Mike: Kort, what, in your opinion, do you feel in the magic industry today is the worst part of our industry (market flooding, easily obtained secrets etc.)? In your opinion, what part of our industry is the most redeeming in value?

Considering that you've been in the industry for decades, I feel that you are acutely aware of where we have gone wrong and where we have gone right, which is specifically what I'm looking for with this question.

Kort: Hi Mike,

The worst part is incompetent magicians - People who refuse to practice.

Next is undercutting prices. (Dropping your price to steal a show from another performer)

Stage illusions - when it comes to presenting stage illusions I like to see plain magic without all of the fancy strobe lights, fog, and dancing girls which detract from the effect.
Blackstone and Thurston did great shows without all the fancy lighting, fogging, smoking things that detract from the magic itself.

Close up – People who are only interested in fancy moves and flourishes. I call them jugglers instead of magicians.

Magic to me should be enjoyable and entertaining. The audience (spectators) should not be made to feel like they are fools.

What have they done right with magic?
By bringing magic to television a wide audience may be exposed to magic shows that they most likely would never see otherwise. Even though I personally don’t think much of many of the performances, at least it may result in more young people becoming curious about magic, And, in turn, they may visit their local magic shops and get bitten by the magic bug and begin their studies of magic, the greatest hobby in the world.

Mike: Mr. Kort, vanishing a real and open edged razor blade makes for one of the most deeply affecting reactions I get, thank you for putting it in the Stephen Minch book. I'd like to know exactly what possessed you to even come up with a method of doing such a thing.

Kort: Hi Mike,

I had been fooling around with some tricks using books of matches and causing a book of matches to vanish. Then while making a small counter display and trimming some cardboard I was using a single edge Gem razor blade. Then the thought came, I wonder how it would look if I vanished the razor blade the same way I vanished the book of matches. And, sure enough it worked. I worked out a very small routine where I caused the razor blade to vanish and reappear after showing both hands empty.

Then, one day Ron Bauer came in on his rounds to the store ( He worked for an advertising agency and one of his accounts was Gillette Razor Blades.) I told him I had a trick that would make him famous.. And, I vanished the blade. I offered the blade to him to try it and he just said, "H--- No!" He would not touch the blade. This simple effect, believe it or not, became one of the top tricks in the book. It started out as a gag and became a hit. (By the way, Ron did eventually master it and became one of the top boosters of this effect.)

Dale Shrimpton: Hi Milt.

What 1 question have you not been asked here, yet would love to answer…

Kort: Hi Dale

I'd like to have been asked, "Who was the only editor of a well known, popular magic magazine that never edited a single issue?"

Mike: Mr. Kort, you've met most of the greats throughout our industry over the years and they, in turn, were as humbled by your company as you were by their's (although, judging from your many stories, you never let that fact on!). I was wondering, were there any magicians who you wished you could have met, but never had the opportunity?

Kort: Hi Mike,

Nate Leipzig, David Devant, Houdini, Al Baker.

Magic Sam X: Lots of Magicians and others involved in the Magic Art have been remembered for very specific things, Sorry for the morbid question but what would you most like to be remembered for?

Kort: At the risk of sounding egotistical or big headed, I think I’d like to be remembered as the late Robert Lund (founder of the American Museum of Magic) wrote of me in a 1962 issue of Abra Magazine, “He certainly ranks among the top 10 manipulative men in the country, possibly among the first five.”

YinHoNg: As a young performer, you must have been inundated with praise and comments like "you'll go very far; you're the best Magician we've ever seen" etc.
You must have been proud to be acknowledged in this way by so many people. As you grew older, there must've still be that sense of pride and joy in your performance and creative work.
But was there ever a time when you saw a Magician who was BETTER than you; more skilful in his performance or technique for example? Did it leave you feeling like you weren't actually the best in your field, although all your life you had this in your head, whether you will admit it or not.
I guess the general question I’m asking is: was there ever a period when you questioned your talent?

Kort: No matter how good you are, there is always somebody better, even though you do not wish to admit it. If someone is better than you, just try to improve yourself.. It will just give you something to strive for.