Max Maven

Max Maven recently passed away at age 71.

I was a big fan of Max Maven, especially his attention to detail in explaining his routines. I also like how he committed to a character.

In a world where so many mentalists are content to put on a nice suit and present routines looking and acting like a corporate executive, Max stood out.

I was lucky enough to meet Max when I was just 17 and again in my early 30s. Unlike so many magicians, I haven’t rubbed shoulders with a lot of the giants. It seems like so many magicians I’ve met have a “When I spoke to Teller” or “What Dai Vernon told me at the Castle” story.

But I met Max Maven and Eugene Burger.

It was at the 1989 Invocational in Chicago, IL. Invocational was an annual convention devoted to bizarre magic. I drive down with my friend Lauren Turner. (Lauren, if you’re an avid listener of my podcast, joined me for a wonderful three-part series a few months back.)

I actually met Eugene Burger first. He was and remains a key influence on my view of magic and how it should be presented. I was chatting with Eugene, sitting under his learning tree, and mostly wondering why this gentleman, already a legend in our field, was spending so much time with me. Eugene was incredibly kind and supportive.

Max came over, and though I was not as familiar with his work, he immediately gave off a rather intimidating aura.

Max sat down next to Eugene and began chatting with him. A few seconds in, Eugene gently interrupted Max and said, “Max, I’d like you to meet Cris.”

Max gave me a very brief “hello” and then continued. This must have amused Eugene greatly, as he had a gentle smile on his face. After a few minutes, I slinked away.

The rest of the convention was a blast and I kept hanging out with Eugene all weekend. I still miss him.

My second encounter with Max Maven happened in Buffalo, NY many years later. At the time, Paul Richards, owner of Elmwood Magic, hosted several lectures by big names in our field. One was with Max Maven.

This was a unique event, limited to around 20 people or so. At the beginning of the lecture, Max invited us all to ask him questions.

I had just completed a horrendously busy run of shows crisscrossing the country. My vocal cords were shot, so when it came to my turn, I could barely squeak out my question.

My question, as I recall, was about making mentalism interesting. Mentalism, in case you don’t know, often involves a lot of processes. There’s a lot of writing, envelope stuffing, and other procedures that must be completed so the mentalist can apparently read minds, predict the future, or whatever presentation is being delivered.

I love mentalism, but much of it is boring.

After listening to all the questions, Max proceeded to address each question thoroughly, thoughtfully, and with the wisdom that only decades of experience could provide.

The answer he gave me helped me tremendously, and my work in mentalism greatly improved.

As I recall, Max’s advice was to break down the necessary steps in a given routine and do what I could to make those steps entertaining.

Whether it was through humor, drama, or whatever, making the journey just as much part of the entertainment as the destination is key in any form of magic, but even more important in mentalism, which often does not have interesting props or set dressing to provide visual appeal.

But that wasn’t the most impressive part of the lecture. It wasn’t until quite sometime later that I realized something amazing.

Max never wrote down any of our questions. He simply listened.

And when it was time to start answering questions, he did so by addressing each person specifically and answering their question.

That’s right – he had memorized every person’s question and who asked them. And proceeded to answer them.

Max memorized everything.

To say I was stunned is an understatement.

Max was a true pioneer in our field.

He will be greatly missed.

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