"Who was Ted Lesley?"...
...is what this book asks and attempts to provide an answer. But the closer the author got to this man in the course of his research, the more enigmatic, complex, and incomprehensible he became, he... who stood firmly on stage and simultaneously oscillated between worlds: the glaring light of the spotlights and glamour, and the darker sides of the shadowy realms and the human undergrowth.
He was all of these things: generous and petty, brilliant and helpless, empathetic and dismissive, charming and vengeful, a steadfast friend and a sensitive narcissist, an aesthete who loved music and cooking, and a narrow-minded person who didn't just count peas – and in everything he was, he was excessive. And that's what's depicted here.
Many contributed the colors for this picture, without which it would never have been possible. The siblings, friends, colleagues, contemporary witnesses, and adversaries all remembered. The author has plundered the archives of commercial courts, the print archives of newspapers, and the video archives of many broadcasters, has read what Ted wrote and what was written about him, has spoken and corresponded with those who idolized and endured him, who loved him and suffered under him, who marveled at him and learned from him, and has attempted to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Following the foreword by Dr. Reiner Studt, the reader accompanies a journey through a life:
Acknowledgements (Final Thoughts)
It is a life that began in the darkness of an external war and ended in the darkness of an internal one, experiencing all facets in between. And bound up in this journey are 119 effects and routines , well-known, lesser-known, and even never-before-published. Alongside small ideas, you'll find gigantic highlights like "The Cards Never Lie," the "Teleport," "Center Tear," and the "Himber Ring," all the way to the "Informatico Principle," which was one of the most sought-after principles of its time and remains a stroke of genius, and the last two US seminars (Master Class) of 2003, which were never published in German. Some effects and routines are presented with a thoroughly critical examination, some are rearranged, and almost all are supplemented with afterthoughts and variations.
The book is illustrated by over 140 photos, images and documents, including many unknown photos from 5-year-old Ted to the urn grove in which he is buried.
The book is A5 format, has 480 pages, including six in color, is typeset in InDesign, and is offset printed. It is hardcover bound (sewn binding, headband) with a ribbon bookmark and dust jacket. 500 copies will be printed and numbered.
...is what this book asks and attempts to provide an answer. But the closer the author got to this man in the course of his research, the more enigmatic, complex, and incomprehensible he became, he... who stood firmly on stage and simultaneously oscillated between worlds: the glaring light of the spotlights and glamour, and the darker sides of the shadowy realms and the human undergrowth.
He was all of these things: generous and petty, brilliant and helpless, empathetic and dismissive, charming and vengeful, a steadfast friend and a sensitive narcissist, an aesthete who loved music and cooking, and a narrow-minded person who didn't just count peas – and in everything he was, he was excessive. And that's what's depicted here.
Many contributed the colors for this picture, without which it would never have been possible. The siblings, friends, colleagues, contemporary witnesses, and adversaries all remembered. The author has plundered the archives of commercial courts, the print archives of newspapers, and the video archives of many broadcasters, has read what Ted wrote and what was written about him, has spoken and corresponded with those who idolized and endured him, who loved him and suffered under him, who marveled at him and learned from him, and has attempted to put the pieces of the puzzle together. Following the foreword by Dr. Reiner Studt, the reader accompanies a journey through a life:
- Friedrich Karl Helzel - Childhood and Youth 1937-1959: Family History - War Years - The Road to the West - School Years and Magic - Vocational Training
- Setting the course - The wild sixties 1960-1969: Abracadabra with headlines - Arrest and trial - Berlin, the early years, Do magic with pigeons
- The Rise - Berlin 1970-1974: I'm not a clairvoyant - This can't be true - Big flop for mentalist Lesley - The Lord of Barmbeck
- Finally a Professional - The Rocky Road to Fame 1975-1979: The Election and Ted's Predictions - Ted and Bernd and Eden - The Lightbulb Debacle - Diet and Mnemonics - And Again and Again, Television - Under Suspicion: Ted as a Counterfeiter - At the Olympia Paris – Breakdown - Topic "One": Envy??? - Clairvoyant Blacked Out - The Bartered Bride, Handsome Gigo-lo and a Touch of Magic - Pet Mind-Reading Stunts - The Magician of Lublin 2
- Berlin Happiness - Successes and Failures 1980-1989: In front of the European aristocracy - Magician photographed Barbara Schöne's thoughts - Ted cooks - Punx in Berlin - Magic Productions Show Service GmbH - "Prince, the Second" at Wilhelmstein - Valentino Liberace - At Sea - At Bellevue - Ted Lesley and the Agencies - Macumba - The Separation - He can't help it - Magic Magic, Revue of Wonders - Ully Loup - Tony X - Magic Magic, the Second - Double headline debacle - Ted privately - International Radio Exhibition Berlin - From the pen of Ted Lesley - AutoMagic Show - Double catastrophe at the Friedrichstadt-Palast - Shaken out of the sleeve
- At the zenith and before the abyss 1990-1999: Product presentations – Ted, Bill and Mat-voyan - Ted in Japan - Storm over the GmbH - Lesley vs. Marvelli - Can you call a magician Fuzzi? - Ted in the USA - "My Way" - De Cova, Ted and the Folding Coin - Memorial Invitational Newark - Illusions à la Ted - The Dunninger Award - Psychic Entertainers Association - Mental Mind Up - The MAGIE Special Issue - The Interview - The Wonder Workshop – USA the Third - Fate Puts the Plane to Work - Writer of the Year 1992/1993 - Entertaining Mentalism for Professionals: - The MZvD Seminar - Ted Lesley's Magic Club - Prix Juventa Magica - The Golden Steering Wheel - Magic Production on an Iceberg Course - Gundy - La Vie en Rose - The Magician – The Magical World of Ted L. - Ted in the MUM - Ted Lesley – a Magical Buddy - The Ted We Know - It's Paramiraculous - Further Honors - Impossibilities
- The new millennium - For Ted, it doesn't last nine years 2000-08: Back on tour - MiniMax Lecture - Creative Fellowship - Berlin Magic Berlin - Ted Lesley's Magic Mystery - Ted in Namibia - US Lecture Notes 2003 - US Master Class 2003 - Once again Las Vegas - Onset of Winter - Last Luck Moabit - Once again Magic Magic - Obituaries
- What Remains? - Ted's Footprints in the Sand: The Trick Envelopes - The Informatico Principle - Friends, Companions, and Farewells - That, too, was Ted...
Acknowledgements (Final Thoughts)
It is a life that began in the darkness of an external war and ended in the darkness of an internal one, experiencing all facets in between. And bound up in this journey are 119 effects and routines , well-known, lesser-known, and even never-before-published. Alongside small ideas, you'll find gigantic highlights like "The Cards Never Lie," the "Teleport," "Center Tear," and the "Himber Ring," all the way to the "Informatico Principle," which was one of the most sought-after principles of its time and remains a stroke of genius, and the last two US seminars (Master Class) of 2003, which were never published in German. Some effects and routines are presented with a thoroughly critical examination, some are rearranged, and almost all are supplemented with afterthoughts and variations.
The book is illustrated by over 140 photos, images and documents, including many unknown photos from 5-year-old Ted to the urn grove in which he is buried.
The book is A5 format, has 480 pages, including six in color, is typeset in InDesign, and is offset printed. It is hardcover bound (sewn binding, headband) with a ribbon bookmark and dust jacket. 500 copies will be printed and numbered.
_________________________________
* applies to deliveries within Germany, delivery times for other countries can be found on the shipping information button
