3 Videos to Celebrate National Magic Day

Published October 31, 2017 | By ncmarsh

It is National Magic Day!

You may know October 31 as some other major holiday (also a favorite of mine), but on October 31 of 1926 Harry Houdini died after being punched by an overzealous fan several days earlier. This is the day on which, for decades since, seances have been held to contact Houdini. Harry spent much of his life debunking fake spirit mediums who used magicians’ tricks to scam grieving family members into believing they were in contact with a lost loved one, and he had arranged a secret code with his wife to transmit in a seance to prove whether or not it was really his spirit.

In honor of Houdini, October 31st is National Magic Day.

To celebrate, I have chosen three phenomenal performance videos from master magicians that I know you’ll enjoy; these are performers who you may or may not have heard of, but their work is well worth your time.

Tommy Wonder

Wonder was a master magician from Holland who I consider one of the finest conjurors of my lifetime. You can learn more about his life and work here.

Don Alan

One of the most influential — which is unfortunately also to say one of the most imitated — close-up magicians of the 20th Century, Alan’s charm and razor sharp sense of great entertainment was legendary amongst his colleagues and the generations he has inspired. Learn more here.

Lance Burton

A Las Vegas icon, for whom the 1,274 seat Lance Burton Theater at the Monte Carlo was built, Burton’s classic sleight-of-hand act has been described as “the best 12 minutes in magic” by knowledgeable magicians. You can learn more about his work here.