THE AMAZING KRESKIN
I’ve spoken at length about my admiration of the old Tonight Show. From Johnny Carson with the spasmodic tugs at his cuff links and straightening of his tie; Ed McMahon’s guffaw as he reacted to his boss’s punch lines; Doc Severinson’s outrageous outfits; Don Rickles and Rodney Dangerfield’s hilarious jokes; Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra’s songs; to George Gobel and Jack Benny’s wisecracks and deadpan reactions. It was truly the golden age of television.
There was another entertainer who showed up as a frequent guest on the show. As a matter of fact, he appeared more than 56 times on the Tonight Show from 1970-1980. Hailing from Montclair, NJ…his name was George Joseph Kresge. But you might remember him as The Amazing Kreskin.
Carson, who began his show business career as a magician in his home state of Nebraska, had an affinity for true professionals in this field. I can remember watching his face as he tried to figure out the hidden mechanism to Kreskin’s supposed psychic powers as he performed hundreds of mind boggling stunts over the years. From card tricks to audience participation games to mind reading antics, many of this guy's feats were truly “amazing”.
My daughter Ashley played division 2 college basketball for Holy Family University in Northeast Philadelphia. A powerful, perennial top 20 team in the nation for D2, they played a mostly local schedule against schools from Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. They won the conference tournament in 2005 hosted by Caldwell College in North Jersey, so our family stopped at a local diner to grab a quick bite to eat before the hour plus drive home.
The diner was quite crowded, and the triplets had to sit at a separate table next to ours. As I was chatting with my wife Terri waiting for my meal, I noticed a familiar looking gentleman eating alone in the booth near to us. Older and bespectacled, it was one of those situations where someone looked familiar, but I just couldn’t place him. We finished our eggs over easy with Italian sausage and hash browns (I’m a big fan of eating breakfast for dinner, especially at NJ diners), and I went up to the cashier to pay the tab while Terri rounded up the kids. While handing my check to the attendant, I noticed a signed picture directly behind her of the man whom I had recognized just moments before. I couldn’t make out the specific message…but the signature was quite legible; it was The Amazing Kreskin.
I went back to the table to relieve my wife and give her the answer to this mysterious riddle. Her eyes lit up as she realized the man was indeed who I claimed he was. We agreed it was truly a magical eating experience. Just too bad The Amazing Kreskin couldn’t provide one more astonishing feat that would have made me an even bigger fan for life.....he didn't make my check disappear.
I’ve spoken at length about my admiration of the old Tonight Show. From Johnny Carson with the spasmodic tugs at his cuff links and straightening of his tie; Ed McMahon’s guffaw as he reacted to his boss’s punch lines; Doc Severinson’s outrageous outfits; Don Rickles and Rodney Dangerfield’s hilarious jokes; Dean Martin and Frank Sinatra’s songs; to George Gobel and Jack Benny’s wisecracks and deadpan reactions. It was truly the golden age of television.
There was another entertainer who showed up as a frequent guest on the show. As a matter of fact, he appeared more than 56 times on the Tonight Show from 1970-1980. Hailing from Montclair, NJ…his name was George Joseph Kresge. But you might remember him as The Amazing Kreskin.
Carson, who began his show business career as a magician in his home state of Nebraska, had an affinity for true professionals in this field. I can remember watching his face as he tried to figure out the hidden mechanism to Kreskin’s supposed psychic powers as he performed hundreds of mind boggling stunts over the years. From card tricks to audience participation games to mind reading antics, many of this guy's feats were truly “amazing”.
My daughter Ashley played division 2 college basketball for Holy Family University in Northeast Philadelphia. A powerful, perennial top 20 team in the nation for D2, they played a mostly local schedule against schools from Connecticut, New York, New Jersey, and Pennsylvania. They won the conference tournament in 2005 hosted by Caldwell College in North Jersey, so our family stopped at a local diner to grab a quick bite to eat before the hour plus drive home.
The diner was quite crowded, and the triplets had to sit at a separate table next to ours. As I was chatting with my wife Terri waiting for my meal, I noticed a familiar looking gentleman eating alone in the booth near to us. Older and bespectacled, it was one of those situations where someone looked familiar, but I just couldn’t place him. We finished our eggs over easy with Italian sausage and hash browns (I’m a big fan of eating breakfast for dinner, especially at NJ diners), and I went up to the cashier to pay the tab while Terri rounded up the kids. While handing my check to the attendant, I noticed a signed picture directly behind her of the man whom I had recognized just moments before. I couldn’t make out the specific message…but the signature was quite legible; it was The Amazing Kreskin.
I went back to the table to relieve my wife and give her the answer to this mysterious riddle. Her eyes lit up as she realized the man was indeed who I claimed he was. We agreed it was truly a magical eating experience. Just too bad The Amazing Kreskin couldn’t provide one more astonishing feat that would have made me an even bigger fan for life.....he didn't make my check disappear.
Love your metaphors buddy!!! Great reading and even better writing! A classic literary form for describing "your journey".
ReplyDeleteReference to "metaphors" intended to apply to all of your work, not the Kreskin one in particular.
ReplyDeleteThanks Rex...I appreciate you reading the blog and your positive comments!
ReplyDelete