The Fabulous 5 of Professional Magician

     Some people said that magics are all around and you just need to believe it. According to Amit Kalantri, an actor and a professional mentalist from India "as the general rule, in the world of magic, the most successful magician is the one who has enough patience to keep the secrets of his original magic effects." Based on this quote, it shows that nowadays, some of famous magician are still exist who perform a lot of amazing tricks and magics which can stun millions of people in the world. Hence, in this entry we will bring an enjoyable segment for our beloved readers in order to expose this magician world. Basically, there are so many talent magician out there but we will choose the top five fabulous well-known magician that have give a big impact to the entertainment industry worldwide. 

1. CRISS ANGEL

Full name: Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos

Born: December 19, 1967 (age 50), New York, United States 

Height: 1.83 m 

Spouse: Shaunyl Benson (m. 2015–2016),  

            JoAnn Winkhart (m. 2002–2006) 

Movies: Criss Angel Trick'd Up 

     

      Criss Angel was born on Dec. 19, 1967. His parents, John and Dimitra Sarantakos, raised him and his two brothers, Costa and J.D., in East Meadow, N.Y., on Long Island. He became interested in magic at the age of seven after one of his aunts showed him a card trick. He began practicing magic tricks day and night and soon mastered quite a few of them. He gave his first performance at a birthday party at the age of 12. He studied at East Meadow High School, and throughout his student days gave performances at local restaurants. By the time he graduated, he had decided to pursue a career as a professional magician.

 A naturally talented performer with a knack for creating credible illusions, he soon became a popular magician and illusionist and received an opportunity to perform on television in 1994. His first small screen appearance was as a part of a one-hour ABC prime time special titled ‘Secrets’.

• Best performance:

He made several television appearances in the late 1990's and starred in the 1997 television movie ‘The Science of Magic’ and its 2003 sequel ‘The Science of Magic II’. In 2001, he also started performing in the stage show "Criss Angel Mindfreak" which ran for more than 600 performances between 2001 and 2003 at the World Underground Theater. In the recent years he has performed many stage shows including ‘Criss Angel Magicjam’, ‘Mindfreak Live!’, and ‘The Supernaturalists’. In addition to being a magician, he is also a singer and has performed with the heavy metal band Angel and collaborated with industrial rock musician Klay Scott for Angeldust. He also produced soundtracks for his television series ‘Mindfreak’. 

• Awards & Achievements

 He won the International Magicin Society's "Magician of the Decade" title in 2009 and "Magician of the Century" title in 2010. In 2011, he was awarded the World Magic Legacy by United State of America's entertainment.

  

(The video is about Criss Angel's biography as a well-known professional magician)

2. HARRY HOUDINI

Full name: Erik Weisz 

Born: March 24, 1874, Budapest, Hungary.

Died: October 31, 1926, Michigan, United States 

 Cause of death: Peritonitis

 Spouse: Bess Houdini (1894–1926) 

 Born Erich Weisz on March 24, 1874, in Budapest, Hungary. He also was known as Harry Houdini. Because of his grand illusions and daring, and spectacular escape acts made him one of the most famous magicians of all time. He is one of seven children born to a Jewish rabbi and his wife, Erich moved with his family as a child to Appleton, Wisconsin, where he later claimed he was born. When he was 13, Erich moved with his father to New York City, taking on odd jobs and living in a boarding house before the rest of the family joined them. It was there that he became interested in trapeze arts. 

• Best performance:

In 1894, Erich launched his career as a professional magician and renamed himself, Harry Houdini. Though his magic met with little success, he soon drew attention for his feats of escape using handcuffs. In 1893, he married fellow performer Wilhelmina Beatrice Rahner, who would serve as Houdini's lifelong stage assistant under the name Beatrice "Bess" Houdini. The greatest and most sensational of all Houdini's escapes was, without doubt, his "Chinese Water Torture Cell." In this trick, Houdini was to escape an extraordinary contraption resembling a fish tank. This is filled with water while Houdini is placed head down, in full view of the audience. He managed to escape within 54 seconds. 

• Awards & achievements

One of the achievements in his career is Harry Houdini became the President of the Society of American Magicians in 1917 and held this position till his death in 1926 and He was made the President of America’s oldest magic company, Martinka & Co. in 1923. He also was honored with a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, at 7001 Hollywood Boulevards, posthumously in 1975. Nevertheless, his death is a mystery and many have issued their opinions. he had died on October 31, 1926, at the age of 52, in Detroit, Michigan. 

(The video uploaded shows some of legendary magician, Harry Houdini on his live performances)

3. DAVID COPPERFIELD

Full name: David Seth Kotkin 

Born: September 16, 1956 (age 61), New Jersey, United State

 Residence: Las Vegas, United States 
Children: Sky Copperfield

David Seth Kotkin is an American magician born in Metuchen, New Jersey, United States on 16 September 1956. He is known as David Copperfield and was described by Forbes as the most commercially successful magician in history. He was graduated from Metuchen High School. In his early year of involvement as magician, he began practicing magic in his neighborhood and known as “Davino the Boy Magician”. At 12 years old, he become the youngest person who admitted into American Magician Society. For him, he saw magic as a way of fitting in and also to meet women. Copperfield also joined a one-day camp that allowed him to practice magic as it fit with his creative style. 

• Best performance:

The most impressive and famous trick of David Copperfield was when he made the Statue of Liberty disappear in front of a live audience. However, he’s most famous for his live TV shows from 1980s. He did a lot of wonderful magic trick and one of the most impressive performance was when he walked through the Great Wall of China, escaped from Alcatraz prison and also he made a Learjet vanish on his live TV shows. 

• Awards & achievements 

He was nominated for 38 times for Emmy awards and he won 21 times. He also received the Living Lagend Award by the Library of Congress. One of the most impressive about David Copperfield is because he was the first living magician received a star on the Hollywood Walk Of Fame. However, he also received 11 of Guinness World Record including the most magic shows performed in a year, most tickets sold worldwide by solo entertainer and also largest illusion ever staged.

(The video above shows that some of David Copperfield's magic live performances.)

4. DYNAMO

Full name:  Steven Frayne 

 Born: December 17, 1982 (age 35),Bradford, United Kingdom 

 Spouse: Kelly Frayne

 Parents: Nicky Goodwin

Frayne was born in Bradford, England to an English mother and a father of Pakistani Pathan ancestry. He was bullied as a child and one of the first magic trick he learned was something his grandfather taught him to make it seem as though he was very heavy so that the other child could not bullied him again. Frayne has suffered from Chron's disease since he was a teenager and had half of his stomach removed when he was seventeen. 

• Best performance:

On 25 December 2009, Dynamo appeared on the Soccer AM Christmas Special and performed magic for the show's presenters Max Rushden. . On 19 March 2010, he appeared on BBC One in aid of Spoert Relief where he appeared to turn lottery tickets into cash in front of actor and actress. Later in the show, he performed a levitation in front of James Cordon and a live studio audience. 

• Awards & performances:

On 5 July 2012, Dynamo was promoted by the magicians' society, to Associate of the Inner Magic Circle with Silver Star for Performance. In the same year, his television show which is Dynamo: Magician Impossible won the Best Entertainment Programme award at the Broadcast Awards. Besides, his Series 2 of Dynamo: Magician Impossible won the Broadcast Award for Best Entertainment Programme for the second year in a row and won TV show of the year at the Virgin Media Awards. Lastly, Dynamo also won the Magician of the Year award from The Academy of Magical Arts 48th Annual Awards Show. 

In September 2011, Dynamo appeared on sports television program ESPN where he performed card tricks. The next day, he appeared as a guest panelist for Neol Finding's team on Never Mind the BuzzCocks. 

(The video above is about Dynamo biography and his tricks and magic performances)

5. DAVID BLAINE

Born: April 4, 1973 (age 45), New York City, United States

 Height: 1.83 m 

 Nationality: American 

 Partner(s): Alizée Guinochet (2008–2014) 

Magician David Blaine was born on April 4, 1973, to a single mother in Brooklyn, New York. A street performer provided Blaine's introduction to magic, as the curious 4-year-old waited for a subway train. Magic was not his only interest, however, and Blaine went on to attend the Neighborhood Playhouse drama school and appeared in several TV commercials and soap operas. It was during this time that his ability to levitate off of the ground surfaced and, at the urging of his personal physician, Blaine underwent a thorough examination. 

• Best performance

In 1999, Blaine performed his first endurance stunt: submerging himself in 4,000 pounds of water for over one week. In 2000, he followed with "Frozen in Time" in which he was frozen into a block of ice for 72 hours. Two years later, he stood on a 100-foot pillar for 35 hours in "Vertigo." In New York in 2006, his "human aquarium" stunt involved submersion in a water-filled sphere for seven days, receiving air and food through tubes.  

• Awards & achievements:

Blaine made a tape of a performance and sent it to ABC, where the response was tremendous and an interview was soon requested. His first special, David Blaine: Street Magic was a ratings hit in 1997. David Blaine: Magic Man followed two years later. He also is a recipient of the Magician of the Year Award. 

(This video contain some clip of David Blaine during his live magic performance.)

In conclusion, some people are learning magic because it can be a hobby during their leisure time. However, all this five fabulous magician involved in magic due to unavoidable situation such as as their weapon to defend themselves and also a reason for them to survive. Consequently, we should be proud and see those magician as someone who can influence and teach us some knowledge in a very different way. Legendary Harry Houdini, Criss Angel, David Copperfield, David Blaine and Dynamo are the people who struggle a lot in their magic and tricks performances just to entertain people and give a different alternative on how to survive in this challenging world. 

Prepared by. 

AINI NADRAH KAMARUDIN 

MOHAMAD FAIZ HAMAT

ZURAYUSAZRUL ISMAIL

NURUL SYUHADA ISMAIL

MOHD NURASYDAN RAMDAN

Section 2 (Jan2018) Main Campus PJ