David Copperfield, The Man inside the Myth

To Know

To Will

To Dare

To keep Silence....

Such are the four words of the Magician.

Webster's defines Illusion as- A misleading perception of reality.

Hence David Copperfield, He is known as the greatest magician/illusionist of our time. He creates his illusions as fast as he shows them and his art has and always will require the whole man.

Getting His Feet Wet::

He has performed his heart-stopping, mind bending illusions in front of more then six hundred million people around the world and the more his audiences struggle to understand, the more confused about how he does it they become. Maybe the key to understanding is not in how he does it, or even try to figure it out, maybe it's in enjoying the pure entertianment of the whole performance. In the following interview you will get a little closer to the man behind the illusions.

It's been said that magicans are a mysterious lot. Although to some a mystery can be irresistible, to most David Copperfield is the most irresistible mystery to come along in quite some time.

Born David Seth Kotkin, on September 16, 1956 in Metuchen, New Jersey. A only child, David admittedly grew up as kind of a loner. He was planning a career as a vintriloquist, but was diverted from that career when he went into a magic shop to purchase a vintriloquial figure. He began taking magic lessons, learned quickly and says, "when I did magic I suddenly got a lot of warmth and attention, and I needed something that made me feel special".

David soon changed his name to Copperfield oin the advice of a friend, who told him it would look better on a marquee. While still in his early teens, David was performing professionally and in 1968 was the youngest magician/illusionist in history to be admitted into the Society of American Magicians.

Then in his late teens, while still in high school David taught a course at New York's Fordham University, appropriately entited, "Art In Magic", all his students were of college age. In 1974 David enrolled at Fordham, but his college years were cut short after only three weeks when he was cast as the lead in Chicago's longest running musical/comedy, "the Magic Man", a stage play about the adventues os a magician. David sang, danced, acted and created all the magic preformed in the show, that experience along with his magnetic and charismatic personality has surely helped in his abilty to relate to even the farthest rows.

When "The Magic Man", closed David moved back to New York, were he honed and developed his personal stle of magic. He was soon after chosen to host ABC's "The Magic of ABC, Starring David Copperfield". Therefore indroducing David and his unique style to the world.

The Music::

Centuries ago when the frist priests of the ancient world raised their voices in chat, they discovered the potent magic of music, and like those anicent magicians, David too combines illusion with music.

With music from bands like Van Halen, Guns-N-Roses, Peter Gabriel, Genesis, U2, Def Leppard, even tamer stuff like Mozart, Harry Belefonte and screen composer Lee Holdridge, David's illusions become much more sensual and romantic, or heart pounding. To his audience David likes to present himself as sensual, romantic and passionate. From the moment he walks on stage, you are drawn into his humor, his movements, his personality and the involvement.

You are drawn into his passion, a passion that is dangerous and well as thrilling, sensual and romantic.

David has refined the art of magic to encompass the romance of live theater with the mystery of his illusions. The presentation is very animated, from the construction of an illusion down to the music and the dance. In the dance, each step is measured, every movement calculated to have the maximum effect on the audience.

David chooses the music for the show, as well as writes, directs and develops everything seen and although others may offer suggestions, the final decision is always David's. He chose, "In the Rhythm of the Heat", by Peter Gabriel for his "Brazilian Water Levitation", in which he levitates an assistant on streams of water, then nothing at all. A couple years ago he chose, "Dreams", by Van Halen for an illusion in which he and his motorcycle disappear from the stage then re-appear in the middle of the audience.

Set to Alannah Myles', "Who loves You", David's version of, "The Vanishing Lady", takes place in an attic. The origial illusion by magician Bauiter De Kolta, in about 1875 was done then with a chair, a lady, a cloth and some newspapers, which were spread under the chair to prove that the lady did not fall through a hatch in the floor. David's version is much more flashy and romantic, still done with a chair, a lady and the cloth, only David put the chair on top of a table, thus enabling the audience to see right under the table and chair as the lady, who was super model Kim Alexis, vanishes on cue. The audience of today is just as amazed as they must have been in 1875.

The "Head Mover", is a huge favorite with the kids, they scream as David cuts the head off an assistant but laugh when he dances with her head then her body, both on opposite ends of the stage. That illusion is done to yet another Peter Gabriel song, "Kiss of Life". The adults favorites are usually the big show stopper illusions, and in 1993 there was one that kept their attention very well. It incorporates the driving sounds of "Mama" by Genesis. David is tied inside a cocoon, hosited off the platfom where David's assistant proceeds to lift what David has named, "The Morphing Cloth" {after the computer generated morphing technique in Michael Jackson's "Black or White" video and "Terminator 2"), over herself and BANG, David has successfully compleated a live morphing, honestly if you blink you miss it.

The music is only part of the illusions, some which take months if not years to create. It may take months just to get an illusion to turn out right. David is always creating, just about every show on the tour could be differant, if he decides to try out a new illusion on the audience. It took him about eight months to learn to fly and took about a year of training for the feat he performed for his fifteenth anniversary special. With that special in mind, there is obviously nothing David is afraid of, as he says, "You have to understand, my whle career is about taking risks and living on the edge, both professionally and physically. Instead of being afraid of challenges, I embrace them".

Contray to what some may believe, David is not obsessed with death, in fact he likes living a lot, it's just that he is obsessed with pushing and challeging himself and says, "If it moves or challenges me, then I'm moved to do it".

Personally Speaking::

The Fifty one year old, never married (but looking), Magician/Illusionist may have eclectic tastes in music but is very specific about the woman who may one day share his life. His musical tastes run the gambit from broadway musicals and movie soundtracks ro rock and roll. Rock and Roll by bands and singers (most of who he uses in his shows), even Bruce Springsteen, Mick Jagger and Sting, among others. He says the reason he likes them is because they can take a pieces of their life and express it through their music.

David will of course admit to being a frustrated rock and roller as is evident in parts of his show, explaining, "I enjoy sharing and expressing the music I like".

In his personal life David tries to lead as normal a life as possible. His hobbies outside magic are, (but one may assume not limited to) scuba diving, snorkling, going to movies, dancs clubs and exotic places like Bali, Indonesia and Tahiti. David's perfect woman is comprised of a lot of things, She has to have a great sense of humor, not smoke or do drugs. She has to be romantic, a good kisser, like to kiss a lot, dance real close and get a massage.

Being that David is such a Mel Brooks fan, she would have to like the Brooks classics like, "Blazing Saddles", High Anxiety", or "Young Frankenstein". Seeing the latest Brooks film is a certinty, David says, "If she gets all the references, I'm pretty sure everything will work out". That someone special would also have to want to learn a little magic, David says, "Escape tricks mostly, but I'll only show her half the trick".

David loves Beean's gum, he buys it by the case, Turkey, Chicken, Green salads and Micky D's once in a great while. He hates whipped cream, butter, fish and the sound of fingernails being clipped. He describes his bad habits as, biting his fingernails and sometimes over working. For David, marriage is a good idea, but it is a commitment he wants to make very carefully. He wants to make sure it will last longer then three or four years, he wants to have children too and is confident that he'd make a great father.

Although David is specific and honest about the woman he's looking for, he is even more honest about the fact that the woman who shares his life will have to be very understanding about his traveling, after all, the traveling is a big part of his career and it's almost certain he won't be giving it up anytime soon.

The Magic behind the Magic::

Fame sometimes enables the famous to help people beyond the fantasies they weave in books, motion pictures or in David's case in his magic. The little known magic behind the stage is a non-profit organization which David began in 1982 called, "Project Magic". It is a rehabilitative program which he developed, using simple slight of hand magic to help strengthen dexterity and motor skills in disabled patients. The program is now implemented in 1000 hospitals, in thirty countries around the world.

In Belgium, New Zealand, Iceland, Singapore and recently in Malaysia. David has personal input at the hospitals. While he travels the world he lectures the medical professionals on how they can implement or use the program in conjunction with their own program{s} and David insists that "Project Magic" be his greatest work and says, "There is nothing I do that is more important".

The Challenges::

With each breeze the ropes seem to burn quicker, as each thread uncoils your breath comes faster, your heart begins to pound the blood rushing through your veins.

The frist rope burns through and for a second your breath is caught then released. David struggles, he strains against the bindings, he has less then two minutes before he plunges to his death.

Hanging ten stories above one hundred flaming steel spikes, bound from his feet to his shoulders, he struggles, his body trying to find any weakness to the bindings.

Suddenly his fingers, then his hand, will he beat the fire?

Still in the strightjacket, the second rope snaps, your heart stops. He is dangling, the rope clinging to one ankle, as he frees himself he takes a deep breath, but knowing hehasn't much time he reaches up and grabs a piece of dangling rope, it breaks, he reaches up again, this time pulling himself up to stand in the loop and begins to swing, reaching for the helpline dangling inches away. As he grabs it and swings free, the weight that was holding him snaps and crashes the ten stories, onto the raging spikes below.

As the preceeding domonstrates, David rarely has the luxury of fear and that fear can be your enemy when there is something you want or need to accomplish.

The most well known Magician/Illusionist of our time has accomplished quite a lot over the years. Among them, he has walked across the great wall of china, levetated himself across the Grand Caynon, he is the only living man known to have escaped from Alcatraz and in what he calls, "One bad career move", he vanished from the Bermuda Triangle.

He has performed for presidents, been named one of the ten best dressed men in america and even mad a big screen apperence in the 1979 Jamie Lee Curtis vehicle, "Terror Train". Some of David's challenges are fun, some are lessons. Like the vanishing of The Statue of Liberty, shich cost David 500,000 dollars and took months of washington red tape befre he finally got permission to perform the illusion. The lesson? The lesson wa in the value of your freedom as Americans.

"Flying, Live your Dreams", was about just that, living your dreams. David responded to his dreams in 1993's tour photo book when he said, "I learned that there were two ways I could live my life. Following my dreams or doing something else". For David dreams aren't a matter of chance but a matter of choice.

Even though he chooses, researches, plans and rehearses his challenges and illusions very carefully that doesn't mean he's never gotten hurt. In 1980 he excaped serious injury when the $60,000 Ferrari he was levitating suddenly fell. Then in 1984, while rehersing his "Escape from Death", while being shackled and handcuffed in a tank of water, he wasn't as lucky. He began taking in water and banging into the sides of the tank. He ended up tearing ligamentsin his leg and was in a wheelchair for two weeks before viewers saw him successfully perform the illusion.

In 1993 David agian excaped serious injury, but that really doesn't mean he didn't get hurt. For four months leading up to that spectacular escape in "Fires of Passion", David had been rehersing a modified, less dangerous version of the escape. He was hurt many times, often on nights he was to perform on stage, he would go out trying to hide a sore leg or back. When David said he'd never be performing that escape again, he wasn't kidding, he won't.

With all the death-defying, sensational and spectacular challenges or illusions David has done over the years the one he did for "Fires of Passions" would be his most dangerous.

David may have proven that in his life, the passion which he holds for his magic, may very well be everything.

What's Next::

What's next would have to be the question, being that in 1991 David purchased, "The Mulholland Library of Conjuring and The Allied Arts", anything is possible.

The libray includes over 80,000 pieces, Everything from books, some of which dateback to the 16th century, blueprints, scripts, photographs, posters and even letters from Houdini. David purchased the collection our from under the U.S. Library of Congress, (he out bid them) for 2.2 million dollars when the US government put it up for sale to help bail out a failed savings and loan.

This remarkabe collection has never seen the light of public view and a special invite needs to be approved even for the likes of a known magician and will probably never be made available to the novice magician or the curious David has aid only to qualified scholors and researchers. The labor, swaet, tears, joys and dedicated research of decades of magicians now sits in the hands of the world's most famous magician. David has a new responsibility and with the purchase of this library, what's next is cetainly the question.