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(20th July 1869 - 13th April 1936)

Born in Columbus, Ohio. He became one of the most famous 20th century magicians. Thurston's biggest break was being chosen as "successor" to Harry Kellar, Dean of American Magicians. Thurston weathered the changing tastes and economic conditions of the 1920's into his retirement in the mid-1930's. His commitment to the finest advertising pieces has left a legacy of amazing high-quality posters chronicling his entire career, as well as custom-minted coins, clever dream interpretation books and advertising tie-ins. Thurston also used scaling cards, custom printed playing cards with publicity photos and advertising; he would "scale", or throw, the cards with...

... to spend time with Harry was a treat and an education. Mike had always kept magic purely as a hobby. His profession was (and still is) music and he wanted to avoid having to do magic for money. Nevertheless, in 1978, Mike took a job at Max and Erma's Restaurant in Indianapolis and performed there one night a week for seven and a half years. In 1985, his music career began making more demands on his time and he dropped out of the magic scene. In June, 1988, Illusions Restaurant opened in Carmel, Indiana and Mike was asked to be part of the magic staff. In a matter of months, Mike was put in charge of the magicians there and has been performing ever since, working five or six nights a week. ...

(April 15, 1957 - )

Peter first became fascinated by magic at the age of eight after his uncle showed him some magic tricks using cards, coins, matches and chalk. But it was the cards that held his deepest interest, and so began a learning process that continues to the present day.

Peter’s chief mentor was, and still is, Roy Walton. Others whom he met and had a profound influence on his path include, Gordon Bruce, Andy Galloway, Tommy Frederick, Fred Robinson, Dave Campbell, Eric Mason, Ken Brooke, Peter Kane, Alex Elmsley, Pat Page, Phil Goldstein, Gene Maze, Richard Kaufman and Dai Vernon.

A past winner of the Scottish Conjuror’s Association Close-up competition and the British...

(6th May 1943 - )

When Hideo was thirteen years old, he purchased a book of card magic for beginners but he didn't have a deck of cards. He went to a department store to buy one and asked a saleslady, 'Where can I buy a deck of cards?' She asked, 'What are you going to use it for?' he answered, 'To perform magic.' She pointed to a corner of the store where there was a Tenyo Magic Counter. He had never known that magic apparatus was sold to the general public. He bought a set of Multiplying Billiard Balls and both marked and stripper decks. This was the beginning of his magic career.

He went to work part-time as a magic demonstrator for Tenyo when he was nineteen years old while attending...

... every night, especially if a conjurer was appearing there. Here he became acquainted with some very famous artists in this field, who gave him countless tips for what was then his hobby. Among these were such famous names as Dany Ray and Marvyn Roy, who performed for years at the Lido in Paris.

One day, the famous film director, Ottokar Runze, required Ted's help for an audit. On the occasion of the discussion of the audit, Ted's magic worked its wonders on the director so well, that on the spot, he offered him a major role in his film 'The Lord of Barmbeck.' Immediately after the film work, Ted gave up his profession in order to 'tread the boards which portray the world.'

Ted worked...

... under the sign of Aquarius. His early years were spent in Elmhurst, Illinois (Harlan Tarbell's hometown), a western suburb of Chicago. His interest in magic was sparked by seeing Dr. Tarbell perform in 1950. Soon thereafter, he received his first magic book, Tarbell Course in Magic - Volume 1, on his eleventh birthday. After discovering that Dr. Tarbell had donated his entire course to the local library, Jon spent many hours diligently studying each volume along with other magic books in the library.

Jon joined the Mazda Mystics Club (Juniors) in 1953, a club started by Russell Shaw and his wife in Oak Park, Illinois. Meetings were held in the basement of the Mazda Magic Shop. He...

... Con Games; and has made numerous television appearances in the United States, Europe and Japan, including U.S. appearances on CBS 48 Hours, PBS Nova and the PBS documentary The Art of Magic, Comedy Central, and repeat appearances on The Today Show. He is the creator of Card Clinic, an intensive 3-day seminar on sleight-of-hand card magic, and has also taught at McBride Magic School and at the Sylvan Academy in Italy. According to Penn and Teller, 'Jamy Ian Swiss makes one understand what a terrifying art form pure sleight of hand can be. He is James Bond with a deck of cards for a pistol!'

Michael is not an ordinary performer; he lives his magic. He explores the mysteries behind the every day mask of the world. He proposes that reality as we know it is a facade that conceals a universe of subtle dynamics with both frightening and sublime possibilities. His material certainly moves beyond mere physical gimmicks.

He has formally studied more than performance magic. He has obtained a working knowledge of literature, linguistics, psychology, philosophy, art, physics as related to cosmology and many other fields. He has earned an Advanced Diploma in historical studies from Oxford University. He has performed for Audiences ranging from the listeners of the nationally syndicated...

The artist formerly known as Dr. Zodiac has been entertaining audiences, professionally, since the late 90's.

At the age of seven Scott witnessed his first real magic trick in New Orleans. From that day on, the magic grew inside him. Studying everything from Tarbell to David Blaine's television shows, Scott dreamed of being a "real" magician some day.

His day came when while working for the Illinois State Police's forensics laboratory, Scott decided to take off work and head to a renaissance fair. There he met his future mentor Chris Ivonovich. Chris sparked life back into Scott's magic dreams by performing "real" magical illusions mere inches from his face!

Scott studied under Chris...

... name at birth was Joseph Alexander Chrzanowski) was bitten by the “magic bug” at the age of 10 after witnessing a local magic performance. By the age of 16 he was working in a magic shop in Springfield, Massachusetts and perfecting his own performing skills. Within a year he began performing one-nighters around New England with his Chinese theme magic act called, “Chan Lin and Company.”

During the decades of the 1930’s and 1940’s Karson established himself as a comedic performer, now mostly performing as himself in western clothes (only occasionally performing the Chinese act for magic conventions). But it was also at this time that he made his mark as a magic dealer. He...

(1794 - 1881)

She is famous even today as one of the most powerful Voodoo priestesses who ever lived. Unfortunately few hard facts are known about her life. details of her exact parentage and origin are uncertain. She moved to New Orleans in her youth and was raised a devout Catholic - later becoming friends with Pere Antoine, the chaplain at St. Louis Cathedral. At the age of twenty-five, Marie joined a local freeman Jacques Paris in what was by all accounts a happy marriage. Later after his disappearance and presumed death, she lived with Cristophe Glapion. Between the two men, Marie bore fifteen children including her daughter Marie who bore a striking resemblance to her mother and eventually...

... had a magic shop in Seattle from 1976 to 1987. After many years of writing magic books he decided to found his own publishing house. He called it Hermetic Press and it started in 1989 in Seattle. Today Hermetic Press is the most prestigeous magic publisher in the world and Stephen is considered one of the best editors and authors of magic books.

... of "Magic Man". He's the winner of the 1999 Curly's Magic competition at the Abbott's Magic get together in Colon Michigan. A town commonly known as "The Magic Capital of the World". His style of visually stunning magic combined with mad capped comedy has earned him the well deserved reputation of one of the areas leading magicians. A well respected magician amoung magicians Jay Marshell summed it up after Ron won the Curly's competition when he said "Yea, He's got it!" Ron has also won first place in the 2002 Michigan Magic Day Close up contest, first place in 2004 Percy Abbott's Peoples choice in both close up and stage at the Abbott's Magic get together and Second place in 2004 Curly's...

Aaron's love of performing began in the 7th grade, when he was cast in a school production of "The King and I". From that one experience, Aaron was hooked. This love of theater and performing has remained a constant through High School, College and today.

Aaron has been active in and studied every aspect of theater. He has appeared in over 25 stage productions, directed several more and served on the technical staff of countless other productions.

Aaron's life was forever changed when a friend took him to a magic shop. Aaron's new love of this performance art made him decide to take a chance and make magic his career. After quitting his job in retail management to manage a magic shop,...

Audiences and critics the world over have praised Barnaby as one of the funniest, most original comedians they have ever seen. An English professor turned comedy juggler, Barnaby performs an assortment of incredible and inimitable juggling feats, many of which are duplicated by no one else in the world today. And he is much more than just a juggler. He is also a humorist, singer, songwriter and physical comedian, doing it all with a quick, dry wit.

Barnaby has entertained audiences around the world for over 25 years. He lives in Albuquerque, New Mexico with his wife, dog, and four pieces of luggage.

Late to discover close-up magic, David first became interested in the art at around 18 years of age. During one of many quests to give up smoking David thought he may have a better chance of kicking the habit if he could occupy his mind and give his hands something to do at the same time. Always having had a passing interest in card tricks, David went to a book shop and purchased Great Card Tricks by Bob Longe. David did manage to stop smoking (briefly!) but also inadvertently gained a far more expensive habit in card magic!

After the inevitable ‘pub gigs’ some real opportunities began to rear their head and soon, in between his real day job as a Graphic Designer, David’s evening’s...

... put these props to good use and performed his share of birthday parties, school events and Cub Scout meetings. During college, however, magic fell to the wayside as he spent more time focusing on becoming an actor (Plus it was really hard to get a date wearing a ruffled shirt and black cape).

One day, while attending graduate school in Washington D.C., Cameron stumbled into a magic store. As soon as he opened the door and saw the colorful apparatus lining the walls and smelled the aroma of stale sponge balls in the air, he was instantly smitten again. Walking out with a copy of The Royal Road to Card Magic and a Scotch and Soda set, Cameron's interest in magic was rekindled. Although...

... was a pharmacist. At the age of 11, the family moved to South Africa where he was educated until the age of 26 when he returned to the UK. Martin was passionate about magic from early childhood.

Martin had his first success in magic with his line of Magicassettes starting in 1976. The first one was an interview with Bobby Bernard and the second one with David Berglas. Over the years he released more than 80 such tapes and later offered them on Audio CDs. (You can find all of the Martin Breese recordings among the MP3s offered in the Magic Audio category.)

In 1982 Martin published his first magic book Alternative Card Magic written by at that time two completely unknown magicians...

... study of Buster Keaton's use of illusion was published in 2002 by the International Buster Keaton Society, The Damfinos. In 2008 he received a trophy from the International Brotherhood of Magicians for his writing on Al Flosso: An American Original 1895-1976.

He was first presented as a one-man surrealist magic show (Out Of Order) by avant-garde and Broadway producer Lyn Austin and her Music-Theatre Group in 1988. In 1989 he trekked to the Base Camp of Mount Everest with the American Everest Team and entertained Sherpas, monks and climbers. Other one-man shows: After Magic?, Pyschodyssey, and Time For Magic.

In 2005, he recreated John Mulholland's performance at Mulholland's...

... 1985)

Gibson’s interest in magic began at an early age, when in 1905 at the age of 8 he was given a trick box.

During the 1920s Gibson’s output was prolific. In total he produced 6,800 daily articles that appeared at a rate of 680 a year, including "After Dinner Tricks", "A Puzzle a Day", Magic Made Easy and others. Additionally he wrote weeklies, ghosted books for Thurston and released several books under his own name - in total he wrote 187 books.

In 1931 Gibson was approached by the pulp fiction magazine publishers Street and Smith, who wanted a writer to produce a pulp magazine series called "The Shadow", based on the character of a popular "Detective Radio Drama". Gibson...

... magic. He spends over 40 hours per week on magic reviews and is the owner of the two largest magic review sites in the world. www.MagicReviewed.com and www.MyLovelyAssistant.com

Jeff has a few web clients whose websites (or applications) he's built and maintains. Probably the most notable one is Jay Sankey’s www.InsideDeception.com. He built the site/system and maintains the code along with most of the customer service and tech support.

Along with all of that, Jeff has been obsessed with the Rubik’s Cube since he was a kid back in the 80’s. His average solve time is about 33 seconds and his best time is 24.56 seconds!

... loved magic competition because he believed the work involved in preparing for them made him a better magician. He was highly involved with the local SAM and IBM magic clubs and served as president and held various other board positions during his many years of active involvement in the clubs. At one time he acted as the Society of American Magicians special appointed liaison with the International Brotherhood of Magicians.

L.C. was not only a fine performer but a talented craftsman, before his involvement in magic he was an accomplished painter, designed and made jewelry, and carved wooden statues. He used those skills and others to build some of the finest magic props through his company...

... Ferri's aka Dennis Barlotta's interest in magic began with a gift from his father, a set of plastic cups and balls purchased from a novelty shop in Times Square. Years later, after military service, he discovered Tannen’s Magic Shop on Broadway and Al Flosso’s. He was drawn to close-up magic. One day he met a man at Tannen’s. He did a version of Slydini’s Coins Through the Table for Dennis. He suggested Dennis purchase The Magic of Slydini by Lewis Ganson, which he immediately did.

Dennis abandoned everything he had learned about magic and started over. He studied Slydini’s routines for one year, on his own; then sought him out for lessons.

His studio was on 341 West 45th...

(1924 - 1981)

Magician from Columbus, Ohio. His day job was working as a technician for the telephone company. When U.F. Grant moved back to Columbus, Ohio in the 1950's, Tanner went to work for him and wrote and edited many of his books. Tanner was editor of The New Phoenix (1960-1965) and founder/editor of The Mentalist issues 1-12. He was also the Parade Editor for The Linking Ring for some time.