By RICK de YAMPERTENTERTAINMENT WRITER
If not for a punch that broke the jaw of a young Harry Anderson, the nation might have had one more street-savvy con man instead of an actor and world-class magician.
But the irate fist that left Anderson with a wired-shut jaw set him thinking about ways to earn money other than the ol' shell game. Anderson went legit. He kept honing his magic skills and soon landed on various TV magic specials, and he appeared on "Saturday Night Live" in 1981.
Another guy whom Anderson had conned out of some bucks saw him on "SNL." But instead of breaking Anderson's jaw, the guy offered the magician a recurring role on a TV series he was creating: "Cheers."
From portraying Harry the Hat on "Cheers," Anderson leaped into his big break: the role of Judge Harry Stone on the comedy series "Night Court." The lead role in the 1990s series "Dave's World" followed, along with guest roles on other television shows.
But all the while Anderson never gave up magic. He appeared on TV magic specials and performed at his own club in New Orleans pre-Katrina.
Anderson will appear this weekend at the Daytona Festival of Magic and the Florida State Magic Convention, including a lecture and performance Nov. 6 and a guest appearance at the festival's Gala Evening Show on Nov. 7.
Anderson talked about the past and future of magic during a phone conversation from his home in Asheville, N.C.
With high-tech special effects movies and the Internet, are people more jaded or sophisticated these days, making it harder to amaze people with magic tricks?
Aaaaahh -- I mean, balloon boy? No, it's not harder. That balloon went for four hours and it never shifted. It was obvious there was nothing in it. And yet people watched it and talked about it for four hours. Are people harder to fool?
I'm serious. If they're not harder to fool, what is sad is what their desire has become for a less happy outcome. Boy, they are suckers with a "K."
On the Internet I came across some of your "Last Monte" trick cards, which plays on the three card monte con game ...
Which I used to do for a living.
That was my question: Back in your days as a street performer, did you ever relieve people of their cash by using your sleight of hand?
Yeah, early on I did a shell game, not the monte. I did a walnut shell, three of those with a pea. And about at the age of 19 I got my jaw broke in San Francisco.
I was doing what they call "against the wall," which means I had no shills. I was solo. I created a shill. I would pay one guy, a real customer, a modest bettor -- he would win. And I would create a positive scene. I would create what they call the "advantage game." I'd have that guy rather than somebody who worked for me, which is traditional.
So I would take my chances, and I got my jaw broke. Once I got over my codeine addiction from my mouth being wired shut for six weeks, I decided to approach it as a light-hearted expose. And I became Harry the Hat, who is now the harmless con.
But I'll tell ya, one of the guys I took for 20 bucks was Les Charles, who created "Cheers."
So that's how (the character) Harry the Hat ended up on "Cheers"?
That's how I got the job. He remembered me from that. He saw me on "SNL" my first time and called me that night.
Did he ask for his 20 bucks back?
No (laughs). He thought it was a good investment. He knew he got conned, but he enjoyed it. He was a very bright, creative, self-satisfied guy. Giving me 20 bucks was fun. He was going to spend it somewhere.
You're appearing here in Daytona at the annual magic convention. Do you see a number of young people learning the trade these days?
I was just talking to Harry (Allen, co-owner of the shop Daytona Magic and co-organizer of the festival/convention) -- Hollywood Magic, on Hollywood Boulevard, where I grew up, closed last week. Brick and mortars are having a tough time.
The theory was, you had a magic shop, and the people who hung around the shop became the club, the magic club. The cluster of clubs published the magazines and the catalogs. It's tougher for a young kid to fall into the hobby than it was.
Is stage magic in danger of disappearing?
You work for what -- a newspaper? At the show we're going to do a torn and restored newspaper -- oh, there isn't one?
We're all in danger -- you can call it danger -- but so many of us are in the buggy-whip business.
Magic is enchantment. Magic is marvel and wonder. Magic is good and it's healthy. Magic is the "Beatles Rock Band" as opposed to "Grand Theft Auto."
It will by hook or by crook be, but it's a very tough time. My heart's broken about Hollywood Magic. I used to shoplift there. I have very fond memories of the place. It wasn't killed by competition. It was killed by time, like newspapers. We're all going to have to ride this and figure out how to do it non-analog.
What will be your show here?
With John Racherbaumer from New Orleans, we are doing a tribute to a guy named Ted Annemann, who published a magazine called The Jinx, a four-page page kind of club gossip thing. We're going to lecture on him. We're going to perform, we're going to talk.
You rode out Katrina in New Orleans, but moved to Asheville, N.C., later. I gather it's not a big enough city to operate a club where you can perform.
(Hearty laugh). When my daughter was about 4, I took her on the "Merv Griffin Show." She had a little Alice in Wonderland dress on. She looked gorgeous. I made her appear out of a bag or something.
Merv said, "How old are you?" She said, "Two. How old are you?"
The audience laughed so loud that she cried. It shocked her. So Merv -- God, I would take a bullet for this guy - he ballet danced for her, he did every trick in the book and he got her laughing.
At the end of the evening, I said to her, "Now that's show business. What do you think?"
She said, "That was a lot of fun -- let's never do it again."
That's my answer.
If You Go
WHAT: Daytona Festival of Magic/Florida State Magic Convention
WHEN: Noon-midnight Nov. 6, 8 a.m.-midnight Nov. 7, 8 a.m.-1 p.m. Nov. 8
WHERE: Daytona Beach Resort and Conference Center, 2700 N. Atlantic Ave., Daytona Beach
ADMISSION: $135 plus tax (does not include Harry Anderson lecture)
WHAT/WHO: "The Jinx," lecture and demonstration by Harry Anderson and Jon Racherbaumer
WHEN: 11 p.m. Nov. 6
WHERE: Daytona Beach Resort and Conference Center, 2700 N. Atlantic Ave., Daytona Beach
ADMISSION: $50 (registration for convention not required)
WHAT/WHO: Gala Evening Show featuring magicians Chris Capehart, Charlotte Pendragon, Pavel and Yo Kato, plus a guest appearance by Harry Anderson
WHEN: 8 p.m. Nov. 7
WHERE: Mainland High School Performing Arts Center, 1255 W. International Speedway Blvd., Daytona Beach
ADMISSION: $30
TICKETS: For all events, available at the door or at Daytona Magic, 136 S. Beach St., Daytona Beach
INFORMATION: 386-252-6767 or daytonamagic.com
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