Jim Steinmeyer (born November 1, 1958) is an American author, inventor, and designer of magical illusions and theatrical special effects. He holds four US patents in the field of illusion apparatus, including a modern version of the

Pepper's Ghost Pepper's ghost is an illusion technique used in the theatre, cinema, amusement parks, museums, television, and concerts. It is named after the English scientist John Henry Pepper (1821–1900) who began popularising the effect with a theatr ...

illusion. Steinmeyer has consulted for many famous magicians, including

David Copperfield ''David Copperfield'' Dickens invented over 14 variations of the title for this work, see is a novel in the bildungsroman genre by Charles Dickens, narrated by the eponymous David Copperfield, detailing his adventures in his journey from inf ...

Doug Henning Douglas James Henning (May 3, 1947 – February 7, 2000) was a Canadian magician, illusionist, escape artist and politician. Early life Henning was born in the Fort Garry district of Winnipeg, Manitoba, and began practising magic at Oakenw ...

Siegfried and Roy Siegfried is a German-language male given name, composed from the Germanic elements ''sig'' "victory" and ''frithu'' "protection, peace". The German name has the Old Norse cognate ''Sigfriðr, Sigfrøðr'', which gives rise to Swedish ''Sigfrid' ...

, and

Lance Burton William Lance Burton (born March 10, 1960) is an American stage magician. He performed more than 15,000 shows in Las Vegas for over 5,000,000 people until retiring after 31 years in 2010. Professional history Burton first became interested in ma ...

. Steinmeyer is also known for his work on Broadway, and received two Drama Desk nominations for his effects in ''

Merlin Merlin ( cy, Myrddin, kw, Marzhin, br, Merzhin) is a mythical figure prominently featured in the legend of King Arthur and best known as a mage, with several other main roles. His usual depiction, based on an amalgamation of historic and le ...

'' and ''

Into the Woods ''Into the Woods'' is a 1987 musical with music and lyrics by Stephen Sondheim and book by James Lapine. The musical intertwines the plots of several Brothers Grimm fairy tales, exploring the consequences of the characters' wishes and quests. T ...

''. He has also designed illusions for Disney's stage productions of ''

Aladdin Aladdin ( ; ar, علاء الدين, ', , ATU 561, ‘Aladdin') is a Middle-Eastern folk tale. It is one of the best-known tales associated with ''The Book of One Thousand and One Nights'' (''The Arabian Nights''), despite not being part o ...

'', ''

Beauty and the Beast ''Beauty and the Beast'' (french: La Belle et la Bête) is a fairy tale written by French novelist Gabrielle-Suzanne Barbot de Villeneuve and published in 1740 in ''La Jeune Américaine et les contes marins'' (''The Young American and Marine T ...

'', and '' Mary Poppins''. Steinmeyer has written multiple books on the history of magic, including the ''Los Angeles Times'' bestseller ''Hiding the Elephant''.

Early life

Steinmeyer was born in

Oak Park, Illinois Oak Park is a village in Cook County, Illinois, adjacent to Chicago. It is the 29th-most populous municipality in Illinois with a population of 54,583 as of the 2020 U.S. Census estimate. Oak Park was first settled in 1835 and later incorporated i ...

. He grew up in Hinsdale, Illinois and attended

Loyola University Chicago Loyola University Chicago (Loyola or LUC) is a Private university, private Society of Jesus, Jesuit research university in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in 1870 by the Society of Jesus, Loyola is one of the largest Catholic Church, Catholic univers ...

Magic career

Illusion design

For a number of years, Steinmeyer was the magic designer to

, and invented illusions for Henning's television specials and two Broadway shows. He has served as a magic consultant to

and

, as well as creating magic effects for

Orson Welles George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American actor, director, producer, and screenwriter, known for his innovative work in film, radio and theatre. He is considered to be among the greatest and most influential f ...

, Harry Blackstone, The Pendragons,

Simon Drake Simon Drake (born Simon Alexander; 1 March 1957) is an English magician based in London. He is best known for the television series ''The Secret Cabaret'' made for Britain's Channel 4. Early life Born in London, Drake is the son of a GP. Dra ...

, Ricky Jay, Jason Bishop, and many others. For Copperfield, Steinmeyer created the illusion of the Vanishing Statue of Liberty, which was featured on a live television special in 1983. Musician

Alice Cooper Alice Cooper (born Vincent Damon Furnier, February 4, 1948) is an American rock singer whose career spans over five decades. With a raspy voice and a stage show that features numerous props and stage illusions, including pyrotechnics, guilloti ...

used a Steinmeyer-designed effect in his 2009 tour, where at one point he is confined inside a polished metal torture device, then impaled with a rack of sharp spikes. Other notable stage illusions designed by Steinmeyer include: * ''

Origami ) is the Japanese art of paper folding. In modern usage, the word "origami" is often used as an inclusive term for all folding practices, regardless of their culture of origin. The goal is to transform a flat square sheet of paper into a f ...

'' – an effect performed by both Henning and Copperfield and which has since been widely imitated. It was performed by an ''

America's Got Talent ''America's Got Talent'' (often abbreviated as ''AGT'') is a televised American talent show competition, and is part of the global ''Got Talent'' franchise created by Simon Cowell. The program is produced by Fremantle (as well as distribu ...

'' contestant in 2010. An oriental-themed box is seen on a thin table, backed by a mirror. The magician's assistant steps into the box, which folds down into a small cube, 12 inches square. The cube is penetrated by three swords before being unfolded, allowing the assistant to emerge unharmed. * ''Interlude'' – originally titled ''Permeability'', this illusion was performed by The Pendragons for many years as ''Interlude'' and is now commonly known as such. The magician is held in a metal frame and the magician's assistant passes through from back to front, appearing to pass through the magician's torso. * ''Modern Art'' – in which the magician's assistant enters a cabinet, the top half of which then slides across a blade, appearing to cut the performer in two through the waist. * ''Osmosis'' – in which a performer seems to disappear inside the magician. * ''Op-Art'' – the magician's assistant seems to gradually disappear behind a number of square panels, leaving only the head visible. * ''The Lady in the Puzzle'' – comprises a number of large puzzle pieces which are inserted into an empty frame and rearranged several times to display different images. Finally they are removed to reveal the magician's assistant.

Theatre

As a researcher of magic history and a designer of special effects for the theatre, Steinmeyer's work has been featured in theatrical shows such as ''

'', ''

'', '' Mary Poppins'' and ''

''. He also created several enhanced effects for the

Las Vegas Las Vegas (; Spanish language, Spanish for "The Meadows"), often known simply as Vegas, is the List of United States cities by population, 25th-most populous city in the United States, the most populous city in the U.S. state, state of Neva ...

production of ''

Phantom of the Opera ''The Phantom of the Opera'' (french: Le Fantôme de l'Opéra) is a novel by French author Gaston Leroux. It was first published as a serial in from 23 September 1909 to 8 January 1910, and was released in volume form in late March 1910 by Pie ...

'', including a special version of Christine's dressing room mirror in Act I and Raoul's torture cage in Act II.

Television and other media

Steinmeyer has worked as a producer and

magic consultant This is a list of magicians/illusionists, prestidigitators, mentalists, escapologists, and other practitioners of stage magic. For the list of supernatural magicians, see List of occultists. Magicians are listed by the most common name used i ...

for many magic television shows, and as a consultant and concept designer for

Walt Disney Imagineering Walt Disney Imagineering Research & Development, Inc., commonly referred to as Imagineering, is the research and development arm of The Walt Disney Company, responsible for the creation, design, and construction of Disney theme parks and attr ...

, where he developed theme park attractions for

The Walt Disney Company The Walt Disney Company, commonly known as Disney (), is an American multinational mass media and entertainment industry, entertainment conglomerate (company), conglomerate headquartered at the Walt Disney Studios (Burbank), Walt Disney Stud ...

. He was the writer and producer of the A&E Network's ''The Story of Magic'', a documentary on the history of magicians. In 1986 Steinmeyer served as technical advisor for the

NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters ...

crime drama series '' Blacke's Magic'', starring

Hal Linden Hal Linden (born Harold Lipshitz, March 20, 1931) is an American stage and screen actor, television director and musician. Linden began his career as a big band musician and singer in the 1950s. After a stint in the United States Army, he began ...

as magician Alexander Blacke. In 2014 Steinmeyer served as a magic trick consultant/ghostwriter on

Neil Patrick Harris Neil Patrick Harris (born June 15, 1973) is an American actor, singer, writer, producer, and television host. Primarily known for his comedic television roles and dramatic and musical stage roles, he has received multiple accolades throughout ...

's book ''Choose Your Own Autobiography''.

Lectures

Steinmeyer lectures on magic and creating other theatrical effects at a variety of places including

The Magic Castle The Magic Castle is a clubhouse for Magic (illusion), magicians and magic enthusiasts, as well as the clubhouse for the Academy of Magical Arts. It is in the Hollywood, Los Angeles, Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California and it bills itse ...

, The Magic Circle in London, FISM, and TED (1998) Conference in Monterey, California.

Awards

In 1991 the Academy of Magical Arts (The Magic Castle) awarded Steinmeyer The Creative Fellowship, recognizing his continuing inventions. The Fellowship awards were created in 1968, and are the magic industry's equivalent of the "Oscars". At that time Steinmeyer was 32 and was the youngest person to ever win a fellowship. In 1996 Steinmeyer received the Milbourne Christopher award in recognition of contribution to magic design and in 2002, he received his second Fellowship award from the Academy of Magical Arts, this time collecting the Literary Fellowship Award.

Books

He has written many books on magic's history and technical books on techniques of illusions. Recent works include: * ''The Complete Jarrett'', Hahne (2001) ASIN: B0014JAOXO * ''Jim Steinmeyer's Impuzzibilities Strangely Self-Working Conjuring'', Hahne (2002) ASIN: B000HAUEH2 * ''Hiding the Elephant – How Magicians Invented the Impossible and Learned to Disappear'', Carroll & Graf (2004) * ''The Glorious Deception: The Double Life of William Robinson, Aka

Chung Ling Soo William Ellsworth Robinson (April 2, 1861 – March 24, 1918) was an American magician who went by the stage name Chung Ling Soo (). He is mostly remembered today for his accidental death due to a failed bullet catch trick. Early years Robinson ...

, the "Marvelous Chinese Conjurer"'' Carroll & Graf Publishers (2005), * ''The Magic of

Alan Wakeling Alan Robert Wakeling (1926–2004) was an American magician and inventor who is known in the magic world for devising classic illusions and routines used by some of the top performers in the business. Some of his most successful work was done i ...

: The Works of a Master Magician'', Carroll & Graf (Nov 2006), * ''Art and Artifice: And Other Essays of Illusion'', Carroll & Graf (Nov 2006), * ''

Charles Fort Charles Hoy Fort (August 6, 1874 – May 3, 1932) was an American writer and researcher who specialized in anomalous phenomena. The terms "Fortean" and "Forteana" are sometimes used to characterize various such phenomena. Fort's books sold ...

: The Man Who Invented the Supernatural'', Heinemann (May 2008), * * * ''Who Was Dracula? – Bram Stoker's Trail of Blood'', Jeremy P. Tarcher (2013)

Patents

Hologram Illusion
Issued March 1, 1994, US Patent No. 5,291,297.

Issued March 29, 1994, US Patent No. D345,595.

References

External links

* {{DEFAULTSORT:Steinmeyer, Jim 1958 births Historians of magic Living people People from Oak Park, Illinois Magic consultants Academy of Magical Arts Creative Fellowship winners Academy of Magical Arts Literature & Media Fellowship winners