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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 ...
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The Conjurer (painting)
''The Conjurer'' is a painting by Early Netherlandish painter Hieronymus Bosch or his workshop, executed around 1502. There are five versions of this painting and one engraving, but most experts believe the most reliable copy is part of the collection of the Musée Municipal in Saint-Germain-en-Laye, which is kept locked in a safe and loaned out on a limited basis for special exhibitions in France and abroad. On 1 December 1978 the painting was stolen from the museum and returned on 2 February 1979. The painting comes from the bequest of Louis Alexandre Ducastel, a notary in Saint-Germain-en-Laye from 1813, who was also city council member and mayor in August 1835 and (provisionally) in 1839. The collection seems especially to have been formed by his father John Alexander Ducastel, a painter and collector. Description Bosch depicts how people are fooled by lack of alertness and insight, creating a "spellbinding tension" that reappears in his later paintings. The conjurer on ...
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Music Hall
Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Britain between bold and scandalous ''Music Hall'' and subsequent, more respectable '' Variety'' differ. Music hall involved a mixture of popular songs, comedy, speciality acts, and variety entertainment. The term is derived from a type of theatre or venue in which such entertainment took place. In North America vaudeville was in some ways analogous to British music hall, featuring rousing songs and comic acts. Originating in saloon bars within public houses during the 1830s, music hall entertainment became increasingly popular with audiences. So much so, that during the 1850s some public houses were demolished, and specialised music hall theatres developed in their place. These theatres were designed chiefly so that people could consume f ...
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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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Richard Valentine Pitchford
Richard Valentine Pitchford (24 November 1895 – 13 November 1973) was a master magician under the name Cardini, whose career spanned almost half a century. Born in Britain, he worked chiefly in the United States of America. Biography Richard Valentine Pitchford was born in the Mumbles, Swansea, Wales on 24 November 1895.U.S. World War II Draft Registration Cards, 1942 Some sources use the incorrect year of 1899. He joined the British Army during World War I, where he passed time in the trenches by practicing card manipulations. One result of his many hours of practising outdoors in frigid weather was that he developed the ability to perform card manipulations while wearing gloves.Cullen, Frank (2007). ''Vaudeville, Old and New: An Encyclopedia of Variety Performers in America, Volume 1''. Psychology Press. p. 196. . After being injured in battle, he continued to hone his magic skills in a hospital. After an unsuccessful attempt to establish himself as a stage magicia ...
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Harlan Tarbell
Harlan Eugene Tarbell (February 23, 1890 – June 16, 1960) was an American stage magician and illustrator of the early 20th century. He was the author of the well-known '' Tarbell Course in Magic''. His only foray into cinema was an early 1930s film short entitled "Buck Rogers in the 25th Century". He directed the production and starred as Doctor Huer. Childhood and career in illustration Tarbell was born on February 23, 1890 in the Illinois town of Delavan, but spent his childhood in Groveland. Tarbell created cartoons for a newspaper in Morton when he was 12 years old. It was at this time that Tarbell received one of his earliest introductions to professional magic, when he hiked five miles along the railroad tracks to watch magician Harry August Jansen, aka Dante, perform at the Morton Town Hall. In 1911, Tarbell moved to Chicago in order to pursue a professional career in illustration. His efforts attracted the attention of the magic company Read and Covert, which hir ...
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Harry Blackstone Sr
Harry may refer to: TV shows * ''Harry'' (American TV series), a 1987 American comedy series starring Alan Arkin * ''Harry'' (British TV series), a 1993 BBC drama that ran for two seasons * ''Harry'' (talk show), a 2016 American daytime talk show hosted by Harry Connick Jr. People and fictional characters *Harry (given name), a list of people and fictional characters with the given name *Harry (surname), a list of people with the surname *Dirty Harry (musician) (born 1982), British rock singer who has also used the stage name Harry *Harry Potter (character), the main protagonist in a Harry Potter fictional series by J. K. Rowling Other uses *Harry (derogatory term), derogatory term used in Norway * ''Harry'' (album), a 1969 album by Harry Nilsson *The tunnel used in the Stalag Luft III escape ("The Great Escape") of World War II * ''Harry'' (newspaper), an underground newspaper in Baltimore, Maryland See also *Harrying (laying waste), may refer to the following historical event ...
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Dai Vernon
Dai Vernon (pronounced alternatively as "DIE" or as "DAY" as in David; June 11, 1894 – August 21, 1992), a.k.a. The Professor, was a Canadian magician. His sleight of hand technique and knowledge, particularly with card tricks and close-up magic, garnered him respect among fellow magicians, and he was a mentor to other magicians. He lived out his last years at Magic Castle, a nightclub in Hollywood, California. Biography Vernon was born in Ottawa as David Frederick Wingfield Verner. While performing, he often mentioned that he had learned his first trick from his father at age seven, adding wryly that he had "wasted the first 6 years" of his life. His father was a government worker and an amateur magician. Vernon studied mechanical engineering at the Royal Military College of Canada in Kingston, Ontario, but by World War I he had moved to New York City. Vernon first fell in love with magic when he was seven years old after his father took him to see a magic show. The f ...
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Magic (American Magazine)
''MAGIC'', also known as ''The Magazine for Magicians'', was an independent magazine for magicians that was based in Las Vegas, Nevada. A creation of Stan Allen, it debuted in September 1991, with its first issue featuring Lance Burton on the cover, and over the years it also featured David Copperfield, Siegfried & Roy, Penn & Teller, Mike Caveney, and Mac King. Its final issue was #301, November 2016. Writers for the magazine have included Joshua Jay, Gabe Fajuri, John Lovick, Alan Howard, Max Maven, Peter Duffie, Andi Gladwin, Mark Nelson, Rory Johnston, Timothy Hyde and Shawn McMaster. In 2005 ''MAGIC Magazine'' was deemed the world's largest-selling publication for magicians by Guinness World Records ''Guinness World Records'', known from its inception in 1955 until 1999 as ''The Guinness Book of Records'' and in previous United States editions as ''The Guinness Book of World Records'', is a reference book published annually, listing world .... In 2007 ''MAGIC Magaz ...
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Derren Brown
Derren Brown (born 27 February 1971) is an English mentalist, illusionist, painter, and author. He began performing in 1992, making his television debut with ''Derren Brown: Mind Control'' in 2000, and has since produced several more shows for stage and television. His 2006 show ''Something Wicked This Way Comes'' and his 2012 show ''Svengali'' won him two Laurence Olivier Awards for Best Entertainment. He made his Broadway debut with his 2019 stage show ''Secret''. He has also written books for both magicians and the general public. Brown does not claim to possess any supernatural powers; conversely, his acts are often designed to expose the methods of those who do assert such claims, such as faith healers and mediums. He often begins live performances by stating that his results are achieved through "magic, suggestion, psychology, misdirection, and showmanship". Early life Derren Brown was born in the Croydon area of London on 27 February 1971, the son of Chris and Bob ...
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David Blaine
David Blaine (born April 4, 1973) is an American illusionist, endurance artist, and extreme performer. He is best known for his high-profile feats of endurance and has set and broken several world records. Early life Blaine was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of a single mother, Patrice White, a teacher who was of Russian-Jewish ancestry, and a father who is a Vietnam War veteran of Puerto Rican and Italian descent. When Blaine was four years old, he saw a magician performing magic on the subway. This sparked a lifelong interest for him. He was raised by his mother and attended a Montessori school in Brooklyn. They later moved to Little Falls, New Jersey, where he attended Passaic Valley Regional High School. Per one account, his mother developed cancer when Blaine was 15 and died when he was 20. Per another, "When Blaine was 21, his mother was stricken with cancer and passed away in 1994." When Blaine was 17 years old, he moved to Manhattan, New Yo ...
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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 t ...
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Doug Henning
Douglas James Henning (May 3, 1947 – February 7, 2000) was a Canadian magician, illusionist, escape artist and politician. Early life Henning was born in the Fort Garry district of Winnipeg, Manitoba, and began practising magic at Oakenwald School in Fort Garry, later moving to Oakville, Ontario. His first experience in magic occurred when he was six years old, watching a magician on television. He asked his mother, "...what made the woman float in the air?" "Magic", his mother said. He went on to say that he still remembered that feeling and wanted to re-create that same emotion he felt. He performed his first show at the age of 14 at the birthday party of a friend and was inspired by his audience's spellbound reaction. Within a few months of placing an ad in a local newspaper, Henning launched a series of performances on local television in Toronto and as an entertainer at parties. After Henning graduated from Oakville Trafalgar High School, he stopped doing magic, ...
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