talkmagic.co.uk

I understand.. the wish is to put a infinite list here...
but we must choose 1!!!
(and it was Kaps!)
Does anybody else got 3 Grand Prix?
I know Fism is not that old in magic history.. but many of the old we actually haven't seem they in action!!!
kaps! kaps! kaps!

theo annemann or chan canasta then...

It's hard to say "best" magician in history, when most of the ones mentioned are so far before all our times that none of us have seen them perform, so we only have to take other words for it.

"Most influential" is probably a better bet. I have no idea what Harlan Tarbell's performances were like and whether he was the "greatest magician" of his time or any other, but I can certainly say that he has been very influential with his writings to myself and many others.

Ah yes, I forgot his old name - my apologies.

To clear something up, I never said Jason Latimer had 3 Grand Prix championships - I said he won 3 FISM championships, one of which was a Grand Prix. There's a difference.

Having said that, I don't think FISM championships should be the only standard. Let's not forget - Dai Vernon didn't win any Grand Prix championships, and it goes without saying that he was one of the greatest of all time. Again, I'm not knocking Fred Kaps - he was phenomenal. However, this whole thread goes more towards personal opinion than anything else. An argument can be made for any and all names mentioned.

i have always admired Robert-Houdin

Thought i would post me Two-Penneth.
For me Eugene Burger!

dat8962 wrote:I's agree with Allen - No greatest, only greats!

im with them. alot is comparing apples and oranges.... with melons, grapefruits....

lord freddie is bang on too...

there are many great magicians. and WERE. copperfield, blaine... these are relative new-comers. aasking who the best in history was is iffy as who saw anyone 80 years ago?

really this is about whos the most famous now or popular, rather than the best. like all sorts of entertainment it doesnt really have a scale other than personal taste. for instance id rather watch daniels than blaine. blaine is good at what he does, but only what HE does. if he were to imitate someone else it would fall apart, so you have to like his style to like his entertainment.

a bit like the queen vs the who arguement haha. (the who win hands down )

but i digress... like blaine the magicians 80 years ago were great! but only for their time. im not really a fan of blaine though (sorry ). i admire what hes done for the art and for himself, but its not the sort of thing i like to see personally, nor the street audiences he performs to. but it fits with the times, if you like the street-wise-kid-done-good-act (i dont mean hes made it up but the way he presents things).

same im afraid to say with copperfield. many people love the large grandiose illusions. personally its over the top for my taste, and i dont really go for the presentation either.

im not saying that theyre bad magicians at all (clearly theyre not).

but i am questioning how its possible to decide such an abstract question as the greatest magician ever, especially when theres so many ways to judge it :S

I admit that I may be biased because I met him and he gave me some tips, but only for 20 minutes or so because He had to catch a plane. He uses no gimmicks or bright lights. His performance and patter are not only incredibly, but he is also very funny. For those of you that haven't guessed already, I'm reffering to Benjamin Levy.

Definetly Channing Pollock. He was the pinnacle of elegance and magical kind of magic (as opposed to tricksters) in my oppinion.

greets

As mentioned before, you cant really decide who is the best. What would be the fundamentals for that....Definitely not FISM for me. Is a magician who is good at manipulating with his fingers, a better magician than someone who knows how to misdirect but using no sleights? In sports it can be pretty easy. He was the fastest, so he was the best.

Like you cannot say who is the greatest painter of all times (there are just too many, like in magic), neither can you do this with magic.
This is why Magic should not be treated as a sport, but as Art.

I have to say, this is somewhat pointless,
there are so many good magicians.

Copperfield is good for the big modern illusions, he has great stage presence.

Some people say Houdini, I do not understand this, as he was not that much of a magician, he was apparently not that good at close up.
I know that he is good at escapes.

David Blaine I do not place any where near the top, I think he was interesting, he created a lot of buzz, but his persona was annoying, I did not feel wonder and excitement when watching his magic, i was baffled and he is strange, my favorite thing he did, was recreating the old pulling the head off a chicken chicken trick.

Fred Kapps is a wonderful magician, I will say that he is one of the best.
His stage presence and his showmanship are great.

I love watching Losander float bubbles.

Robert Houdin was amazing and changed magic.

There are lots and lots of great magicians in history and now and yet to be, I can not say there is one great magician.

Some magicians do one thing really well, some are completely adaptable, I think the greatest magicians are the most adaptable and also the ones who build an almost instant bond with the audience.

Doug Henning is one of the best at this.

There are many I do not mention here as others have mentioned many great magicians in this post.

You too could be one of the best, but why should there be a best.

We do know people that connect with us, are dedicated to the art and are very creative, are thought highly of, so these are the attributes you too may posses, if you want.

To give the audience a truly wonderful performance,
I see this as the most important part of being a magician.


Kim Flores

David Copperfield has intrigued me to no end. His famous death saw got my attention and i am totally blown away at how he did this. It almost seems impossible how someone can do something like this without defying the laws of nature.

Sources:
http://www.listsergeant.com/top_10_best_magic_tricks_illusions

luke101 wrote: It almost seems impossible how someone can do something like this without defying the laws of nature.

He cheats.

best magicians in history have to be fred kaps, cardini, tommy wonder, ali bongo, dai vernon doug henning and tony slydini

alive are copperfield, rene lavande, pat page, banachek and derren brown and nyman

i know that you said past not present but they have had some great work in the past lol

All the dead ones were pretty good. The live ones you mention some of them not so much.