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"
....Bizzarely entertaining.
" - NY Post |
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Enlightening Personal History About Todd (In his own words!) I grew up in southern California. That's enough of an explanation for some as to why I do the twisted things I do, but it goes further than that. Youthful years were spent in a suburban community. The place was filled with a subtle and persistent insistence that this was not A way of life, it was THE way of life. What more could you want? No need to ask questions. Clean, safe, quiet and the liquor stores opened at 6:00 am. We have all gone through moments when our private world shifts. Our outlook on life is changed forever. I was twelve years old. A carnival came to our community. On the midway between the crooked games and the rides approved by bribed safety inspectors, there was a large white tent. The front was festooned with colorful banners depicting unusual people doing remarkable things. In front, on a small stage, there stood a man, not the Barker, that's a term only used by Marks. The correct term is Outside Talker. He was doing a Bally. Its short for Ballyhoo, a little performance that makes people want to see the show inside. He used a dollar to build a Tip, that is, to gather a crowd. If his Opening, his sales pitch, worked he would Turn the Tip, this means to get the people to buy a ticket. I bought a ticket and went inside. I wanted to see that master of magic the talker spieled about on the outside. The magic bug had bitten me a few years earlier. I had learned some sleight of hand. What I had learned was a bunch of tricks, but I had a desire for more. I would seek out all the magic I could with the hope of seeing the real thing, something extraordinary, not just deceptions. |
  How many performers does it take to EAT a light bulb?  Just one...Todd Robbins! Click on the Pics for the Big Picture! |
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| Unfortunately,
the magic act in the sideshow that day was the first act of the show,
just a time killer until the crowd had all bought their tickets. The
rest of the show, however, delivered in spades the very thing that
I desired most. There, on that narrow, high catwalk stage were low
life crusty carnies performing miracles. Fire eating, sword swallowing,
feats of strength and endurance. And it was all real. Not an ounce
of trickery in any of it. They demonstrated abilities beyond the capability
of the average person, and that my friends, is the definition of real
magic. With my amazement came a hunger to learn and perform these feats of wonder. As fortune would have it, one of our neighbors had a secret. He was a retired carnival performer. I pestered him until he finally said, "So you want to learn all the dangerous stuff, huh kid? Okay, I can teach you. Just don't tell your parents." And I thought, "Cool". I learned it all. With each skill I acquired there came with it an understanding of the principles of physics and secrets of anatomy that make it all possible. It took hard work and persistence, to say nothing of burns and bleeding flesh. It was all worth it. It also opened up a new part of our universe that I didn't know existed. The world of the carnival. Learning what that is all about has been quite an education in human psychology. I put all of this to good use first working at the last ten-in-one sideshow left out in Coney Island, Sideshows by the Seashore. I've been associated with this show and the organization that runs it, Coney Island USA for over a decade. I am now the Chairman of the Board of Coney Island USA and the Dean of the Coney Island Sideshow School. I don't perform full seasons out in Coney Island any more, but I do function as a relief pitcher for the show. I fill in if someone needs some time off. Since that first season out in Coney Island, I have gone on to performed in every venue imaginable, from gritty rock and roll clubs like CBGBs to the stage of Carnegie Hall, and everything in between. I have purveyed amazement at events, tradeshow and presentation for major corporations like Fujifilm, Amtrak, Salomon Smith Barney, GE and others. I've also spent a goodly amount of time on the college and university circuit, and have performed on countless campuses from coast to coast. In addition to all of this, I have trouped with the Big Apple Circus, am one of the producers and featured performers of NY's longest running magic show, Monday Night Magic; been the host of the Ripley's Live! show that has been presented around the country and created an award winning theater off-Broadway show called Carnival Knowledge. And, there's more to come! |
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This site is dedicated to the Memory of Melvin Burkhart |
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