talkmagic.co.uk

easy, paul daniels!

[Anonymously Posted by: 'donut83']

I like him but not alot!
In my opinion its got to be Fred Kapps, I saw some documentry on him recently which a friend had taped and lean't me. He could do it all, cards, close up, comedy etc.
Theres some minor pieces of him on "Heroes of Magic" where someone quoted him as being "The best all rounder at magic".

I think it's gotta be David Copperfield.

I know a lot of people don't like him, but his tricks are outstanding. I bet there's not one person who didn't say "wow" at one of his tricks. Unfortunaly, he hasnt been on UK TV for over 6 years, but his latest specia(Tornado of Fire) has some great tricks on! You should check out The Laser..I wish I could buy that.. For close up magic, I would say Michael Ammar who I saw on Greatest Magic on Channel 5 a few times.

David is cool but Harry Houdini was way better

Cardini is the best!!

I think that The best magicians in history are Harry Houdini, David Copperfield, and David Blaine.

Does anyone knows french card magician Duvivier? A bit goofy but has his own made tricks like 'printing' and definitly a very smooth way to touch the cards...

I think it is david blaine because david copperfield tricks r to revealing and david blaines trick r just amazing!!!!!!!!!

[Anonymously Posted by: 'magic']

I agree. I think David Blaine is the best because he uses no props unlike David Copperfield and other stage magicians. David Blaine will always be my favorite and all my credit goes to him. He is my role model. He is very amazing with his tricks!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!

I've just been privileged to see Swedish master cardician Lennart Green giving a 3 hour performance and workshop for the recently formed Manchester Magicians' Group. He has to be the most skilful card handler of all time and very funny with it. (see my review of his video).

Kevin - hate to burst the bubble, but Blaine does use props - you just don't see them in his performance, and i'll grant you they're very different from the kind of props that Copperfield et al use - but then, it's a different kind of magic!?!

Have any of you guys heard of Dai Vernon? He was known as The Professor, widely acknowledged amongst magicians of his day to be good enough to earn the title... He was the role model for Ammar, who pays tribute to him in his big green book (The Magic of MA). the guy's dead now, but my guess he would have stood head and shoulders over the Blaine's and Copperfields of the world...

[Anonymously Posted by: 'Doreck']

While I think David Blaine has done some cool effects and has helped bring close-up magic to the masses, I personally think his presentation skills and basic technique are lousy. I remember the first Blaine TV special where practically every card move was done incredibly sloppily (top change, DL, etc.) and his presentation was sooo lame and boring and without personality. The fact that he succeeds in amazing people with cool and bizarre effects makes me look past those faults. I think most close-up performers that I have seen at the Magic Castle are vastly superior to Blaine in both respects including Johnny Ace Palmer, Whit Haydn, Steve Silverman, and Earl Nelson to name a few off the top of my head. Blaine is an example of someone IMO who got lucky by being at the right place at the right time with a good idea for a street magic show, but he is definitely not an icon or the "best" IMO. He is average at best in overall skills.

Flame away,
Kevin

David Blaine is the best showman/magician ever. His acting really makes you believe he is doing magic. However, his skills are not that great. The same goes for David Copperfield. Great show, but it's all stage props. As far as skill goes, Dai Vernon and Ammar are the greatest.

david blaine is the greatest street magician there ever was i believe, he is fast to the sleight of hands and has unbelievable tricks!!!

[Anonymously Posted by: 'Tyler Butler']

Well, if we are all talking about who is the best, then we must all first agree on what makes one magician better than the next.

First off, let's agree that they are all "tricks" and the secrets are simple. Anyone could do them if they practiced. The "secrets" don't make one magician better then the next.

The "secret" is really only a small part.

If you could watch two different magicians perform the exact same effect, then you would see how the "presentation" is the part that makes one magician better then the next.

With that in mind, the greatest "presenter of magic" must be David Copperfield. If you have seen him perform, you know that the lights, music, words, actions, and jokes are so flawlessly combined that the overall "presentation" is absolutely beautiful. Everything is timed perfectly, and the show is actually EMOTIONAL. People write him letters and tell him that they cried when they saw the show.

Obviously, David Blaine is not going to be using lights and music out on the sidewalk, but the things that he does have control over -- like the words, actions, and jokes seem to be given no thought whatsoever as if he was trying out the effect for the first time without having practiced what to say.

For people that say David Blaine is the best, you must not have seen anyone else perform close-up magic because it can be a beautiful piece of art instead of, "look... watch... look... watch."

After watching a magician who is not very good, the first thing people will say is, "How did he do that?" After watching a magician like David Copperfield, they don't try to imagine how it was done until they are on the way home and the thought finally hits them because up to that point, they are "fully entertained."

Anyway, that's my two cents -- Copperfield Rules!