In 1958, "classic"
sideshows were dying. Although a few still existed on carnival
midways, public attitudes toward viewing freaks were changing
and amusement rides were more profitable. The working acts - Sword
Swallowers and Fire Eaters - were mostly older people. Few kids
ran away and joined the carnival any more, and if they did they
chose not to become part of the sideshow.
But also in 1958, Todd Robbins was born.
At first he seemed normal enough. Like most of us he developed
an early interest in magic. He joined the respected Long Beach
Mystics, and later Todd and Mark Kalin became the first members
to be elected as Junior members of the Magic Castle. Many of his
early friends went on to become respected magicians. All seemed
normal enough except for one thing. Todd did not want to be Just
a Magician: Todd wanted to do real magic!
Then one day a circus came to town. Todd was drawn to a sideshow
that featured a magician. Todd has little recollection of that
magician except that "He was Lousy," and, "I almost
walked out." But he stuck around long enough to see a Sword
Swallower and a Fire Eater. Then it "hit" him: This
stuff was real and came as close to true magic as possible. Here
was the magic he had been searching for! Later he sought out a
couple of old-time sideshow performers who hung around a local
magic shop and, amazingly, Todd convinced them to teach him their
stunts. In retrospect Todd says he now cannot imagine why they
did, or would, but they changed his direction in magic forever.
Todd went on to obtain a degree in Theater Arts from the University
of California in Long Beach and later studied traditional acting
at San Francisco's American Conservatory Theater. But traditional
theater was never meant to be his vocation so he moved to New
York City and put his love and knowledge of sideshow stunts to
work. Now that he was in the Big Apple
the "real magic" took over.
Before describing his accolades, let me give you an introduction
to some of the stunts Todd has mastered: He became (and continues
to be) a featured performer with "Sideshows by the Seashore,"
the last remaining sideshow at Coney Island. With this show he
eats glass, walks over broken bottles, sticks his hand into an
animal trap, hammers a four and one-half inch nail up his nose,
eats fire, swallows swords, breaks a cinder block on top of his
head with a sledge hammer, eats light bulbs, and blows up a hot
water bottle until it bursts. In one season alone, Todd ate over
1000 electric light bulbs! Wow! And, if you don't think performing
such off-beat stunts has got him work, here are a few of his other
accomplishments, in no particular order:
He was "Doc Pitchum," the featured performer in the
"Medicine Show," the 1997 edition of the Big Apple Circus.
His television guest spots include appearances with David Letterman,
Jay Leno, Howard Stern (who dubbed him a "truly amazing talent"),
and Joan Rivers. Plus he has numerous appearances on USA Network's
Up All Night and various television variety shows in Mexico and
Europe.
Todd has performed in nightclubs and theaters throughout the U.S.
and Canada, including Michael's Pub, Stand Up, Caroline's Comedy
Club, Catch a Rising Star, Mostly Magic, the Magic Castle and
the Showboat Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. (He has since
been banned from performing at the Castle, an "honor"
I believe he is most proud of.)
Last year he appeared in a new work of theatrical chamber music
entitled "Body Ode" at the Carnegie Recital Hall. This
piece was especially created for Todd by composer Gerald Busby
and the award-winning playwright Craig Lucas.
On his "darker side" he helped create the international
pay-per-view heavy metal horror concert "Raising Hell."
This concert featured the music of Iron Maiden and the magic of
Simon Drake.
Jim Artle, the magician whose day-job is being in charge of the
Giant Balloons in the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade, related
another side of Todd to me. Jim said, "Todd takes all the
clowns for the parade and
|
does a warm-up session with
them. He gives the volunteers tips and ideas for the parade. Then
Todd works the Herald Square grandstands where the executives and
their families view the parade. This is the audience you see on
the telecast. Todd fills in the gaps in the Parade while the sets
are being changed."
And Chuck Ferrero of American Vaudeville describes Todd as "a
delightful performer who blends magic, mirth and charm into an appealing
and winning stage persona."
But Todd is especially smitten with sideshow stunts. He is particularlyproud
of the hour-long show he tours to universities and colleges across
the country. He describes his one-man show, which includes all of
the stunts mentioned above as, "deception-free amazement."
In his performance Todd mixes sideshow history and lore with his
stunts. His college audiences, most too young to have ever seen
a classic sideshow, are mesmerized. Todd is showing them wonders
they would never see otherwise. He says, "These sideshow war-horses
I perform look impossible and yet they are exactly what they appear
to be. This creates a profound sense of amazement in an audience.
This is important because when people are amazed they begin to wonder.
When they wonder they start to think, and this is good because there
is little thinking going on in the world today. Of course, you can
amaze people with traditional magic tricks, but the impact is limited
because lying just below their suspended disbelief is the knowledge
that what they are witnessing is fake. These stunts have an opposite
effect. On first glance they seem to be a hoax. No one can hammer
a nail into his nose or eat real glass, but after the realization
that this is not a fraud comes the expanded sense of what is possible
in life."
Now, before you worry that Todd might be a bit too much of a philosopher,
he also confided to me that, "In addition to all this, these
stunts are joyously gruesome and gross the hell out of a lot of
folks!" Another quote I appreciated is, "They get a different
kind of response."
Obviously, because of his stunts, Todd has a hundred stories. Many
are extremely humorous. I only have space to share a few with you
that will show you what I mean.
Todd IS a magician. He goes to conventions and hangs out with magicians.
Jamy Ian Swiss is his neighbor and pal. When out-of-town magicians
come to New York and arrange for a finger-flinging session Todd
is often invited to sit in (he calls himself the "hired gun").
Todd explains these sessions always eventually end up as a "you
show me yours and I'll show you mine" trick exchange. Todd's
role in this, he explains, is just to "sit still until, inevitable,
one of the visitors asks, 'So what do you do?' Then I say, 'Will
you unscrew one of the light bulbs from that fixture and select
one of these nails.'" "After that," Todd notes, "the
evening is usually over!"
Another "line" Todd uses that I find particularly amusing
is when he finds himself in the company of a magician who is "full
of himself" and eventually asks Todd what he does. Todd calmly
describes his act and accomplishments followed by, "But no
matter how good my double-lift is I will never be able to do what
YOU do." Then he quite nonchalantly picks up the guy's wine
glass and eats it!
And one last story. You can SEE Todd's act and learn several of
his stunts. You see, several years ago he was approached by Joe
Stevens to do a "Magic of the Sideshow" video. Todd was
reluctant at first but later, when other performers began to copy
his stunts and use his lines, he decided to do the tape as a documentary
and provenance. Joe did it for the same reason, actually not expecting
anyone to purchase a copy. Much to both Todd's and Joe's surprise
sales for the tape have been brisk. However, Todd explains, "There
is one problem with it. It seems that one week a magician will call
Joe and purchase the tape. A couple of weeks later the magician's
wife will call Joe and say, 'Don't you EVER sell anything
like THAT to my husband again!"
I especially like one piece of Todd Robbins' advertising. It is
a simple photo on a blank sheet of paper. Todd is standing, dressed
in a business suit and tie (but wearing his "interesting"
shoes), holding a padlocked black leather bag. The caption under
the Photo reads, "THIS MAY BE THE MOST AMAZING MAN IN AMERICA."
Perhaps he is.
But, let me end this introduction to "This Most Amazing Man
in AMerica" with a quote from his mother, Gerrie Robbins. "
. . .I just wish Todd would get a real job."
|
