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Abracadabrist

>>>> Once feared as diabolic, magician uses his arts to beguile the wondrous

by CHRIS BARRY

Name: Guy Camirand
Age: 59
Occupation: Magician extraordinaire
Bio: This enchanting Harvard MBA and Longueuil resident is a literal powerhouse in the world of magic. A performer, teacher, and publisher of countless books on the subject, Guy began his stage career at age 15 hypnotizing guileless locals in church basements around Quebec City. Chastised by area priests fearful his "power" might be stemming from the devil, he finally abandoned hypnosis for magic after regularly being attacked from the pulpit and ultimately growing weary of the flocks of people requesting that he employ his "power" to cure their various ailments. An avid reader and patron of the arts, Guy says he especially enjoys doing children's shows as his alter-ego Merlinpinpin. "Performing magic for children is much harder than doing shows for adults. Children already believe the impossible is possible from all the TV that they watch."

Has any priest ever thrown holy water on him? "No, but as a teenager their fear only strengthened his reputation as a mystic, giving him that much more power in his ability to hypnotize people.

Did the other kids in his neighbourhood ever try to beat some of the "power" out of him? "No, they were all afraid of me. They would cross the street when they saw me coming—even though they all knew I would never use my power to cause harm."

Just a few of the ailments he used to hypnotize away: Toothaches, chronic bleeding and the removal of warts. "I was usually successful but I always informed people that they should go see their doctors as soon as possible. Suggestion is a very powerful tool. Eventually I grew tired of doing this, so I made an announcement one day that I had simply lost the power and that was that."

Do other magicians give him grief for exposing the tricks of their trade? "No, because I'm not revealing tricks to the general public—only to other serious magicians."

Where he teaches his course: Perfect Magic on Van Horne. What it costs to get an education in magic: $225 per 30 hour course.

What it takes to become a decent magician: A reasonably high IQ, wit, and, most importantly, a deep love of humanity. "You need to be able to captivate people."

One highlight of his Merlinpinpin magic show for children: Turning a balloon in to a rabbit.

Where his rabbit lives when it is not being materialized out of thin air: "With all his brothers and sisters in the kingdom of magical animals."

Do a lot of female fans come up after gigs inquiring as to whether he could perform a little bedroom magic on them later on in the evening? "No, never."

Two of his favourite artists: Salvador Dali, René Magritte.

Musical preferences: Enya, Felix Leclerc.

One recent film he thought was pretty cool: Stuart Little.

Words of wisdom: "If something is worth being done, then it should be done perfectly. Otherwise don't do it."

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