Profile

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David Copperfield's Real Name

David Seth Kotkin

Aliases

None

Occupation

Magician/Illusionist

Place of Birth

Metuchen, NJ, USA

Height

6'

Weight

Approx 180 lbs

Eyes

Brown

Hair

Range: Dusky brown-Black

Abilities

David Copperfield Possesses the ability to manipulate, materialize, dematerialize, and transport living and nonliving objects of any size.

For example, he has made the Statue of Liberty vanish in front of a live audience; walked through the Great Wall of China, levitated over the Grand Canyon; and in his shows, takes a member of the audience and transports him/her instantaneously to another part of the world.

Bio

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David Copperfield has been hailed by audiences the world over as the greatest magician of our time. After years of successful network specials and extensive touring, he has been seen worldwide by more people than any other magician in history, including Houdini. His critically acclaimed Broadway show "Dreams & Nightmares" broke all box office records during it's run in New York.

His magic crosses cultural lines. Currently, Forbes magazine has increased his ranking from eighth to the sixth highest grossing entertainer in the world, ahead of Madonna, Kevin Costner, and Arnold Schwarzenegger.

He celebrated feats and sense of theater have won Copperfield dozens of Emmys, and have led him to be twice named Entertainer of the Year. His tour has set countless box office records across Europe, North and South America and Asia.

Born David Kotkin on September 16, 1956 to parents Hyman and Rebecca. His New York-born father Hyman Kotkin owned and operated a men's haberdashery in Metuchen, called Korby's.

Hyman was the son of Russian immigrants and Rebecca was born in Jerusalem. Originally planning to be a ventriloquist, young Copperfield was diverted to magic when he visited a magic shop to purchase a ventriloquial figure.

He began taking magic lessons, and in no time was performing professionally in his hometown of Metuchen, New Jersey, at the age or twelve. Soon thereafter, he became the youngest person ever to be admitted to the Society of American Magicians.

By sixteen, he was teaching magic at New York University. While in college, he was cast as lead in the Chicago musical, THE MAGIC MAN. Under the name David Copperfield, he sang, danced, acted, and created all the magic in the show that became the longest running musical in Chicago history.

As a result, he was chosen to host, The Magic of ABC, starring David Copperfield. The show was well received, introducing Mr. Copperfield to the world.

So successful was his performance, that CBS signed David for a series of specials, beginning the series: The Magic of David Copperfield. With each new special, David introduces more mind-boggling feats of magic, always performing before a live audience without the aid of any camera tricks or video effects.

Yet for all his accomplishments, he insists that his greatest work to date is Project Magic. He developed this rehabilitative program over a decade ago to strengthen dexterity and motor use in disabled patients by using simple sleight-of-hand magic.

He also has a secret passion: preserving 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 Nevada. Copperfield's goal is to build a monument to the history of magic as a performing art, an ongoing museum that will survive us all.

The International Museum and Library of the Conjuring Arts is the world's premiere collection of historical documentation and artifacts regarding or pertaining to magic, illusion, and the allied arts.

In 1996, he joined forces with Dean Koontz, Joyce Carol Oates, Ray Bradbury, and others for "David Copperfield's Tales of the Impossible," an anthology of original fiction set in the world of magic and illusion. A second volume was published in 1997, called "David Copperfield's Beyond Imagination."

Copperfield has rewritten the book on magic. He has brought it to heights of artistry and imagination undreamed by wizards or audiences in the past. The illusions are both spectacular mysteries and entertaining theater. He blends mystery and romance into sensual illusions, which dazzle the mind and move the heart. The real magic, however, is the man. He has changed the view of what magic is and will continue to be for all time