Stage magicians

Conjurers and illusionists who entertain by deception, and say so.

Stage magicians are conjurers and illusionists who entertain by deception, and say so. They range from street performers and close-up magicians to large-scale illusionists, mentalists and escape artists. This page covers the profession, its history and its ethics. As in every article here, it does not explain how tricks are done, since the secrets belong to the craft and the pleasure of the audience. Their rules are the opposite of secrecy about intent: they say outright that it is a trick.

A profession and a craft

Performers train for years in sleight of hand, patter, timing and stagecraft. Societies and clubs support them: the Society of American Magicians (1902), the Magic Circle in London (1905) and the International Brotherhood of Magicians. The Magic Castle in Los Angeles is a famous clubhouse. Most magicians work in restaurants, parties, theatres and corporate events, and few become famous. Training includes stagecraft, voice, timing, mime, costume and carefully rehearsed routines, with different branches such as close-up, parlour, stage and street.

Who performs

Famous names include Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin, Harry Houdini, Harry Kellar, Howard Thurston, P. C. Sorcar, Chung Ling Soo, Siegfried and Roy and David Copperfield. Women such as Adelaide Herrmann and Dell O'Dell worked in a field that favoured men. Magic has also been performed in India, China, Japan, the Arab world and Africa for a long time, though Western histories have given those performers less attention. Women performers were rarely billed as stars before the twentieth century, and Black, Indian and Chinese performers often faced racism in Western halls.

The code and its limits

An informal code asks magicians not to expose methods, not to claim supernatural powers and to respect each other's work. Mentalists who say they read minds sit on a line, and those who admit to showmanship are honest while those who claim real powers move toward fraud. Houdini and James Randi campaigned against fake mediums and faith healers on that basis. Beyond the stage, performers consult on films, give lessons and design props, and some work as scientific advisers on perception.

Scholars and the brain

Researchers working with performers have studied inattentional blindness, change blindness and how the mind constructs what it sees. Magicians have also helped investigators test claims of psychic powers, since they know how observers are easily misled. Audiences, not scholars, decide whether the show was worth the ticket. The audience, too, plays a part: a magic show works only if the audience takes part willingly, with attention, laughter and surprise. A show is a shared agreement.

Stage magicians on EveryJaadu

The entries written up so far, best known first.

RegionSouth Asia Southeast Asia East Asia Central Asia and the Caucasus Middle East North Africa Sub-Saharan Africa Europe North America Latin America and the Caribbean Oceania

KindTradition Rite Charm Oracle Substance Being Figure Text Illusion Belief

PurposeProtection Healing Seeing and foretelling Luck and prosperity Love and attraction Cursing and harm Cleansing and purification Speaking with spirits and the dead Change and initiation Binding and oaths Power and authority Wonder and entertainment

BeliefHindu and Tantric Buddhist Jain Muslim and Sufi Jewish Christian Sikh Zoroastrian Shinto and Taoist Indigenous and shamanic African and Afro-diasporic Pagan and Neopagan Esoteric and occult Folk and village custom Secular and stage Other traditions

OccasionWeddings and betrothal Festivals Birth and childhood Death and remembrance Harvest, farming and weather New year Initiation and coming of age Illness and misfortune Journeys and voyages Everyday use

StandingLiving Revived Fading Historical Legendary Performed

OrderBest known A to Z Newest Living first

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreFire eating A performance art of extinguishing flames in the mouthIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Performed 🇮🇹 Italy and 3 moreJoseph Pinetti An eighteenth-century magician who brought illusion to the theatre and pioneered stage advertising.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇮🇳 IndiaIndian rope trick A legendary stage illusion involving a levitating rope and a disappearing boy assistantIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇫🇷 France and 5 moreJean Eugène Robert-HoudinJean-Eugène Robert-Houdin A French clockmaker who elevated stage magic into a refined theatrical art.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇩🇪 Germany and 2 morePhantasmagoria A horror theatre using magic lanterns to project frightening images in the darkIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomEgyptian Hall A London exhibition hall known for magic shows and Egyptian-style architecture, demolished in 1905.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇺🇸 United States and 2 moreDavenport brothers A pair of American stage magicians who performed spirit cabinet illusions in the late nineteenth century.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment · Speaking with spirits and the dead Historical 🇫🇷 France and 5 moreBuatier De Kolta A French stage magician known for mechanical illusions and the vanishing chair.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇧🇪 BelgiumServais Le Roy A Belgian magician who designed classic illusions and performed in a famous trio act.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇨🇳 China and 1 moreChing Ling Foo金陵福 (Jīn Língfú) A Chinese stage magician who toured the United States and Europe in the late nineteenth centuryIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomIsaac Fawkes An English conjurer who moved magic from the fairground to fashionable London society.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇺🇸 United States and 4 moreHarry Kellar An American illusionist known for large-scale stage magic and mechanical tricks.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇫🇷 France and 3 moreAlexander Herrmann A 19th-century magician known for sleight of hand and card throwingIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇺🇸 United StatesHoward Thurston A stage magician who built the largest traveling magic show in historyIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomJohn Nevil Maskelyne A Victorian magician who exposed fraud and invented the pay toiletIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreChung Ling Soo程連蘇 An American stage magician who performed as a Chinese man and died during a bullet catch illusion.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical

🇬🇧 United KingdomDavid Devant English magician and early film exhibitor known for witty stage presentationIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreMetamorphosis A stage illusion where a magician and assistant instantly swap places inside a locked container.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇬🇷 Greece and 1 moreShell game A street swindle using covered containers to hide a marker while taking betsIllusion · Cursing and harm · Luck and prosperity Living

🇮🇳 India and 1 moreCard throwing The performance art of launching playing cards with speed and precision as stage magic.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇦🇺 Australia and 5 moreSword swallowing A dangerous stage skill where a performer guides a blade down the throat into the stomachIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living 🇨🇦 Canada and 1 moreInternational Brotherhood of Magicians A global organization for professional and amateur magicians founded in 1922.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇬🇧 United Kingdom and 1 moreSawing a woman in half A stage illusion where an assistant appears to be cut into pieces inside a box or on a tableIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living

🇺🇸 United StatesSociety of American Magicians A global professional group for magicians that preserves the art and ethics of stage illusionIllusion · Wonder and entertainment Living 🇺🇸 United States and 1 moreHorace Goldin A stage magician known for his fast style and the sawing illusion.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Historical 🇺🇸 United StatesSawing a lady in half (sample) A famous stage effect, described without its method.Illusion · Wonder and entertainment Performed

Photo credits on this page

The small pictures above come from Wikimedia Commons under free licences. Some are cropped to fit.

Indian rope trick: Anonymous Unknown author, CC0, source
Jean Eugène Robert-Houdin: Carcharoth (Commons), CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Shell game: Holger.Ellgaard, CC BY-SA 3.0, source
Fire eating: Arvind Jain, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Card throwing: Felbify, CC BY 3.0, source
Sword swallowing: Jeff Kubina, CC BY-SA 2.0, source
Phantasmagoria: Alphonse de Neuville or A. Jahandier, Public domain, source
Sawing a woman in half: Jasper Maskelyne, Public domain, source
Society of American Magicians: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
Egyptian Hall: Unknown author, CC BY 4.0, source
Davenport brothers: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Isaac Fawkes: William Hogarth, Public domain, source
Harry Kellar: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Alexander Herrmann: Photographer unidentified, Public domain, source
Howard Thurston: Anonymous Unknown author, Public domain, source
John Nevil Maskelyne: Unknown author, Public domain, source
Chung Ling Soo: AndyScott, CC BY-SA 4.0, source
David Devant: Simon Edwards Esq, CC BY-SA 4.0, source