Hello, I'm Brett McCarron, owner of Magic World and your congenial host for your web visit. I've been interested in music, magic and illusion for most of my life. By the way, that's me in the photo above, back in 1996. It's only a few years later and I've been busy practicing the disappearing hair trick! I've almost got it perfected. I'll get a more recent photo online one of these days.

Where did I get the magic bug? Most likely from my grandfather, James Kendrick, who was interested in a great variety of things, when he wasn't spending time as desk sergeant and (later) Chief of the Centralia, Washington Police Department. One of his interests was magic and joke novelties. When he was taken from this world at the too-young age of 64 by cancer, my grandmother gave me two of his magic tricks. One was the Cigarette to Match effect, and the other was a version of the Okito Coin Box.

At right is a photo of Grandpa Kendrick, circa 1965 or so. He's pictured with a few of the guns from his amazing firearms collection.

I practiced hard. and was giving magic shows in my back yard at the age of 11 (some shows also featuring my brother, Scott). By age 14, I was earning money for my college fund by performing professionally. Thanks, of course, to my mom and dad for providing the logistical support (and the gas!). I've always had an interest in writing and scripting. By banging away on the keys of my manual Smith Corona typewriter for several hours, I was rewarded when D. Robbins & Company, the world's largest magic wholesaler and publisher, bought the rights to what would become my first book.

"The Propshop: E-Z Tricks With Magical Accessories" was the name of the first book I ever wrote for the worldwide magic market. It was released to the magic fraternity in 1975 by New york publisher D. Robbins & Company. English mentalist Tony 'Doc' Shiels did the illustrations, while East Coast author Roy Fromer did the editing. You'll have to look inside to find my real name as author, since I insisted at the time to use my stage name of 'Mercurio' on the cover. Since the book is now out of print, I've taken the liberty to include an effect that has received some air time lately in the Electronic Grymoire magician's group: The Mailed Deck. Click on the link or the book cover to give this effect a try (magicians only, please).

1976 saw the release of my second work for D. Robbins: "The Gambling Magician". This was an 80 page treatise on how to perform an apparent gambling expose'. Roy Fromer surprised me and used my rough illustrations for the book. Had he informed me beforehand, I would have submitted professional quality pen and ink drawings. But aside from what I consider poor quality editorial work, much of the content has stood the test of time. This book has sold out, but I see one get snapped up occasionally at online auction sites. I found it interesting to note that in a Bill Severn book on magic that you can see several copies of my book on display in a photo of the Lou Tannen magic emporium in New York City.

I've since penned more works on magic and mentalism, including "The Solomon Principle" and a new one that is still in the works. I'm under agreement not to divulge the nature of the new book, but suffice it to say that it will blow the socks off magicians and mentalists alike. I'll have more information available on the new book as it gets closer to press time. It will be both expensive and exclusive. Billy McComb, magician extraordinaire and Magic Castle regular, gave an advance copy of this work a very nice review in Genii Magazine. And speaking of Genii, I've had several articles published in that great magic monthly, beginning with the April, 1974 issue. My most current article published in a magic publication is "MentaLotto" that appeared in the May, 1998 issue of the Linking Ring (published by the International Brotherhood of Magicians).

Let's jump back to the "The Solomon Principle" for a moment. The world's best-known mentalist was giving a performance a few years back. After the show, several magicians from the Tacoma IBM Ring 70 were discussing what we saw over a late dinner. Much to everyone's surprise, the famed mentalist himself stopped by our table, waved a copy of "TSP" in front of everyone, and said "Brett, thanks for this!" It was a great end to an exciting evening to have this world-famous performer recognize me in front of my peers, and it didn't hurt book sales, either!

Now I will let you in on a backstage secret: unbeknownst to the other magicians in the group, I snuck out to my car and presented K with a copy of TSP while he was eating dinner with his road manager. He smiled, turned the book face down so that the waitress wouldn't think that the mental marvel got his ideas from a book, and thanked me warmly for the gift. Then I rejoined the group I was with and finished my dinner. I was not prepared for K's remark as he was leaving. I wish all my tricks went off as well!

I opened Magic World as a mail-order venture in 1976. this soon expanded to a retail store in downtown Olympia, Washington, in 1981. We soon began to create and sell our own products, in addition to stocking popular magic from all over the world. Also in 1981, I began performing full time with a rock 'n roll band. I tried surviving on two hours of sleep a night, but eventually got burned out and took a few years' off from music. I took that opportunity to get married and start a family. I received my magical due in 1990 when I was included in Dr. Bart Whaley's monumental "Who's Who in Magic". I was one of four living Washington state magicians so honored. This book, published by Jeff Busby, has itself become a collector's item.

Besides magic and mentalism, performing rock 'n roll music has been a passion with me ever since I heard The Beatles on vinyl as a kid. If you want to learn more about my music interests and stints in various Northwest area rock bands, then click here for a quick visit. I've taken a sabbatical from performing rock 'n roll music, so I've taken that opportunity to start up a new venture where I provide readers with news of free items (such as CDs, T-shirts, magazines, candy, and internet access) on the web. Stop by for a visit at freebies2go.com.

That's it for now. Thanks for stopping by. Have fun!

- Brett McCarron, a/k/a

The Amazing Whitney

Mercurio the Magician

former lead guitarist for The Excuses