(Hank) Moorehouse 1934 – 2011 - The Society of American Magicians

asked her to dinner. She said yes. Then Jon explained that he
was in California. She still said yes, but not yet. They emailed
back and forth, and then started talking on the phone, frequently,
and for long periods of time. Finally, they started dating and
yes, Julie did fly to California to have dinner with Jon. Julie has
a degree in finance and is currently forming her own company.
Having met Julie on a few occasions, I can tell you that she and
Jon are ideally suited for each other. They married last year and
currently split their time between residences in California and
Philadelphia. Jon travels to California frequently; he is working
with a major television production firm developing new shows.
So what kind of magic does Jon perform today? He performs
on the corporate circuit and at charity events; he performs
strolling magic and stand-up magic. When you see Jon perform,
you will see a high energy individual who gets people involved
and excited about magic. He is instantly likeable and bigger
than life, but very friendly. He doesn’t set himself out to be “the
performer,” but more of the kind of guy you just want to hang
out and have a beer with. He can just as easily relate to a roomful
of CEOs or to a street gang. Jon says that he never wanted magic
to be a fulltime job. He sees magic as a way to develop relationships
with people, either individually or in crowds. He usually
doesn’t put messages into his effects, but uses magic to grab the
attention of audiences. It evens the playing field and makes him
approachable. It is this approachability that makes people take
what he says to heart. Jon has always viewed magic as an outlet;
he sees magic as being symbolic of life.
His close-up work is focused on card magic that is very
direct. He has excellent technical skills and is really “in the
moment” when he performs. He incorporates a lot of jazzing
in his work, taking advantage of situations as they arise. He
learned several techniques to get out of any situation. These
tools include a very good second deal, a side steal, and a top
change. The only gaffed deck he has ever used is an Invisible
Deck. He prefers to do magic with a normal deck of cards so
he can perform any of his effects anytime, with anyone’s deck.
However, the magic is really secondary, because he prefers to
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focus on the people, making them excited participants in the
magic.
He also does a lot of motivational speaking. He talks about
his life and all of the challenges he overcame to get to where he
is today. When asked what he hopes people take from his talks,
Jon replied, “Clear your head of all the negative thoughts and
remove the cluttered. Believe in the ‘magic of vision.’ The only
person who can stop you is you.” He uses the magic to gain
and hold the attention of the audience, keeping them involved.
He often speaks at corporate events for major Fortune 500
companies, but he frequently speaks at high schools all over
the country.
It took a number of years for him to develop his performance
character, but at this point he can look at an effect and know
whether or not it will “work” for him. His show packs into a
backpack and can play in a room for twenty people or an arena
full of people. Jon said that the expectations an audience has for
an athlete doing a presentation tend to be “not the highest, so
if you are decent, you will be very well received. If you really
know what you’re doing, you’ll get standing ovations.” Jon gets
standing ovations. This has also allowed him to loosen up as a
presenter. He comes across as a corporate performer who isn’t
corporate – no PowerPoint presentation and no shirt and tie. If
he is asked to wear a tie for an engagement, he starts his show
with a trick he calls “the disappearing tie.”
Jon says that he can’t write comedy. His comedy is based on
situations that arise when working with the audience and the
material that they feed him. He depends on their actions and
reactions to create his humor. He is not one to come out and do
a few self-working effects. His standard opener is the Tabary
rope routine, which he presents in a very comedic manner.
It is obvious that he doesn’t take himself seriously, but he
establishes great chops quickly. He usually performs Martin
Lewis’s Cardiographic, the linking finger rings, and his own
version of Scott Alexander’s Shattered. He will take advantage
of video projection and present Misled and Bill Malone’s
handling of Sam the Bellhop. He will also incorporate some
With his wife Julie With Julie at Lincoln Financial field