talkmagic.co.uk

I have to say the man who has had the biggest influence on me is Mr D. Brown. His ideas and style really struck a chord for me and I've used elements of his presentational ideas in all my work. When I started getting serious about magic one of the first books I read was Pure Effect and it opened my eyes to a world of possibilities, not just for magic, but in all the other forms of entertainment I perform.

But historically one of the greats? I don't know... Only time will tell.

(I hate to say it but certain very famous magicians of the 80's/90's actually put me off magic)...

Many people gona hate me for this but some things must be said.
The first thing is all the talk about blaine; blaine in my opinion brings nothing to the table magic wise beside a poker face and a thight shirt. He does very simple, very known stuff, there really any kid with a free week or two can do. The only thing that bought him screen time was his willingness to do crazy feats like the jumping from high pole. Starving himself in a box, or his latest "show people how I almost kill myself trying to hold my breath".
The only thing that I will really give him credit for is for bringing new interest into street and close up magic, but that's it!

Now, DC, I only like him because he is a performer of epic proportions, I mean, he does stuff any one with a cool 100 million bucks in the bank could do, but he makes it look like real magic because of his acting ability, also he is one of the few people who brought new interest into the art of magic in the 90's.

Well Houdini... let say the hype may be bigger then the name. He was the greatest escapetionist of all times, thats pretty much a fact, some of the stuff he did still waiting to be done again. but about other stuff, well I would say people gave him the name of a great magician, a thing which is still remembered by this day when ever you want an example for a magician, but that's because Houdini was a master of PR, and always knew how to keep the hype and news around him, if it's crazy escaping feats, his interesting life, or his life goal and dieing wish of debunking spiritualism (a thing which killed him in the end). But comparing him to other magicians that may be unknown by lay people but sure known by magicians, well Houdini is left in the dust.


It's hard to pin point the greatest magician of history because magic is built on so many levels, and also there are so many kinds of magic.
when I look at great magicians I look at how much they brought the art forwards, for example Robert Houdin (that if I know correctly Houdini took his name), that is considered to be the father of modern magic, and I think he really is one of the greatest magicians alive, not because I have seen one of his shows, but because I know his historical tribute to magic, and many people will say that unless him, magic, especially grand stage magic, would have left as an old art and would be forgotten.

For me I think the best manipulator out there is Jeff McBride. The best stage magician being Copperfield or Burton. And as for the close-up king I would have to say Bill Malone.

For Close Up Magic - Don Alan gets my vote. Watching his routine time and time again on The Best of Magic and I still cannot catch him out. Where his final load comes from is beyond me. So very smooth. Clearly a man that has dedicated himself to the art.

seige wrote:Also, I would be VERY happy to see the Ricky Jay special... Anyone?

Well... thanks to the powers that be, I've acquired the Ricky Jay special from a friend in the States. FAN blooming TASTIC.

Everything I ever wanted it to be, with the famous cups and balls finale.

For me it's Dai Vernon and it's not even particularly close, though admittedly my knowledge of the history of magic and other such things is quite limited so I could be convinced otherwise.

TheOldForum wrote: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...

I love Dai Vernon, especially for his well known tricks. I felt the structure and performance of them were unique to anyone elses (when he performed them anyway). For this case, his 3 card monte and cup and balls trick was beautifully portrayed.

I think the best magicians are Barry and Stuart that appear on the show Dirty Tricks. Their comic blend of magic and gore gives audience a show they can never forget.

Oh! I almost forgot. Another great magic team is Penn & Teller. I think it's great how they will astound you with a trick, reveal it to you, then do it again but with a twist that leaves you baffled all over again.

Really hard to say about the 1800-1900 magicians (maybe Houdin, Hermans, Houdini, but hard to say as I've never witnessed them), but in 2007 I'd go with..

Derren Brown
The man has bring so much new power, originality and style to magic, and I think his philosophies about magic did alot good to my personal style of doing magic too.

Really hard to try to think which one is the best from these closeup cats like Sanders, Mike Close, Sankey, Houchin, Gregory Wilson etc etc... They all bring so much personality and skill to the table so its kinda impossible to get a "winner". Maybe best coin manipulator or card manipulator but impossible in general.

Ali Bongo anyone?

another one of those opinions that changes from time to time i guess, but at the moment it's Mr Houdini.
just for pure showmanship, and orchastrating so much towards his own publicity and challenges. genius! and after reading a bit about him i've now developed a little facination with the spiritualism (contacting the dead really) side of magic, or the show there of. i too would love to believe somewhere it wasn't all b*ll*cks!

Lawrence wrote:and after reading a bit about him i've now developed a little facination with the spiritualism (contacting the dead really) side of magic, or the show there of. i too would love to believe somewhere it wasn't all b*ll*cks!

Wait: I thought Houdini never did believe it was possible to contact the dead. I thought he basically went on crusades exposing so-called "psychics". But maybe I'm wrong, I haven't brushed up on Houdini in awhile.

As far as contacting the dead (or exposing their methods) David P. Abbott was the best. Teller's book set on him is fascinating.
To learn more about Houdini, I would suggest "Secret Life of Houdini". Great Book.

Best Magician in history

For me its as got to be paul daniels I use to watch his show all the time growing up as a kid and I miss the show very much I use to love watching as much as I could.

allso my other ones as got to be
cardini
houdini
J.B Bobo
t.nelson Downs