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Narrated by Dick Cavett, American Masters — Ricky Jay: Deceptive Practice weaves together new interviews with Jay, his friends and collaborators, including writer/director David Mamet, and rare ...
Jan 23, 2015 · Ricky Jay: Deceptive Practice: Directed by Molly Bernstein, Alan Edelstein. With Dick Cavett. This portrait of the magician Ricky Jay delves into the mysterious world of sleight-of-hand and its small circle of devotees.
- (45)
- Documentary, Biography, History
- Molly Bernstein, Alan Edelstein
- 2015-01-23
Ricky Jay. SLEIGHT-OF-HAND ARTIST. KNOWN FOR. Sleight-of-hand magic with playing cards; Off-Broadway show Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants; throwing cards at watermelons. AMERICAN MASTERS FILM ...
- SLEIGHT-OF-HAND ARTIST
- Harry Kellar
- Max Malini
- Max Katz
- Cardini
- Dai Vernon
- Charlie Miller
- Al Flosso
- Slydini
- Francis Carlyle
Ricky Jay is the author of the Encylopedia Britannica entry on conjuring, in which he cites Harry Kellar as the most famous American magician of the early 20th century. According to Kellar, a successful conjurer has these qualities: “The will, manual dexterity, physical strength, the capacity to perform things automatically, an accurate, perfectly ...
Ricky Jay on Max Malini: “The reason that I love Malini is that he performed in the heyday of the most famous magicians, of people like Harry Kellar and Howard Thurston and Houdini, but he performed entirely without props. He would literally walk into the houses of the rich and famous — that’s where he would perform — and come in empty-handed and b...
Magic is part of Ricky Jay’s family heritage. His grandfather Max Katz was an amateur magician and president of the Society of American Magicians. Katz’s magicians friends — Slydini, Francis Carlyle, Dai Vernon, Al Flosso — became Ricky Jay’s mentors in the art of magic.
Born Richard Valentine Pitchford in the United Kingdom, Cardini became an immensely successful magician in New York City, where he performed in venues such as nightclubs and New York City venues such as The Palace, Radio City Music Hall and Copacabana. Ricky Jay: “I remember, as a five or six-year-old, my grandfather would bring me over to Cardini’...
Originally from Canada, Dai Vernon, known as “The Professor,” spent time in New York with magicians Nate Leipzig and Max Malini before moving to California, where Ricky Jay sought him out at the Magic Castle in Los Angeles. Vernon is famous for his sleight-of-hand magic, card work, and cup and balls trick. According to Jay, “Vernon loved to play hi...
Ricky Jay considers Charlie Miller, along with his contemporary Dai Vernon, the two greatest sleight-of-hand artists of their time. Miller was particularly known for his fantastic memory and work with cards. “Charlie was inclined to work on the specifics of one particular move…and the finest points and finest subtleties of this particular move,” sa...
Born Albert Levinson, Al Flosso was a New York City magician who performed in Coney Island, had a magic shop on 34th Street, and made appearances in film and on The Ed Sullivan Show. Ricky Jay credits Flosso with getting him interested in the history of magic. A family friend, Flosso performed not only at Ricky Jay’s bar mizvah, but at Jay’s grandf...
The father of Tony Slydini (Slydini) was an amateur magician who encouraged his son at a young age to pursue magic. Born in Italy and raised in Argentina, Slydini settled in New York City and became world renowned for his close-up work. Ricky Jay’s grandfather, Max Katz, advised him to watch Slydini: “Look how wonderfully he misdirects attention. W...
Francis Carlyle was a regular at the Magic Castle in Los Angeles, CA, where he specialized in coin and card magic. Ricky Jay’s grandfather Max Katz told Jay, “When you watch Francis Carlyle, it’s not only technique and presentation. But listen to the way that he explains an effect with such clarity… that people go away knowing exactly what’s happen...
Jan 23, 2015 · Jay is also a best-selling author, historian, actor and a leading collector of antiquarian books and artifacts. ... AMERICAN MASTERS has been the only PBS series committed to developing and ...
- 2 min
Jay is also a best-selling author, historian, actor and a leading collector of antiquarian books and artifacts. Told largely in Jay’s own distinctive voice, the documentary traces the story of his achievement and that of other master magicians.
Jan 14, 2015 · Ricky Jay: Deceptive Practice premieres Friday, January 23 at 9 pm on PBS.Ricky Jay learned much from magician Charlie Miller about how to refine his practic...
- 2 min
- 15.4K
- American Masters PBS
