IBM RING 22 ("Warren Stephens" Ring) was established years ago and is still going strong! Today our membership includes magic enthusiasts of all ages within the Metro Detroit community – amazing professionals, avid hobbyists, and aspiring amateurs who simply enjoy the Art of Magic.
Legends to Remember
We've been fortunate over the years to have a long tradition of outstanding members within our ranks, including many notable past magic icons:
Warren Stephens, 1931-2006 (of whom our club is currently named after), was a well-known and prominent inventor of magic effects used worldwide. His effects (or variations of them) are still used regularly by many magicians to this very day, and he played a vital role in the success of IBM RING 22.
Milt Kort, 1917-2003, the renowned Detroit underground legend of magic, contributed a majority of the work in BOBO's "Coin Magic" as well as countless other magic publications. He was considered by many to be the main guru of magic in Detroit for many years, hosting weekly secret sessions with magic "greats" such as Charlie Miller and Dai Vernon whenever they were in town.
Claire Cummings, 1912-1994, a household name among Metro Detroit magicians in the 1950's and 60's, was known to children and families everywhere as the local TV/Radio personality "Milky the Clown". He is responsible for providing the very first introduction to magic for so many of us today, and his magic words "Twin Pines" (a brand name for one of his major sponsors at that time) was often a young boy or girl's phrase of the day.
Club Background
As early as 1927, an issue of the IBM (International Brotherhood of Magicians) monthly publication, “Linking Ring”, contained an article referring to a petition to create an IBM Ring club in Detroit; however, the actual charter was not granted until several years later.
In 1941 Harry Cecil attended the IBM convention in Cincinnati, Ohio, where his longtime friend, IBM President Bob Anderson, suggested that Detroit should have an IBM Ring chapter of its own.
Harry returned home and set up a meeting with noted amateur and professional magicians attending. On November 17, 1941 the charter membership of RING 22 was officially established with 43 members, and the organization was officially named “The Harry E. Cecil RING 22”, receiving a unanimous vote from the membership.
Some 65 years later, on July 11, 2006, the membership voted to rename our organization “The Warren Stephens RING 22”, in honor of Warren Stephens, a long time member, a previous Territorial Vice-President of IBM, an inventor of magical effects, and a generous contributor of ideas and workshops to RING 22.