David Copperfield, renown for his amazing effects and tour schedule, collapsed during his second show on Sundayat the Jubilee Auditorium in Edmonton, Canada.
He was on stage with two volunteers from the audience when he announced that he was not feeling well. He walked behind the curtains and, according to show sources, collapsed or slumped into a chair. He was later able to sit up and was taken to a hospital for examination and blood tests.
The audience waited approximately 45 minutes — watching videos of his best illusions — before being told that he had been taken to the hospital.
Copperfield was released later in the evening. The Tour Manager told Canadian media that the magician had been up until 4:40 am that morning rehearsing illusions and that the tour had been very tiring.
His magic was stunning, but his performance was half-hearted. Copperfield rushed his lines, mumbled, cracked weak jokes and tried to be hip when he is obviously not. The magician still had that charismatic grin, but there was no soul behind it; he looked like a man who has spent too much time jumping in and out of shiny boxes.
This was Copperfield’s second show on Sunday, the sixth of a seven-show, three-day run with one more scheduled performance for 8 p.m. Sunday. The later show on Sunday was cancelled.
Copperfield performs over 500 shows a year and rehearses the show between performances or after the last show of the evening.
Our thoughts and prayers are with David. We hope he is able to recover and return to the stage soon and with the necessary health and rest.
The Associated Press is reporting that David intends to resume his Canadian tour “barringany further complications.”
Further news reports can be found on CTV andthe Edmonton Journal.There was no press release or further information available on David’s website at: www.davidcopperfield.com
One of the things we magicians strive for is the ability to allow our audiences to believe in magic. Not a foolish type of belief but a well-founded silent agreement with the performer that what he or she is about to do could be done by magic.
The author of this wonderful article in the Edmonton Journal describes it as:
“These are cynical times. A certain percentage of the audience at Copperfield’s Intimate Evening of Grand Illusion were eager to catch him slipping a card or a duck behind his back, up his sleeve or through a hole in the stage.
The rest of us, the ones who cry at movies, weren’t interested in discovering any tricks. We wanted to believe.”
Tod was one of the lucky 13 who vanished into the ether and refuses to diminish the magic for others by describing in any detail how the effect was performed.
Most of the magicians who read this page, have seen Copperfield perform the Portal illusion. I’ve been lucky enough to see it and be in it. It truly is magical from both inside and out.
After I vanished, I had a chance with the other vanishees to meet with Copperfield and he was genuinely interested in the show and how it appeared. He wanted critical feedback on the bits and tricks done and whether thinks could have been imporve or left out.
More importantly, he really listened as even a magician (me) told him what I thought could have been different and what I saw as someone with the knowledge of how the effects were performed.
He does care about the quality of his show and his continued success must be, in part, based upon his willingness to listen to honest criticism and seek constantly to improve.
He is just 27 years old but has already been named the UK’s Magic Circle Close-Up Magician of the Year (his second win, his first in 1996) and has now published the tome The Art of Magic and Sleight of Hand.
The book contains his instruction and photographs by John Freeman and available at Amazon.com both in the States and in the UK.
It is interesting to read his thoughts on the exposure of magic secrets to educate. If you have visited his website(a very professional venture and on our Links of Fame), you see that he is very careful about keeping our secrets secret from prying eyes but as he noted in a recent UK interview, “It is a kind of catch-22. If there were no books telling people how to do magic, it would be difficult for people to become interested in magic.”
He has struck a great balance by turning out a quality book that demonstrates his respect for the secrets that allow us to make money entertaining. It is a great book for the student of magic or even those new to the craft.
Here is some interesting trivia. According to Amazon.com, people who purchased Mr. Einhorn’s book also purchased the following:
There was a very moving article in the Niles Herald-Spectator today.
Ted McNealy, a young magician in the Niles, Illinois area took his own
life in June after battling schizophrenia.
His mother, Karin
Valerius-McNealy, told the paper, ?My son was my heart,? she said.
?When he died, I died with him.? Our prayers our with Ms.
Valerius-McNealy, her family and all who affected by Ted’s passing. Continue reading Mother Mourns Loss of Magician Son
Here’s the link to the premise of the trick. I published the idea not only here but also on the Ring2100 listserve. The virtual ring is quickly becoming one of my favorite services in magicdom. I received five suggestions for methods and I agreed that I would only publish the secret if the author permitted — so far, none have.
Two magicians recalled that the trick was close to something previously either published or offered in a lecture. There are some very intelligent folks in this art. I have been so impressed by the quality of the thinking and their willingness to share the ideas with insidemagic.com.
I don’t think the trick as set forth is solved yet but we are well on our way. Please let me know if you have any ideas and we’ll try to find a way to secure the secrets but at the same time give credit as it should be given to the amazing inventors out there.
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