A member of the exclusive club of world-famous magicians, David Copperfield is known for staging whopper illusions, including making the Statue of Liberty disappear before a live audience and millions of TV viewers. A member of the Society of American Magicians since he was a teenager, Copperfield got his start in the entertainment industry singing and performing magic on stage in Chicago. When he was 19 years old he was tapped to host a television show, and from there his career took off. His Emmy-winning television specials have been popular events since the late 1970s, and Copperfield has pulled off some amazing stunts over the years, including levitating across the Grand Canyon and walking through the Great Wall of China. In addition to performing worldwide, he has had a hit on Broadway (1997's Dreams and Nightmares), founded an organization to help rehabilitate disabled people (Project Magic), published books (Beyond Imagination and David Copperfield's Tales of the Impossible) and dated a supermodel (Claudia Schiffer, 1994-99).David Copperfield has been hailed by audiences the world over as the greatest magician of our time. After years of successful network specials and extensive touring, David Copperfield has been seen worldwide by more people than any other magician in history, including Houdini. His critically acclaimed Broadway show "Dreams & Nightmares" broke all box office records during it's run in New York. Such international magazines as Vanity Fair, Esquire, Architectural Digest, Paris Match, Hello! and Germany's Bunte have graced their covers with his image and story.
His
magic crosses cultural lines. Currently, Forbes magazine has increased his ranking from eighth to the sixth highest grossing entertainer in the world, ahead of Madonna, Kevin Costner, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.
David Copperfield has elevated the art of magic to new heights --redefining this ancient art along the way. Where others think "it can't be done," David's approach is: "Yes it can!" Vanish the Statue of Liberty. Walk through the Great Wall of China. Soar through space with the greatest of ease. To David Copperfield, his passion for magic is everything." The secret," says David, "is to consider nothing impossible, then start treating possibilities as probabilities. If I am in the impossible business, and I am, then I want to go beyond impossible."
He has broken the mold of the master magician: soft spoken, witty, engaging, and supremely entertaining, his modern approach to a very old art has transformed the way the world looks at magic. He celebrated feats and sense of theater have won The Magic of David Copperfield dozens of Emmys, and have led him to be twice named Entertainer of the Year. His tour has set countless box office records across Europe, North and South America and Asia. Recently, London's Madame Tussaud's honored David Copperfield with a flying likeness in wax. He is the only living magician to receive his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.
In France, he was knighted by the French government, receiving the Chevalier of Arts and Letters, the first ever for a magician.
Born September 16, 1956, young David Kotkin was performing professionally in his hometown of Metuchen, New Jersey, at the age or twelve. Soon thereafter, he became the youngest person ever to be admitted to the Society of American Magicians. By sixteen, he was teaching magic at New York University.
While in college, he was cast as lead in the Chicago musical, The Magic Man. Under the name David Copperfield, he sang, danced, acted, and created all the magic in the show that became the longest running musical in Chicago history.
As a result, he was chosen to host, The Magic of ABC, starring David Copperfield. The show was well received, introducing David Copperfield to the world. So successful was his performance, that CBS signed David for a series of specials, beginning the series: The Magic of David Copperfield. With each new special, David introduces more mind-boggling feats of magic, always performing before a live audience without the aid of any camera tricks or video effects.
More than any other magician before him, David Copperfield understands his craft. "Before there can be wonders, there must be wonder. In my show, I try to transport people on a journey of the imagination, much in the same way as a great film director does." In The Magic of David Copperfield, the wonder is real; the miracles are happening live before real witnesses.
Yet for all his accomplishments, David Copperfield insists that his greatest work to date is Project Magic. David developed this rehabilitative program over a decade ago to strengthen dexterity and motor use in disabled patients by using simple sleight-of-hand magic. "It motivates a patient's therapy and helps to build self esteem." Copperfield says, "There is nothing I do that is more important." Project Magic is currently implemented in 1,000 hospitals and 30 countries around the world, from Belgium to New Zealand, Iceland to Singapore.
David Copperfield also has a secret passion: preserving the history of the art of magic for present and future generations by providing a safe, permanent home for antiquarian props, books, and other historical ephemera related to conjuring. His vast collection, known as the International Museum and Library of the Conjuring Arts, is housed in Nevada. David's goal is to build a monument to the history of magic as a performing art, an ongoing museum that will survive us all.
The International Museum and Library of the Conjuring Arts is the world's premiere collection of historical documentation and artifacts regarding or pertaining to magic, illusion, and the allied arts. "Every contemporary magician stands on the shoulders of giants." says Copperfield, "and this museum is eloquent proof of the rich mosaic of contributions by men and women throughout the ages to this most compelling of all art forms.
In 1996, David Copperfield announce plans for an Interactive magic-themed restaurant, Copperfield Magic Underground to be located on Times Square in New York and at Walt Disney World Resort in Orlando, Florida. Unlike passive themed restaurants of the 90's, Magic Underground will take patrons on a magic adventure where they will actually experience the magic as they dine.
David Copperfield has rewritten the book on magic. He has brought it to heights of artistry and imagination undreamed by wizards or audiences in the past. The illusions are both spectacular mysteries and entertaining theater. He blends mystery and romance into sensual illusions, which dazzle the mind and move the heart. The real magic, however, is the man. David Copperfield has changed the view of what magic is and will continue to be for all time
Born: 16 September 1956
Birthplace: Metuchen, New Jersey
Best known as: The magician who made the Statue of Liberty disappear
Name at birth: David Seth Kotkin
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