Piff The Magic Dragon
John van der Put (born 9 June 1980) is a magician and comedian from the United Kingdom who performs under the stage name Piff the Magic Dragon. A winner of multiple awards from British magic societies, he toured as a supporting act for Mumford and Sons and has appeared on '' Penn & Teller: Fool Us'' and '' America's Got Talent''. In June 2019, van der Put was named one of Variety's 10 Comics to Watch for 2019. Van der Put lives in Las Vegas and has a residency at The Flamingo. Early life and career Van der Put grew up in South East London. As a teenager, he was inspired to become a magician after seeing Jerry Sadowitz on the BBC2 show ''Stuff the White Rabbit''. At the age of 18, he became a member of The Magic Circle, and was one of the youngest members to have lectured there. His parents persuaded him to have a back-up career, so he completed a Computer Science degree, and began a career in IT. After two years, a bout of acute pancreatitis caused him to rethink his lif ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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London
London is the capital and largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary down to the North Sea, and has been a major settlement for two millennia. The City of London, its ancient core and financial centre, was founded by the Romans as '' Londinium'' and retains its medieval boundaries.See also: Independent city § National capitals The City of Westminster, to the west of the City of London, has for centuries hosted the national government and parliament. Since the 19th century, the name "London" has also referred to the metropolis around this core, historically split between the counties of Middlesex, Essex, Surrey, Kent, and Hertfordshire, which largely comprises Greater London, governed by the Greater London Authority.The Greater London Authority consists of the Mayor of London and the London Assembly. The London Mayor is distinguished fr ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Buxton Festival Fringe
The Buxton Festival is an annual summer festival of opera, music and (since 2000) a literary series, held in Buxton, Derbyshire, England since its beginnings in July 1979. The 2020 festival would have run but was cancelled due to the Covid-19 crisis. The 2023 Buxton International Festival will run 6–23 July. Origins of the present-day Festival The origins of the Festival date to September 1937, when an annual drama festival was first held (running until 1942) in conjunction with the London-based Old Vic Theatre Company under Lilian Baylis. In addition to plays at the Buxton Opera House, the festival ran a summer school at the adjoining Playhouse Theatre. The Festival as it exists today came about because of the inspiration in the 1970s to encourage the restoration of the Buxton Opera House, a classic Frank Matcham building. The conductor Anthony Hose (then Head of Music at Welsh National Opera) and Malcolm Fraser (then lecturing in opera at the Royal Northern College of Music i ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Western Morning News
The ''Western Morning News'' is a daily regional newspaper founded in 1860, and covering the West Country including Devon, Cornwall, the Isles of Scilly and parts of Somerset and Dorset in the South West of England. Organisation The ''Western Morning News'' is published by South West Media Group (formerly known as Westcountry Publications), a division of Local World. Its main office is based in Plymouth and it has journalists based in newsdesks in Exeter, Truro, Penzance and Plymouth. It also has a London editor based in Westminster. Bill Martin is editor and Philip Bowern is print editor. History The ''Western Morning News'' was founded on 3 January 1860, by William Saunders and Edward Spender, father of Sir Wilfrid Spender. It has been published continuously since the first edition, including throughout the 1926 General Strike and the Plymouth Blitz. By 1920, the Devon newspaper market was getting cramped, with all papers running into financial difficulties. In the same ye ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Chihuahua (dog)
The Chihuahua or es, Chihuahueño, italic=no is a Mexican breed of toy dog. It is named for the Mexican state of Chihuahua and is among the smallest of all dog breeds. It is usually kept as a companion animal or for showing. History DNA studies suggest that native American dogs entered North America from Siberia roughly 10,000 years ago, and were then isolated for some 9000 years until the arrival of the first Europeans; these pre-contact dogs exhibited a unique genetic signature that is now almost gone. A study based on sequencing of ancient dog genomes, published in 2020, suggests that this pre-colonial ancestry survives in two Mexican breeds, to the extent of about 4% in the Chihuahua (and some 3% in the Xoloitzcuintli). Colonial records refer to small, nearly hairless dogs at the beginning of the nineteenth century; one claims that sixteenth-century conquistadores found them plentiful in the region later known as Chihuahua. In a letter written in 1520, Hernan Cor ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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David Copperfield (illusionist)
David Seth Kotkin (born September 16, 1956), known professionally as David Copperfield, is an American magician, described by ''Forbes'' as the most commercially successful magician in history."Houdini in the Desert" Forbes.com. May 8, 2006 Copperfield's television specials have been nominated for 38 s, winning 21. Best known for his combination of storytelling and illusion, his career of over 40 years has earned him 11 ,Guinness World Records 2006, p. 197 a star on the [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Harry Anderson
Harry Laverne Anderson (October 14, 1952 – April 16, 2018) was an American actor, comedian and magician. He is best known for his role of Judge Harry Stone on the 1984–1992 television series '' Night Court''. He later starred in the sitcom ''Dave's World'' from 1993 to 1997. In addition to eight appearances on ''Saturday Night Live'' between 1981 and 1985, Anderson had a recurring guest role as con man Harry "The Hat" Gittes on ''Cheers''. He toured extensively as a magician, and did several magic/comedy shows for broadcast, including ''Harry Anderson's Sideshow'' (1987). He played Richie Tozier in the 1990 miniseries '' It'', based on the Stephen King novel of the same name. Early life Anderson was born October 14, 1952, in Newport, Rhode Island. He spent much of his youth performing magic on the streets of Chicago, New York, St. Louis and New Orleans before landing in California at the age of 16. After moving to Los Angeles, he joined the Dante Magic Club and wor ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Penn & Teller
Penn & Teller, Penn Jillette and Teller, are American magicians, entertainers, and scientific skeptics who have performed together since the late 1970s. They are noted for their ongoing act that combines elements of comedy with magic. The duo has been featured in numerous stage and television shows such as '' Penn & Teller: Fool Us'' and currently perform in Las Vegas at The Rio, the longest running headliners to play at the same hotel in Las Vegas history. Penn Jillette serves as the act's orator and raconteur. Teller generally does not speak while performing, and instead communicates through mime and nonverbals, though his voice can occasionally be heard during their live shows and television appearances. Besides magic, the pair has become associated with the advocacy of scientific skepticism and libertarianism, particularly through their television show '' Penn & Teller: Bullshit!''. Career Penn and Teller were introduced to each other by Wier Chrisemer, and performed the ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Amazing Johnathan
John Edward Szeles (September 9, 1958 – February 22, 2022), better known by the stage name The Amazing Johnathan, was an American comedian and magician. His act was mostly composed of hijinks, interaction with one specific audience member, and a few legitimate magic tricks. From 2001 to 2014, he was a year-round headliner in Las Vegas. Self-described as the "Freddy Krueger of Comedy", Szeles performed wearing his ever-present headband, and his shows frequently used gore; for example, pretending to suck on his own hanging eyeball, cutting his wrists, and skewering his own tongue. He was also good friends with fellow performer Criss Angel and helped him perform a variety of illusions, most notably during three guest appearances on Angel's ''Mindfreak''. Career Early career Szeles was born in Detroit, Michigan, the son of Doreen and Edward Szeles. In the 1970s, he relocated to California, where he began his career performing on the streets of San Francisco. He first appeared on ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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The Independent
''The Independent'' is a British online newspaper. It was established in 1986 as a national morning printed paper. Nicknamed the ''Indy'', it began as a broadsheet and changed to tabloid format in 2003. The last printed edition was published on Saturday 26 March 2016, leaving only the online edition. The newspaper was controlled by Tony O'Reilly's Irish Independent News & Media from 1997 until it was sold to the Russian oligarch and former KGB Officer Alexander Lebedev in 2010. In 2017, Sultan Muhammad Abuljadayel bought a 30% stake in it. The daily edition was named National Newspaper of the Year at the 2004 British Press Awards. The website and mobile app had a combined monthly reach of 19,826,000 in 2021. History 1986 to 1990 Launched in 1986, the first issue of ''The Independent'' was published on 7 October in broadsheet format.Dennis Griffiths (ed.) ''The Encyclopedia of the British Press, 1422–1992'', London & Basingstoke: Macmillan, 1992, p. 330 It was produc ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Close-up Magic
Close-up magic (also known as table magic or micromagic) is Magic (illusion), magic performed in an intimate setting usually no more than 3 meters (10 feet) from one's audience and is usually performed while sitting at a table. Sleight-of-hand, also known as prestidigitation ("quick fingers") or ''léger de main'' (Fr., "lightness of hand"), is the set of techniques used by a magician to secretly manipulate objects. coin tricks, Coins and card tricks, playing cards are the most commonly used objects, but any small item can be used such as dice, bottle caps, sugar cubes, sponge balls, pebbles, pens, and cups and balls. A magician may use more than one kind of object in a single trick. Close-up magicians may also enhance their performance by combining magic with other elements, such as cardistry, card flourishes. While magic uses misdirection to produce an illusion, these flourishes are more straightforward displays of skill, comparable to juggling. Another form of micromagic is m ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Fay Presto
Fay Presto (born 17 May 1948) is the stage name of Letitia Winter, a British magician and member of The Inner Magic Circle known for her close-up magic. Career Winter's first job was as a lab assistant at an atomic energy research company, and she tried returning to study and working in sales before developing an interest in performing magic in her late thirties. She joined The Magic Circle, but was asked to leave when she began to transition. When The Magic Circle voted to allow women members in 1991, she was one of the first women to join. As Presto, Winter specialises in close-up magic, and had held a residency at London's Langan's Brasserie since the start of her magic career. She is known for her "bottle through the table" trick, which was ranked as the 37th greatest magic trick of all time by Channel 4's '' 50 Greatest Magic Tricks''. Presto was part of the UK touring show Champions of Magic from 2014 to 2017, alongside fellow magicians Edward Hilsum, Alex McLear an ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |
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Shakespeare's Globe
Shakespeare's Globe is a reconstruction of the Globe Theatre, an Elizabethan playhouse for which William Shakespeare wrote his plays, in the London Borough of Southwark, on the south bank of the River Thames. The original theatre was built in 1599, destroyed by the fire in 1613, rebuilt in 1614, and then demolished in 1644. The modern Globe Theatre is an academic approximation based on available evidence of the 1599 and 1614 buildings. It is considered quite realistic, though modern safety requirements mean that it accommodates only 1,400 spectators compared to the original theatre's 3,000. The modern ''Shakespeare's Globe'' was founded by the actor and director Sam Wanamaker, and built about from the site of the original theatre in the historic open-air style. It opened to the public in 1997, with a production of ''Henry V''. The site also includes the Sam Wanamaker Playhouse, an indoor theatre which opened in January 2014. This is a smaller, candle-lit space based on histor ... [...More Info...]       [...Related Items...]     OR:     [Wikipedia]   [Google]   [Baidu]   |