The Magic of the Balloon Animal
What do you get when you take different colored balloons the size of salamis and a Sharpie pen? You get a penguin with a happy face. You get a smiling monkey in a tree. You get a T-Rex with big teeth. You also get to watch the faces of children light up with pure joy upon recognizing an animal shape they had requested two minutes earlier.
“Most parents prod their kids to say thank you when they get a balloon, but the smile on the child’s face is thank you enough for me,” says Robert Markowitz, Lakewood resident, magician and balloon twister.
Markowitz may be employed full time with the Cuyahoga County Veterans Service Commission, but it’s not the occupation he is best known for. Is it balloon twister? Magician? Dance instructor? His colorful story started long ago. So let’s roll the clock back to around 1978 when the Flats were the place to be, bell bottoms were the pants you wore, and WMMS’s popularity was in the stratosphere and its Buzzard mascot was arguably the best-known radio station symbol in the country.
Markowitz was an air brush artist for WMMS back in the late 70s, painting the Buzzard on everything the GM told him to. “I was doing custom work and airbrushed the Buzzard Bus and several other pieces for them including the Buzzard vans, speedboat, racecar, and motorcycle,” said Markowitz.
Along with his airbrush artistry, Markowitz, a member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians and the Cleveland Magician’s Club, was performing his magic act on stages all over town, complete with vanishing doves, and assistants who were sawed in half on a nightly basis. He appeared on stage in the Flats at D’Poos, Hoover Auditorium at Lakeside Resort and at the Cleveland Metroparks Zoo, back when the amphitheater was brand new.
“Nowadays balloons are my pallet and it’s a great artistic outlet. I’m only limited by my imagination,” the soft spoken Markowitz quipped. It’s his childlike imagination and magical talent that keeps his calendar booked up for every midweek family night in popular restaurants on the west side.
As far as restaurant gigs go, Robert the Magician, as he is known, twists balloons for kids of all ages in Cleveland area restaurants that have included Spaghetti Warehouse, Pizza Huts, Max and Erma’s, Skyline Chili, Bob Evans, Panini’s Bar and Grill, Perkins Restaurant and Bakery, and Quaker Steak & Lube in Lakewood. “I buy a thousand balloons at a time and probably go through that many a month,” said Markowitz.
With literally hundreds of shapes in his repertoire, Markowitz captivates his audience by handing them his postcard displaying brightly colored balloon characters with happy faces smiling at the camera. And still with so much to choose from, most boys tend to ask for the sword, T-Rex or a laser rifle. While little girls most often ask for the friendly black and white penguin.
Although the tableside shows are fulfilling, it’s the private parties that captivate this entertainer’s gentle soul.
“My magic show is entertainment for all ages, and the audience helps with each trick. Most often when it comes to parties in a home, the parents drop the kids off and come back a couple hours later to pick them up,” said Robert. “They miss the show, the fun, and they miss seeing their kids be a star with their own 15 minutes of fame.”
When Markowitz is not working or at a Balloon Jam, a balloon twisting convention, he enjoys spending time with his friends dining, dancing and even rollerblading.
For more information, visit www.MagicOfRobertE.com or catch the Magic of Robert E. at the following locations:
Perkins Restaurant & Bakery in Avon every Tuesday 6-8pm
Panini’s Bar and Grill in Westlake every Wednesday 5-8pm
Quaker Steak & Lube in Lakewood once a month
Private parties on weekends.