DELAND -- When PBS television celebrity Charlie Carlson emcees 'A Night With Johnny Duncan' this Friday night, he will be returning to a stage where he performed as a child more than 50 years ago.
"When I was about 13 years old, I was a stooge in the audience for magician Harry Wise in his Dr Jekyll Weird Show, said Carlson, of New Smyrna Beach.
"When Harry asked for volunteers to go on stage, I was always among those picked. He would eliminate the real audience members, and I was the one chosen to remain and be hypnotized."
In his show at The Athens, which Carlson believes was in the fall of 1955, Wise terrorized the audience with blackouts, during which he would throw fake snakes into the crowd.
"Flash pots filled with flash powder exploded, and it was a thrill a minute," said Carlson. During my part of the show, I
acted like I was hypnotized, and when I'd return to the audience, people asked me how it felt."
As Harry Wise's stooge, Carlson was paid in snacks and occasionally a dollar or two. When he returns to the Athens stage on Friday night, memories of being 'hypnotized' by Dr Jekyl will undoubtedly be in Charlie Carlson's mind.
The star of the show, Hollywood legend Johnny Duncan, will also be thinking about the glamour years of DeLand's historic Athens Theatre. In the 1920's, the Athens featured silent movies, including films starring Noah and Wallace Beery. It just so happens they were Johnny's cousins.
To start the evening off on November 13, Guinness champion Al Gliniecki will attempt to break his current world record of tying cherry stems with his tongue. For a theatre that hosted vaudeville acts in the 1920's, the Athens is the perfect venue for a new Guinness World record event.
The show starts at 7 p.m.. Doors open at 6. Tickets are $7.50 for adults and $5.50 for children. Everyone will have an opportunity to meet and mingle with the stars.