Who's your favorite magician(s)?

[derby378]

Living or dead. Stage, street, or close-up magic. Male or female. Just name your favorite(s).

Too many for me to mention, so let's start with you...

[seemunkee]

1. René Lavand

His work was so beautiful. Slow, controlled, absolutely amazing.
For stage I like Jeff McBride

[derby378]

2. Wow - I've never heard of him before

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ren%C3%A9_Lavand

I simply must check his work out. To have overcome a car crash and perform all his card tricks with one hand has got to be some sort of miracle.

[seemunkee]

13. Couple of videos of him on you tube

Tell me who some of yours are

[derby378]

16. Major props to James "The Amazing" Randi

It was James Randi who introduced me to the fine art of spoonbending when I was a kid, announcing on television that he was a fake and that supernatural ability wasn't needed to bend spoons. It was he who taught me that magic is essentially the study of how people can be fooled and how people can fool themselves.

Some of my other current favorites include Penn & Teller and Criss Angel, although I am really impressed with some of the folks I've seen mentioned in this thread.

[Monkey see Monkey Do]

3. Simon Drake

He utterly transformed the way I appreciate magic from a fun little sideshow (I'm looking at you, Paul Daniels(*) & Wizbit) to something else entirely. His Secret Cabaret remains one of the greatest TV (magic) shows I've ever seen and it's criminal that it's never repeated or made available on video/DVD.

edit - http://simondrake.co.uk/

[Jed Dilligan]

4. Harry Anderson used to be really good

Haven't seen him in years, but he could turn a mean card trick.

As far as fictional magicians go, I've always been partial to Dr. Strange.

[derby378]

5. Teller's "Rose" trick

Probably the most elegant piece of stage magic I have ever seen in my life.

[Joe Fields]

6. MINDFREAK! Chris Angel

[derby378]

7. Yep, he's definitely fun to watch

When he was a bit younger, I actually saw him give away a couple of his gimmicks on a televised stage show of his. Since then, his act has gotten a lot tighter and more professional.

[arwalden]

8. The Great Walden...

[derby378]

10. Relative of yours, perchance?

[KFC]

9. David Blaine

He is rumored to actually have magic talents.

[Merrick]

11. The Great Splendini

[sakabatou]

12. Cyril Takayama

http://youtube.com/watch?v=v1G_c5YsKP4

[derby378]

21. That cheeseburger routine is something else

Thanks for sharing!

[deucemagnet]

14. The only magicians I find entertaining are Penn and Teller...

...the rest just annoy me. x(

[aint_no_life_nowhere]

15. I loved magic when I was a little kid

I performed magic tricks in elementary school back in the 1950s. Back then, "The Great Blackstone" (Harry Sr.) was one of the big names that I recall, along with a guy named Harlan Tarbell. I also liked a guy named Slydini for his close-up slight-of-hand skills. My favorite magic has always been the close-up, intimate kind with cards, coins, and the like, instead of the grandiose props.

[KamaAina]

17. George W. Bush

He made our international goodwill disappear.

Everything he touches with his magic wand turns to shit.

He conjured up weapons of mass destruction out of thin air!

And then there's his signature catch word, "Misunderestimate!"

[ElboRuum]

18. George W. Bush...

He makes my tax dollars disappear. They magically reappear in the checking accounts of his buddies. I gotta say, it's a damn good trick, but for some reason, I don't feel like applauding.

[Aristus]

19. I always liked Doug Henning.

He made magic fun. And he seemed to really love what he did. So many magicians try so hard to have an "act"; something they can copyright as intellectual property. Henning's attitude just seemed to be: 'Hey! Look at this! Isn't that cool?"

[derby378]

22. That's something I always loved about Doug

He was one of my childhood favorites.

[mitchum]

20. Carl Ballentine...doing the comic magician schtick decades before...

that Libertarian with a bad haircut and his little mute buddy

[Dr Fate]

23. I know magic snobs hate him- but I like David Blaine.

I love his "street smart" take on the classics.

I also like the Amazing Randi, Penn & Teller, and everything I've heard about Houdini.

[anarch]

24. Aleister Crowley

Well...more of a Magickian, really. Or a Magus.

[Initech]

25. GOB Bluth