The Amazing Mr. J - Magician & Entertainer

7 days ago

Did you personally have any 'Family Feuds' over your holidays? Well, maybe you can use your woes, to make some dough! You can now invite your rascally relatives here to Toronto, to join the jovial Gerry Dee, on the hilarious new "Family Feud Canada!" (You see? Mr. J's Life lesson for you: It's All Good! You can always turn any negatives into positives! Like MAGIC!) As you can see, Mr. J recently performed for Mr. Dee, and the happy-go-lucky host LOVED seeing some personalized live Magic...(especially after Mr. J made some personalized playing cards for our Magic meeting, featuring Gerry's famous face on them). Cool guy...we enjoyed a lively chat (sharing our mutual experiences, both as former schoolteachers, both turned full-time entertainers!) His book, and new TV show, are a riot. Have to apologize though, to Gerry (and to you!) for my fashion-failure of a SUIT in this picture...(ummm, wouldja believe, Don Cherry had a yard sale??!?) :P Wishing you a Magical Day, Friends! #AmazingMisterJ #GerryDee #FamilyFeudCanada #Toronto #Magician #Magic #ItsAllGood #FashionFailure #DonCherrySuit ... See MoreSee Less

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The Amazing Mr. J - Magician & Entertainer

2 weeks ago

Have YOU ever wished for a "do-over?" As you enter your New Year, reflecting on your entire last decade, is there anything you wish you could have said, or done, differently? And how GOOD would you feel, if you actually got that chance, years later? Quick story for you! In Montréal, waaaay back in 2011, yours truly performed Magic for one of my lifelong heroes, legendary cartoonist Sergio Aragonés. (A true inspiration, Sergio came from Mexico to the US in 1962 with only his drawing talent, no English, and a mere $20 in his pocket. His abilities as "The World's Fastest Cartoonist" got him a job at MAD Magazine in 1963, where he draws to this day!) Sergio's whimsical, comedic way of viewing the world heavily influenced my life, so it was an honour to present him with a balloon of his original creation: the clumsy, bumbling barbarian "Groo". (Pictured) Sergio loved the Magic tricks during our talk, and said he even felt inspired to write/draw a story about this. (Three months later, Sergio kept his word, and his original 'Magician' comic appeared in print! Picture attached) A perfect dream meeting with a lifelong hero, right? The only thing was, one of Sergio's best friends was also at his side that day...Mr. Stan Sakai, Sergio's longtime comic letterer, who is also the brilliant creator of the 'Usagi Yojimbo' comic since 1984. Stan was also extremely friendly to me that day, and rejoiced in the Magic meeting with his friend Sergio, but part of me felt *terrible* that I had no balloon tribute for him, or really nothing to say, as I had not (at that point) read any of Stan's stuff! So for years, I felt I had left Stan out on the sidelines! Thanks to Calum Johnston and Strange Adventures Comic Bookshop, I would later purchase and read the entire run of Stan Sakai's Usagi Yojimbo, and discovered him to be an amazingly profound, evocative storyteller, who used masterful layouts, strong female characters, and complex emotions to earn his place as one of the top cartoonists of the last century. So here was this man Stan, just as kind to me as Sergio, and due to my lack of knowledge about his work, I all but ignored him! Again, this was Montréal, in 2011. Fast forward to August, 2019...with the opportunity to meet Stan Sakai once again in Toronto, I decided to make good on my oversight eight years ago...thanking him for his amazing works of art, and presenting him with a balloon tribute of his character. Here's the thing: not only did Stan love the balloon, he (somehow!) **INSTANTLY** remembered me from Montréal, **EIGHT** years ago (see attached video, and you'll experience this too!) Couldn't believe it. He was equally kind this second time, and it felt very fulfilling to apologize for not being familiar with his work previously, but having become a huge fan in the interim. Even got to present Stan with my own new 'Amazing Mr. J' Comic Book from the awesome Grandway Comics, as an additional gift. ***Bottom line, lessons for you and me: 1) You never know how much of an influence you have on people, and who will remember you years later! 2) It's never to late to change an oversight in your past, and to tell someone you appreciate them. 3) Just like the stories in Comic Books are never ending, the future is yours to write! YOU are your life's author...live the story you want to read. YOU have that Magic Power! 🙂 #Magic #ItsAWonderfulLife #AmazingMisterJ #Magician #HappyNewYear #StrangeAdventures #GrandwayComics #SergioAragones #MADMagazine #Groo #StanSakai #UsagiYojimbo #LiveYourBestLife ... See MoreSee Less

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The Amazing Mr. J - Magician & Entertainer

4 weeks ago

Here's YOUR Christmas present, Magic Friends! A Santa balloon, from The Amazing Mr. J! Wishing you and yours a Merry Magic Holly Jolly Christmas. (PLUS, yours truly will put in a good word for you...with my boss, Santa himself!) Thanks for all your support and kind words this year, and here's to even more Magic Merriment coming your way in 2020!! :) #magic #christmas #theamazingmisterj #santa #love #joytotheworld #hollyjollychristmas ... See MoreSee Less

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The Amazing Mr. J - Magician & Entertainer

4 weeks ago

Have YOU ever wondered what real Angels actually SOUND like? Yours truly had the surprise pleasure of hearing firsthand, following a Magic Show for the Amazing Wendy's Birt's Girls' Choir! As you can imagine, there's no more beautiful sound than live trained young voices, all joyously raised in holiday song. You know, this really came at the perfectly needed time, too. Why? While packing up after the Christmas Party Magic Show at Halifax Christian Academy, (knowing there were still THREE (!) more shows to perform on the road this same day, plus hours of travel!), Wendy's magical, angelic group of voices serenaded me with joyous carols...filling my heart with more than enough happy Holy Spirit to wholeheartedly handle all such hectic happenings! May music guide you and inspire you personally, this holiday season as well. Wendy's 'THR!VE' Education group works miracles with young hearts and minds all year, and it was a true honour to be invited to perform for such a glorious group of girls. (Hope these pics warm your holiday heart as well) "Hark! The Herald Angels Sing!" indeed...they sure did this day! #AmazingMisterJ #Magic #Christmas #WendyBirt #Thr!veEducation #AngelsWeHaveHeardInHalifax ... See MoreSee Less

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