Alan Watson (magician)

Alan Watson QSM

Born	Alan Scott Watson (1950-11-26) 26 November 1950 Wellington, New Zealand
Occupation	Magician, Illusionist
Spouse(s)	Michele Watson
Website
www.watson.co.nz

Alan Scott Watson QSM (born 26 November 1950) is a professional magician living and performing in Auckland, New Zealand. He has been performing professionally for more than 30 years and has won some of magic's highest awards and accolades. He is the current president of the Brotherhood of Auckland Magicians.

Biography

Born in Wellington in 1950, Watson learned the art of magic from his great-great uncle Oswald Ashton at the age of seven.

He has appeared at the Magic Castle in Hollywood five times for a total of over 100 performances. He was the founder and administrator of the MagicNZ BBS in 1993. Watson also founded the Magic New Zealand e-zine and has acted as editor from 1999 to present. In 1995 he was awarded the MIMC with Gold Star, the highest degree member of The Magic Circle. Watson and his wife Michele were presented the DRAGON Award in New York 2002. In 2006 he was a recipient of the Benny Award from the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand Inc, their highest honour.^[1]

Watson served as President for the New Zealand Society of Magicians from 1981 to 1983 and then from 1986 to 1989. He is a member of the Shore City Magicians Club and a life member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, the Variety Artists Club of New Zealand and The Society of American Magicians.

Watson performs in the areas of corporate and family magic shows. In most of his acts, his wife Michele plays his assistant.

He was awarded the Queen's Service Medal for services as a magician in the 2015 New Year Honours.^[2]

Awards and honours

2015 - Queen's Service Medal (QSM) for services as a magician^[2]
2006 – New Zealand Grand Master of Magic Award^[3]
2006 – Order of Merlin – International Brotherhood of Magicians
2006 – Benny Award – Variety Artists Club of New Zealand Inc^[4]
2005 – Presidential Citation from IBM International President
2005 – Best Mental Effect – Linking Ring Awards
2003 – Agnew Excellence Award – Variety Artists Club of New Zealand Inc
2002 – DRAGON Award – J. Marberger Stuart Foundation (2002)^[5]
1999 – Scroll of Honour – Variety Artists Club of New Zealand Inc
1997 – Shure Golden Microphone – Most Professional Entertainer – Variety Artists Club of New Zealand Inc
1995 – Member of the Inner Magic Circle (MIMC) with Gold Star – Magic Circle England
1990 – 1st Place Close-up – 22nd Australian Convention of Magicians
1982 – The Peter J. Shield Award – 18th Australian Convention of Magicians (for Outstanding Contribution to the Art of Mentalism)

Six times Top Children's Entertainer – New Zealand International Magic Conventions
Four times Top Close-up Magician – New Zealand International Magic Conventions
Four times Top Magician – Variety Artists Club of New Zealand Inc

Magic publications

Alan has been featured in the following magic publications :

Vanish Magazine – April 2013 Front Cover – Pages 30–45
The Linking Ring – November 2006 – Front cover – Pages 35–40 plus 68–70
The Linking Ring – July 2004 – Kiwi Magic, pages 83–107
Magicana – August/September 2002 – Front cover, pages 8–11
The Linking Ring – November 1998 – Front cover – Kiwi Magic, pages 87–105
M.U.M. magazine – September 1997 – Watson family front cover – Kiwi Magic, pages 15–25
The Magic Circular [UK] – December 1995 – Front cover – New Zealand special section, pages 223–230. Also in this edition Peter Blanchard wrote a double page spread on the Watson family "This Is Your Life", pages 234–235
Genii Magazine [US] – October 1992 – Front cover – New Zealand special issue for which Alan compiled, pages 805–819
Magicana – October/November 1989 – Front cover
Magicana – July/August 1984 – Front Cover, pages 5–7

DVDs

2007 – Alan Watson's 7 Secrets to Success (2 DVD SET)^[6]

Television appearances

2014 - One Network News, TV3 News - upon being presented with the Queen's Service Medal.
2007 – Studio 2 (NZ) (NZ children's show) – with granddaughter Aleshia.
2006 – Pacific Beat Street – with granddaughter Aleshia.
2006 – What Now? – with granddaughter Aleshia.
1996 – Good Morning
1996 – The Great Kiwi Magic Show^[7]

Magic New Zealand E-zine

Watson publishes a weekly E-zine, Magic New Zealand. Magic New Zealand has more than 17,000 subscribers worldwide including many well-known magicians. It contains articles and writeups as well as performance dates and regular columnists.

References

↑ "Variety Artists Club of NZ Benny Award Recipients".
↑ 2.0 2.1 Field, Michael (31 December 2014). "New Year honours: Alan Watson". Retrieved 11 March 2015.
↑ "Grand Master of Magic Citation, Brotherhood of Auckland Magicians".
↑ "Variety Artists Club of NZ Benny Award Recipients".
↑ www.dragonaward.com
↑ www.magicmasterclass.com
↑ Top Shelf Productions