At 86, Dick Stoner is still a Star

After 67 years, Dick Stoner has still got it.
The 86-year-old magician won over the fans and judges again Friday night with his tricks, jokes and personality, walking away as the fourth winner of the Stars in the Park talent competition.
“I’ve never really been in a contest like this or anything,” said Stoner, who started performing magic in 1949. “It’s flattering.”
Decatur resident Jenessa Smedley was the runner-up with her performance of Bonnie Tyler’s “Holding out for a Hero,” and singer/guitarist Hunter Lee took third place as he performed Jimi Hendrix’s “Voodoo Child.”
Fan favorites were both singing acts, as Samantha Chenoweth won in the 18-and-older division and the duo of Karlie Bullard and Matalin Racster claimed the prize in the 17-and-younger division.
Stoner, who took home $1,250 as the grand prize, follows previous winners Holly Rittenhouse and Gabe Bailey, both singers, and Jamie Squared, the dance duo made up of Jamie Razo and Jamie Harshman of Decatur.
The veteran magician said he received information about Jay County Chamber of Commerce’s Stars in the Park last year but figured it was more targeted toward local competitors. When he was contacted again this year, he inquired deeper.
“I thought I’d give it a shot,” said Stoner, who owns a magic shop in Fort Wayne. “I love to perform for people. I just broke my act up into little segments.”
Stoner had the Stars in the Park crowd rapt again Friday evening, first performing a trick in which he seemed to make foam balls multiply in the hands of volunteers chosen from the crowd.

With the same pair of helpers, he performed a card trick mostly with an “invisible” deck before pulling the real thing out of his jacket pocket and revealing the card the volunteer had selected.
He also mimicked Harry Houdini with an escape from ropes tied around his arms and legs, and closed his show by endlessly pulling handkerchiefs and paper from a metallic cylinder.
“The fact that he is 86 years old and he’s still got it,” said judge Jan Rittenhouse of what helped put Stoner over the top. “I mean, that man is very entertaining.
“He’s got the personality. He’s got the fun. He’s definitely got the talent for doing this.”
It may have been the personality that earned him the fans’ affection, with the crowd chattering about how “cute” the octogenarian is and some even wondering aloud if they could take him home with them. He also had the crowd laughing, which remains one of his biggest goals as he closes in on seven decades as a performer.
“At the end of the show I tell people, ‘If I made you laugh the last few minutes and forget some of your troubles, it’s been worth it all,’” he said.
And then in typical Dick Stoner fashion, before he left Portland he got in one more piece of sage advice … and a joke.
“I have a theory,” he said. “I think everyone should live every day of their life as if it’s their last. And if you do that, sooner or later you’ll be right.”