Bob Filene always has a prop in his pocket, and a trick up his sleeve.
No really, he does.
On any given day, the longtime West Cambridge resident and real estate broker could be armed with a brightly colored bowtie, oversized cards, red sponge balls, pieces of rope, or a rabbit puppet that whispers in his ear.
About four years ago, when the real estate market began to move at a slower pace, Filene decided he would take on another job – as a magician.
“I saw a man at the airport performing magic, and I thought, why aren’t I doing this?” he said.
But Filene said he’s not looking to make a career change. The 67-year-old MIT grad, father of two and broker at Coldwell Banker Residential Brokerage in Porter Square said he took up magic simply to make people smile.
“It’s a chance to do something that makes people pay attention,” he said. “It’s about doing something that makes people laugh, it mystifies people.”
Magic was something that caught Filene’s attention when he was a kid growing up in New York. He would find himself wandering into a store with a counter full of magic props and supplies and dreamt of learning to fool his friends.
Then most recently, when the first of his two grandchildren was born, Filene said the urge to entertain was reenergized. He stumbled across a hidden magic shop in Watertown owned by Ray Goulet —flooded with collections of magic pistols, silver rings, playing cards, flashy stage costumes and numerous items once belonging to Houdini — and couldn’t wait to perfect his own craft.
“Magicians have the tendency to become collectors,” he said.
