by Ben Robinson

 I believe that the "world's greatest magician" would never be known by the general public. Such a character would remain in the shadows of show business cleverly manipulating the strings of others' success.

Robert K. Weill was such a person.

December, 1987

Dear Ben,

Your contributions to The Event were just great...and I want to thank you most profoundly...Next year I hope to really rock the guys off their chairs...it will be hard to do after your contributions.

Best Regards,

Bob Weill

Bob was a close friend who recently died at age 89. He was down-to-earth, quick-witted, tenacious and thoughtful -- an honor to know. Was my octogenarian pal a master magician? It depends on your definition. To me Bob was a brilliant producer of events -- which have endured in the re-telling for nearly 70 years. My book Twelve Have Died: Bullet Catching -- The Story & Secrets, came out October 23, 1986. I was 25. Later, in December, on my birthday, I received a phone call.

A voice unknown to me, said "Happy Birthday Ben. Now that you're an old man, I hope you can take some constructive criticism."

I replied, "Who is this?"

The caller said, "This is Bob Weill. Mike Ellis told me to ring you."

Bob then told me about a select group of magicians he was assembling at Niagara-on-the-Lake, Canada. His 35-person confab was called The Oban Event. He was inviting me to be a guest lecturer along with Dr. John N. Booth (one of the editors of my book), and England's celebrity mentalist, David Berglas. A high honor to be in this company, but I wondered if a mistake had been made. I asked about the criticism he referred to.

He offered, "When we meet, my friend."

 Spooky, but intriguing.

Arriving in Canada, my suspicions were aroused; most attending were much older than I. My homework on Bob showed an impressive character: one of the first members of the International Brotherhood of Magicians. The founder of several columns that ran for many years. Most interesting to me: Bob Weill was the man behind Ted Annemann's sensational bullet-catching at Fort Erie, Ontario, Labor Day, 1938. Bob's father fired the gun at Annemann. It was Bob who got Annemann in Ripely's Believe It Or Not!

Later in our relationship the criticism he initially offered became a staple of our correspondence. Bob never criticized anyone he didn't genuinely like.

Three years later, Bob produced my bullet-catch at Niagara Falls, Ontario. He secured the rifle, sharpshooter, and the cooperation to have live ammunition fired out of doors by the Ontario police, and most importantly...an ambulance on hand and hospital arrangements, should I need them.

He created sensational publicity. A 30-minute live radio interview, stories in the local papers days before and after the event, and

the nightly TV news, helped create a sizable crowd watch me cheat death as an outdoor illusionist.

The man who created and perpetuated the Annemann bullet catching legend -- 52 years later -- filled in the gaps of my research with his first-hand experience. He passed on information to me that only he knew...unwritten secrets.

Left: Bob Weill looks on as rifle champion Bertol De Klout, Police Inspector Bill Bowie of the Niagara Regional Police and Ben Robinson stand for the evening news cameras afer Robinson's successful bullet catch at Niagara Falls, Ontario, October 1990.