Douglas James Henning was a Canadian magician, illusionist, escape artist and politician.
David Seth Kotkin, known professionally as David Copperfield, is an American magician, described by Forbes as the most commercially successful magician in history.
P. T. Selbit (1881–1938) was an English magician, inventor and writer who is credited with being the first person to perform the illusion of sawing a woman in half. Among magicians he was known for his inventiveness and entrepreneurial instinct and he is credited with creating a long list of successful stage illusions.
William Ellsworth Robinson was an American magician who went by the stage name Chung Ling Soo. He is mostly remembered today for his extensive use of yellowface in his act to falsely represent himself to be a Chinese man who spoke little English, as well as for his accidental death due to a failed bullet catch trick.
Harry Bouton Blackstone Jr. was an American stage magician, author, and television performer. He is estimated to have pulled 80,000 rabbits from his sleeves and hats.
Sawing a woman in half is a generic name for a number of stage magic tricks in which a person is apparently cut or divided into two or more pieces.
Howard Thurston was a stage magician from Columbus, Ohio, United States. As a child, he ran away to join the circus, where his future partner Harry Kellar also performed. Thurston was deeply impressed after he attended magician Alexander Herrmann's magic show and was determined to equal his work. He eventually became the most famous magician of his time. Thurston's traveling magic show was the biggest one of all; it was so large that it needed eight train cars to transport his road show.
Paul Kieve is an English professional illusionist and whose consulting work for both stage and screen has contributed to changing how magical special effects in productions are approached. He is the only illusionist ever to have won a New York Drama Desk award. He created the illusions for the 2014 Kate Bush concert Before the Dawn.
Origami is a magic stage illusion with a Japanese paperfolding theme, designed by Jim Steinmeyer. It was originally performed in 1986 by Canadian illusionist Doug Henning, using a working prop constructed by illusion builder John Gaughan. Illusionist David Copperfield later introduced presentational changes that would be widely copied by other performers.
Mark Kalin and Jinger Leigh are an award-winning American magic couple known for large-scale stage shows and for appearances on network television specials.
Richiardi Jr., was the stage name of magician Aldo Izquierdo Colosi, who became famous for dramatic and gory stage presentations of classic stage illusions.
A magician's assistant is a performer in a magic act who is not billed as the magician or principal name in the act.
Alan Robert Wakeling (1926–2004) was an American magician and inventor who is known in the magic world for devising classic illusions and routines used by some of the top performers in the business. Some of his most successful work was done in association with leading television magician Mark Wilson. They worked on the television show The Magic Land of Allakazam, which was sponsored by Kellogg's cereal, and aired on CBS every Saturday from October 1, 1960 then moved to ABC in 1962.
J C Sum is a Singaporean hybrid marketer, author, content creator, former illusionist and illusion designer.
Don Wayne was an American designer and consultant who has developed illusions for some of the world's most famous magicians. He also created and marketed smaller illusions used by many professional performers. He was the owner of the company Don Wayne Magic Inc., which did work for television, theater, theme parks and concert touring productions.
Stage illusions are large-scale magic tricks. As the name implies, stage illusions are distinct from all other types of magic in that they are performed a considerable distance away from the audience, usually on a stage, in order to maintain the illusion. Stage illusions usually use large props and may involve the use of assistants or large animals. Examples of stage illusions include sawing a woman in half and Lady-to-Tiger.
Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close-up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It is to be distinguished from paranormal magic which are effects claimed to be created through supernatural means. It is one of the oldest performing arts in the world.
Adam Mada, known professionally as Adam Mada and The Wizard of Oz is an Australian magician, entertainer and magic consultant. Mada is the magic and illusion consultant for the National Institute of Dramatic Art, Australia's Got Talent, The Metaverse of Magic and previously served as The Australian Magic & Illusion Associate for the Melbourne premiere of Harry Potter and the Cursed Child.
A levitation illusion is one in which a magician appears to defy gravity by making an object or person float in the air. The subject may appear to levitate unassisted, or it may be performed with the aid of another object in which case it is termed a "suspension".
