talkmagic.co.uk

It's alright, we can ignore Derren, he's been well covered already in this thread...!

No other takers for R Paul Wilson? Awww, spoil-sports. The man is a delight

I do like his card stuff, but he's not exactly a showman, is he?

Having said that, a lot of the magicians I like are quite understated in their approach. Steve Draun, Jim Pace, Dave Forrest - most let the magic speak for itself.

Derren Brown - Genious British mind and mind blowing performances

Banachek - Absolute genious

Luke Jermay - For very workable effects

Phil Goldstein / Max Maven - incredible works that have inspired some of the best minds in Mentalism

Jay Sankey - Unparalleled creativity, and some honest to goodness very very workable, commercial effects

David Williamson - All round brilliance

Paul Harris - Staggering creative mind

Shoot Ogawa - Watch him perform live it it will cook your brain

Lennart Green - No one does it quite like Big Len

David Stone - Everything he does just looks so damn good

Mine would have to be:

Dai Vernon - The professor, no need to say more than that really.

Paul Harris - Modern day genius, his books are becoming legendary, I got a bit over my head the first time I read them.

Dave Forrest - Maybe not a massive name yet but I love his methods, effects and style.

Theo Annemann - Great thinker and creative genius. While I'm not into mentalism I got to hand it to him for his teachings on presentations and trying to make his magic as simple as possible.

John Scarne - if he didn't know something about cards, it probably never existed.

I'd also like to say that TM has also been a big influence, a great place to come for a bit of magic and banter.

My biggest influence would have to be Paul Daniels. If it wasn't for watching his Saturday evening show I might never have had my magical interest caught and I might well not be doing magic now.

Can I just add Uri Geller's name to this list?

I know that may be a bit controversial to some and he has had moments of "extreme-lame", but here is why I have been inspired by him:

He has had a very considerable career largely touting an arsenal of effects you could count on one hand; a nice contrast to most of us who are always looking for the next thing and CUPSing it to kingdom come. He takes so very little and makes the absolute most of it. So he inspires from the point of view of "Presentation".

He really went for it.

He has had moments of "lame" but it never stopped him, and that is quite inspirational for me lol

He is a Showman with a capital S.

and further..
I've never seen a deck of playing cards in his hand.
He must be the classic example of the purist in the Craig Browning sense of the word.

I don't have 5 original examples to post here so I'll just leave it at that

Okey Dokey - 5 Personal Influences:

Wayne Dobson/Paul Daniels (I know thats two!) Saturday Evening Magic on TV. I remember sitting there wishing I knew how it was done! All of those thoughts and memories were stored until now!
Joshua Jay - A very skilled performer with high Charisma value! (The new Oz Perlman?) Excellent and very well polished!
Jerry Sadowitz - Comedian and excellent magician.
Roger Crosthwaite - A reminder to everyone that when you believe that you have something perfected - it can still be improved! If you put time into magic practice then it really pays off!
Bill Malone - Somecall him sweaty but I think he is Great! His timing and style suit him perfectly and he is very in depth with his tuition!

Enjoy!

Lets see... In a particular order:

Mac King- He's just the funniest person.

Jeff McBride- One of the first magicians that made me think of different ways to do things.

Max Maven- Need anything be said?

Derren Brown- I saw him on tv and hope to see him live soon he's phenomanal.

Last but not the least, Penn and Teller- They're incredible.

These are currently my largest inspirations in magic, these are people who have the try something different spirit and this is one day what I hope to accomplish.

OK, in no order whatsoever...

Barry and Stuart
They show that us Scottish folks can be succesful in big time magic, and have me in stitches all the time!

Rudy Coby
For his creative and inventive thinking - he has inspired me to 'think outside the box' when developing routines.

Mac King
Simply one of the funniest magicians I have had the pleasure of meeting and seeing perform.

Derren Brown
I love the fact that he can convince people he uses heaps of suggestion and psychology when a large portion of his routines revolve around magic principles. A fantastic showman.

And last but certainly not least,
My Dad
He has offered me literally tonnes of extremely valuable advice, helped me develop effects and routines, and has helped me shape who I am in magic today.

In particular order:

1- Derren Brown: After seing him a new whole world just open in front of me. He is the only reason I started magic..
2- Derren Brown: Funny, charismatic and he can make anyone believe in him.
3- Derren Brown: New thoughts on old "tricks". Also he makes magic so strong.
4- Derren Brown: Really strong showman.
5- Bill Malone, Lennart Green, Darwin Ortiz, Ed Marlo, Anneman, and some others: Thanks to them I'm learning more and more everyday.

In no particular order and disregarding the restriction on the number.
Jeff McBride
Lennart Green
Eugene Burger
Chad Long
Daryl
Mikey Silver
Andy Nyman
as well as the Danish professionals
Joachim Solberg
Steen Bork Christensen
Ole Larsen

I don't have many, really

Teller - Very smooth and amazing sleight of hand, which I hope to one day be able to match, but I know I won't. He could tell you exactly what he's doing and you still wouldn't catch it. I also love the type of magic he does, and the general way he performs it. And he uses fake blood. Who doesn't like fake blood?

Derren Brown (who doesn't?) - Great performer; a master of language, stage presence, and comedy


And an honorable "not an influence but making me wish I could do card magic" mention goes to R Paul Wilson

Hmmm...I'm a bit like VoodooMick. My influences tend not to be magicians at all, but rather your cousins from the other side of the great divide.

I'll count Uri Geller as one. How inspiring was it watching him bend spoons when I was 10 years old. He was a person with real super powers!

Franz Antione Mesmer. To all intents and purposes he invented hypnotism in the 18th century, and now 300 years later people still fall for it. What a larf.

Charles Addams. The man who invented the Addams Family.

Daniel Dunglas Home, spiritualist medium of the 1800's. The Derren Brown of his day.

And finally Mr. John Steed for his sartorial tips. I will wear a bowler one day.