When looking back at Houdini and the other great magicians of his era we have to piece together the nature of their personalities from written exchanges and reminiscences of others. I have become fascinated by this exchange between Houdini and The Great Raymond (Maurice Raymond), in letters which are part of the collections of The New York Public Library for the Performing Arts (in the Billy Rose Theater Collection). It turns out the Raymond began performing a milk can escape and it irked Houdini who had created the trick and heralded it as a main feature of his act. Here Houdini writes Raymond telling him to refrain from performing the effect and Raymond sends back a snarky reply (which prompts a response from Houdini). [See the images of the letters, below.]

These letters caused me to read more about Maurice Raymond and I came across a long article in the August 1928 issue of the magic magazine The Sphinx in which David Bamberg outlines a remarkable tale of mistreatment by Raymond for whom Bamberg was working as an assistant and technician. Bamberg travelled from Europe to South America after he was recruited by Raymond. After much hard work organizing and building Raymond's act, Bamberg was basically abused - at least financially - after Raymond refused to pay his salary. Beyond that Raymond presented Bamberg with a bill for travel and accomodations, even though Bamberg only travelled to South America because he was promised a job by Raymond. I'm sure Raymond too had complexities to his personality, but it is remarkable that such a detailed and frank depiction of his transgressions emerged in the leading magic magazine of the day. Who knows what transpired that wasn't covered in the news? If you find this intriguing, take a look at the Sphinx article which can be found via Ask Alexander and other digital sources [the article has much more intriguing information, although I'm sorry to say it also includes an offensive racial term used by Bamberg in the course of his description of the situation].

In any event, enjoy these three letters which provide revealing perspectives on the competitive nature of magic in the early part of the 20th century and the personalities of two prominent conjurors.

Magic is such a particular and specific endeavor that eventually most of us participating in it are at some point drawn into the rich community surrounding the genre. Here in New York there are numerous clubs, groups and casual hangout sessions, and the close friendships that develop over years and decades are as prized as the magic that is shared.

On July 6 we lost our friend Rene Clement who was one of the most vivid and dedicated personalities on the scene. Rene was a strong presence at just about every magic get-together in town over the course of decades. He frequently served as the Master of Ceremonies at shows presented by Ring 26 of the International Brotherhood of Magicians and Parent Assembly #1 of the Society of American Magicians; he was a dedicated regular at the long-running Saturday afternoon get-togethers that were held at Governor Cafeteria, Reuben's Deli, and Cafe Rustico; and he also participated each week in the "Magic Table" sessions, both when the weekly lunchtime gatherings occurred in person and then later when they moved online. 

"I first met Rene Clement in 1974 at age 16," said Richard Kaufman, editor of Genii magazine. "He was a warm, friendly, and smart guy who knew a lot about magic and quickly welcomed me to a table at the Governor Cafeteria that included Gene Maze, Ben Lichtenstein, Buddy Ankner, Sol Stone, and many others. He was a good magician, always funny, and was ahead of his time in videotaping the performances of other magicians." In fact, to that point, Rene created a YouTube channel preserving and showcasing video recordings of magic performances, which can be seen at: ​https://www.youtube.com/@RC4MAG/videos

Rene was an active and very involved member of the local chapters of both the IBM and SAM. He served as President of IBM Ring 26 and was the Controller and a longtime board member of PA#1. Rene was honored by Parent Assembly as its Magician of the Year in 2017 and by IBM Ring 26 as its Magician of the Year in 1996.

​Rene's original card tricks were published in Harry Lorayne's Best of Friends, Volume III and his television appearances include segments on the Today Show, Fox & Friends, "G Thing" on WPIX, and the Kong Show. Professionally Rene had a long career in banking, both for JP Morgan Chase and the Royal Bank of Canada.

"Rene was not only a dear friend, but he was a source of support and creativity," said Frank Reyes, former President of both IBM Ring 26 and Parent Assembly. "He would see an opportunity for an improvement in a routine I was working on and immediately share that vision. We would brainstorm together to help each other‘s performances. He had a great memory for everything magic. Show him an old photo of a member of Ring 26 or PA1 and he could tell you their name and their spouse's name. Describe an effect and he could tell you the name and creator or author. If he had the book or effect he could retrieve it in an instant.  It was amazing. Although he had other interests, like sports card collecting; watching wrestling; and movies; magic and comedy were his biggest priorities. 

Among the many video clips Rene preserved on his YouTube channel is the following one in which he and a group of magic compeers appeared on NBC's Today show. It highlights the community and camaraderie among friends in New York's magic scene. Rene was deeply woven into the fabric of this community. It's hard to imagine that we won't see him hanging around the table relating news, showing tricks and making wisecracks in his distinctive New York City brogue. He will be very much missed.