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 Dedicated
to showman Melvin Burkhart. Mr. Clarence Melvin Burkhart,
born on February 17, 1907, started his career as a performer
in the profession of boxing in the burlesque halls of
Louisville, Kentucky. He admitted later in life that he
wasn’t a very good boxer. “I got hit in the nose a lot.
Too slow on the defense. It was so bad that in 1926, my
nose required an operation, so I gave up boxing.”
During 1927 he got a job with Conroy
Brothers Circus working for Leroy Easter. While working
there, he discovered that he had a real knack for that sort
of entertaining. “Their one ring circus had 14 acts and
by the end of the first season I was involved in nine of
them.” Melvin continued to entertain for the rest of his
life, working at Huber’s Museum in NY, Ringling Brothers
Circus, on the midway of the James E. Strates Shows, and
finally at Coney Island’s Sideshow By The Sea. this
transcription came was made in 1973 at Slim Kelley’s “Museum
of Natural Mistakes” on the Strates’ midway. He was more
than 65 years old at the time, but considering that he was
still entertaining folks years later at 94, he was still in
his prime.
Carnival midway showman Ward Hall said
of him: “Melvin was a great guy. I never heard him say a
bad word about anyone and I never heard anyone ever say a
bad word of him.
A
remarkable, wonderful way to go through life.”
Mr.
Burkhart greets us as the inside talker and emcee for this
first show of the day:
“Right
here in the center will be first, friends. Now we just
opened up our door a minute ago and had a lot of speakers
going, so a lot of people have been stopping by asking us
when we were going to open. As long as they hear that
speaker, they know that we’re ready to start.
Right
down here in the middle, right here on the stage or
platform, will be first. This of course for your stay in
our show we present ten acts. One act appears at a time on
the stage before you. Each act follows one right after
another. You see all ten acts. You won’t see two acts at a
time. You wouldn’t know which one to watch. I’m the first
act on the program. I’m the world’s greatest magician…
well, I am. You don’t believe that, you can ask me and I’ll
be very glad to tell you. I figured I might as well tell
you first. You might not be able to figure it out otherwise.
I only get two or three minutes to show you two or three
tricks. So I have to work fast just to make you laugh or
smile – I fool or deceive your eyes.”
“Now let
me give you a real simple demonstration of how slight of
hand works.
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If I
would place a thimble upon my finger, and that thimble
disappears, you’d wonder where the thimble went, so brush
your teeth with Pepsodent – commercial!
You know what?
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That’s it. All I have to do is that – it’s gone.
There it is right back again.
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Of course you’re going
to think… she had it all figured out – wrong!
I’ll do it in
slow motion. Watch!
When I close my hand, you’ll
wonder what the heck the thimble is doing over here.
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All you have to do is be really fast.
Now anybody
could do that.
It doesn’t take any brains, so even I
couldn’t do it.”
“Now
some tricks, of course, do require more slight-of-hand
ability than others. Now here’s a trick that’s done with an
empty cup.
The reason why I use an empty cup is because
there’s nothing on the inside – empty cup, empty hand, empty
head – No!
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All I do is reach up into the air and get a
coin. Put it over in that cup.
Get another coin.
Put it in the cup.
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Is that silly, putting money in a
cup? Put it in the bank! It’ll last longer, go
further.
Real? Of course it’s real! I wouldn’t
have phoney moany – I mean funny money.
All you do is put it
over in the cup. Don’t forget, once you place it in
the cup, you’ll always know where to get another one.
And you put it in the cup.
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Get another one.
Put it in
the cup.
{Each new coin can be heard as it falls inside.}
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You
don’t want to put ‘em in the cup? You can always eat ‘em.
Want
your money to go a long way? Choose this method right here.
It goes a long way. It doesn’t get very far with you,
but don’t forget: Put the money in the cup.
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They say
that money flies. If you see any money flying around
here, just reach up and grab it. Put it in the cup.
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Get
another one. Put it in the cup.
They say that money
talks, but all it ever said to me was ‘Goodbye!
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{He
turns the cup upside down and it is still empty}
To be
continued
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