I love stumbling across historical gems — here’s one from The Sphinx magazine (a well-known magazine for magicians) that ties together two of my loves: magic and the Waldorf-Astoria hotel. This hotel, now located on Park Avenue, was previously located at the corner of 34th Street and Fifth Avenue, but was torn down in 1929 to make room for the Empire State Building.
Editor William Hilliar reported this closing in the May 1929 issue, and wrote about one of the Waldorf’s most famous employees, Oscar Tschirky. If you’ve been to my Chamber Magic show, you know that I summon the ghost of Oscar nightly to assist with a magic trick. It turns out he was actually a bit of a magician himself, as you’ll see below.
Here is the text I found […]
Read the full post »
July 14, 2011 at 12:30 PM
by Mark Anthony Green, in GQ.com
Vera Wang referred to Steve Cohen as the best-dressed magician she’d ever seen. Cohen was hoping for just best dressed. When the dandy magician isn’t shocking the who’s who of New York City from his private suite at the historic Waldorf Astoria, he’s conjuring up bespoke suits from London and ties from Tokyo’s finest men’s shops. In between ducking in and out his closet to show off more “gems,” we asked Cohen a few questions about his personal style influences and the importance of always dressing the part.
GQ: You go by the Millionaires’ Magician. You probably have a lot of well-dressed spectators.
Steve Cohen: [Hesitant laugh] Oh, sure but I wouldn’t particularly be able to say who’s well-dressed, because sometimes you get wealthy folks who come through who are dressed in casual clothes. Sometimes people, especially the nouveau rich, will intentionally not dress to look wealthy. They call it “Stealth Wealth.”
GQ: Let’s talk about the dress code. It’s a pretty audacious move to tell a room full of millionaires what to do.
Steve Cohen: One time I had a fellow come to my show who was wearing […]
Read the full post »
by Herb Scher The New York Times, June 24, 2011 EVEN if the scores of magicians visiting here for New York’s first magic convention in nine years were to disappear in a puff of smoke, there would still be plenty happening on the local magic scene this weekend. Saturdays typically find conjurers getting together to […]
Read the full post »
By Graeme Wood, THE DAILY
On Feb. 6, 1922, 27-year-old magician Dai Vernon broke this rule before the toughest of audiences: Harry Houdini. The bold gambit was one of the most storied events in the modern history of magic. Houdini, 47, was not only the world’s most famous magician but also its most famous debunker. He bragged he could figure out any illusion he saw three times, and he repeatedly proved second and third demonstrations unnecessary. Houdini had an enviable reputation as a card manipulator, and after diversifying into escape artistry, he had begun a third career exposing so-called “spirit mediums,” conjurers and seers. Some of the conjurers used elaborate setups, but Vernon challenged Houdini with nothing more than a blue-backed deck of Aristocrat playing cards. […]
Read the full post »
“For the uninitiated layman, everything Steve Cohen presents in “Chamber Magic” must seem totally impossible and could easily convert anyone to believe in the paranormal.
“Other mentalists and all magicians should watch Steve carefully. Not so much for the actual effects but for his superb patter, timing and presentation. Few other entertainers are able to create the kind of intimate and mysterious atmosphere that this evening offers and, in the best show-business tradition, he leaves them wanting even more!”
–David Berglas
I was honored to receive this praise from David Berglas, one of the living legends in magic. David and his wife Ruth visited my show in London, and we’ve remained in touch over the years. A few years back, they visited New York City, and I organized a lavish luncheon in David’s honor at the Waldorf-Astoria. Here is the personalized menu from the Peacock Alley private dining room […]
Read the full post »
Violinist Anne-Sophie Mutter and her longtime collaborator, pianist Lambert Orkis are good friends of mine. Last weekend, we had a lovely dinner at Bar Boulud in NYC immediately following their recital at Avery Fisher Hall in Lincoln Center. It was the last performance of Anne-Sophie’s year-long residency with the New York Philharmonic.
As dessert was served, Lambert casually mentioned something that instantly caught my attention – his rules on how to always give a perfect performance. He called these rules “The Seven C’s.” Coming from a Grammy award-winning veteran performer, I knew that his rules would be worth memorizing, and recording here on my blog for others to learn from.
He was kind enough to write up a summary of our conversation, and I’m honored to present his rules on my blog.
Here are Lambert Orkis’ Seven C’s:
CALM, CONCENTRATE, COUNT, COMMAS, COURAGE, CHOICE, CONSISTENCY
Stay CALM: Your higher mental functions are blocked when […]
Read the full post »
Before serving dinner at a dinner party in Manhattan, my host asked that I do “a little something” for the guests. I declined politely — I don’t like to perform when I’m not actually working — but when people hear that there’s a magician at the table, they expect to see a trick. These were not children, mind you, but some of the wealthiest and most powerful people in New York.
I turned to the woman next to me and asked for one of her earrings. She was hesitant to remove one of her diamond studs for a magic trick. She thought I might damage it. But when our host nodded his approval, she allowed me to remove it.
“The Flying Earring Trick!” I announced, holding up my hand to silence the guests. The glittering diamond earring rested in my left palm, shining in the light from the chandelier overhead. I slowly closed my hand into a fist, and explained that I would make the earring fly – invisibly! – from one fist into the other. All of the guests looked at me with skepticism as I opened my left fist: empty. They craned their necks in closer. I then opened my right fist: also empty. The lady’s face turned pale.
“If the earring didn’t fly into my other hand, it could only have gone one other place.” I pointed to […]
Read the full post »
Being the Millionaires’ Magician has placed me into some pretty amazing situations. Like the time I entertained at the White House Correspondents Dinner in Washington DC, during the Bloomberg after-party. This is the most “glam” party to attend, held at the Russian Trade Mission. Michael Bloomberg was there. Donald Trump was there. A-list celebrities at every turn. And it was my job to entertain them.
As I performed privately for two of the guests, I noticed that a photographer was furiously snapping pictures over my shoulder.
The photographer later informed me: “Those two men you just entertained were the Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of Transportation. The only person who can usually bring them together is the President of the United States. And you just did the same thing with magic!”
—
This reminds me of another occasion, when Michael Bloomberg invited me to his Park Avenue office in NYC prior to being elected mayor. After chatting for twenty minutes about golf, memory techniques, and how to master a second language (he was studying Spanish), Bloomberg asked me to show him some magic.
I asked […]
Read the full post »
Being the Millionaires’ Magician has placed me into some pretty amazing situations. Like the time my client — a high-end Israeli jeweler — hired me to magically pull a $2 million diamond necklace out of thin air. Or the time I performed for a wealthy businessman in Omaha who owns the original Louisiana Purchase document, handwritten by Thomas Jefferson. He keeps it on display in a climate-controlled museum case in his basement.
Last night I was booked to perform at a private show for just eleven people, in a Madison Avenue apartment in New York City. As always, I will not reveal the names or details of any people present, out of respect for privacy. Needless to say there were several billionaires in the room.
During the show, I asked the host if he had a favorite book. He answered, “Yes, it’s To Kill A Mockingbird.” I inquired if he had that book handy. His eyes darted to the corner of the room, and I followed his gaze. There was a hardbound copy of this book on display in a special place on a side table. He said, “I have another copy in the next room, but the one over here is a first edition, first printing. It’s in mint condition, and extremely rare.”
I took a deep breath and picked up the book. This would be my first time performing magic with a book that (I later discovered) is worth $25,000.
Instead of my usual routine, in which I handle the book, I opted […]
Read the full post »
As convenient as the internet has become, there is no substitute for doing research the old-fashioned way – searching for rare books in the stacks of the New York Public Library. As long-time readers of this blog will know, I’m somewhat infatuated with the historic magician Max Malini. I’ve modeled my career on him, visited his home and even stood in the garden where he died.
So it was with great excitement that I located a passage in a non-magic related book that included a new story about Malini. The book is titled “Two Gun Cohen” by Daniel S. Levy. I’ve included the passage below, followed by some further comments from me. Two Gun Cohen was the nickname of Morris Cohen, a Jewish mercenary who befriended Sun Yat-Sen, worked as his bodyguard, and became a major-general in the Chinese army. He carried two guns, and was apparently not afraid to use them.
Here, then, is the Malini story which takes place in Shanghai, China, at a time […]
Read the full post »