Rick Lax (born April 17, 1982) is an American author, entertainer, and magician.

Early life and education

Born in

Detroit Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at th ...

, Lax's interest in magic began at age 5, inspired by

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield'' Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work, see is a novel in the bildungsroman genre by Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from inf ...

. After attending

Michigan State University Michigan State University (Michigan State, MSU) is a public university, public Land-grant university, land-grant research university in East Lansing, Michigan. It was founded in 1855 as the Agricultural College of the State of Michigan, the fi ...

and the

University of Michigan , mottoeng = "Arts, Knowledge, Truth" , former_names = Catholepistemiad, or University of Michigania (1817–1821) , budget = $10.3 billion (2021) , endowment = $17 billion (2021)As o ...

, he earned a law degree from

DePaul University DePaul University is a private university, private, Catholic higher education, Catholic research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded by the Congregation of the Mission, Vincentians in 1898, the university takes its name from the 17th-centu ...

. In 2008, he published a novel about a talented young magician's experiences in law school.

Career

Lax was a friend and the first

manager Management (or managing) is the administration of an organization, whether it is a business, a nonprofit organization, or a government body. It is the art and science of managing resources of the business. Management includes the activities o ...

rock Rock most often refers to: * Rock (geology), a naturally occurring solid aggregate of minerals or mineraloids * Rock music, a genre of popular music Rock or Rocks may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * Rock, Caerphilly, a location in Wales ...

band

Tally Hall Tally Hall is an American rock band formed in Ann Arbor, Michigan, in December 2002. The band is known for upbeat melodies and whimsical lyrics. The members originally described their musical style as "wonky rock," later redefining their sound ...

, beginning in 2004. He also appeared in videos by the band. From 2011 to 2013, Lax worked as a behind-the-scenes consultant for Copperfield and wrote two books about

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the state of Nevada, and the county seat of Clark County. The city anchors the Las Vegas ...

. He also created the TV show '' Wizard Wars'',''Las Vegas Review Journal'', Give conjurers random props, set the clock, and ... Presto, February 23, 2014
/ref> which aired for two seasons on the

Syfy Syfy (formerly Sci-Fi Channel, later shortened to Sci Fi; stylized as SYFY) is an American basic cable channel owned by the NBCUniversal Television and Streaming division of Comcast's NBCUniversal through NBCUniversal Cable Entertainment. Lau ...

network in 2014. In 2015, Lax competed on

The CW ''The'' () is a grammatical article in English, denoting persons or things already mentioned, under discussion, implied or otherwise presumed familiar to listeners, readers, or speakers. It is the definite article in English. ''The'' is the m ...

's '' Penn & Teller: Fool Us''. He performed an original card trick called Binary Code, and was the only contestant to fool

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 ha ...

during the episode. Lax continues to work as a show producer and behind-the-scenes magic consultant. In 2015, Lax started releasing videos on

Facebook Facebook is an online social media and social networking service owned by American company Meta Platforms. Founded in 2004 by Mark Zuckerberg with fellow Harvard College students and roommates Eduardo Saverin, Andrew McCollum, Dustin M ...

. By 2019, he was gaining more than a billion views every month. Also that year, Lax launched Making Magic, which features Lax interviewing fellow magicians. By October 2020, Lax's Facebook page had the second highest reach on the entire Facebook platform. Tubular Audience Ratings continues to show Lax as a platform leader.

Publications

* * *

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Lax, Rick 1982 births 21st-century American Jews DePaul University College of Law alumni Jewish American entertainers Jewish American writers Living people University of Michigan alumni