from 2008
DANA DANIELS
talks about his start with Disney and the Royal Jesters

by Scott Wolf

Dana Daniels has the distinction out of every person I've ever interviewed, of being the only one to sit in a barber chair during our interview. He wasn't getting his hair cut at the time, it's just a comfortable chair in his living room.
That tells you a bit about Dana's whimsical side. In another room is his partner in is his hysterical comedy/magic act, Luigi, the "psychic parrot." Yes, it's a bird! If you've seen Dana perform, you know why he was voted Magic Castle's 2007 Stage Magician of the Year... he's simply brilliant at what he does. And for Dana, it all started at Disneyland. I'm just so pleased to be able to share these interviews with you!
 
Dana Daniels: In high school I did everything that had to do with show business that they offered. Fortunately, I went to Millikin high in Long Beach and Millikin during those years, the late '70s, had everything. I took dance, cheerleading - I got a lot of ribbing for that, but I took cheerleading just because it had something to do with entertainment.

I wasn't so much on learning all the moves, but to promote the games the cheerleaders would do an assembly or something like that and they would do sketches. That's what I wanted to do… I wanted to do the sketches, so I kind of took over on that. I started writing the sketches and I had us do little plays and little bits to promote the games, like a little melodrama or something like that, and then I'd do magic sometimes. One time I cut one of the cheerleaders up in three pieces and restored her. I did the talent shows, the plays, the musicals, anything that had to do with entertainment in high school. I took stage crew, just to learn every aspect of it.

Near the end of my senior year, a group of friends read in the paper about auditions at Disneyland for the character department, and it happened to be in the same day that our high school band was marching through Disneyland and they wanted the cheerleaders to go, so I was going to be there that day.

(laughs) I never told this story... I went to the auditions in the morning for the character department, and we were marching in the afternoon. In the character auditions they have you do improv, dance moves and all that kind of stuff. I was pretty comfortable with all that.

I really didn't want to work at Disneyland because I didn't want to cut my hair. I had long hair by Disney's standards. It was way over my ears but I didn't want to cut my hair. I loved Disneyland, but I thought, "I'd love to work there, but not cutting my hair."

So I did the audition, and during the auditions I split my pants doing some sort of kick move or something, I don't know what, but the whole back of my pants were split wide open and we had to go out and do this parade now. I happened to find a Disney seamstress who was walking around and she quickly sewed up my pants in the back. I did the parade and after my parade I went to my car and I bent over and they split again. We were spending the rest of the day in Disneyland with everybody and I didn't want to have to go home so I tied my sweater around my rear end... it was mighty drafty.

A few days later I got a phone call from Disney and they said they were interested in hiring me and they wanted me to come in for an interview. I went in for the interview with a guy named Michael O'Grattan. I remember the interview and once they were interested my attitude changed. I was like, "Okay, I want this job!" Anyway, he hired me. That was a lot of fun, so I was working in the character department and I did all different kinds of stuff. I did parades, the 25th anniversary parade. I wasn't in the parade department but the characters did parades, I did stage shows, TV commercials.

SW: How did you become a Disney juggler?

DD: I was doing magic shows on the outside here and there, not a lot, but while I was in the character department, I was always sneaking magic tricks on set if it fit the character… I wasn't supposed to do that. I got such great reactions that I would get off set, run up to the entertainment offices and go in and see like Ron Logan who was Director of Entertainment back then and I'd be huffing and puffing and all sweaty in my t-shirt and I'd say, "Can I go in and see Ron?" and he was very gracious and let me come in… a sweaty teenager. I'd say, "I think it would be really great... you guys should have me doing some magic, the kids love it!" I didn't want to work in the magic shop in Disneyland, I wanted to be a performer. They thought, "That's really cool, but it's not where we're at right now," and come up with some excuse.

It wasn't until 1983 when the new Fantasyland opened and they decided they wanted to have strolling jugglers and magicians in the new Fantasyland. They had auditions for that so I went to the auditions.

SW: Did you know how to juggle well?

DD: Very little. It wasn't even in my act because I wasn't very good at it. I was starting to learn around that time so I wasn't very good. I did the audition and it was all comedy and magic.

SW: Who did you audition for?

DD: Amy Sheridan, she was the Show Director for the Royal Jesters, that's what the group was called, the Royal Jesters. Unfortunately, she passed a number of years ago of cancer, it was very sad.

SW: How did you end up learning to juggle so well?

DD: I picked it up from those guys. I was there five days a week, eight hours a day, in between sets I learned how to pass clubs and everything, and then it became part of my show.

SW: In the Royal Jesters, you juggled like a doll, a bowling ball...

DD: I would juggle a bowling bowl with any two objects borrowed from the audience, so it was something different every show and that was just a challenge I gave myself. At home I practiced with a jelly bean, a bowling bowl or a shoe or whatever else I could grab in my room. In the show I would do I'd bring out the bowling ball and I'd tell the audience I would juggle any two objects from the audience. As long as I can hold it in my hand and I'm able to throw it, I can juggle it. It's a challenge to see if you can stump me. Pretty soon, with the annual passholders, they started bringing in stuff. You know, "Let's see if he can juggle THIS!" I've had people give me a full open carton of milk that went everywhere. It was on Christmas day. I was drenched and I said, "It looks it's a white Christmas today." I loved it because it was a challenge.

Pretty soon people forgot I was a magician and I started getting all these offers for juggling jobs. So I was out working juggling jobs and then I thought, "You know, I'm a magician," and I even had someone ask me to work a cruise as a juggler and I told them I don't have a whole act as a juggler.

More from Dana:
His start with Disney and the Royal Jesters

See other interviews