Al Koran Mentalism

My first introduction to mentalism was watching my friend Doc Monte' do a one-ahead set of predictions. I was very much into cards and coins at the time and when I saw Doc perform he totally fooled me. There was in my opinion, no explanation for what he was doing. Doc and I traveled about California doing some charity shows and we ended up at Hollywood magic in Hollywood. I asked him what would be a good starter book to learn mentalism. He walked over to the shelf and plucked out Anneman's Mental effects. Mentalism has developed quit a bit since then but on the whole in remains the Bible of mentalism, along with Corinda's 13 steps to mentalism.

One of the greats in mentalism was Al Koran. Here's a clip from his Ed Sullivan appearance:



The effects in order are:

* Medallion routine
* Number prediction
* Newspaper prediction
* Man From Uncle prediction

As you watch this you can note several things. Firstly, the pace of the audiences in the 60's and the performer is much slower than today. People have been conditioned to a faster pace show. But Koran masterfully handles the audience. Secondly, note how conservative his movements are. He plants his feet in one place and doesn't tend to move all over the stage. Thirdly, if you know the methodology, note how conservative he is when he is "doing the dirty work." He is very careful to write at times when people are directed to other things. Next, he is continually focusing on the audience and their reactions. It is a lesson in itself to watch the video several times to note a master at work.