David Copperfield
2009-12-16 @ 11:35:54
David Copperfield (born David Seth Kotkin; September 16, 1956) is an Emmy Award-winning American illusionist described by Forbes in 2006 as the most commercially successful magician in history.[1] Best known for his combination of storytelling and illusion, Copperfield has so far sold 40 million tickets and grossed over $1 billion.
At age 18, he enrolled at Fordham University, and was cast in the lead role of the Chicago-based musical The Magic Man (written by Barbara D'Amato[13] and directed by Holland, MI's John Tammi) three weeks into his freshman year,[14] adopting his new stage name "David Copperfield" from the Charles Dickens book of the same name. At age 19, he was headlining at the Pagoda Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii.[8]
Copperfield's career in television began in earnest when he was discovered by Joseph Cates, a producer of Broadway shows and television specials.[15] Cates produced a magic special in 1977 on ABC called "The Magic of ABC" hosted by Copperfield,[9] as well as several of the "The Magic of David Copperfield" specials on CBS between 1978 and 1998.[15] There has been a total of 20 Copperfield TV specials between 1977 and 2001.
Copperfield played the character of "Ken the Magician" in the 1980 horror film Terror Train. He also made an uncredited appearance in the 1994 film Prêt-à-Porter. Most of his media appearances have been through television specials and guest spots on television programs. His illusions have included making the Statue of Liberty disappear, flying, levitating over the Grand Canyon, and walking through the Great Wall of China.
In 1996, Copperfield joined forces with Dean Koontz, Joyce Carol Oates, Ray Bradbury and others for David Copperfield’s Tales of the Impossible, an anthology of original fiction set in the world of magic and illusion. A second volume was later published in 1997, called David Copperfield's Beyond Imagination. In addition to the 2 books, David also wrote an essay as part of the "This I Believe" series from NPR and the This I Believe, Inc.[16] Also during 1996, in collaboration with Francis Ford Coppola, David Ives, and Eiko Ishioka,Copperfield's Broadway show "Dreams & Nightmares" broke box office records.[17]
Copperfield notes that his role models were not magicians and that "My idols were Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire and Orson Welles and Walt Disney ... they took their individual art forms and they moved people with them ... I wanted to do the same thing with magic. I wanted to take magic and make it romantic and make it sexy and make it funny and make it goofy ... all the different things that a songwriter gets to express or a filmmaker gets to express ...."[18]
On 7 May 2009, Copperfield was dropped by Michael Jackson from Jackson's residency at the O2 Arena after an alleged row over money. Copperfield wanted $1 million (£666,000) per show.[19] Copperfield denied the reports of a row, saying "don't believe everything you read.".[20] News of Copperfield's collaboration with Jackson first surfaced on April 1st, 2009, and has since been reported by several websites as a possible April Fool's prank.
In August 2009, Copperfield brought his show to Australia.
His show:
At age 18, he enrolled at Fordham University, and was cast in the lead role of the Chicago-based musical The Magic Man (written by Barbara D'Amato[13] and directed by Holland, MI's John Tammi) three weeks into his freshman year,[14] adopting his new stage name "David Copperfield" from the Charles Dickens book of the same name. At age 19, he was headlining at the Pagoda Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii.[8]
Copperfield's career in television began in earnest when he was discovered by Joseph Cates, a producer of Broadway shows and television specials.[15] Cates produced a magic special in 1977 on ABC called "The Magic of ABC" hosted by Copperfield,[9] as well as several of the "The Magic of David Copperfield" specials on CBS between 1978 and 1998.[15] There has been a total of 20 Copperfield TV specials between 1977 and 2001.
Copperfield played the character of "Ken the Magician" in the 1980 horror film Terror Train. He also made an uncredited appearance in the 1994 film Prêt-à-Porter. Most of his media appearances have been through television specials and guest spots on television programs. His illusions have included making the Statue of Liberty disappear, flying, levitating over the Grand Canyon, and walking through the Great Wall of China.
In 1996, Copperfield joined forces with Dean Koontz, Joyce Carol Oates, Ray Bradbury and others for David Copperfield’s Tales of the Impossible, an anthology of original fiction set in the world of magic and illusion. A second volume was later published in 1997, called David Copperfield's Beyond Imagination. In addition to the 2 books, David also wrote an essay as part of the "This I Believe" series from NPR and the This I Believe, Inc.[16] Also during 1996, in collaboration with Francis Ford Coppola, David Ives, and Eiko Ishioka,Copperfield's Broadway show "Dreams & Nightmares" broke box office records.[17]
Copperfield notes that his role models were not magicians and that "My idols were Gene Kelly and Fred Astaire and Orson Welles and Walt Disney ... they took their individual art forms and they moved people with them ... I wanted to do the same thing with magic. I wanted to take magic and make it romantic and make it sexy and make it funny and make it goofy ... all the different things that a songwriter gets to express or a filmmaker gets to express ...."[18]
On 7 May 2009, Copperfield was dropped by Michael Jackson from Jackson's residency at the O2 Arena after an alleged row over money. Copperfield wanted $1 million (£666,000) per show.[19] Copperfield denied the reports of a row, saying "don't believe everything you read.".[20] News of Copperfield's collaboration with Jackson first surfaced on April 1st, 2009, and has since been reported by several websites as a possible April Fool's prank.
In August 2009, Copperfield brought his show to Australia.
His show: