “Disappearing Elephant.” However, the juiciest part of the article comes when Doug contrasts and compares how Houdini originally performed the “Elephant in the Room”…
“Lincoln Nebraska Sunday Journal” Interview-August 11, 1974
Today’s post is a very early interview with Doug from when “The Magic Show” had just opened, and was taking Broadway by storm. While Doug recounts some of the background information you may already know, what I liked about it in particular is reading Doug’s secrecy agreement with his cast and staff. Also, the interviewer…
Argus Leader Interview-5/1/1987
I was drawn to this article because of it being at a late stage of Doug’s magic career. It even begins with the interviewer asking about his opinion of Penn and Teller, and Doug’s view of them. Clearly they were the new kids on the magic block in the late 1980s. Times were clearly changing …
“Bump in the Night” Box Interview with Greg Gleason
As many of you may have seen, magician Greg Gleason recently and accidentally came to own Doug’s original “Things that go Bump in the Night” box. How that came to be is a fascinating story. It’s a story so fascinating that I’m going to let Greg tell it himself. How did you obtain the box?…
Gary Brown on his Genii Article: Expanded
In 1997, I had reached out to Erica Larsen who was, at that time, editing Genii, about doing an issue devoted to Doug Henning. Erica kindly agreed, arranging for a few other writers to contribute pieces, and I volunteered to do a biographical sketch. Because Doug was still involved in trying to launch the Veda Land project,…
People Magazine- August, 1974 “Magic Show” Interview
The above pages come from the August 5, 1974 issue of “People” magazine, and are straight from the time when Doug was taking the world by storm. As you can tell from the article, nothing like the “Magic Show” had been seen before on Broadway, and Doug, like the show itself, was a unique commodity….
Baltimore Sun Interview-June 10, 1982
Baltimore Sun: June 10, 1982
“World of Magic II”-Los Angeles Times 1976 Interview
Los Angeles Times: December 23, 1976
Popular Mechanics Jim Steinmeyer Interview
I just wanted to let everyone know that this month’s current issue of Popular Mechanics features an interview with Designer and Author Jim Steinmeyer. It goes without saying that Jim is responsible for designing some of the most important illusions in magic history. He also was one of the most important designers in Doug’s career,…
Canadian Magazine Interview- January 1973
This early interview of Doug’s from 1973 is a real time capsule of an era in Doug’s career when things were about to explode, and the future looked eternally bright. His assistant in the piece is even Mars Barrick. So, that should give you a good indication on how far back this goes. The article…
From the Playbill Archives: (New) Merlin Interview
Well, it’s not often that you get some new Doug Henning news in your Google feed. However, that’s exactly what happened today when Playbill.com dug into their archives for this vintage article from the opening of “Merlin.” As you would imagine, Doug talks enthusiastically about the show and its illusions. What else would you expect?…
THE DOUG HENNING PROJECT 