John Henry Anderson (1814 – 1874) was a professional magician, born in The Mearns, Scotland. Anderson is credited with helping bring the art of magic from street performances into theatres and presenting magic performances for the purpose to entertain and delight the audience.
Orphaned at the age of ten, Anderson started his career working in a theatre and began an unsuccessful attempt at acting. At seventeen, he began performing magic and in 1837, at the age of twenty-three, performed at the castle of Lord Panmure whose endorsement of Anderson inspired him to put a touring show together which lasted for three years. In 1840 Anderson settled in London, opening the New Strand Theatre. Sir Walter Scott is said to have given him the stage name, The Great Wizard of the North.
Anderson's success came from his extensive use of advertising and popular shows which captivated his audience. The Wizard was committed to philanthropy and expert showmanship, making him one of the earliest magicians to attain a high level of world renown. Anderson declared: "It is the duty of all magicians to give entertainment," and he was not content to perform an illusion to simply demonstrate that he could accomplish something that the audience could not explain. If the effect was not enthusiastically received, Anderson would remove it from his act. Anderson is famous for a lifetime of successful performances of the bullet catch illusion. Although he did not invent the trick, he made it widely popular and several of his rivals copied Anderson's version in their own shows.
In 1842, Anderson married Hannah Longherst from Aberdeen, an assistant with his show. The following year their son, John Henry Jr. was born. In 1845, Anderson's mistress Miss Prentice gave birth to Philip Prentice Anderson, but died in childbirth. Anderson, however, supported the child for its entire life. Anderson would also have two daughters who assisted in their father's show and later became successful magicians, and a second illegitimate son through a member of his touring troupe.
1845 also saw the completion of Anderson's second theatre, the City Theatre in Glasgow. In November, only four months after opening, the theatre burned and Anderson's financial losses were considerable. Through the aid of his showbusiness friends, Anderson was able to launch a new show at London's Covent Garden Theatre in 1846 and then toured Europe the following year, traveling to Hamburg, Stockholm, and lastly St. Petersburg where he met Czar Nicholas who arranged a command performance for Anderson after an awkward chance meeting.
In 1849, Anderson returned to London to perform for Queen Victoria and Prince Albert. The following year, Anderson toured America, Canada, Australia, and Hawaii. Upon returning to Britain, Anderson found that he had a rival in fellow magician Robert Houdin so he returned to America in 1853 and performed in Boston. An illusion involving Anderson's dispensing of various alcoholic beverages to the audience caused a legal controversy regarding temperance in that city.
In 1854, John Henry held a farewell performance in Aberdeen. The success of this show was enough to inspire Anderson not to retire. Rather, he began to concentrate his efforts to exposing spiritualism fraud. In his shows, he used his daughters to duplicate spiritualist effects. Anderson was one of the magicians of his day who exposed the frauds of the Davenport Brothers. The show played at the Lyceum in London and then moved to Covent Garden in 1855. The following year, after a gala performance, the theatre caught fire destroying all of Anderson's properties, bankrupting him for the second time in his professional career.
In 1859, after a brief period as an actor, Anderson began another world tour. In 1862, at the age of eighteen, John Henry Jr. left his father's troupe and began his own independent career as a conjuror. This started a bitter feud between father and son and the two never spoke again. Greatly in debt, Anderson returned to England in 1864. He would tour once more in 1866.
Anderson died in 1874. He was buried next to his mother in Aberdeen. Magician Harry Houdini, who was born in the same year as Anderson's death, revered Anderson one of his inspirations and in 1909 arranged for the upkeep of the gravesite which had fallen into disrepair.
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Harry Kellar (1849 - 1922) was an American magician who presented large stage shows during the late 1800s and early 1900s. Kellar was arguably the predecessor of Harry Houdini and the successor of Robert Heller. He was often referred to as the Dean of American Magicians and performed extensively on five continents. One of his most memorable stage illusions was the levitation of a girl advertised as the Levitation of Princess Karnack. Kellar was a longtime customer of the famous Martinka Magic Company, they built many illusions for him including the "Blue Room".
His real name was Heinrich Keller, born to German immigrants in Erie, Pennsylvania and constantly experimented in adolescence with games of chicken and with the production of various chemical concoctions. On one occasion, young Heinrich reportedly blew a hole in the floor of his employer's drugstore and rather than confront parental wrath, he stowed away on a train and continued life as a vagabond. It was on the road that he encountered the Fakir of Ava, who inspired his direction into conjuring.
Kellar was probably one of the most meticulous performers of his day, focusing on both his presentation and on his array of magic tricks. Aside from The Kellar Rope Tie, another highlight was The Vanishing Birdcage, an effect which he originally purchased from its inventor, Buatier De Kolta during the late 1870s, for the incredible reported sum of $750.
Harry Kellar retired in 1908, and handed over the mantle of America's Greatest Magician to Howard Thurston. In 1918, Harry Houdini arranged for Kellar to perform once more for a show benefitting families of the men who died when the troop transport vessel Antilles was sunk by a German U-boat. Never one for understatement, Houdini arranged for Kellar to be carried off stage in triumph as six thousand spectators sang Auld Lang Syne. This would end up being Harry Kellar's final public performance
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Howard Thurston (July 20, 1869 – April 13, 1936) was a world famous stage magician. He had the largest traveling Vaudeville magic show for the time, requiring more than eight entire train cars to transport his props across the country. He is still famous for his work with playing cards. He called himself the King of Cards. One of his most famous effects was the "Rising Card". In 1908, he took over the Thurston-Kellar Show, following the retirement of Harry Kellar. It is said that Kellar considered only Thurston to be worthy of succeeding him. Thurston died 27 years later from a stroke. He is entombed at Green Lawn Abbey, a mausoleum in Columbus, Ohio.
Thurston is mentioned and appears briefly in Glen David Gold's novel "Carter Beats the Devil", concerning fellow stage magician Charles J. Carter and the Golden Age of magic in America.
Thurston is quoted as a subject matter expert in Dale Carnegie's book "How to Win Friends and Influence People." He appears in Part Two, Chapter One ("Do This and You'll Be Welcome Anywhere").
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Richard Valentine Pitchford (November 24, 1895 – November 13, 1973) was a master magician under the name Cardini, whose career spanned almost half a century. He is one of the most imitated magicians the world has ever known.
He was born on November 24, 1895 in a coal-mining town in Mumbles, Wales. [1] He joined the British Army during World War I where he passed time in the trenches by practicing card manipulations. After being injured in battle, he continued to hone his magic skills in hospital.
After performing in Australia and then in Canada he entered the United States from British Columbia. While working his way across the U.S. he met Swan Walker in Chicago, who became his wife and lifelong assistant. In New York City, Cardini became an almost immediate success as audiences (and magicians) had never seen such an act. Cardini enhanced his performance by incorporating his magic tricks into a skit. Sleight of hand, gestures, and the appearance and disappearance of objects were all timed precisely and exactly coordinated to music.
He performed at The Palace, Radio City Music Hall, London Palladium, Copacabana and other prominent nightclubs and reviews, and also gave a command performance for the King of England in 1938. In 1957 at the age of 62 he appeared on one of the few magic television shows broadcast at that time, the Festival of Magic. This is the only known footage of Cardini at work.
He died on November 13, 1973. [2]
Among his many acclamations was the New England Magic Society's proclamation of Cardini as the "greatest exponent of pure sleight of hand the world has ever known" (1958). He was honored in 1970 with the title "Master Magician", which was awarded at the Magic Castle, LA, and presented by Tony Curtis. In 1999 he was named one of Magic Magazine's Top Magicians of the 20th Century. He was a three time President of the Society of American Magicians.
One of the unusual features of a Cardini performance was that he did sleight of hand wearing white gloves. In a famous routine, he appears to be tipsy and bemused as cigarettes and other items appear and disappear in his hands, acting as if he is the victim of a strange trick of nature rather than a master of magical mysteries
References
^ U.S. World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942
^ "Richard V. Pitchford Dies; Magician Known as Cardini", New York Times, November 13, 1973, Tuesday. Retrieved on 2007-07-21. “Richard V. Pitchford, who as Cardini was a prominent sleight-of-hand artist and was president of the Magicians Guild in 1945, died today in Kingston Hospital. He was 79 years old and lived in Gardiner.”
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David Copperfield (born David Seth Kotkin) is a multi Emmy Award winning, American magician and illusionist best known for his combination of illusions and storytelling. His illusions include making the Statue of Liberty "disappear", "flying", "levitating" over the Grand Canyon, and "walking through" the Great Wall of China.
| David Copperfield | |
|---|---|
| Born | September 16, 1956 |
| Occupation | magician, illusionist, director, Producer, Writer |
| Website | www.dcopperfield.com |
Biography Copperfield, born on September 16, 1956, began practicing magic at the age of 12, and became the youngest person ever admitted to the Society of American Magicians.[1] By age 16, he was teaching a course in magic at New York University.[2] At age 18, he enrolled at Fordham University, and was cast in the lead role of the Chicago-based musical The Magic Man (directed by Holland, MI's John Tammi) three weeks into his freshman year,[citation needed] adopting his new stage name "David Copperfield" from the Charles Dickens book of the same name. At age 19, he was headlining at the Pagoda Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii.[3]
David Copperfield played the character of Ken the magician in the 1980 horror film Terror Train. He also made an uncredited appearance in the 1994 film Prêt-à-Porter. Most of his media appearances have been through television specials and guest spots on television programs.
In 1982, Copperfield founded Project Magic,[4] a rehabilitation program to help disabled patients regain lost or damaged dexterity skills by using sleight-of-hand magic as a method of physical therapy. The program has been accredited by the American Occupational Therapy Association, and is in use in over 1,100 hospitals throughout 30 countries worldwide.
Copperfield was engaged to the supermodel Claudia Schiffer, but the couple parted ways in 1999 after a six year relationship.
David Copperfield at one time was ready to open a "Theme" restaurant called "Magic Underground." There were to be two locations, one in New York City and one in Walt Disney World (built in the shape of a Hidden Mickey). These locations would allow "D.A.V.I.D" (Digital Audio-Video Interface Device) to remotely interact with the guests in the restaurant. It was basically a high tech videophone system. Other things such as the very table you were sitting at might "Float" around the room and even the waiters were to be involved performing magic as they brought your order to you. Eventually the New York project ran into trouble and it as well as the Walt Disney World location was aborted.
In 1996, Copperfield joined forces with Dean Koontz, Joyce Carol Oates, Ray Bradbury and others for “David Copperfield’s Tales of the Impossible,” an anthology of original fiction set in the world of magic and illusion. A second volume was later published in 1997, called “David Copperfield's Beyond Imagination.”
Copperfield has also attempted to preserve the history of the art of magic for present and future generations by providing a safe, permanent home for antiquarian props, books, and other historical ephemera related to conjuring. His vast collection, known as the International Museum and Library of the Conjuring Arts, is housed in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Forbes Magazine reported that Copperfield earned $57 million in 2003, making him the tenth highest paid celebrity in the world. It also estimated that he made $57 million in 2004 (35th) and $57 million in 2005 (41st) in merchandise and tour revenue.[5] Copperfield performs over 500 shows per year throughout the world.[6]
According to Copperfield's official website, his tour schedule shows that throughout 2007, he will perform at the MGM and Hollywood Theater every night.
Personal life In February 2006, David's father, Hy (who often accompanied David on his many tours around the world), died in San Diego, CA. David set up a website, Remember Hy, so fans and friends could pay tribute.In April 2006, Copperfield and two of his female assistants were robbed at gunpoint after a performance in West Palm Beach, Florida. His assistants gave the robbers their money, passports, and a cell phone. However, according to his police statement, Copperfield did not hand over anything. (He later claimed to have used sleight-of-hand to hide his possessions.[7]) One of Copperfield's assistants wrote down most of the license plate number, and the suspects were later arrested.[8] Terrance Riley, 17, pleaded guilty and was sentenced to two years in prison for three counts of robbery with a weapon and one count of attempted robbery. Riley was also ordered to testify against his two co-defendants, his brother Dwayne Riley, 18, and Markeith Jones, 17.[9]
David Copperfield said in August 2006 that he has found the "Fountain of Youth" in the southern Bahamas, amid a cluster of four tiny islands called Musha Cay, which he had purchased on July 14th of that year. He claims that the water brings dead leaves back to life, and brings near dead insects back to life. He said he has hired biologists and geologists to examine its potential effect on humans. [2] [3] This claim echoes the precursor to many of his previous illusions and seems to predict what his next illusion will be.
Achievements and Awards
David Copperfield's success has been recognised by a number of awards. The illusionist has been nominated 35 times and won 21 Emmy awards.
The Guinness Book of World Records has calculated that he has sold more tickets in his career than any other solo entertainer. Other Guinness World Records held by Copperfield include being the most awarded magician in history and being the first living magician to receive a star on the Hollywood 'Walk of Fame'.
Madame Tussauds Wax Museum in London created a wax likeness of Copperfield.
David Copperfield has a French knighthood, received the Living Legend Award from the Library of Congress and appears on postage stamps in 6 countries.
He is the founder of The International Museum and Library of the Conjuring Arts, the largest museum of its kind.
He starred in “Dreams and Nightmares," the Broadway show that set box-office records[10], including the most tickets sold in a week.
He has been featured on the cover of Forbes[11], Architectural Digest[12] and Esquire[13] .[Cite]
Television specials
- The Magic of ABC Starring David Copperfield (1977)
- The Magic of David Copperfield (1978)
- The Magic of David Copperfield II (1979)
- The Magic of David Copperfield III: Levitating Ferrari (1980)
- The Magic of David Copperfield IV: The Vanishing Airplane (1981)
- The Magic of David Copperfield V: Vanishing the Statue of Liberty (1983)
- The Magic of David Copperfield VI: Floating Over the Grand Canyon (1984)
- The Magic of David Copperfield VII: Familiares (1985)
- The Magic of David Copperfield VIII: Walking Through the Great Wall of China (1986)
- The Magic of David Copperfield IX: Escape From Alcatraz (1987)
- The Magic of David Copperfield X: The Bermuda Triangle (1988)
- The Magic of David Copperfield XI: Explosive Encounter (1989)
- The Magic of David Copperfield XII: The Niagara Falls Challenge (1990)
- The Magic of David Copperfield XIII: Mystery On The Orient Express (1991)
- The Magic of David Copperfield XIV: Flying - Live The Dream (1992)
- The Magic of David Copperfield XV: Fires Of Passion (1993)
- David Copperfield: 15 Years of Magic (1994)
- The David Copperfield: The Great Escapes
- The Magic of David Copperfield XVII: Tornado Of Fire (2001) - Filmed at the Mid-South Coliseum in Memphis, Tennessee
- The Magic of David Copperfield XVII: Tornado of Fire (2001) - European Edition
- Terror Train (1980)
- Vanishing the Statue of Liberty
- David Copperfield's laser illusion
- David Copperfield's flying illusion
- ^ A&E Biography - David Copperfield Bio
- ^ Short bio from Chicago Gigs on Copperfield
- ^ Short bio from Chicago Gigs on Copperfield
- ^ USA Today [1]
- ^ Forbes.com 2005 listing and 2004
- ^ Basquille, Mark. "David Copperfield to Captivate Seoul Audience", The Seoul Times, May 2004.
- ^ "Copperfield's sleight of hand keeps wallet from robbers", Indy Star, 2006-04-27.
- ^ David Copperfield Robbed At Gunpoint. The Smoking Gun (2006-04-26).
- ^ Thief tricked by David Copperfield pleads guilty. CNN (2006-11-10).
- ^ New York Times article reviewing Dreams and Nightmares
- ^ Picture of David on Forbes cover
- ^ Picture of David on Archictectural Digest cover
- ^ Picture of David on Esquire cover
Thank http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Main_Page So much!
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