RIP, Ricky Jay

Magician and actor Ricky Jay has died at 72. Here is our July 2013 review of the documentary about him.

DECEPTIVE PRACTICE: THE MYSTERIES AND MENTORS OF RICKY JAY (B) - This was highly enjoyable, with an entertaining subject and clever framing device. I would give it a higher grade -- because it's definitely worth seeing -- but for two reasons: 1) You need to be a little bit of a fan of Ricky Jay and/or his card tricks. 2) Grading this too high would suggest that this is the ultimate profile of Ricky Jay and his magician mentors; it's not.

But at times, it's true joy. Jay was a child star in the '50s and grew up to be the Penn Jillette of the '70s, perfecting his card-tossing routine as a long-haired hippie of the now generation. You may know his face from David Mamet's films opposite Joe Mantegna in the '80s, such as "House of Cards," "Things Change" and "Homicide." He's also the author of numerous books on magic and various oddities.

What this documentary brings to light is Jay's role as a historian in the world of magic. Because he was already an established performer in the 1950s (urged on by his amateur-magician dad), he provides a key link to the artists going back to the turn of the last century. His library is comprehensive.

Director Molly Bernstein stretches the soup a few times when she's stumped for footage, but she employs a simple but effective framing device: Jay sitting in front of a mirror at a felt table shuffling a deck of cards and occasionally showing off his sleight of hand. She introduces us to the elders: Al Flosso, Slydini, Cardini and others. She shows respect for the secrets of these men.

We also get clips of Jay hamming it up with Dinah Shore on her talk show. And we see closeups of the face of a man easing into old age, his hands still quicker than the eye.

The trailer: