Category: Misc

Article courtesy The Breeze :

Auckland-based magician Mick Peck has been honored with one of New Zealand’s most esteemed entertainment accolades, the Scroll of Honour.

The award was presented at this year’s Benny Awards, held by the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand, and recognises Mick’s contributions to performing arts in New Zealand, his longstanding dedication to the art of magic, and his work with charitable organisations.

His journey began in the 1990s performing at Pukekohe Hill and Pukekohe Intermediate schools. Since then he has dedicated himself to the craft, performing full-time across New Zealand at events ranging from family gatherings to black tie corporate functions. He has performed with The Topp Twins, Hilary Barry, John Rowles and Jason Kerrison and entertained many VIPs including three New Zealand Prime Ministers.

Mick was named New Zealand Variety Entertainer of the Year in 2016 and invited to join The Magic Circle of London, the world’s most exclusive club for magicians.

Receiving the Scroll of Honour holds special significance for Mick, as it is an acknowledgment from his fellow performers in the entertainment scene. “Any form of recognition is great, but when it’s from your peers in the industry, it’s particularly special,” Mick said, emphasising the importance of a supportive community in a field that demands a lot from its performers.

The Benny Awards are New Zealand’s longest-running awards celebrating excellence in variety entertainment.

The annual ceremony brings together a diverse array of performers – from actors and comedians to dancers and musicians. The goal of the night is to recognise their contributions and impact to the entertainment industry. This year’s event was held at Auckland’s Crowne Plaza.

As Mick reflects on his journey from school performances to performing for national leaders, he sees this award as a culmination of both his career and his ongoing dedication to the craft.

A real pleasure to be featured entertainment at the Cure Kids Fundraiser at Titirangi Golf Club.

Pictured with ambassadors Brendon Pongia, Sir Graham Henry KNZM and Lady Raewyn.

A real honour to be included in David Hartnell MNZM’s Best Dressed Kiwi’s List, published on Stuff.co.nz and the Sunday Star Times.

David first started his annual Best Dressed list in 1981 and they’re a kiwi tradition.

https://www.stuff.co.nz/entertainment/300162841/the-best-dressed-kiwis-list-is-out-who-makes-the-cut

A real pleasure to be the featured entertainment at this years’ Camp Quality dinner and charity auction.

Camp Quality is a non-profit charitable trust dedicated to enhancing quality of life for children aged 5-16 years living with cancer.

Pictured below with MCs Jason Reeves and Jenny-May Clarkson.

Article courtesy North Shore Times.

Magic may be all about fun and entertainment for the audience, but for the members of the Brotherhood of Auckland Magicians it’s serious business.

The club was founded in Grey Lynn and this year is celebrating their seventy-fifth anniversary.

Vice-President and professional magician Mick Peck says that in a era where clubs of all genres are facing dwindling numbers, the Brotherhood of Auckland Magicians (BAM) has never been stronger.  “The astonishing thing is that even after seventy-five years we have more people attending our monthly events and more people wanting to join than ever.”

The club was founded in 1946 for those with a serious interest in the performing art of magic.  “The focus of the club is membership from professional entertainers,” Mick says.  “Attendance is strictly by invitation only, and prospective members must perform an act to demonstrate their ability and dedication.”

Although called the brotherhood, there are several female magicians involved in the club and also entertainers now living outside of Auckland, the furthest afield being Paul Romhany – a magician and Charlie Chaplin performer now living in Canada.

Patron of the BAM is Ponsonby News columnist David Hartnell MNZM, who became involved in magic at an early age.  “I joined a magic society when I was eleven years old,” remembers David.  “It’s fantastic that there is such a thriving group in Auckland after all these years.  It’s come full circle for me.”

Members meet once a month at the Surrey Hotel in Grey Lynn.  “The friendship and camaraderie is unlike any other club I’ve ever been involved in,” says David.  “There are no egos involved, everyone is there to help each other out.”

As well as monthly meetings the BAM also run annual charity shows where tickets are distributed to local non-profit groups.

The highest honour bestowed by the BAM is the Grand Master of Magic Award, recognition of a lifetime of magical achievement only presented nineteen times since 1969.

Mick says that even in a high-tech world the age old art has never been more popular.  “Magic on the internet can now go viral and be seen by more people in a day than Harry Houdini performed for in an entire lifetime,” he says.  “As long as magic continues to evolve, it will never die.”

Courtesy Ponsonby News

MR MAGIC returns to turn birthday parties from tragic to magic!

MR MAGIC website for family entertainment and birthday party magic shows.

http://www.AucklandMagician.co.nz

I performed a magic show for the talented Mike Key of Mike’s Star Art and was blown away with this, please enjoy the following time-lapse pencil drawing.

An honour to be the featured entertainment at this year’s New Zealand Pork, Bacon and Ham Awards. Pictured above with Master of Ceremonies Nigel Godfrey.

Pictured with Sir John Rowles KNZM OBE.

John was made a Knight Companion of the New Zealand Order of Merit for services to entertainment in this year’s Queen’s Birthday Honours.

Pictured here with New Zealand broadcaster Mark Leishman who was presented a Scroll of Honour for his contribution to New Zealand entertainment at this years’ Benny Awards.  Mark currently hosts the Magic in the Morning breakfast show on the popular Magic radio station.

A real pleasure to perform this month for the Hands Group annual fundraiser alongside Frankie Stevens, Jason Kerrison, Diamond Divas and winner of The Voice Australia Judah Kelly.

Hands Across The Water was established after countless Thai children were left alone and homeless by the 2004 Boxing Day Tsunami.  Former police forensic specialist Peter Baines was deeply touched by the number of children affected by the disaster and was inspired to establish an organisation that could make a difference.  Hands Across The Water is currently the biggest Australian and New Zealand charity operating in Thailand.

It’s been an absolute honour to be a guest presenter at the iTicket Showdown Awards for the last three years.

Pictured above with fellow guest presenters Jennifer Ward-Lealand and Miranda Harcourt at SkyCity Theatre this month.

The annual Showdown Awards are held annually to celebrate Auckland’s top secondary school productions.  Run by the Auckland Community Theatre Trust (ACTT) under President Claire Buckley, the aims of Showdown are to encourage young performers and foster excellence in the performing arts, to promote the performing arts as an option for tertiary study and as a career path, to raise the profile of performing arts in school and to build links between school performing arts programmes and Auckland community theatres.

Courtesy New Zealand Herald.  Nice to be asked to share some thoughts on Billy T. James’ legacy and the impact he had on my generation.

An extended version of the story with a few more quotes appears on the NZ Herald Online here.

In September I’ll be performing at David Hartnell’s Celebrity Quiz Night for Blue September New Zealand, the annual awareness campaign for the Prostate Cancer Foundation of New Zealand.

The night has totally sold out the last couple of years so do book early, tickets are on sale now and are $40 which includes nibbles and bubbles on arrival.  Cash bar available.

Friday 22nd September at the Eden Rugby Club, Sandringham.  Details at www.BlueSeptember.org.nz

Pictured with the Kerre McIvor at this years’ Variety Artists Club Benny Awards.

An immense pleasure and career highlight to be presented with the Lou Clauson Award for Variety Entertainer of the Year.

The Variety Artists Club of New Zealand was established in 1966 and is the premier association for entertainers and performing artists in this country.  Awards bestowed by the Variety Artists Club are nominated by our peers in the entertainment industry, so they’re a particular honour.

The Amazing VAC Variety Show is back!  Proudly hosted by the iconic Variety Artists Club of NZ, join us for a great night with some of the top entertainers in the country.  Music and comedy, magic, dance and more.

Starring John Rowles, Tina Cross, David Hartnell, magician Mick Peck, Barbie Davidson, Maryanne Rushton, impressionist Colin Parris and the Elektra Dancers.

Courtesy Stuff.co.nz :

Pukekohe magician Mick Peck has been accepted into the world’s most prestigious magic club.

The Magic Circle of London was formed in 1905 and members include Dynamo, Paul Daniels and David Copperfield.  Membership is restricted to top professional magicians.

Prospective members must undertake an interview process where knowledge and skill are accessed before the decision goes to a final vote by the society council.

Peck, 34, said that being accepted into the organisation brought a tremendous source of pride.

“I grew up watching many of these magic stars on television, so to be a part of their society is a real honour,” he said.

Members are granted access to the headquarters in London for regular meetings and lectures from top international magicians.  They also have access to a library of 6000 magic books and an on-site museum which houses rare magic posters and memorabilia.

“Being a member of the Magic Circle is also seen as a stamp of approval within the international magic fraternity so will be very useful for opening doors when travelling outside of New Zealand,” Peck said.

Peck got his start as a magician in the 90s, performing at school and local birthday parties.  He now makes his living as a full-time magician and performs throughout the country.

He is planning a visit to the club’s London headquarters.

Photo credit Emily Hung, article courtesy Stuff.co.nz :
http://www.stuff.co.nz/waikato-times/news/franklin-county-news/77741973/mick-peck-granted-access-to-magic-circle

Bumped into New Zealand’s Third Best Singer Wayne Anderson last night at an event in the city.  I was performing my strolling closeup magic when “Delilah” started blasting through the PA.

Wayne’s cult television series Singer of Songs is one of my favourite NZ shows.

I’ve driven past Taupiri Mountain countless times and thought “one day I’ll go and see Billy T. James”.

Billy was the face of New Zealand comedy until his untimely death in 1991.  He could tell jokes and write original material, he could act, he could sing, he could play the guitar and the saxophone at professional level, he was an accomplished artist and his impressions of celebrities were spot-on.

In 1985 he was named New Zealand Entertainer of the Decade, the following year he was appointed to The Order of the British Empire for services to entertainment.  In 1990 he was presented the prestigious Benny Award from the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand for a lifetime of excellence in the performing arts.  He truly was a legendary variety performer in every sense of the word.

Coming back mid-afternoon from performing a magic show in Hamilton, I thought that now was as good a time as any so stopped at Taupiri Mountain and set off to find Billy’s burial site.  A quick check of Google confirmed that yes he was buried there, but provided no indication of where.  What surprised me first of all was just how many graves were on the mountain; driving past you really get no idea of how many people are resting there.  The vast majority are not visible from the road and the mountain goes up, and up, and up with dozens upon dozens of sections.

There didn’t seem to be any sort of structure to the layout of the sites; graves from the 1930s sat alongside graves from the 1990s, some were only accessible by steep climbs or dips; there were a total lack of any steps or pathways leading to some of the sections.  As I was stumbling up dirt tracks and slipping down loose gravel I couldn’t help but think that if this was in Auckland someone would have broken an ankle and demanded the council put in handrails and concrete pathways.  And probably wheelchair access.

Finally I stumbled across the 1974 gravestone marking the final resting place of Ruby Taitoko.  I immediately recognised the surname, it was Billy’s mother.  Billy was buried in the next plot.

His original marker from 1991 is pictured below.  Notably, it only mentions his birth-name, William James Te Wehi Te Toko.  Billy was known was Te Wehi as a child, the stage name Billy T. James only came about when he was touring internationally with the Maori Volcanics showband, as “it was something the Aussies could pronounce.”

Pictured below is the much newer carved Hinuera stone sculpture of Billy, which was unveiled in March 2000 by his uncle Bill Awa.  It was originally holding a ukelele, which was presumably taken by someone as a souvenir.  The uke was replaced by a can of beer, somewhat apocryphal as Billy very rarely drank during his lifetime.  The text reads “In Loving Memory of Te Wehi William Taitoko, Billy T. James, A Great Entertainer Loved By All.  Arohanui Na To Iwi”.

The third and newest marker, the distinctive white shell-like stone, appeared mysteriously on the mountain shortly after the sculpture of Billy was unveiled.  It’s thought to have been placed there by his step-daughter Cherie, but this has never been officially confirmed.  The text on this gravestone reads “In Loving Memory, Billy T. James, 17 Jan 1949-7 Aug 1991, Dearly Loved By His Family.”

If you’re passing Taupiri Mountain and wish to visit, Billy is located on the lower slopes.  The white stone is quite visible from the road, even when driving past.  Enter the main gate and follow the path to the right while keeping an eye out, you’ll spot Billy’s burial site quite easily.

– Mick Peck, Auckland Magician and Billy T. James Fan
http://www.MickPeckMagic.com