Hunting Sharks: BioVlog 182 of 384

Our newly discovered adrenaline-thrill is shark hunting. Since no license is needed to drive a boat, I always insist on navigating our water crafts, and I like one speed, “Full throttle!”  It’s a beautiful sunny day and we are racing my boat from the bay to the ocean with two of my Lamb’s Players friends,…

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Don’t Look Down: BioVlog 181 of 384

“Okay Jim, try to follow using the same rocks and holes you saw me use.” Jim starts inching his way across and downward. However, he foolishly looks down and freezes with fright. To him, the car-sized rocks below look like pebbles. “I can’t go on” he says in a panic.  I order, “Jim, relax. Don’t…

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Towering Perch: BioVlog 180 of 384

“Watch!” I shout to Jim as I cautiously start feeling my way across the dome. “If you keep your body pinned to the surface with three points as you move along, even if a rock gives way, you can still keep lowering yourself without tumbling down along with the rolling rocks. Watch carefully.” I grab…

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Split Mountain: BioVlog 179 of 384

I say to my sidekick, Jim, “Let’s head east to Split Mountain and do a little cliff climbing.”  (The name Split Mountain was inspired by the shape of its double summit, which is comprised of two cliffs about one-hundred feet across and hundreds of feet high.) I lead the way as we scale the towering…

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Fierce Food and Other Funny-Tasting Stuff: BioVlog 178 of 384

Jim and I head north to Sequoia National Park. Jim spots a small dead fish covered with ants. He says, challenging, “I’ll give you ten bucks if you eat that! Here’s the deal: if you barf, you owe me ten bucks!”  I gulp it down like a gumdrop, and snatch the ten-spot. Wagers like this…

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Daredevil Stunts: BioVlog 177 of 384

Due to my fighting in Tijuana; cliff diving; and my motorcycle riding days – along with other extreme endeavors – I have been told, more than once, that I over-react in everything I do. As a consequence, many of my friends assume that I’m an unrepentant action junky hooked on the adrenalin rushes derived from…

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Carson, Kelly, and Peck: BioVlog 176 of 384

I just finished a show that included, Monty Hall, Jimmy Stewart and James Caan. Yerkes places his hand on my shoulder and says, “Rick, follow me. There are some other celebrities who would like to see your magic.” As we approach the group, Yerkes says, “Let me introduce you to these three men. In the…

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TABLE TALK 20

“I’m seated aboard a beautiful yacht with film star and magician John Calvert and SWAT Team Leader Chuck Curtis. Gents, what personal qualities did you detect when you first met Richard?” “Jon,” Calvert says, “I would say tenacity. Tammy and I often reminisce about the visitors we have had on board our boat The Magic…

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The Greatest Celebrities: BioVlog 175 of 384

Bobby Yerkes comes over, slaps me on the back and says, “You will be playing to some of the most celebrated entertainers in show-biz. Go get’em. They’re all rich. Take their money. Take it all!” With pocketed cards, I grab my miniature green felted poker table and supporting stand. I enter the room and find…

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Tag-Along: BioVlog 174 of 384

On another auspicious occasion, my stuntman friend, Bobby Yerkes, books me to entertain at a party honoring the 1984 Emmy Award winners for behind-the-scenes categories: writers, producers, production people, and so on. Right away the technical producer approaches me and says sternly, “Your wife Janalee is designated as a tag-along. Tell her to remain inconspicuous.…

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Genii Magazine: BioVlog 173 of 384

After the 1982 wedding, in Genii Magazine Vernon pens:  “A few days after returning to Hollywood, Bill Bowers, who amazes everyone by his generosity and thoughtfulness, drove Chris Michaels and his wife, Evelyn, Judy Dolan, and myself to San Diego to attend Richard Turner’s wedding. There were nearly 150 guests at the church wedding. Afterwards…

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Janalee Anger Vixen: BioVlog 172 of 384

I pocket my cards and we eventually make it to the ceremony, where vows are successfully exchanged. After the wedding, my sister Lori comes up to me and asks thoroughly disgusted, “What kind of evil woman have you married? Janalee just came up to me and snarled, ‘you now might be my sister-in-law, but that…

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