To reflect on the sudden death of Ivan Reitman, I asked two key people in Doug’s design team that worked with Ivan Reitman to say a few words. Today is Brian Lumley who was with Doug at the start of his career for “Spellbound,” “The Magic Show,” and the early TV specials. Brian is currently…
Tag: Brian Lumley
“Bed of Horrors” Article by Brian Lumley-Conclusion
The Bed of Horrors: Part Four ©2020 Brian H. Lumley Another “Bed of Horrors” came from Owens for The Magic Show national tour. It had the same set of problems as the original unit. All the changes that were made for the Broadway illusion were incorporated into the design of this piece, but it still…
“Bed of Horrors” Article by Brian Lumley-Part Three
The Bed of Horrors: Part Three©2020 Brian H. Lumley On Broadway they wanted the “Bed of Horrors” bigger with longer teeth. This meant extending the four posts 4’ at the top and replacing the spikes with new ones 12” long. Now the top had to drop further, slide over a new seam, land smoothly and…
“Bed of Horrors” Article by Brian Lumley-Part Two
The Bed of Horrors: Part Two©2020 Brian H. Lumley The “Bed of Horrors” was a bad dream come true — it just would not work with any guarantee. The canopy slid down the four posts guided by four sleeves of square tubing about a foot long welded to the corners of the canopy frame. This…
“Bed of Horrors” Article by Brian Lumley-Part One
Over the next few posts, I’m going to be publishing an exclusive article from Brian Lumley. I’m sure many of you know, but Brian, along with Glenn Priest, was Doug’s right hand man and technician during the early days of Doug’s career. This article encompasses the treacherous set-up of the “Bed of Horrors” illusion from…
Brian Lumley: Final Musings on The Magic Show
Metamorphosis by Brian Lumley Part Five These are the kind of things that would serendipitously happen. They are part of the magic that made The Magic Show and kept it going. Needless to say, Doug never trusted the bag set again. He and his assistant double checked it every time. What those particular stagehands thought…
Brian Lumley: Metamorphosis Comeuppance
Metamorphosis by Brian Lumley Part Four Fingers were pointed at everybody like a Three Stooges routine. But it came down to who touched it last. I was blamed by the stagehands. But it was pointed out by the stage managers that the stagehands had demanded they take over that props pre-set. This had been done…
Brian Lumley: Metamorphosis Mixup
Metamorphosis by Brian Lumley Part Three Doug lifted the banner to his waist on one. Then raised it over his head. He then lowered it to his waist again and looked down at the trunk. He was supposed to say two when he raised it over his head, but instead he was talking to Dale…
Brian Lumley: Metamorphosis Mishap
Metamorphosis by Brian Lumley Part Two Charlie was the man that convinced the producers that The Magic Show could not make it without Doug’s personal Special Assistants. He had seen how closely we worked with Doug…He also advised IATSE and the production that we should be the only people to touch the magic props. This…
Brian Lumley: Magic Show Metamorphosis
Over this week, early Doug collaborator Brian Lumley is going to be sharing more memories of Doug and, specifically, his time with The Magic Show. Enjoy! Metamorphosis by Brian Lumley Part One The average person would not believe the level or intensity of the screw ups we had running The Magic Show. Especially in the…
Brian Lumley Recollections: The Final Round
When he saw how embarrassed Doug was when his PR plan didn’t work, Ali agreed to a similar shot. We tried a couple of stationary positions on the cliff edge with the three of them. But for personal and professional reasons Ali did not like to get close to the cat. If he did get…
Brian Lumley Recollections: Cougar Chaos in the Ring
Once Rebel saw he was going into all the smells and noise he was into it. He dragged Doug through the door then followed him onto the ring and in front of the audience, which he loved. He knew what applause was. The next thing I remember was Muhammad standing on the other side…
Brian Lumley on Houdini’s Water Torture Cell
How did the First Special come about? Very early in The Magic Show’s run a very influential person came and basically fell in love with Doug’s performance. She asked him what he would do if he had a show at Christmas? Doug told her he would make people appear and disappear. He would do small…
Brian Lumley: “Magic Show” Secrets
How did Spellbound end up on Broadway? Ivan Reitman, Spellbound’s producer/director, put an ad in Variety which was published Dec. 19/73. This was the pre-production week. Joe Berhu and Edgar Lansbury saw the ad and came to take a look. By the end of the week Broadway was in the air. We set up shop…
Brian Lumley Interview : Part Two
Glenn Priest (far left), Brian Lumley (Middle), and Doug Were you interested in magic before you met Doug? In a word no. Not Lesley, Glen, or myself had any experience with stage magic. We had each seen or performed magic on our own but that is another story. It is also why we each had…
Brian Lumley Interview: Part One
Today we have a treat in store for you in the form of a brand new interview with one of Doug’s earliest technical collaborators Brian Lumley. From “Spellbound,” to “The Magic Show,” to Doug’s first two specials Brian was there all the way. He was more than gracious enough to answer a wide range of questions,…
Looking for Brian Lumley
Hello All, As we approach our one year mark, I’ve been looking to expand our interviews for the website. At this point I am very interested in speaking with one of Doug’s long term collaborators and friend Brian Lumley. If anyone has any contact information for him I’d be greatly appreciative. Please privately contact me…
THE DOUG HENNING PROJECT 