discovered the astounding mentalism of Chan Canasta , the brilliant illusions of Robert Harbin , and the hysterical comedy of Tommy Cooper . “ Magic , Comedy , and Mentalism … I guess not too much has changed in my life since those days ,” he muses .

With his newfound passion , Nick also began searching for ways to become a magician . In a bit of irony , his favorite toy shop had a small section devoted to selling tricks . “ They were manufactured by a company called Ellison ’ s Magic ,” he explains . With eyes wide , young Nick watched the man behind the counter demonstrate two tricks — a plastic set of cups and balls , and a shiny red ball-in-vase . He couldn ’ t wait to take them home and fool his two brothers . “ They never quite got the magic thing ,” he says , “ but they always watched every new trick I learned … even if it was with a way too critical eye .”

It didn ’ t matter . Nick was hooked . He was determined to learn even better tricks . So , when he discovered that a man named Charles Ellis , who sang in the church choir with his father , was a magician , he set out to meet him . “ I badgered my dad ,” Nick reminisces , “ into getting me assigned to assist Mr . Ellis in his annual magic show at our church ’ s garden party . He performed an amazing routine with silver rings that linked together . I was astounded and could not stop thinking about it . I had to learn that trick !”

And so , Nick did … the Linking Rings and several other tricks , all under the tutelage of Ellis . By the age of twelve , he was starring in his own show at birthday parties — and anywhere else he could gather a crowd . A couple years earlier , his family had moved to Wimbledon , and at the age of thirteen , while most kids were playing tennis , Nick brought a partner into his act , a boy his own age who also loved magic , named James Stevens .

“ Jim , as everyone called him , taught me the Zombie ,” Nick explains . “ I was in awe of his magic skills and together we created a 45-minute act . We were asked by the local theater owner to perform on Saturdays for their kid shows . When we got there , the cinema manager told us that ‘ ten minutes would be plenty .’ In retrospect , how right he was . Our severely scaled back performance got a great reaction , and my indignation at our truncated running time quickly vanished .”

Nick ’ s family moved again when he was fourteen . This time to small village near Brighton by the sea . “ I was in full throttle as a young magician ,” he remembers fondly , “ performing a combination of comedy tricks and manipulative magic . The highlight of my act was Ron Macmillan ’ s twelve billiard ball routine , which I mastered after pestering my dad to make those pesky spring-loaded clips . I closed my show with the Linking Rings .”

Nick goes on to say : “ During each performance , I displayed every prop I owned on a big table — even if I didn ’ t use them . I was just so proud of having so many cool-looking tricks !” That same year , he joined the Sussex Magic Circle and quickly learned that showing off his props wasn ’ t exactly professional . He did , however , have the