Magicians from the 60's-90's

[Optical Illusion]

Well for history my class has to do a project on people who changed things in the US in the 60's through the 90's such as singers like jimi hendrix and many other people and I was thinking about doing it about a magician who changed the way people see magic in that time. I know there are a few and I just wanted to have a list of names. So If some of you could help me that would be great.
Oh yeah.... I'm making a scrapbook, and it will be about the person in a first person view as if I am that person and making the scrapbook about myself. Well anyways thanks for the help. If you dont get what i'm asking for i can clarify myself a bit better.

And if my teacher OKs this project... I will try to post pictures of it.

The start of the 60's to the start of the 90's not after (but they can be living/still be doing stuff then just not started doing stuff in the 90's)

 

[D ICE R]

There are so many however the three that I would choose are Berglas, Randi vs. Uri (among others) and obviously Copperfield. Doug Henning could easily replace Berglas but being a mentalist he has a huge part in my heart.

You are better off using people everyone has heard of because whilst Vernon is a god among magicians he is fairly unknown (atleast by name) to the public as a whole.

 

[Optical Illusion]

Yeah i was thinking copperfield but didnt find much information about him. The scrapbook has to be 10 pages (back/front) but not all words, but I was curious and wanted to look more into this.. I havn't looked much into the past about magicians

 

[D ICE R]

not much information on Copperfield?

There are 82 reference links on wikipedia alone and that took all of 3 seconds to find.

 

[shinichikudo992000]

Dai Vernon and Slydini changed close-up magic and parlor. David Blaine changed close-up magic into street magic. David Copperfield changed Stage Magic.

Full Bio about David Copperfield can be found here:
http://www.biography.com/video.do?n...896837674&bclid=31792167001&bctid=31812418001

 

[Brad Henderson]

Dai Vernon and Slydini changed close-up magic and parlor. David Blaine changed close-up magic into street magic. David Copperfield changed Stage Magic.

Full Bio about David Copperfield can be found here:
http://www.biography.com/video.do?n...896837674&bclid=31792167001&bctid=31812418001

Not sure if I would agree with this, especially with the date restrictions.

Henning unquestionable ushered in the modern Golden Age of Magic (that was a term used repeatedly in press articles during the time.) Henning took something that was relegated to afternoon kid's programs and made it relevant to those in the legitimate theater and THAT translated into TV shows for the masses. He opened the door for others to walk through.


Of course, Vernon did so much for magic, but I do not think one could place him or any of his long term contributions specifically within that time frame.

Did Blaine change anything? Or did he just rename something? The notion of magic as candid camera is clever and perhaps he can be credited with that. You cannot say he revolutionized magic by changing the look, etc as smart magicians have always found a way to make themselves relevant, at least fashionably.

I do not know if Berglas really changed anything - at least not here in the US. The Geller/Randi feud is trivial as skeptics and psychics have been at each others throats for decades.

Brown has done a lot to change the outlook on mentalism, and it is undeniable that the industry (from within) will never be the same. While he wasn't the first to explore the ideas/themes presented and in that manner, he definitely did it better than anyone who came before.

Sigfried and Roy would also be an excellent choice. The role of magic on the Vegas stage is intertwined with their success.

 

[Luis Vega]

Tommy Wonder....I really like him!! R.I.P.

 

[WilliamMckeehan]

Tommy Wonder....I really like him!! R.I.P.

me too! he was great!

 

[Luis Vega]

me too! he was great!

he inspired me to perform the way I do it now...

 

[descartes]

You must realize that people in different countries had different famous magicians in this time frame.

In the UK, David Nixon was quite famous in the late 60s and early 70s. Hardly anyone in America would know who he is.

Fred Kaps is another performer from that time who was quite famous in Europe.

Of course in the US, the famous ones were Henning in the 70s, Copperfield in the 80s and David Blaine in the late 90s.

All of these performers were not only famous, but they had a great impact in terms of how lay people saw and enjoyed magic.

 

[Brad Henderson]

If we were talking about magic on tv, specifically in Great Britain, David Nixon would be a good choice, as would Tommy Cooper. I thought Nixon was late 50's though - but I could be dead wrong.

To me, the issue is one of changing the face of magic (either from within or without) and in my mind, that would require a global shift in perspective.

Channing Pollack would be an excellent example of this, as would cardini, though the former may be too early for the time line and the latter definately was.

Kaps (and Benson) were both tremendous performers, but I'm not sure how impactful they were in changing the scene on any level. (Which is a shame).

Don Alan held far more sway than some people realize, but when would we place him in the timeline?

its really a very good question, and not nearly as simple as it first appears.

 

[Optical Illusion]

Well I am sad to say that my teacher said I could not do one of these people as they were not on his list. I tried to convince him and he even said so himself that people have requested some of these. I am sad to say that I will not be making my project on one of these people, Thanks for all the help =]