The illusion of deception: Harry Houdini and the most famous magicians of the world. The most famous magicians in history

IN modern world so intertwined various phenomena that sometimes it is impossible to separate the virtual and the real, the illusion and the real. The art of mystical influence on consciousness in different eras was understood and interpreted in its own way. In paganism, this was considered magic, in the Middle Ages it was called witchcraft and burned at the stake; during the Enlightenment, they tried to interpret the nature of illusions scientifically and use the power of focus in the treatment of certain diseases. Today the “craftsmen” have stepped beyond the impossible.

So, one of the first magicians was the French physicist Nicolas-Philippe Ledru (1731–1807), who performed under the pseudonym Comus. Considering his demonstrations a kind of art, he took a modified name greek god festivities and feasts of Coma.

He became famous for his light and sound illusions, magnetic and electrical effects. Already at that time, the public was shown a female robot with the face of an alien, who took on the color of the pupils of a person looking at her. She knew how to follow simple commands, artificial hand was able to write down thoughts. This miracle robot simultaneously delighted and terrified the royal court of Louis XVI.
The magician did a lot of useful things for science, enriching it new system for nautical charts and the possibility of curing epilepsy with electricity.
The next famous illusionist is Alessandro Cagliostro (1743–1795). His real name is Joseph Balsamo. Having lost his parents at an early age, childhood addicted to fraud. He was raised by his maternal aunt Vincenza Cagliostro, and after her death the young man appropriated an interesting surname, and at the same time the title of count. He began his path to the heights of optical deception by selling fake treasure maps and various miraculous potions that save them from almost all troubles.

With the help of illusion, he turned a small diamond into a weighty stone, could veil chips and cracks, gild an ordinary rusty nail and turn rough material into satin silk. Count Cagliostro claimed that he knew the secret of the philosopher's stone, and managed to convince the public that it was 300 years old. Cagliostro also visited Russia and allegedly tripled Potemkin’s gold reserves. The Count conducted magical sessions, inventing an elixir of immortality. The scandals associated with his experiments reached Catherine. The dissatisfied empress ordered Cagliostro to be expelled from the country. However, mystically, at four different border posts, the documentation contained the count’s signature. But there was no reassurance for him in other countries either. His mysterious activities were associated with various political adventures. He ended his life in Italy, imprisoned on charges of charlatanism.
The Italian Giuseppe Pinetti (1750–1800) had the gift of foresight. His performances were a huge success. WITH eyes closed he could “see” objects, naming them accurately. Thanks to his sensitivity and developed “third eye,” his fame reached George III, and he was invited to Windsor Castle.

An elaborate show with exotic animals and mirrors was prepared for presentation to the highest monarch. In general, Pinetti loved to show off, performing complex tricks and transformations, when one object, taken from another, suddenly became Pinetti’s author’s token. Many tried to unravel the secret of his manipulations, which irritated the illusionist extremely. He based his tricks on scientific phenomena: physics, chemistry, mathematics, mechanics and medicine gave him a reason for “miracles.” The most famous of them is the swallow trick. Pinetti would take the bird out of the cage, and it would “die” in his arms. Giving the “lifeless” body to the viewer and asking him to breathe on it, he performed a miracle of revival. The secret of the trick is simple: the illusionist imperceptibly pressed on the swallow's carotid artery and temporarily deprived the bird of consciousness.
Having achieved fame and fame, Pinetti became very capricious and spoiled. He could afford to be late to the court of Emperor Paul and inexplicably change the time on his watch. The magician also visited Russia. It was here that he died at the age of 50.
The activities of the Italian Giovanni Bartolomeo Bosco (1793–1863) are no less shrouded in legends. His “revivals” of killed birds captured the imagination of the crowd and weakened people’s vigilance. Cutting off the heads of a white and black dove, he seemed to deliberately rearrange them and, noticing a mistake, correct it. The birds came to life. This was regarded as a real miracle and witchcraft. Spectators were attracted by Bosco's tricks with coins, playing cards, scarves and balls.

Comparing himself with Mephistopheles, he imitated him in appearance and manner of dressing. The virtuoso of illusions was looking for adventures and adventures. During the Napoleonic campaign against Russia, having accidentally found himself in the French army, he continued to entertain the soldiers, quietly emptying their pockets. Having been captured, he did not despair of harsh conditions Siberian frosts, but, on the contrary, only improved his tricks, thereby managing to conquer Russian hearts. Returning to Italy, Bosco became a regular at rich salons, where he was invited to surprise the public. The heir to the illusionist continued the work of his father and was no less popular.
Mystery permeates the life of the talented and unpredictable Harry Houdini (1874–1926). Real name – Eric Weiss, was born into a poor family and learned street “professions” from childhood. Traveling circus performers and magicians fascinated the child. So he became carried away by the illusion. At the age of 18, he turned into Houdini, changing the surname of the famous magician Houdin, and borrowing the name from Kellar Harry.

World fame came to him thanks to numbers that demonstrated the ability to free oneself from various fetters. So, chained to a 30-kilogram ball and thrown into the Thames, Harry not only did not drown, but, to everyone’s surprise, quickly emerged completely free. There is also a well-known trick that is repeated today by many illusionists, for example the Safronov brothers. Tied in a straitjacket and hung upside down on a hook, the magician managed to quickly get out of captivity, demonstrating miracles of incredible flexibility. Of course, it would not have been possible to achieve such gutta-percha without numerous trainings with which the great illusionist exhausted himself since childhood. Release tricks were central to his program, and wherever he toured, they attracted huge audiences. He was also interested in cinema and aviation. The first to fly around Australia. Helped experts expose charlatans. The maestro died accidentally from peritonitis caused by a blow to the abdominal cavity.
Houdini's follower was David Werner (1894–1992). He demonstrated his first magic tricks at the age of 7. Subsequently, he honed his skills so much that he surpassed his predecessor, who was unable to unravel the secret of his trick. He worked under the pseudonym Dai Vernon, which he acquired as a result of a banal typo in a newspaper. He was the first to discover micromagic. Modest and charming by nature, he knew how to win people over and taught many the art of illusion.

Soviet illusionists Kio are already a whole dynasty. Its founder was Emil Teodorovich Girshfeld-Renard (1894–1965).

He came to the art of magician through acting. At the beginning of his career he worked at the Moscow Theater of Miniatures, and later became interested in the circus. He was everything he was - a landowner, an administrator, and even a uniform worker. And, observing the sleight of hand of the circus performers, he finally decided to enter the arena with his tricks. There were all sorts of jokes around his name. The artist himself even offered to decipher it with humor. There are such versions as one letter dropped from the word “cinema”, KIO - “Kiev Famous Deceiver”, “How Interesting to Deceive”, “Sorcerer from Ossetia”. The manner of performing the trick was easy, relaxed, everything turned into a simple joke. He even published a “manual” “Tricks and Magicians”.
The heirs Emil Emilievich and Igor Emilievich continued their father’s work. Moreover, Emil (b. 1938) made his debut in preschool age, hiding from his comrades in a concert box and rolling out of it at the time of the performance into the arena flooded with lights, to the surprise of not only the audience, but also the parents.

Thanks to his study of the laws of physics, he made many unperformable tricks feasible. For example, a trick with a rope along which a gymnast walks. Soft and flexible, when thrown up, it became hard; you just had to correctly calculate the loads and choose the right material for making the main attribute of the focus.
Igor Kio (1944–2006) always acted as his father's assistant. He first entered the arena at the age of 15, when Emil Teodorovich fell ill.

In his productions, he tried to imitate his father’s manner, giving his performances the character of an entire performance. The dancers' distracting body movements create relaxed atmosphere. With deft hands, a girl is sawed apart, and a woman caught in a cage turns under the circus dome into a formidable predator, the king of animals, a lion, models instantly change outfits on the manholes of shocked spectators, etc. He did a lot for the circus, and for the stage, and for television. He is rightly called the “mystery of the twentieth century”, the “king of wizards”.
Uri Geller (b. 1946) is considered a legend, an extra-class illusionist. Identifying himself as a messenger of the higher mind, he began with ordinary tricks: bending spoons, reading pictures in a closed book or sealed envelope. Then he complicated the tricks. The supernatural is visible in the management of the clock.

A real wizard, a man who transcended space David Copperfield (b. 1956). He demonstrated his first magic tricks as a child, and at the age of 12 he began performing them professionally. Copperfield is a brilliant generator of ideas, bringing them to life. His tricks of “kidnapping” the Statue of Liberty, the ability to fly and tricks of freeing himself from fire and a straitjacket, rapid falls from Niagara Falls and passing through walls are known.

The youngest illusionist to date is David Blaine (b. 1973). He became famous for his wonderful “animation” of birds, card tricks, and created his own show.

Truly enchanting tricks of liberation from the kingdom of the dead (burial alive in plastic container), freezing in ice, imprisonment in a box for a month and a half without food demonstrated supernatural capabilities. Blaine can stand on top of a 22-meter column for 35 hours and hold his breath underwater for 17 minutes. True, such sacrifices for the sake of a spectacular performance cost him his health. He is losing weight and experiencing clinical hypothermia, but he is an inveterate record holder of the Guinness Book of Records. Blaine is ready to continue to endure colossal loads, risk himself, create at the limit of his capabilities and come up with new tricks. In 2012, Americans were shocked by the “Electrified” program: for 3 days without a break, he stood on an electric pole in New York, attracting lightning. Spectators were allowed to adjust the voltage in the transformers using a computer installed near the column. The strength of the lightning current could be observed from London, Beijing, Tokyo and Sydney.

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It's hard to believe, but in the most spectacular and inexplicable tricks, the answer lies on the surface.

We are in website took a closer look at famous tricks and are ready to expose them.

10. The Disappearance of the Statue of Liberty

In 1983, David Copperfield made the Statue of Liberty disappear. The secret of the trick is explained simply. The monument was covered with cloth and turned off its backlight, leaving the spotlights on, which created the illusion of emptiness and blinded the audience. After the blanket fell, people were unable to see the outline of the statue in the dark, since their vision did not have time to adapt.

9. The Disappearance of the Truck

How can you make a cloth-covered truck (wagon or plane) disappear if it is surrounded by spectators? Easily! You just need attach the bedspread to a special structure so that it stays in place, invite dummy observers and take the truck to the utility room. Therefore, we can only see this trick on TV and never live.

8. Levitation

A person frozen in the air is not a magician or a yogi. Under the magician's layers of clothing hidden support, thanks to which you can hang out for several hours in a row without getting tired.

7. Walking through the mirror

To pass through the mirror, the magician needs special screens with slits in the middle. The one that attaches to the back of the mirror contains two mirror panels. The design allows move the real mirror and put two fake ones in its place, and crawl through the hole. At the end of the trick, the assistants put the real mirror in place.

6. Transformation of a bill

To turn $1 into $100, a magician rolls up a bill of lower denomination in a special way and hides it behind his fingers. Then, in the process of magic, he replaces one bill with another, demonstrating a miraculous transformation.

5. Walking on water

The trick is performed in a body of water with muddy water or in a pool where people swim and create waves. The main goal is to distract attention and hide from cameras a transparent platform along which the illusionist walks.

4. Freeing yourself from chains underwater

The secret of the trick lies in physical training magician and in castles. The task of the assistants is unnoticeable pull the rods out of the loops holding the locks, and the illusionist - to tense up, wriggle out of the bonds and climb out of the water tank.

Magic has been around for hundreds of years, and since the days of great magicians like Harry Houdini, many have tried to change the very essence of magic. This is a list of the most talented magicians and their magic tricks.

Richard Ross - United Rings

link to youtube

Richard Ross was a Dutch magician renowned for his sleight of hand, appearing as amazed by his tricks as the audience. This trick was performed in 1983. Watch the rings carefully as they move closer and further away from each other. Simple but perfect action.

Teeth - David Blaine

link to youtube

Renowned illusionist and endurance performer, famous for his numerous street stunts and television appearances. He has been called a modern-day Houdini. In this trick, he pulls out the girl's teeth, then blows on her and makes them appear in their place. This will shock you.

The Cut Cup - Paul Daniels

link to youtube

An English magician who became famous after several television performances, programs and live shows. The cup trick is fast, interactive and fun. As Paul Daniels himself says, it took him 300 performances to get the trick right. The sleight of hand is perfect. This is the work of a master.

Harry Blackstone Jr. - Floating Bulb

link to youtube

Harry Blackstone Jr., son of Harry Blackstone Sr., (known as the Great Blackstone), died in 1997. His father was born in 1885, and together they for a long time gave magic performances. The clip shows a wireless light bulb floating around the stage and auditorium.

Lance Burton - Pigeons

link to youtube

Master of magic, William Lance Burton is currently performing evening concerts in Las Vegas, but his career included numerous television performances with great stunts. He won a magic competition in Kentucky. Lance started doing magic tricks at the age of five. His pigeon trick was chosen for his professionalism and skill.

Criss Angel - Walking on Water

link to youtube

Criss Angel is the darkest magician on this list, famous for his shows Crazy, Believe and Phenomenon. He is famous for his dark magic. This illusion shows a pool of people to whom he shows that he can walk on water, performing his trick while they watch and swim around and under him.

David Copperfield - The Vanishing Statue of Liberty

link to youtube

By the standards of magicians, making objects disappear is a simple case of deception, illusion, sleight of hand, or mistake. This goes with a card or decoration, but what about something bigger? Siegfried and Roy became famous after the disappearing elephant trick, Copperfield went further and made the Statue of Liberty in New York disappear. It has to be seen to be believed.

The Pendragons - Metamorphoses

link to youtube

Pendragon is a husband and wife magician from America. They are known for their fast and dangerous illusions. In 2006 Jonathan Pendragon fell on an arrow while rehearsing a dangerous stunt. The arrow hit his liver, stomach and heart, but he survived. Their metamorphosis focus is recognized as the fastest focus in history.

Penn and Teller - Bullet

link to youtube

The Catch the Bullet trick is not only downright dangerous, but also downright awesome. The magicians mix Penn's enthusiasm with Teller's taciturnity and add a dash of humor to make the show very entertaining.

David Copperfield - The Deadly Saw

link to youtube

David Copperfield is officially the most successful magician in history, having sold more than 40 million tickets to his shows and earning more than $1 billion. He holds 10 Guinness World Records, 20 Emmy Awards, the title of Living Legend and many others, and is also the first magician to have his own star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His tricks are very impressive and dramatic, and he has the charisma and flexibility that have made Copperfield a model for magicians around the world.

Since childhood, we have been attracted to the words “magic” and “magic”. And we feel genuine delight when someone shows tricks, although we understand that magic tricks are nothing more than a performance that has nothing to do with reality. I present to your attention the stunning tricks of outstanding illusionists.
David Copperfield "Death Saw"

David lies face down on the table, assistants cuff his legs, torso and arms to the table and close him in a box. A huge circular saw is installed above it, which begins to work and slowly lowers down. David has exactly one minute to free himself and get free before the saw cuts him open. He doesn’t have time, he starts to fuss, the saw cuts him right down the middle. After a few seconds he raises his head. After another second, two assistants push the halves of the table apart into different sides, the legs lie on one, and the torso on the other. Both halves are brought to each other, a cry is heard from the audience: “move your legs!” David looks at his legs and after a second they begin to move. After which he starts the mechanism in reverse side, the saw begins to spin, the halves are connected, the box closes David and his legs. A second later, he rises unharmed.

Criss Angel "Walking on Water"


Criss Angel is an American illusionist, hypnotist, and musician. Recognized as the best magician in 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, 2008, 2011. Criss Angel is the darkest magician on this list, famous for his shows Crazy, Phenomenon. He is known for his dark magic. This illusion shows a pool of people to whom he shows that he can walk on water, performing his trick while they watch and swim around and under him. In 2006, his book was published in which he reveals the secrets of his tricks. However, this book cannot be found on bookstore shelves; it can only be purchased on Chris’s official website.

Paul Daniels "Cup"


Paul Daniels is a famous British magician and television presenter. Audiences loved Paul Daniels' performances because they were dynamic and truly exciting. With his quick movements of his hands, Paul could entertain the audience for so long that he was rightfully considered the best magician in his genre. The Hollywood Academy of Magical Arts even awarded him the prestigious “Magician of the Year” award in 1983.

Lance Barton "Pigeons"


Lance Barton is a world-class manipulator and has his own illusion theater in Las Vegas. He has appeared on numerous television shows and performed for Queen Elizabeth II and President Ronald Reagan. In August 1994, Barton signed a 13-year contract (the longest contract for a magician in Las Vegas history) with the Monte Carlo Resort. The 1,274-seat Lance Barton Theatre, costing $27 million, was built especially for his performances. The opening took place on June 21, 1996. According to USA Weekend magazine, Barton's profits amounted to more than $110 million during his 13 years of operation. The magician's main illusion was that he, standing on the street in a tailcoat and top hat, took out doves, candles and canes right out of thin air. With this number he won the FISM in 1982, thereby becoming the youngest person to win the prize in this competition.

Richard Ross "Connected Rings"

Richard Ross was a Dutch magician known for his sleight of hand. The "Connected Rings" trick was performed in 1983. It was necessary to carefully monitor the rings as they incredibly approached and moved away from each other.

Harry Blackstone Jr. "The Floating Light Bulb"

Harry Blackstone Jr. (1934 – 1997) – American magician. From the age of 6 months, Harry begins to take active participation in the ideas of his father, and his father was Harry Blackstone Sr., who is called a legend, because it was he who raised the technique of illusions and magic to an unprecedented level, which were far ahead of his era. In the “Floating Light Bulb” focus, the audience watches a light bulb without wires flying across the stage and hall.

David Blaine "Front Teeth Extraction"


David Blaine is an American illusionist. Started doing street magic in 1997. His show on ABC became an immediate success. Since 1999, Blaine has periodically shown more grandiose “miracles”, including: Freezing in Ice (2000); “Vertigo” - 35-hour “standing” on top of a 22-meter column (2002); 44-day imprisonment without food in a box above the surface of the Thames. In the “Removing front teeth” trick, he walked from one person to another and took a tooth out of each person’s mouth right on camera. David Blaine is a certified specialist in the field of street magic and magic performances.

David Copperfield "The Vanishing of the Statue of Liberty"


The trick with the disappearance of the Statue of Liberty was invented by the famous magic trick designer Jim Steinmeyer. Performed once - by David Copperfield in 1983. There are two towers in front of the Statue of Liberty. A brightly illuminated Statue is visible against the background of the night sky, and a mark from it is visible on the radar. A blanket rises on the towers, David covers the radar, the blanket falls - the statue has disappeared, only a ring of lights around it is visible. The radar blip also disappears. The blanket rises and falls again - the statue appears as if nothing had happened. Naturally, the image on the radar is an imitation (and the imitation is inept - the scan outlines the grid lines, while the Statue is displayed regardless of the scan movement; in addition, the side of the statue farthest from the radar cannot be displayed at all).

Jonathan and Charlotte Pendragon "Metamorphoses"

The Metamorphosis trick, invented by illusionist John Neville Maskelyne in the 19th century, acquired legendary status in the 20th century. All the magicians, from Houdini to Mark Wilson, tried to perform it to the best of their ability, and each brought something new to the act. Jonathan and Charlotte Pendragon especially distinguished themselves in improving Metamorphoses. They trained their hands and other parts of the body so hard to perform this trick that they pulled off the climax in a record two seconds. With these seconds, the Pendragons entered the 50th anniversary edition of the Guinness Book of Records. In 2006, Jonathan Pendragon fell on an arrow while rehearsing a dangerous stunt. The arrow hit his liver, stomach and heart, but he survived. Their metamorphosis focus is recognized as the fastest focus in history. The couple are known for their dangerous illusions.

Penn and Teller "Catching a Bullet"


American illusionists Penn and Teller achieved perfection in performing the bullet trick, who not only asked someone from the audience to choose bullets, sign them with their initials and load a gun, but also simultaneously shot at each other. Following this, the magicians showed the cartridges “caught” and held between their teeth and asked the same spectators to check for the presence of the signatures made earlier. “Catching a bullet” obviously implies deception, since it is physically impossible to stop a cartridge flying out of a pistol with your teeth and stay alive. Illusionists use decoy spectators or, distracting the public's attention, use discreet manipulations to remove bullets from a loaded pistol before firing.
However, even with a precisely calibrated script and well-coordinated work between the assistant and the magician, this trick remains one of the most dangerous: more than 10 professional illusionists died while performing this particular act.

Illusion is a mystery that attracts and fascinates. At all times magicians illusionists gathered crowds of people for their performances, and some of them left a mark not only in the souls of people, but also in history. Our article is dedicated to the best magicians in the world who, thanks to their dexterity, skills and talent, captivated thousands of spectators.

Let's start from earlier times. Illusion, as an art, dates back to antiquity. The predecessors of modern magicians, illusionists, captivated people with their skills at fairs back in the Middle Ages. The best magicians in the world start their story with late XIX century. At this time, the illusionist Harry Houdini, who is still called the greatest illusionist in history, gained widespread fame. Magic tricks were not just a craft for him. He turned them into a real show.

- pseudonym of Eric Weiss, born in Budapest on March 24, 1874 into a poor family. Boy with early childhood conquered his acquaintances with his incredible abilities, and already at the age of 10 he began to earn money by performing magic tricks in entertainment establishments. He became famous all over the world thanks to his release tricks. Having his body trained to the point of “plasticine” allowed him to perform incredible somersaults and escape from the most incredible shackles: shackles, handcuffs and a straitjacket. One of the qualities he possessed was the ability to expose his colleagues in the shop, often right at the “magic” sessions, which caused their strong indignation. Harry Houdini wrote books, made films and was a real star and the best magician of his time.

The only colleague whose trick Harry Houdini could not solve was Dai Vernon. He was an honored illusionist who trained more than one generation of magicians, but he behaved modestly and did not gain such brilliant fame as his opponent Harry.

The next great magician we will talk about is Uri Geller, who was born in Israel on December 20, 1946, 72 years after Harry Houdini. Magician and illusionist Uri Geller presented himself as a magician and wizard. All his tricks were presented as transcendental miracles. He went down in history thanks to his ability to stop clocks and the most important focus of his life was stopping Big Ben. He was regularly accused of fraud, but this did not stop him from becoming the author of the famous television show. He also writes books, acts in films and is one of the judges of the “Battle of Psychics.”

The next great magician was born in New Jersey on September 16, 1956. He was distinguished by a phenomenal memory and already at the age of 12 he performed magic tricks professionally and joined the American Society of Magicians. At the age of 16, David began teaching the art of illusion at the university, and at the age of 17 best magician In his time, he took part in the musical "The Wizard", where he took the pseudonym "Copperfield" after Dickens' character. Since the age of 18, he has been hosting his own television show, and his tricks are becoming increasingly large-scale. His ideas are multifaceted and represent entire events in the illusory world: the disappearance of the Statue of Liberty, the ability to fly, passing through the Great Wall of China, escaping from Alcatraz prison and an exploding building, falling from Niagara Falls, disappearing from an Orient Express carriage, liberation from a straitjacket, survival in a pillar of fire. Today David Copperfield is one of the most famous people planet, and his show is one of the most exciting in the world. He uses all possible achievements of science and technology, as well as many assistants. All his tricks are high budget and require a whole team of professionals to implement.

A representative of a different genre, the so-called “street magic” -. Born in New York in 1973. This is a new wave of magicians. David Blaine began to gain popularity by finding things hidden among spectators, “revitalizing” pigeons. World fame came to him thanks to the numbers: burial alive in a plastic container, freezing in ice, standing for 35 hours on top of a 22-meter column, imprisonment without food for 44 days in a box above the surface of the Thames, holding his breath under water for 17 minutes, burial in container underground for 170 hours, staying inside the iceberg for 62 hours, with body temperature dropping to 33.7 degrees. David Blaine is an active participant in the Guinness Book of Records and is a millionaire.

Of course, in our time the art of illusions is developing, and new bright tricks and new famous names are appearing.

Today, the illusion show has become available in a more intimate format. Now invite a magician to the party– it’s prestigious and exciting. True masters of their craft and talented magicians and illusionists will cheer up and entertain guests at a wedding, corporate event, anniversary, children's day birth. Ordering a magician for a holiday has become affordable even for a low-budget event, because illusionists’ programs can be designed for different times and the public.

Mystery has attracted people since ancient times and today, despite progress, magicians illusionists-favorite guests at events, and their show programs are always exciting and impressive.