Darwin's evolution

There's good reason to wonder what's lurking in Gary Darwin's closets. Just take a look around the rest of his Twin Lakes home.

A slew of smiling skulls occupy one of the home's five bedrooms. Another houses a creepy collection of guillotines.

There's an authentic Tahitian voodoo doll on display in the living room, next to the sofa.

The big black box on the back porch? Oh, that's the crematory.

"You just slide a girl in there and pour gasoline on it and set it on fire," Darwin explains. "It falls apart and there's nothing left but ashes."

But before you make a beeline for the door, wait.

The transformation trick is one Darwin, a veteran magician, included in his act when he was featured in an afternoon revue, "Cooking With Gas," at the old Thunderbird Hotel during the '60s.

These days, it's usually the sizzling summer temperatures, not fire, that heats up the ominous-looking box. It rests among a treasure trove of other "nice torture devices" on the porch.

That's where he's stored several of the sturdier pieces -- including "The Floating Bed of Nails" -- from his extensive magic collection.

The tricks, props, memorabilia and literature are worth about $1 million. He claims it's the second largest magic collection in Nevada (topped only by David Copperfield's secret warehouse in Las Vegas).

Seemingly every illusion ever invented -- from card tricks to flower productions -- can be found within the unassuming home.

Yet, "there's only about 10 effects" in all of magic, he says. Levitation, transformation, production and vanishing acts are the big ones.

Still can't figure out how they saw people in half? Darwin knows.

"There's many ways to pass a steel blade through somebody's neck. Some of them are very ingenious," he says matter-of-factly.

The 61-year-old magician, who has authored seven magic books and created more than 5,000 magic "effects," has been collecting the stuff since he was a lad.

Collecting, he admits, "is a disease, but it's not the worst investment in the world."

Over the years, he's picked up three of Harry Houdini's autographs (each worth about $2,500) and the handwritten, 1935 date book of magician Howard Thurston.

But the showpiece of this showplace is the 5,000-book magic library in the rear of the house.

Good luck using the Dewey Decimal System in here: The books are lumped by category -- ventriloquism, hypnosis, ropes, silks and so on.

Darwin's own works are on file here, too, including his "Thumb Tip Miracles" that comes with -- what else? -- a plastic thumb. It sold 30,000 copies last year.

"It's a great gimmick. I give you 101 ways to use it, all original," he says proudly.

Far be it for Darwin to keep his collection of tricks a secret.

For years, his home has served as a research mecca, where amateur and professional magicians have turned for help in learning, creating and practicing their craft.

All the big stars have called on Darwin's services -- David Copperfield, Lance Burton, Siegfried & Roy.

"They've got technical problems and we can solve them, usually within a matter of minutes, because here's all of your principles (of magic)," Darwin says.

First things first: Decide which one of the 3,000 or so different "methods" you want to use to carry out the trick. Magnets? Mirrors? Trapdoors?

"Let's say you want to produce a dove. Here are all of the different methods," he says, pointing to the dozens of shoebox-size cartons stacked against the wall. "Whatever you want to get into, this room is ready for research."

Darwin remembers when, about 20 years ago, Siegfried stopped by to borrow the equipment needed to perform the famous "floating lady" trick.

"It's a special gimmick that looks particularly good in photos," he says. "As long as they don't weigh over 130 pounds, you can float 'em."

He also taught Burton a thing or two.

"Every time I wanted to work on a new trick, I would go over to Gary's house," says Burton, who just began a 13-year contract at the Monte Carlo. "He's there to help anybody that's interested in magic. I've seen his influence on hundreds of magicians over the years."

Melinda Saxe is one of them.

The "First Lady of Magic" took lessons from Darwin during her junior year at Clark High School before going on to a successful magic career.

"We would get in front of the mirror and he would teach me different illusions," she said in a phone interview from Atlantic City, N.J., where she'll be performing until September. "He helped me with a lot of the things I still do in my act to this day."

Like the floating "Zombie Ball" trick. "It's hard for me to take it out," she says. "It was one of the very first things that I learned.

"Gary loves magic so much. He wants to see people succeed."

Darwin takes his mentor status in stride. "It's kind of a responsibility. You've got to be at your best around them.

"There are tricks where it's a given talent. Either you have it or you don't." That's especially true when it comes to sleight-of-hand abilities, he says.

"But because magic is so versatile, you can find yourself in it. If you don't have any sleight-of-hand ability, so what? You can become an illusionist ... you can become a mentalist. If you are athletic, you can become an escape artist."

Darwin discovered magic at age 15, when he saw magic legend Harry Blackstone Sr. perform.

"That did it," he says. "I probably could have been a dentist or a doctor, but hell no, I wanted to be a magician.

"He could do sleight-of-hand and illusions ... and he certainly looked the part of the magician. That was a big influence on me."

It took Darwin several years, after moving to Las Vegas with his family at age 19, to land the yearlong Thunderbird gig. It was followed by stints at other hotels, including the Mint.

Shortly after, he founded Darwin's Magic Club, a weekly meeting of budding and big-time magicians that was also open to the public. The club will celebrate it's 30th anniversary next year.

That's about the time Darwin plans to retire from his regular job, which, coincidentally, is his best kept secret.

"If you knew your doctor was doing something on the side, you wouldn't go to him," he says.

"I keep the day job because I like to eat regular and I like to buy things. Most magicians can't do that. They just don't know when their next job is gonna come."

But Darwin won't actually be retiring -- just turning his hocus focus back to magic as he goes pro once again.

The plan: To star in an old-fashioned burlesque/magic revue he describes as a "comedic magic show with pretty girls."

"I would just produce girls and let them do their thing, and instead of producing doves, I would produce beers. We think it would be a helluva novelty."

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