I was very honored and completely surprised when I received a call from the Omaha Magical Society that I was nominated to receive the David P. Abbott Award. It's named after David Abbott, who was a magician in the early 1900's in Omaha, NE. What made David Abbott so unique is that he was known only to perform at his home, which he rigged for magic shows. The other thing that separated him from other performers was his audience. He performed for the greats. Those old magic posters featuring vintage magicians such as Houdini... that's who Abbott performed for. Famous magicians would travel to Omaha by invite only, and after arriving at his house of mystery, they would watch and learn in amazement from David Abbott himself.
One reason we know about David Abbott is because of the late great Omaha magician, Walter Graham (the first Abbott Award recipient). Walt (as his friends called him) recovered David Abbott's literature and many magical belongings from his home. Thus he became the custodian of Abbott's work. Later on, Walt would pass the torch onto Teller (from Penn & Teller), who would fly in from Vegas on a weekend to meet Graham and tour Abbott's home. Teller ended up publishing a two volume set called, "House of Mystery: The Magic Science of David P. Abbott."
The Abbott Award is recognized by the Omaha Magical Society: https://theomahamagicalsociety.org/ which is filled with talented magicians and more importantly, wonderful people. It is a positive atmosphere for anyone who enjoys magic as an art form. The members, with their support and inspiration, make this award such an honor to receive.
Here's the video that was played at the Wizard's Banquet. (It's basically a recap of the last 10 years performing.)
