Steve Cohen | |
---|---|
Born | |
Nationality | American |
Occupation(s) | Magician, illusionist, writer, television host |
Known for | Parlor magic performances at the Waldorf Astoria hotel |
Height | 5 ft 8 in (173 cm) |
Website | www |
Steve Cohen (born February 1, 1971) is an American magician who specializes in parlor magic. Sometimes called the "millionaires' magician", he performs regularly at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel in Manhattan and at private parties in other places. [1] [2] [3]
Steve Cohen was born in Yonkers, New York on February 1, 1971, and raised in Yorktown Heights and Chappaqua in the northern portion of Westchester County, New York. He attended Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua and Cornell University, and also participated in a foreign exchange program at Waseda University in Tokyo. He is fluent in the Japanese language, and has attained Level One certification in the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. Since 1997, the Japanese magic manufacturer Tenyo Co, Ltd. has appointed Cohen to translate the instructional booklets for their international line of magic products from Japanese to English. [4]
Cohen lived in Tokyo for five years, where he worked as a society entertainer at the Park Hyatt Tokyo hotel in Shinjuku. For the last two years of his stay in Tokyo, Cohen entertained guests weekly at the New York Bar & Grill, the setting of Sofia Coppola's film Lost in Translation .[ citation needed ]
In 2005, HarperCollins published his first book, Win the Crowd: Unlock the Secrets of Influence, Charisma and Showmanship in which he highlights the psychological secrets of magicians and how people can use these secrets in their everyday lives. [1] The book has been translated into seven languages, including Turkish, Japanese, Spanish, Korean, and Indonesian.
Cohen holds the rank of MIMC (Member of the Inner Magic Circle) with Gold Star, awarded by The Magic Circle in London.[ citation needed ]
Cohen regularly presents his Chamber Magic show at the homes and events of wealthy individuals, with notable hosts including Warren Buffett, Michael Bloomberg, Barry Diller, Martha Stewart, Jack Welch, Michael Eisner, Stephen Sondheim, André Previn, Anne-Sophie Mutter, and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia. [1] [2] [5]
Cohen starred in, and as a co-executive, produced Lost Magic Decoded, [6] a two-hour documentary that premiered on the History Channel on October 18, 2012. [7]
Chamber Magic has been presented by Cohen since April 2001; [8] its creative director is magician, author and positioning expert Mark Levy. [9] The show's title was inspired by the term chamber music, the intimate form of classical music typically performed in sophisticated and smaller venues. Cohen has recreated the intimacy of 19th century parlor magic performances by performing in the close quarters of a private suite. His show is strongly influenced by the Viennese magician Johann Nepomuk Hofzinser (1806–1875), the father of parlor magic, who entertained an elite audience of invited guests three or four times a week. [10] Chamber Magic shows are held five times weekly, previously in the Waldorf Astoria, now at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel, but have also been presented for public groups at The Willard InterContinental Washington (District of Columbia), [11] Beverly Wilshire Hotel (Los Angeles), [12] Drake Hotel (Chicago), Beau-Rivage (Geneva), Langham Hilton (London), [13] Four Seasons (Houston), Harvard Faculty Club (Boston), and the Ritz Carlton (San Francisco). [14]
In March 2009, Cohen launched a show titled Miracles at Midnight which is billed as the world's most exclusive magic show. [15] Audiences are limited to only twenty guests, and the show is held only once monthly, at midnight on the last Saturday of each month. Like Chamber Magic, this presentation also takes place in a private suite at the Waldorf Astoria. [16]
On January 12, 2012, Cohen debuted his stage show Theater of Wonder at Carnegie Hall in New York City. [17] The two-hour solo performance was the first magic show to appear in the famous music hall in 38 years. The performance took place in the 268 seat Weill Recital Hall.
Cohen created, starred in and co-executive produced a two-hour television special for The History Channel, titled Lost Magic Decoded. The special premiered on October 18, 2012 to critical acclaim. [7] In Lost Magic Decoded, Cohen traveled across three continents to locate vintage magic tricks that have not been seen for hundreds of years. Amongst others, he demonstrated such classic tricks as: The Turk (a chess-playing automaton), Think-a-Drink (a kettle that pours any beverage called for), [18] the Light and Heavy Chest, the Indian rope trick, and the Bullet catch.
In collaboration with Assouline Publishing, Cohen released an art book in January 2021 titled Confronting Magic, a retrospective of his twenty-year public career. The book's foreword was written by film director Guillermo del Toro. [19]
Cohen has appeared on numerous talk show and news programs, including Late Show with David Letterman , CNN, Martha Stewart Living , CBS Sunday Morning , The History Channel, The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet , The Richard and Judy Show , and Night Talk on Bloomberg Television.
The cups and balls is a performance of magic with innumerable adaptations. Street gambling variations performed by conmen were known as Bunco Booths. A typical cups and balls routine includes many of the most fundamental effects of magic: the balls can vanish, appear, transpose, reappear and transform. Basic skills, such as misdirection, manual dexterity, sleight of hand, and audience management are also essential to most cups and balls routines. As a result, mastery of the cups and balls is considered by many as the litmus test of a magician's skill with gimmick style tricks. Magician John Mulholland wrote that Harry Houdini had expressed the opinion that no one could be considered an accomplished magician until he had mastered the cups and balls. Professor Hoffman called the cups and balls "the groundwork of all legerdemain".
Siegfried Fischbacher and Roy Horn were German-American magicians and entertainers who performed together as Siegfried & Roy. They were best known for their use of white lions and white tigers in their acts.
The Waldorf Astoria New York is a luxury hotel and condominium residence in Midtown Manhattan in New York City. The structure, at 301 Park Avenue between 49th and 50th Streets, is a 47-story 625 ft (191 m) Art Deco landmark designed by architects Schultze and Weaver, which was completed in 1931. The building was the world's tallest hotel until 1957, when it was surpassed by Moscow's Hotel Ukraina. An icon of glamour and luxury, the Waldorf Astoria is one of the world's most prestigious and best-known hotels. Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts was a division of Hilton Hotels, and a portfolio of high-end properties around the world operates under the name, including in New York City. Both the exterior and the interior of the Waldorf Astoria are designated by the New York City Landmarks Preservation Commission as official landmarks.
George Charles Boldt Sr. was a Prussian-born American hotelier. A self-made millionaire, he influenced the development of the urban hotel as a civic social center and luxury destination.
Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos, known professionally as Criss Angel, is an American magician, illusionist and musician. He is often referred to as one of the world's most successful illusionists, generating in excess of $150 million in tourism revenue for Las Vegas in one year.
Carl Ballantine was an American magician, comedian and actor. Billing himself as "The Great Ballantine", "The Amazing Ballantine" or "Ballantine: The World's Greatest Magician", his vaudeville-style comedy routine involved transparent or incompetent stage magic tricks, which tended to flop and go "hilariously awry" to the wisecracking Ballantine's mock chagrin. He has been credited with creating comedy magic and has influenced comedians and magicians alike.
Cyril Takayama is an American magician of French, Moroccan and Japanese descent who is perhaps best known for his magic performances around Japan.
Waldorf Astoria Hotels & Resorts, formerly The Waldorf-Astoria Collection, is a luxury hotel and resort brand of Hilton Worldwide. It is positioned as the flagship brand within Hilton's portfolio, being used on hotels which offer the highest standards of facilities and service. As of December 31, 2019, it had 32 locations with 9,821 rooms in 15 countries and territories, including 2 that are owned or leased and 30 that are managed.
Master of Illusion, known in Europe as Magic Made Fun: Perform Tricks That Will Amaze Your Friends! and in Japan as Magic Encyclopedia, is a magician video game for the Nintendo DS. It was developed by Tenyo and Eighting and published by Nintendo, released in Japan on November 16, 2006, November 26, 2007 in North America and March 14, 2008 in Europe. Around 9 of its magic tricks were released as separate pieces of DSiWare.
Conjuring is an illustrated book about conjuring, or magic, by James "The Amazing" Randi, who himself was a magician and escape artist. Drawing on his extensive knowledge and experience in the field, Randi offers a series of brief biographies of a variety of noteworthy magicians and their unique styles, including Harry Houdini, Chung Ling Soo, Harry Blackstone Sr., Harry Blackstone Jr., Howard Thurston, and many others. He also provides an overview of several genres of magic such as stage magic, escapology, and mentalism, and of specific tricks such as the bullet catch. Reviews of the book were mainly positive.
Daryl Easton, known professionally as Daryl and born Daryl Martinez, was an American magician based in Las Vegas. In his marketing he used the self-proclaimed title of "The Magician's Magician". Daryl usually went by his forename only.
Platform magic is magic that is done for larger audiences than close-up magic and for smaller audiences than stage magic. It is more intimate than stage magic because it does not require expensive, large-scale stage equipment and can thus be performed closer to the audience and without a stage. Many of the tricks performed by platform magicians are sufficiently angle-sensitive as to make them impossible to perform as micromagic. Most working magicians are parlor/platform magicians.
The Waldorf-Astoria Orchestra was an orchestra that played primarily at the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, both the old and new locations. In addition to providing dinner music at the famous hotel, the orchestra made over 300 recordings and many radio broadcasts. It was established in the 1890s, and was directed by Carlo Curti in early 1900s, Joseph Knecht at least from 1908 to 1925, later by Jack Denny and others, and then Xavier Cugat from approximately 1933 to 1949.
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.
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone is a 2013 American comedy film directed by Don Scardino and written by John Francis Daley and Jonathan Goldstein, based on a story by Chad Kultgen and Tyler Mitchell, along with Daley and Goldstein. The film follows Las Vegas magician Burt Wonderstone as he attempts to reunite with his former partner Anton Marvelton to take on dangerous street magician Steve Gray. It also features Alan Arkin, Olivia Wilde, and James Gandolfini in his final film appearance during his lifetime.
Richard J. Kaufman is an author, publisher, illustrator, and editor of books and magazines in the field of magic and amateur magicians of noted skill.
David Ben is a Canadian stage magician, sleight of hand artist, illusionist, author, publisher, keynote speaker, magic historian, magic consultant, magic collector and former tax lawyer.
Magicana is a Canadian federally incorporated not-for-profit arts organization dedicated to the study, exploration and advancement of magic as a performing art. Magicana is governed by a volunteer board of directors. Julie Eng serves as Magicana's executive director and David Ben as its artistic director.
The Grand Wailea Resort & Spa is a 40-acre Waldorf Astoria luxury resort located on the beach in Wailea, Maui, Hawaii. The hotel opened in 1991 as the Grand Hyatt Wailea. The Grand Wailea is owned by BRE Hotels & Resorts and is the largest private employer on the island of Maui.
The Waldorf-Astoria originated as two hotels, built side by side by feuding relatives, on Fifth Avenue in New York, New York, United States. Built in 1893 and expanded in 1897, the hotels were razed in 1929 to make way for construction of the Empire State Building. Their successor, the current Waldorf Astoria New York, was built on Park Avenue in 1931.