“If someone in the audience says something funny, and everyone is laughing? Laugh! Don’t be a d*** and try to over-talk them. Show them your humanity!”

In 2010 I was a young magician in the early stages of my career. I’d just moved to Connecticut and left all my clients in Upstate New York, and was struggling to establish myself in a new geographic location.

Through a series of chance encounters and lucky breaks (story of my career) I ended up getting a gig at COMIX, the comedy club in Foxwoods Resort Casino. I’d be doing my comedy magic set on a show with a comedy hypnotist for an event they were calling Double Comix Delusion.

Foxwoods is a big-name here in New England, and technically the largest casino in North America. So when I started promoting the fact I was doing a gig at Foxwoods (even though it was really for the comedy club IN the casino), my reputation quickly gained traction. Local companies started booking me for their holiday parties and private events came out of the woodwork, even before I’d set foot in the casino.

And that’s how I found myself sitting in a green room preparing for the biggest show of my life, meeting a then 61-year-old veteran entertainer, Jim Spinnato.

Uncle Jimmy

At first glance, Jim is a bit rough-around-the-edges. He’s super Italian and all that comes with the territory: loud, outspoken, and four-letter-words galore. But as I’d get to know him it became clear he was just a big teddy bear with a true heart of gold.

Jim Spinnato is a living legend of the New England entertainment scene. He left banking to pursue a career in magic doing hundreds of birthday parties a year, before moving into the private event space as a comedy magician and mentalist. One day he had a chance meeting with veteran comedy hypnotist Frank Santos, who took Jim under his wing personally and professionally, marking his gradual move into his current career.

At 70-years-old Jim is now one of the most booked and highly sought after entertainers in New England, and showing no signs of slowing down (despite his own protests to that effect). I spent the better part of a year running our show together at the comedy club, studying his interaction with the audience and watching him handle everything the environment could throw at a performer with ease and grace, while I struggled to master my own act.

When the student is ready…

My year with Jim, who also served as mentor-figure to future America’s Got Talent winner Mat Franco (where he was affectionately given the nickname Uncle Jimmy, something I do not call him), was the most valuable of my career. I didn’t have the self-awareness to express it at the time – the arrogance and insecurity of youth never fails to amaze me – but have spent years since trying to show my appreciation for the energy he invested in me.

Mentors: how to find and be one.

Jim’s greatest lesson

Back to that first night at the comedy club in 2010. He had just ended the show and made a bee-line for me, sitting at the bar.

“Hey, Miller-” he started. “Listen kid. You’re not the best magician…”

My heart sank.

“…and you’re not the best comedian.”

Deeper and deeper.

“But the audiences loves you from the second you hit the stage, and because of that, you’ll be successful.”

In that moment I believed him. He shifted my goal from being “the best magician” to connecting with the audience, a lesson I’ve taken into my professional life offstage and personal life. In fact, it formed the cornerstone of the career I now enjoy as a consultant on human connection.

How do you connect with anyone? Show them your humanity.

Eavesdrop on me and Jim

It was my pleasure and honor to sit down with Jim at COMIX, now in Mohegan Sun Casino, two hours before his new-ish Sunday showcase, “Spinnato’s Magic Matinee,” which features the best magicians from New England, to chat about his life’s work.

We discussed how he moved from banking to magic to hypnosis, context and intentionality in art, how to connect with any audience (hint: show them your humanity), “PC culture” and its impact on the future of entertainment, and Jim shares many stories of chance encounters, lucky moments, and the relationships that built his career.

This conversation is fast-paced, hilarious, reflective, and often deeply moving. Even if you have no interest in the entertainment field, I wholeheartedly recommend this episode, especially for young professionals at the start of their career, for an intimate look at a life well lived and a career well spent.

Listen to the edited podcast or watch the uncut video below, and find out more about Jim here.