He will be missed by so many magicians and those who love the amazing things unfettered imaginations can produce. One of the prized items in the Inside Magic Museum is a set of Linking Pins signed by Mr. Andrus. The gentle man was demonstrating his classic routine for a small crowd at the Florida State Magician's Convention in 1974.
We purchased the effect after watching what seemed to be impossible: the visible linking and unlinking of safety pins performed but a few inches away. We must have watched the demonstration about ten times before we decided to use the money we allocated for dinner to purchase a set.
Mr. Andrus was patient, helpful, and incredibly intense in his desire to teach the proper method and routine. He explained how the effect should look to the audience -- not how to hide what we needed to do to accomplish the effect.

His focus on what the audience sees and experiences was new to us. We were intent on learning sleight of hand for bragging rights. Our one-handed versions of the Second Deal and the Riffle Shuffle was impressive alright but there was no "magic" to either stunt. One elder magician noted our skill was "evidence of a youth squandered."

Mr. Andrus performed real magic. He made the impossible appear possible because he focused almost solely on the audience point of view; what the audience member sees.

There were those who thought Mr. Andrus was a true genius and others who failed to recognize the truth. One magician in Boston informed us, "Yeah, Jerry has some great stuff but it only works if you're doing it for someone directly in front of your hands. None of his stuff is angle proof."

We are not sure Mr. Andrus ever suggested his magic was "angle proof" or fit for all venues. Actually, no. We are quite certain he claimed the opposite. Many of his optical illusions required the viewer to be in a certain position but that is the case with much of magic. Mirrors, Black Art, and Camouflage are techniques by which miracles can be created but are all vulnerable.

We saw a prototype of the Disneyland Haunted Mansion's use of Pepper's Ghost recently at the Magic Castle. When observed from the correct vantage point, the technique creates an amazing illusion of translucent bodies floating, appearing, and disappearing. Seen from a different angle, the illusion gives way to very ordinary props and equipment.

Mr. Andrus gained a reputation as an eccentric collector, investigator, skeptic, philosopher, magician, and mystifier. His imagination and drive showed ordinary magicians just how far we can go in this art. A proper tribute to his work must include a willingness to at least allow for the fringe, different, and non-commercial creations in our art.

You can read the "about me" section of Mr. Andrus' web site here.

- Provided by InsideMagic