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Illusionist
Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of close-up magic, parlor magic, and stage magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It is to be distinguished from paranormal magic which are effects claimed to be created through supernatural means. It is one of the oldest performing arts in the world. Modern entertainment magic, as pioneered by 19th-century magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, has become a popular theatrical art form. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, magicians such as John Nevil Maskelyne and David Devant, Howard Thurston, Harry Kellar, and Harry Houdini achieved widespread commercial success during what has become known as "the Golden Age of Magic", a period in which performance magic became a staple of Broadway theatre, vaudeville, and music halls. Meanwhile, magicians such as Georges Méliès, Gaston Velle, Walter R. Booth, an ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin
Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin (; 7 December 1805 – 13 June 1871) was a French watchmaker, magician and illusionist, widely recognized as the father of the modern style of conjuring. He transformed magic from a pastime for the lower classes, seen at fairs, to an entertainment for the wealthy, which he offered in a theatre opened in Paris, a legacy preserved by the tradition of modern magicians performing in tails. Early life and entrance into conjuring Robert-Houdin was born Jean-Eugène Robert in Blois, France, on 7 December 1805—a day after his autobiography said he was.Illustrated History of Magic by Milbourne Christopher 1973Vol. 2 His father, Prosper Robert, was a watchmaker in Blois. Jean-Eugene's mother, the former Marie-Catherine Guillon, died when he was just a young child. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Copperfield (illusionist)
David Seth Kotkin (born September 16, 1956), known professionally as David Copperfield, is an American magic (illusion), stage magician and illusionist described by ''Forbes'' as the most commercially successful magician in history."Houdini in the Desert" Forbes.com. May 8, 2006 Copperfield's television specials have been nominated for 38 Emmy Awards, winning 21. Known for his combination of storytelling and illusion, his performance, in a career spanning more than 40 years, has earned 11 ''Guinness World Records'',Guinness World Records 2006, p. 197 a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame and a Ordre des Arts et des Lettres, knighthood by the French government. [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Nevil Maskelyne
John Nevil Maskelyne (22 December 1839 – 18 May 1917) was an English stage magician and inventor of the pay toilet, along with other Victorian-era devices. He worked with magicians George Alfred Cooke and David Devant, and many of his illusions are still performed today. His book ''Sharps and Flats: A Complete Revelation of the Secrets of Cheating at Games of Chance and Skill'' is considered a classic overview of card sharp practices. In 1914 he founded the Occult Committee, a group to "investigate claims to supernatural power and to expose fraud". Early life Maskelyne was born on 22 December 1839 at Cheltenham, Gloucestershire, England to John Nevil Maskelyne (1800–1875), a saddler, and his wife Harriet (1812-1871), née Brunsdon. He was baptized at St Lawrence, Swindon, near, Cheltenham, on 26 January 1840. He trained as a watchmaker. Maskelyne claimed to be a descendant of Nevil Maskelyne (1732–1811), the Astronomer Royal; although some sources repeat this, other rec ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry Houdini
Erik Weisz (March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926), known professionally as Harry Houdini ( ), was a Hungarian-American escapologist, illusionist, and stunt performer noted for his escape acts. Houdini first attracted notice in vaudeville in the United States and then as Harry "Handcuff" Houdini on a tour of Europe, where he challenged police forces to keep him locked up. Soon he extended his repertoire to include chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, straitjackets under water, and having to escape from and hold his breath inside a sealed milk can with water in it. In 1904, thousands watched as Houdini tried to escape from special handcuffs commissioned by London's ''Daily Mirror'', keeping them in suspense for an hour. Another stunt saw him buried alive and only just able to claw himself to the surface, emerging in a state of near-breakdown. While many suspected that these escapes were faked, Houdini presented himself as the scourge of fake spiritualists, pursuing a persona ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Howard Thurston
Howard Thurston (July 20, 1869 – April 13, 1936) was a stage Magic (illusion), magician from Columbus, Ohio, United States. As a child, he ran away to join the circus, where his future partner Harry Kellar also performed. Thurston was deeply impressed after he attended magician Alexander Herrmann's magic show and was determined to equal his work. Alexander Herrmann was a French magician and was known as "Herrmann the Great". Thurston eventually became the most famous magician of his time. Thurston's traveling magic show was the biggest one of all; it was so large that it needed eight train cars to transport his road show. Early life Howard Thurston was born July 20, 1869, in Columbus, Ohio. He was the middle son of William and Margaret Thurston. His father William Henry Thurston was a wheelwright and carriage maker who served briefly as a private during the Civil War in the Third Ohio Regiment. His mother Margaret (Cloude), was the daughter of an Ohio farmer. He attended No ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry Kellar
Harry Kellar (born Heinrich Keller; July 11, 1849 – March 10, 1922) was an American magician who presented large stage shows during the late 19th and early 20th centuries. Kellar was a predecessor of Harry Houdini and a successor of Robert Heller and Isaiah Hughes, under whom he apprenticed. He was often referred to as the "Dean of American Magicians" and performed extensively on five continents. One of his most memorable stage illusions was the levitation of a girl advertised as the "Levitation of Princess Karnac", copied from an illusion invented by John Nevil Maskelyne, which was later bought by Harry Blackstone Sr. He was a longtime customer of the Martinka Magic Company, which built many of his illusions and sets, including the "Blue Room". Early life As is the case with most magicians, there is little of Kellar's early life that can be confirmed. His real name was Heinrich Keller and he was born to German immigrants in Erie, Pennsylvania. He was sometimes cal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Gaston Velle
Gaston Velle (1868–1953) was a French silent film director and pioneer of special effects, who was prominent in early French and Italian cinema during the first two decades of the 20th century. Like his father, the Hungarian entertainer Joseph "Professor" Velle, Gaston began his career as a travelling magician, before putting his illusionist skills to work in cinema and ultimately creating more than fifty films between 1903 and 1911. He worked under Auguste and Louis Lumière, before serving as the head of production for the Italian film studio Cines. But he is best remembered for his work at Pathé, where he was hired to produce trick films that might rival those of his contemporary, Georges Méliès, including classic shorts like Burglars at Work (1904). Some films pioneered lasting techniques, such as his ''Les Invisibles'' (1906) – the first known invisible man film. Velle also created some of the first féerie films, such as ''tit-for-tat'' (1906). Additionally, Velle ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Music Hall
Music hall is a type of British theatrical entertainment that was most popular from the early Victorian era, beginning around 1850, through the World War I, Great War. It faded away after 1918 as the halls rebranded their entertainment as Variety show, variety. Perceptions of a distinction in Britain between bold and scandalous music hall entertainment and subsequent, more respectable variety entertainment differ. Music hall involved a mixture of popular songs, comedy, speciality acts, and variety entertainment. The term is derived from a type of theatre or venue in which such entertainment took place. In North America vaudeville was in some ways analogous to British music hall, featuring rousing songs and comic acts. Originating in saloon bars within pubs during the 1830s, music hall entertainment became increasingly popular with audiences. So much so, that during the 1850s some public houses were demolished, and specialised music hall theatres developed in their place. These t ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Georges Méliès
Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès ( , ; 8 December 1861 – 21 January 1938) was a French magic (illusion), magician, toymaker, actor, and filmmaker. He led many technical and narrative developments in the early days of film, cinema, primarily in the Fantasy film, fantasy and Science fiction film, science fiction genres. Méliès rose to prominence creating "trick films" and became well known for his innovative use of special effects, popularizing such techniques as substitution splices, multiple exposures, time-lapse photography, Dissolve (film), dissolves, and Color motion picture film#Tinting and hand coloring, hand-painted colour. He was also one of the first filmmakers to use storyboards in his work. His most important films include ''A Trip to the Moon'' (1902) and ''The Impossible Voyage'' (1904). Early life and education Marie-Georges-Jean Méliès was born 8 December 1861 in Paris, son of Jean-Louis Méliès and his Netherlands, Dutch wife Johannah-Catherine Schuering. His ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Orson Welles
George Orson Welles (May 6, 1915 – October 10, 1985) was an American director, actor, writer, producer, and magician who is remembered for his innovative work in film, radio, and theatre. He is among the greatest and most influential filmmakers of all time. Aged 21, Welles directed high-profile stage productions for the Federal Theatre Project in New York City—starting with a celebrated Voodoo Macbeth, 1936 adaptation of ''Macbeth'' with an African-American cast, and ending with the political musical ''The Cradle Will Rock'' in 1937. He and John Houseman founded the Mercury Theatre, an independent repertory theatre company that presented productions on Broadway through 1941, including a modern, politically charged ''Caesar (Mercury Theatre), Caesar'' (1937). In 1938, his radio anthology series ''The Mercury Theatre on the Air'' gave Welles the platform to find international fame as the director and narrator of The War of the Worlds (1938 radio drama), a radio adaptation ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Walter R
Walter may refer to: People and fictional characters * Walter (name), including a list of people and fictional and mythical characters with the given name or surname * Little Walter, American blues harmonica player Marion Walter Jacobs (1930–1968) * Gunther (wrestler), Austrian professional wrestler and trainer Walter Hahn (born 1987), who previously wrestled as "Walter" * Walter, standard author abbreviation for Thomas Walter (botanist) ( – 1789) * "Agent Walter", an early codename of Josip Broz Tito * Walter, pseudonym of the anonymous writer of '' My Secret Life'' * Walter Plinge, British theatre pseudonym used when the original actor's name is unknown or not wished to be included * John Walter (businessman), Canadian business entrepreneur Companies * American Chocolate, later called Walter, an American automobile manufactured from 1902 to 1906 * Walter Energy, a metallurgical coal producer for the global steel industry * Walter Aircraft Engines, Czech manufacturer o ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Film Techniques
This article contains a list of cinematic techniques that are divided into categories and briefly described. Basic definitions of terms ;180-degree rule :A continuity editorial technique in which sequential shots of two or more actors within a scene are all shot with the camera on one side of the two actors so that a coherent spatial relationship and eyeline match are maintained. ;Airborne shot :A shot taken from an aerial device, generally while moving. This technique has gained popularity in recent years due to the popularity and growing availability of drones. ;Arc :A dolly shot where the camera moves in an arc along a circular or elliptical radius in relation to the subject ("arc left" or "arc right") ;Backlighting (lighting design) :The main source of light is behind the subject, silhouetting it, and directed toward the camera. ;Bridging shot :A shot used to cover a jump in time or place or other discontinuity. Examples are a clock face showing advancing time, falling cal ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
