James Randi was a Canadian-American stage magician, author and scientific skeptic who extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. He was the co-founder of the Committee for Skeptical Inquiry (CSI), and founder of the James Randi Educational Foundation (JREF). Randi began his career as a magician under the stage name The Amazing Randi and later chose to devote most of his time to investigating paranormal, occult, and supernatural claims, which he collectively called "woo-woo". Randi retired from practicing magic at age 60, and from his foundation at 87.
Harry Houdini was a Hungarian-American escape artist, illusionist, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician Robert-Houdin (1805–1871).
Richard Jay Potash was an American stage magician, actor and writer. In a profile for The New Yorker, Mark Singer called Jay "perhaps the most gifted sleight of hand artist alive". In addition to sleight of hand, Jay was known for his card tricks, card throwing, memory feats, and stage patter. He also wrote extensively on magic and its history. His acting credits included the films The Prestige, The Spanish Prisoner, Mystery Men, Heist, Boogie Nights, Tomorrow Never Dies, State and Main, House of Games and Magnolia, and the HBO series Deadwood. In 2015 he was the subject of an episode of PBS's American Masters, making him the only magician ever to have been profiled in that series.
Dominic Simon "Dom" Wood is an English entertainer, magician and presenter of radio and television, best known as one half of the double act Dick and Dom, with the other being Richard McCourt. McCourt is also the godfather of Wood's two sons, Tommy and Sam. From 14 October 2007 to September 2008, he and work partner McCourt presented the Sunday morning show on BBC Radio 1 from 10:00 am – 1:00 pm, but later left the show due to TV commitments.
Simon Lovell is an English comedy magician, card sharp, actor, and self-admitted confidence man. His trademark pieces are finding an audience member's card in his mouth and a straitjacket escape. Lovell appeared on VH1's popular reality show Celebracadabra, on which he and other magicians trained celebrities to perform magic for audiences.
Tony Slydini, simply known as Slydini, was a world-renowned magician. His mastery, expertise, originality and innovative approach to close-up artistry magic, earned him a legendary reputation in the magic world. He traveled the world performing for the public as well as performing and lecturing fellow magicians. As a result, he served as an inspiration to generations of well-known magicians, celebrities and entertainers, including Doug Henning, Dick Cavett, Bill Bixby, Ricky Jay, David Copperfield and countless others. Although he was best known as a master of close-up artistry, he continually demonstrated an extraordinary performing ability and during his lifetime was responsible for a long series of books, films and publications highlighting his mastery of the magical crafts. For his work, he received the highest honors that his profession could bestow, including both the coveted Masters Fellowship Award and Performing Fellowship Award from the Academy of Magical Arts. During his lifetime, Tony Slydini was inducted into the Society of American Magicians Hall of Fame as a Living Legend.
Simon Drake is an English magician based in London. He is best known for the television series The Secret Cabaret made for Britain's Channel 4.
Paul Draper is an anthropologist, academic, and an award-winning mentalist, magician, and film maker. As an anthropologist and communications expert specializing in the cognitive science of religious beliefs, he has lectured at fortune 500 companies and universities. As the creator of the show Mental Mysteries, Draper blends his academic background as an anthropologist and communications expert with the arts of mentalism and magic. A decade into his magic career, he received the Merlin Award for his work as a corporate entertainer. Draper has been described as a pioneer in the field of live online magic shows, regularly performing live streaming shows during the 2020 COVID-19 pandemic with viewing audiences of thousands of people.
Jamy Ian Swiss is an American magician, author, speaker, historian of magic, essayist, book reviewer, and scientific skeptic. He is known for sleight-of-hand with playing cards.
Dorothy Dietrich is an American stage magician and escapologist, best known for performing the bullet catch in her mouth and the first woman to perform a straitjacket escape while suspended hundreds of feet in the air from a burning rope. She was the first woman to gain prominence as an escape artist since the days of Houdini, breaking the glass ceiling for women in the field of escapes and magic.
Ali Cook is an English magician, actor and comedian originating from Yorkshire. Cook played Sgt. Paul McMellon in the feature film Kajaki, which won the Producer of The Year Award at the 2015 British Independent Film Awards and was nominated for a British Academy of Film and Television Arts Award in 2015.
Peter "Pete" Firman is an English magician, comedian and television presenter.
John Archer is a British comedy magician, television writer and actor. As well as performing magic, he has also commercially released a number of his tricks through various magic suppliers.
LoadingReadyRun, often abbreviated to LRR, is a Canadian entertainment group that produces video and audio comedy. It often covers video games, internet trends, and popular culture.
James Galea is an Australian magician and actor based in Sydney and Los Angeles.
Apollo Robbins is an American sleight-of-hand artist, security consultant, self-described gentleman thief and deception specialist. Forbes has called him "an artful manipulator of awareness".
Daniel White is an American magician, producer, and creative consultant. In March 2015, White began performing a headline show produced by Theory11 at The NoMad Hotel in New York City, titled "The Magician at The NoMad." The critically acclaimed show has been featured in Vanity Fair, Wall Street Journal, and 12 times on The Tonight Show with Jimmy Fallon.
Patrick "Pat" Page was a stage magician born in Dundee, Scotland. He became a professional magician at the age of 26 and worked at Davenport's magic shop for fifteen years. In 1950, he married Margaret Manzie, who died in 2003. Pat was the youngest of six siblings. He left behind his daughter Janette, son Jeremy and Grandson Robert.
Edinburgh International Magic Festival, also known as MagicFest, is an annual arts festival which takes place in Edinburgh, Scotland in the first week of July each year.
The Hustle is a 2019 American comedy film directed by Chris Addison, starring Anne Hathaway, Rebel Wilson, and Alex Sharp. It was written by Stanley Shapiro, Paul Henning, Dale Launer, and Jac Schaeffer, and is a female-centered remake of the 1988 film Dirty Rotten Scoundrels, which is itself a remake of the 1964 film Bedtime Story. The film follows two women who set out to con an internet millionaire.
