Wizard-clown helps homeless pets by selling magic tricks

(New York) -- Homeless cats and dogs are getting a helping hand from Gandalf the Wizard Clown. The clown is selling a few of his magic tricks for children to help raise money for the Bide-A-Wee pet adoption centers in New York. Bide-A-Wee has pets at its centers on 38th Street in Manhattan and in Wantagh and Westhampton on Long Island.

Michael Kaplan of the Far Rockaway section of Queens has played Gandalf since his grandmother taught him a trick when he was 13. Last July he decided to stimulate interest in magic as a hobby for young people and do a good deed at the same time -- by selling three-dollar magic tricks to help Bide-A-Wee.

The gags include magic card decks and a flying wand. The tricks are perfect for kids and can be learned in minutes.

Gandalf has performed at the International Cat Show and even levitated the six-year-old daughter of a news anchor during a television appearance on the Fox News Channel. The magician says he's using his tricks to find new homes for abandoned cats and dogs.

If you'd like to help the animal adoption centers by buying a magic trick, you can call Gandalf the Magician at 800-388-0708. Or you can write to him at Box 7974, Rego Park, NY 11374.

(Copyright 1998 by The Associated Press. All Rights Reserved.)