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Metamorphosis (illusion)
Metamorphosis is the name of a stage illusion invented by John Nevil Maskelyne, but most often associated with famous escape artist Harry Houdini and performed to some renown (for speed) by The Pendragons, among others. It is also known amongst magicians as the Substitution Trunk (often abbreviated to Sub Trunk). In the illusion, an assistant (Houdini employed his wife Bess) is locked inside a large box or trunk, often after being restrained with handcuffs, ropes, bags, etc. The magician stands on the trunk and holds a curtain up to momentarily conceal his entire body. When the curtain is lowered, it is now revealed to be the assistant standing atop the box, the magician and assistant having changed places instantaneously. When the box is opened, it is shown to contain the magician, restrained as the assistant had been. In some acts, the magician is locked in the box first, then appears standing atop the box. Variations include the Aquarian Illusion created in the 1970s by Ala ...
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Magic (illusion)
Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It is to be distinguished from paranormal magic which are effects claimed to be created through supernatural means. It is one of the oldest performing arts in the world. Modern entertainment magic, as pioneered by 19th-century magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, has become a popular theatrical art form. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, magicians such as Maskelyne and Devant, Howard Thurston, Harry Kellar, and Harry Houdini achieved widespread commercial success during what has become known as "the Golden Age of Magic." During this period, performance magic became a staple of Broadway theatre, vaudeville, and music halls. Magic retained its popularity in the television age, with magicians such as Paul Daniels, David Copperfield ...
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Weeki Wachee Springs
Weeki Wachee Springs is a natural tourist attraction located in Weeki Wachee, Florida, where underwater performances by "mermaids," women wearing fish tails as well as other fanciful outfits, can be viewed in an aquarium-like setting in the spring of the Weeki Wachee River. A waterpark, Buccaneer Bay, river boat rides, kayak and paddleboard rental are some of the other activities offered at Weeki Wachee Springs. History The spring was named "Weeki Wachee" by Seminole Indians, which means "Little Spring" or "Winding River" in their language. The attraction was created in 1947 by stunt swimmer and attraction promoter Newt Perry, who based the show on underwater air hose breathing techniques. First an 18-seat theater, then later a newer theater with a capacity of 50, were embedded in the lime rock of the spring with viewing windows below the surface of the water, to allow visitors to watch the mermaids perform in the spring. '' The Incredible Mr. Limpet'', an American live-actio ...
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Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed
''Breaking the Magician's Code: Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed'' is a series of television shows in which the methods behind magic tricks and illusions are explained. In its original incarnation there were four shows in 1997–1998 and a special in 2002 broadcast on the Fox network in the United States, and on Sky and ITV in the United Kingdom. In 2008–2009, a new series of thirteen shows was broadcast by MyNetworkTV in the United States and ITV4 in the United Kingdom. On May 1, 2012, reruns of the first season began airing on BIO in the United States. Cast The first four specials and the full series featured incognito magician Val Valentino as the Masked Magician performing large-scale illusions and a few smaller-scale close up magic tricks before revealing the secrets of the tricks. The performers for the 1997–1998 specials were Sybil Azur, Michelle Berube, Marisa Gilliam, Denise Holland, Kelly Danielle Jones, Jennifer Keyes, Diane Klimaszewski, Elaine Klimas ...
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Fox Broadcasting Company
The Fox Broadcasting Company, commonly known simply as Fox and stylized in all caps as FOX, is an American commercial broadcast television network owned by Fox Corporation and headquartered in New York City, with master control operations and additional offices at the Fox Network Center in Los Angeles and the Fox Media Center in Tempe. Launched as a competitor to the Big Three television networks ( ABC, CBS, and NBC) on October 9, 1986, Fox went on to become the most successful attempt at a fourth television network. It was the highest- rated free-to-air network in the 18–49 demographic from 2004 to 2012 and again in 2020, and was the most-watched American television network in total viewership during the 2007–08 season. Fox and its affiliated companies operate many entertainment channels in international markets, but these do not necessarily air the same programming as the U.S. network. Most viewers in Canada have access to at least one U.S.-based Fox affiliate, either ...
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Val Valentino
Val Valentino (born Leonard Montano, June 14, 1956)Brownfield, Paul (October 31, 1998)"Fox Isn't Disillusioned as Masked Magician Series Ends". ''Los Angeles Times''. is an American magician. Valentino starred in a series of four television specials exposing the methods behind numerous classic magic tricks and illusions on the Fox network. In the specials, he used the stage name the Masked Magician and concealed his true identity by wearing a mask with a squid like design, being aware of the stigma amongst the magic community with publicly exposing tricks. As the finale to the final special, Valentino revealed his identity as the Masked Magician, garnering some notoriety amongst the magic community, and instigating several lawsuits. Valentino became well known in Brazil after his sketches were broadcast in Rede Globo's Sunday newsmagazine show ''Fantástico'' from 1999 to 2000, in which he was referred to by the alias Mister M. Life and career Valentino's first foray into mag ...
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Masked Magician
Val Valentino (born Leonard Montano, June 14, 1956)Brownfield, Paul (October 31, 1998)"Fox Isn't Disillusioned as Masked Magician Series Ends". ''Los Angeles Times''. is an American magician. Valentino starred in a series of four television specials exposing the methods behind numerous classic magic tricks and illusions on the Fox network. In the specials, he used the stage name the Masked Magician and concealed his true identity by wearing a mask with a squid like design, being aware of the stigma amongst the magic community with publicly exposing tricks. As the finale to the final special, Valentino revealed his identity as the Masked Magician, garnering some notoriety amongst the magic community, and instigating several lawsuits. Valentino became well known in Brazil after his sketches were broadcast in Rede Globo's Sunday newsmagazine show ''Fantástico'' from 1999 to 2000, in which he was referred to by the alias Mister M. Life and career Valentino's first foray into mag ...
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Klayton
Klayton Albert (born Scott David Albert; June 17, 1969) is an American multi-instrumentalist from New York City who currently resides in Los Angeles, California. Klayton has led several bands and has performed under a variety of stage names since the early 1990s. His current projects are Celldweller, Scandroid and FreqGen. Personal life Albert grew up in an Italian-American conservative Christian household in New York, where he attended church with his younger brother Dan and friends Buka and Klank (who would collaborate with him on a number of future music projects). Albert never had formal training on an instrument, instead picking up whatever interested him and learning it himself. He graduated from Farmingdale High School. He took one semester of music theory in college but dropped out, explaining that "all they wanted to tell me is what I could and couldn't do according to the laws of music and I couldn't have cared less." He eventually led to characterizing himself as b ...
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Criss Angel
Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos ( el, Χριστόφορος Νικόλαος Σαραντάκος; born December 19, 1967), known professionally as Criss Angel, is an American magician, illusionist and musician. Angel began his career in New York City, before moving his base of operations to the Las Vegas Valley. He is known for starring in the television and stage show ''Criss Angel Mindfreak'' and his previous live performance illusion show ''Criss Angel Believe'' in collaboration with ''Cirque du Soleil'' at the Luxor casino in Las Vegas. The show generated $150 million in tourist revenue to Las Vegas in 2010, but has since been replaced by ''Mindfreak LIVE!'' in 2016 (the show is partly produced by Cirque du Soleil; however, the directive rights are entirely with Criss Angel). He also starred in the television series ''Criss Angel BeLIEve'' on Spike TV, the reality-competition television show ''Phenomenon'' on NBC, and the 2014 stage show ''Criss Angel Magicjam''. He al ...
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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 ...
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John Nevil Maskelyne
John Nevil Maskelyne (22 December 183918 May 1917) was an English stage magician and inventor of the pay toilet, along with other Victorian-era devices. He worked with magicians George Alfred Cooke and David Devant, and many of his illusions are still performed today. His book ''Sharps and Flats: A Complete Revelation of the Secrets of Cheating at Games of Chance and Skill'' is considered a classic overview of card sharp practices.In 1914 he founded the Occult Committee, a group to "investigate claims to supernatural power and to expose fraud". Early life Maskelyne was born on 22 December 1839 at Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England to John Nevil Maskelyne (1800–1875), a saddler, and his wife Harriet née Brunsdon (1812–1871). He trained as a watchmaker. Career Maskelyne became interested in conjuring after watching a stage performance at his local Town Hall by the fraudulent American spiritualists the Davenport brothers. He saw how the Davenports' spirit cabinet illusio ...
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Swimsuit
A swimsuit is an item of clothing designed to be worn by people engaging in a water-based activity or List of water sports, water sports, such as swimming, Diving (sport), diving and surfing, or sun-orientated activities, such as sun bathing. Different types may be worn by men, women, and children. A swimsuit can be described by various names, some of which are used only in particular locations, including swimwear, bathing suit, swimming costume, bathing costume, swimming suit, swimmers, swimming togs, bathers, cossie (short for "costume"), or swimming trunks for men, besides others. A swimsuit can be worn as an undergarment in sports that require a wetsuit such as water skiing, scuba diving, surfing, and wakeboarding. Swimsuits may also be worn to display the wearer's physical attractiveness, physical attributes, as in the case of beauty pageants or bodybuilding contests, and glamour photography and magazines like the annual ''Sports Illustrated Swimsuit Issue'' featuring models ...
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Mark Wilson (magician)
James "Mark" Wilson (April 11, 1929 – January 19, 2021) was an American magician and author, who was widely credited as the first major television magician and in the process establishing the viability of illusion shows as a television format. Early years Mark Wilson was the son of a salesman and he spent much of his youth traveling with his parents as his father moved about on business. He has said his interest in magic began when he was eight years old and saw a magician named Tommy Martin perform at a hotel in Indianapolis, where the Wilson family were staying at the time. The family later moved to Dallas, Texas, where, as a teenager, Wilson improved his magic knowledge by working for the Douglas Magicland shop as a clerk. As his skills improved he began performing magic shows at small functions. He attended the School of Business Administration at Southern Methodist University, where he majored in marketing, learning skills that were to help him in his future career. Telev ...
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