David Kwong (born 1980) is a

magician Magician or The Magician may refer to: Performers * A practitioner of magic (supernatural) * A practitioner of magic (illusion) * Magician (fantasy), a character in a fictional fantasy context Entertainment Books * ''The Magician'', an 18th-ce ...

puzzle A puzzle is a game, problem, or toy that tests a person's ingenuity or knowledge. In a puzzle, the solver is expected to put pieces together ( or take them apart) in a logical way, in order to arrive at the correct or fun solution of the puzzle ...

creator, writer, and producer. Kwong is known for creating

illusion An illusion is a distortion of the senses, which can reveal how the mind normally organizes and interprets sensory stimulation. Although illusions distort the human perception of reality, they are generally shared by most people. Illusions may ...

s and puzzles for film and television and for functioning as a producer and consultant in the field. He produced ''Deception'', ABC's action crime drama about a magician that joins the FBI. Other productions that Kwong has been involved with include '' Now You See Me'' (head magic consultant), NBC's '' Blindspot'', ''

The Magnificent Seven ''The Magnificent Seven'' is a 1960 American Western film directed by John Sturges. The screenplay by William Roberts is a remake – in an Old West–style – of Akira Kurosawa's 1954 Japanese film '' Seven Samurai'' (itself initially ...

'', '' Mission Impossible: Rogue Nation'', and ''

The Imitation Game ''The Imitation Game'' is a 2014 American historical drama film directed by Morten Tyldum and written by Graham Moore, based on the 1983 biography '' Alan Turing: The Enigma'' by Andrew Hodges. The film's title quotes the name of the game ...

''. Kwong also frequently contributes to the ''New York Times'' crossword puzzle along with crossword puzzle editor

Will Shortz William F. Shortz (born August 26, 1952) is an American puzzle creator and editor and crossword puzzle editor for ''The New York Times''. Early life and education Will Shortz was born and raised on an Arabian horse farm in Crawfordsville, Indi ...

Early life

Kwong is a native of

Rochester, New York Rochester () is a city in the U.S. state of New York, the seat of Monroe County, and the fourth-most populous in the state after New York City, Buffalo, and Yonkers, with a population of 211,328 at the 2020 United States census. Located i ...

, where both of his parents are professors at the

University of Rochester The University of Rochester (U of R, UR, or U of Rochester) is a private university, private research university in Rochester, New York. The university grants Undergraduate education, undergraduate and graduate degrees, including Doctorate, do ...

. Kwong attended

Harvard University Harvard University is a private Ivy League research university in Cambridge, Massachusetts. Founded in 1636 as Harvard College and named for its first benefactor, the Puritan clergyman John Harvard, it is the oldest institution of high ...

, where he studied journalism & media in the history department. He wrote his honors thesis on the history of oriental magicians and their impersonators. He graduated in 2002.

Career

Magic

Kwong was inspired to pursue professional magic after attending a talk by conjurer

Ricky Jay Richard Jay Potash (June 26, 1946 – November 24, 2018) was an American stage magician, actor and writer. In a profile for ''The New Yorker'', Mark Singer called Jay "perhaps the most gifted sleight of hand artist alive". In addition to sleigh ...

at Harvard University. After graduation, he moved to

Hong Kong Hong Kong ( (US) or (UK); , ), officially the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region of the People's Republic of China (abbr. Hong Kong SAR or HKSAR), is a city and special administrative region of China on the eastern Pearl River Delta i ...

for two years, where he performed as a magician at

cocktail parties A cocktail party is a party at which cocktails are served. It is sometimes called a cocktail reception. A cocktail party organized for purposes of social or business networking is called a mixer. A cocktail hour is sometimes used by manage ...

. He later moved back to the United States, working in marketing for

HBO Home Box Office (HBO) is an American premium television network, which is the flagship property of namesake parent subsidiary Home Box Office, Inc., itself a unit owned by Warner Bros. Discovery. The overall Home Box Office business unit is ba ...

in New York and later archiving for Ricky Jay in Los Angeles. Kwong debuted ''The Enigmatist'' at

The High Line Hotel The High Line Hotel is a historic hotel in the West Chelsea neighborhood in the borough of Manhattan, New York City. The building was constructed in 1895 as a dormitory for the General Theological Seminary and is now owned by the Brodsky Organiz ...

in New York City on January 4, 2019. Presented by

Greg Berlanti Gregory Berlanti (born May 24, 1972) is an American screenwriter, producer and director of film and television. He is known for his work on the television series ''Dawson's Creek'', '' Brothers & Sisters'', '' Everwood'', '' Political Animals'', ...

and

Robbie Rogers Robert Hampton Rogers III (born May 12, 1987) is an American former professional soccer player. He played as a winger and as a left back. Rogers has also represented the United States men's national soccer team. In February 2013, Rogers came o ...

, ''The Enigmatist'' is an immersive evening of puzzles, cryptology and illusions. ''The Enigmatist'' planned to make its West Coast debut in May 2020 at the

Geffen Playhouse The Geffen Playhouse (or the Geffen) is a not-for-profit theater company founded by Gilbert Cates in 1995. It produces plays in two theaters in Geffen Playhouse, which is owned by University of California Los Angeles. The Playhouse is located ...

Public speaking

Kwong has given several

TED Talks TED Conferences, LLC (Technology, Entertainment, Design) is an American-Canadian non-profit media organization that posts international talks online for free distribution under the slogan "ideas worth spreading". TED was founded by Richard Sau ...

and regularly speaks on the principles of illusion. His main stage TED Talk on magic and puzzles was coordinated with hiding a secret message in ''The New York Times'' crossword puzzle. In 2017, he wrote the book ''Spellbound: Seven Principles of Illusion to Captivate Audiences and Unlock the Secrets of Success''.

Puzzles

Kwong's first crossword puzzle, a joint construction with his friend Kevan Choset, was published in ''

The New York Times ''The New York Times'' (''the Times'', ''NYT'', or the Gray Lady) is a daily newspaper based in New York City with a worldwide readership reported in 2020 to comprise a declining 840,000 paid print subscribers, and a growing 6 million paid ...

'' on April 1, 2006. Kwong debuted his interactive online puzzle show "Inside the Box", hosted on

Zoom Zoom may refer to: Technology Computing * Zoom (software), videoconferencing application * Page zooming, the ability to magnify or shrink a portion of a page on a computer display * Zooming user interface, a graphical interface allowing for imag ...

, for the Geffen Playhouse in 2020.

References

External links

*
David Kwong Official Website
{{DEFAULTSORT:Kwong, David 1980 births Living people American magicians American film producers American television producers American male writers Puzzle designers Harvard University alumni