Help us get to over 8,756 articles in 2024.
If you know of a magician not listed in MagicPedia, start a New Biography for them. Contact us at magicpediahelp@gmail.com
Paul Harris
Paul Harris is an inventor, magician, and writer. Described by the magazine Genii Magazine (December 1996) as "the most innovative magic mind of our day" and is listed in MAGIC Magazine (August 1999) as one of "the 100 magicians who shaped the art of magic in America."
He has invented many original tricks including: Linking playing cards, a solid deck, a torn and restored card effect, coins materializing from mirrors, a card that appears to turning ninety degrees when pushed into the pack, and a torn and restored quarter.
MAGIC magazine (August 1999) states that "the feats of astonishments that Paul creates and teaches are in the repertoires of a multitude of working pros."
Harris has performed at the Dunes Hotel and at other locations on the Las Vegas Strip and was a technical advisor for David Blaine's Magic Man and Street Magic TV shows. He also wrote the screenplay for the abysmal 1987 film Nice Girls Don't Explode.
In 2007, his effect "LadyBug" won 3rd place in The Magic Woods Awards for Best Trick 2007.
MAGIC magazine did a Paul Harris cover issue for June 2007, which contained a great cover story "Living in Astonishment" by Eric Mead.
Bibliography
Books_by_Paul_Harris Effects_by_Paul_Harris
Noted illusions
Amongst the magicians who are known to have presented Paul Harris creations are David Copperfield and Doug Henning. In the field of card and close-up magic, Paul Harris more or less re-innovated the genre during the 1970-80s, and is held in very high regard among magicians in the western world.
Doug Henning performed a routine called "Twilight" on his third TV special (December 13, 1977). An effect using a coin and a mirror where the mirror image of the coin becomes real. A surreal piece.
David Copperfield in a 1984 special (the one where he made the Statue of Liberty disappear) performed a linking card effect "The Immaculate Connection." In this routine, the magician tears holes in the center of three playing cards in order to create three "frames." The illusion consists in causing the frames to appear to link and unlink without damaging any of the cards. At the conclusion, the cards are sometimes passed for inspection; to all appearances no extra cards or gimmicks are employed.
Rudy Coby, in his English TV series, used Paul Harris's odd idea of letting the helium in a balloon magically change place with the air in the performer's lungs—-so, as the balloon slowly sunk to the floor, the performer simultaneously went up in the air with an all squeaky voice.
Paul Harris has been a technical advisor/magic consultant for David Blaine's TV Shows.