Pete Biro’s

Original

Ring On
Wineglass
As performed by
Fred Kaps
 Linking Finger Ring History everal, including Wilson, suggest routines where the gaffed ring is
and the
Ring On Wineglass
S on a volunteer in the audience. You can't really say he is a stooge,
as he does not know the ring is gaffed. The handling is that you
“loan” a ring to him saying, “I need several people to loan me rings, but
they are always slow to get started. I would like you wear this ring and
when I ask for rings, jump up and say, “Here, use mine”. He just thinks
n addition to the traditional linking ring routines there has been a vast

I amount of work done with finger rings.

Various finger rings have been marketed, from simple cheapies with a
he is helping to get the show rolling and does not know the ring you gave
him is actually a trick ring.
My suggested handling for this version is, at the end of the trick, when
you return the rings, do the other two first and when you get to your
cut slit, ala the classic linking rings, to a very clever, locking key finger helper, do a false transfer, and hand him nothing, with a wink and a
ring, popularly called the “Himber Ring”. thanks. That way you don't have to worry about finding him and your
The original rings sold by the well-known bandleader and magician, expensive ring later!
Richard Himber, came in three styles, the most popular the man's Signet Evidence of how good the Linking Finger Ring effect can be was
ring. Originally it was marketed under the name StaggeRING. Two ver- proven to me one night at a college campus show performed by the
sions were made, one with and the other without a stone. The ring was Amazing Kreskin. Amazing (as far as I know Amazing is his first name)
made to open with a hinge, hidden by the platform for the stone (or ini- received three standing ovations that night. One was for his version of the
tials on the plain version). Another variation, called ToweRING was a Dr. Q (fake) hypnotic act, the other at the end of his show, but the biggest
Gold wedding band with a uniform circumference. The ring was seg- reaction came at the conclusion of his presentation of the Linking Finger
mented with one of the segments pivoted to open. It locked in the closed Rings.
position. What amazed me was that Kreskin (George Kresge) in no way tried
The original rings were, in fact, invented in 1959 by Persi Diaconis, to be clever. He did not do any wonderful moves, he was in fact, ham fist-
who at the time was working for Himber at something like a dollar an ed. He hid the rings in his hands, switched the rings in and out and did it
hour. Persi would run around New York getting various suppliers to man- in a way a sleight-of-hand critic that was knowledgeable to the handling
ufacture things, have instructions printed, and most important, worked at possibilities, would have puked at!
inventing tricks for Himber. But it was his presentation, his sell, that overcame his lack of being
he solution came to him one day while riding a bus. He had gotten

T a letter from Fawcett Ross suggesting the effect as a challenge. It

was known that a member of the Bamberg Family had, in the past,
linked borrowed (switched) rings onto the Linking Rings, and that
clever. Much like Uri Geller when he misses. He becomes all the more
convincing to the believers.
The Kaps/Koran Connection
About seventeen years ago, working on the Linking Finger Rings with
European artiste Freddy Fah had done something like this performing on the late Fred Kaps at the Claremont Hotel, in Oakland Calif., I revealed
ice skates! to Kaps an effect I created, worked up in my notes, but had yet to per-
Manufacture of the rings was handled by the well-known form.
magician/jeweler Willy Schneider. Schneider was one of the inner-circle When I told him about my PREMISE, Kaps went crazy. So much did
magicians in New York and for years brought top lecturers into the area. he like it, he featured it two times (that I know of) on television specials.
He was kind enough to hire this writer on several occasions. One on the FRED KAPS MAGIC SHOW, produced by John Fisher, with
Much has been written on the various methods of performing the technical advisor and assistant Robert Swadling.
Linking Finger Rings. Ron Wilson, in his book The Uncanny Scot, has a The way I described my idea to Fred was this. I said, “Fred, the only
number of good ideas. Richard Osterlind published a manuscript well real way to find a vanished, borrowed ring is to have it appear on the stem
worth looking at, but the best, most practical handling I have yet to see is of a beautiful crystal champagne glass. And the only way to give it back
in a Billy McComb video tape that is part of the Greater Magic Series, is to have to break the glass”. The ring, I explained, must be ungim-
produced by Joe Stevens. micked, borrowed in fact.
McComb's idea to show the gaffed ring to the very spectator that When I said this, it was all over. Fred could only ask, “You can really
loaned you a ring is genius. The way he handles it makes it the first prac- do this?”
tical NO SWITCHING (at the crucial moment) routines extant.
 The tone in his voice was incredible. It was like I had just told him I York, the fifth was Robert Harbin’s Zig Zag.
knew the secret to walking on water. I had to be honest and tell him that So grateful was Kaps to York that when he died he left his own (Hans
I had not actually done it, but that the handling was in my mind and that Trixer-made) personal Himber linking finger ring set to Scotty.
I was waiting to see him personally to discuss it. He couldn't wait to hear. Not one to be content when working on an effect, Kaps had done addi-
I told him that the lead in was not critical, the ring vanish could be tional research and experimentation with this effect. A letter from the
done in any way, but the part that I had to do a little more work on was well?-known Welsh magician, Trevor Lewis, shows how various minds
how to get the ring on the glass. I told him he would have to find the right can be working the same path.
shaped glass, go to a glass repair man (they are often found at antique ewis writes, “I guess great minds think alike, because I thought the
glass shows) and have the stems cut off at a decorative knob or joint.
Then rig a holder in your close up case, or behind a bar, if you are work-
ing behind one, that would hold the base and the top of the glass in align-
L idea (ring on stem of glass) was original with me. Roy Roth also
claimed originality in Abra about three years ago (Kaps hadbeen
dead for over ten years). I'm certain that like so many other ideas in magic
ment. You slip the ring onto the stem, hit it with a drop of crazy glue, then we must have thought of the idea independently.
push the two parts of the glass together. “Here's my side of the story. Just after the 1976 FISM I enjoyed two
If you saw Fred Kaps do this routine on one of the aforementioned TV weeks with Kaps, Frank Garcia, Dick Koornwinder, and others at
specials, you saw real magic. (You can find it on You Tube). Philippe Fialho’s home in Nice, France. Several ideas were kicked
On his own special he had a beautifully designed bar, one like you around in that exalted company, some good, some brilliant, some impos-
would find in a modern home, not in a commercial public bar. Fred began sible. Amongst the ideas that found favour were finding a borrowed ring
with two spectators seated at either end. In his opening sequence he bor- on the stem of a glass and producing liquid as a final load from a Chop
rowed the ring, tied it onto a length of rope (very convincing handling Cup.
from Scotty York) and then he slipped a ring box over the ring while it “The problem with finding a ring on the stem of the glass is of
hung in view. The ends of the cord were held by the two spectators. course... the stem has to be broken to retrieve it. It was suggested that a
To conclude, Fred removed the box, leaving the rope sans ring. He marked chinese coin with a hole could be used for table hopping.
asked one of the spectators to open the box. Expecting to see the ring in Obviously not as good, but less costly and workable. There was another
the box, thinking the trick was getting the ring off the rope, the spectator problem. Getting someone to make the goblets and the stems.
showed a bit of shock when the ring was not there. There was however, a “I discussed the wine glass idea with Frans Biemans at the British
small folded piece of paper in the ring box. Fred asked him to open the Ring Convention. Biemans told me he had a friend who owned a glass
paper. It read, “Don't forget the drinks.” factory in Holland who could make the glasses. A year later at the next
Earlier in the show he offered to pour each of them a drink, but forgot convention Biemans called me into his room and handed me a parcel. I
to, once he got into the magic. eagerly opened it and unwrapped one bowl and two stems. He said his
After the reading of the note, Kaps brought forth a glass of sherry for friend had made six and since I'd thought of the idea, it was mine to keep.
the woman, then set an empty glass in front of the gentleman, bringing I kept the pieces safely locked away as they were really to precious to use.
out a decanter, as he said, “You wanted, what, port?” Before he started to I had no idea who had the other ones, but obviously Biemens and Kaps
pour, he looked at the glass and the man's ring was around the stem. had one or two each.”
ords at my disposal can't describe the effect this had on the Lewis went on to explain that a few years later Biemans gave him an

W spectators. Fred brought out a cloth serviette, covered the glass

and shattered it with a small hammer to give the ring back to the
gentleman that was kind enough to loan it to him.
additional bowl (which, unfortunately was chipped) and a few extra
stems.
One complete set will be donated to the Magic Circle for their muse-
Paul Gertner later worked out a variation on the ring on the stem of um.
a glass, using an hour glass and a handling for the switch he got from In a letter from Kaps, dated 8 August 1978, Kaps mentioned taping his
Scotty York’s yet unpublished effect “The Sands of Time,” that won special for the BBC and he used a glass given to him by Biemens.
Gertner the top prize at the Desert Magic Seminar some years back. The following item, also devised by me for Kaps, has seen print, but I
In fact, the original fabrication of the gaffed glasses that Kaps used wish to include it here for completeness.
was done by York. The fit was so good that the crazy glue was not neces- A very nice way to finish any Linking Finger Ring routine is to dis-
sary. York did a lot of behind the scenes work for Kaps and in fact one of play the final two rings on the end of a pencil, one hanging below the
Kaps' TV specials featured five effects, four of which were invented by other, and have them visibly unlink themselves.
 There is a marketed routine using a small hook on a pencil to make it
look like the rings are linked, but you had to physically take the ring off BORROWED RING ON WINEGLASS
the hook to unlink it. One like this was made for Robert Harbin by Billy
McComb. Nice. Very good as a matter of fact. But, how would you like By Pete Biro, performed by Fred Kaps
to have the ring just melt away and visibly unlink itself, dropping into the
spectator's outstretched hand? hen Fred Kaps came to Northern California, in 1970, do a
All you need is a full-size regular wooden pencil with a rubber eraser
on the end and a bit of invisible thread.
ith a razor blade, cut a slit in the eraser, from the end to the heel.
W series of shows for the Dutch Clubs in the area, I was working
on various ideas with the
Linking Finger Rings and revealed to

W Then, take a short length of invisible thread, a little less than the
length of the pencil, tie a knot on either end and thread this
through the eraser so it hangs down, with the knot at one end keeping it
Kaps an effect I had created, but had
yet to perform. When I came up with
this concept I immediately thought of
from slipping out. Kaps because whenever he did any-
Slide the rings onto the pencil from the end opposite the eraser. You thing he did it better than anyone else,
are at the point where you have two rings on the pencil. One can be the and I felt, at the time, he was the only
gaff, it depends on your routine. You want the ungaffed ring closest to person that could pull this off the way
the eraser end. Arrange it so you have the thread gripped back along the I felt it should be done.
opposite end of the pencil, with the slack taken up. Slide the ungaffed ring When I told him about my premise,
off the end so it is held only by the thread. Position the rings so the one Kaps went crazy. So much did he like
on the thread looks like it is hanging, linked to the one on the pencil. it, he featured it two times (that I know
All you have to do is let your grip on the thread go and the ring mag- of) on television specials. One on the
ically drops, seemingly unlinking itself, visibly! FRED KAPS MAGIC SHOW, pro- Considred the best all-around
magician of our time, Fred Kaps.
he final item of this chapter produces the same effect, but was duced by John Fisher for the BBC,

T accomplished with a beautiful gold mechanical pencil. Within the

innards of the pencil is a sliding piece of spring steel. This piece,
operated by your thumb via a little knob, would stick out, and retract into
with technical advisor Robert Swadling.
The way I described my idea to Fred was this. I said, “Fred, I have
worked out a way to find a vanished, borrowed ring on the stem of a beau-
the barrel of the pen. You could hold the unlinked ring in place on the tiful crystal champagne glass. And to give the ring back you have to break
wire, and with an indetectable move, the rings would visibly unlink. the glass. The ring, I explained, is ungimmicked, borrowed in fact.”
Who did this? It was a well-guarded secret of the late Al Koran. Koran When I said this, it was all over. Fred answered, “You can do this?”
tipped this to me backstage one night and said, “Some day, long down the The tone in his voice was incredible. It was like I had just told him I
road, you can do what you want with this. But wait ‘til the right time.” knew the secret to walking on water. I had to be honest and tell him that
Many thanks, Al. It is now the right time, and the one item that makes this I had not actually done it, but that the handling was worked out and that
book well worth having. I was waiting to see him personally to discuss it.
The first performer I showed this to was Bruce Cervon, who used it, He couldn't wait to hear the explanation.
and made the conclusion of his routine a miracle. I told him that the lead in was not critical, the ring vanish could be
It was then decided to make these up, and working with Joe Porper done in any way, but the part that I had to do a little more work on was
we came up with a beautiful version. how to put the glass back together after the ring was slipped on the stem.
t the same time I was not happy with the way the original Himber I told him he would have to find the right shaped glass, go to a glass repair

A Rings were opened and closed and designed a new type of ring.
Again, Joe Porper brought this new design to fruition and we
named it the “Ghostly Linking Finger Ring.”
man (they are often found at antique glass shows) and have the stems cut
off at a decorative knob or joint. Then you would have to rig a holder in
your close up case, or behind a bar (if you are working behind one) that
When he saw it Billy McComb said, “This is the way the would hold the base and the top of the glass in alignment. You slip the
Himber Ring should have been designed in the first place.” ring onto the stem, hit it with a drop of CRAZY GLUE, and then push the
The finest handling of this can be seen on You Tube being per- two parts of the glass together.
formed by Taiwanese magician, Lu Chen. If you saw Fred Kaps do this routine on one of the aforementioned TV
specials, you saw real magic. In a letter I received from Kaps, dated 8 August 1978, Kaps mentioned
On the BBC special he had a beautifully designed bar, one like you taping another special and he used a glass given to him by Biemans.
would find in a modern home, not a commercial public bar. Fred began It should be noted here that Paul Gertner's award-winning ring found
with two spectators seated at either end. In his opening sequence he bor- on an hourglass was inspired by the Ring on Wineglass following Kaps'
rowed the ring, tied it onto a length of cord (very convincing handling- TV special. In addition, Bruce Kalvar marketed a similar effect using
from Scotty York) and then he slipped a ring box over the ring while it Brandy Snifter and a different approach.
hung on the cord in full view. The ends of the cord were held by the two My One Man Ring on Wineglass
spectators. Following Kalvar, and others, putting the effect on the market, I was
o conclude, Fred removed the box, leaving the rope sans ring, and a little miffed. But, I can't blame anyone really, I should have marketed,

T handed the box to the woman on his left. He asked her to open the
box. Expecting to see the ring in the box, thinking the trick was get-
ting the ring off the rope, she showed more than just a bit of shock when
or published it myself to get proper credit for the concept. I did, howev-
er have this published (finally) in Genii
Magazine, in the August, 2007 issue.
the ring was not there. So, how do I get my credit, and how do I
Kaps the consummate actor, acted like something had gone wrong, get my trick back?
and he looked around for the ring to no avail. The answer? Improve it.
There was, however, a small folded piece of paper in the ring box. Here is what I have developed. It can be
Fred asked her to open the paper. It read, “Don't forget the drinks.” done as I will describe it, if, and I emphasize
(Note: Earlier in the show he offered to pour each of them a drink, but “IF” if you are a really good performer and
forgot to once he got into the magic). have the chops, and guts it takes to do the
After the reading of the note, Kaps poured a glass of Sherry for the very bold, necessary moves.
woman, and then started to set an empty glass in front of the gentleman. The preparation.
Bringing out a decanter, Kaps said, “You wanted, what, Port?” Before he Go to a shop that sells wine glasses. Get
started to pour, he looked at the glass and the man's ring was seen around cheap, short-stemmed Brandy Snifters. Buy
the stem. To return the ring Kaps brought out a small hammer, put a servi- half-a-dozen so you will have enough to
ette over the glass and struck it with the hammer, breaking the stem. He make the gimmicks and practice with.
then returned the ring to the gentleman he had borrowed it from. Take a small file and nick the stem about
Words at my disposal can't describe the effect this had on the couple, half way down. Then cover this with a cloth
and the TV audience. and tap it at the file mark with a hammer,
he way Kaps did this for his special was simple. He had breaking the glass into two pieces. (See the

T English magician Bob Swadling as an assistant, who was

hidden under the bar. Kaps dropped the ring through a trap
in the bar to Swadling who put it onto the stem of the glass and
photos). The break does not have to be
square, just clean.
From a hardware store buy some clear
assembled the pieces for Fred to finish the routine. neoprene hosing, the diameter that will just
There was one problem to solve before he could do this. He needed to fit, snugly, over the stem of the glass. Cut
have the glasses made. The first prototypes Kaps got were made for him this to the length shown in the accompanying
by Scotty York. Later, Frans. Biemans, a Dutch magician friend of Kaps photo.
told him he knew a man that owned a glass factory in Holland who could Stick the stem and glass together, held
make the glasses. together by the tubing. (This was Kalvar's
At Phillipe Phialho's home in the South of France, Kaps talked to Trevor idea, but he had you go under the table, or
Lewis about this, and Lewis later discussed this with Biemens, and a year later out of sight with the glass to do the work).
at a convention Biemans gave Lewis one bowl and two stems. Lewis kept the Now, what I wanted to have was a stand-up routine, no going south,
pieces safely locked away as felt they were really to precious to use. no hiding the glass, nothing phony, nothing covered.
ewis went on to explain that later Biemans gave him an additional Assemble the gimmicked glass and hold it by the stem in your right

L bowl and a few extra stems. One complete unit will be donated to
the Magic Circle for their museum.
hand. Walk into the audience and borrow two men's wedding bands. Don't
borrow women's rings as you don't want any trouble losing a stone, or
doing any damage. Keep them to simple this on the inside as you fold the
men's wedding bands. handkerchief and place it into your
As you borrow them have them dropped jacket's breast pocket (or have it on a
into the glass (the gimmick is hidden by your table, etc.)
right hand holding the glass). The gimmicked glass is on your
wirl the rings in the glass as you walk table behind something or out of sight

S back to your working position. At this

time you take the upper half of the
glass away in your left hand, and edge palm
inside the table, however your work-
ing conditions allow you to have the
glass handy, but not seen.
(see photo) the base with the stem sticking Ask to borrow a ring from a gen-
up. (This is where skill and handling comes tleman. "A unique wedding band
in). would be fine," you say. Have him
While you are walking, you pour the take the ring off, take it in your right
rings from the bowl into your right hand onto hand, examine it, etc. Bring out the
the stem (which is hidden in your hand and it handkerchief. Now you to the old
should just appear as if you are pouring the dodge of apparently placing the ring
rings into your empty hand). under the handkerchief and having
Now you bring the base up to the stem the spectator "hold" the ring through Steve Cohen performs at the Waldorf
and stick them back together. the cloth. Hotel, New York.
Act as if you are sticking the rings onto What you actually do is let them
the stem. Once everything is back together hold the duplicate through the cloth while you palm out the borrowed ring
you grip the glass from above and show the and bring out the wineglass. Keep the split section hidden by holding it
rings on the stem. The reason to use two by the stem.
rings is to hide the gimmick. See the photo to With both hands you bring the glass under the handkerchief, pull off
show you how the rings are displayed, and the base, put the ring onto the stem, then push the base back onto the
how each ring hides an end of the tubing. bowl. You now hold the glass under the handkerchief and ask the specta-
Sell this. Sell it big time. tor to let go of the ring, to "Drop it into the glass, where something
Now, you place the glass on its side on a UNUSUAL will happen."
tray, cover it with a handkerchief and bring They hear the ring drop into the glass.
out a small hammer and break the glass. Pause. Lift the handkerchief away and show the glass does not contain
Really break it for the best effect. And then the ring. It has vanished. You hold the glass so the ring is not visible at
lift the handkerchief and remove the two this point. Put the handkerchief away.
borrowed rings and return them to the loa- "Actually," you say, "It really hasn't vanished… look… it's here on the
nees. stem of the glass." Show the ring, ask him to identify it, etc.
Alternate Handling for a No Assistant You say, "The only way to release your ring is to break the glass." You
Variation now can put the glass into a paper bag, or cover it with a napkin, whatev-
Steve Cohen, "The Millionaire's er fits your routine, as you bring out a mallet and give the glass a whack
Magician," called from New York May 15 to separating the two pieces. You could have some broken pieces in the bag,
discuss handling for this effect. He suggest- dump all out onto a tray and then carefully pick the ring up and have the
ed what I think makes this a really practical spectator identify it and thank him for his help. When you finish make
ONE MAN handling. It is so simple I think sure to ask, "Is your ring in the same condition as it was when you gave
this is what I will use myself. it to me?"
Prepare a silk handkerchief (I like Paisley Take your well-earned applause.
designs) with a cheap ring hanging from the
center of the handkerchief on a thread. Have
 These photos should help you understand the basic handling
Top left shows the gimmicked glass with the tubing in place. Top right
shows the pieces separated and the ring put onto the lower part of the
stem. You do this under the handkechief. Center left, shows how you dis-
play the ring on the stem (KEEP IT IN MOTION). Center right you then
covered it with a cloth or paper towel and tapped it with a hammer, sep-
arating he pieces. Bottom left shows a dummy ring on a thread attached
to the handkerchief. Bottom right, put ring under handkerchief to do the
dirty work, and have spectator hold it though the cloth over the glass.