Dr. Giovanni Pickpocket

[Kristin Banyas]

Heintroduced his pickpocket act in London in 1929, later played the Palace in New York in 1932, he became known as "King of the Pickpockets." He used the title "Doctor" because he had been trained in the medical profession as a young man.[2]

Avadon was born in Inglewood, California, his mother being an acrobatic dancer and his father an engineer.[1] Avadon grew up in West Los Angeles and began practicing magic as a hobby while in elementary school.[2] He studied theater at UCLA and studied magic with Dr. Giovanni and Marian Chavez.[1][2]

In his 20s, he changed his name from David Hutchins to David Avadon.[1] He began appearing as a professional illusionist at the Magic Castle in Hollywood and other clubs in the 1970s.[2] He remained a regular performer at the Magic Castle for more than 30 years.[3] After Avadon's death in 2009, Mark Nelson, chairman of the Academy of Magical Arts which operates the Magic Castle, said that Avadon's "performances included an equal balance of mystery and comedy," and added that "David always gave a polished, assured performance, drawing laughter and amazement."[3]

Avadon gained national attention in 1977 when he began working with a rabbi at a synagogue in the San Fernando Valley of Los Angeles.[2][4] The rabbi saw Avadon performing for children outside the Los Angeles County Museum of Art and was impressed. Avadon, who was Jewish, and the rabbi teamed up to jointly present Sabbath services which were called "illusion-and-illumination service."[2][4] While the rabbi told a Biblical story "from the shadows of the temple's altar turned-stage," Avadon contributed visual aids and illusions from center stage.[2] Avadon illustrated the burning bush with "a fire that seemed to be burning from his hand."[4] Attendance at the Sabbath services rose from the usual 150 or 200 worshipers to crowds of 750, including many children, when Avadon began participating.[4]

Avadon developed a stage act featuring his talent as a pickpocket. Avadon's pickpocketing act became his trademark. In his act, Avadon invited audience members onto the stage to observe his illusions and would then return an array of possessions, including watches, wallets, checkbooks, keys, belts and neckties, that he had lifted from the unsuspecting observers.[5] Avadon promoted himself as "a daring pickpocket with dashing finesse" and "the country's premier exhibition pickpocket, one of the few masters in the world of this underground art."[5] He performed his pickpocket act in the United States, Japan, Canada and Great Britain.[3]

Avadon became a recognized expert on pickpocketing. In addition to his stage act, he educated police officers and security guards on techniques for spotting pickpockets and lectured on the topic.[5] He was also a technical advisor on pickpocketing for television and motion pictures.[1][5] In 2007, Avadon wrote a book about the history of pickpocketing, Cutting Up Touches: A Brief History of Pockets and the People Who Pick Them.[6]

Just back from N Italy, 11 days on our own, + 14 days on a RS tour. 99% of the Italians we interacted with treated us fairly and courteously. For those who, like me, feel prudent thinking about the other 1%, here is a summary of things that happened to us and some of the people we traveled with.

Pickpockets:

Fellow tourer and wife were on a crowded tram in Padua. He saw someone reach for his wife's backpack and intervened to stop it. After leaving the tram he noticed his own phone was gone from his front pants pocket.

Fellow tourer boarding a train in the CT saw a hand dart at her purse, which she was clutching. She shouted and looked up to see a teenage boy shrugging his shoulders and walking away. She then noticed her cosmetic case on the floor. It had been in an unsecured portion of the purse. Valuables were in a zipped pocket and safe.

I was standing in a very crowded vaporetto line in Venice. My left hand in my left pocket containing my "daily cash", my right hand was up on my cross body bag. I suddenly noted a very slight brushing on the front of my right thigh. I turned my head to see a short woman right behind me very busily digging through her purse and then moving away. I had nothing in my front right pocket but a city map and a hanky, they were still there.

RS notes the eating places in Venice between St Mark's and San Zaccaria are pricey. Indeed. Lunched at Trattoria Pizzeria Da Roberto on Campo S. Provolo. We had just 1 bottle of water, 1 bowl of soup and 2 slices of pizza, plus the bread sticks they brought out. Cover charge of 6 euro plus 12% service fee (both noted on menu) brought the total bill to 46.80 euros. Our waiter was unhappy that I wanted the 3 euro change from the 50 euro note I gave him! He didn't even bother to bring me the 20 euro cents. You pay for it when the waiters wear tuxedos! OK, we can read, so its our fault.

Florence has lots of gelato shops, but be careful. RS notes that you pay more for everything in touristy areas. Sure enough. We were in the high traffic area between the Duomo and Palazzo Vecchio. Wife HAD to have a gelato just then. Walked into a shop. Price list said 3 euro for a cone. A 10 was handed over, and only 3 received in change. Sorry too late, she had already bitten into cone. Moral of the story to me: ask how much before you hand over a big bill. We paid anywhere from 1.5 euro to 4 euro elsewhere in Florence for the same cone on other days. For those interested in details the offending shop was at Via dei Calzaiuoli #79, just a few doors to the right of the Disney Store. The high price district. There was no name on the storefront.

Roses. I thought EVERYONE knew about this one, but some fellow tourers learned the hard way. In Venice St Mark's Square. She took the single rose when it was pushed at her. Big Mistake. Then the whole bunch. Bigger Mistake. The pusher asked for payment, and the husband pulled out his wallet. Biggest Mistake. The pusher grabbed a wad of cash right out of the wallet and then proceeded to negotiate how much he would hand back as change. I think they bought the bunch of roses for 50 euros. To add insult to injury, they were then mobbed by other pushers and had to flee the Square.

Observations:

I wouldn't expect much police help in Italy for stopping pickpockets. OK, I admit knowing nothing about police tactics. However, in the CT incident I noted above, the police became apparent in the CT train stations very conspicuously (with machine guns!) AFTER the attempt. In the US, at street fairs, festivals and so on I see police walking around in the crowds. In Italy I noted the police generally riding through the squares in cars or standing in clusters talking among themselves or checking their smartphones or watching the street entertainers. The few cops I saw walking around in the crowds were typically female officers. That could spawn a whole new discussion.

There are a few reputable ice creams shops in the area between Duomo and via de' Calzaiuoli. Nobody ever complains about Grom or Perch No. The gelato at Eataly is very good and a bit cheaper but usually available only in four or five basic types.

I'm not surprised to hear about the theft attempt in the the Cinque Terre, as that's an area where travellers often let their guard down. The station staff will sometimes come out of their office in Monterosso to warn passengers when they see the scammers appear on scene. As in the case you described, these are often teenage boys and girls. They disappear quickly when the police arrive, but don't go far and they're back again as soon as the police leave.

Just got back from our fourth trip to Italy, last was 2008, yes I saw a huge difference, the whole country is so much dirtier. No place to use a bathroom unless you are in a restaurant or hotel. Not toilet seats on the toilets if you do find a public one. I feel like this was Italy Boot Camp. It was the hardest trip we have ever had. We had some mishap on our trip from Florence to LaSpazia where we were dumped off in Empoli and 4 trains and a bus later the two hour non stop trip turned into 8. CT was so loaded with Cruise ship day trippers you could barely walk through Vernazza. And trying to eat lunch in the harbor with 50 people at a time passing your table was horrible.

Of course we had a good time, how can you not in Italy. I did notice less hawkers on the streets than 6 years ago. And of course to top it off the Rome airport is a mess at this point after the fire. I did not have problems with pick pockets, but I have to say that the trains between Pisa Central and Florence Refredi was horrible, young Italian Thug males keep getting on and off the train, we even had locals motion for us to watch our wallets and purses. Had to wait 40 minutes to transfer at Florence Refredi and we all practically sat on our luggage, we felt like we were being circles by sharks, and of course not a Polizia in sight. There were times you wondered who was operating the trains. The only time in four train trips anyone looked at our tickets were the little ones on the local CT trains. I am full blooded Italian so I will always love this country but I sure hope at some point they get back on their feet.

I guess we were lucky in Italy. We just returned from a week in Rome & 3 days in Venice and really didn't get bothered too much...unless you count the people trying to sell you a selfie stick or hat near the Colosseum! We did have people try to have us sign petitions against drugs but we just kept walking (maybe that was Paris...its all a blur right now). Also someone wanted my husband to buy me a rose but we refused. The other thing that happened was when we got on the train at Termini to travel to Venice, someone helped me with our luggage then waited for a tip. He literally took over our bags, found our seats for us & put our luggage in stowage. My husband gave him a 2 euro but he wasn't too happy so he gave him a 1 then sat down & ignored him so he went away grumbling!

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