talkmagic.co.uk

Picking the best magician is like picking the most beautiful woman. It is a matter of taste. I am partial to close up magic and my favorite is the late great Michael Skinner. Copperfield's presentations of Grand Illusion are drop dead beautiful.

Id say Dai Vernon. and I saw on the first page people saying Houdini, but Houdini was an awful magician in my opinion. An amazing escape artist and showman, but an awful magician. As to my name on here... uh... I thought he was good a couple months ago.

Apparently Houdini was a good magician, not great, not fantastic, just good. What he was really excellent at was showmanship and that's why his name is remembered long after other, far better magicians of his time are long forgotten. Don't ask me for the names, I don't remember.....

I think Manas Chaturvedi is the best magician!
He could fly upto 10 stories!(i m not kidding!)

A tricky post to answer this one eh? I don't think there is any fair way of deciding who was the best magician. After all, our opinions are bound to differ about this one.

Lots of good posts though, i think every magician I've ever heard of has been credited as being the best. I think most of us choose the magician who's performance style is the closest match to our own.

Is it possible to take elements of each great magician in history, combine the best of the best, and produce a super magician:

Skillfull
Knowledgable
Entertaining
Engaging
Mysterious
Popular

I'd luv to be Dr Frankenstein on this one - id make the following:

Dai Vernon / Bro John Hammon - SKILL (they were masters of their art)
Tony Slydini / Daryl's - CHARM (you can't help but like them)
Alexander Herman - STAGE ABILITY (Captivating stage presence)
Max Malini - PATIENCE (he rigourously prepared "impromptu" tricks)
Robert Houdin - ENGINEERING EXPERTISE (a magic pioneer)
Harry Houdini - REPUTATION (everyone's heard of him)
David Blaine - LOOKS (I wish i had those abs)
David Copperfield - THE PERM (just kiddin - i'd prefer his money!)
Nelson Downs - COIN SKILL (without doubt - the king of coins)
Derren Brown / Max Maven - MENTALISM SKILL (Unmatched in their field)
Paul Zennon - CHEEKYNESS (the loveable rouge)
Paul Daniels - CAREER LENGTH (Like him or not, he had a long TV job)
David Devant - THE MAGIC CIRCLE (need i say more!)

Anyway, to be honest I have no idea who the BEST magician of all time is. Maybe he or she is still yet to appear (no pun intended) It's a very intresting forum question though. Fair play.

Take care all. Tyler.

that is a very good point tylermanson. all the great magicians of our day have been given the title best magician ever. i dont think there is the best or ever will be. there are many different types of magic and you just cant have everyone agree on one person.

my favorite is david blaine because he is the one who got me started in magic. he sure is not the best but he is good at street magic. its not really the tecnique is it? arent we all just trying to amaze people. you dont need the best skill for that.

I don't know about "best magician in history", but I do like Juan Tamariz. The man is very talented, not to mention hilarious. Very entertaining to watch.

I think Dai Vernon is really good. From what I've read, Ching Ling Foo seemed like a great magician too.

i think that Harry Houdini was the best magician ever. No magician these days get as much respect and fans as Houdini did. He was amazing. Even though you may know how to do most of his tricks it was still a great thing then. He was rich because everyone wanted to see him perform. And also, do you know of a magician as well known as him

What was the society for magicians that Vernon and Houdini were in together?

Does anybody here know? My grandpa told me about it but I don't remember the details.

Thanks!

it was either the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM)
or Society of American Magicians (SAM) Houdini was at one point president of the SAM

They were both in the SAM and I have something amusing to tell. When I was a young magician several centuries ago I was a member of the magic circle and a distinguished visitor arrived by the name of John Mulholland. He was terribly ancient and I remember he thought rather a lot of himself. As a paragon of modesty I did not approve.

He knew Houdini well and he had a few people around him of which I was one. He snorted when I mentioned Houdini and went on a diatribe about how Houdini was mishandling the funds of the SAM and that nobody dared to call him on it. However John did call him on it and made rather a fuss at the time. I don't suppose Harry was a great fan of him after that.

Hmmm.....
Max Malini
He was just umbelievable!

either Houdini or Criss

Houdini Off reputation alone, Criss because he does good Illusions, street and stage. most people like him too.

I'd go with Taylor, and prefer a list instead.

In addition to those in his list (I agree with all of them), in alphabetical order:

Darwin Ortiz
David Stone
Doc Eason
Jeff McBride
Lance Burton
Michael Ammar

David Blaine, David Copperfield and Criss Angel do have to be lauded for bringing magic back to the current popularity, regardless of whether we like them or not. I think these three are our current generation's Houdini in terms of marketing and fame.