Michael Skinner (1941 – 1998) was an American magician known for his

close-up magic Close-up magic (also known as table magic or micromagic) is magic performed in an intimate setting usually no more than 3 meters (10 feet) from one's audience and is usually performed while sitting at a table. Sleight-of-hand, also known as pr ...

. He was born in

Rochester, New York Rochester is a city in and the county seat, seat of government of Monroe County, New York, United States. It is the List of municipalities in New York, fourth-most populous city and 10th most-populated municipality in New York, with a populati ...

in 1941, but spent most of his professional life living and working in

Las Vegas Las Vegas, colloquially referred to as Vegas, is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and the county seat of Clark County. The Las Vegas Valley metropolitan area is the largest within the greater Mojave Desert, and second-l ...

. He worked over 20 years as the magician-in-residence at the Golden Nugget hotel, but he also made appearances in other venues. He also performed twice on ''

The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson ''The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson'' is an American television talk show broadcast by NBC. The show was the third installment of ''The Tonight Show''. Hosted by Johnny Carson, it aired from October 1, 1962 to May 22, 1992, replacing ''T ...

''."Michael Skinner"
(2012). MagicPedia. Retrieved 2013-05-03. Skinner was known for his large repertoire. He was reported to have once performed 28 consecutive shows without the repetition of a single trick during a full week of bookings at

the Magic Castle The Magic Castle is a performance venue, restaurant, and clubhouse for the Academy of Magical Arts for magicians and magic enthusiasts in the Hollywood district of Los Angeles, California, United States. The Academy was started in 1952 by W ...

."Michael Skinner Magician"
(2012). Club Magician. Retrieved 2012-11-25. Skinner studied under magicians Eddie Fechter and

Dai Vernon David Frederick Wingfield Verner (June 11, 1894August 21, 1992), better known by his stage names Dai Vernon (pronounced alternatively as "DIE" or as "DAY" as in David) or The Professor, was a Canadian magician. Vernon's sleight of hand techn ...

References

1941 births 1998 deaths American magicians People from Rochester, New York Academy of Magical Arts Close-Up Magician of the Year winners Academy of Magical Arts Performing Fellowship winners {{US-entertainer-stub