Shawn Farquhar (born June 7, 1962) is a Canadian magician and illusionist notable for his title as the "Grand Prix World Champion of Magic" from the
International Federation of Magic Societies
International is an adjective (also used as a noun) meaning "between nations".
International may also refer to:
Music Albums
* International (Kevin Michael album), ''International'' (Kevin Michael album), 2011
* International (New Order album), ' ...
.
His awards include being the only magician in history to win First Place at the
International Brotherhood of Magicians
International Brotherhood of Magicians (I.B.M.) is an organization for both professional and amateur close-up and stage magicians, with approximately 15,000 members worldwide. The headquarters is in St. Charles, Missouri. There are over 300 lo ...
(IBM) for both
Stage
Stage or stages may refer to:
Acting
* Stage (theatre), a space for the performance of theatrical productions
* Theatre, a branch of the performing arts, often referred to as "the stage"
* ''The Stage'', a weekly British theatre newspaper
* Sta ...
and
Sleight of Hand
Sleight of hand (also known as prestidigitation or ''legerdemain'' ()) refers to fine motor skills when used by performing artists in different art forms to entertain or manipulate. It is closely associated with close-up magic, card magic, card ...
, twice Canadian Association of Magicians Magician of the Year, First Place at the
Society of American Magicians
The Society of American Magicians (S.A.M.) is the oldest fraternal magic organization in the world. Its purpose is "to advance, elevate, and preserve magic as a performing art, to promote harmonious fellowship throughout the world of magic, and t ...
annual magic convention competition, three Silver (2nd Place) awards, and a First (World Championship) in Card Magic and the Grand Prix World Championship for Close Up at
FISM, the "Olympics of Magic". In August 2009, he won his most prestigious prize at the FISM World Championship of Magic in Beijing. On May 1, 2010, the Canadian Association of Magicians once again named him Canadian Magician of the Year, making him the only two-time recipient of their most prestigious award.
Living in
British Columbia
British Columbia (commonly abbreviated as BC) is the westernmost province of Canada, situated between the Pacific Ocean and the Rocky Mountains. It has a diverse geography, with rugged landscapes that include rocky coastlines, sandy beaches, ...
, Farquhar travels the world extensively performing and lecturing for magicians and consults for TV shows and motion pictures. He has appeared on the cover of the largest magic publications in Asia, Europe and North America. He has appeared on stages all over the world, including the Riveria, Las Vegas, Opera House, Blackpool and
Orpheum, Vancouver
The Orpheum is a theatre and music venue in Vancouver, British Columbia, Canada. Along with the Queen Elizabeth Theatre, the Vancouver Playhouse, and thAnnex it is part of the Vancouver Civic Theatres group of live performance venues. It is the p ...
. He performed for
Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II (Elizabeth Alexandra Mary; 21 April 1926 – 8 September 2022) was Queen of the United Kingdom and other Commonwealth realms from 6 February 1952 until her death in 2022. She was queen regnant of 32 sovereign states during ...
on her visit to Charlottetown, PEI and traveled to Bermuda at the request of
The Princess Royal
Princess Royal is a style customarily (but not automatically) awarded by a British monarch to their eldest daughter. Although purely honorary, it is the highest honour that may be given to a female member of the royal family. There have been sev ...
.
He is a Past President of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, the Canadian Association of Magicians and Pacific Coast Association of Magicians.
Original pieces
Farquhar is known for several original magic effects which include a signed card appearing in a sealed deck, a musical card routine titled "Shape of My Heart", MatriXpress, Torn 2 Pieces, Extended Stay, a specialized wallet trick named "C2W", a cups and balls routine that ends with solid cups and a recent effect 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 ...
'' entitled "Sheer Luck: the Comedy Book Test" (2018).
Television appearances
Before going onto greater fame, Farquhar's first television appearance was as a contestant on the Canadian-produced
game show
A game show is a genre of broadcast viewing entertainment (radio, television, internet, stage or other) where contestants compete for a reward. These programs can either be participatory or Let's Play, demonstrative and are typically directed b ...
''
Talk About'' in 1989.
Farquhar appeared on ''
The Ellen DeGeneres Show
''The Ellen DeGeneres Show'' (often shortened to ''Ellen'' or ''The Ellen Show'') is an American daytime television variety comedy talk show that was created and hosted by its namesake Ellen DeGeneres. Debuting on September 8, 2003, it was prod ...
'' on January 13, 2010, where she referred to him as "the best sleight-of-hand magician in the world". He presented several effects, including his creation of a signed card in a sealed deck in Ellen DeGeneres' hands, and a torn and restored signed photograph.
In 2011, Farquhar was filmed for Season 1 on the UK show ''
Penn & Teller: Fool Us'', where the eponymous hosts
Penn and Teller Penn may refer to:
Places
England
* Penn, Buckinghamshire
* Penn, West Midlands
United States
* Penn, North Dakota
* Penn, Oregon
* Pennsylvania
** Penn, Pennsylvania
* Penn Lake Park, Pennsylvania
* Penn Township (disambiguation), several muni ...
view contesting magicians' tricks with the intention of working out their methods. Farquhar successfully fooled them by creating the illusion of a signed card appearing reversed inside a brand new (and shrink-wrapped) deck. Farquhar won the opportunity to perform at their Vegas show.
In 2012, Farquhar was a guest on the Canadian television talk show, ''
Steven and Chris
''Steven and Chris'' is a Canadian television talk show that aired on CBC Television from 2008 to 2015. The show was hosted by Steven Sabados and Chris Hyndman, formerly of the home renovation shows ''Designer Guys'' and '' Design Rivals'', who ...
'', where he presented several effects including a card trick with a golf ball retriever and a sand pail as well as his original prototype for a comedic book test. This would then be demonstrated on July 13, 2016, when he returned to ''Penn & Teller: Fool Us'' and asked the new host
Alyson Hannigan
Alyson Lee Hannigan (born March 24, 1974) is an American actress. After starting her career at age four with appearances in commercials, she moved to Hollywood at age 11 and soon got an agent.
Hannigan began her film career with supporting r ...
to test him in recalling several random pages of the novel ''
The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes
''The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes'' is a collection of twelve short stories by British writer Arthur Conan Doyle, first published on 14 October 1892. It contains the earliest short stories featuring the consulting detective Sherlock Holmes, w ...
'' in a segment called ''Sheer Luck''. Farquhar was successful in fooling them, winning the opportunity to be at their Vegas show again. This made Shawn Farquhar the first magician to fool them twice. In 2020 Shawn returned for a third appearance on Fool Us where he presented a compilation of his previous two performance and promoted his own theatre, Hidden Wonders in New Westminster, BC, Canada.
References
External links
Official websiteBiography(in French)
{{DEFAULTSORT:Farquhar, Shawn
Canadian magicians
People from Coquitlam
Living people
1962 births
People from Portage la Prairie