Today marks the birthday of my friend Cesareo Pelaez, the founder of the Le Grand David Spectacular Magic Company in Beverly Mass. He of course was much more than that. He was a highly admired college professor, he was a mentor to many, he was a student of stage magic, he was in his own way a historian of magic, and of course friend to countless folks in and outside of the magic world.
To me he was friend and mentor. I considered him my stage magic mentor, though our conversations were limited. I always took his advice to heart. Frankly, had it not been for his encouragement, there wouldn't be a Magic Detective Blog and thus no Magic Detective Podcast. He was the sole person who encouraged me to write. And I followed through.
He passed away on March 24, 2012, so the world has been without his magic for quite a long time. He would have been 92 years old had he lived. I miss his words of wisdom and his jovial manner.