MAKING NEWS
If you have a story or a news related item please e-mail
the editor at info@paulromhany.com
We try to keep the news as current as possible and
generally this is the last piece we work on prior to the
magazine going live.
Hal Spear Remembered
By Nick Lewin
There was very sad news
on the Internet about the
passing of Hal Spear. Hal was
a long time magician and
comedian who was a creative
and delightful force in both
areas. Born in Livingston, New
Jersey he was now living in
Las Vegas, Nevada—like so
many other magicians and
comedians. An avid magician
from an early age, Hal was
creative and persistent
in his approach to magic.
Ultimately he moved more
into the comedy sphere than
the magic world. However
he never lost his interest
in magic and brought his
encyclopedic knowledge of
comedy to bear on his first
love.
As a comedy writer Spear
wrote for such shows as,
‘The Drew Carey Show,’ The
Tonight Show,’ ‘The Arsenio
Hall Show,’ ‘The Howie
Mandel Show’ and many
others. He also wrote
for comedians such as
Rodney Dangerfield, Jay
Leno, Howie Mandel,
Rosie O’Donnell, Tim
Allen and Rich Jeni. He
was one funny guy. As a
performer Hal (Chickie
to his friends) was seen
on numerous TV shows
and appeared in every
kind of live venue. His
comedy was always
fresh and smart. He
was a true comedian’s
comedian. However, he
8
never forgot or abandoned
his magical roots.
The last full day I spent with
Hal was in Victoria BC when
we visited Murray Hatfield’s
magic store and had a
delightful lunch with Murray
and Eric Bedard. You can
share some of Hal’s talents in
three excellent releases he
has recently made via Paul
Romhany’s online magic
store. They are ‘The Amazing
Twenty Dollar Bill Trick,’ ‘CSI—
The Case of the Half Died
Hanky,’ and his superb book
of comedy routines ‘Extreme
Magic Makeover - Comedy
Classics.’ It is an education
to see what a real comedy
writer can do in routining
magic. They are highly
recommended. Check out
details at:
http://www.halspear.com
It is amazing how many
brilliant minds are fascinated
by magic at an early age, and
how often they retain that
interest. Hal Spear was a true
lover of magic and one of the
most friendly and generous
people you could hope to
meet. He is the kind of person
that magic needs more of. I
don’t claim to be one of Hal’s
closest friends but I wish I had
of been, he enriched my life
immensely by the contact we
had. If you want to watch Hal
perform comedy then look
him up on YouTube, where he
is well represented, and settle
back to laugh. The comedy
and magic world are both
smaller and less interesting
places with his passing. I will
miss him.
He had a heart attack while
away working and returned
home, only to pass during
the next night. I am not sure
of all the details exactly.
However, it is worth passing
on to our fellow entertainers
the incredible benefit of
taking out travelers insurance
while working overseas or
on a cruise ship. You can
get full coverage, including
emergency evacuation,
for about $5 a day. This is
about the cost of a Latte at
Starbucks and could mean
the difference in saving you
a great deal of money or
possibly your life. I never
work an overseas or cruise
gig without it. Ever. It is
easily obtainable from an
independent agent and can
be set up with a phone call. At
the very least make sure you
are traveling with chewable
aspirin with you at all times—
they too can make a life or
death difference.
Click here to watch Hal live in
various venues:
Stand Up:
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=_unJvTt7YR0
Stand-Up:
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=WuQ0z5lczc4
CSI Color Changing Hanky
Routine:
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=n9stinxjMck
Unpublished Routine:
http://www.youtube.com/
watch?v=y9B9MYMCIHo