Hey, this is Rudy Coby calling in from Madrid, Spain.

I'm on tour all month doing my show, but also doing lectures for other magicians, and that's

what I heard about Johnny's passing.

It was like a grief bomb went off in the room.

He was so respected and loved all over the world for his thinking and just for who he was.

The thing I loved most about Johnny was his unshakable integrity.

He would really stand up for other performers if they were being copied.

He would literally tell a producer to their faces if he thought they were doing something

wrong.

And I know for a fact he walked off several shows just because they were using copy acts.

That made him a true hero to me.

I love Tom Sony, I love Johnny, I already miss him, and I know the world does too.

Thanks again, Johnny, for everything.

A number of years ago, I came to Teller and asked him to work on and direct a project

with me.

That project became our theater show Play Dead.

Teller and I would get together for writing sessions and play around with images and ideas.

We wanted to present on stage.

We never thought about existing tricks.

Never worried about the method behind the tricks, only about those moments we wanted to present

to the ideas expressed with him and what effect they would have on an audience.

The reason we didn't concern ourselves with the method was because we had Johnny Thompson.

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