Rocco Silano is an American magician, author, and lecturer.
Biography
Silano was born c. 1960, in
Paterson, New Jersey
Paterson ( ) is the largest City (New Jersey), city in and the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, Passaic County, in the U.S. state of New Jersey.Tony Slydini protégé Bill Wisch. Silano studied with Wisch for at least 4 months in 1980, when Wisch taught him many Slydini routines, including Slydini's cigarette production. “For the last four months Silano has taken private lessons from Bill Wisch, the successor to Slydini, the famous 83-year-old magician, Slydini, who is “one of the best” according to Silano, does not teach anymore. One of the routines Silano has learned from Wisch is Slydini's cigarette production routine known as “poetry in magic” according to Silano." Later, Rocco was introduced to Slydini by Bill and Rocco took lessons with Slydini as well. Rocco stated in an interview with the Wise Guyz Radio Show on May 1, 2019, "He (Bill Wisch) hooked me up with Tony Slydini. He was a student before I was with Slydini and he introduced me to him." In 1988, he invented a gable-top milk carton that could be more easily collapsed for disposal by removing a tear strip at the bottom of the carton.
Most known for his sleeving techniques and skill, Silano is the recipient of the Merlin and Golden Lion Awards, a two-time winner of the coveted Manhattan Association of Cabarets Award, and has been nominated nine times as Magician of the Year by the
Academy of Magical Arts
The Magic Castle is a performance venue, restaurant, and clubhouse for the Academy of Magical Arts for magicians and magic enthusiasts in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California, United States. The Academy was started in 1952 by W ...
in four different categories.
Silano is the only American to win awards at two FISM World Tournaments: 3rd place in Micromagic in 1994 in
Yokohama
is the List of cities in Japan, second-largest city in Japan by population as well as by area, and the country's most populous Municipalities of Japan, municipality. It is the capital and most populous city in Kanagawa Prefecture, with a popu ...
, Japan, and "Most Original Act" in 2006 in
Stockholm
Stockholm (; ) is the Capital city, capital and List of urban areas in Sweden by population, most populous city of Sweden, as well as the List of urban areas in the Nordic countries, largest urban area in the Nordic countries. Approximately ...
, Sweden. Silano performed at the 2007 Austrian Magic Convention in
Vienna
Vienna ( ; ; ) is the capital city, capital, List of largest cities in Austria, most populous city, and one of Federal states of Austria, nine federal states of Austria. It is Austria's primate city, with just over two million inhabitants. ...
, Austria, and appeared in the
VH1
VH1 (originally an initialism for Video Hits One) is an American basic cable television network that launched on January 1, 1985, and is currently owned by the MTV Entertainment Group unit of Paramount Global's networks division based in New Y ...
celebrity magic reality series, '' Celebracadabra'', in 2008, as an adviser and guide for celebrity partner and 1st runner-up,
Hal Sparks
Hal Harry Magee Sparks III (born September 25, 1969) is an American stand-up comedian, actor, musician, political commentator, television and radio host and television personality. He made contributions to VH1, hosting E!'s ''Talk Soup'', and pl ...
*''The Winning Edge: The Lecture of a Champion'', with Bill Wisch, 1987
*''If it fits...Sleeve it!'', with Steve Schneiderman, 1990 ASIN B000NO7YZ2
*''A Lesson in Sleeving''
* Demaline, Jackie. (October 14, 1988) Times Union ''Abracadabra - It's Magic.'' Page C1.
* Burgess, Linda H. (February 22, 1989)
The Record
The Record may refer to:
Music
* The Record (Fear album), ''The Record'' (Fear album), a 1982 studio album by the hardcore-punk band Fear
* The Record (Boygenius album), ''The Record'' (Boygenius album), a 2023 studio album by the indie rock supe ...
''From soup to sleight of hand. Magician helps meals take off.'' Page C3.
*
The Times-Picayune
''The Times-Picayune , The New Orleans Advocate'' (commonly called ''The Times-Picayune'' or the ''T-P'') is an American newspaper published in New Orleans, Louisiana. Ancestral publications of other names date back to January 25, 1837. The cu ...
(April 27, 1990) ''Here tomorrow, gone today.'' Page L4.
* Yu, Winifred. (October 30, 1990) Times Union ''Colored doves are a magical illusion.'' Page C8.
* Kelly, Martin P. (November 2, 1990) Times Union ''Magicians create enchanted evening.'' Page C5.
* Mervis, Scott. (October 8, 1993)
Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
The ''Pittsburgh Post-Gazette'', also known simply as the PG, is the largest newspaper serving Greater Pittsburgh, metropolitan Pittsburgh in the U.S. state of Pennsylvania. Descended from the ''Pittsburgh Gazette'', established in 1786 as the fi ...
''Festival of Italian arts.'' Page 3.
* Carney, Beth; Dezell, Maureen. (September 19, 1998)
The Boston Globe
''The Boston Globe,'' also known locally as ''the Globe'', is an American daily newspaper founded and based in Boston, Massachusetts. The newspaper has won a total of 27 Pulitzer Prizes. ''The Boston Globe'' is the oldest and largest daily new ...