David Copperfield (illusionist)

David Copperfield (born September 16, 1956 as David Seth Kotkin) is a renowned magician and illusionist best known for his combination of spectacular illusions with storytelling. His most famous feats include making the Statue of Liberty disappear, levitating over the Grand Canyon, and walking through the Great Wall of China.

To make the Statue of Liberty disappear, Copperfield had a setup of two towers on a stage, supporting an arch to hold the huge curtain that would be used to conceal the statue. The TV cameras and the live audience only saw the monument through the arch. When the curtains closed, David waxed poetic while the stage was ... slowly ... and imperceptibly ... turned. When the curtains opened, the statue was hidden behind one of the towers, and the audience was looking out to sea. Voila! The Statue of Liberty has disappeared!

Even if the stage hadn't completely hidden the statue, the towers were so brightly lit that the audience would be nightblinded. Copperfield had also set up two rings of lights--one around Liberty, and another set up somewhere else. When the trick "happened," his assistants simply turned off the lights around the statue and turned on the other set for the helicopters to circle around.

Oh--the radar blip? It was simply video game animation. (Note how the helicopter(s) didn't show up on the radar screen.)

David Copperfield was born in Metuchen New Jersey, to Jewish immigrants from Russia. He began performing magic professionally at the age of 12, and became the youngest person ever admitted to the Society of American Magicians. By age 16, he was teaching a course in magic at New York University.

In 1982, David Copperfield founded Project Magic, a rehabilitation program to help disabled patients regain lost or damaged dexterity skills. The program has been accredited by the American Occupational Therapy Association, and is in use in over 1,000 hospitals worldwide.

Copperfield has also attempted to preserve the history of the art of magic for present and future generations by providing a safe, permanent home for antiquarian props, books, and other historical ephemera related to conjuring. His vast collection, known as the International Museum and Library of the Conjuring Arts, is housed in Las Vegas, Nevada.

Forbes Magazine reported that Copperfield earned $57 million in 2003, making him the 10th highest paid celebrity in the world. It also estimated that he made $57 million from June 2004 to June 2005 in merchandise and tour revenue.

He was engaged to the supermodel Claudia Schiffer. The couple parted ways in 1999, after a six year relationship.

tam