1
Konichiwa.
Bobbling baby
bobby bobbles
the bimble bobble
on his bib.
Bobbling baby
bobby bobbles
the bimble bobble
on his bib.
Many money-minded moguls
minded their moolah
more than morals.
Little Lillian lying
by the lily pad
lets lazy lizards lie
along the lily pond.
Various Victorian
virgins
very rarely victimize
their virginity
by various
Victorian ways.
Welcome to the close-up
gallery here
at the world-famous Magic
Castle on Friday night.
Now this gentleman
you're about to see
he is really a living
legend in card magic.
He's been performing
for over 40 years.
Richard Turner can
do things with cards
that no one in the world can do.
No one.
Ladies and gentlemen,
put your hands together
for the absolutely
incredible
Richard Turner!
Ladies and gentlemen,
would you welcome
this ace of cards
Richard Turner.
I'm a card mechanic.
A mechanic is somebody
who can fix something.
An auto-mechanic
fixes a car.
A body mechanic is
a professional killer.
I'm a card mechanic.
I can fix a card game.
It's almost like
there's not enough time
in his life to have
gotten as good as he is.
He's on the crazy end
of obsessive-compulsive.
And this is a guy
that literally lives
with a deck of cards
in his hand.
- Well, howdy?
- Howdy?
I love it when
the audience shows up.
- Your name?
- Erin.
- Erin?
- Lexi.
Lexi.
Well, I'm Richard Turner.
I represent
why you should never
play cards
with strangers.
When you play poker,
blackjack, bridge
hold 'em, whatever
your game, you wanna
make sure that the cards
are evenly mixed.
Erin and I
are gonna show you
how it's done,
so do as I do.
Just cut your deck
any way you want.
Give it a cut.
- Got it?
- Mm-hm.
Now give it, uh,
up the river cut.
Give it an alternating
up the river cut.
Give it
a flying three-way.
Beautiful.
Casino procedures
what's called
riffle, riffle,
strip, riffle, cut.
First, you break
'em 26-26.
Notice
I'm exactly in half.
And then you lace 'em up
every other card.
Then you have to do
what's called a strip.
That's making a bunch
of random little piles.
Good. One more time.
Give it another riffle.
Another riffle.
A... And a straight cut.
You're having a little
trouble, aren't ya?
Your right hand
screwed ya.
Try it like this.
Put 'em in your left hand.
Take it in this finger,
break 'em across
slide them in
and then give them
a one-hand bridge.
Then of course, after
that, you have to give it
what's called a
one-hand flip around cut.
Like that.
Now I have shown you
a half a dozen ways
of shuffling
and cutting the deck.
They should be pretty
evenly mixed, yes?
- Yes?
- Yes.
Let's see if this deck
is pretty evenly mixed.
- Wow.
- I want you to note.
Ace, 2, 3, 4, 5,
6, 7, 8, 9, 10
is suited numerically.
When I saw
Richard Turner perform
I realized that I was
in the presence
of greatness.
Richard stands out.
You know, he's not your
classic close-up magician.
He is demonstrating the
moves used by cheaters.
The most difficult things
you can do
with a deck of cards.
How many players
do we have? 5, 6 or 7?
- How about 5?
- How about 5?
1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, burn.
And we have
what's called the flop.
What is that card
out loud?
- Erin?
- Ace.
Burn, turn.
What's that, Erin?
- Ace.
- Burn, turn.
- What's that card, Erin?
- Ace.
And you're my partner
sittin' in number 4.
What do you have in
the pocket? What's that?
Ace.
Slide of hands.
When you're doing the type
of work that Richard does
involves a level
of detail
that is microscopic.
Watch the 6 of hearts.
You're gonna understand
what I'm showin' you.
I'm not gonna
do any tricks.
The gambler wants a 6,
so what happens is
I deal cards
to the other players.
Only when I'm ready,
do I deal the 6.
Watch face up.
See how the card
sits there
as the second card
is dealt.
Watch again!
Watch again!
6 on top.
Super slow motion.
See the dealer will hit
the other players.
Only when I'm ready,
do I deal the 6.
See I'm the,
we're playing blackjack
I have a 15.
I hit the other players
and that 6 equals 21.
Several times, I have been
sitting in his audiences
and about halfway
through the show
you can sort of see
different members of the
audience realize it.
It hits them
out of the blue.
This guy can't see!
So hold on,
he was blind, right?
'Cause he was looking
at us, but I couldn't tell
if he was like
discerning facial cues.
Am I wrong? I think I'm..
Is this a de..
Is there a deeper magic
that's happening?
Did he fool me? Yes.
Is he blind?
Hm. Hm.
If you say he's blind
then I'll take that
into consideration.
I'm gonna put
a numbing eye drop.
It may burn
a little bit.
Look up.
- Close your eyes.
- Argh! Oh, just kiddin'.
Close your eyes.
Okay, Richard.
Look straight ahead.
Based on his history
and on my exam
he had
a macular dystrophy
that started when he was
a young boy.
He was legally blind
for some time.
And as the time
progressed, um
around 3rd or 4th decade
of his life
his vision completely
went dark.
Right now,
he is what we call
no light perception.
He cannot see anything.
He will not be able
to tell if the lights
in the room on or off.
No shadows,
not even movement.
He is completely blind
right now.
10, 20, 20, 22.
This is my closet
of cards.
In here, I have
about 5 to 6000.
I haven't taken inventory
in a few months
but altogether
in the house
we have tens
of thousands of decks.
But this is just
my premium stock.
Cards are like wine.
Uh, this up here, I have
what I call my G1107s.
That was a good year.
These are my favorite.
Uh, it was a,
it was a portrait
that was done of me
back in 1986.
I put 'em on the back of the
Gamblers Playing Cards.
Nowadays, I have a 2
to 3 pack a day habit.
I used to have a 3
to 6 pack a day habit.
As I practice,
they start pilin' up.
They pile up
in the glove compartment.
They pile up downstairs
on the kitchen table.
They pile up next
to the piano where I sit.
"The Lone Ranger."
What sparked
my interest in cards
was watching
old Westerns.
Who is the tall
dark stranger there?
Maverick
is the name
One in particular
was "Maverick"
starring James Garner.
Companion gamblin'
is his game
I was sittin' in front
of a black and white
television set
right beside the TV
so I could
just absorb myself.
I wanna be right
in the middle of action.
Cut.
You're holdin' 3 10s
to my pair of queens.
Remind me not
to play poker with you.
I thought
Maverick was so cool
and at the end
of the show
there's a silhouette
of Maverick goin'..
Natchez
to New Orleans
Livin' on jacks
and queens
Maverick is a legend
of the West
I literally heard
a voice say
You will live
on jacks and queens.
It just spoke to my mind
and I thought
What does that mean,
live on jacks and queens?
This is from the famous
St. Louis ESP laboratory.
Please think
of a 4 digit number.
- Write it on the back.
- Okay.
Then turn it face down.
Okay, I have written
a 4 digit number.
Facedown. Very good.
Sir, before you came
in today
I had a premonition
and I actually wrote your
number on this dollar.
Wouldn't that be amazing
if I could show you
your number
on this dollar?
That would
be unbelievable.
See your number?
That is unbelievable.
When people ask me
are you a magician
I say no.
I'm a card mechanic.
There's a difference.
There's the
illusionist.
Then there's
the parlor magicians.
Then there's
the close-up magician.
But some of the most
difficult moves
are those used
to control the outcome
of a card game.
What I do with the cards,
a magician cannot do.
Okay, so we have your
we have your, uh,
queens here, yes?
- Yes, sir.
- Okay.
Cut the deck for me and
then put the other half
on top after you cut it.
Cut it
and then finish the cut.
Carry the cut. Alright.
So the... the queens
are startin' somewhere
in the middle
where you put 'em, okay?
- You with me?
- Yes, sir.
Give me a number of
players and a card game.
- 3, 4, 5. Call a number.
- 4.
You'll be
my secret partner.
Do you want to sit
at 1, 2, 3 or 4?
Pick your spot
at the table.
Um, spot 2.
- Number 2.
- Yes, sir.
- Take the deck, Troy.
- Alright.
Deal a card
off the top right here
face-up, player 1.
Face up number 2
is you.
- What's that card?
- Queen of diamonds.
Player 3. Player 4.
- Player 1. Face up.
- Face up.
Right on top
of each other.
You're number 2.
What's that?
- Lady.
- Player 3.
Player 4.
Player 1, you chose 2.
- What's that?
- Lady.
Start betting,
start betting big-time.
1. How many
do you have altogether?
- That's 4... 4 ladies.
- That's all you need.
Excellent.
Let's shuffle 'em back
'cause you won.
What was I gonna
show you? Here.
Going
to a magic convention
with Richard Turner
is probably
the best thing ever
because everybody's like,
Whoa, it's Richard Turner!
And like, Can we have
your autograph?
Everybody's always like, How
are you related to him?
And then once
they find out I'm his son
Can we have
your autograph too?
No matter where we go,
there's always magicians
and every single one of them
treats my dad like a king.
People always just
come up to the booth.
Even people, people
who don't speak English
just come up
and they're like
hello in whatever language
and we're like, um, hi.
- What, what, yeah?
- Yes.
You do..
- Close-up.
- Close-up?
- And stage.
- Cards?
- Close-up and stage.
- Oh, and stage.
When did you start?
I started around 3 or 4.
3 or 4? Oh, really?
Young. Me, I was 7.
- I can't remember...
- 7.
- 7.
- Oh, that's right, yeah.
And that's, yeah,
that's, uh, 3, 4, 5.
Alright, ready, I'm about
to head onto it.
- There you go.
- Got it.
That's the bottom
right there.
But that, there must be a
base to get to the ground.
It has a base
and then a bottom?
That's the bottom.
How can the bottom
be so far up in the..
- Oh, we're underneath it?
- No.
We're nowhere
near underneath it.
Gee-wiz. Now what's it...
is it covered with metal?
Yeah,
the whole thing's metal.
It's not solid metal,
it's hollow, I'm guessing
'cause there's viewing
windows at the top.
This is the bot.. This is
the base of it here, right?
Yeah, this is the base.
At the back
of your hand.
Well,
this is solid here.
And we're almost
to the end.
And there you go. Here,
let me see the cards.
I'm gonna take the cards from you.
Don't forget, okay?
So you have the triangle,
it goes..
So this is the inside
and that's the...
That's the point
I was just at over there?
Point's the inside
and it goes up
and around that way.
Oh, I got ya.
So the point's
at the bottom like that.
So the point stays down
pointing all the way around.
Well,
that's interesting.
I never saw
a blind person
before I started
losing my vision.
I never even thought
about bein' blind.
It was 1963.
The teacher
was writing somethin'
on the chalkboard.
And I'm sitting
there looking
and it's just a fuzz.
And the day before,
I could see it just fine.
If you could imagine,
you're looking at things
the way they are.
Then the next day,
you're lookin' at things
in the way
you'd see a cartoon.
There's no detail
on anything.
The camera lens
got twisted
and it became a blur.
You couldn't focus
in on anything.
I'm tryin' to,
tryin' to see the board.
Well, where'd
the letters go?
They just thought
that he had bad eyes.
That he just needed glasses,
you know, and they could..
Corrective lenses
would fix it.
After a few months,
there was a black hole.
And in the center,
it was just black.
It was just
like a... a hat
in front of your face
wherever you looked.
As far as
what caused it
we didn't know,
the doctors didn't know.
We were referred
to another physician.
We had some
bizarre test.
That was like
I was in a spaceship.
They had these dots,
blinking lights goin'.
And they diagnosed him,
you know, then we knew.
He had an eye disease.
And it, uh,
it's something
they can't do
anything about.
I cried and cried..
I could cry right now
just thinking about it.
Yeah, it was hard.
Hi, eh, my name
is Guy Landien.
I'm just going just
to introduce you.
Everyone knows
who you are
but I just have
to say it right now.
I know,
I know who I am too.
- Good, great.
- He just introduced me.
Yeah, good, great.
May I ask for a big round
of applause
for Richard Turner!
Everybody help
the ladies keep track
of the queen
of diamonds.
We'll go 100 a throw,
not too much.
Warm ya up.
It's called
Find The Little Lady.
Pair of deuces,
pair of deuces
keep your eye
on the queen.
Tell 'em, Jennifer,
1, 2, 3?
- 3. You lost me actually.
- 3.
Oh, Jennifer.
As soon as we put money
on the table, $300.
How 'bout this?
How 'bout this?
What's that card,
Jennifer?
- That's a queen.
- What's in the corner?
- A bend.
- Yeah.
This is so if you go to a
place called New York.
They do this on the streets
and I won't move or blink
until, Jennifer,
when you're ready
you tell me to go. When
you're ready, say go.
- Go.
- Where is it, Jen?
- In the middle.
- Good job, Jen..
Oh, Jennifer.
Thank you, thank you,
thank you!
Thank you very much.
Rick, I need you
to get out your green pen.
Right here.
- I got a green pen.
- He has a green pen.
The green pen
shows up better
on these
than the black one.
- And it's Stefan?
- Stefan.
- That's my name, yeah.
- S-T-E..
- F-A-N.
- F-A-N.
I've learned Swedish.
Willkommen which
is the same in German
which I already knew and
Tack which is thank you
and my favorite which
is Hej, that's hello.
She's just sitting
on a chair.
She got her arms folded.
That's his thigh.
What's under his thigh?
Gum?
Give me that. Give it.
Spit it out.
Spit it out.
No, you didn't.
You didn't.
I know that trick.
Give it to me.
Give it to me.
No, it's in your pocket.
- Oh.
- I... I know that.
Give me the gum.
Give me the gum.
When Richard and I
first started dating
he had some vision.
He had like
peripheral vision.
And so we would go out and
do, you know, fun things
like, you know,
play basketball
or go swimming
or go sailing
or whatever the case
would happen to be.
And he would always be
kind of looking out
of the side of his eye
like that
and that's kind of how
he would look at me too.
- Multiple steps.
- Grab this rail.
And then come down
2 steps.
And then duck your head
way down.
You know, he needed help
every now and then
like what does that say
or obviously, driving
was never gonna
be a thing for him.
But clearly, he needs a lot more
help today than he did then.
"Smoked salmon,
famous warm fishcakes ..."
Hold it, smoked fishcakes.
Say that again.
"Served with rye bread
and Danish remoulade."
Start
from the beginning.
- That is the beginning.
- Okay.
Start from..
Okay. Dark bread.
- Served on rye bread.
- Rye bread.
I remember when we were
first married
other people had told him, Oh,
you need to learn Braille.
He goes, "I'm not gonna learn Braille.
That's for blind people."
Or they said, uh,
You need to get a cane.
Oh, he said, "I'm not
carrying a cane."
I mean, you know,
i... it was a weakness
and it was a weakness that he
was not going to admit to.
Back button.
2145 Mesa Court Dr.
Mesa, AZ, 85,209.
1.0 miles
to destination.
Estimated time,
18 minutes.
Okay. Left, left.
Left, left. Left, left.
That's it, girl.
I started losing
my vision about a year
after Richard did
and I was in 3rd grade.
For me, it went fast.
I'm doing
my math problems
and all of a sudden,
my eyes just went black.
And then when I open
'em up, that was it.
It was like
within 60 seconds.
I am independent
in a different way
than Rick.
He doesn't use
a cane, hardly
and he doesn't
use a dog.
Yes, good girl.
Good girl.
He doesn't want people to
know that he doesn't see.
Because he thinks
it's embarrassing.
$1.
Is anyone here?
I just don't care
what people think.
It's more important
for me to be able
to have as much
as freedom as possible.
How're you doin'
today, sir?
Very well, thank you.
How about yourself?
Oh, really good. Sure
a beautiful day today.
Yes, it is.
It is so liberating
and I am such a,
much happier person.
I feel like I can do pretty
well anything I want.
For example, I wouldn't even
cross a very simple street.
You know, I thought
people were nuts
to cross a street.
And now I can go
and get my groceries.
I can go
and walk to the mall.
I didn't wanna be
a burden on people.
Okay, we're here.
I think Rick is resistant
because he still
has that mindset
that it's a weakness.
When we both started
losin' our vision
I think he struggled
way harder than I did.
I can remember walkin' down
the street with my friend
and we would go
blind bat, blind batty
even though it was me
doin' it and my friend
and I remember him just going
berserk from that kind of thing.
And then
Rick and I both went
to the school
for the blind.
And for a stage there
Rick was
self-destructive.
When I was, uh, 11,
I was sent off
to Callum Hills
and they had a VH room.
VH stood
for Visually Handicapped.
I did not like
the word handicapped.
I still to this day, I can't
stand the word handicapped
and I hated
the word blind.
And so there was,
um, some hurt
and a little bit
of rebellion
that was starting
to fester within my soul.
The teasing
from the other kids
that's what really
ticked me off.
The kids would
call me Mr. Magoo.
They liked to say, How many
fingers am I holding up?
And they would always
use the middle finger
and they'd put it
right up next to my nose.
How many fingers
am I holding up?
It was embarrassing.
I wanted to beat 'em up.
But I was crying.
I hate to admit it.
I was weeping.
I was cryin'.
And I was very mad
and, uh, and very hurt.
My mom at first
was comforting.
Then I think she just
didn't want to accept it
so she kind
of withdrew.
And I remember
one time she's ironing
and I'm sitting there
trying to read
my large print book
and she said
"Must you put the book
so close to your eyes?"
It was like I was broken
in her eyes.
I went out
in my dad's workshop
and I took
a magnifying glass
that I was given to help me see...
see the large print.
And I literally stared
at the sun trying
to burn the eyes
out of my head.
And I was cursing
everybody around me
and I was cursing God.
I was hurtin' inside and I couldn't
do what I was able to do before.
And I thought
I just wanted to burn
the worthless things
out of my head.
My teacher
in the VH room
she really did something
that was special for me.
She had a giant 7 inch
reel-to-reel
tape recorder.
And she recorded
some pieces
from a book called
"Expert At The Card Table"
by S.W. Erdnase.
It was a book
written in 1902
and it was on how
to cheat at cards.
At nighttime, I would
put on these headphones
and I would listen
to this... this stuff
while I slept
to get it in my head.
There was somethin'
tactile about cards
that my fingers liked.
I loved the feel
of them in my hands.
I loved the feel
of 5 cards
6 cards, a poker hand
where I'm actually
holding 6
pretending
I'm holding 5.
I didn't have to see
what I was doing.
I could feel
what I was doin'.
So you know how we had
where we were
on the beach?
- Just now?
- Yeah.
So it's right over here,
right in the back of us.
So you have the beach,
then you have a bit
of flat land
for a little bit
and then
it's just mountains.
And they are all
covered with trees
so they're
green mountains.
- Green.
- Green mountains, yeah.
I've been fishing
all my life.
And I can feel
a fish fart
within 3 feet
of my, my hook.
I don't like to have my
pole sitting in the thing.
I like to have it
in my hand the whole time.
So I can feel
what's goin' on
and feel the exact moment
that somethin' hits.
Okay, yeah.
That's a,
that's a fish, isn't it?
- Woo! Is it on board?
- Oh, yeah.
Alrighty, spademan.
- Give me five!
- Over here.
Don't bite the meat.
Just bite the fin.
You can have the eyeball.
I don't care about that.
- He's gonna eat it.
- Alright, hold it up!
Un eyeball.
What is the point
of this?
Well, when have you ever
chomped on an eyeball
to see
what it tastes like?
Okay, I need some water
to rinse my hands off.
Yeah, David's got it.
My dad is a little bit
on the crazy side.
As a kid, he would
tell me some wild stories
from when
he was younger.
I used to think
he'd make them up
'cause he would tell them
as bedtime stories to me.
So I thought
they were like
stuff out
of his imagination.
Then I met all his friends
that he did them with.
They're real
and it's kind of scary.
They always say
back in the crazy days.
Not the good old days,
the crazy days.
- There?
- Yeah.
Good. Little bit more
to the right.
I didn't know much about Rick's,
uh, vision in high school.
I mean, really, uh, Rick
seemed to get along okay
just as if
he were sighted.
And that was
kind of strange.
He just,
he refused to be like
any old
other blind person.
He actually did stuff
that, uh, that he really
shouldn't have done.
- Okay.
- You get what I'm saying?
Oh, Juda! Juda!
At that time,
I could see houses
trees within like a 40,
50 foot circumference.
I could see well enough
to ride a bicycle
and so I would follow
the lines.
I figured
if I could ride a bike
I should be able
to ride a motorcycle.
I'd jump on the back
and he'd say
"Is there anybody
coming on the left?
Anybody comin'
on the right?"
I'd say nope, go.
I guess he could watch
one of the lines
and you know, on down
the highway we went.
That was part of his lifestyle
was being not blind.
I just had
so much energy.
If there was an obstacle,
if there was a cliff
whatever it was,
I had to overcome it.
I had to beat it.
Rick joined
this karate class.
He was very,
very determined.
Rick said he did not wanna
be treated any differently.
So he would go through
all the same drills.
I told everybody, Don't knock him out.
Don't injure him.
But then Rick started
hitting people
and he liked it.
You don't have to see where every
body part is. You just know.
And I didn't care
where any body part was.
I was just hittin'
whatever I could hit.
It's a little bit exhausting
to be around Rick
'cause he's just always
doin' something.
He had so much potential
for so many things.
But he was
all over the place.
I was a perpetual
motion machine.
I never stopped moving.
My cards became
just the perfect thing
because I was able
to develop something
while I burned off
that nervous energy.
You know, I'm a nervous person.
Always have to be movin'.
And so before
I would scratch myself
or wiggle or jerk
somewhere or another
so I just funnel
all of my nervous energy
into practicing moves
with the cards.
In one of his early
literature pamphlets
it said, "Richard Turner
practices 16 hours a day."
And when I read that,
I thought
Am I supposed
to believe that?
You know,
nobody practices 6..
That... that's the dumbest
thing I've ever heard.
Who... who's gonna
believe that?
Fast forward 15 years,
I'm stayin' at his house
and he absolutely
practiced 16 hours a day.
He never puts
the cards down.
Rick always
shuffles cards
and makes that little
tshh sound all the time.
He does it at church.
He does it in the car.
He does it
in the grocery store.
He does it when
we're layin' in bed.
He does it
when he's thinking.
He does it
while he's working out.
I've never been
in an environment
except maybe
in the pool. No, no.
When we first met,
we went to the Jacuzzi
he took his cards
with him.
She got so frustrated
and then she said to me
"Do you know what? The
other night we were in bed
we were making love
and I heard this tshh."
He was practicing
shuffling with one hand
while they were
making love.
We all stayed
in a motel room together
and I remember he had
laid down on the bed
to go to sleep and he had a
deck of cards in each hand
and he was shuffling the
cards while he was listening
to the television
and then he drifted off
to sleep
and his hands stopped.
And the next morning, this
is exactly what happened.
His hands started moving
before his eyes opened up.
It was here
at the Magic Castle
in this corner known
as the Dai Vernon Corner
named after
Professor Dai Vernon
where my, uh, destiny
with a pack of cards
was really set.
I'm 84 years of age
and I've been studying
magic for 78 years.
I wasted the first 6 years
of my life
but... but..
What do you mean
you've been studying?
Where do you study it?
With other famous...
No, you... you sit
in a room
and you take
a pack of cards
you take some dice,
you take a handkerchief
and you try to create some
kind of magical effect
and you work it out.
Dai Vernon was the single
most important person
in the development
of magic
in the last
hundred years.
Houdini had a boast
that any card trick
if he saw it twice,
he could figure it out.
Vernon, as a brash
young man, met Houdini
and did a card trick
for him
and Houdini kind of
knit his brow.
And after the 2nd
or 3rd time
Houdini's wife said
"Oh Harry, come on,
admit it he's fooled you."
He certainly
was an absolute master
of sleight of hand.
And he was also hooked
on gambling moves.
He heard I could do
some difficult moves
with the cards and
he agreed to meet with me
at the world-famous Magic
Castle in Hollywood.
When I first showed Professor
Vernon my second deal
this is how
I was dealing.
You know, I thought,
oh, totally hidin' it.
Nobody can see
what I'm doing.
And he goes, "Well,
that's unnatural.
What's your name again?
Turner? Richard?
That's unnatural,
Turner.
You can't, it doesn't
work, it's unnatural."
And all of a sudden, he grabbed
my hand here and he said
"Now watch.
No movement at all."
And then he said, "Feel, feel
my hands, feel my hands."
And so I, uh, see
this blurry image
out of the corner
of my eye
as he was describin'
a move.
One of the things
Vernon would talk
about is naturalness.
He said a lot of people
hold the cards like this.
You know, it's called
a mechanic's grip.
They really
hide the cards
because they can get away
with dirty work.
But he said if you hold the
cards with your fingers
across the side,
more deck is exposed.
And if you're not trying
to hide the move
people are less inclined
to believe that
you're doin' somethin'
dishonest.
He said it takes
no effort
to deal a card
off the top.
A 4 year old
can take that card
and deal it
on the table.
So you need to be able
to do the second card
with that same
natural ease.
I would go home
and I would analyze it.
I'd take it apart
piece by piece.
And I would practice
that move in slow motion.
Training my hands
to do exactly
what I wanted
to accomplish.
And then I would turn it
into a subconscious habit.
10,000 times,
20,000 times in a day
doing that same move.
Like a machine.
And then when I'd go back
to show professor
he'd go, "That's it."
He saw obsession in me.
Obsessed like
he was obsessed.
He started
unloading on me.
He started
tipping things that
he hadn't shared
with other people.
I still have things
that I have today
that nobody else knows
besides me and him.
Just in case
anyone is skeptical
about what
you've just seen
Richard's going
to show us some more
of his incredible
skills.
How many people
in the card game, John?
Give me
a number of players.
Oh, 5.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5.
Another number,
wherever you say
that's where
the ace will be.
1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6.
Remember that one
is facedown.
These are coming out
of the middle.
I want you sit
in the middle.
I'll put it
a little further for you.
- Okay.
- Another number, John.
- Uh, 2.
- 1, 2.
Slow motion.
The first time I saw
Richard was on television.
The show was called
"That's Incredible."
I'll never forget that 'cause I
was dealing craps at the Aladdin
on a strip in Las Vegas
at the time.
And when I went back
into work the next day
everybody was talkin' about
this guy on television
who'd, uh, brought
the house down.
What blows me away is,
if you list all
of the different
gamblers' moves
and you come up with things
like the second deal
and push-throughs
and perfect shuffles.
Most people have one good
move that they're known.
Richard spent
his entire life mastering
all of the things
on the top of the list.
I'll show you the touch
you have to have.
Give me a number
between 1 to 52.
How about something
like 37?
37. Try that.
But you do that so fast.
31, 32, 33, 34,
35, 36, 37.
He's a trickster
and not only that
uh, Richard Turner
is also legally blind.
And he can do things with
cards no one else can do.
- How do you do that?
- How do I do which?
Well, how do you,
how do you..
What I get angry about
is if someone
told somebody
Oh, this guy's blind.
I need to tell you
about Richard's eyesight.
Did you notice that Richard
brought it up very closely?
Tell them
about your eyesight.
It's the way people all of a
sudden perceive and treat you
and I... I...
I didn't like it.
We all hear about people
who have average
or even below
average intelligence
and yet a spike
in one area.
A retarded boy who was
incredible at the piano
things like that, uh..
I would say you're at least
average intelligence
but you've got a, got a
spike in this one, gosh.
That makes what
we're seeing even more
astounding, by the way.
I don't like sympathy
and I don't
like the theme
handicapped makes good.
People have
introduced me sayin'
Oh, this is
a blind magician.
This is Richard Turner. Oh,
by the way, he's blind.
And I'll tell 'em
What does that have
to do with anything?
I'm just Richard Turner.
You can just introduce me
as that.
I turned down the biggest
show on television
because they wanted me
to walk with a stick.
I wouldn't do that.
I wanna be known
and recognized
and respected
for what I do
on its own merit.
Not because of this guy
has this situation
and this is what
he's done.
He's lived
his entire life
trying not to be
like a blind person
and so he doesn't
want to admit
that he actually is.
Reach out.
What else you want?
You're really crooked,
dad.
The screw
is really crooked.
I know.
You're really
crooked, dad.
That is even
more crooked.
Okay, well, let it ride.
Well, then it's going to come
out the side of the wood...
It's not gonna show.
How the hell did I make it
crooked again?
I know,
I don't want your hand
down there
when I'm doing this.
I know, but you're gonna
leave it crooked.
- My drill straight?
- No, towards your leg.
- Okay, yeah.
- Towards your leg more.
Yeah, this bit is worse
than the other one.
I one time
was telling my sister.
She was trying to say,
You should get a cane.
She said, "It'd be
encouraging to others."
I said, "Lori, that's not
what encourages me.
What encourages me
is somebody
who lost their sight
and owns
one of the largest
construction companies
in the state.
And I was referring
to her.
On the outside, it's kind
of tan and dark brown.
Now hang on to me.
Does anybody got you?
- Asa's driving.
- Okay, got it. Okay.
I got it.
On this walkway now
we're gonna walk
around the building.
There, we... we did
the concrete.
It's gonna look
like a carpet.
What I do for a living
is I help masterplan
like this whole 500 acres,
for example
we drew it all out.
Figured out what types of
businesses would go where.
I don't call her my genius
sister for nothing.
I mean, she's brilliant.
She does things..
She does things
that just stagger me.
And I'm always bragging
on her and she goes
"No, no, no, don't say
anything about me."
What it is is, it's kind
of fancy-looking edgings
around all of it.
Isn't that how the top
of the Alamo looks?
- Alamo? Alamo...
- Alamo in San Ant..
Well, I, maybe I do.
Uh, it's, it's like this.
Ready?
Uh-huh.
Oh, I got you.
I got what you said.
And then
there's these big domes.
We'll go up
one more floor
and I'll show you
the domes up there.
They're like 9 foot
round circles.
Yeah.
Like a half basketball?
Like a half sphere,
yeah.
It's something to do
with the look.
And this has
all the carpet look
inside on the concrete.
Just inside,
this will probably
be carpet
or whatever they want.
Up to about 4 years ago,
I faked it.
I just didn't
use a cane.
I didn't use anything
like that.
But I was
always embarrassed
and when I'd go
around people
I hid it.
Then my husband got
in a really
bad truck accident.
And he was in the hospital
for 2 months.
I was there by myself.
And I had to do
everything
and I was
so overwhelmed
and I realized
I don't care
if I'm embarrassed
anymore.
I checked myself in to the
school for the blind.
Learning to use my dog
and gettin' around
was just..
It was like a huge
exciting time in my life.
Richard always
would tell me
Lori, don't use
the word blind.
Just keep it a secret.
And now
I just ignore him.
Because to me,
acknowledging my blindness
has been the most invigorating
thing in my life.
I think
Rick still fakes it.
He has enough people in his
life where he can still do
what he wants
with using people.
And Asa's like
Rick's Seein' Eye dog.
Asa leads Rick
and navigates him around
just like my dog does.
Sorry, I was trying
to go that way
'cause there was
a guy running.
I think It really hit me
when I was about 7.
I thought
he was walking me
but I was actually
always walking him.
I was a lot shorter
than he was.
I was very small.
I was about
up to his waist.
So I was up there
holding his hand.
There was this tree
that went over the path
that was like,
kind of like hooked
and we were walking
and he went whoo-pow
and rammed his head
right into it.
I was like, "What?
Didn't you see that?"
And he goes no.
And I'm like oh.
And that's like when
it first really hit me
that he can't
really see.
I got it. Let go.
Okay.
This the front of the car?
Yep. You're gonna
be right in the middle.
- Asa?
- Yeah.
I dropped my deck
down here.
You just kicked it.
I got it.
I just don't wanna touch
the ground with my hands.
Here you go.
Many money-minded
moguls
mind their moolah
more than morals.
Nine nice nieces
neatly nibbling
on knick-knacks
never notice
nine nice nephews
noticing nine
nice nieces.
- Richard, how are you?
- Is that Ron?
- Yes, it is.
- Hey!
Keep comin'.
You're coming the...
We're going in the right
direction? Okay.
I used to perform
with my dad
but today
I am basically his..
I'm like his
stage manager, kind of.
I have to give him
the location.
I set up table,
I set up the chairs
and make sure
he is ready on time.
- Here you go.
- Is it all wrapped up?
Yep. Got to take
the lid off.
Doesn't seem like
it affected my hands.
He can get nervous
sometimes.
Even if it's just
like a basic show.
Sometimes
he'll get nervous
and I don't know why.
I had one guy,
he wanted to cut
double or nothing
for the pot.
He cut a 10 and I cut
what's that card, Brian?
I've probably seen about
10,000 of his shows.
And once he starts
something, I can tell you
exactly
what he's gonna say.
- Alright. Asa, right?
- Ace of spades.
His name is Asa,
his middle name is Spades
so it's easy
to remember.
- Have a great night.
- Thank you now, Ron.
I remember
when we were doing this
when you were
5 years old.
Remember, we had those
2 matchin' outfits?
Yes, I do.
Hello, my name
is Asa Spades.
Would you please
pick a card?
Take 4 of the same card.
He can barely see
over the top of the table
even on his tiptoes,
but rest assured
Asa Spades Turner has
a trick up his sleeve.
He should,
seeing how he's had
the best teacher
in the world.
Okay. Should we show them
a few things, Asa?
Yes.
Almost every day
until I was about 10
he tried
to teach me magic.
He definitely wanted me
to follow his footsteps.
And just remember,
your daddy decorated
this room just for you.
All done in cards.
I think deep down that
Rick really did want
to perhaps have a little
protege or something.
Take a card face-up
on the bottom.
Face-up on the top.
Again, 2 directions.
Face-up, facedown.
Square them up,
turn them over.
We have 1, 2, 3, 4
cards facedown.
Now if I turn one card up,
they're all up.
If I wanted to go
to a friend's house
I had to do
50 false shuffles first.
If I wanted a new toy
I had to learn
a new trick
and be able
to perform it.
It got to where
it started becoming
almost like
a punishment.
Asa is not
really inclined
the same way Rick is.
He's the most disciplined
person in the world.
There's no one more
disciplined than him.
I try. I really do,
but sometimes I can't.
I can't do it all the
time, you need a break
which I don't see
how he doesn't.
He never takes a break.
Like his break
is working out
which is kind
of a break.
Not really.
- Asa?
- Yeah.
You're gonna do
bench press. Okay?
Bench press, I'm gonna
start off with push-ups.
We'll do sets of 13
back and forth. One suit.
Everything in my household
has to do with cards.
So when you work out,
you do sets of 13
which is a quarter of a
deck, 26, half a deck
or a deck, which is 52.
Hold it at the top
for a second, Asa.
There you go.
That was a little better.
Blew out
too soon again.
I'm trying
my best, dad.
I've done 6 holds.
Just leave them be.
You're doing good.
You're doing good.
It can be hard sometimes.
He really pushes you.
You think you can cheat,
but you cannot.
He can hear
whatever you're doing.
No power.
That was a dud.
Medium.
- Lost somethin'.
- Yeah, I know.
Rick doesn't lower
his expectations.
Everybody comes up
to his expectation.
- Jab, under, jab.
- That was awful.
- Yeah, I know. I...
- No snap. No snap.
I know. I just..
Just don't worry.
Don't look at me. Just..
Just snap there,
that's the..
- There you go.
- Step back just a hair.
You're a little too close
to the bag.
Asa will say, "Dad, you're
different from the rest of us."
I'll tell him, "Asa,
I'm 3 times your age.
You should be
keepin' up with me."
Combinations, Asa.
Oh! You went straight.
You're supposed
to go for the head.
Asa, what's his name?
Richard Turner the Cheat
and he did it to you.
Okay, what's next?
My wrists
are already hurting.
I can't be messing
with my hands anymore.
Yeah, I can't be messing
with the hands.
Richard is kind of
a walking contradiction.
He uses his fingers
and his hands
to make his living
and on the other hand
he's constantly
pounding them
into heavy bags
and boards
and bricks
and people's chins.
It's like the worst thing
you can do to your hands.
It's gonna be a single
board speed break.
Jab, focus break.
This is a five board,
step across side kick.
I hadn't seen Rick
in some time.
He came to me and said he
wanted to get a black belt.
We had a discussion
about that because
at that time, his vision
had gotten worse
and at the time,
we probably had
the hardest black belt
test in the country.
You would go
10 3-minute rounds
against fresh opponents
with 1 minute's rest.
Master Douglas
wanted to give me
an honorary black belt
because he said
"You've put in your times
and lumps."
I said,
"No, I wanna earn it
the same way you and Terry
and everybody else did.
I wanna go the 10
3-minute rounds."
He wanted it
to mean something
so we started training.
The test
is very difficult
for anyone
under any circumstance.
You can be an incredibly
gifted athlete.
You're gonna be tested.
When you fight
10 fresh fighters
and they're all tough and
they're all out to get you
you're gonna pay
a hefty price.
Now the final point.
You're legally blind.
Yeah, and I don't see
very well either.
Well, how could you
possibly fight?
I don't know?
We'll find out.
Sit and watch.
- Chin in. Chin in.
- Come on, Rick.
It was full contact.
This was not a man
who was visually impaired
to them.
Come on, Rick.
I caught a roundhouse kick
right here
and snapped this bone
right here, so I fought
the last
3 and a half rounds
with a broken
right arm.
- Keep going.
- You got it.
It was probably
the only time
I have seen Rick
almost broken.
It was probably
a little bit too brutal
but we didn't want it
to be a gift.
Getting my black belt
was one of my single
greatest
accomplishments.
It took me 13 years
3 months and 6 days
and the next day, the whole
bloody mess was spread across
the front page of "Los Angeles
Times" sports section.
The only thing is,
they used the word blind
so I never showed
anybody that article
because they had
to put the Blind Man
Earns Black Belt
in there.
I want my stuff
to stand on its own.
You got one
from Jim Blowers.
- Mom read that to me.
- Doug.
Doug Gorman.
Mom read that to me.
Okay. You got one
from the AMAs.
The Academy
of Magical Arts.
Oh, read it.
What does it say?
Uh..
It says,
"Richard, congratulations.
"Once again,
you have been nominated
"as the Close-Up Magician
of the Year
by the members of The
Academy of Magical Arts."
I've been nominated
for a 2nd year in a row.
2nd year in a row.
I have to say, okay.
And, uh, you have to respond
with your acceptance.
As his publicist,
I can tell you
I've already
written his speech.
Uh, thank you
very much.
No.
You have to say
more than that.
Uh..
Whatever happens
at that moment
is what's gonna happen
at that moment.
No, you should not do
an extemporaneous speech.
You'll regret
everything you said
and you'll regret
everything you didn't say.
Well, okay, it's going
to be short and sweet.
"Hello. Thank you.
Thank you.
And thank you. Goodbye."
Is that good?
I'll be writing him
a speech.
I've been nominated as
Close-Up Magician of the Year
by The Academy
of Magical Arts.
In our business, this is the
equivalent of the Oscars.
There hasn't been
a single card mechanic
that has actually
won this award.
So to finally be
acknowledged and honored
for what I have spent
a lifetime developing
would be quite
an achievement.
The first time we came,
we were very hopeful.
You know, your first
nomination is the big deal.
We had hopes and clearly,
Rick was disappointed
as was I
when he didn't make it.
I kind of have
that feeling
this year
that he's gonna win.
I hope I'm right
for his sake.
Asa, your dad wants you
to see what he has on.
What do you say?
Your tie's not
tied right.
The tie doesn't?
Too long, too short?
Knot's wrong.
Knot's wrong
for this dress?
Uh-huh.
The purse matches.
Okay, time to, I'll try
the other one on instead.
To think that the same
scared visually-impaired kid
sitting around shuffling
cards in the VH room
could be
on stage tonight
receiving this award
is humbling.
59 years old,
finally wearin' a tie.
I'm so proud.
And then you're just
gonna wanna
just tighten it up
just a tad bit.
That's why I never
learned how to tie a tie.
I wore those
Colonel Sanders ties
for 30 somethin' years.
Uh-huh. I think
I'm too long this time.
Alright, lift up your chin
so I can get your neck.
Did you already shave
this morning?
Alright, let me put a little
bit of water on your hair.
There you go.
And on your mustache.
I think that
in his heart's desire
he would like to step up
his recognition
in the performing world.
And my biggest fear
for him is that
he would not
achieve that.
Winner.
Ladies and gentlemen
welcome to the 46th
Annual AMA Awards.
Hey, hey! Help me down!
Oh, yes!
Oh, yes! Thank you!
- Thank you very much!
- Thank you, everybody!
- Have a good night!
- You guys are great!
Have a good night!
And now it's time
for the Close-Up Magician
of the Year award.
The nominees
for the 2013
Close-Up Magician
of the Year are..
Bill Goodwin.
Helder Guimaraes.
Armando Lucero.
David Regal.
Richard Turner.
And the winner is..
...Bill Goodwin!
Today, our son
is off to university.
I... I'm so proud
of him, obviously.
He's been my partner
for 18 years.
I mean, he started
traveling with me
when he was a baby.
For the first ten years
of his life
I... I, I could
feel him growing.
Now, he's stronger
than the old man
smarter than
the old man
handsomer than the
old man, and, uh..
My wife and I
are so proud of him.
Is that you
opening the door?
- Asa?
- Yeah.
I just don't want
to walk off any cliff.
There's no cliff, dad..
People say,
"Is he going to follow
in his father's
footsteps?"
I say, "He's too smart
to try to do that."
You know, he's going to,
he's going to take things
to levels
beyond what I did.
I played with cards and
I've done well with it
and it's been fun
and it's exciting
but he's gonna do
more substantial things.
Make a greater impact
on society.
Alright.
Behave yourself.
I will.
Adios, amigo.
- Spiderman, love you, man.
- You too.
- You have fun, okay?
- I will.
Get that card.
Get that renegade.
Well, another one
bites the dust.
Hey, Johnny.
I was taking a minute off
of the spinning wheel
and walking the dog.
A few one-hand middles
and, uh
thought I'd give you
a harassment call.
Well, talk to you.
Later.
You know, when Asa
first flew the coup
it was really hard, and it
was really hard on Rick
because he really likes
having Asa here
to run him places
and do things.
I have heard
Rick complain
about his vision.
And he gets
really frustrated.
When he's down
in spirit
he doesn't really like to
show that to other people.
He always wants to be
seen as the strong person
and he doesn't
ever want anyone
to think
that he's weak.
I was told
way back when
you will eventually
lose all your sight.
When I got married,
I never told Kim
and I probably should
have, but I never did.
I guess you could say
I was afraid
but I thought
I have what I have
and I'm not gonna... I'm not
gonna accept anything less
even though
the less kept coming.
In our lifetime
together
it's happened
like three times.
When we got married
he could still see
pretty good.
I mean, he walked around
without any help.
And then, all of a sudden,
he took a dip
and I think
he knew it happened
but he didn't want to
admit that it happened
and so finally one day,
he came to me...
You all are going
to make me cry.
He said, "Do you know,
I don't think
I can see
very well anymore."
And so that was
really, really hard.
And then, I'm gonna say
about ten years later
there was nothing.
I have to say it probably
took me a year
before I realized that
what I was seeing
was not what was there.
The thing is
if I do this
I will see
uh, just like a clock
going back and forth
my hand go back
and forth
but if I close my eyes
I see the exact
same thing.
And I realized
it's not real.
I... I'm not seeing anything
that's real anymore.
I didn't realize
all that was left was
how my mind filled
in the blanks
rather than through any
kind of visual sight.
When I lost
the rest of my vision
I lost the independence
that I had.
Before, I could walk
alongside somebody
and not have to be touching
them or them touching me
and when I lost that
that meant
as much to me as
for anyone else to have
lost their vision.
That was really hard
for all of us
because, first of all,
Rick wouldn't admit it.
Even though
we all knew it.
And he wasn't gonna
change his lifestyle
you know,
he was Rick, man.
He can overcome
anything.
I did not want
to be helped.
It was
very humbling to go
from a self-sufficient
disabled person
to a dependent
disabled person.
He really was relying
very heavily on myself
to help him with
everything that he needed.
I remember having
to actually say
that I felt like he was
using me, kind of...
I felt like I was his,
like a Seeing Eye dog.
Which was terrible
because when he needed me
he'd whistle for me.
And, at first,
it was okay
but then I was
starting to think
"Wow. I just,
I don't like that."
One day, things had just gone
wrong and life just sucked
and nothing was happening
the way it should
and we did the only
thing that we could do
is that
we hugged each other
we prayed about it
and we just agreed that
we would get
through it together.
A, B, C, D, E, F
G, H, I, J
K, L, M, N...
Zero. Hyphen.
Oh, be careful touching
some of these things.
Okay.
Because you might
turn the voice off.
Okay. Gotcha. Okay.
So, the first thing
when you get on your phone
usually, you wake it up,
right?
Uh, well, I slap it
a couple of times.
Yeah, so it's usually
asleep, right?
What I'm going to
show you first is
um, learn
these four keys.
The first one to the left of
the space bar is the Command.
Command is like "I command
you to go to this app
or I command you to do
this." You know what I mean?
Okay, like,
"I command me to go
to my e-mail"
type of thing?
Recently, Rick's been
reaching out for help.
We have been
learning his computer
his iPhone.
He wears Kim out,
you know.
He wears people out
because of things
he could do for himself.
And I think that he
realizes that now too.
- Figure out where you're at.
- Okay.
What we're looking for
is the edit field.
So feel right arrow
and see
if you can hear edit.
You might have to...
- Edit.
- Yeah, right there.
Okay, now it said
edit button
so you need one finger double
tap which means Reveal.
- Selected.
- Now you got it. Now..
I think that now
that he's allowing
the blindness topic
to come up
he's a lot happier
and that's what I'm kind
of working on him now.
But you have to
almost make him.
Another thing I need
to learn how to do
is if I want to find
a... a... an e-mail
on a... a, uh, phone.
Say, I want someone to
send a key in the Rs.
Oh! I'll show you
how to do that.
- That's super easy.
- Yeah, I know.
Everything's super easy till
you learn how to do it.
Oh. You mean..
There's a certain element
of embarrassment
I guess.
It's like, when he was
doing his cards
he kept it a secret.
I always thought
it was more spectacular
that he really didn't
see the cards
but he saw it as a
I really think
he saw it as
something he didn't
want people to
you know, quote-unquote, "put
him in a box or something."
How many people bought two eyes today?
Say yes.
- Yes.
- Yes.
Okay. 'Cause you're
gonna need both of 'em.
The idea is simple.
It's called find
the King of Diamonds.
Two deuces,
the king wins.
I was always
an adult performer.
A guy asked if I would teach
a class for the kids.
Just, uh, totally
changed my outlook.
Elliot,
I'm gonna try it out.
I'm not going too fast.
Are you following here,
Elliot?
- Mm-hm.
- Tell 'em where it is.
One, two or three?
One.
- Oh, Elliot!
- Oh, yes!
I knew.
Four hundred dollars.
Okay, okay.
I'll slow it down
for the losers.
I'll slow it down.
This week, I had
a visually-impaired lady
named Michaela.
Very sweet lady,
extremely bright.
She sees the way I saw
when I was her age
and less.
She does not
have self-pity
which is a good thing.
In my case, when I was
growing up, you know, I did
and that took a few
years off of my growth.
Can you read Braille?
No.
To me, I thought
it was too dysfunctional.
- Do you?
- Yes, I read Braille.
Oh, good for you.
No, when I first..
When I was first asked,
when I was nine
I thought
I saw the Braille Bible
which, if you put
all the pieces together
stands about
two and half feet tall.
I thought, "Man,
I'm gonna have to have
a wheelbarrow
just to carry one book."
And, uh, so I, uh
I kind of rebelled
against that idea.
Yeah, I mean, it gets a
little out of hand sometimes
but, in the long run,
it's really
it's really useful,
I think.
Yeah. Yeah.
I was just
I was stubborn
when I was your..
I was not as smart
as you are, obviously.
But I was good
at other things...
- Like cards?
- Figuring out..
Figuring out puzzles,
cards, games..
It's nice to meet
someone else who's blind
and who can do
a bunch of stuff.
I think he doesn't
really like
the fact that he's blind
bother him..
...which, it's nice to meet
someone else who acts that way
because I try to not let
it bother me and hinder me
but it's kind of hard
sometimes.
Well, you,
God bless you and, uh
and just keep on doin'
what you're doin'
because you're... you're
gonna go all the way.
Richard, he's an inspiration
that it can be done.
That you can be visually
impaired or blind
and go out
into the world
and do something
really major
that a lot of people
can recognize.
Don't let anyone tell you
you can't play
or that it's impossible.
Take possible
out of impossible.
I think a very
general statement
that can be made
about magic
is that
it helps remind us
things aren't always
what they seem
and that limitations
aren't always limitations.
And, in Richard's case,
he does that
both on and offstage.
He gives by the example
of his great skill
and the success
he's had.
A wonderful
reminder that
there aren't as many limits
as we generally think.
That's the one
that you didn't do
and that's the one
that you did do.
Yes. Is there
another rubber band?
Yes.
Are you gonna do
three decks on this or...
Yeah.
I'm... I'm doing three.
Tonight is a really
big night for Rick.
He is performing
a new one-man show
about his life.
About a year ago,
Rick came to me
and said he wanted
to do something
that was more
than just entertainment.
So, you know
to speak slower, right?
Yes. I know.
And if you're stuck
you want me to yell out
from the back
where you are?
- Um.. Yeah.
- Alright.
You know,
it's not easy for him
to put himself
out there
and to be more open
about his life.
I just try
to encourage him
and remind him
that you cannot conquer
what you're not willing
to confront.
Being blind
is part of Rick.
It's not all of Rick
but it's a big
portion of him
and it inspires people.
So, why not share it?
- Howdy?
- Howdy?
I want you to know
over the next 90 minutes
no matter how bizarre and
silly the stories sound
they're actually based
on real events in my life.
Chapter one.
When I was nine
I contracted a disease
that ravaged the retina
in my eyes
and I began
to go blind.
For years,
I would not talk
about the blind
situation.
But in this show,
it is a pretty
integral part
of the show.
What're those two cards?
- Two jacks.
- Yes. Right.
I can see better
than her.
People somehow
seem to be encouraged
when I do share.
When I can use it
as a joke, I love it.
I have to admit,
growing up with vision
no better than the cartoon
character Mr. Magoo
can be very
entertaining at times.
Like watching,
as I stopped trees, car
or solid brick buildings
with my bare head.
Kim's really the one that
got me to get over myself.
And on that note
unless there's somebody
out there
that would like
to maybe stick around
and perhaps play
a hand or two.
Anyway, I hope
you had fun.
Thank you very much. You
were awfully wonderful.
Thank you, everybody.
You know, she said, "You don't
have to hide it anymore.
"It's reality. Relax.
Let it happen. Let people help you.
Get over it."
I mean, people
love Rick.
They always want to help
him with everything.
He just did not want
to be the blind person.
And I don't blame him
you know,
who wants to be known
for a whole
entire life as
"Oh, the guy's
really good at cards
oh, but he's
a blind person."
Brought me to some
big giant bean.
So what happens is,
we're standing here
and everything
that's behind us
is reflecting off
of that bean.
We haven't gotten
to it yet.
So we can see
everything..
It's gotta be hard
being blind
I don't really
understand it myself.
We live with it
but I don't say that
I could truly ever
understand what it's like
to live in that world.
There's somethin'
about the darkness
that people
are afraid of.
Of all the different
things you could have.
People look at blindness
in particular
as probably a more
terrifying disability.
And because they
perceive it like that
I don't want them
seeing me like that
because I don't
consider myself disabled.
I do not think
I would've achieved
what I have achieved
if I would not have
lost my sight.
Subject,
AMA Award Show.
Richard,
congratulations.
Once again,
you have been nominated
as the Close-Up
Magician of the Year
by the members of the
Academy of Magical Arts.
Well, what do ya' know?
Nominated again.
Please do not tell anyone
about this nomination
until all nominees
have been contacted.
The award show will be
held at the Saban Theater
in Beverly Hills
on May 17th.
Congratulations again
and please respond
with your acceptance.
I, uh, anyone who knows me
knows I love card magic
and our next presenter
is a world champion.
Give it up
for Shawn Farquhar!
Well, thank you
very much.
It was nearly
33 years ago next week
that I went to the Magic
Castle for my very first time.
Invited by an elderly
Canadian magician
that some of you may have
heard of, Dai Vernon.
It was then I changed from
being a stage magician
to a close-up magician.
And I'm truly honored
to be able to present
this evening
the Close-Up Magician
of the Year Award.
The nominees for the Close-Up
Magician of the Year
Woody Aragon..
...Bill Goodwin..
...Armando Lucero..
...Garrett Thomas..
...and Richard Turner.
And the Close-Up
Magician of the Year
for the Academy
of the Magical Arts..
...Richard Turner.
Where's Kim? Get next to
me, so I have someone.
- Yes, sorry right here.
- I don't want to fall over or something.
She told me, "You better
write something down
in case you win."
I said, "Yeah, right."
So, she said, "And if you
don't, you're gonna end up
getting up there and
saying something stupid."
Since I didn't write
anything down
I guess I'm gonna say
something stupid.
Just to start off,
today started off
with a workout with my
beautiful wife Kim here.
Then we made love.
Best part of the day.
And now this.
I can't be more honored.
It's been 40 years
I've been a part
of the castle.
I thank you very much.
I'm so honored
I can't believe it.
Thank you!
- There's his leash right here.
- Uh-huh.
'Kay, and I got a loop
on it.
That's her head, and right
here is this harness.
- See this?
- Yeah.
'Kay, now, what it is,
is she's your eyes
and you're the body.
- Okay, Cookie, forward.
- Cookie, forward.
- Do that again, Cookie.
- Up, up, up, up.
And then a right right.
Something I've learned
is to accept
your weaknesses.
And accept help
from others.
'Cause we all
have weaknesses.
When you accept that
you are then able to
move on with your life.
- Oh, the... the canoers?
- Yeah.
Think I can hit them
with a card?
Here see how far it goes.
Ready, Asa?
Yeah.
Believe that
you're special.
You have
to love yourself.
I think
the loss of my vision
turned out
to be a blessing.
It made me who I am
and I'm thankful for it.
I like the way I see.