David Kaye (born David Friedman) is a professional magician and author. He performs under the

stage name A stage name or professional name is a pseudonym used by performers, authors, and entertainers—such as actors, comedians, singers, and musicians. The equivalent concept among writers is called a ''nom de plume'' (pen name). Some performers ...

Silly Billy.

Bibliography

He authored a long-running column for ''Magic'' magazine entitled, "Turn it around: Magic for the family audience." * Kid Show Kliff Notes: The Psychology of Performing Magic for Children (notes) * Running Gags And How To Catch Them (ebook) * Seriously Silly: How to Entertain Children with Magic and Comedy (2005) * Serio de Remate (Seriously Silly, Spanish edition) * Super Sized Silly (2016)

Personal life

Kaye is the son of Arnold and Elaine Friedman. He is the eldest of their three sons. Kaye's younger brothers are Seth and Jesse. He grew up in

Flushing, Queens Flushing is a neighborhood in the north-central portion of the New York City Borough (New York City), borough of Queens. The neighborhood is the fourth-largest central business district in New York City. Downtown Flushing is a major commercial ...

, and then moved to

Great Neck Great Neck is a region contained within Nassau County, New York, on Long Island, which covers a peninsula on the North Shore and includes nine incorporated villages, among them Great Neck, Great Neck Estates, Great Neck Plaza, Kings Poin ...

Long Island Long Island is a densely populated continental island in southeastern New York (state), New York state, extending into the Atlantic Ocean. It constitutes a significant share of the New York metropolitan area in both population and land are ...

, with his family when he was a teenager. In 1987, Kaye's father Arnold and his youngest brother, Jesse, were charged with molesting young boys in computer classes taught in the basement of the Friedmans' Great Neck home. In 1988, Arnold and Jesse pled guilty to

child sexual abuse Child sexual abuse (CSA), also called child molestation, is a form of child abuse in which an adult or older adolescent uses a child for sexual stimulation. Forms of child sexual abuse include engaging in Human sexual activity, sexual activit ...

and served time. The case was chronicled in the 2003 documentary ''

Capturing the Friedmans ''Capturing the Friedmans'' is a 2003 HBO documentary film directed by Andrew Jarecki. It focuses on the 1980s investigation of Arnold and Jesse Friedman for child molestation. The film premiered at the 2003 Sundance Film Festival where it re ...

'', which Kaye was interviewed for. There was never any inference that Kaye had any knowledge of, or was involved in any way, with the activities of his father and brother. Kaye adopted his current surname in the 1990s. Kaye's registration of the surname Kaye with the

SAG-AFTRA The Screen Actors Guild–American Federation of Television and Radio Artists

union for his

was due to 'David Friedman' being registered with 27 other individuals as of 2003. Kaye is the foremost children's magician in the United States, author of numerous books including Seriously Silly and Super-Sized Silly, a columnist in both

Magic (American magazine) ''MAGIC'', also known as ''The Magazine for Magicians'', was an independent magazine for magicians that was based in Las Vegas, Nevada. A creation of Stan Allen, it debuted in September 1991, with its first issue featuring Lance Burton on the cov ...

and

Genii magazine ''Genii, The Conjurors' Magazine'' is a magazine devoted to magic and magicians. It is a monthly magazine first published in September 1936, currently edited by Richard J. Kaufman and owned by Randy Pitchford. The magazine is based in Washington ...

,2011 to present, ongoing and creator of numerous marketed tricks: "Peek-a-Boo Bunny," "Yes, No, Maybe So," "Princess in a Pickle," among others.

References

External links

* Living people Place of birth missing (living people) Year of birth missing (living people) People from Great Neck, New York American magicians Academy of Magical Arts Performing Fellowship winners {{magic-stub