Magic/Bird
Magic Bird on Bway to Close Soon
NEW YORK, MAY 1, 2012 -- (Staff report and official press release) - The producers of MAGIC/BIRD announced the show will play its final performance on Saturday May 12th. Producers Fran Kirmser and Tony Ponturo said, "MAGIC/BIRD was a story that we wanted to tell and an idea that we believed in. We wanted to attract both an audience which had never set foot in a Broadway theatre, and to satisfy the traditional theater goer. We were honored to present MAGIC/BIRD as a story of hard work, dedication, respect and love as the second piece in a series of sports stories. We are so proud that we were able to do this on Broadway, and though it ran a limited time, it attracted many new audiences to the theater as well as provided a vehicle for many young people to attend their first show. We hope to inspire new audiences through future sports stories in the theater. Like Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Larry Bird, our incredible team created something special, worked tirelessly and left it all on the court."
The producers first show LOMBARDI enjoyed performances across the country since its Broadway run including multiple venues in Wisconsin, Florida, Long Island, Minnesota, Oklahoma, Washington DC, Arizona, Arkansas and Ohio among others. Licensing inquiries for MAGIC/BIRD should be directed to Kirmser Ponturo Group at 212-554-3430.
Directed by Tony Award nominee Thomas Kail, MAGIC/BIRD told the incredible rivalry and friendship of Hall of Fame athletes Earvin Magic Johnson and Larry Bird and was written by Academy Award winning playwright Eric Simonson.
Joining producers Fran Kirmser and Tony Ponturo as a special producing partner is the National Basketball Association, marking the organization's first foray on Broadway.
Starring Kevin Daniels as Magic Johnson and Tug Coker as Larry Bird, the cast also featured Deirdre O’Connell (Georgia Bird/Shelly/Patricia Moore), Peter Scolari (Red Auerbach/Jerry Buss/Pat Riley), Rob Manning Jr. (Michael Cooper/Henry Alvarado/Frank), and Francois Battiste (Jon Lennox/Ron Baxter/Willy).
The creative team was David Korins (Set), Howell Binkley (Lighting), Paul Tazwell (Costumes), Nevin Steinberg (Sound) and Jeff Sugg (Projections).
MAGIC/BIRD began performances on March 21, 2012 at the Longacre Theatre in New York.
Magic Bird on Broadway is Must-See Event
By TERRY LYONS
(Special to the DigitalSportsDesk)
By TERRY LYONS
NEW YORK, APRIL 4, 2012 -- There's a common belief that when someone passes from this earth, their life passes before their eyes in an instant. If that is the case, together with one of my best friends in the world, I can now attest to living through that experience when we attended Magic Bird on Broadway last Wednesday afternoon. For 90 minutes, we must've been out cold because our basketball lives passed right in front of our eyes at the Longacre Theatre in New York.
Magic Bird was phenomenal!
Get that?
Magic/Bird on Broadway is PHENOMENAL! OUTSTANDING! They nailed it, like an LBird three-pointer at the buzzer. Magic/Bird gives a new meaning to the term "Showtime." The play is 90 minutes in theatre-going and basketball heaven for anyone who appreciates the life and times of Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Larry Bird.
For full disclosure, I was fortunate enough to have a courtside seat during the Magic/Bird era of the NBA as I worked at the league office while my buddy, Josh, not only witnessed history at the Los Angeles Lakers front office, he helped create it. We worked during two of the three great eras of professional basketball, those being the Wilt Chamberlain/Bill Russell (which we watched on black & white TVs as kids growing up), then we experienced the Magic/Bird and Michael Jordan eras live and in color. While I worked with both Bird and Johnson at all of their NBA All-Star Game appearances, all of their NBA Finals duels and every minute of the 1992 Barcelona Olympics, my friend worked every one of those days right next to Magic Johnson, at every game, every practice, every flight, every bus ride, every appearance, every interview request or just say, every second of Showtime's 24/7/365 schedule.
Those facts gave us a bit of skepticism towards the daunting task facing Magic/Bird producers Tony Ponturo and Fran Kirmser as they set out to execute their vision of staging of a live Broadway play about the rivalry and relationship between two of the NBA's icons, two of the players an entire generation of basketball fans grew up with on our journey through life as baby-boomers. Of course, as most know, Bird and Magic were polar opposites in terms of their personalities and love of the limelight. But, Ponturo and Kirmser relied on a successful experience of staging "Lombardi" on Broadway and they mobilized the very same team of playwright Eric Simonson and director Tommy Kail to bring Magic Bird to life.
To protect readers and to refrain from putting up a "spoiler alert" this writer will, instead make a few very general comments on the play.
The Longacre Theatre is a wonderful venue. It is rather small and intimate. It has an unbelievable sports history for those who know that baseball immortal Babe Ruth was sold by then Red Sox owner Harry Frazee to the New York Yankees in 1919 to finance the show "My Lady Friends," which begot the musical "No, No Nanette" in 1925. Guess where "No, No Nanette" was staged?
The theatre going experience for a dramatic play on Broadway is always well staged with the best lighting, set design and theatrical razzle-dazzle in the world. The Magic/Bird stage and set design is ingenious. The use of live acting and reliance on historical footage from the vast library of NBA Entertainment was perfectly thought-out and perfectly executed.
It is best to see this play "cold." Don't attend with any preconceived notions or expectations. If you like to breathe air, you'll love the show. It's that simple. You do not have to be a basketball fan, you do not have to be a broadway theatre-goer, you don't have to recite the stats and history of the Magic/Bird era of competition, nor know their rivalry began well before their professional careers. The script and the actors take care of all that. Just go in, sit down, sit back and be prepared for an experience that might strike deep emotions, might teach you a thing or two about life, might make your spine tingle, as it did to me, as the curtain went up.
That feeling of a spine-tingling, shivers-up-your-back feeling is so rare these days at any event, sports, theatre, concerts, whatever. It will happen to every single ticket holder of Magic/Bird.
The actors are spectacular. Again, for anti-spoiler alert reasons, I will not go into details but will tip my hand. Like Clark Kent and Super Man, it is my belief that actor Tug Coker and Larry Bird have never been seen together. The only question on the acting is whether the whole cast takes home as many TONYs as Adele took home GRAMMYs. And, no, I am not overstating it.
Magic/Bird is to Broadway what "Rocky" was to the motion pictures, except the script of Magic/Bird and its important messages about incredibly important occurrences in our lives just blows away a story of an underdog boxer from Philly. Keep in kind, Earvin "Magic" johnson taught an entire generation of people about living with the HIV virus and by doing so, he might have saved more lives than anyone else on the planet.
Magic/Bird is to Broadway what "Almost Famous" was to rock and roll music, a coming of age through a screenplay worthy of an Oscar, like Cameron Crowe's brilliant, self-revealing tale of his own upbringing and dream chasing.
My last comment stems from a recently read recommendation on pitch-writing for entrepreneurs. The advice for the would-be, could-be pitchmen, is to state the first eight words of a pitch in grand fashion to make or break the entire presentation. Here are my eight words which will be the last eight of this preview instead of the first eight.
You have to go see this frickin' play!
RATING
On a one to four star rating - Magic/Bird gets either #32 or #33 stars.
(EDITOR'S NOTE: Terry Lyons worked at the NBA from Dec. 1980 to Sept. 2007. He stepped down from his post in the NBA Communications department to relocate to Boston and is now co-founder of MediaForward.tv and its digital production ventures which include http://www.digitalsportsdesk.com a labor of love).
Magic-Bird Producers Name Theatre and Opening Dates
NEW YORK, JANUARY 17, 2012 -- (From Official Press Release) -- Producers Fran Kirmser and Tony Ponturo announced today that MAGIC/BIRD will open Wednesday, April 11, 2012 at the Longacre Theatre, 200 West 48th Street, between Broadway and Eighth Avenue, NYC. Previews will begin Wednesday, March 21, 2012. Joining actors Kevin Daniels as Earvin “Magic” Johnson and Tug Coker as Larry Bird, will be Deirdre O’Connell as Georgia Bird/Shelly/Patricia Moore, Peter Scolari as Red Auerbach/Jerry Buss/Pat Riley, Rob Ray Manning Jr. as Michael Cooper/Henry Alvarado/Frank, and Francois Battiste as Jon Lennox/Ron Baxter/Willy.
As previously announced this new play reunites Lombardi’s playwright Eric Simonson and director Thomas Kail and creative team: David Korins (Set), Howell Binkley (Lighting), Paul Tazewell (Costumes), Nevin Steinberg (Sound). Wendall K Harrington (Projections) will weave historic NBA film footage throughout the play.
At the heart of one of the fiercest rivalries in sports, two of the greatest athletes of all-time battled for multiple championships and the future of their sport. Hall of Famers Earvin "Magic" Johnson and Larry Bird could not have been more different; one black, one white; one a quiet small town guy and the other an urbanite with a big smile and Hollywood appeal. Johnson and Bird, went head to head, electrified the nation, reinvigorated the NBA, and turned their rivalry into one of the greatest and most famous friendships in professional sports. With classic NBA footage prominently designed throughout, MAGIC/BIRD transports the audience into the heart of their matchup. From Draft to Olympic Dream Team, this new play was crafted through conversations with Magic and Bird. Running time 90 minutes ~ no intermission.
Deirdre O’Connell New York appearances include: In The Wake at the Public Theater, for which she received a Los Angeles Ovation Award, The Richard Seff Actor’s Equity Association Award, and a Lucille Lortel Award nomination, Circle Mirror Transformation at Playwrights Horizons (Obie Award and Drama Desk Award for Best Ensemble), Thinner than Water at Labyrinth, Cavedweller at New York Theater Workshop, Mud at Signature Theater, Manic Flight Reaction, Spatter Pattern at Playwrights Horizon, The Poor Itch at The Public Theater, Rag and Bone at Rattlestick Theater, Antigone at Classic Stage Company with Big Dance Theater, The Front Page at Lincoln Center, Two Headed at The Women’s Project. In Los Angeles she played several seasons at the Los Angeles Theater Center which earned her three Dramalogue Awards and LA Critics Circle Award. Television series regular: LA Doctors, Second Noah, and Sirens. Guest star appearances: Law and Order, The Closer, and The Practice. Film appearances include: Pastime, for which she received an Independent Spirit Award nomination, Eternal Sunshine of the Spotless Mind, Second Hand Lions, State of Grace, and Fearless. 2005 recipient of an Obie Award for Sustained Excellence in Performance.
Peter Scolari is a founding member of the Colonnades Theater Lab (NYC 1974-79, a Playwrights Theater, Artistic Director-Michael Lessac) where he appeared in 13 productions including Camille in A Flea in her Ear, title role in Warbeck, and originating the role of Charles Varlet de La Grange in Moliere in Spite of himself. Broadway: Hairspray, Sly Fox, and with New York City Center Encores!; Cole Porter’s Out of This World, and the Ziegfeld Follies of 1937. TV Series: Henry Desmond in Bosom Buddies, Honey, I Shrunk The Kids, Michael Harris on Newhart, thrice Emmy nominated, one win, consecutive American Comedy Award honors. Additionally played Pete Conrad in the Emmy Award winning HBO mini-series From The Earth to the Moon. Selected TV: The West Wing, ER, Family Ties, The Drew Carey Show, The Nanny, King of Queens, Reba, Ally McBeal. Telefilms: The Ryan White Story, and Littlechap in Showtime’s Stop the World, I want to Get Off. Feature films: The Polar Express, That Thing You Do, Tin Men, The Suburban Girl. A winner of the Berkshires Theater Festival’s Best Actor Award for his work in The Foreigner.
Robert Ray Manning Jr. is a graduate of the University of Washington’s Professional Acting Training Program, where he received his MFA in acting. Recent guest and co-star credits include: Southland, South of Nowhere, The Unit, Criminal Minds, and the soon to be released film: Frogtown, and Burt Wonderstone starring Jim Carrey and Steve Carell. Robert has performed in regional theaters across the country portraying such roles as Cassio in Othello, Banquo in Macbeth and Capt. Lee King in the Pasadena Playhouse production of John Patrick Shanley’s play Defiance in which he received a 2008 NAACP Theatre Award Nomination in the Best Lead Actor Category. He received a 2010 NAACP Theatre Award Nomination in the Best Supporting Category for his role in Battle Hymn. Robert recently completed the hit run of Pasadena Playhouse's production of Blues for an Alabama Sky directed by Sheldon Epps.
Francois Battiste Broadway: Prelude to a Kiss (Dan Sullivan dir., Roundabout Theatre). Off Broadway: Merchant of Venice (Dan Sullivan dir.) The Winter's Tale (Michael Grief, dir.) -(Shakespeare in the Park, Public Theatre), Broke-ology (Audelco Nomination, Tommy Kail dir., Lincoln Center Theatre), The Good Negro (The Public Theater, Obie Award for Performance, Lucile Lortel Award Nomination, Audelco Nomination), Ten Things to Do Before I Die (Second Stage Theatre). Regional credits include: Williamstown, Sundance Theatre Lab, Chicago Shakespeare, The Goodman, Lookingglass Theatre. TV: Person of Interest, The Good Wife, Are We There Yet?. Film: Delivering the Good, Blood in the Sand (Dir. Sam Gold), 51/50, One Week. Upcoming 2012: Men in Black III, Repatriate. Education: (BS) Illinois State University Training: BADA at Oxford University, The Juilliard School.
The Longacre Theatre was built in 1913 by H. H. Frazee, a Producer/Manager who was the owner of the Boston Red Sox's and the individual who sold Babe Ruth to the New York Yankees. He later sold the theater to The Shuberts in 1919.
This is the second original project commissioned by Kirmser and Ponturo. Together they share a common vision of bringing new, original plays to a wide, diverse audience of theatergoers, initially combining the drama of sports and entertainment through Kirmser Ponturo Group. Lombardi, and now MAGIC/BIRD are the first two products of that vision.
American Express Pre-Sale for MAGIC/BIRD running now through Tuesday, January 31, 2012. For tickets call 212 239 6200 or visit Telecharge.com.
For more on MAGIC/BIRD log onto
www.magicbirdbroadway.com
Magic-Bird Taps Kevin Daniels to Perform the MAGIC
Special to DigitalSportsDesk.com from Official news Release
DECEMBER 19, 2011 - MAGIC BIRD has found a little “Magic”. The producers of the new Broadway show MAGIC BIRD, Fran Kirmser and Tony Ponturo, today announced that Kevin Daniels, a veteran actor who attended the famed Julliard School in New Yor, has won the title role to play Earvin "Magic" Johnson.
As Ponturo and Kirmser prepared for the play, they frequently noted that the most commonly asked question throughout the development process was, "Who is going to play Magic Johnson?" On December 9th, while basketball fans around the world learned the details of the NBA's labor settlement, in walked Kevin Daniels to the audition room of Telsey and Company casting and he reportedly "lit up the room" with his incredible smile, presence and acting ability.
Daniels played high school basketball before turning his sights to acting which brought him to the prestigious Julliard School, NYC at the age of 17. After graduation Kevin made his Broadway debut at Lincoln Center, NYC in Shakespeare’s Twelfth Night. Other stage roles include “Suge Knight” opposite Anthony Mackie in Up Against the Wind (New York Theater Workshop, NYC) and the role of Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. in the staged radio play of RFK: Journey to Justice (LA Theatre Works, CA). On the big screen Kevin played Firefighter “Don Miller” in Touchstone Pictures Ladder 49 and starred in And Then Came Love with Vanessa Williams. Kevin can currently be seen in a reoccurring role on the ABC hit comedy MODERN FAMILY. His other TV credits include guest stars on NBC's CHUCK and LAW & ORDER, and ABC's BROTHERS & SISTERS. Kevin resides in LA and is a Lakers fan.
“I am honored to be playing Earvin “Magic” Johnson and am excited to dig in and deliver,” says Kevin Daniels.
“Kevin Daniels is a great choice to play me and I look forward to his electric performance on the stage,” said Earvin Johnson when he learned of the key casting decision.
Daniels is the second actor to be selected to the six person cast. Two weeks ago it was announced that Tug Coker will co-star in the play as Larry Bird. The remainder of the cast will be announced in the very near future.
MAGIC BIRD, directed by Tony Nominee Thomas Kail (Lombardi, In The Heights) will reunite with Lombardi playwright and Oscar Winner and Emmy Nominee, Eric Simonson on MAGIC BIRD., a new American Play chronicling the intertwined life stories of two of the most influential figures in sports and pop culture of the past 25 years, Basketball Hall of Famers Larry Bird and Earvin “Magic” Johnson. The creative team is David Korins (Set), Howell Binkley (Lighting), Paul Tazwell (Costumes), Nevin Steinbert (Sound) and Wendall K. Harrington (Projections), who will weave historic NBA film footage throughout the play.
At the heart of one of the fiercest rivalries in sports history, two of the greatest basketball players of all-time battled for three championships, bragging rights, and the future of their sport in the 1980’s. Johnson and Bird electrified the nation on the court, reinvigorated the NBA, and turned their rivalry into one of the greatest and most famous friendships in professional sports. The play, with a six actor cast, will premiere at a Broadway Theater TBA in Spring 2012.
Magic-Bird on Broadway Names Tug Coker to Star Role as Larry Bird
(Special to DigitalSportsDesk.com from Official news report)
NEW YORK - DECEMBER 8, 2011 -- The producers of MAGIC BIRD, Fran Kirmser and Tony Ponturo, announced the title role of Hall of Fame Basketball player and Celtics legend Larry Bird will be played by Tug Coker who will make his Broadway debut with the co-lead role. Coker starred in A Midsummer Night’s Dream (American Repertory Theatre, Boston, MA), and various guest appearances in television shows including, CSI: Crime Scene Investigation, How I Met Your Mother, and The Office. He holds an M.F.A. from the Institute at Harvard University. Coker played college basketball at the College of William and Mary in Wiliamsburg, Va. before transferring to the University of Virginia and becoming an actor.
The complete six-character cast and additional production information will be announced shortly.
Joining Kirmser Ponturo Group as a special producing partner is the National Basketball Association, marking the organization’s first foray on Broadway. The NBA has authorized use of its logo trademark and NBA Entertainment’s film footage and general archives to support the artistic authenticity of the production. The league will also help promote and market the play. The NBA basketball season is scheduled to begin on December 25th, 2011 with the Boston Celtics vs. New York Knicks at Madison Square Garden, NYC.
Larry Bird says, “I look forward to experiencing Tug’s portrayal of me during that fun and exciting time in my life. I am fortunate to be working with great professionals such as Fran, Tony and Eric to create this story for the Broadway Stage.”
“Having grown up a Celtics fan I am extremely excited, humbled and privileged to play Larry Bird," says Coker.
MAGIC BIRD, directed by Tony Nominee Thomas Kail (Lombardi, In The Heights) will reunite with Lombardi playwright and Oscar Winner and Emmy Nominee, Eric Simonson on MAGIC BIRD, a New American Play chronicling the intertwined life stories of two of the most influential figures in sports and pop culture of the past 25 years, basketball Hall of Famers Larry Bird and Earvin ‘Magic’ Johnson. The creative team is David Korins (Set), Howell Binkley (Lighting), Paul Tazewell (Costumes), Nevin Steinberg (Sound) and Wendell K. Harrington (Projections), who will weave historic NBA film footage throughout the play.
Johnson and Bird themselves have participated in the creative process of this completely original play.
At the heart of one of the fiercest rivalries in sports history, two of the greatest basketball players of all-time battled for three championships, bragging rights, and the future of their sport in the 1980s. Johnson and Bird electrified the nation on the court, reinvigorated the NBA, and turned their rivalry into one of the greatest and most famous friendships in professional sports. The play, with a six actor cast, will premiere in the spring of 2012 at a Broadway theatre to be announced.
This is the second original project undertaken by Kirmser and Ponturo. Together they share a common vision of bringing new, original plays to a wide, diverse audience of theatergoers, initially combining the drama of sports and entertainment through Kirmser Ponturo Group. Lombardi, and now MAGIC BIRD are the first two products of that vision.
Magic Bird on Broadway: An Amazing Story
DigitalSportsDesk.com Exec Editor Terry Lyons recalls magical memories as well
By Terry Lyons
(Special to DigitalSportsDesk.com)
The producers of Magic/Bird on Broadway were in town for a slate of appearances, including an amazing night of business networking and reminiscing, hosted by Comcast SportsNet NE and West End Johnnie's, a wonderful joint a block away from the TD Garden. Panel discussions included insights into the making of the play which will open in the spring of 2012. Tommy Heinsohn, the Celtics Hall of Famer and his Comcast Sportsnet TV partner Mike Gorman shared their memories, along with ESPN's Jackie McMullan who covered the Celtics in the Bird-Magic era for the Boston Globe. It brought some memories back to me, too.
***
BOSTON - The 20-year anniversary of a terrible day in sports history just passed and it was chronicled from the pages of the Los Angeles Times to those of L'Equipe in France. It is one of the days, etched in our memories, where we all seem to remember where we were standing as the news arrived, as if, for some reason, it mattered. Yes, it is among the news events which made history, listed alongside of President John Kennedy's assassination, the Pearl Harbor or September 11th attacks on the United States, the senseless murder of John Lennon or the space shuttle disasters. But, face it, when Earvin "Magic" Johnson walked up to the podium at the Fabulous Forum in Los Angeles on November 7, 1991 to announce to the world that he had contracted the HIV virus and was retiring from playing in the NBA, there was one common thought we all shared. We thought his days were numbered and he'd be long gone by November, 2011.
It is simply amazing to think of what Johnson has accomplished in the 20 years since that day in November. On the court, he awkwardly finished his NBA regular season basketball playing career, but, not to be forgotten, he rose to unbelievable heights when he won MVP honors at the 1992 NBA All-Star Game in Orlando. A few months later, he took his rightful place at the Barcelona Olympic Games where the Dream Team put the sport of basketball into a global orbit that has outlasted the NASA space program. He returned to play and to coach the Lakers but that experience wasn't much better than his ill-fated attempt to one-up Arsenio Hall in Late Night television. The fact of the matter is that Magic Johnson was a basketball player and, after the Olympic Games phenomenon, it was time to retire.
What is amazing, maybe even magical, is that Johnson became a businessman and his efforts in the world of business have been as impressive as his body of work as a player. And, that's pretty damn good because Magic Johnson was the best basketball player I've ever seen. With respects to Bill Russell, Wilt Chamberlain, Oscar Robertson, Larry Bird and even Michael Jordan, Johnson played at a level that encompassed all their games and provided even more to the eye. Magic Johnson did it all and he was the best I've ever seen.
Like most of the days between December, 1980 and September, 2007, I was working at the NBA when I heard the news that Magic was about to announce to the world. I was in Orlando, Florida, making preparations for the 1992 NBA All-Star Game and staging a press conference to announce the players on the All-Star ballot for fan voting. As a loyal NBA front office soldier, holding the title of Director of Media Relations, I was driving from Orlando International Airport (McCoy Air Force Base for you old-timers) out to Walt Disney World to iron-out some details for the press conference. Back in 1991, before we all carried those large brick-like mobile phones, the NBA used one-way, numeric pagers as a way to communicate between a growing staff of globetrotting employees.
For the younger set, a pager was a small device that clipped on your belt buckle and featured a single line of LED numbers that would summon the user to stop, go to a phone and call the number on the pager. Back in the day, they were quite an impressive piece of one's attire, usually worn by "important" people like surgeons, doctors or law enforcement types. The NBA had a slew of pagers and, little did I know, being graced with a pager was the end of the world as we knew it. Not long after, the pagers gave way to the cellular phone and the rest is history.
That November morning, as I was driving along on the "Bee-Line" expressway, my pager went off and it signaled an unfamiliar number in Salt Lake City, Utah. I recognized the "801" area code and knew that NBA Commissioner David Stern and my then-boss, Brian McIntyre, were in route to Salt Lake to make an afternoon announcement that the 1993 NBA All-Star Weekend would be staged in Utah. I pulled over at the tollbooth and placed a call from a pay phone. It was Brian and when he delivered the confidential news of Magic's medical condition, I was shocked, make that devastated. Brian's words were short and to the point, as he was canceling the plans to hold the press conference in Salt Lake City and, together with Commissioner Stern, they were flying to Los Angeles in order to be a Magic's side when he made the public announcement.
With the circumstances so uncertain and subject to change, pending the advice of Johnson's doctors or advisors, it was best for me to do one of the things I did best. I kept my mouth shut, proceeded to stage the 1992 NBA All-Star balloting press announcement and, rather than stay in Orlando for additional planning meetings, I decided to head back to New York City right away to man the NBA league office on what, I knew was going to be a rough stretch of days. As I stood there alongside the highway, all by myself, holding the dead-end of a phone hand-set, I first thought of Magic and what was likely to be his demise. I thought it would come within months, not years. I thought of a colleague, not a basketball player and I was sad. Selfishly, I also thought that I'd never get to see him play again and that fact would be made worse as I envisioned him fading from the public eye he coveted so much. Then, I thought of the magnitude of his public announcement and what it would do to the NBA.
At that time, no athlete, never mind a world class athlete who was among the most recognizable basketball players in history, had ever made such a public declaration. The HIV virus and its seemingly inevitable path to the destruction of a person's immune system which led to what was then known as "full-blown AIDS," was a sentence to a long, nasty death. At the time, the virus was largely thought of as a type of plague, and with it, came immediate association to the gay community or to users of drugs via hypodermic needles. The medical community was 10 years ahead of the public in terms of research, public warnings and the beginning of the disease control, but there was very little known. The virus was never in the eye of the mainstream. When I thought of the impact that would be made by Magic's announcement, I immediately knew what was about to change. However, looking back, I had no idea of the magnitude of that change.
As we all know, that November day went on as Brian McIntyre had described to me, and indeed, Magic Johnson walked up to the podium with only a black drape behind him. He was dressed impeccably and he laid out the facts and said he was retiring from the NBA. He quickly made mention that he would become a spokesperson and try to teach young people to have safe sex. The fight against HIV/AIDS had a new face and it was one of a 6-foot-9 All-American, All-Pro basketball player that TV announcer Brent Musburger once said "had a smile that lights up a television screen from here (which was San Diego, California) to Bangor, Maine."
The smile lit up more than the television screens. Magic's announcement was front-page, stop the presses, break-into-live-programming, lead story, network news all over the world. While I was keenly aware that the NBA had made some pretty amazing steps to build a worldwide fan base, I had not an inkling of the impact Magic would have. While not surprised of the media frenzy created in the USA, Japan, France and much of Europe, I was astonished at the inquiries coming from India, Russia, Asia, and South America. The reporting was simple and, for the most part, it just covered the breaking news story with large portions of Magic's press conference and some NBA highlights. Print reporters went a bit further but one thing was clear. We were all total novices in terms of the medical impact and knowledge of what "attaining" the HIV virus actually meant. Amazingly, many a reporter expected an NBA PR guy to know the answers to medical questions. Little did any of us know.
Fast forward a few months later, to early January of 1992. My office phone rang and it was Russ Granik, the NBA's deputy commissioner, calling from his office on the opposite side of the Fifth Avenue, Olympic Tower office that I was working in the PR trenches. We were somewhat settled down from the November announcement and things were moving along as we planned for a real gala NBA All-Star Weekend that was fast-approaching. Russ had some news for me and it was going to have an impact on my All-Star Game planning.
I remember my exact words: "He's going to PLAY in the All-Star Game?"
Granik provided some brief instructions, and he didn't even have to say to keep it under wraps as we had a little time before that fact was to become public knowledge. Like most of my NBA career, it was some serious on-the-job training as I walked back to my office to think-through and decide some of the major logistical changes that we would need to be made - and pronto. I placed a call, in confidence, to my counterpart at the Orlando Magic team and said that we'd be increasing the press seating layout and we'd need to bump up all the numbers for things like catering and phone lines, etc. I told him why and he kept it to himself. Then, I remember calling the convention planner at Disney where we had scoped out a large ballroom for our Friday afternoon, All-Star participant press conferences.
Again, the exact words are clear in my memory: "I want the WHOLE ballroom." The reply: "But, nobody has ever used the entire ballroom."
No doubt, because the ballroom at Disney could easily house a couple 747s. It was beyond large but we used every square foot as I carved out space for a bevy of press briefings and the "usual" gigantic lay-out of tables, one for each All-Star player or All-Star Saturday participant. I remember some pretty amazing decisions that we made as we worked within the NBA offices to try to do right by Magic and the, at the same time, provide information and a solid work environment for the media. One of those decisions was to hold a full press availability with Dr. David Ho who was the foremost medical mind in the field of HIV/AIDS research and treatment. Dr. Ho and Dr. Michael Mellman, Johnson's personal physician and one of the Lakers team doctors, did a general Q & A which was more of a classroom-type information download to a group of reporters who knew next to nothing about the prior 10 years of medical research and some major strides that had been made by Dr. Ho with treatment of the virus.
As the weekend neared, I set-up shop in Orlando and found a wonderful place to work from, right on floor level of the Orlando Arena. The arena workers set-up our courtside press seating and hooked up a phone along one of the baselines, so I could work there without bothering the team personnel in their own offices. It must have been that Wednesday or Thursday morning when I heard a basketball bouncing on the hardwood floor. I knew the home team, coincidentally the Orlando "Magic," were on the road, so I figured it was some arena workers or maybe a few ball-boys getting a game in. I looked up to see only one player, a 6-foot-9 point guard who graced a smile upon me that made the Florida sun seem like low-beams. Yes, it was Magic and he was shooting around by his lonesome. Although it was a few months since his historic announcement and he was working out regularly as part of his treatment against the virus, he had little chance to play basketball - especially shoot a basketball. He was gearing up.
The ball stopped bouncing and he cradled it as I met him near mid-court. He dropped the ball and it slowly came to a stop with a pitter-patter on the court. We hugged and shook hands and I was so glad to see him. Then, we each went about our business -- me back to creating a massive seating chart and a diagram for dozens upon dozens of TV satellite trucks to park outside the arena, and he back to practicing his free throws and bank shots, dressed in Forum Blue and Gold. He would go on to provide us with one more magical moment It was one of those moments and much to my surprise, one of the greatest NBA photographers, Andrew D. Bernstein witnessed the exchange from the rafters of the arena and even took a single photo, a color slide, of course. I'm not sure where the photo is but the memory, like Magic, lives on.
