World famous magician, hypnotist and illusionist David Copperfield mastered the first tricks in early childhood. At 10 years old, he was already speaking to the public, at 12 he was called up in the society of American magicians, and at 16 he taught the Art of Magic course at New York University.
Biography
September 16, 1956 in the town of Metachen, New Jersey was born the future famous illusionist and hypnotist. The boy was named David Seth Kotkin. In early childhood, he had a phenomenal memory. According to family legend, the baby was only 4 years old when his grandfather showed a card trick, and David immediately repeated it. Parents encouraged the passion of the child, and at age 12, the young magician became a real professional in his field.
By the age of 16, he began teaching a course in magic at New York University and took on his pseudonym David Copperfield by the name of one of the heroes of the popular novel Charles Dickens. At the same time as a teacher, David was educated at Fordham University, at the same time he starred in the Chicago musical The Wizard, which made him famous.
Famous wizard, TV presenter, writer and cafe owner
In 1978, Copperfield was invited to the ABC Channel to host The Magic of ABC. The following year, he played a supporting role in the movie Train of Terror. Having become popular, the illusionist began performing on the CBS channel with the show "The Magic of David Copperfield." At the same time, he came up with the idea of creating large-scale illusions, and the first of them was the disappearance of the aircraft. This was followed by a flight through the Grand Canyon, the escape from Alcatraz prison, the disappearance of the Statue of Liberty, passage through the Great Wall of China, a trip to the Bermuda Triangle, a fall from Niagara Falls, survival in a pillar of fire and many others.
David Copperfield is a versatile person. He is not only an illusionist, but also a writer. Several books were published, written by him in collaboration with several science fiction writers. Copperfield opened an unusual cafe in New York in which there are no waiters. The voice, sounding from the gloom, is interested in the visitors, what they want to taste, and then the ordered dishes appear on the tables, materializing from the air.
In 1982, Copperfield founded the Magic Magic project, a rehabilitation program that uses hand dexterity magic as a method of physical therapy. The program is accredited by the American Occupational Therapy Association and is used in hospitals around the world.
Copperfield also opened a museum that focuses on preserving the history and art of magic and has the world's largest collection of magical artifacts (among them the "Live Music" of Orson Welles Peel's illusion and Houdini's torture chamber).
Awards
Over the course of his long career, Copperfield has collected 21 Emmy awards, received the titles “The Wizard of the Century” and “The Mage of the Millennium”, received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and the US Congress Award “Living Legend” (other recipients: Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Colin Powell). In addition, Copperfield was knighted by the French government.
According to Forbes magazine, David Copperfield is the richest wizard. In 2005, he earned $ 57 million. By 2012, his fortune was estimated at $ 150 million, tickets worth about $ 3 billion were sold at his show.
