Two magicians at the International Brotherhood of Magicians convention in Pittsburgh last week.
On the left is Lance Burton, legendary magician, retired Las Vegas headliner, and one of the greatest stage magicians of all time.
On the right, is Eddie Ace Pacacha, who is even better.
Photo credit Howard Mincone
Eddie has been a friend for over 35 years. Love him dearly. To magicians he is known for his incredible sponge sculptures, used by magicians (myself included) in their shows around the world. Better than a great man, he’s a good man. Kind, hard working, and beloved by all. (If there are exceptions to the “not loving Eddie rule,” trust me, those people are jerk faces of the lowest order.)
What many may not realize is Eddie is also a talented performing magician. In the mid 90s the Pittsburgh Funnybone Comedy Club had something called “Magic Mondays.” It was basically 6-8 new comics telling jokes (or trying) followed by a magician doing a 30 minute set.
I went down to see Eddie perform at one of these. Now keep in mind, I’m not a stranger to performing in comedy clubs. I know what the usual “look” is. Eddie was not that look. Not just a tux, he was wearing TAILS. His jacket cooed with the doves hidden in it. Now even thirty years ago, Eddie was a dear friend, and I was worried my buddy was going to eat it big time, as comedy clubs typically aren’t appreciative of tuxedo classic magic. So I sat in the balcony, ready to tell Eddie after the show, “It wasn’t that bad.”
The crowd is surly and drinking. Eddie walks on stage. He presses the button on his boom box for his music, as this was decades before the Audio Ape. It begins to play. He executes a spot on perfect dove production (Lance Burton would have been proud.), and in the literal blink of a dove’s eye the audience of drinkers that just sat through 50 minutes of dirty jokes were ENTHRALLED with this man on stage. They became excited 5 year old kids who couldn’t believe they were so lucky to see a REAL LIVE MAGICIAN!!
He went on for 30 minutes, and the crowd ate it up.
All hail Eddie!!
(I have heard Lance Burton is very talented and a great guy, too.)
Until Next Time,
Doc Dixon
PS: I posted this on my Facebook page and magician Matt Disero commented what you can read below. It’s good, insightful stuff. Shared with his permission.
Love this story. It’s instructive about magicians in comedy clubs. Not all, but the right ones. While the comics may not like it, things I’ve learned spending most of my life in clubs :
Audiences LOVE skilled stuff. They’ll watch if you’re good. Drunks at a strip club will stop to watch and be amazed if it’s to music. Jokes, hit and miss within a manip act. See also Kozak, multiplying pipes etc. He kills. Larger than life.
Two, an older than the audience dude wearing something WAY outside what everyone else is wearing, for some reason gets a temporary pass. Not long, but just long enough to prove yourself. Then you have to keep doing it the entire set.
Lastly, I was taught in my teens that good acts will ALWAYS WORK. I believe that balls to bone.
This is a perfect example of all that. And more. While I don’t know him at all he has my full respect. Because he’s a good act. I know that not because of any thing other than he killed with a dove act in a comedy club.