© 2001 Con Man & Comedy. All Rights Deserved

VOL.CCLI NO.74     SHOWBIZ EDITION    MONDAY, January 15, 2001    INTERNET: WWW.BOBARNO.COM    2 CENTS
Business Unusual
The Making of ABC 20/20
Finding and Filming
Real Street Thieves
Airs Spring 2001
Italy-- The challenge was daunting: find the most cunning street thieves and con artists in all of Europe, put investigative reporter Arnold Diaz in harm's way, and capture the scams on film as they unfold. And, uh, do it in just a couple of days.
Looking for an authority on street crime and tourist safety, ABC producers contacted Bob Arno after reading an article about him published by Associated Press. Arno, who travels the world with his wife documenting confidence and distraction thefts, is known as the Professor of Pickpocketry.


ABC 20/20 Interviews Bob Arno in Rome, then in Naples
After brief consideration, Arno suggested Italy for its large concentration and variety of purloiners, and a date was set.
Cutting short their research in South Africa, Arno and his wife Bambi flew to Rome, where shooting would begin. After an afternoon reconnaissance, the Arnos joined the ABC crew for strategic planning between multiple courses of a luscious Italian dinner.
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What's News
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2000 Recap
ENTERTAINER Bob Arno rates his corporate bookings for the year 2000.
Article on Page A2

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World-Wide
TECH COMPANIES and dot coms around the world have discovered that a certain con man intrigues and appeals to the 20- and 30-somethings. Telecom, internet banking, and advertising industries have been hiring Bob Arno to impress their employees, partners, and clients.

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Media
TV news and talk shows have clamored for appearances by Sultan of Swipe Bob Arno, since an AP profile on him ran in January. Arno has been on the tube in Japan, Singapore, England, Australia, France, and Germany. In America, shows broadcast in Feb. rated so high they were reshown during May sweeps. ABC's 20/20 aired its first of two Bob Arno segments Nov. 4 and followed with a live webchat. Arno will be on 20/20 again in Spring 2001. NBC Dateline hung up in a huff on hearing that Arno chose to do 20/20.
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London Weekend Television

The Swedish Heister, Bob Arno
has begun production on the next special in its wildly successful Beware series, Sneak Thieves. The Arnos will be shooting the documentary in London Jan. 11-21.

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Industry News
At The Tourism Safety and Security Conferance in Las Vegas, Bob Arno lectured on European scams and con games. He spoke on body language and new trends in street crime at the Las Vegas Diversion Theft Seminar for law enforcement, casino security, and surveillance investigators.
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The steel industry had Bob Arno, "Man of Steal" for its January convention. At RSA 2000, the internet security conference held in Silicon Valley, it was Bob Arno, "Sili-Con Man" There, Arno was meant to attract young hackers,which he did in droves. He was subsequently asked to speak at DefCom, the hackers convention.
TODAYS CONTENTS
CON TRAILS: Where the "Con" has been lately, A2 TELEVISION:The making of ABC 20/20, A1.
INTERVIEW:What's so funny about pickpocketing?, A1 FUTURES:Astonishing revelations on the Arnos' year 2000, A2
OPINION:Corporate raves, A3 CONTACT INFO: Numbers, A3
Interview
What's so Funny About Pickpocketing?
Las Vegas--We wondered: where's the comedy in crime? Is larceny a laughing matter? We asked Bob Arno, Comedy Pickpocket Entertainer Extraordinaire.
Tall Swede Journal: For most of your career you've been associated with large production shows in Las Vegas. Why do you no longer appear in shows like Jubilee at Ballys or Folie Bergere at the Tropicana?
Bob Arno: From 1982 to 1992 I worked exclusively in casino shows, two shows a night, six nights a week. It was hard work, with strict time constraints. Every performance was timed, and meant to fill a specific time slot.
"My show is comedy--people laugh uproariously --but the vehicle for the laughs is pickpocketing."
TSJ: But aren't corporate show requirements equally demanding?
BA: Yes and no. Performing at special events is more intense, and yes, the parameters are always clearly defined; but the satisfaction is far superior to working Vegas stages. The way I work, corporate shows are always more of a challenge and I have to give everything. In Vegas, my shows became routine--lacked challenge.
TSJ: What is the challenge?
BA: Because the stakes are so much higher performing in the special event industry, I always research my audiences. I like to know their social status, their reference points, their age range, and I usually hone in on several executives of the company. This way I can ping-pong with these key members of the company in a personal way during the show. It's the resulting tension on stage and sparring with the executives that the audience recognizes as unrehearsed, comedy-without-a-net theater.
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