As we go to press with our April issue, it’s definitely spring in Los Angeles and our thoughts are turning to the outdoors—as you’ll see from our cover stories. But first, we’ve got some indoor chores, that last round of corrections, checking the periods, the semi colons, the page numbers, and the em dashes.
I remember an interview with Mel Brooks, many years ago, where he was asked about the hardest part of making a movie. He answered, “Cutting all those little holes in the side of the film! There are so many of them. Millions of them. All those holes!” Indeed, I understand that answer now: why it’s funny and why it’s not funny. There are so many important elements involved in producing a magazine, but there are a seemingly infinite number of things that are the equivalent of “the holes.” Don’t get me started on em dashes!
This month we were sorry to hear that we lost David Solomon. He was a good friend and an amazing magician, part of the legendary Ed Marlo group.
I only met Marlo a dozen times, if even that many, when he might stop into the magic shop after a long lunch. But I never actually saw him perform a trick. You might be surprised that a magician who grew up in Chicago, went to the club meetings, and hung out in the shops, didn’t see Marlo perform. That was a mysterious part of our world. We knew when and where those guys were having lunch, but all of us had too much respect—maybe even a little fear— and would never have thrown open the door of the Carmen Lounge and said, “I want to see a trick!” Marlo didn’t just do tricks; his magic was reserved for that small group, his friends and students, the “cardicians” at the lunch table. They studied, and laughed, whispered, and rehearsed, earning the respect of their mentor Ed Marlo.
I’m very proud to say that in this month’s issue, our tribute to David Solomon is from the famous Bill Malone—another one of the legendary Marlo group, who spent hundreds of hours at that table. Bill gives us a glimpse of those lunches, and remembers his years of friendship with the wonderful David Solomon. Bill also supplied us with a photo of a reunion of the four horsemen, years after Ed Marlo’s death.
Just as this issue was being prepared, we received more sad news of the passing of Ginny Aronson. Ginny was the wife of the late Simon Aronson. Simon was, of course, David Solomon’s good friend and another magician who was part of that Marlo group. Ginny had a remarkable, groundbreaking career as a corporate attorney, but magicians probably remember her appearances with her husband and their amazing mindreading act. Ginny’s good friend Matt Baker has written an online tribute—you can find it through our April Genii Links page. Baker writes about Simon, Ginny, their individual achievements and their important work together.
As you look through these pages, I’d like to call your attention to a great array of feature stories. Jonathan Green is a tale that’s tangent to our world of magic—the famous reformed gambler who perfected cheating and then renounced it all. Our article was written by Paul Heller as an intriguing piece of American history. Jason England contributed a sidebar introducing Green from a magician’s point of view, and linking him to our world. And Lee Asher has contributed a beautiful assortment of rare playing cards— the early American playing cards that Green would have known—as well as his account of how that industry was established during Green’s lifetime.
WATCH: April 2025 • The Genii Speak
A British magician, Laurence “Abel” Gibbons, contributed an amazing article about the Covent Garden performers who work the streets of London’s popular tourist attraction, and their rarefied club. When you read it, you’ll feel like you’re meeting a whole new group of friends, and you’ll probably be tempted to jump on a plane headed for London, so you can stand on those cobblestones and watch those artists at work. We agree. It’s irresistible. When you get there, we might be standing next to you.
Finally, if anyone still needs a formal endorsement of street magic, we have the story of Walter Rolfo’s plans for this summer’s FISM in Turin (Torino), Italy. There, street magic will take center stage, as a new experimental category in the competitions. Walter’s done a remarkable job of planning FISM, honoring the old traditions and dusting off this old convention for a new audience of magicians. We know that many of you will be there this summer. I worked on that story with Genii associate editor Vanessa Armstrong.
Jim Hagy is back in the pages of the magazine this month; you met him in February with his first column, Sleightly Astonishing. I first met Jim when he was a skinny midwestern kid with bright red hair, around the time that I was a skinny midwestern kid with dark brown hair. Even back then, Jim was a serious collector and an inspired writer about magic’s history.
In the real world, he went on to a career with a prestigious international law firm, and then became a Distinguished Lecturer in Residence at Loyola University School of Law in Chicago. But he’s never left magic behind. He’s received lots of awards and honors for his work on that subject. He’s published a series of fascinating magic history books—all with particular angles or interests which manage to make them about more than magic. Most recently he’s been curating and publishing a beautiful, exclusive journal called Perennial Mystics Squared.
I know that magic history can sometimes feel trivial or stodgy, but Jim has a way of focusing on the personal stories, or examples of appreciating the art. In our February issue, you had a snapshot of the red-headed kid who got excited about magic. This month I offer a picture of that kid today, still excited. We’re proud to have him in Genii.
Chalk this up to the Department of Mistakes: Yes, it happens. In our January 2025 issue, when columnist Jamy Ian Swiss was writing about the famous Tom Mullica Wallet— a highly-regarded Card to Wallet variation—he mistakenly chatted about it as if it were all past tense. That gave the wrong impression. Although the Mullica Wallet first appeared on the market in 1977, its versatility and method have made it a favorite for lo, these 48 years. In fact, it’s still going strong. The original rights were given to Magic Methods by the late Tom Mullica, and they still produce the wallet according to that original agreement. Their ad, for the Mullica Wallet, appears on 46 of this magazine. We had no intention of nudging a great effect out of the spotlight.
And I suppose this is the Department of Good News and Bad News: As I mentioned last month, we are nearing an inevitable announcement of a price increase for Genii magazine. It’s been overdue for a long time, and it’s important that this publication becomes a viable business model. If you like what you see—even if you’re not sure, but you suspect that interesting things are happening in Genii— I’ll urge you to subscribe now, or extend your subscription, because you’ll be doing it at an advantageous price. In the next month or two, when the new subscription rate is announced, it will just be too late.