David Acer

David Acer
Born	1970 Canada
Nationality	Canadian
Categories	Books by David Acer

David Acer (b. 1970) is an award-winning writer, comedian and magician from Montreal, Canada who has made multiple appearances on international television in all of these capacities. He also appeared as skeptical scientist Doubting Dave on the syndicated series, Mystery Hunters, and was nominated for two Gemini awards (the Canadian equivalent of the Emmys) for his writing on the show.

Biography

Starting out in magic around 1979, his first three original tricks were put on the market by Perfect Magic, the Montreal magic store at which he would later work as a demonstrator. Quartermain, the coin-through-deck routine that was his first release (circa 1984), was later republished in Natural Selections, Volume II (Camirand Academy, 1999), and Spare Change, a two-coin transposition that was his third release (1988), was bought from Perfect Magic by The Camirand Academy and re-released with a more detailed instruction booklet in 1994.

Acer's original tricks and sleights have appeared in a variety of magic magazines since 1985, including Apocalypse, The Magic Manuscript, MAGIC, The Linking Ring, M-U-M, France's Arcane, and Channel One. He has also been a columnist for The Magic Menu and Genii, and starting with the May, 2005 issue, he became the writer and editor of Genii's Magicana (i.e., trick) section. While the bulk of his published work is close-up magic, he has published some platform and stage effects as well, including The Body Swap, a two-person transposition he co-created with Richard Sanders that first appeared in Gary Ouellet's Fulminations column in Genii. and Party of Six, an interactive prediction effect involving six audience-members on stage (Random Acts of Magic, 2004).

In the late 1980s, Acer began fostering a relationship with the Camirand Academy of Magic, who would eventually release his most popular tricks, including a version of the classic Fred Trick (a.k.a. "Phil") plot called Nomen Omen (1990), which in turn proved to be the inspiration for John Bannon's Detour De Force. David also wrote the instructions for many of the Camirand Academy's releases in the 1990s.

In 1989, at the behest of their mutual friend, Rick Bronson, who was already a mainstay of the Montreal comedy scene, Acer formed a comedy magic trio with Richard Sanders and Barry Julien and began performing in the area. One year later, Sanders moved to Toronto, and both Acer and Julien continued to pursue solo careers in comedy, dropping the magic and focusing on straight stand-up. Since then, Acer has appeared on a multitude of comedy specials in Canada, and performed 10 times at the international Just For Laughs festival, a benchmark achievement for comedians.

In 2002, Acer and Rick Bronson became the first magicians to perform magic live on the giant screen during a National Hockey League game, having co-produced a magic-themed home opener for the Edmonton Oilers (October 10, 2002, Skyreach Center - Oilers vs Flyers). Excerpts from the event appear on Acer's lecture DVD, Open Traveller.

Acer's first book of original close-up - Natural Selections (Camirand Academy, 1996) - is now out of print. The 1999 sequel, Natural Selections, Volume II and his 2004 book, Random Acts of Magic, also both published by (The Camirand Academy, are still available.

In 2008, Acer's first book for the public was published by Kids Can Press, a collection of paranormal tricks, hoaxes and experiments called GOTCHA! 18 Amazing Ways to Freak Out Your Friends. The book is a spin-off of his work as Doubting Dave on Mystery Hunters, with the goal being to teach kids to be open minded but think critically about claims of the paranormal (e.g., ghost sightings, UFO landings, psychic readings, etc.). The book was subsequently nominated for a Diamond Willow Award and won the 2010 Hackmatack Children's Choice Award for Non-Fiction.

In 2009, the Canadian Association of Magicians named Acer the Canadian Magician of the Year.

In 2010, he appeared on the cover of the October issue of Genii magazine, which included an interview conducted by David Regal, an article by Acer on the use of magic in Mystery Hunters, and five of his tricks (three previously unpublished).

Books By David Acer

• (1996) Natural Selections
• (1998) Close-Up Assassin:The Magic of Richard Sanders
• (1999) Natural Selections, Volume II
• (2001) DeSouza's DeCeptions: The Magic of Marc DeSouza
• (2003) Seven by Michel Huot
• (2004) Random Acts of Magic
• (2004) Seven by Patrik Kuffs
• (2005) Seven By Rick Bronson
• (2008) GOTCHA! 18 Amazing Ways to Freak Out Your Friends (Kids Can Press) (also published in French and Danish)
• (2011) More Power to You

Marketed Tricks by David Acer

• (1984) Quartermain (Perfect Magic)
• (1988) Spare Change (Perfect Magic)
• (1990) Nomen Omen (Camirand Academy of Magic)
• (1991) Pickpocket (Camirand Academy of Magic)
• (1992) Keys to the Kingdom (Camirand Academy of Magic) Acer also performs and explains this routine using Greg Wilson's special set of keys on Wilson's Freakey DVD (2008)
• (1994) Shot in the Dark (with Hiroshi Kondo & Mistunabu Matsuyama) (Camirand Academy of Magic)
• (1994) Spare Change (Camirand Academy of Magic Reissue)
• (1996) Madcap
• (1998) Swiss Pack (Mamma Mia Magic)
• (1998) Deadlock (with Patrick Reymond) (Camirand Academy of Magic)
• (2001) Party of Six
• (2001) Mad Card Disease

DVDs

• (2004) On Screen & Other Mysteries
• (2006) Extreme Close-Up (Camirand Academy of Magic) (originally released on VHS in 1999)
• (2007) Open Traveller (originally released on VHS in 2003)
• (2007) Mystery Hunters: Beastly Beings & Monstrous Mysteries (Apartment 11 Productions/Nelvana)
• (2007) Mystery Hunters: Alien Encounters (Apartment 11 Productions/Nelvana)

Lecture Notes by David Acer

• (1991) The Plots Thicken
• (1992) Bread & Butter
• (1994) Toast & Jam
• (1995) Not Actual Size
• (1996) The Night Before (with Jay Sankey)
• (1998) Sudden Impact
• (1998) Selections from The Magic Menu
• (1999) You Are Here!
• (2000) Crossroads (with Jay Sankey)
• (2001) This is a Circle
• (2003) The Views
• (2007) Afterburners

Magic Periodicals to Which David Acer Has Contributed

The Magic Manuscript • Apocalypse • Genii Magazine • The Magic Menu • Magic • Arcane (France) • The Linking Ring • Magische Welt (Germany) • M.U.M. • Channel One • The CAM Flash • Northern Peaks • Half Baked • Magicseen

• The Magic Manuscript, Nov/Dec 1985, Vol. 7, #3). "The Turnabout Card” (Acer notes in an interview in The CAM Flash that he was 13 when he sent this trick in, “and the fact that it got published was a clear indication that the magazine was on its last legs.”)
• Genii 1986 May, (Vol. 49, #11). “Duplicate”
• Genii 1986 December, (Vol. 50, #6). “Pasteboard Pickpocket”
• Genii 1987 October, (Vol. 51, #4). “Drawback”
• M.U.M., March 1990 (Vol. 79, #10). “Cheap Labor”
• Genii 1991 July, (Vol. 54, #9) • The All-Canadian Issue. “Emotional Bonding”, “Around the World in Eighty Dollars”
• Genii 1992 June, (Vol. 55, #8) • The Restaurant Magic Issue. “No Holes Barred”
• Apocalypse, April 1992 (Vol. 15, #4). “Lickety Flip”
• Magische Welt (Germany), Dec. 1993. “No Holes Barred”
• Arcane (France), January 1994 (#73). “La Mission”, “Transposition d’une Bague Volee”, “La Corde Bancaire”
• The Linking Ring: One Man Parade (Volume 78, #4 • April 1998). “Symmetry”, “Flipwich”, “Transposition Ring Flight,” “Color Scheme,” “Time Flies,” “Mail Fraud,” and “The Montreal Transpo” (with Jay Sankey)
• MAGIC (June, 1998 • Volume 7, #10). “Madcap”
• The CAM Flash #1 (Sept. 1998). "The State of The Art: Magic in Canada" (article) (CAM Flash was the official periodical of the Canadian Association of Magicians, and was later retitled Northern Peaks)
• The Linking Ring (Feb. 1999). “Mousehunt” (this won the Howard Bamman award for Best Card Trick that year)
• The CAM Flash #3 (May 1999). "More Magic in Canada" (article)
• The CAM Flash #4 (Sept. 1999) “Mousehunt”
• Channel One (Volume 1, #1 • Fall, 1999). “The Optical Vanish” (with Jay Sankey), "The Acer Coin Problem"
• Genii 1999 October (Volume 62, #10), “Bespectacle”
• Channel One (Volume 1, #2 • Winter, 1999). “Passe Passe Fingers” (with Jay Sankey)
• The CAM Flash (Volume 3, #1 • January, 2000). "Let’s Make a Dealer: An Interview with Phil Matlin"
• Genii 2000 February (Volume 63, #2). Confessions of a Road Warrior #1: Bombing/“Over Easy”
• Genii 2000 April (Volume 63, #4). Confessions of a Road Warrior #2: The Suits Vs. The Talent/”Uppity” (with Jay Sankey)
• The CAM Flash (Volume 3, #2 • May, 2000). Bibliography of Magic Books By and About Canadians
• Genii 2000 June (Volume 63, #6). Confessions of a Road Warrior #3: “Packs a Wallet!”
• Channel One (Volume 1, #4 • June, 2000). “Breakneck”
• The Linking Ring (June, 2000). “Count On It” (with Jay Sankey)
• Genii 2000 August (Volume 63, #8) “Books Vs Videos” (article)
• Genii 2000 September (Volume 63, #9). Confessions of a Road Warrior #4: The Great Canadians/”Hot Pursuit”
• The CAM Flash (Volume 3, #3 • September, 2000). "An Interview with Rick Bronson"
• Channel One (Volume 2, #5 • September, 2000). “Nip-A-Nip”
• MAGIC (November, 2000) “Fission, Fusion, Confusion” (an earlier, less evolved version of “Changes,” which was published in Random Acts of Magic, 2004)
• Genii 2000 December (Volume 63, #12). Confessions of a Road Warrior #5: The Witness Approach/”Unflappable”
• Genii 2001 March (Volume 64, #3). Confessions of a Road Warrior #6: Prop-aganda/”Tangent”
• Channel One (Volume 2, #7 • March, 2001). “The Acer Coin Problem Solved” (with help from Simon Lovell and Steve Bedwell)
• The CAM Flash (Volume 4, #5 • May, 2001). "Wise Guy: An Interview with Guy Camirand"
• Genii 2001 May (Volume 64, #5). Confessions of a Road Warrior #7: Pet Peeves/”Mitosis”
• Genii 2001 September (Volume 64, #9). Confessions of a Road Warrior #8: The Dark Side/”Child’s Play”(with Jay Sankey)
• Genii 2001 November (Volume 64, #11). Confessions of a Road Warrior #9: The Rock/”Upon Receipt”
• Genii 2002 January (Volume 65, #1). Confessions of a Road Warrior #10: The Fine Art of Bio Writing/”Separation Anxiety”
• The CAM Flash (Volume 5, #1 • January, 2002) "Ariel View: An Interview with Ariel Frailich"
• Genii 2002 April (Volume 65, #4). "Ariel View: An Interview with Ariel Frailich"
• MAGIC (Volume 11, #8 • April, 2002). "David Acer and Richard Sanders on The Rub-Away Vanish"
• Genii 2002 June (Volume 65, #6). Confessions of a Road Warrior #11: The Julien Incident/”Coke Induced”
• The Magic Menu (Issue 62 • Spring, 2002) Lost & Found: Early Vernon (the first installment in Acer's new Magic Menu column reviewing old magic books).
• Genii 2002 August (Volume 65, #8). Confessions of a Road Warrior #12: Five Card Mental Farce/”Splittant” (with Richard Sanders)
• The Magic Menu (Issue 63 • Summer, 2002). Lost & Found: Early Marlo
• Northern Peaks (Volume 6, #1 • January, 2003) "Illusions of Grandeur: An Interview with Ted Outerbridge" (Northern Peaks is the new name for The CAM Flash)
• Half Baked (Issue 11 • January, 2003). “Tubbing the Nuts”
• Genii 2003 April (Volume 66, #4). Confessions of a Road Warrior #13: Coins Across America/”New Millennium Tenkai Pennies”
• Genii 2003 July (Vol. 66, #7). "Magic at the Just For Laughs Museum" (article)
• Genii 2003 September (Vol. 66, #9). Confessions of a Road Warrior #14: As Seen On TV/ “Ghost in the Machine,” “Dry Spell,” “Get Bent”
• Genii 2003 December (Vol. 66, #12). Confessions of a Road Warrior #15: Televise THIS!/ “Postcards From The Dead”
• Genii 2003 December (Vol. 66, #12). "Hare Brained: A Wacked Out Interview with Nemo Turner"
• Northern Peaks (Vol. 7, #2 • May, 2004). "The Professional Touch" (Patrik Kuffs & David Acer) (excerpted from Seven by Patrik Kuffs)
• Genii 2004 July (Vol. 67, #7). Confessions of a Road Warrior #16: Bucking The Stereotype/“Fresh Mint”
• Genii 2005 April (Vol. 68, #4). "Romaine: The Monarch of Manipulators" (interview + 3 tricks)
• Genii 2005 May (Vol. 68, #5). Confessions of a Road Warrior #17: Caught in a Brainstorm/“Flatline” (with Rick Bronson)
• Genii 2005 October (Vol. 68, #10). Confessions of a Road Warrior #18: Baptism by Fire/“Caffeine Overdose”
• Genii 2006 May (Vol. 69, #5). Confessions of a Road Warrior #19: Readers Digest/“Rematch”
• Genii 2006 November (Vol. 69, #11). Confessions of a Road Warrior #20: Bronson on the Phone/“Cellular Production”
• Genii 2007 April (Vol. 70, #4). "The Zen of Ken: An Interview with Ken Krenzel" (interview + 6 tricks)
• Genii 2007 September (Vol. 70, #8). Confessions of a Road Warrior #21: Remote Practical Joke/"Up in Smoke”
• MagicSeen (Issue 17 • November, 2007). "Boom! It’s Jay Sankey" (interview)
• Genii 2008 July (Vol. 71, #7). "Camera Payphone"
• Genii 2009 December (Vol. 72, #12). "Holiday Miracle"
• Genii 2010 May (Volume 73, #5). "Squancho 2.0" (with Bedros "Spidey" Akkelian)
• Genii 2010 October (Volume 73, #10). "Rink," "Court Order," "Travel Visa," "Overtime 2.0," "The Sock Catcher"
• Genii 2011 February (Volume 74, #2). "Movin' On Up Redux" (with Ryan Pilling)

In addition to the above, Acer has been the writer of the Magicana (i.e, trick) section in Genii since the May, 2005 issue.

Magic Books to Which David Acer Has Contributed

• (1994) Fulminations Plus, Vol. I, by Gary Ouellet (Camirand Academy of Magic). "The Body Swap" (with Richard Sanders)
• (1998) Son of Simon Says, by Simon Lovell (L&L Publishing). “Mousehunt”
• (2002) Tricks with your Head, by Mark Levy and Mac King (Random House). “How to Make the Air in Your Lungs Changes Places with the Air in a Balloon”
• (2006) Switch, by John Lovick (Murphy's Magic) “Around the World in Eighty Dollars,” “Picturesque”
• (2007) The Magician’s Ltd Cookbook by Jack Parker and Andi Gladwin (Andi Gladwin Publications). "The Immiscible Eight"
• (2009) Best of All Worlds, by Brent Geris, Bob Postelnik and Duppy Demetrius (The Magic Apple). “Into This World”

Forewords by David Acer

• (2008) Cocktail Card Magic, by Bill Abbott (Bill Abbott)
• (2006) Dominatricks, by Tyler Wilson (Andi Gladwin Publications)
• (2000) Son of Simon Says, by Simon Lovell (L & L Publishing)

TV Shows with David Acer Currently Available on DVD

• (2007) Mystery Hunters: Beastly Beings & Monstrous Mysteries (David co-wrote and appears as “Doubting Dave” in all 3 eps)

• (2007) Mystery Hunters: Alien Encounters (David co-wrote and appears as “Doubting Dave” in all 3 eps)

• (2005) Popular Mechanics for Kids 24-Episode Box Set (David wrote on 5 eps in set)

Awards

• 2010 Hackmatack Children's Choice Award Winner for Best Non-Fiction (GOTCHA! 18 Amazing Ways to Freak Out Your Friends)
• 2010 Diamond Willow Award Nomination for GOTCHA! 18 Amazing Ways to Freak Out Your Friends
• 2009 Magician of the Year (Canadian Association of Magicians)
• 2007 Gemini nomination (Best Writing in a Children's Non-Fiction Series - Mystery Hunters)
• 2005 Gemini nomination (Best Writing in a Children's Non-Fiction Series - Mystery Hunters)
• 1999 Howard Bamman Linking Ring Magazine Award for Best Trick ("Mousehunt")
• 1987 Magie Montreal First Place, Close-Up

References

• Cover Genii 1991 July
• Cover Genii 2010 October
• David Acer's Website
• David Acer's Youtube Channel
• All About Magicians/David Acer
• Northern Peaks, Volume 8, No. 2 • May, 2005 - cover story on David Acer
• The Linking Ring, Volume 78, #4 • April 1998 - David Acer One-Man Parade, written by Jon Racherbaumer
• Academy of Canadian Cinema & Television Official Site
• Canadian Association of Magicians Official Site
• Camirand Academy of Magic Official Site
• Apartment 11 Productions Official Site
• Willow Awards Official Site

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