magician

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Magicians Society on the Hunt for a One-Time Deceiver

Actor Sophie Lloyd tricked her way into all-male Magic Circle, then vanished when they booted her

(Newser) - The Magic Circle, a century-old magicians society, admits those able to prove their skill in the art. But for most of its history, it considered only men. In the late 1980s, magician Jenny Winstanley sought to challenge her exclusion by tricking the club into admitting its first woman and recruited...

Magicians Rank High in Good Mental Health
One Group of Creatives
Has Stellar Mental Health
NEW STUDY
Dec 2, 2023 9:30 AM CST

One Group of Creatives Has Stellar Mental Health

Researchers found magicians are less prone to mental illness than other artists

(Newser) - Magicians may not belong in the "tortured artist" group. While mental illnesses have long been linked to creative types, a new study examining professional magicians says they're less prone to have them, the BBC reports. Researchers from Aberystwyth University in Wales conducted the study , in which 195 experienced...

First Magician on Las Vegas Strip Dies at 100
She Was the First Magician
on the Las Vegas Strip
OBITUARY
Mar 20, 2023 7:35 PM CDT

She Was the First Magician on the Las Vegas Strip

Gloria Dea dies at 100

(Newser) - Gloria Dea, the first magician to perform on what would become the Las Vegas Strip in the early 1940s, has died. She was 100. Dea died Saturday at her Las Vegas residence, said LaNae Jenkins, the director of clinical services for Valley Hospice, who was one of Dea's caretakers....

Cops: Banned Magician Entering Casino Was Just the Start

Shaun Benward accused of scamming Pennsylvania casino—and not for the first time

(Newser) - A self-described "magician" and "illusionist" with a long history of scamming casinos has allegedly struck again. Shaun Joseph Benward, 35, of Ocean Springs, Miss., is accused of working with 42-year-old Denielle Yvonne Derohan of Gulfport, Miss., to steal more than $10,000 from Rivers Casino in Pittsburgh, Pa....

Magicians Honor 100th Year of 'Most Famous Illusion' Ever

Join in the centennial celebration of sawing people in half

(Newser) - Just a few days after Siegfried Fischbacher did his final disappearing act , the world of magic celebrates a happier occasion. Per Reuters , it was 100 years ago on Sunday when magician PT Selbit (real name Percy Thomas Tibbles) sliced through a wooden box and sawed a woman in half on...

'Nation's Foremost Skeptic' Dead at 92
'Nation's Foremost
Skeptic' Dead at 92
OBITUARY
Oct 22, 2020 9:11 AM CDT

'Nation's Foremost Skeptic' Dead at 92

Magician devoted his life to exposing psychics, spoon benders, and quacks

(Newser) - James Randi, a magician who later challenged spoon benders, mind readers, and faith healers with such voracity that he became regarded as the country’s foremost skeptic, has died, his foundation announced. He was 92. The James Randi Educational Foundation said simply that its founder succumbed to "age-related causes”...

Magician Floats Way, Way Above Planet Earth

David Blaine is mesmerized over Arizona: 'Wow, it's so beautiful'

(Newser) - Ah, to float away. David Blaine realized that dream Wednesday by rigging up to balloons and floating nearly 25,000 feet over Arizona—until he cut the cord, USA Today reports. The 47-year-old magician drifted for nearly an hour in a livestreamed broadcast called "Ascension," which began with...

Police: Magician Did Not Survive Houdini Stunt

His peers say mistakes cost 'Mandrake' his life

(Newser) - A Houdini stunt in the Hooghly River was Mandrake the magician's last act, police in India say. The body of the magician, whose real name was Chanchal Lahiri, was pulled from the river Monday, a day after he was lowered into the water bound with a chain and six...

He Attempted a Houdini Trick, and It May Have Killed Him

Chanchal Lahiri didn't emerge from the Hooghly river on Sunday

(Newser) - He tried to do as Houdini once did—and it may have killed him. An Indian magician was lowered into the Hooghly river in West Bengal state on Sunday, his body bound with a chain and six locks in a Houdini-style trick, reports the BBC . Chanchal Lahiri's intention was...

Penn Jillette Talks 'Hard-Core' Magic He Uses to Stay Slim

Magician says he fasts 23 hours each day to maintain 100-pound weight loss

(Newser) - "I don't respect moderation." That's the reasoning magician Penn Jillette gives the Los Angeles Times for both the diet that helped him lose over 100 pounds in just a few months in 2015, and now for the "hard-core" way he maintains that weight loss. In...

Man Hurt in Copperfield Trick on Hook for His Own Injuries

Illusionist was found to be negligent but not liable

(Newser) - Illusionist David Copperfield was found negligent but not financially responsible for a British tourist's injuries during a signature vanishing act that used participants from the audience of a Las Vegas Strip show in 2013, a jury said Tuesday. Gavin Cox and his wife, Minh-Hahn Cox, alleged negligence by the...

Night Court Star Harry Anderson Dies
Night Court's 
Harry Anderson
Dead at 65
OBITUARY
Apr 17, 2018 1:37 AM CDT

Night Court's Harry Anderson Dead at 65

He was found dead at his NC home

(Newser) - Harry Anderson, the magician and former street hustler who starred as wacky judge Harry Stone on NBC sitcom Night Court, has been found dead in his home in Asheville, NC. He was 65. Police say officers were called to the home early Monday and no foul play is suspected, WSPA...

Body of Magician Found in Closet at the Magic Castle

Police say the death at the private magicians' club was a suicide

(Newser) - The body of a magician was found in a closet Friday night at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, the Hollywood Reporter reports. According to ABC7 , the body was identified by police as 61-year-old Daryl Easton. In a statement, the Magic Castle called Easton a "beloved illusionist." Easton had...

Illusionist in 'Water Torture Cell' Has a Close Call

Spencer Horsman said to have nearly drowned in promo for Criss Angel show

(Newser) - With just a rubber band and a piece of bent wire, Spencer Horsman entered a 30-by-30-inch Plexiglas tank filled with 100 gallons of water on Tuesday in handcuffs and chains, hoping to pull off a feat that would excite crowds for an upcoming show with illusionist Criss Angel, New Jersey...

Feds Demand Magician Submit Rabbit 'Disaster Plan'

USDA backtracks on rule after case publicized

(Newser) - Marty the Magician is no stranger to red tape—the Department of Agriculture has long required him to have a license for the rabbit he uses in his act—but even he was surprised when the government ordered him to pull a rabbit disaster plan out of his hat. Under...

Magician's Head Set on Fire on Dominican TV

No, it was not an illusion

(Newser) - An American magician was recuperating yesterday in the Dominican Republic after a local television show host lit his head on fire with a flammable cologne. California native Wayne Houchin said he is receiving treatment for burns that doctors are cautiously optimistic will not result in scars. A statement on his...

Penn and Teller Suit: Magician Stole Our Trick
Penn and Teller Suit:
Magician Stole Our Trick 
in case you missed it
Apr 21, 2012 12:30 PM CDT

Penn and Teller Suit: Magician Stole Our Trick

Dutch illusionist tries to sell shadow trick's explanation

(Newser) - Half of Penn and Teller is suing a fellow magician who he says ripped off a classic trick. Dutch illusionist Gerard Bakardy reportedly posted a YouTube video of "Rose and Her Shadow," a trick at the heart of the duo's repertoire, and Barkardy said he'd reveal...

How to Make Magic With an iPad

Innovative sleight-of-gizmo makes virtual 'real'

(Newser) - Move over, David Blaine: everyone's new favorite illusionist is the iPad, recently put through its mesmerizing paces by innovative Japanese performer Shinya Uchida on the streets of Tokyo. The sleight-of-gizmo on YouTube presents a history of communication with the iPad providing smoke, drink, a cheese appetizer, x-rays, and even a...

Ex-Scientologist Actor: Return My $120K

After 33 years, Larry Anderson wants out

(Newser) - After 33 years as a Scientologist and a star turn in a widely disseminated orientation video, actor Larry Anderson wants out—and he wants his money back. Anderson, a magician turned TV actor and game-show host, says the organization owes him $120,000. A Scientology rep tells the St. Petersburg ...

Trainee Hypnotizes Himself
 Trainee Hypnotizes Himself  
Jan 7, 2010 4:22 AM CST

Trainee Hypnotizes Himself

Wife finds hapless circus performer in trance

(Newser) - A stage performer's hypnosis textbook apparently forgot to mention that practicing on yourself is a bad idea. Helmut Kichmeier—stage name Hannibal Helmurto—was found by his wife standing in front of a mirror in a zombie-like trance with an open book on hypnosis by his side. She called his...

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