Magic show producer Ouellet dies at 57

Wednesday, June 12, 2002 | 9:22 a.m.

To accomplished Canadian attorney Gary Ouellet, there was something really spellbinding about magic.

So much so, in his mid-40s he gave up the legal profession to pursue his heart's desire -- bringing magic to the world as not only a good amateur magician but also as producer of NBC's "The World's Greatest Magic" shows and director/writer of other TV and stage productions during the last eight years.

Last week, Ouellet left Las Vegas for Portugal to produce 13 one-hour Luis DeMatos live magic shows for European television.

He suffered an apparent heart attack on Saturday and died. He was 57.

Ouellet also was a past producer of Melinda's "First Lady of Magic" shows in Branson, Mo., and Las Vegas, and Steve Wyrick's "Sexy Magic" show at the Sahara. He also was a consultant to David Copperfield and a co-producer of the adult musical-comedy "Tease," which opened in January at the Aladdin's Blue Note.

A memorial service will be 3 p.m. Monday, in the Tease Showroom at the Blue Note. A funeral service also will be on Monday in Ouellet's native Quebec.

"What set him apart as a producer and director was that Gary was first and foremost a competent magician," said friend and publicist Wayne Bernath, former Sun entertainment editor. "He worked really hard to make 'Tease' a hit show on the Strip."

Bernath said Ouellet produced more than 50 hours of international TV magic shows, including five hour-long prime time NBC television specials, "The World's Greatest Magic" I, II, III, IV & V from 1994 to 1998.

Along with business partner David Tumaroff, Ouellet announced in early 2001 that actress Carmen Electra had been signed to headline a Las Vegas show. The announcement garnered much international attention because of the popularity of the former "Baywatch" star, but the show has yet to come to fruition.

As a magician, Ouellet mastered the "Gypsy Thread" and "Location Impossible" illusions, which he demonstrated on videotape, and was the inventor of the Elite Ouellet Wand, which is constructed of aircraft aluminum and used for such tricks as the spin vanish, strike vanish and thumb whirl.

Born Jan. 9, 1945, in Quebec, Canada, Ouellet wrote a legal textbook after earning his law degree. He later held positions in the government as a lobbyist and minister. But, in the early 1990s, he switched careers to work as a consultant on "The Magic of David Copperfield" show.

In 1994, Ouellet became executive producer and magic creator for the "Grand Illusions '94" show at Caesars Atlantic City. A year later, he was director and writer for Melinda for her shows at the Lady Luck downtown, Caesars Tahoe and at Atlantic City's Taj Mahal.

Other magicians with whom Ouellet worked were Monte Carlo hotel-casino headliner Lance Burton, Princess Tenko, the Amazing Johnathan and Hans Klok.

Ouellet moved to Las Vegas in September to work on "Tease." He also had a residence in Los Angeles.

Ouellet is survived by his wife, Renee; daughters Marie and Jamie; and a son Ryan, all of Quebec.