As the famous children’s book author, Roald Dahl, once said, “Those who don’t believe in magic will never find it’’. This extravagant list of some of the world’s most prominent and renowned magicians have found that spark – whether it be a spark of enchantment, thrill, or down-right strangeness. From the marvelous Harry Houdini to the Winner of Got Talent’s Champion spin-off, Shin Lim, here are the world’s top 10 magicians.
Perhaps the most famous name in the world of magic, Houdini, the Hungarian magician who grew up in the United States, in fact, started out as a trapeze artist. In the pre-television era, he gained worldwide acclaim by challenging any jail in each town he visited to hold him and then escaping from them all – making his name in the escapology sector of magic. Fun Fact: many believe that Houdini died because he couldn’t escape through one of his tricks – this is false! He actually died due to acute appendicitis.
Sigmund Neuberger, otherwise known as famous illusionist the Great Lafayette and was the highest-paid magician of his time. He met his untimely death in Edinburgh in the notorious Empire Palace theatre fire of 1911 while performing his signature lion’s bride illusion, which involved him swapping places with a live lion when a stage lamp fell and ignited the set.
David Seth Kotkin, known professionally as David Copperfield, is an American magician, described by Forbes as the most commercially successful magician in history. Copperfield’s magic tends toward the spectacular, with performances having him being sliced in half, suspended in a tornado of fire, and flying through the air. He has even teleported volunteers across Las Vegas theatres and made the statue of liberty disappear!
David Blaine White is an American illusionist, endurance artist, and extreme performer, best known for his high-profile feats of endurance and has set and broken several world records. His career has seen him perform a string of high-profile stunts, in which he is buried alive, frozen in ice and forced to stand atop a pillar for days on end – but he is at his most impressive when performing his brand of street magic.
William Lance Burton is an American stage magician. He performed more than 15,000 shows in Las Vegas for over 5,000,000 people! He got his first big televisual break on Johnny Carson’s ‘Tonight’ show and has returned to the show twenty times since.
The Marilyn Manson of the magic world? Yup, it’s Criss Angel! Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos, known by the stage name Criss Angel, is an American magician, illusionist, and even a musician. Angel blends a rock’n’roll image with grandiose daredevil stunts such as shackling himself to the side of a burning car filled with explosives or suspending himself from a moving helicopter with fishhooks through his skin.
Siegfried & Roy were a duo of German American magicians and entertainers, best known for their appearances with white lions and white tigers. Through their circus-like magic, the duo actually attracted a lot of negative attention during their era of fame. Roy from the infamous duo passed away recently due to the 2020 pandemic.
Derren Brown is an English mentalist, illusionist, and author. Since his television debut with Derren Brown: Mind Control in 2000, Brown has produced several other shows for the stage and television in both series and specials. Without a doubt, the most shocking of these involved him placing a loaded revolver to his head and pulling the trigger. Spoiler: He later admitted in a GMTV interview that the gun itself was loaded with blanks!
This duo is at the forefront of the intersection between both science and magic. Their outspoken support of rational thinking informed their well-received Showtime series, Bullshit! which challenged pseudoscience and the paranormal, took on false advertising claims, and generally exposed nonsense in all its forms.
Liang-Shun Lim, known professionally as Shin Lim, is a Canadian American magician, recognized for his use of card manipulation and sleight of hand. Considered the best one of the best magicians in the world today, Shin Lim has appeared as a guest on many talk shows after his big win of season 13 on America’s Got Talent, as well as her claim of the champion title in ‘Got Talent Champions’ alongside other acts of various sorts.
