Ben Robinson is a popular scholar showman. He has entertained at such opposite extremes as 21 shows in one week at Hollywood's Magic Castle, and at the Base Camp of Mt. Everest (17,800 ft.). Hartford Courant drama critic Malcolm Johnson wrote of his first one-man show Out Of Order: "Ben Robinson's performance of silent, surreal illusions is MUST SEE entertainment."
In Magic and the Silent Clowns Ben Robinson conjures with his passion of many years - silent clowns and magic. Focusing on Buster Keaton, Charlie Chaplin, Harold Lloyd and Harpo Marx, Robinson details Buster Keaton's jumping into a slim briefcase held by a man in Sherlock Junior; Chaplin's practically unknown use of the deceptive "lean shoe"; Lloyd's association with the exclusive Los Magicos; and Harpo Marx's many magical stunts from producing a steaming cup of coffee from his pants, to appearing in bathtub filled with water while playing a trumpet! With an Introduction by noted illusion designer Jim Steinmeyer - The Trick Behind the Laugh - Magic and the Silent Clowns is an entertaining complement to silent film comedy appreciation, magic and popular entertainment.
Includes 43 rare illustrations, all in color, some never before printed.
Magic and the Silent Clowns was first presented as part of MAGICIANS ON SCREEN, at Museum of the Moving Image, December 10, 2011 - January 1, 2012, New York City.
"If Magic trumps Rationality and Silence transcends Speech, Ben Robinson has so beautifully blended
the two together in writing about my dad, Harpo. His book is truly a magical gift that will also leave you
speechless, filled with love to all who have the great fortune to read it. Bravo, Benno!" - Bill Marx
"Ben Robinson's Twelve Have Died is the magic book of the year." - H. Adrian Smith, the late Dean of the Society of American Magicians
"Ben Robinson's writing on John Mulholland in MagiCIAn, is something no serious student of magic
will want to miss." - Michael Claxton, MAGIC Magazine
1st edition 2012, 65 pages.
word count: 21815 which is equivalent to 87 standard pages of text
