We make no secret of our love of magic at Trevor George Entertainment, we book countless brilliant magicians for weddings, corporate events and private parties, so we’ve got a special appreciation for the craft, the skill and the showmanship that goes into a good magic act.
But for those not familiar with the Trevor George story, we’ve got a pretty enviable magic heritage. The agency was founded by trailblazing magic duo Billie and Trevor George, later joined by their daughter and award winning magician Anne, and all three were instrumental in shaping the company as it is today.
Billie sadly passed away in 2010, and Trevor has retired from both magic and the agency, but we’ve dug through the archives and found an interview with him that originally appeared in issue 57 of the excellent Magicseen Magazine (a must-read for magicians and magic lovers) and we’ve republished an edited version of it here. Enjoy!
How did you get started in magic and becoming a mentalist?
My first awakening to magic was when a conjurer and ventriloquist entertained our primary school when I was about eight years old. The following year on Christmas Day my aunt presented me with a magic set and I was thrilled. I soon after mastered the contents and performed to sympathetic applause from my family. I was bitten by the bug! Another year passed and after determined persuasion, my father financed me to enrol for a postal course of magic by the St James School of Magic in London. I spent hours studying the instructions , photographs and diagrams for all manner of tricks, from simple props to illusions.
When I started grammar school, I often made many of the tricks in the woodwork class. My friends were my audience of these latest self-made wonders and even the headmaster acknowledged me as the school magician! I was sometimes introduced to the school inspector and invited to demonstrate my skills!
I began performing at charity shows until I joined the RAF in August 1942. Each RAF Station had its own concert party and I always joined and appeared in these shows which was an excellent experience for a young magician.
Any memorable shows at this time?
Have you got time?! Here’s one event that taught me a lesson in show-business that I’ve never forgotten. I was 20 years old. It involved Sawing Through A Woman. The carpentry department made it for me. Rehearsal was not easy in the RAF hut, as I had to rehearse off-duty in a room shared with 30 other airmen! My folly was to go out and do the show unrehearsed.
That’s not really the kind of illusion you want to be performing under rehearsed!
As we shall see! The day of the show arrived and I was allocated an attractive WAAF to be my “victim” . We managed a hasty run through before curtains up. We both knew the moves, but I was far from confident with the rest of my untried act. A service audience can be merciless with a bad act and mine were very poor! They whistled, booed, cat called and I was getting ever more tense with embarrassment hoping the Sawing Through would save me!
The girl was duly tied and lifted into the box. Well, through my embarrassed tension, I had forgotten a vital move before the lid was closed. Two men started to cut through the box with the saw rasping through the timber. The girl let out a piercing scream, and suddenly it dawned on me what I had done! I shouted “STOP!” as loud as I could. The crowd were temporarily silent, aware that something had gone wrong. I opened the lid and this ashen faced girl struggled out of the box. She glared at me and screamed, “Never, ever again!” The whole audience cheered and clapped. The curtains dropped and I tried to console the girl who, dressed hastily and left the theatre.
The commanding officer came backstage and said in a loud voice. “Not up to your usual standard, George. May I suggest that for tomorrow’s performance you place a bowl under the box to catch all the blood?” I was not amused. I reverted back to my original act for the following night’s show and regained a little of my previous reputation, but it took weeks to live that episode down.
Tell us about your double act and about Billie
I was demobbed in 1947 and met Billie, a young actress from London. She moved to Cornwall with me and we formed our first ill-fated touring company “The Pack of Cards”, presenting a revue “Hullo Folks”, closely followed by “Hullo Christmas”. Both financial disasters! We were both on the point of packing it in when we met Ernie Toogood, a retired magical inventor. Who had supplied Hamleys magic department in London with his products and suggested he could teach Billie magic and build an act. Her debut as a pro magician was Coronation Day 1953. We then formed a two person magic and memory act and performed in Cornwall. We married in 1954, moved to Torquay and performed at the hotels and holiday camps. In 1958 I met Tony Corinda in London. He introduced me to mentalism and sold me a few props. I subscribed to his “13 Steps” and studied these issues intently. From the knowledge gleaned, Billie and I produced an act unique to us. Being a trained actress, Billie was very convincing and possessed a brilliant memory. She created an auda of mystery and charm. I had extensive knowledge and experience in presentational skills and this combination allowed us to discard the more conventional magic we had previously performed.
How did you manage to grow your profile to national status and bookings, moving away from the local hotels and holiday camp circuit?
By staging big publicity stunts. The first was “Ship to Shore” with Billie on a pleasure steamer with an audience three miles offshore linked to a hotel in Torquay with me and another audience. We were linked by radio. It was a great success and received excellent press nationwide. We performed for the Spanish Royal Family and Princess Margaret’s wedding. In 1960 we were invited to appear in the British Ring convention in Hastings. In 1963 we performed a sensational stunt of air-to-ground telepathy at an outdoor gala to 7,000 people. Among the many attractions was an aerobatic display by a squadron of ancient Tiger Moth aircraft. One plane landed and Billie was taken aloft with a walkie Talkie and radio equipment strapped to her back, relayed to a PA system on the ground. We did a telepathy act under these conditions, which resulted in much more publicity and enhanced our reputation. We also did a similar event from two radio stations, Exeter and Plymouth, with equal success.
So how did the agency come about?
We established the Trevor George Entertainment agency in 1959. To my knowledge there were no entertainment agencies in the West Country at this time. Our task was to convince bookers the benefits of booking through our agency. This proved to be more difficult than we assumed. Many were skeptical at first, but as we were well known in the area and trusted, we gradually educated them to this way of booking. There was a limited number of artistes locally who were of the required standard for us to recommend them, but even these were reticent to be booked by an unfamiliar method. As our reputation grew received masses of mail from acts and almost all were unknown to us. This was slowly resolved by auditions and eventually the advent of showcases. To my knowledge we were the first to introduce showcases, our first being in 1960.
What do you think of the current state of magic, whether on TV or live?
There are vast developments in the art of magic with new effects constantly being invented and updated to fulfil the expectations of modern audiences. There’s been a resurgence of popularity in magic for both TV and live performance which has to be welcomed. Close up and table hopping at functions is now very much in demand and street magic is very popular, particularly when featured on TV.
Unfortunately many viewers fail to differentiate between actual skill and camera tricks, which I feel is a regrettable trend.
How does the current state compare with your experience in the prime of your agent dealings?
I’m in danger here of being accused of being old fashioned and not moving with the times, but in my opinion professionalism and dedication is vital for entertainers to receive the respect and admiration of audiences and bookers. I personally cannot take seriously any act that doesn’t dress suitably. First good impressions are created by smart appearance.
My second cause for concern is presentation. One needs to speak clearly, projecting the voice, which captures the attention of the audience. Microphone technique and its use is also very important. Mics should assist and enhance the sound and effects, not do the entire work for you. The mic should be sound adjusted to operate efficiently well away from the face! Facial expressions and a smile with eye contact will do wonders to win over an audience. This is sadly missing in many entertainers to their detriment.
In your opinion, have the opportunities for magicians to perform increased or decreased over your time in the industry?
It is my considered opinion that opportunities for magicians have never been better. Magic clubs, societies and conventions are much bigger now. There are more inventors improving on past methods, new technology, new ideas and more lectures giving guidance for performers. Excellent role models such as Derren Brown, David Copperfield, Jeff McBride and other inspire and motivate by example. Magic is enjoying a new lease of popularity. Enjoy it!
As a mental act, did you prefer technical methods, or ones that required balls of steel?
Mental acts must have in-depth knowledge of basic magic methods, but to be convincing in mentalism, the performer must disassociate themselves from obvious magicians props and confine themselves to the use of ordinary objects. They must possess skill and bravado, extreme confidence in presentation with personality and charm.
Who’s your favourite magician?
I was originally inspired by watching such greats as Dante, Cecil Lyle, Murray, John Calvert and Sorcar live in theatres. They achieved amazing effects without the aid of modern technology. Later came two masters of mentalism; Al Koran and David Berglas. In recent years performers who have impressed me are David Copperfield, David Blaine and Derren Brown who I had the pleasure of meeting two years ago. I was delighted to hear of his close association with Michael Vine and Andrew O’Connor both of whom have worked through Trevor George Entertainments in their early days as magicians. I’ve had the pleasure of meeting Jeff McBride and spending several hours in his company. Our conversation was most interesting. Here is a man dedicated to his art. A complete professional in attitude, experience, dress, originality, skill and superb presentation. His lectures are also informative and inspiring.
This is an edited version of an interview conducted by Jay Fortune that appeared in issues 57 and 59 of Magicseen Magazine. If you’re a magician or magic lover, be sure to follow Magicseen on Twitter and Facebook.
For more on the founders of Trevor George, be sure to check out our History page.