David Copperfield (illusionist)
copyright David Copperfield
David Copperfield (born September 16, 1956 as David Seth Kotkin) is a renowned Jewish-American magician and illusionist best known for his combination of spectacular illusions and storytelling. His most famous feats include making the Statue of Liberty disappear, flying, levitating over the Grand Canyon, and walking through the Great Wall of China.
Biography
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. At age 18, he enrolled at Fordham University, but was cast in the lead role of the Chicago-based musical The Magic Man three weeks into his freshman year. At age 19, he was headlining at the Pagoda Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii.
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 dollars in 2003, making him the tenth 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.[1]
Copperfield was engaged to the supermodel Claudia Schiffer, but the couple parted ways in 1999 after a six year relationship. There was speculation that Schiffer was not actually Copperfield's girlfriend, but was instead a contractor working for him. The popular German tabloid Bild published a fax from Copperfield's management to Schiffer, informing her of Copperfield's itinerary, where she should appear with Copperfield, and her fees.[citation needed] Copperfield labeled the fax a forgery. Richard Jeffries, the father of Schiffer's next boyfriend, art dealer Tim Jeffries, stirred up the controversy further when he publicly stated that Copperfield never had sexual relations with Schiffer.[2] Copperfield's retort was that since Jeffries was never in their bedroom, he couldn't know. Schiffer also denied the accusations by Jeffries. [3]
In April 2006, Copperfield and two of his female assistants were robbed at gunpoint after a performance in West Palm Beach, Florida. His assistants gave the robbers their money, passports, and a cell phone. However, according to his police statement, Copperfield didn't hand over anything. (He later claimed to have used sleight-of-hand to hide his possessions.[4]) One of Copperfield's assistants wrote down most of the license plate number, and the suspects were later arrested. [5]
His name is taken from the 1850 Charles Dickens novel.
See also
Vanishing the Statue of Liberty This explains how David Copperfield supposedly made the Statue of Liberty disappear.
References
External links
- Please use a more specific IMDb template. See the documentation for available templates.
- Official website