When people ask "Bobby Loonie" what he does for a living he says he is a professional kid. "I'm Peter Pan, I've never grown up" quips the smart alec magician. Offering some evidence he adds, "I even have a vast toy monkey collection!"

Bobby Loonie is a natural performer who always appears to be "on". He is a kid magnet wherever he is, be it in costume or street clothes. Adults also respond to his familiar manner - within an hour at a local cafe, he's almost part of their family. "I'm definatly not shy" he says.

A'int that the truth. On stage, Bobby Loonie's cartoonish antics quickly dispel any uneasiness in his audience. They're soon squealing with delight and completely enraptured with the performance.

While his tricks with handkerchiefs, sponge balls and David Hopperfield the Rabbit are clever much of the show's magic comes from the performer himself. Bobby Loonie has an innate ability to relate to his audience at their own level. He may crack jokes, but he is never condescending.

"The thing with my show is that I'm as mystified as the kids when things happen," says Bobby, who also incorporates balloons and ventriloquism into his improv act. "I'm not an authority figure when I'm doing a show - when doing a show for five year olds, I'm five."

Bobby Loonie is the latest in a string of roles that has fed his theatrical appetite over the years. In 1985 he created Laff-A-Lot Clown Club with his son and brother. Tooth Pick the Magic Clown was born becoming the hub of an informal clown group that performed at parades and events such as the Variety Club Telethon. By the time Laff-A-Lot Clowns broke up, Tooth Pick was working a steady stream of engagements doing birthday parties, special events and corporate jobs. A year or two later he grew tired of the constant disrespect given to clowns and Tooth Pick became Bobby Loonie. "There's sort of a hierarchy among performers. Bobby Loonie is an attempt to be taken a little more seriously."

It must have worked - he was recently voted in as President of the 100-plus member Vancouver Magic Circle, an organization which once named him Children's Entertainer of the Year.

Bobby Loonie's popularity with children doesn't preclude him from doing serious magic. He emcees magic and variety shows - "I do have a tux and tails and all that" - and has his own doves and rabbits.

In the non-magic vein, he takes acting lessons and has performed in local theatre, film and television productions and does animation voice work including the character of Armon on YTV's popular weekly afternoon series "Mummies Alive". While these alternative pursuits have their appeal, Bobby Loonie has the most fun just being a kid.

"There are types of magic I don't like, like 'I fooled you, ha ha'. I do close up because it's being part of it - I don't do it to fool them, I do it to entertain, to be part of the fun, he said. "To me, the laughter is more important than the magic."

"You know the old saying, 'Everyone has a little kid inside of them'? I think that's what I do. I bring that out," he says. "In my brain, I am still a kid."

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