Steve Spill (born Steven Spillman; San Francisco, California; 3 January 1955) is an American magician and founder of Magicopolis, [1] a 150-seat theater that opened in 1998 [2] in Santa Monica, California, where Spill performs sleight-of-hand and large-scale illusions. Spill's shows have been praised by critics, [3] [4] theatergoers, [5] feature writers, [6] families, [7] [8] tourists, [7] and magicians. [3]
When Steve Spill was young, his father was night manager of the Magic Castle. It was there that Spill met influential magicians such as Dai Vernon and Charlie Miller. [9] Prior to the opening of Magicopolis, Spill worked as a magic bartender at the Jolly Jester in Aspen, Colorado, c.1976–c.1980. Partner with Bob Sheets as "Sheets & Spill" c1978-85. Regular at Inn of Magic in Washington, DC, area 1981–85. Played Harrah's, Lake Tahoe, 1987–88. He has toured USA, South Africa (1990), the Caribbean (1993), Europe (1995), and Canada (1996). He wrote My Hands Can Be Yours (1973, 79pp), Imagine Magic (1974), Spill Bar & Grill (1980), and three cartoon booklets. On May 12, 2015, Spill's book I Lie for Money was published by Skyhorse Publishing. [10] [11]
Spill is known to magic aficionados [12] as a performer who innovates magical effects used by other magicians, such as his version of Bill in Lemon [13] and his Mindreading Goose. [14] He has been featured in industry journals such as Genii , [12] MAGIC , [15] and M-U-M , [16] and created the DVDs Ten Years of Steve Spill 1980–1990 [17] and Confessions of a Needle Swallower. [18] [19] Spill lives with his wife Bozena in Los Angeles.
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.
Max Maven was an American magician and mentalist whose performances were considered erudite and intelligent. He is ranked as one of the most influential mentalists of all time, and one of the 100 "Most Influential Magicians of the 20th Century" by Magic Magazine.
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.
Val Valentino is an American magician. Valentino is best known for starring in the television show Breaking the Magician's Code: Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed, where he exposes the methods behind numerous classic magic tricks and illusions on the Fox network. In the specials, he used the stage name the Masked Magician and concealed his true identity by wearing a mask with a squid like design, being aware of the stigma amongst the magic community with publicly exposing tricks. As the finale to the final special, Valentino revealed his identity as the Masked Magician, garnering some notoriety amongst the magic community, and instigating several lawsuits.
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William Walter Larsen Jr. known as Bill Larsen was an American magician and president of the Academy of Magical Arts. He was born in Pasadena, California to attorney William Larsen Sr. and TV host Geraldine Jaffe Larsen. His younger brother was Milt Larsen. After their father's death in 1953, the brothers took over publication of Genii magazine, leased the Hollywood Victorian home "Holly Chateau" and with his future wife Irene Larsen built it into the private performance venue and restaurant now called the Magic Castle where the Academy of Magical Arts is headquartered. Larsen served as president of the academy until his death in 1993. Bill and brother Milt share a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
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.
The Tarbell Course in Magic is a notable encyclopedia of magic amongst professional and amateur magicians. It has eight volumes; the first five were part of the original home-study correspondence course compiled in 1928 by Harlan Tarbell, the remaining three volumes being added on later.
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Magicopolis is a 150-seat theater in Santa Monica, California, founded in 1998 by magician Steve Spill. It is the permanent home of his magic production, "Escape Reality", which has received positive reviews from guests and critics. Magicians Penn & Teller cast their hands and feet in cement for the Magicopolis groundbreaking ceremony on March 25, 1998. Robert Holbrook, Mayor of the City of Santa Monica, on behalf of the City Council proclaimed March 25 to be "Magicopolis Day" in Santa Monica. Friday, September 18, 1998, marked the grand opening, and official ribbon cutters and special guest performers Penn & Teller took the stage and over the course of the evening performed some of their classic routines. To finish, Penn delivered a "heartfelt discourse on the value of seeing magic performed live and the importance of Magicopolis".
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.
Jonathan and Charlotte Pendragon were a husband-and-wife team of American illusionists who called their work "physical grand illusion". They are widely known due to numerous national and international television appearances.
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 Kwong is a magician, puzzle creator, writer, and producer.
Bruce Cervon was an American magician who was best known for his close-up magic, both through performance and invention. He published a series of books and helped to create a permanent record of the magic of Dai Vernon through The Vernon Chronicles, and Bruce Cervon's Castle Notebooks.
Woody Aragón, is a Spanish magician.