Your Three Favourite Magicians

[tokyoUW]

Cyril Takayama - because he uses very simple ideas perfectly and makes simple effects into spectacular performances. He knows his audience well and knows what sells in Japan. He knows every little detail about the culture and how to exploit the biggest reaction from the crowd. He does the write kind of tricks in the appropriate places around Tokyo and in my opinion, has taken street magic to levels David Blaine can't reach.

Darwin Ortiz - because his old videos got me hooked on poker demonstrations like no other.

Paul Green - his video on "The Force" is great, and is by far my favorite slight (if you can call it that, I prefer calling it 'the spectator completing playing into the palms of my hand, MUAHAHAHA')

 

[SHANE BLACK]

Tommy Wonder - He set the standards for performance.

Mark Wilson - For being my first teacher in magic.

Paul Harris - For his wonderful creativity and pushing me to use my mind.

These guys have had the most impact on my magic. OH and Gazzo does have a killer cups and balls routine.

 

[Big Sapo]

1. Ricky Jay: Ricky Jay and his 52 Assistants ablsolutely blew me away when I first saw it. His knowledge of not just technique but history is second to none.

David Blaine: Literally makes the impossible, possible.

Doug Henning: Introduced me to magic.

 

[JakeH147]

Wayne Houchin- Love his tricks and style
Buck twins- Love Flourishing
I dont really have a third one,

 

[Snorri]

Wow there are alot of people I could name as favorites.
My current top three are:
Gary Kurtz
Chris Kenner - where is the next book man.....your first one has been a worker for me for 15years now
Homer Liwag - coinone, cointwo ....keep em comiing Homer your magic is awesome man.

I have been taught by Gary Kurtz and he showed me that being yourself is as imortant as the magic you make.

Allan Ackerman was also one mf my magic teachers and a huge influence on my stuff.

 

[Phenomena]

1. bill malone
2. danny garcia
3. jay sankey


they all have 1 thing in common...comedy

i find that im more of a comedy guy myself, and their styles suit me better than somebody extremely serious...

 

[papercraneproductions]

Blaine- Skill, Personality, and his ability to turn any "trick" into a miracle.
Paul Harris- I love the way he creates effects.
Uri Geller, Derren Brown, and Richard Osterlind(tie) They make it look like real magic.

 

[harapanong]

1. Joshua Jay. He's young, talented and extremely passionate about what he does. He is one person I really look up to. An idol in magic, literally. If you haven't seen his biography and portfolio for magic, you should go to his website and have a look. CRAZY.

2. Penn and Teller. They are, in my opinion, 2 of the most original, creative and unorthodox magicians we all have ever seen. I like how they present magic as a "trick" and how they expose stuff, and yet everyone still loves them. They didn't destroy the art - they made it different.

3. David Copperfield. Without his TV specials, I wouldn't be doing this.

- harapan. magic!

 

[abuzarym]

Paul Harris - for writing such a great book.

Jordan Lapping - Best magician on youtube!

Oz Pearlman - Just a DAMN good magician.

 

[MindTrapMagic]

Criss Angel- he got me started into magic and into the style that i do. Regaurdless of what people think of him hes a DAMN talented magician. For christ sake hes doing shows with Cirque du Soleil. Alot of people percieve him as a magician that uses camera tricks, which i find dumb

Derren Brown- Need i say more?

Tim Kutch- Prob not very well known to all of you but hes helped me SOOOO much with my show and presentation. Hes extremely talented and is developing his entire illusions show. Full scale illusions, its gunna be nuts. And he has a one of a kind dove act that nobody else in the world does. Hes been working on it for about 2 or 3 years with Greg Frewin. So yea, theres my favorite magicians

 

[themagi]

It's a hard decision for me, there are so many great people in this art...

1. I stated magic when I was completely flabbergasted(yes Flabbergasted) by the one and only Jay Sankey. Genius + Funny = Awesome Magic

2.My regards to who I think are the most amazing flourisher's on the planet. The Buck Twins.

3. I was contemplating over Daniel Garcia and Paul Harris. They both have their accomplishments but I'm gonna go with Danny G because of all he has done for the magic community.

Honorable Mentions:

Lee Asher
Criss Angel
De'vo
Wayne Houchin
Justin Miller
Paul Harris
The Virts (they are gonna be on top of the world one day)

 

[Jakeh]

Hm.

Criss Angel - He pretty much got me into magic. I love his style and all the stuff he does. He's so talented, despite what people say and I just like him as a person AND as a magician.

Johnny Thompson - He's just an amazing person and a magician. I enjoy watching him perform and he presents himself in such a nice way.

Banachek/Derren Brown - These two guys I shall put together since I don't know which one I like best. They both perform great mentalism and they actually make me want to learn mentalism and things like that.

 

[Lupo1023]

Sankey- Defintly the craziest person I know but that's why we all love him

Harris- His style is amazing and his wit is unmatched.

Houchin- I absolutely love his personalitly and his creativity is second to none (Thread, Stigmata, etc.)


--
P:L​

 

[Nate Malini]

my uncle JR.:he got me started he could get a crowed around him in minutes,perform his 3 to 5 tricks and then hand a hat out for money.

Flaco :another great street performer (for tips) he showed me a lot of coin magic 3 inch coins,cigarette lighter, jokes,and gags.a great money maker

Chappy Brazil: another street guy who let me follow him around and learn the craft of Busking (Street magic for money) He would do sponge balls,cigarettes,and he was very funny. he would say "If you liked anything you seen today please leave a small donation Just make sure you fold it up tight first so the wind won't blow it out of my hat"

They are my favorites because they took an interest in my interests of magic.
it was great to have someone say "Like this now you do it ,no no like this ,now try again ,no no your pinkie has to curl under yea now you got it, now do it again for that lady walking this way."

 

[Krash]

Hm.

Criss Angel - He pretty much got me into magic. I love his style and all the stuff he does. He's so talented, despite what people say and I just like him as a person AND as a magician.

Johnny Thompson - He's just an amazing person and a magician. I enjoy watching him perform and he presents himself in such a nice way.

Banachek/Derren Brown - These two guys I shall put together since I don't know which one I like best. They both perform great mentalism and they actually make me want to learn mentalism and things like that.

I agree with you about Criss.

I must say that I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that most of the people who responded to this thread had him as one of their top three.

Guilty pleasure? I'm thinking yes.

Shane

 

[Jakeh]

I agree with you about Criss.

I must say that I was pleasantly surprised when I found out that most of the people who responded to this thread had him as one of their top three.

Guilty pleasure? I'm thinking yes.

Shane

I was extremely happy too, considering all the crap that people seem to give him.

Guilty pleasure indeed.

 

[Mat La Vore]

1. David Blaine
2. David Copperfield
3. Cyril Takayama

Best magicians alive today in my opinion. Always on the cutting edge, pushing the art forward. And all three seem like they'd be really cool people to hang out with in real life (*coughcrissangelisadouchebagcoughcough*). As far as "magician's magicians" go, there's so many whose work I love (Sankey, Vigil, Garcia, Houchin) but the truth is there's only one man in town: Paul Harris.

 

[DB13]

#1- Cyril Takayama: Amazing magician. Great to watch perform even if you can't understand what he is saying. Started me in magic.

#2- David Blaine: Makes people believe he has real magic from a simple trick. Great street performer. Made me continue in magic.

#3- Criss Angel: Great magician. Changed peoples minds about how a magician looks like, how they thought of someone in a tuxedo, now they think magicians were just normal clothes.

Honorable Mentions
Wayne Houchin
Daniel Garcia
Chris Kenner

 

[DavidMisner]

1_ It's a tie between Dai Vernon and Guy Hollingsworth. They both have contributed so much to magic, and there work is amazing.

2_Wayne Houchin. He's such a great guy, and his mind is amazing. We have to chill sometime soon man.

3_Chris Kenner. Because he's with Katie. No really, his work is fantastic. He was one of the reasons I started magic.


Runners Up_

Danny Garcia, Paul Harris, Sean Fields, DnD

//David.Misner::

 

[Mat La Vore]

#3- Criss Angel: Great magician. Changed peoples minds about how a magician looks like, how they thought of someone in a tuxedo, now they think magicians were just normal clothes.

That was David Blaine actually. Nobody wears more "normal looking clothes" than him. Copperfield strayed pretty far from the stereotype of how a magician was expected to look as well. Criss Angel just jumped on the bandwagon. I also would argue that Criss Angel doesn't exactly wear "normal clothes." Walk down the street and see how many people you see with a $200 haircut, leather pants, and enough bling dangling off of them to buy a Lamborghini.