Marc Berman and the Huffington Post ) One of the more established categories of performing arts in the world, a true pioneer in entertainment, is also one of the unsung heroes on the small screen. Magic is in the air, and on the airwaves, and CW mainstay Masters of Illusion, in particular, has had more lives than any other series in the history of television.
Call it magical.
“Everything from grand illusions, to stage and close-up magic, to comedy magic, to escapes,” said featured illusionist Michael Grandinetti, who has performed on the series. “Masters of Illusion is the only show on television that gives audiences a view of all of the various styles of magic from around the world.”
Now a staple in the Friday 8 p.m. hour on The CW every summer, Masters of Illusion from Associated Television International, hosted by Dean Cain, is a tour de force reality style featuring some of the most popular magicians, illusionists and escape artists as they entertain you with seemingly unprecedented feats. Astounding! Extraordinary! Stupefying! And family friendly! Read more…
(Thanks to Mel Kientz and Magicians Life Web Notes for the link..)
In celebration of the ‘Masters of Illusion’ Season 2 premiere, the stars of the hit series dish the dirt on the most common misconceptions about magic and magicians!
For centuries, individuals across the world have been fascinated with the art of magic and the individuals who have mastered the art of magic in hopes of captivating audiences. From Houdini and Copperfield to Penn & Teller and Siegfried & Roy, these talented individuals and the thousands of magicians out have and continue to push the boundaries of the magic.
Despite the magic industry’s continued growth and its increased popularity, many individuals continue to hold onto incorrect views and opinions of magic and magicians – which in part are due to the portrayal of magicians in the entertainment industry from across the years.
Whether you still believe all magicians wear top hats or continue to assume that all magicians can pull rabbits out of a hat, chances are you’re guilty of some misconception about magic and magicians.
Which is where we come in.
Ahead of the Season Two premiere of Masters of Illusion, Hidden Remote partnered with The CW to bring present our readers with a unique feature which shines a light on the popular misconceptions these professional illusionists continue to face. The end result is a list of the most common misconceptions about the magic industry and the individuals who amaze audiences around the world with their jaw-dropping illusions written by five professional illusionists featured throughout Masters of Illusion‘s second season.
So what misconceptions top each illusionist’s list?
Let’s begin our countdown with our first list of misconceptions from a renowned illusionist who is no stranger to the small screen. Read on…
Magician Michael Grandinetti, who has performed his magic at NFL halftime shows while surrounded by 70,000 people; with Oscar-winning composer Marvin Hamlisch and symphony orchestras; in theaters, casinos, and arenas around the country and even at The White House, talked to us about the second season ofMasters of Illusion, which features Michael and a number of other world-famous magicians and celebrity guest stars.
You became a successful magician at a pretty young age. Have you ever had another job besides magic? You know, magic has always been the focus of my life. I’m one of those really lucky people who found what they love to do early. It was just a driving force in my life, so I’m very lucky that I get to wake up every day and do what I love.
How do you learn to do the amazing tricks that you perform now? Well, it takes a lot of time and study to really understand the art of magic. For me and I think for most people, you start small, with the tricks you get in the magic sets. My dad would take me to the magic store in downtown Pittsburgh where I’m from every couple of weeks, and I’d use my allowance to buy little magic effects.
It’s a growing process. You learn from everything you do. For me, I was very much a student of magic, I tried to read everything I could about it and watch everything I could about it. The other thing is, I always wanted to go beyond what somebody my own age was doing. When I was 12, I didn’t want to look like a 12-year-old magician. When I was 16, I didn’t want to look like a 16-year-old magician. It was fun for me to set goals to try and go beyond what the norm may have been. I’m very lucky that I come from a very supportive family and community who gave me a lot of opportunities from a young age to do shows. They would hire me at 12 and 13 to do company events and different things. It gave me a lot of experience to do magic.
Can you tell us about Masters of Illusion for people who didn’t see season 1? Masters of Illusion is a really interesting show. The producers searched the world for the best magicians they could find. And I’m definitely honored to be part of that group. They invited everyone to come to Hollywood and bring their best stuff and show off their best illusions. So when people tune in to Masters of Illusion, they’re going to see magic from around the world.
In season 1, we did several of my favorite illusions from my touring show. I levitated 10 feet in the air, I shrunk a girl to the size of a basketball, I walked through a seven-foot tall steel wall that was examined by the audience. I borrowed three finger rings from members of the audience and they disappeared and ended baked inside a size of a loaf of bread, so we had a lot of fun with it and I’m so glad the show was well received. You know I think as a performer, it makes me most happy when I hear people enjoy my work. We’re excited to be back for a second season.
What can we look forward to in season 2? I can give you a couple of examples: we taped six new illusions for the new season of Masters and most of them have never been on television. One piece is a six-foot tall painting of a girl and I literally pull the girl visibly from the painting and she becomes real. She dances onstage and just as she gets close to me, she instantly disappears, and reappears back in the painting. I’m very proud of that illusion.
There’s another piece we did, where for years, magicians have made ladies float in the air. What I wanted to do is I wanted to use television to our advantage. A lot of times people sit at home and go, well that’s television; if I were there, I might see something different. What we did was invite the audience up onstage to surround me while I made a girl float in the air. We gave everybody these super bright flashlights to shine above, below and around the girl while she was floating. That way, if there was anything hidden, any strings, wires, anything at all, the audience members with these bright flashlights would certainly show that. The other thing we did was we had the camera move 360 degrees around the magic while the girl was floating. So the home viewer is really getting an experience, even more than they would have had, had they been there live with us in Hollywood.
Which celebrities are going to be making guest appearances? In this show, Masters of Illusion Dean Cain is the host. He does a tremendous job, he’s a fan of magic. You can tell by the way he introduces us and by the way he watches the magic. In some cases he participates in the magic and he has has a definite genuine enthusiasm for it. There are also some other guest stars in the show; they haven’t actually let me finalize who’s going to be on it yet so I don’t have the final information, but there were definitely some exciting people who were there for the taping.
HOSTED BY DEAN CAIN DEBUTING ON FRIDAY, JULY 10, 2015AT 8:00 P.M. PACIFIC/EASTERN/7:00 P.M. CENTRAL 38 of the World’s Greatest Magicians To Appear in TV Series.
Hollywood, CA – MASTERS OF ILLUSION produced by Associated Television International and hosted by Dean Cain will return for a second season on The CW on Friday, July 10, 2015 at 8:00 p.m. Pacific/Eastern/7:00 p.m. Central. The fast-paced 13-week 30-minute variety show will feature 38 of the world’s greatest magicians. Masters of Illusion will feature amazing magic performed by cutting-edge Grand Illusionists, Escape Artists, Fire Eaters, Quick Change Artists, Mentalists, Sleight of Hand Artists and Comedy Magicians. Live audience members and television viewers at home will be amazed!
Dean Cain, Host of Masters of Illusion, is an actor, producer and writer. Cain stars in the upcoming new television show, “Supergirl,” in which he plays the role of Supergirl’s father. He plays the role of detective Mason Danvers in the recently released film “Vendetta.” Cain’s other upcoming films include “Beverly Hills Christmas,” “The Dog Who Saved Summer” and “Dead Sanctuary.” His breakthrough performance as an actor was in the dual roles of Superman/Clark Kent in the television series “Lois & Clark: The New Adventures of Superman” in 1993. Other television credits include “Ripley’s Believe It of Not!,” “Hit The Floor,” “Las Vegas,” “Beverly Hills 90210,” “Out of Time” and “Bloopers.” As a producer, Cain’s credits include: “Ripley’s Believe It of Not!,” “Maneater” and the upcoming film, “The League.” As a writer, he penned “Off Camera with Dean Cain,” “The Red Pill” and “Pure Country 2: The Gift.” The roster of award-winning magicians from around the world appearing in theMasters of Illusion is a virtual who’s who in the field of prestidigitation. The 38 acts appearing on television series during its 13-week run include:
Ed Alonzo (Comedy Magician – The Misfit of Magic from Toluca Lake, CA)
Jason Andrews (Illusionist from Las Vegas, NV)
Les Arnold & Dazzle (Les Arnold and Alex Arnold, Comedy Magicians from Long Beach, CA)
Barry & Stuart (Barry Jones from Wales, Scotland and Stuart MacLeod of Garden Grove, CA, Comedy Magicians)
Mark Bennick (Illusionist from Las Vegas, NV)
Tom Burgoon (Comedy Magician from Kansas City, MO)
Nathan Burton (Illusionist from Las Vegas, NV)
Mike Caveney (Comedy Magician of Pasadena, CA)
Danny Cole (Sleight of Hand Magician from Beverly Hills, CA)
David & Leeman (David Blatter and Leeman Parker, Comedy Magicians from Hollywood, CA)
Farrell Dillon (Card Trick Magician from Boise, ID)
Greg Frewin (Exotic Animal and Origami Magician from Niagra Falls, Ontario, Canada)
Angela Funovits (Mentalist from Cleveland, OH)
Greg Gleason (Illusionist from Las Vegas, NV)
John Gabriel (Illusionist from Sante Fe Springs, CA)
Michael Grandinetti (Illusionist from Studio City, CA)
Michael Griffin (Escape Artist from Columbus, OH)
Christopher Hart (Puzzle Magician from Sherman Oaks, CA)
Jarrett & Raja (Jarrett Parker and Raja Rahman, Grand Illusionists from Las Vegas, NV)
Chipper Lowell (Comedy Magician of Fullerton, CA)
Matt Marcy (Interactive Comedy Magician from Culver City, CA)
Circe Martinez (Dove Ace Magician from Las Vegas, NV)
Jeff McBride (Mask, Myth and Drams Fusion Illusionist from Las Vegas, NV)
Johnny Ace Palmer (Close-Up Magician from Huntington Beach, CA)
Jonathan Pendragon (Master of Imagination Illusionist from Toluca Lake, CA)
Piff The Magic Dragon and Mr. Piffles (John Vanderput and Mr. Piffles, The World’s First Performing Magic Chihuahuaä from Las Vegas, NV)
Nathan Phan (Comedy Magician from Orange, CA)
Aaron Radatz (Illusionist from Branson, MO)
Murray SawChuck (Comedy Magician from Las Vegas, NV)
John Shryock and Mari Lynn (Close-Up and Manipulation Magicians from Tucson, AZ)
Sos & Victoria (Sos and Victoria Petrosyan, Quick Change Artists from Altrip, Germany – Sos is originally from Yerevan, Armenia and Victoria is originally from Moscow, Russia)
Titou (Baptiste Molard, Illusionist Pasadena, CA)
Rick Thomas (Illusionist from Branson, MO)
Arthur Trace (The Artful Deceiver, Close-Up Magician from Sherman Oaks, CA)
Michael Turco (Illusionist from Valencia, CA)
Vixen (Cat LaCohie, Fire Performer and Glass Walking Magician from Hollywood, CA)
Fielding West (Comedy Magician from Las Vegas, NV)
Tommy Wind (Illusionist from Las Vegas, NV)
The first episode kicking off the second season of Masters of Illusion on The CW on Friday, July 10, 2015 will feature magicians Greg Frewin, Barry & Stuart, Sos & Victoria, Murray SawChuck, Michael Turco and Rick Thomas.
Masters of Illusion is produced by Associated Television International with returning Executive Producers David McKenzie (“The 38th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards,” “Marie”), Gay Blackstone (“The World Magic Awards” 2007-2009), David Martin (“The World Magic Awards” 2007-2009, “Marie”), and Al Schwartz (“The 38th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards,” “The Golden Globe Awards” 2013 and 2014, “The Gulf is Back”), along with Co-Executive ProducersJustin Pierce (“The Rocky Saga: Going The Distance”) and Jim Romanovich (“Robert Earl’s Be My Guest”). Associated Television International (ATI) is an Emmy Award-winning company that has been the world’s largest producer of magic for both stage and screen for over three decades. ATI’s television series, specials and feature films have aired on all U.S. broadcast networks, major cable channels and with television partners all over the world. Current series in production include: “The Hollywood Christmas Parade,” “Masters of Illusion,” “Robert Earl’s Be My Guest,” and the Emmy Award-nominated “Laura McKenzie’s Traveler. ATI has also been Emmy Award-nominated for its various television specials and series. For more information, please visit: www.associatedtelevision.com
. To view a trailer of promotional footage of Masters of Illusion please visit (60 seconds) https://vimeo.com/131695458
