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David Copperfield’s Homes Have the Magic Touch..

David Copperfield’s Homes Have the Magic Touch..

The magician brings his passion for story-telling to his multimillion-dollar properties, incorporating arcade games, a collection of artists’ mannequins and an under-construction ‘secret jungle village’

CRASH. One minute I’m sitting in a chair, and the next I’m on the floor, staring up at the soaring ceiling of David Copperfield’s Manhattan penthouse. The magician has pulled a hidden string to topple the 100-year-old “surprise chair” I was sitting in.

“And what’s missing is you put a bullet there so it pops, and BAM! You get a big bang,” said the 60-year-old gleefully. Perched atop a 57-story Manhattan high-rise, the sprawling four-level apartment Mr. Copperfield shares with his fiancée, Chloe Gosselin, is brimming with vintage curiosities he has collected and restored.

Additional pieces from his collection are on display, he said, at his 11-island Bahamas retreat and his new home in Las Vegas, which Mr. Copperfield bought for $17.55 million in June, setting a local price record. Mr. Copperfield, who is currently in residence at the MGM Grand Hotel & Casino David Copperfield Theater in Las Vegas, declined to discuss his earnings, but his net worth is estimated by Forbes to be around $800 million.

At all of his homes, Mr. Copperfield said he aims not just to decorate, but to create immersive experiences. It is the same principle behind his magic….

Read more:   http://www.wsj.com/articles/david-copperfields-homes-have-the-magic-touch-1475764370

Magic in the News..

Magic in the News..

HOW FEMALE MAGICIANS BROKE THROUGH THE MAGIC CIRCLE’S BOYS’ CLUB..

HOW FEMALE MAGICIANS BROKE THROUGH THE MAGIC CIRCLE’S BOYS’ CLUB..

(Pic..The Magic Circle)  In a year that Britain appointed only its second female Prime Minister in Theresa May and Hillary Clinton is on the cusp of her own historic presidential race in the United States, female magicians across the world are also celebrating a milestone: 2016 marks 25 years since the elusive and prestigious Magic Circle allowed entry to its first female members.

Founded in 1905, The Magic Circle is the secretive society that illusionists across the world want to join. Its current members include David Copperfield, arguably the most famous magician alive, and British magician Dynamo. The late Paul Daniels was also a member. Its most famous member isn’t a trickster by trade—but royalty; Prince Charlesgained entry in 1975 by performing a cups-and-balls trick.

Gaining membership is the ultimate approval of a magician’s showmanship; before joining, he or she must complete a rigorous process that includes being recommended by two current members, complete an interview with the Magic Circle’s council and, finally, perform a show in front of a panel of judges and members. “You get judged on three counts. It was terrifying, I don’t think I’ve ever practised so much for anything in my life,” the British mentalist Katherine Mills tells Newsweek. “It was a landmark in my career. I wanted to be part of the Magic Circle so much.”  Read more….

http://www.newsweek.com/how-female-magicians-broke-through-magic-circles-boys-club-504185

One of the Greatest Magicians of the 20th Century Was a Marianist Brother..

One of the Greatest Magicians of the 20th Century Was a Marianist Brother..

By Angelo Stagnaro. 

Image Credit: Hashir Milhan, CC BY 2.0, via Wikimedia Commons..

Of all the performing arts, very few people actively dislike stage magic.

It’s the principle reason I remain gainfully employed.

That, and my incredible humility.

You’ll regularly find people who are bored with opera and flummoxed by modern dance, but what kind of misanthrope doesn’t like a good card trick? Who doesn’t want to see a bunny pulled out of a hat? Who doesn’t gape at magicians, or magiciennes, who flagrantly disregard the very laws of physics and stunningly do the impossible?

But what about if you’re already a magician, or magicienne, and are already privy to all of the arcane secrets of legerdemain? How can magic be entertaining? There are only so many ways to produce a bunny out of a hat. (There are exactly 32.)

Being a professional stage magician, I can assure everyone that it’s exceedingly difficult to create magic tricks and still more difficult to find ones that confound other stage performers.

What do you do when you’ve already witnessed and figured out all the regular magicians’ acts?

You seek out a Magician’s Magician…..  

A Magician’s Magician is a magus so skillful that his legerdemain remains a mystery even to the otherwise most experienced of stage performers. These people regularly amaze even the most jaded magician hoi polloi who’ve already “seen it all.” It’s the highest honor the magic community can bestow on one of its own.After all, even we need to entertained.When magicians are asked as to who qualifies as a Magician’s Magician, the first name that comes up is Br. Hamman.

Read more…..

http://www.ncregister.com/blog/astagnaro/one-of-the-greatest-magicians-of-the-20th-century-was-a-marianist-brother