MAGIC : He’s Altered His Act--Sleightly

Once upon a time, Johnny Ace Palmer cut people in half or made them float in the air.

But the magician said goodby to large-scale stage illusions when his assistant (and sister) got married in 1988. The pair gave a farewell performance of their signature effect--a trunk escape and switch--at her wedding reception.

It was not long afterward that Palmer sold his “big stuff” and moved to Huntington Beach, where he has continued to build a name in magic circles doing the small stuff: classic sleight-of-hand with cups and balls, with coins and cards and handkerchiefs.

Palmer, 31, who will perform twice Saturday at UC Irvine, enjoys doing close-up magic, the kind that’s meant to be performed at arm’s reach, and for many magic buffs the purest form of the art. “It is the most difficult form to master,” he says.

His mastery earned him magic’s top prize in 1988: the Grand Prix from the International Federation of Magic Societies. It was the first time the award, which is given only once every three years, went to a close-up magician.

The skill and dexterity needed to perform magic right under his audience’s nose require constant practice. Every day, Palmer practices the coin roll, in which a half-dollar (or four, in his case) “rolls” across the knuckles.

On Saturday, Palmer will perform his full half-hour act. Magic aficionados can catch his table-to-table “walk-around” act each Wednesday from 5 to 7 p.m. at Champions, a sports bar at the Irvine Marriott.

Otherwise, though, Palmer rarely performs for the public these days. Because of its nature, close-up magic is most suited for groups of 100 or less, making corporate or private gigs more lucrative for its practitioners. Palmer does perform at least once a year at Hollywood’s famed Magic Castle, with his next series of dates beginning in March.

“I always knew I wanted to be a magician,” Palmer says. The native of Warren, Ohio, recalls playing a game as a toddler, in which his grandfather would hide a marble and Johnny would try to find it. He was 4 when his dad taught him his first card trick, and he was performing publicly by the time he was in elementary school.

Palmer, who says he was never uncomfortable with performing, started making money with magic when he was in junior high school and was competing in magic conventions by the time he graduated from high school in 1978. He worked his way with magic through Kent State, where he studied theater and psychology.

In close-up magic, learning and perfecting the basic moves is just part of building a routine; putting them together in a fresh way is the trick. Palmer compares it to a musician who knows the scales and writes an original melody.

And while audiences will always ask how something is done, Palmer insists that “it’s not the secret that’s important, it’s the performance.” That doesn’t mean, however, that Palmer gives away any secrets when asked. “I never tell anyone how it’s done,” Palmer says. “I don’t even tell my wife.”

Palmer will be joined Saturday by comic magician Jim Piper and manipulation artist Mitch Williams. Half of the proceeds from the show will benefit the UCI cycling team.

Who: Magicians Johnny Ace Palmer, Jim Piper and Mitch Williams in a benefit performance for the UC Irvine cycling team.

When: Saturday, July 25, at 7 and 9 p.m.

Where: Crystal Cove Auditorium, UC Irvine student union.

Whereabouts: Take the Corona del Mar (73) Freeway to University Drive exit, go east to Campus Drive, turn right to Bridge Road, turn left on Pereira Drive and park in the structure. The student union is just beyond the parking structure.

Wherewithal: $5 general, $3 for UCI students and children.

Where to Call: (714) 643-1500.