We still, to this day, say: "explain that, Mr. M" when something is not right.
"I lend you 10 bucks yesterday for you to buy lunch, today I see you are wearing a new shirt. Explain that Mr. M"
atum47 · 21h ago
Explain that Mr. M was the catch phrase the host would say after Mr. M perform the trick (illusion Michael) and before he showed how it was done.
giancarlostoro · 20h ago
They're called illusions Michael... A trick is...
oceansky · 20h ago
Arrested Development seasons 1 and 2 are pure comedy gold.
emiliobumachar · 2h ago
Hum, I remember it as "What about now, Mr M?" ("E agora, Mr. M?")
d0100 · 2h ago
Weird narrative of Mister M being famous because Brazilians "loathe deception more than anyone"
He got famous because everyone loves magic, and even more when you explain magic tricks
But most importantly, and what the author fails to mentions, it was because at that point in time anything on TV got famous, because TV was the only visual media we had that was "free"
elros · 19h ago
It's been decades and instantly in my head I could hear Cid Moreira's voice. I'm sure I'm not the only one :-) Watching that on Sundays, with my father, as a child. Good memories.
I remember watching his show in my younger years. I always assumed/thought that 'all magicians hate him' was just to sell the show more, like surely we all know magic isn't real anyways? Apparently that's not the case, it seems.
mrandish · 14h ago
As a former professional magician and lifelong magic enthusiast, no serious magicians hate this guy. On the contrary, his show was great because it drove interest in magic which is good for working performers. The "Magicians HATE him" shtick was just marketing hype to promote the TV show.
Of course there are probably a couple of clueless amateur magicians somewhere out there who will spout about this guy but it's not how the vast majority of us feel. Anyone who studies and understands magic on a serious level already knows they can take the exact same techniques you saw exposed on that show and fool you silly with them the next day.
I know this is true because I've seen a top notch magician like legendary Spanish card worker Dani DaOrtiz perform for a roomful of very experienced professional magicians at a magic conference and completely blow their minds. The best part is that he used a technique that every person in that room already knew! In fact, the majority of those pro magicians have studied and performed it themselves for years - and were still fooled. A layperson seeing a 60 second drive-by expose on a TV show of a single implementation of one of thousands of techniques has zero impact on a good magician.
irjustin · 10h ago
I think out of the "serious magicians" there's also the general "fraud" style. Who were in fact truly angry.
Make a space shuttle disappear[0], or hide an elephant. The TV show revealed all those to be fake and were in fact - paid audiences. My little brain trusted that they weren't paid and wanted to know so bad how the space shuttle disappeared.
Overall the TV and the internet helped push magic to exactly where it is today. Amazing, talented folks who even when you know how it's done, it's so good - it's magic.
I hadn't heard of that one, but reminds me of David Copperfield 1983 disappearing the Statue of Liberty, which I'm pretty sure was a "real" audience? But is also pretty boring.
philodeon · 58m ago
The audience was real for the Statue of Liberty. The “magic” was developing ball bearings smooth enough to allow the audience’s seating to be turned without them noticing, in order to give them the same view as the television audience.
jrochkind1 · 41m ago
it was still pretty boring TV, honestly. Being in the audience in person was probably more thrilling. As a child, it seemed like a stupid trick to me even without knowing how he did it -- that's it? I guessed some kind of mirrors or something. Maybe I wasn't smart enough as a 9-year-old to realize how hard it would be to fool the in-person audience? It didn't seem hard to me.
johannes1234321 · 2h ago
Yeah, I think there is the category of illusionists where it's just disappointing and sad if you learn the truth (oh camera angle and stage moved and thus the statue isn't to be seen anymore) and the category of masters of sleight of hand etc. where you really appreciate the masterfulness and even when you know how the effect was done are more stunned by the precision in the work.
scop · 20h ago
I loved his shows when I was a kid. I was pretty into magic (e.g. going to the local shop and buying tricks) and this show was the most exciting thing I had ever seen. I get that it broke many rules, but I think it was well timed. If it had been earlier I think it would have been a true rule-breaking, “we’re exposing secrets cuz we just don’t care” type of thing. But in the 90s/00s it was a moment in which a new generation of TV kids. Whenever I would watch magic on TV I thought it was pretty lame because, after all, how do you know it was just special effects BS? This guy revealed that even though it was on TV it was still an execution of skill/engineering/performance. Super fascinating. Thanks Val!
lurkshark · 17h ago
This was exactly my experience as well. It’s kind of funny now with the internet having endless information on illusions to think folks were so miffed by his show. But also — and this might just be my personal bias as someone who always loved the showmanship and execution — it baffles me that anyone would skip seeing a magic show because they saw an explanation (not even nearly THE explanation) of how it’s done. Like I assume most people besides the Falun Gong don’t think David Copperfield is a legitimate wizard.
whstl · 6h ago
I have zero patience for watching the tricks by themselves.
Watching the explanations on the other hand is fun.
To me it's like watching a trailer vs watching the full film.
felipellrocha · 19h ago
How did I know this was going to be about Mr M?
tumsfestival · 16h ago
Come on, how many pariah international magicians are there who are famous around these parts?
lee-rhapsody · 1h ago
"Maybe this will finally get me on the cover of Poof..."
Olha o Mr. M!!! Hahaha (in Brazilian Portuguese just for fun) =B
DocTomoe · 21h ago
Considering for some years now, Penn & Teller's whole act is basically exactly what this guy did, I'd chalk his shunning down to him trying to protect his identity (yes, in the last episode, he dud reveal himself, I know... but I suspect that was not entirely voluntary.)
metalliqaz · 21h ago
I've seen P&T's show in Vegas a few times, and I've seen many of their TV appearances. They do explain how illusions work, but they don't spoil other magicians tricks. They will do an old classic, show it from the "other side", and then while you aren't paying attention they pull off something new, giving no explanation for that one.
jackthetab · 20h ago
I just saw an interview with Penn wherein he stated that they have been thrown out of The Magic Castle, et. al for revealing tricks.
Given their popularity, I'm sure they've been allowed back in. :-)
busterarm · 20h ago
The Magic Castle is for Magic Circle members. Magic Circle rules very strictly prohibit their membership. They could always attend the Castle as guests of a member though.
The Magic Circle still asks them to donate items to their museum, despite refusing their membership.
bigbuppo · 20h ago
You're confusing the magic castle with the magic circle...
busterarm · 20h ago
It's the Circle that has strict rules about not revealing tricks. If they're Academy of Magical Arts members their access to the Castle is guaranteed.
sbuttgereit · 11h ago
One thing I haven't seen mentioned here to your point about sharing other's work. Some (many?) sell their tricks. So assuming that you've spent time developing a new trick and some portion of your living depends not just on presentation, but also selling the trick or training.... I could see some getting upset.
Otherwise, I don't think the issue is spoiling it for audiences as the craft and presentation style count as much or more than the trick itself.
empath75 · 20h ago
You should pretty much never trust magicians who "explain" how their illusions work. Sometimes they genuinely do explain it, but often, it's still another trick. Derren Brown does this a lot.
criddell · 2h ago
I used to love watching the Derren Brown specials until he did the one predicting the lottery numbers. That made me realize all of his tv shows could be camera tricks and paid actors.
Tangurena2 · 20h ago
My absolute favorite "magician" was a card manipulator who demonstrated how several of the standard card tricks worked. Even showing the trick from the side and also from behind (his back to the audience so you see how he's doing it) the technical skill was amazing. It motivated me to learn prestidigitation. It turns out that my fingers are too short to do card tricks with standard playing cards (also too short for the fretboard of a classical guitar - I have to stick to acoustics & electrics).
tcauduro · 18h ago
For small fingers, bridge sized card decks are an option!
coliveira · 17h ago
I always thought the line that they being "blacklisted" by other magicians was some piece of advertising for the show. I don't think that makes much difference in the modern world.
bigbuppo · 20h ago
P&T's whole deal is revealing the low-hanging fruit in frutherance of the greater trick. There are some circles that shun them for revealing things, but they're still respected by those same groups, and are well-liked all around. Why? Penn and Teller respect the artform. Valentino just went around being a dick about it, with complete contempt for the craft. That's the difference.
Seriously... his deal is magicians lie? You mean it's all an act? What a revelation. At no time in the last few thousand years has anybody in the history of the world ever figured that out. Nope, none at all.
belril · 20h ago
To take this a step further, P&T's reveals often highlight and celebrate the complexity of pulling off a given trick. Sure, you understand how the cups and balls can be done after watching them do it, but good luck trying to replicate the smoothness of their performance. They actually make a point of celebrating the complexity of the method, even if it's revealed.
ninininino · 21h ago
I wonder if the difference is the magician themselves revealing their trick vs others guessing as to how it's done?
What I thought would be an interesting article about his life in Brazil ended up being… nothing.
Mentioning him as a “hero” in Brazil is quite an overstatement but whatever, but then the article goes on to bash and generalize Brazilians and paint him as a “rare” honest person that’s been lauded for it? I’d guess no one I know even know he lives in Brazil.
As a Brazilian, it has always been about a cool show that showed you cool new things, so he’s well known just like tons of other celebrities that grow beyond the US, and that’s it.
No comments yet
pearlsontheroad · 19h ago
"Firms hire elderly office boys to wait in line at banks and notaries, exploiting federal rules giving priority to anyone over 60."
Retirement Plan Z (if everything else fails): Work as a messenger in Brazil. They're hiring.
gtirloni · 19h ago
Banks are pretty much empty these days. Everything is computer.
"I lend you 10 bucks yesterday for you to buy lunch, today I see you are wearing a new shirt. Explain that Mr. M"
He got famous because everyone loves magic, and even more when you explain magic tricks
But most importantly, and what the author fails to mentions, it was because at that point in time anything on TV got famous, because TV was the only visual media we had that was "free"
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=0hed40Muo50
https://www.youtube.com/@MagicSecretsRevealed/videos
Of course there are probably a couple of clueless amateur magicians somewhere out there who will spout about this guy but it's not how the vast majority of us feel. Anyone who studies and understands magic on a serious level already knows they can take the exact same techniques you saw exposed on that show and fool you silly with them the next day.
I know this is true because I've seen a top notch magician like legendary Spanish card worker Dani DaOrtiz perform for a roomful of very experienced professional magicians at a magic conference and completely blow their minds. The best part is that he used a technique that every person in that room already knew! In fact, the majority of those pro magicians have studied and performed it themselves for years - and were still fooled. A layperson seeing a 60 second drive-by expose on a TV show of a single implementation of one of thousands of techniques has zero impact on a good magician.
Make a space shuttle disappear[0], or hide an elephant. The TV show revealed all those to be fake and were in fact - paid audiences. My little brain trusted that they weren't paid and wanted to know so bad how the space shuttle disappeared.
Overall the TV and the internet helped push magic to exactly where it is today. Amazing, talented folks who even when you know how it's done, it's so good - it's magic.
[0] https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1lxX3rqhZtw
Watching the explanations on the other hand is fun.
To me it's like watching a trailer vs watching the full film.
Given their popularity, I'm sure they've been allowed back in. :-)
The Magic Circle still asks them to donate items to their museum, despite refusing their membership.
Otherwise, I don't think the issue is spoiling it for audiences as the craft and presentation style count as much or more than the trick itself.
Seriously... his deal is magicians lie? You mean it's all an act? What a revelation. At no time in the last few thousand years has anybody in the history of the world ever figured that out. Nope, none at all.
Mentioning him as a “hero” in Brazil is quite an overstatement but whatever, but then the article goes on to bash and generalize Brazilians and paint him as a “rare” honest person that’s been lauded for it? I’d guess no one I know even know he lives in Brazil.
As a Brazilian, it has always been about a cool show that showed you cool new things, so he’s well known just like tons of other celebrities that grow beyond the US, and that’s it.
No comments yet
Retirement Plan Z (if everything else fails): Work as a messenger in Brazil. They're hiring.