BY TANYA ALBERT
The Cincinnati Enquirer
To a magician, revealing a trick is like telling the world there is no Santa Claus.
"When you expose these things it takes away the fantasy or the fun," said Ken Klosterman, past president of the International Brotherhood of Magicians and chairman of Klosterman Bakery.
It also cuts severely into a magician's repertoire, according to a lawsuit part-time magician Robert F. Croskery filed in Hamilton County Common Pleas Court Wednesday.
The full-time attorney once wowed audiences by sawing a woman in thirds on stage and then putting her back together.
But he had to sell his $2,000 "Zig-Zag Lady" illusion at a $1,250 loss after the illusion was explained on Fox Television's Breaking the Magician's Code: Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed.
"Thousands of magicians around the world depend on certain key illusions," Mr. Croskery said in an interview. "Zig-Zag Lady is one of the foremost."
Widespread exposure of the illusion's secrets had rendered it valueless for performances, he said.
"It's not just the money you lose, but the hundreds of man hours devoted to developing the act around it."
Mr. Croskery, who uses the stage name Bob Forsythe, said he made his living as a professional magician before going to law school. Since he became a lawyer, magic has become a part-time job. He no longer has the hundreds of hours needed to replace that illusion -- one of three in his act.
The lawsuit says the magician's code was broken by Leanord Montano, who goes by Valentino and the Masked Magician.
Also named as defendants are Nash Entertainment, Inc.; Fox Entertainment Group, Inc., and the local Fox affiliate, WXIX-TV Fox 19.
"The conduct of the defendants . . . amounted to depraved indifference to the welfare of magicians and of the magic viewing public by exposing key secrets to hecklers and curiosity seekers," the lawsuit says.
This is the third lawsuit filed in connection with the shows, said Randy Kender, senior vice president of legal affairs for the Los Angeles-based Fox Group. A class action suit was dismissed in New Orleans; another has not been pursued. Mr. Kender said they will attack this suit with vigor.
Mr. Croskery is seeking an unspecified amount of money. But he is willing to forgo the payment if the Masked Magician and others agree to never expose other magicians' secrets and contribute $5 million to various non-profit magic organizations, according to the lawsuit.
