Copperfield reveals ‘intimate’ magic tricks

World-famous magician David Copperfield will mix his wit and talent to create magic and fantasy at 5:30 and 8:30 p.m. Sunday at the IU Auditorium.

Copperfield, winner of 21 Emmy awards and record-breaking ticket sales, is on an international tour. He will perform “An Intimate Evening of Grand Illusion” for IU students and local residents.

Copperfield has been practicing magic professionally since he was 12 years old and performs more than 550 shows per year, according to his Web site, www.dcopperfield.com. The Indiana Daily Student asked him about his tricks, influences and achievements. Here is what he had to say:

IDS: What inspired you to start practicing magic? 

Copperfield: I became interested in magic at an early age. Though I did ventriloquism first with my dummy, “Ven” – I know, not the most original of names – at a very early age, and quickly moved on to magic, which I did much better. I first learned a card trick from my grandfather when I was seven involving four aces. Unfortunately, my grandfather passed away before he ever got to see me do it public. When I perform that magic, it’s a special tribute to his memory.  

IDS: Who has been your biggest influences?  

Copperfield: My influences, unlike what most people think, came largely outside of the field of magic. Although magic greats like (Harry) Keller or the Frenchman Robert-Houdin (who Houdini got his name from) were certainly great for the profession, it was artists like Fred Astaire and Gene Kelly who have greatly influenced how I present my show on stage. Also, in an attempt to move my audiences emotionally, I would have to say film directors like Orson Welles, Steven Spielberg and Francis Ford Coppola have had a great impact on my career.   

IDS: What do you think has been your biggest achievement so far? 

Copperfield: Though it is not a magical illusion or stunt, I am most proud of the lifetime efforts that I have put into Project Magic. When I started it many years ago I had correspondence with an individual that showed a great amount of self-esteem in his letters. Finally, after many months, I met him at a show and, to my surprise, he was in a wheelchair. I was a bit taken aback only because he had never mentioned it.

Then I realized he didn’t think of himself as being physically challenged and that his use of magic at home gave him a great amount of self-esteem. From there, I started a program called Project Magic with an occupational therapist that was based in Los Angeles and now it is in 30 countries around the world and more than 1,000 hospitals. The motor coordination required through performance magic gives stroke victims and those with physical impairments a great amount of self-esteem, and it improves their manual dexterity. It is a program I am most proud of.  

IDS: Do you have a favorite trick or performance you like to do? 

Copperfield: Though it is not in the current show, I would have to say one of my favorite illusions of all times was “Flying.” That illusion took me seven years to create. I try to have my illusions move people emotionally, and I believed that one would take people back to another time and place, to their youth, when dreams of flight were a common occurrence.  

IDS: What is one thing that most people don’t know about you? 

Copperfield: That I actually bought my own island in the Bahamas – check out www.mushacay.com. One day here, and a state of calm is a given, and anyone would feel younger!

IDS: What is your advice for aspiring magicians who want to make it? 

Copperfield: I think it’s about perseverance – never take “no” for an answer. Love what you do, and by all means, live your life with passion.

IDS: Do you tell anybody the secrets to your magic? 

Copperfield: A true student of the art never reveals his secrets! By the very nature of the art, magicians tend to be a secretive society. Even with my own crew, often times only a portion of the actual illusion is revealed to different people, and only then on a need-to-know basis.