Al Skinner NorCal Corporate Comic/Magician Show #199

Be sure to listen to this interview with Al Skinner, a man who got a very late start in show business; but is rock'n the corporate stages & dinner theater. His approach to magic as a comedian really shares important aspects of both art forms. Sure to entertain, listen and enjoy!

Contact: Alskinner.net

Transcript

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Announcer 0:04

This is another episode of Stand Up Comedy, your host and MC, celebrating 40 plus years on the fringe of show business. Stories, interviews, and comedy sets from the famous and not so famous. Here's your host and MC, Scott Edwards.

Scott Edwards 0:22

Hey there, ladies and gentlemen. Welcome back to the podcast. Great to have you with us. Hey, one of my goals is to bring a variety of interviews and interesting people to the show for your entertainment, I hope. And today is no different. There's a young man that's been doing uh all kinds of interesting things. We were just chatting before the recording. He's had a very interesting life. We're going to hear about it. But the reason he's on the show is that he's a successful comic magician and he works with uh some very good friends of mine in the business. And it's just great to have him in the studio to chat. Ladies and gentlemen, please welcome comic magician extraordinaire Al Skinner. Oh, the crowd goes crazy, Al.

SPEAKER_01 1:11

All right, great. Welcome to the studio. Great. I I have to correct you on the introduction. First off, you said variety of entertainers, which means you couldn't get anybody else, am I right? And then uh you said young and uh stretch young man. We got the man part right.

Scott Edwards 1:29

Well, ladies and gentlemen, Al and I have worked together. Uh I've actually had the pleasure of being in the audience when he was performing, and then we've worked together on a couple shows. We have a great mutual friend, uh uh another talented magician, Larry Wilson. Yes. And you do a lot with him. What I found fascinating and why I wanted to have you on the show is that you are um a very good magician, but you do have a unique way of bringing comedy into it, totally different than Larry and other people I've seen perform. And uh, due to my pre-show investigation, uh you got a much later start. So let's give the audience a foundation, Al. Um, let's say between, you know, 25 and 50 is when you started Magic. 40. Yeah, let's say somewhere in that area. Wow. Well, that's a big area. We'll we'll say 40 and give you the benefit of the doubt. So between 25 and 40, uh, what was Al Skinner's life like?

SPEAKER_01 2:36

Well, I'll I gotta go back a little bit further than that. We chatted a little bit about this. I uh I owned a nightclub here in town, and we can talk about that later. Eventually, uh, through some things, I ended up getting married and having kids, and I had to go get a straight job uh as a computer software engineer, and so I did that for uh 20 some years. So that was your base career? That was my base career. I mean, I'm living off the residuals of that right now.

Scott Edwards 3:03

Were you dabbling in magic or was it wasn't even in your life?

SPEAKER_01 3:07

Uh it wasn't. I'll I'll tell you the quick story. If it maybe it's not so quick. When I was a young lad, there was uh Mark Wilson's uh television show, and he went out to the audience one time and says, if you want to be a magician, you have to be able to do these certain finger moves. And I couldn't do these little finger moves that he was talking about, so I thought, oh, well, I guess I'm not gonna be a magician, but I always loved magic. But on one of my birthdays as an adult, my wife took me to Las Vegas and she took me there because I loved car racing, and she bought me a one-day Formula Three, not Formula One, but Formula Three, racing driving school. And we went there, by the way, great birthday gift, ladies, uh, for your husband to go out and do something.

Scott Edwards 3:52

It is so much fun.

SPEAKER_01 3:53

Yeah, gosh, it was great. But while we were there, staying at one of the casinos, there was a magic store, uh, Houdini's, and I walked by there, and the guy was pitching a magic trick out front. And I thought, oh, let me go in and do that. So I went in, loved it, bought it, decided to use it in uh some Sunday school stuff I was involved with. And from there, uh, that's how I actually got started doing uh doing magic, I was doing it in uh church Sunday school stuff.

Scott Edwards 4:24

Wow. So unlike a lot of the magicians I've uh interviewed that uh maybe as teenagers or even you know around age eight, nine, or ten, uh got that first magic kit, it was a whole different story for you. Right. What what just for reference about how old were you when you ran into that magic store Houdinis, which by the way was around for a long time. I might still be.

SPEAKER_01 4:48

I probably I don't know if that casino is even there anymore. But Houdinis, I think, is still in business, absolutely. In certainly in Las Vegas. Uh well, I was in my uh mid-40s uh when I did that.

Scott Edwards 4:59

Wow.

SPEAKER_01 4:59

Yeah. So so you never done a magic trick before.

Scott Edwards 5:03

You'd have you had like a normal life existence, nine to five job. After the uh we should mention that uh when he uh says he slightly owned the a nightclub. Uh, we're both Sacramento people. Uh for those of you around the world, Sacramento, California, kind of in the central part of the state, the capital of the state, but not nearly as exciting as most of the other towns. But there was a very successful rock and roll nightclub called the Oasis Ballroom that when I was a kid, I went to many times. And it turns out, Al, you were the owner of that. And there's a little comedy connection. You told me the story. Share that with the audience.

SPEAKER_01 5:42

Well, yeah, it originally was called Crabshot Corner. Long story about how that came about. I had a partner. Uh, once the partner decided to leave the business, uh, I took over and renamed it to the Oasis Ballroom. And I always had a love for comedy, and I'm a big fan of some of the older time comedians. And I thought, oh, comedy is really happening. Your club was was cooking down there, and so I thought, oh, I'll try a comedy night. So I had Henny Youngman come in. Now, unless you're up in our age group, you have no idea who Henny Youngman is, but he's the greatest one-liner comedian in the world.

Scott Edwards 6:19

A true legend in comedy history, Henny Youngman was one of those guys that helped kind of create the the art form. Yeah. But uh in all my years, and I brought in some of the classics, Pat Paulson, Soupy Sales, and stuff like that. But uh Henny Youngman, wow.

SPEAKER_01 6:37

Uh it's the Take My Wife, please. Uh that's his favorite. That's a great reference.

Scott Edwards 6:42

That's his line.

SPEAKER_01 6:43

Yeah.

Scott Edwards 6:45

Wow. Well, the Oasis Ballroom for the audience was really one of the premier places to see really good rock and roll. So trying to do comedy, was that successful?

SPEAKER_01 6:56

No, not at all.

Scott Edwards 6:58

Probably why my club did well in comedy and yours did well in music.

SPEAKER_01 7:02

Yeah, my dad was came that night and he pulls me aside and says, Here's a hundred bucks. You might, you're probably gonna need this.

Scott Edwards 7:10

It's funny you mention your dad because he was probably there to see Henny Youngman because that's more his generation.

SPEAKER_01 7:15

Oh, my dad, yeah, it is more his generation. Uh he was in uh broadcasting, so he knew all those all those guys. And I was a big fan of all those Jack Carter and all those just great uh comedians from back in the day.

Scott Edwards 7:28

Well, that's a great uh story from your past. But then fast forward to you're in your 40s, you're wandering around aimlessly in Vegas, and you pick up your first magic trick. And how did that lead? Because I've been working with you. Uh, you've done a couple of my shows. I've seen you work with uh Larry Wilson. I've been to one of your big shows in uh Lincoln, California in a beautiful little theater. You are now quite the professional magician, and you fit on this podcast because you do use comedy in your show. How did the uh you know, short story version? You go from buying a trick in Las Vegas, not doing a trick, buying a trick in Las Vegas, uh to being a professional comic magician.

SPEAKER_01 8:17

Uh the yeah, I keep referring back to my time in the this church. We had a talent show, and I was the MC, of course, and I would do did the magic trick and it went really well, and people loved it. So a couple next the next year did another magic trick that failed miserably, and I was able to uh use my comedy to uh get through that. So that was kind of a hint. And I did kids' shows for a long time, then I did family shows, and frankly, Scott, I just got tired of kids. I love kids, but I know how you did that. I know you know they're hard to perform too. Yeah, and the guys that do that, they are the best. I'm not that guy. So I decided I was gonna move into corporate. But before that, another guy who was working with me, we were doing some tours together of uh I didn't mention it, but I've been to India four times on tours as a magician.

Scott Edwards 9:08

Oh, okay. I did not know that.

SPEAKER_01 9:10

Yeah, the first year I relied on my comedy a lot. The second year, the guy that was kind of in charge of it, another magician, uh Adrian Van Vector, took me aside and said, Look, well, you need to learn how to become a straight magician, do all these slights, that sort of stuff. And so he taught me how to do that, and then we went on tour, and I just kept laughing at myself and making jokes during the thing. And I realized there's no way I'm gonna be a straight, sleight of hand, fantastic magician. Plus, I don't have the look to be that. So I've always been the jokester, and so I started doing uh comedy and everything and moved into the corporate world, and that's that's where I work now is in the corporate world.

Scott Edwards 9:50

Well, you know, it's interesting because our mutual friend Larry Wilson uh takes his approach to magic, and he's uh a world-class magician and been all over TV and and uh stages around the world. He does the comedy because his the theory is look, you know, there's no such thing as real magic, don't tell anybody real magic. It it's you know, prestidigitation and and it's it's practice, it's it's all this other stuff. So I can't take myself too seriously. And that's kind of the position that Larry takes. It's like he's almost as surprised that a trick works as the audience is, and and I think that's done well for him. For you, it sounds like it was almost a crutch that the you know these are tricks that I'm trying, yeah. I'm never gonna be the the great Houdini, so I'm gonna kind of laugh at myself and bring the audience along for the ride.

SPEAKER_01 10:52

Is that a short analogy? Yeah, Larry and I have the same philosophy. Uh we've become very, very close friends. And what we are is entertainers. We're entertainers who happen to use magic and comedy together. And uh my whatever level of success I have, very little, by the way, uh, is because of uh Larry helping me in this area. We are uh like blood breath is enough about Larry now. More about me. Uh so I know I've always been a comedy nerd. I just love comedy from the old vaudeville guys, and so I can't stand up on stage and pretend to be Copperfield or anything like that.

Scott Edwards 11:35

Yeah, well, I I saw your act, and I think it comes across very not only very funny, but the magic is solid. You you know your stuff, but I think it makes you more comfortable with the audience because you're you you're not coming across with this attitude that I'm amazing. It's like, hey, I'm Al and I've learned these tricks and you know, wait till you see this one. Yeah, you know, kind of an attitude. Um, by the way, uh Scott Smith um is been interviewed for uh this show is is a guy that does magic and adds some comedy, but he prefers the kids' shows, which is so challenging. I brought it up because you mentioned how hard it is for the show.

SPEAKER_01 12:20

He is one of the champions of this whole area, yeah.

Scott Edwards 12:23

He's really good at it. Yeah, but it is a different world uh performing in churches and kids than it is getting on a corporate stage. Did you find that the comedy aspect really helped you on the corporate level? Because that's that is a higher level. There's more money, there's more work. What uh how did you find that the comedy and the magic work for you in that regard? Oh, really well.

SPEAKER_01 12:47

Uh there's a saying, uh, the money's where the funniest, or uh right? So, I mean, uh people love to laugh. You know, in the corporate world, these guys are dealing with serious things. They're not yeah, and they like to get out, have some drinks, laugh, see their friend maybe get up on stage. Of course, I try not to embarrass my people, but they love uh they just love having a great time, and comedy fills in there. I couldn't possibly go up and be a stand-up comedian. I just couldn't do it. I don't have the chops, I don't have the creativity. I rely on the magic to give me situations that I can have a lot of fun with and get people laughing.

Scott Edwards 13:28

Well, that brings me to one of my uh stock questions is what comes first for you, Al, the magic trick and then the comedy patter, or do you come up with something that you think is kind of a funny idea and you find a trick that fits it?

SPEAKER_01 13:42

I don't know. I always start with a trick for me. I think uh I'll see something and or somebody friend might say, Hey, Al, this would be a great trick for you. It fits you really well. So I always start with the trick and then add the comedy to it. And frankly, I do a lot of stuff that are stock tricks, then I'll put my twist on them and then add the pattern. And I have to go back to Larry again. Larry and I work together on routines a lot. He is great at helping me come up with the storyline and the jokes that come along with it.

Scott Edwards 14:11

Yeah, and just to make sure the audience is staying with us on this, every magician, there there's really no such thing as a new trick in magic. Everything is an extrapolation of some other trick that's been done over hundreds, thousands of years. And what makes the entertainer uh successful or not is how they build or write the patter. Patter is the term meaning the language used, the words used to present the magic trick. And so some magicians use a very straight, you know, here's my trick, isn't that amazing? And then the people I work with and the people on this podcast are comic magicians, where they have relatively similar tricks, but when they're doing the pattern, the writing or explanation of the trick, that's where the humor comes in. And I think that much like a prop comic or maybe even a ventriloquist, the writing can be so crucial to your success with a bit. You know, is this gonna work or not gonna work? It's all a matter of what you say.

SPEAKER_01 15:18

Oh, you're totally right. Absolutely. You know, I do this one routine. It's uh it if you don't know in magic, we purchase the routines, we purchase the rights to them. Uh Nick Lewin, another great comic. I know you know Nick?

Scott Edwards 15:32

Nick worked for me several times.

SPEAKER_01 15:33

Good guy. Anyway, he has a routine that I purchased the rights to, and I use that with his stock lines. But as you're on stage, and comics come up with this all the time, I start, oh, I start ad-living and doing all the oh, that worked. So you're back scribbling it down afterwards, dropping Nick's lines, which were great, but they're funnier for me when I do my stuff instead of Nick's stuff. So that's kind of how a lot of my stuff uh transpires. I start off with the standard thing and then start goofing around on stage.

Scott Edwards 16:04

Well, I think just like a stand-up comedy, that the analogy I've used before, whether it's Seinfeld, Leno, Carvey, any of these guys that we've worked with, when they're doing an airport joke or a flying joke, which everybody does material on family or flying or driving, what makes somebody unique and different, it's similar in magic in that the tricks might be similar and the pattern might seem similar, but you have to make it your own.

SPEAKER_01 16:33

Oh, totally, absolutely. And that especially I think, especially in magic, that's true. Yeah, because we could all be out there doing Nick's standard routine, and it pretty soon we're just uh dummies out there repeating the same thing over and over, and you eventually have to make it mine. All my stuff is that way. And again, gosh, it sounds like I'm uh promoting Larry Wilson. It's just great to have a partner uh in the business that can help you. I help Larry with stuff, he helps me with stuff, and if you don't have somebody like that, uh you really should. It's just great.

Scott Edwards 17:08

Well, it's been brought up a few times that uh entertainment is a community in comedy. There is the support that guys that will hear somebody else's joke or punchline will get an idea and usually share it. Yeah. Right? Hey, by the way, on that bit about flying, try this. And that community helps everybody. You know, as they say, rising tides raise all boats, everybody helps everybody, and you end up with a better overall entertainment situation. Magicians are a tad more competitive than comics, but your relationship with Larry, yeah, I think so.

SPEAKER_01 17:51

You think so? I think comics are more competitive. Oh, that's so funny. Because we have these conventions, we share stuff, do stuff together.

Scott Edwards 17:59

All right, we're gonna debate this because my theory is because in magic, you're all doing a similar trick, you know, the handkerchief trick. Okay, everybody has the handkerchief trick, but they all have a different pattern, different way to present it. But because they're all doing the same trick, there's a little more competition in comedy. You there's a a law, you can't do somebody else's.

SPEAKER_01 18:24

Oh, very true in that. Right. So they the baseline is different, yeah.

Scott Edwards 18:27

The baseline is different, and so that makes the situation, you know, the yeah, there you're right. There's a lot of competition in comedy, there's a lot of competition in every industry, but I think that comics are willing to help other comics in the writing. And I think that your relationship with Larry and the fact that you work together, a lot of magicians will find one or two fellow artists to work with to improve their show. But act to act, I've I've seen more competition in magicians. But that's just me.

SPEAKER_01 19:03

Well, let me ask ask you this.

Scott Edwards 19:05

Go to the Magic Castle, and my theory's out the window because there's like 12 magicians and they're they're all having fun together.

SPEAKER_01 19:11

Okay, well, you you're right. And you get to a certain level that the Magic Castle can be pretty competitive. But let me ask you when you I go to these comedy shows, not great ones, small little things where there's maybe 10 people in the audience, and the comics are just learning. I do you think that they work together to try and help each other much?

Scott Edwards 19:34

Because no, less. It is true that it's more uh you make a very good point, everybody. Uh, let's hear it for uh Al. All right, that's enough. Good point made.

SPEAKER_01 19:44

Because I saw I've seen a lot of horrible comics. Now listen, this is no fault of them. They're learning, they're getting started and everything, and that's part of the process to do that sort of stuff. But then you get to the next level, and uh like at your club, would would the comics help each other at with your club?

Scott Edwards 20:02

Yeah, at the level that I was at, yeah, there was more support. On the amateur level, uh, the open mic nights, there's more competition because they're all fighting for stage time and they're learning their craft. But you make a good point. The cooperative aspect of uh artistry, it comes with professional status. When you're not really in competition with the feature act because you're already the headliner, or you respect the fact that this guy's the headliner because he's been doing it longer, or he has you know an hour of material and you have 30 minutes of material, there's a little more professional respect, and then those people will help each other more. You're absolutely correct. On the amateur level, it's a little more cutthroat because they're they're vying and fighting for the same stage time.

SPEAKER_01 20:51

Okay, so I I know it's supposed to be.

Scott Edwards 20:53

And magicians probably don't do that.

SPEAKER_01 20:54

My interview, but I got to ask you this question. Back in the day when you were doing your stuff, and then you have these guys who were everybody was trying to get a sitcom at the time. So they would go on uh like the Tonight Show or someplace like that, and all the comics would come and support the guy, but then they would be so ticked off that the guy gets a sitcom. You know, there's they're not trying to undermine him, but you know, there was that real dog eat dog competition to get to that really super high level. Yeah. And I'm wondering, that's where I get my idea that the comics were more competitive.

Scott Edwards 21:28

On this podcast and in my life, I've called it the ones that get the golden ticket. And I've known so many that got that ticket that worked for me. You know, Sagitt, uh, Kouye, Carve, Leno, Ray Romano, Jerry Seinfeld. I mean, I could go on and on. However, that was still a small percentage of all the comics that worked for me. And there was this level of bitterness or frustration that guys that might even been more funny were not getting that opportunity or didn't. didn't get the golden ticket. But that's the nature of life, I think. It's it's like there's, you know, uh, you know, I'm gonna make up a number. There's a hundred thousand engineers somewhere. There's always gonna be a couple that get fame and fortune, but the masses just do their job.

SPEAKER_01 22:17

Yeah.

Scott Edwards 22:17

Right. So there's all these entertainers or there's all these actors in Hollywoods too. Oh, and athletes too. That's a great doing their that's another great analogy that there's uh thousands, hundreds of thousands of athletes, and yet only you know, one percent, two percent become name famous. In magic, there are not nearly as many magicians. It's interesting, and maybe Al, you can speak to this. I think, by the way, I'm a huge fan of magic. My dad bought me a few tricks, I've played with a few tricks, but I never had the patience to really, you know, you have to work at something. It's like I had a guitar, but I I didn't take the time and then and have the patience to really learn it. That's my yeah uh failure as a human being. But I recognized talent, and that's where I'm a star, and that made me a producer. I could see talent and know how to use it. And when it comes to magic, I mean, literally every child, especially young boys, but now a lot of young girls will uh get introduced to magic and find some level of interest. And it might be, you know, they learn one trick and and or they get that first magic kit and they play with it. So there's you know, generation after generation of people that play with magic. It's almost like a toy at that level, right? But only, I mean, I think there's less people go into the profession than let's say acting or even comedy these days, and especially musicians. Right. There everybody likes to learn an instrument, but very few you know make a career out of it. What do you think? Um now you got a really unusual late start. You were in your 40s and you pick up magic, which is so different compared to all the other guys I've interviewed. Where did you find the time and the patience and the resilience to sit down and learn the manipulation of cards and and doing the tricks? I I mean, I find that fascinating.

SPEAKER_01 24:25

What is it that Steve Martin says the easiest way to get into show business is to be a magician, which is probably a true statement, and I probably followed that. I don't know. I just loved it. I just love doing I love entertaining. You know, if I could play the guitar, I'd probably be in a rock band or something. Well, uh flashback.

Scott Edwards 24:44

And you have kind of a rock bassist to your life, but you weren't a musician.

SPEAKER_01 24:47

No, I played drums for a while, but I wasn't very good at it. Uh so I used magic to be able to entertain. And the fact that I'm a funny guy uh just worked out well. So I do. I did practice a lot, still do practice a lot, but I've learned that it does we call a knucklebuster, all these different moves and sleights of hand. People kind of in one sense don't care about that. They want to be entertained. So I tend to use tricks that are um foolproof, they're not gonna fail, although I certainly had that happen, pretty easy to learn, and are entertaining, and I could add comedy to it. So I did all those knuckle busting things for years, uh, but that's interesting. I'm more comfortable being funny.

Scott Edwards 25:36

Yeah, that's so funny that you mentioned that, Al, because I find that interesting that you just enjoy being on stage. You found that adrenaline that we've talked about, that that uh you have to get on stage, you you get an applause, you get some laughter. Well, now it's like a drug, you want to get it again and again and again. And instead of complicating it and being like a I this is gonna sound horrible terminology, a true magician, you know, one of those guys that are that are want to go into life is magical. You find a way to take uh excuse my terminology again, basic tricks to get your ass on stage so that you can entertain. Your love is for entertainment. It is, and I think that your personality and your sense of humor added, like you said, with this art form of magic, and it doesn't have to be complicated, it doesn't have to be, you know, award-winning, you know, shock the world. He's a magician kind of stuff. It just needs to be entertaining. That's a great way to go into this art form. Congratulations.

SPEAKER_01 26:48

Thank you. I saw Piff uh last week, Piff the Magic Greg, um last Friday night. Now, I happen to know that the guy that's playing Piff is a really world-class sleight-of-hand artist, but his show did not do very much really knuckle busting, sleight-of-hand stuff, but man, was it entertaining. He had the audience in the palm of his hand laughing and having so much fun. That's what I like. I wish that I was a stand-up, a good enough stand-up comic to be able to do it without carrying all this stuff around that we had. See, here's my theory about a stand-up magician versus a comedy magician. A stand-up magician has it easy and harder. Easier, he doesn't have to carry all this stuff around with him. Harder because he doesn't have all that stuff to rely on up there. He's strictly his wit and his stage delivery. As they say, you're standing naked up there before everybody. Well, magicians, we have to carry all this stuff around. That's the hard part. The easy part is we have all this stuff to rely on to help us be funny or amazing or whatever it is.

Scott Edwards 27:59

One of my good friends in comedy and and who's been on this podcast several times, uh, Bruce Babyman Bomb, started off as a prop comic and in college and was very successful. And he was really good with props, but he got to the point, and he was nationally famous. He was traveling all over the country, but he had two or three trunks. I mean, imagine what Carrot Top has to travel around with. And it was really fun and entertaining, but it really was difficult. And he forced himself one trunk at a time to get down to, he still ended up using about one trunk load because he always was at heart a prop comic, but he wrote a lot of stand-up comedy so that he didn't have to carry all that stuff. And then there's a comedy team, Mac and Jamie, who were uh again very successful, had their own TV show called Comedy Break. They've been on this podcast several times, and they tell the story that they started off using a lot of props because they came from the theater side. So they were used to props as theatrical comics, right? And they made a rule early in their career that if it didn't fit in the briefcase, it wasn't in the act.

SPEAKER_01 29:16

Yeah.

Scott Edwards 29:17

And so they had a few props in the briefcase, but that was because of the hassle of moving all the stuff around. So for magicians, it you always have props. But you know, I've I've seen John Carney work and in Amazing Jonathan and other people where there's they could have a whole stage show like Larry Wilson, yeah, where you have extra acts and and you know, lions, tigers, and bears, and then you've got the guy that can get just as much reaction from the audience by pulling something out of his pocket.

SPEAKER_01 29:52

Yeah.

Scott Edwards 29:52

Magic is is interesting.

SPEAKER_01 29:54

Michael Finney Finney's that way. He's really good. Yeah, he he works very minimal. You know, there I think it was I can't remember who the magician's last comic was. But there's a story that uh he was opening for Seinfeld or something, and toured with him for a while. This is probably back in the day before the show. And Seinfeld says, drop drop that stuff. Just let's go just go out and be a comic. Let's try it on the next show. And turned out went well, became a stand-up and everything like that. Actually, I can't think of the guy's name, but he has a podcast. He's got a podcast, imagine that.

Scott Edwards 30:32

Well, uh, you know, there's something to take away from this, and that a lot of the show business talent that you're presenting to an audience is within you and what you say and what you write. Props are nice, magic is you know, or like ventriloquism, you know, you know, you still have to be the writer, you still have to be the performer. It really doesn't matter which dummy you're holding, or I'm sorry, ventriloquical figure you're holding. Uh Willie Tyler will give me crap for that. Uh I think that uh just like uh all these other entertainment art forms, it really is the person and their love for what they do that makes it happen. Now you've got this interesting career, you got started late in life. You start off as kind of a computer nerd in your 40s, you got into magic. Now you do comedy magic on a corporate level, very successfully in state, large state shows. Magically speaking, who uh would you say you've aspired or looked up to?

SPEAKER_01 31:39

I can't say Larry Wilson can't.

Scott Edwards 31:40

No, okay.

SPEAKER_01 31:41

No, Larry's gotten an by the way, Larry is I'm getting a dollar for every time I mention Larry's name.

Scott Edwards 31:46

No, no, but he's really a you know a good magician in comics. Good fellow.

SPEAKER_01 31:51

Okay, so I I kind of thought about this ahead of time. So he's this these are my heroes uh in that area. Uh, Michael Finney, and I'll tell you a quick Michael Finney.

Scott Edwards 31:59

Michael Finney uh used to work my club out of Arizona, has his own club called Finney Bones there, uh just to give everybody a background, and a very talented uh comic magician, and he's a good golfer.

SPEAKER_01 32:11

He uh the Desert Classic. He holds hosts this golf tournament for all kinds of people in uh comedy and magic business to raise money for uh I think it might be childhood cancer, I can't remember. Great, great guy. So I went to see Matt King in uh Las Vegas, and Mac wasn't working that week, and Michael Finney was uh filling in. Oh, cool. And I walked in, I'm disappointed because I wanted to see Matt King, and I didn't really know who Finney was. I mean, I knew the name, and this was many years ago. He came out and now again, very good magician, very good sleight of hand, came out and did very he he hates it when I say this. He says, I know there's a compliment in there somewhere else. He did these basic tricks and just slayed the audience with his comedy and the trick combination. And I that was a lesson for me. That's what I oh, it's not how good you can do these knuckle busters, it's how well you entertain the audience. How you present them, right? Oh my gosh, it was just a uh a masterclass for me. So he Matt King obviously is also another one. Uh, but those are my two top guys. But right in there is a friend of yours, a former friend of yours, Harry Anderson.

Scott Edwards 33:27

Oh, good, good friend. Dear dear friend, and uh a great guy for everybody that's not aware. Uh he was uh uh started off on the TV show Cheers, ended up having his own show called Night Court. But what made Harry famous was he was the the huckster, you know, right, uh was able to uh take advantage of everybody, you know uh uh what's the like a carney.

SPEAKER_01 33:52

Yeah, yeah, yeah. Yeah, the character he played on Cheers was kind of the character that he played as a uh comedy magician. And I went to see him up at uh Reno at one of the casinos there. He was playing the big room, uh I think at the MGM at the time. And uh wasn't even into magic at the time, just went up to see him because I was a fanboy and I just love his attitude. And I recently had been changing my um my costuming on stage, and I wanted to change it, and I started developing this thing, and all of a sudden I realized, oh my gosh, I'm dressing like Harry Anderson. And I thought, oh, okay, well, he's passed away. So I don't do his any of his routines, and my comedy is not like his, but uh do you drop your pants like he did in his show? That's such that's such a funny routine that he does. Yeah, he had a great bit. But uh, I I I kind of end up dressing like him, and so now I can say uh that it's uh in honor of him, I guess.

Scott Edwards 34:52

Uh well that that's nice. Uh he was a good friend, and uh he's certainly missed, but his character, again, his magic was different and unique, but is it was his presentation that made it special. So you mentioned Michael Finney, Harry Anderson, it must be one.

SPEAKER_01 35:10

Matt King, well, I would say the other guy is uh Jeff Hobson. Uh I don't know if you know Jeff or not. Did he work your club?

Scott Edwards 35:16

That's actually the first name I don't know.

SPEAKER_01 35:17

Oh, really? He didn't work your club back in the day. Mr. Las Vegas, he does a uh uh comedy magic thing. He was on the illusionists uh tours and he was the main MC. Very funny. Runs a club down in Palm Springs called Marvin's Magic, I think it is. Just a great, great guy and very funny comedian, magician. And boy, if anybody's done that way, I highly recommend going to see. I'll have to go check him out. Yeah, check him out. Here, uh, yeah, that's pretty much it. I I made some other notes of other people, but they are all comedians.

Scott Edwards 35:58

Let me shift. Actually, that's the shift. Okay. So you do a lot of comedy in your show. I think it comes from who you are, your personality, but we've listed the magicians that you aspire to be or have uh look you've looked up to. How about comedy? Is there anybody in the comedy world that you may have affected you as an entertainer?

SPEAKER_01 36:20

Uh of course I don't do his type of stuff, but my guy. Uh well, let's see. I don't I wanted to make sure I come at this the right way. Um well, Gaffigan for sure. Oh, yeah. Steve Martin, who was a comedy magician himself.

Scott Edwards 36:37

A lot of people don't know. He started off in the magic shop in Disneyland as a kid.

SPEAKER_01 36:41

Yeah. Um, let's see who else have I got on here. Brian Reagan. Uh all these are all clean uh comedians. Uh Nate Bargazzi is another one, but number one would be Seinfeld. And I'll tell you why. He's the number one guy, he's the top dog. I I compare him to Alan King back from when we were kids. Alan King was he was the top guy.

Scott Edwards 37:04

Really good.

SPEAKER_01 37:05

Yeah. And he's so that's what I think Seinfeld is now. But I like watching Seinfeld on stage. Not only is he funny, but his stage presence and the way he works the room, the way he moves on stage. There is never a move that isn't intentional. So many comics just pace back and forth and do all this stuff. Seinfeld is the best at just being the best up there. I just watch him in awe, and I'm laughing at the same time. He's he's the guy.

Scott Edwards 37:38

Well, that's uh a great choice. Jerry and I go way, way back. And I think what's a lot of people don't realize is what made uh Jerry Seinfeld famous and got him his show and all the work he's done over the last couple decades was his presentation of his writing, the the what the way he writes comedy. But you bring up a good point. He's not known as a physical comic, but from working with him back in the early days and knowing him, there's a lot of uh facial work, animation to his delivery that I think goes unnoticed because his words are so strong.

SPEAKER_01 38:17

Yeah.

Scott Edwards 38:17

Does that make sense?

SPEAKER_01 38:18

Yeah, I've seen him twice in the last 10 years. The first time he didn't move much on stage, he stood in the microphone and worked. And worked and worked and worked, moved to the audience right and left a little bit. Then the second time I saw him, which was not that long ago, a couple years ago, he's moving around more. But every move has something to do with the joke or the story that he's telling because he's acting it out. It's just it's uh fanboy here. It's a masterclass in what a stand-up comedy comedian should be.

Scott Edwards 38:53

Well, I uh appreciate you sharing that. I fully agree on your choices, both magically and uh comedically. Uh Al, it's uh just great to have you on the podcast and get a chance to uh share your story. It is definitely unique compared to some of the other people. Uh as 2024 gets going. What are you hoping or do you have planned for this year? Boy, what do I have plans for?

SPEAKER_01 39:20

Yeah, just keep working. I just love keep it simple. We were uh you and I were talking, uh, you know, we're getting to an age where uh you know you can't just sit around and watch Gilligan's Island because as I said earlier, he doesn't get off the island. What? He doesn't. I hate to break it to even though for some strange reason the Harm Globetrotters do show up there. So I just like working. Uh I'm working a little bit less now by choice just because I'm getting older and my wife and I like to go off and do things. Uh so I'm really just working uh corporate events and the events and places that I like to work. And I'll be honest with you, some of those places don't pay as well as the other ones, but I do them uh because they're fun. California Magic Dinner Theater in Martinez, California. Uh that's where Larry and I met, as a matter of fact. Fantastic club, just wonderful. I love playing there. Pay's not that great, but it's not always about the money. It's just so much fun. And there's there's Mystique, uh also, there are clubs around. Just I love doing those sort of things.

Scott Edwards 40:23

Well, ladies and gentlemen, if you're out and about, especially in Northern California, and you see the name Magician Al Skinner, be sure to go by and check out his show. Not only is the magic pure, but the comedy is amazing. Al, thanks so much for being on the podcast.

SPEAKER_01 40:40

My pleasure. Hey, www.alskinner.net. That's where you'll find me.

Scott Edwards 40:45

Hey, ladies and gentlemen, alskinner.net. Be sure to check out his website. If you've got a corporate uh gig or you're looking for a good, clean entertainer, uh, look up Al and uh he is your guy. Thanks so much for being on the show.

SPEAKER_01 41:00

My pleasure. Thank you.

Scott Edwards 41:01

All right, ladies and gentlemen, that was Al Skinner and his unique life in comedy magic. We'll be back next Sunday with another great show. Thanks for listening. Bye.

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