 Rene Clement, at center, with magic friends David Kaye, Steve Cohen Joshua Jay, and David Roth at the Parent Assembly holiday party in 2019. 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 receives the 2017 Magician of the Year honor from Parent Assembly President Bob Braun. 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.
0 Comments
Leave a Reply. |
RSS Feed