When I first met Eric DeCamps it was in the mid-80s, and he was
one of the regular performers at The Magic Towne House on New
York’s Upper East Side. It was a varied bunch, comprised of many
different styles and specialties, but one thing that was shared was
a high level of skill. I was in my 20s, getting back into magic after
college, and the shows at the Towne House were an eye-opening
reintroduction to close-up magic. The acts all impressed, as all
were better than me, and some of the effects they performed
back then remain A+ routines in the magic repertoire. Yet even
through the veil of years I recall one thing that stood out from all
others:
When Eric DeCamps vanished a coin, it disappeared.
Eric had what can only be called “the touch,” and in his hands
coins would not simply be secreted in a puzzling way, a display of
clever physical mechanics, they dematerialized. I did not know it
could look like that. Eric’s actions were simple and graceful, a
result of study and exploration, and the moments of magic were
transcendent. He was also a nice guy, and a bunch of us became
friends, eager to show one another something we’d been working
on or something we’d just learned. This went on for years, and
one thing became quickly clear – when it came to magic, Eric was
more serious about it all than the rest of us.
If you think I mean this as a compliment, good God, no. It was
annoying! There’s an expression, “Magician’s love to be fooled.”
Not Eric, at least not back then. Eric would get perturbed, a little
angry, and he would not rest until he found out the method. It
would sometimes bother him for days. Perhaps not surprisingly,
when others would share secrets with careless abandon, Eric
would hold some back. He was simply more serious about it all. As
his friends, we felt an obligation to ride him relentlessly and gave
him a hard time whenever we could. When he did a pass we’d act
like there was a sudden breeze in the room. When he was holding
out we’d move to shake his hand. But of course, in the end Eric’s
“seriousness” won him awards, notoriety, and an evening’s worth
of memorable magic that has enchanted audiences everywhere
he goes.
I’m happy to say that Eric remains a dear friend, and I spoke to
him about his life in and around magic.
***
First, where did you grow up?
I grew up in the Rego Park section in the borough of Queens, NYC.
It was a predominately Jewish neighborhood where I was the local
Shabbos goy.
That’s an official thing. I understand there’s a badge.
I wish. But a Shabbos goy is a non-Jew who is employed
by Jews to perform certain types of work that Jewish religious law
prohibits a Jew from doing on the Sabbath. Back then I thought I
was the best magician from the neighborhood. Then I met Meir
Yedid and settled for being second best.
I recall you telling me that you got into magic a bit later than is
typical. What got you into magic, and the type of magic you like
to do?
Yes, I started magic when I was about 17. Second half of my
junior year in High School. I attended a special high school in
Brooklyn named Brooklyn Technical High School. It’s in the top
three high schools in NYC. I thought I was cool carrying a set of 6”
EZ Magic linking rings around with me.
I would’ve thought that was cool.
Well, my fellow classmates thought I was a nerd. That’s pretty
bad when a school full of nerds think of you as a bigger nerd.
Would it be right to say that when you were young you were
obsessed with magic?
Funny thing is before getting into magic, I really didn’t care about
magic or magicians.
You’re like my wife! Actually, she’s still that way.
I was under the erroneous impression that everything went up the
magician’s sleeve. It wasn’t until I saw a magician up close and
live that I said, “Wait a minute, he has no jacket on or long
sleeves and yet he performed something impossible.” That
magician was Steve Rodman, a well-known and respected NY
area magician. Since then, Steve and I have become really close
friends and I blame him for tricking me into this lifelong obsession
of magic!
Who are your magic heroes? And please don’t mention me
because that would be awkward.
That’s a loaded question. I admire and have been inspired by
many magicians for many different reasons. But here goes…
Doug Henning’s in his first TV show was the bait that lured me
into really studying magic. Although he performed some amazing
stage miracles, it was the close-up magic portion of the show that
really hooked me. He did a lovely Slydini-ish torn and restored
routine with his sleeves rolled up that blew me away and
triggered me to want to do that too.
It’s a great feeling when that happens.
David Copperfield, to this day he still amazes me with his staging
and execution of a magic piece. His Flying illusion is the greatest
stage magic piece I have ever seen live. Richiardi is the third
stage illusionist that I admired and he influenced how I view the
performance of a magic piece. His dynamic style and intensity on
stage influenced not only me but Henning and Copperfield.
I saw Richiardi live when he was no longer a young man, and he
was absolutely riveting.
Insofar as influential close-up magicians, I’ve studied the work of
legends: Dai Vernon, Slydini, and Albert Goshman. I learned a lot
from watching their performances and analyzing why they chose
the effects they performed, the order they performed them, and
the staging/construction of their pieces. Same goes for other
masters such as Juan Tamariz, Arturo Ascanio, Fred Kaps, Tommy
Wonder, Bob White, Don Alan, Imam, Derick Dingle, Harry
Lorayne, Frank Garcia, and many others. That being said, there is
one close up artist in particular that changed how I viewed close
up, Rene Lavand. It was seeing Rene perform live for the first time
in Lausanne, Switzerland at FISM in 1991 that completely altered
how I approach and present my magic. I consider his performance
at that conference a life-changing experience for me and my
magic. I am blessed that we became good friends and he became
a mentor to me.
What were some of the first tricks you learned and really enjoyed
performing?
Cubio! That was the first trick that Steve Rodman performed for
me, fooled me and started my journey in magic. I blame Steve!
Seriously? My Nana Hattie went to Germany and came back with
a fantastic brass Cubio as a gift for me. I loved that thing.
Also, the Anderson Newspaper Tear, Coins Through Table, Coins
Across, Glass Through Table, Chop Cup, and the Linking Rings.
That’s Grade-A material. What was the transition between a self-
working – though ingenious trick – and these classic routines?
[ERIC – ANSWER THE ABOVE HERE]
Today I love performing the Cups and Balls, Coins and Cylinder,
thimbles, Torn and Restored Tissue Paper, Oil and Water, Egg
Bag…
These effects you’re naming, they could be the basis of an act in
any generation. And they have been.
Also, my stand-up coin routine from my show Pure Magic, Spirit
Box (my re-interpretation of Dean’s Box), the Bread Crumbs and
now my version of The Rising Cards.
Which is killer, by the way. So, when did magic become more
than just a hobby? When did you make the leap to performing for
audiences who paid to be entertained?
I started out doing children birthday parties but soon realized that
wasn’t for me.
God Lord what I’d give for a pic of you doing Strat-O-Spheres!
When I started working The Magic Towne House is when I started
on the path to better understanding what it was to present magic
in front of an sophisticated audience.
Um… that “sophisticated audience” was eating lasagna that
came from a can.
It was tough at first because I really wasn’t very good. I honestly
stunk! However, Dick Brooks and Dorothy Dietrich were very
supportive to this kid even though I stunk. Thank goodness they
kept having me back and I improved slowly… very slowly!
I was just working the shop and doing kid shows, but those Magic
Towne House years seemed special to me – was it the same for
you?
Oh my God, YES! Those were truly magical days. That is where I
did my apprenticeship. A place where I was able to be bad as a
magical performer. Dick Brooks and Dorothy Dietrich where very
generous in allowing me and many others to develop and
hopefully become decent performers of close-up/parlor magic.
After spending three years there, I moved to Mostly Magic in
Greenwich Village under the auspices of Imam and Evelyn Simon.
I worked there for 12 years performing Friday and Saturday,
about 40 weekends a year. There is where I was able to grow
further and develop many of the magic pieces that I still perform
to this day. Two incredible places that help to nurture many of
today’s outstanding performers.
How did you develop your touch with cards and coins?
That’s a very interesting question. During my life in magic, I’ve
been fortunate to become friends with some truly talented magic
artists and privileged to watch them execute some excellent
sleight of hand techniques. I would then work on the techniques
and strategies they shared with me. Sol Stone had the softest
touch with coins I have ever seen. As did Geoff Latta, Joe Monti,
Tim Conover, Chris Kenner, and Aurelio Paviato. In regards to
playing card handling, I don’t consider myself a cardman.
Although I do count as good friends many great cardmen, the
likes of which include the late Bob White, Bill Malone, Roger
Klause, Gary Plants, Tom Gaudette, Bill Kalush, Darwin Ortiz,
Lennart Greene, Juan Tamariz, Arturo Ascanio, Miguel Gomez and
Rene Lavand. I have learned so much from watching them work
and I’m lucky to have them as a benchmark to aspire toward.
I know that you have gone to great length to pull off some of your
routines, including “altering” very expensive props. Do you want
to go into any further details on that subject?
I don’t have a clue what you are referring to!
However, if I did, I would think that a proficient performing
magician would need to do whatever that magician needed to do
to a prop or stage to realize their artistic vision.
Yeah, but it’s tough to pay a grand for something and put it under
a band saw. Maybe it’s just me. Would you say there’s a common
thread that runs through the type of tricks you choose to
perform?
Yes, back in the early 1980’s I took the advice of my friend Mike
Gallo who encouraged me to really study the classics of magic. He
felt that I could do them justice. Until then I preferred to present
whatever new magic trick that was in vogue at the time. I then
started to really study and figure out for me how to reinterpret
the classics for today’s audiences. On a side note, I learned years
ago that my strength lies in taking classic magic pieces and
creating engaging presentations and handlings that make the
classics appear to be something fresh and distinctive.
What do you try to achieve in a performance of magic?
This is may come off as sounding egotistical, but it’s my hope that
through my presentations the audience comes away thinking that
magic, in its highest form, can be considered art. Magic artists
like Copperfield, McBride, Lavand, Richardi, Tamariz, Wonder, and
Lupo are perfect examples of performers who raise magic to an
art form.
On the other side of things, what do you try to avoid?
Being boring and not in the moment with my audience. Of course,
execution of technique is important but being interesting and
engaging for a modern audience is equally as important. At my
best, when I am in the moment with my audience it’s the most
rewarding feeling in the world.
At the end of the day, what is it that magic gives to you?
Magic has taken me out of my shell. As a kid I was very
introverted and had problems in asserting myself in a group. To
this day when contracted to perform strolling magic, approaching
that first group of guests is always and awkward challenge for me.
That said, once I get started and get a positive reaction to what I
perform, I’m good to go for the rest of the engagement.
Well, as much as I hate to say it, when they see you performing
they’re seeing one of the best.
