Wednesday, December 1, 2010

5 Greatest Magicians of All Time

1. Jonathan and Charlotte Pendragon
Known as The Pendragons , this husband-wife couple is the best magician couple world has ever seen. They are very well known for many killer public appearances especially on TV.
There story began at the University of California, where Jonathan was studying theater and Charlotte was studying dance. Charlotte is a dancer and former gymnast and body builder while Jonathan was a gymnast, spring board diver, martial arts expert and fencer. Together they made a great couple and soon got married. Their athletic skills helped them achieve a distinctive status in
magic arena.There most awesome work includes;classic illusions levitation,Interlude (an act in which woman crawls through the chest of a man), Clearly Impossible ( a sawing in half trick designed by Jonathan) and many more. They were also listed in Guinness Book of Records, under the heading of the “Fastest Transformation Illusion”.
But success doesn’t come without sacrifices, in 2006, Jonathan Pendragon fell on an arrow while rehearsing a dangerous bow and arrow trick. The arrow pierced his liver, stomach and heart, but since, he has made a full recovery.
Together they have earned many award,they have won prestigious award twice, Charlotte was the first woman to receive “The Magician of the Year Award”.
2. David Copperfield

Forbes 2006 named him commercially most successful magician of the world. This American born genius has sold over 40 million show tickets and grossed over $1 Billion up to date. He was fond of magic from his early childhood and started practicing magic at the age of 10 and at the age of 14, became the youngest ever member of “Society of American Magicians” , well that’s an achievement !!! Still not convinced? At the age of 16, he was teaching magic at New York University.
In 1977, Copperfield was discovered by Joseph Cates, who produced “The Magic of ABC” with him. After that Copperfield has hosted more than 20 successful TV specials.His most famous magic tricks include; making the Statue of Liberty disappear, flying, levitating over the Grand Canyon, and walking through the Great Wall of China.
An interesting incident where his magic skills helped him in real life occurred when he and his two female assistants were robbed at gunpoint after a performance in West Palm Beach, Florida. Assistants handed over cell phones, cash and whatever they had to robbers but according to police, Copperfield used sleight of hand to hide his possessions from robbers.
Professional achievements include 21 Emmy Awards, a Living Legend Award,Hollywood Walk of Frame and other countless recognitions.
3. Criss Angel
No.3 in our list is Criss Angel,best known for his TV show Criss Angel Mindfreak and his live performance show Criss Angel Believe, with Cirque du Soleil, at the Luxor casino, in Las Vegas, Nevada.
At the age of 7, Chris Angel was introduced to magic by his Aunt, who taught her a simple card trick. He practiced magic tricks obsessively, and gave his first magic show at the age of 12,at a neighbor’s birthday party, for a fee of $10.From that day Chris never looked back and by the time of his graduation, he was a professional magician.
He is well known for his tricks like pulling a woman in half, and getting himself run over by a steam roller live on air and walking on water.
4. Lance Burton
4th in our list is Lance Burton, born in 1960, this master magician has appeared of many TV shows. His first encounter with magic world was when he was 5. He was gifted a book “Magic Made Easy”, probably that was the incident which changed his life forever. He learned the tricks mentioned in the book and his first performance was for neighbhourhood kids charging them a nickel each.
At the age of 18 Burton won a magic competition and at the age of 20  he was awarded “Gold Medal of Excellence” from the International Brotherhood of Magician.
He also produced, directed, and wrote his own show, which opened at the Hacienda Hotel and ran for five years.One of his most famous acts is; escaping the path of a speeding roller coaster while on the tracks of “The Desperado”.
5. Paul Daniels

Paul Daniels earned international recognition from this TV show “The Paul Daniels Magic Show”, which ran on the BBC from 1979 to 1994. His interest in magic began at the age of 11 when, he read a book called “How To Entertain At Parties”.
From early teen , he started performing as a hobby in parties and in 1969 was offered a season at Newquay.
Some of most famous Paul Daniels tricks are Chimpanzee card trick, Chop Cup. In another trick Daniels was chained up in a sack and put into a wooden crate. This was lifted into the centre of the race track by a crane. The crate was then driven at at 120 mph by Jackie Stewart. When the crate was smashed to pieces by the car ther was no-one inside. The car parked and when the driver got out it was Daniels. Jackie Stewart then got out of the crane operator’s cabin.

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