Matthew Munari 1972-2008 R.I.P.

[AlteredStateGrl]

Matthew David Munari
July 31, 1972 - August 8, 2008
Rest in Peace

Obituary for Matthew Munari

Matthew Munari, passed on to heaven August 8, 2008. He was born July 31, 1972 on his grandfather’s birthday. I was going to write a lot more about my dearest son, but when looking for a photo of him I discovered something he had written a few years back. It is from a lecture tour he and I did in Japan for magicians. I think this writing in his own words will tell you about him.

Introduction

Hello! Before I get started, let me tell you a little about myself... My name is Matthew Munari, I'm from Las Vegas, I'm 28 years old, and I have been performing magic professionally for about 7 years... Magic has been in my life since I was born...My father, Geno Munari, studied under one of the worlds top Close Up magicians, Jimmy Grippo for years in Las Vegas.. Jimmy was the resident close up magician at Casears Palace, performing in many of the 5 star restaurants that casino offers.... Mike Skinner, another top magician, of Lily Langtrees (also of the Golden Nugget in Las Vegas) was a regular dinner guest at our house as I was growing up. Allan Ackerman lived 2 streets away, and I was privileged to meet many many more top flight magicians as I was growing up. But you know what? I didn't care! I would have been happier sleeping, or playing video games on my Commodore 64 than mingling with these HALL OF FAME magicians.. I truly didn’t know the scope of the talent around me as a child and as I look back, it saddens me to think I could have learned a trick or to from some of these old timers... Jimmy Grippo is now dead, as well as Mike Skinner, and Dai Vernon, and Larry Jennings, and so many more not quite as famous, but just as skillful magicians of that era.
As I entered my late teens, early twenties I got a job working as a stagehand for Melinda at the Sahara hotel on the strip. As the cruel hand of fate would have it, I was bitten by the magic bug.... Not of the stage variety as you might assume, because I was now a prop man for one of magic’s best pair of legs, but of the Close up variety my father and his cronies had practiced all my life....
I don’t know when it happened exactly, but before I knew it I had a deck of cards in my right hand practicing one handed cuts, and the Charlier pass.... Shortly after my 21st birthday, my father let the final curtain drop on his stage show,(at the Hotel San Remo off the strip) and opened his first magic shop located behind the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino in the MGM Grand theme park....
If you have ever been inside one of our shops, (We now have 10) you know that it is as if you have stepped back into time... Its a throwback to the days of mahogany shelves with tricks popping their heads out of every possible nook and cranny.. Tricks are piled up upon each other and it feels (from what my father and others have told me) like the "olden days", before magic was commercialized and shrink wrapped for the publics consumption. Between those 4 walls of the MGM theme park, I stumbled onto some of the greatest magic I have ever invented.
I have always had an inquisitive mind, and a thirst for knowledge. When I first started learning magic, I would practice a move over and over and over until I had it just right. They say that ignorance is bliss. I find a lot of truth in that statement, for when you think you know a lot about something, in this case slight of hand, you begin to second guess yourself, thinking "Maybe I could do it this way" or "Maybe it looks better from that angle". When your knowledge is limited however, you simply take something for what it is, as did I in my formative years behind the magic shop counter.
In the last seven years, I have gone from green to a seasoned pro working trade shows and exclusive Hollywood parties, but ya know what? I wouldn't change a thing about my first few (and sometimes awkward) years in magic... And now I present to you some of my favorite tricks, never taught to ANYONE, most of these moves/tricks/flourished were invented in that 1st little shop we had, and they STILL are some of my favorites and a regular part of my routine today. I hope you enjoy them and find them useful, as I have all these years, enjoy.....

Matthew Munari - Thursday, March 08, 2001

Matthew is survived by his son Mason, his sister Kayla, Brenda Gervais, Geno Munari, Penny Munari, his step brothers Jimmy Ciccarelli and John Batelle his grandmother Gretchen, his aunt Madeline Lee and many cousins: his mother Penelope Scales preceeded him in death.
Bye Matthew. I will miss you my son. God loves you. I will see you in heaven. Love, Dad.

Viewing Palm Mortuary 7600 S. Eastern, Thursday, August 14 from 10 AM until 6 PM, wake service at 6 PM. Funeral Mass Friday, August 15, 10:00 AM, St. Viators. (Flamingo and Eastern)



The family wishes that in lieu of flowers to send a donation to Catholic Charities of Southern Nevada - The Shelter. 1501 Las Vegas Blvd. North, Las Vegas, Nevada 89101

Thank you to Geno Munari, Matthews dad, for the picture...he asked me to put it somewhere his friends would see it.

[badgoalie85]

i think every yahookan should take some time to ponder matt's life and death today.

there is so much i want to say about this but don't know where to begin or how to organize it. maybe once i've had some time to ponder it i'll have more to say, but i think it's very important that everyone here learn from his life as well as his death.

personally, i've taken two things from this since learning about it:

1) you never know when the last time you'll see/talk to someone will be, so try not harbor resentment towards others.

2) drug addiction is a terrible thing. what's even more terrible, however, is what can happen when society abandons and demonizes people suffering from it rather than treating them.

there's so much more i want to say but am having trouble putting it into words right now...in any case, i want everyone here to know that i've got nothing but love for matt and everyone here even if it doesn't always seem like it.

i think we can all learn from matthewmunari.

[Rubix]

ty for posting this, asg. very sad, never knew i would miss him this much

[shakeNbake06]

"death's the next logical progression...ask a baby if he was scared to be born, you have no choice in the matter.....but death is not something to fear...you actually cannot destroy energy, therefore, you can't really die off.....your energy still lingers"

- Matthew Munari

[kameelyun]

Originally Posted by badgoalie85

i think every yahookan should take some time to ponder matt's life and death today.

there is so much i want to say about this but don't know where to begin or how to organize it. maybe once i've had some time to ponder it i'll have more to say, but i think it's very important that everyone here learn from his life as well as his death.

personally, i've taken two things from this since learning about it:

1) you never know when the last time you'll see/talk to someone will be, so try not harbor resentment towards others.

2) drug addiction is a terrible thing. what's even more terrible, however, is what can happen when society abandons and demonizes people suffering from it rather than treating them.

there's so much more i want to say but am having trouble putting it into words right now...in any case, i want everyone here to know that i've got nothing but love for matt and everyone here even if it doesn't always seem like it.

i think we can all learn from matthewmunari.

Perfect.

I've also been thinking, with regard to that second point, that if it weren't for this stupid "War on Drugs," he'd have gotten REAL help awhile ago and would probably be OK today.

Matthew Munari and Ken Gorman are both victims of the WoD.

[anitablaze]

wow.
i didnt know him, but from talking to him here and there, i could definitely tell that he was a great guy with a good heart. its a sad day for me, and probably worse for all those that were close to him. my condolences to his family and friends.

[Canuck Wisdom]

Thanks ASG

[Smaerd]

RIP again and again. That's a good picture of Matt ASG. I don't know why but I've been thinking about him a lot. I guess it's proof even someone you meet on the web can mean a lot to you.

[Man in Black]

with his strong faith in god and the afterlife i think matthew wasn't necessarily ready to die, but he was prepared

[slapstick]

oh wow. it happened so recently. I'm truly sorry. I didn't know, or I'd have paid my respects sooner.

[verklingen]

Originally Posted by Smaerd

RIP again and again. That's a good picture of Matt ASG. I don't know why but I've been thinking about him a lot. I guess it's proof even someone you meet on the web can mean a lot to you.

me too man, me too.

[Paranoid Android]

Sorry guys, was he a member on Yahooka?

Just trying to clarify.

Either way Rest in peace.

[tedkennedy]

Originally Posted by badgoalie85

i think every yahookan should take some time to ponder matt's life and death today.

there is so much i want to say about this but don't know where to begin or how to organize it. maybe once i've had some time to ponder it i'll have more to say, but i think it's very important that everyone here learn from his life as well as his death.

personally, i've taken two things from this since learning about it:

1) you never know when the last time you'll see/talk to someone will be, so try not harbor resentment towards others.

2) drug addiction is a terrible thing. what's even more terrible, however, is what can happen when society abandons and demonizes people suffering from it rather than treating them.

there's so much more i want to say but am having trouble putting it into words right now...in any case, i want everyone here to know that i've got nothing but love for matt and everyone here even if it doesn't always seem like it.

i think we can all learn from matthewmunari.

i agree, this is a lesson for me and hopefully for others.

you take your life and the people around you for granted until you are reminded by something like this...

rip matt. my best wishes to his family

[AlteredStateGrl]

Originally Posted by Paranoid Android

Sorry guys, was he a member on Yahooka?

Just trying to clarify.

Either way Rest in peace.

Yes, he was a very active member of Yahooka.

[chickadee]

This is true... I recently saw that quote by Matthew on someone else's post and I really liked it.... thought it was beautiful. "You can't explain the rules of tennis to a dog, but he runs after it and plays with it...like the dog playing with the ball, we don't have the necessary tools needed to interpret the afterlife..until we get there, then a whole new universe is given to us. Perhaps 200 billion light years away, there's the next phase of our existence ..Remember you cannot destroy energy, which is all we are..."I had that quote on my facebook page giving him credit of course. I kept thinking he must be a philosopher or something and I'll look it up (obviously haven't been on here much). The only other quote I had up was ""And the day came when the risk to remain tight in a bud was more painful than the risk it took to blossom." Anais Nin
Anyway what a beautiful soul.

[zoltron]

Thanks for this thread, ASG. I would've hit the 'thanks' button, but I guess it's worn out from so many grateful members. It's nice to see so much appreciation for a very cool & very nice person.
I usually don't bother getting to know other members, but when Matt 1st joined & was getting slammed every which way there is, he would just let the insults roll off him. His self-confidence impressed me to the point of writing a PM to him & letting him know that I had no doubt that he was a stand-up guy who shoots from the hip. I told him that I believed him about his near-death experience & his escapades in Vegas.
We got to the point of calling each other almost on a daily basis...just talking about Las Vegas, the magic shops, his 'n.d.e.' & making plans about coming out to Vegas & hanging out. He was even lining-up a job for my son in 1 of his dads' magic shops. We were even talking about us moving out there. He & I instantly hit it off. He was born 1 day before I turned 18. You know how you meet someone & it feels like you've known 1 another for decades? That's the way we hit it off.
I never met him in-person, but I miss him a lot. I liked the guy & his death has saddened me immensely. He was quite the character & I'm sure that his death has affected many others as well. 1 day I do hope to meet him when I "break-on through to the other side". RIP Matt

[tedkennedy]

Originally Posted by zoltron

Thanks for this thread, ASG. I would've hit the 'thanks' button, but I guess it's worn out from so many grateful members. It's nice to see so much appreciation for a very cool & very nic