Kevin James (born April 28, 1962) is an American magician, known for creating several unique magical effects, such as the "Floating Rose" which is performed 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 ...

. He had long-running performance runs at venues such as Crazy Horse (Paris) and Caesars Palace. He has won the "Parlour Magician of the Year" award from the

Magic Castle The Magic Castle is a clubhouse for magicians and magic enthusiasts, as well as the clubhouse for the Academy of Magical Arts. It is in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California and it bills itself as "the most unusual private club in t ...

and also appeared on the CBS television special, "World's Greatest Magicians at the Magic Castle". In 2007, he was a contestant on the second season of the televised competition '' America's Got Talent'', where he proceeded as far as the semi-finals.

Biography

He was born as Kevin James Lowery in

France France (), officially the French Republic ( ), is a country primarily located in Western Europe. It also comprises of overseas regions and territories in the Americas and the Atlantic, Pacific and Indian Oceans. Its metropolitan area ...

, to American parents Darrell and Mary Lou Lowery. His father was a

USAF The United States Air Force (USAF) is the Aerial warfare, air military branch, service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part ...

helicopter pilot stationed in Europe, though later the family relocated to the small town of

Jonesville, Michigan Jonesville is a city in Hillsdale County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,176 at the 2020 census. History The area was first settled by brothers Benaiah and Edmund Jones, who came here from Painesville, Ohio in 1828 and purch ...

, where James grew up. It was in California that James joined local magician groups such as the "Long Beach Mystics" and the

Juniors, where he was allowed to watch the professional performers. He steadily improved his technique, and in the mid-1980s won the Grand Prix award at the P.C.A.M. competition. He also created a routine which aired on Japanese and European television. In 1991, he appeared on the French variety show ''Sebastien C'est Fou'', which led to a job at the famed Crazy Horse in Paris, where he worked steadily for years, performing 2-3 shows per night, seven days a week. After Paris, James moved to

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 ...

, becoming a featured performer at the award-winning Splash show at the Riviera Hotel, for another multi-year run. He has opened for comedian

Louie Anderson Louis Perry Anderson (March 24, 1953 – January 21, 2022) was an American stand-up comedian, actor, author and game show host. Anderson created the cartoon series '' Life with Louie'' and the television sitcom '' The Louie Show'', and wrote fou ...

at Bally's, the Sporting Club in

Monte Carlo Monte Carlo (; ; french: Monte-Carlo , or colloquially ''Monte-Carl'' ; lij, Munte Carlu ; ) is officially an administrative area of the Principality of Monaco, specifically the ward of Monte Carlo/Spélugues, where the Monte Carlo Casino is ...

, and headlined at the Sheraton Walkerhill in

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Korea Korea ( ko, 한국, or , ) is a peninsular region in East Asia. Since 1945, it has been divided at or near the 38th parallel, with North Korea (Democratic People's Republic of Korea) comprising its northern half and South Korea (Republic o ...

. In 2005, he was headliner and star of "The World's Greatest Magic Show" in Las Vegas. In June 2007, James auditioned for '' America's Got Talent'', and received unanimous approval from the judges to move on to the Las Vegas callbacks. He managed to reach the semi-finals,

Important Shows and Venues

# 2009 Command Performance at The White House in the East Room for President Obama. # The Crazy Horse Paris France – performed for Madonna, Prince, Jean Paul Gautier, Aerosmith # Caesar’s Palace – Headlined at Caesar’s Magical Empire # 2016 Broadway – Marriot Marquis Theatre – The Illusionists – performed for Phil Collins, Jerry Seinfeld, Woody Allen, Jules Fisher and Stephen Sondheim # 2017 The West End - The Shaftsbury Theatre – The Illusionists

Awards

* "Parlour Magician of the Year", 2003, Magic Castle * "Most Original", 2005, International Magicians Society *1988 Parlour Magician of the Year – Magic Castle *2003 Stage Magician of the Year – Magic Castle *2004 Creative Fellowship Award – Magic Castle *2005 International Magician’s Society Award Most Original Illusionist *2008 Stage Magician of the Year – Magic Castle *2015 Wizard Trophy Jurmala *2016 Golden Magic Award – Moscow

Magazine Covers

# Magicseen Magazine # Magic Magazine (Volume 14, Number 8 - April 2005) # Genii Magazine

Memberships

* Magic Castle. Getting on this list makes you a Life Member at the Magic Castle

TV Performances

# Korean TV # America’s Got Talent # British TV # Brazilian TV # Indonesian TV # Best Comedy Illusionists Award # French TV – Le Grand Caberet du Monde

References

External links

Official website
{{DEFAULTSORT:James, Kevin 1962 births Living people American magicians People from Jonesville, Michigan America's Got Talent contestants Las Vegas shows Academy of Magical Arts Creative Fellowship winners Academy of Magical Arts Parlour Magician of the Year winners Academy of Magical Arts Stage Magician of the Year winners