Documentary takes peek inside Randi’s amazing bag of magic tricks
PASADENA, Calif. — “No matter how smart or well-educated you are, you can be deceived.”
That’s the message delivered by James (The Amazing) Randi in An Honest Liar. The entertaining and surprising documentary, directed and produced by Justin Weinstein and Tyler Measom, premieres March 28 on the long-running PBS series Independent Lens.
At 87, Randi looks more like Jasper Beardly on The Simpsons than Harry Houdini. He’s still spry, however. He effortlessly shed ropes from his hands that had been tied behind his back by two reporters last January at the Television Critics Association winter press tour.
“Don’t tear the suit,” he quipped, “or I’ll have to buy it.”
Randi has been slipping knots since TV began. Born and raised in Toronto, he was first seen on an early Canadian broadcast where he was suspended, upside down in a straitjacket, high over Niagara Falls.
Ran di became fascinated with magic before he’d reached his teens, after seeing several shows by the great Harry Blackstone, Sr., at the long-gone Casino Theatre in Toronto.
By the time he moved to New York at 17, Randi got to know Blackstone, who helped mentor him as a magician.“He was my demigod ,” says Ran di, who worked daring Houdini-like stunts into his own bag of tricks.
An Honest Liar features clips from Randi’s early Canadian TV appearances, including one showing him on the afternoon kids show Razzle Dazzle with Alan Hamel and Michelle Finney. He also appeared with CBC comedic duo Wayne and Shuster.
He went on to much greater fame in the U.S., appearing with Merv Griffin, Barbara Walters and more than 30 times on The Tonight Show With Johnny Carson. Carson dabbled in card tricks and Randi says the two would spend time after the show in the host’s white Corvette, talking magic. “He was really good but would never do magic on his show, preferring to leave that to the magicians,” says Randi.
After nearly drowning in a metal bell-shaped container after a hatch failed to open, Randi cut back on the death-defying stunts. He eventually carved out a whole new career, debunking frauds such as “mentalist” Uri Geller as well as audience manipulations pulled by TV evangelists such as Peter Popoff.
One who kept his distance was The Amazing Kreskin. “He wouldn’t have a thing to do with me,” says Randi.
Among his favourite magicians today are Penn Jillette and Teller, of the duo Penn & Teller. “Two of the finest gentlemen I know,” says Randi, who claims responsibility for pairing them together.
He was once hired by Alice Cooper to add razzle dazzle to rock shows in the ’70s, including a guillotine act in which Cooper got beheaded. “I was the one who gave him a couple of gimmicks he used on his hands to produce flames,” says Randi. “He would transform in front of me from Vincent Furnier into Alice Cooper — and it was a wonderful thing to see.”
Randi can still pull off some amazing tricks. About two-thirds of the way in, the Independent Lens special has a twist few will see coming.
“We started out making a film about deception and about a man who is an honest liar and a deceiver of sorts,” says director/producer Measom. In the middle of making the film, “a deception was revealed that spun Randi’s life and his partner’s life in a different direction and took the direction of the film in a very different path.”