Wizard Wednesday!

It’s Wizard Wednesday, in which we feature a photograph of a performer hanging in the entrance to our shop. This week is an early photograph of Jeff McBride, who remembers his early days at Tannen’s.

“1540 Broadway was 'my Tannen's'. My first visit was in 1970. It changed my life forever!
I lived on 52nd St. and 8th Ave. for nineteen years and I would visit the shop three or four times a week. It was like a second home...my happy place! I remember the phone booth outside in the hall was my office, surrounded by all those great photos of famous magicians.
The hallway next to Universal Costumes was often my rehearsal studio and a place where I would show off my new card manipulations to new friends. Every Saturday was a special day to connect with the magic community; stepping into that store was stepping into another world filled with celebrities, stars, and also the wannabes. I was a wannabee. I wanted to be a star!

Tannen's is a place to meet the stars and learn from them too. I met so many legends of magic: Jeff Sheridan, Harry Lorayne, Frank Garcia, Bobby Baxter, Lou Lancaster, Slydini, and so many more. These amazing Gods of magic became my teachers and eventually my friends.

The NYC magic scene was thriving in the '70s & '80s. Most of my days were spent practicing, jamming, seeing shows at The Magic Townhouse and Mostly Magic, and meeting new friends. I met David Copperfield at Tannen's. We were both in our teens, and neither of us knew what adventures awaited ahead of us...but we were getting prepared and training for that adventure!

The magic I learned, and the people I met at Tannen's transformed my life.
Magic gave me the opportunity to travel the world for 40 years, and to live a most magical life.

Even though I now live in Las Vegas I spent lots of time at the "other Tannen’s".
I am very blessed to be able to visit David Copperfield's museum and experience his dream version of Tannen's Magic Shop. It is the greatest feeling to be able to enter David's most magical museum and step back in time to the glory days.

I think back to them often, and how those days at the magic shop shaped my life.
The 1970s are my Golden Years of Magic and some of my most powerful memories.
To enter the doors of the magic shop is to step into another world of infinite possibility.

Today I have built my version of the dream magic shop in my Magic & Mystery School, so I can access those sweet memories and connect with that special feeling every day. I think back to Tannen's and the wall of photos of all the famous magicians... now I am one of them!

The magic shop is my happy place. To step inside is to come home!"

You can follow Jeff and learn more about his prestigious Mystery School @mcbridemagic