David Copperfield: a mystery shrouded in darkness. Disappearing and passing through walls: Copperfield's famous tricks in coubs David Copperfield personal life

David Copperfield

David Copperfield(English) David Copperfield, a pseudonym for a Dickens character; real name David Seth Kotkin, genus. 16 of September ( 19560916 ) , Metuchen, New Jersey) is a famous American illusionist and hypnotist, known for his spectacular tricks with original comments. Copperfield is also known by the nickname "Davino". There are publications exposing some of his tricks.

Biography

David Kotkin was born in the American town of Metuchen, New Jersey, into a Jewish family. Mother Rebecca (born in Jerusalem) is an insurance agent; father Hyman Kotkin (whose parents immigrated from Odessa to Germany, and then, after the outbreak of World War II [ specify] - in the USA) - owner of a clothing store.

Little Dodik had a unique memory; he memorized the Torah by ear. He was only 4 years old when his grandfather showed him a card trick, and the child immediately repeated it. His parents encouraged his interest in performing tricks: at 7, he was already demonstrating his personal, independently composed tricks to the parishioners of the local synagogue. David became a professional illusionist at the age of 12. At the same time, he joined the American Society of Magicians, becoming its youngest member. At the age of 16, he teaches students the art of magic at New York University. Since 1974, he has been simultaneously studying at Fordham University and playing the main role in the musical “The Wizard,” which has become the longest-running musical in Chicago. At this time, he took the pseudonym "David Copperfield", after the character of Dickens - before that he acted under the pseudonym "Davino". David soon dropped out of university and rented an apartment in New York for a year, looking for a job as an illusionist.

In 1978, when he was 22 years old, he was invited to television, hosting the program The Magic of ABC on the ABC channel. In 1979, he played a minor role in the film Terror Train. Having thus gained wider fame, he began performing on the CBS channel with the show “The Magic of David Copperfield” (which many years later was broadcast in Russia). During this period, he came up with the idea of ​​​​creating large-scale illusions, and the first of them was the disappearance of an airplane. Then David performed the disappearance of the Statue of Liberty, which took place in the presence of the public.

Further illusions were carried out such as flying through the Grand Canyon, passing through the Great Wall of China, escaping from a prison known for its reliability - Alcatraz, traveling to the Bermuda Triangle, escaping from an exploding building, falling from Niagara Falls, disappearing an Orient Express carriage, flying, being released from straitjacket, hanging on burning ropes over burning spikes at a height of about 20 meters, exploring a haunted house and surviving a column of fire.

Most of all, David is famous for his flight, since he was the first to accomplish it, and for a long time no one could unravel the secret, which turned out to be very simple: in some videos you can see glare from the rays of spotlights, which sometimes fall on the transparent cables on which David Copperfield hangs.

He has already published several books in collaboration with science fiction writers. I collected a library on magic in my house. He also has his own museum of props of great illusionists.
In New York, Copperfield opened a cafe named after him. There are no waiters there. A voice from the darkness asks what the visitors will eat, then what they ordered materializes on the tables out of thin air.
David Copperfield helps disabled people: he came up with a program for them to develop manual dexterity.

Personal life

Copperfield does not flaunt his personal life; only two of his novels are known. The first is with Claudia Schiffer. They got engaged in 1993, and the couple separated in 1999. The second one is with Ambre Friske. Both of his girls were fashion models, and David broke up with both of them in one way or another without legitimizing the relationship.

On October 19, 2007, the FBI conducted a search in one of the warehouses in Las Vegas, which belongs to a famous illusionist. During the search, two million dollars in cash were allegedly seized, as well as HDD and a memory card from the CCTV camera system. However, FBI representatives later stated that no money was seized during the search, and the information in the media was untrue. According to them, such information could interfere with the investigation, as well as damage the reputation of David Copperfield, who was not charged with anything. There have been no official statements about the case in which the search was carried out. However, it became known from unofficial sources that Copperfield was searched after a Seattle resident, whose name was not disclosed, complained of harassment from the magician while staying in the Bahamas. The illusionist's lawyers completely deny his guilt. Without waiting for the prosecutor's office to decide to initiate a criminal case against the magician, the alleged rape victim (22-year-old model, former Miss Washington) filed a lawsuit herself. The amount of compensation that the woman demanded from Copperfield was not disclosed, but the illusionist’s lawyers called the model’s demands “plain and simple extortion of money.”
In 2010, the case against David was dropped after the female plaintiff was caught by police making false accusations of sexual assault against another

To the question “Who is the greatest illusionist of our time?” Probably everyone will answer “This is David Copperfield!” The peak of his worldwide popularity occurred in the 90s of the last century, but even now there is no wizard equal to him. However, few people know that the famous magician and showman chose his future path at a very young age, and his path to fame consisted of diligent and painstaking work to hone his talents.

David Copperfield: biography, photos of his youth

David Seth Kotkin, as he was named at birth, was born on September 16, 1956 in the small town of Metachen, New Jersey. He was the only child in Jewish family clothing store owner Hyman Kotkin and his wife Rebecca, an insurance agent. Huge influence on choice future profession David was helped by his grandfather, by the way, an emigrant from the USSR, he showed his grandson card tricks when little Kotkin became completely bored while studying the Torah. And the boy successfully repeated them, because he had a unique memory, and already at the age of seven he proudly demonstrated tricks of his own composition in the local synagogue. His first amateur performances aroused great delight among the audience, and even then the future great illusionist David Copperfield decided that he simply had to become famous.

Seven-league steps to success

An aspiring wizard in a very early age began to educate himself, searching for and studying all possible treatises on magic. He bought a wide variety of equipment for his tricks, but often himself designed the elements he needed. Already at the age of twelve, David was considered a professional illusionist, which could be considered a simply fantastic achievement, and became the youngest member of the American Society of Magicians. At that time, he performed under his first pseudonym “Davino”. At just sixteen years old, David was invited to New York University to teach students practical courses in magic, the art of manipulation and drama. In 1974, the talented illusionist decided to continue his studies and entered Fordham University. At the same time, he decided to change his pseudonym to a more sonorous and mysterious one, and the novel turned out to be a powerful argument in this matter. However, David was always attracted not only by the path of a magician, but also by promising show business, so he did not refuse leading role in the Chicago musical “The Wiz,” which as a result became very popular on the theater stage for a very long time. That is why David Copperfield left his studies for a career, settled in New York and started active search work as an illusionist.

Prelude to world fame

In 1978, a famous American television channel became interested in the promising and talented guy and invited him to become the main face of a show called “Magic on ABC. Hosted by David Copperfield. The biography of the young wizard at that moment sharply swerved towards the charismatic showman. The program served as a kind of springboard in achieving his goal: “To become the greatest magician.” David's amazing artistry even earned him a role in a movie, albeit a minor one. In 1979, the film “Terror Train” was released, which only contributed to the growth of the popularity of the aspiring star.

Goal achieved

But this was only a prelude to his hour of glory. Another American TV channel, CBS, decided to lure away a talented artist and invited him to host his own show, setting the illusionist the task of attracting an audience of millions. This is how “The Magic of David Copperfield” appeared, which made his name famous not only in the United States, but in all corners globe. David accomplished the impossible by making the plane disappear in front of millions of spectators. The next large-scale illusion was the disappearance of the Statue of Liberty in the presence of spectators. Further more. The magician walked through the Great Wall of China, flew over the Grand Canyon, got out of Alcatraz, fell from Niagara Falls, “kidnapped” Eastern Express, got to Bermuda Triangle, explored a haunted house and even survived a pillar of fire. These grandiose performances were managed by only one person - David Copperfield. Photographs of the greatest showman and illusionist of his time in the 90s adorned all the most prestigious printed publications, because then only the lazy did not talk about the great wizard. Many of his illusions were so complex and incredible that they could only be declassified after a long time, and even then not all of them.

Present tense

After the unprecedented success, the magician did not rest on his laurels, despite the fact that in the first years of the show he managed to earn more than 50 million dollars, which was never dreamed of by any of the great illusionists. In total, Copperfield created fifteen episodes of his program. David continued to work actively, touring all over the world, and sometimes even gave several concerts a day, almost 48 weeks a year. Among other things, the showman owns his own management company. He also published several books in collaboration with other writers, collected his own magical library and opened a museum of props of illusionists of the past. This most talented person He even approached the restaurant business from an unusual angle, opening his own specialized cafe in New York. The peculiarity of this establishment is the absence of service personnel, and the dishes ordered by visitors materialize out of thin air. Like many other celebrities, Copperfield is involved in charity work, but again, quite unusual. David created a program to help people with disabilities develop manual dexterity. Now he has a contract with one of the best casinos in Las Vegas, where the illusionist demonstrates his new show.

David Copperfield: personal life is classified

It wasn't always like this. In the 90s, the magician had an affair with famous model who even starred in his program. The couple was even engaged, but after six years of dating they broke up in 1999. Evil tongues claim that this novel was just a screen hiding David’s real personal life, but there is no reliable information on this matter. After Schiffer, the illusionist dated another fashion model named Ambre Friske, but again things did not come to marriage. Copperfield does not change his passions and his next passion was the designer and supermodel Chloe Goselin, whom the showman carefully hid from prying eyes for a long time, and who nevertheless became his wife. In 2011, it became known that the couple already had a one-year-old daughter named Sky.

American illusionist and hypnotist David Copperfield managed to convince hundreds of thousands of people that magic is real. The famous hoaxer became popular after his original TV show aired on big screens.

On September 16, 1956, clothing store owner Hyman Kotkin and his wife, insurance agent Rebecca (a native of Jerusalem), had a son, who was named David. The Jewish family lived in the city of Metachen, located in the state of New Jersey. Since childhood, Copperfield was attracted to everything mystical and mysterious. As the illusionist himself recalls, his grandfather had a huge influence on his future, who, in between studying the Torah and memorizing psalms, entertained his grandson with card tricks.

At the age of 7, the boy, who had perfectly mastered the technique of card fraud, performed a mini-show in front of the parishioners of the local synagogue and received a standing ovation from the audience present at the performance. IN school years David continued to hone his skills as an illusionist, preferring the development of new tricks and tricks to his studies. At the age of 12, the young magician joined the American Society of Magicians, becoming its youngest member.

At the same age, he came across the British television series “The Life of David Copperfield” by Joan Craft, after watching which the future popular hypnotist decided on his stage name. Few people know, but Kotkin began teaching the art of magic to students at New York University at the age of 16. After receiving a high school diploma, David entered Fordham University, from which he never graduated.

In 1974, the active guy received one of the main roles in the musical “The Wizard” and, preferring creative self-realization to a diploma, left educational institution. In 1978, Copperfield moved from the theater stage to television: the ambitious young man hosted the ABC Magic program, in 1979 he played a minor role in the film Terror Train, and in the early eighties he released his own program The Magic of David Copperfield. During the filming of the series, David decided to bring to life his old idea of ​​​​creating large-scale illusions at all costs.

Tricks and magic

David was assisted in all his stunts by his dedicated team of over 300 people. In the nineties, when Copperfield gave 50 performances a month, huge trucks with his props crossed borders with special passes without inspection in order to preserve the illusionist's secrets. As David's popularity grew, the scale of the illusions he showed to the public also increased. In 1983, a magician made the Statue of Liberty disappear for a few minutes.

People who saw this trick assumed that the image on the radar was an imitation, and the spectators who watched and admired the trick were actors. Copperfield whistleblower from Russia Timur Abdulov explained that the audience is real, and the installation is only an empty pedestal of the Statue of Liberty taken from a helicopter. The rest was achieved by simply turning off the lights around the sculpture. To ensure that the statue was not seen, the spotlights on which the curtain was attached were directed towards the audience present at the show.

In 1984 creative biography David has added one more trick. That year he flew over the Grand Canyon in Arizona. After a test flight, levitation became an integral part of the magician's performances. It is noteworthy that on stage, Copperfield repeatedly flew through rotating hoops and flew into a glass cube, indirectly proving that it was about magic, and not about the ropes on which the illusionist was supposedly suspended.

However, skeptics believe that the illusionist is suspended from a special crane using special thin cables with a diameter of less than 1 mm. Such thin cables can withstand up to 100 kg and cannot be seen with the naked eye.

Another David Copperfield trick is passing through the Great Wall of China (1986). A special tent was erected near the wall, into which the magician entered. On the walls of the tent for spectators outside, movements were projected in the form of shadows, supposedly created by the magician himself until he entered the wall. At the time of his disappearance, David was hiding in a special secret compartment in the bottom of the tent.

When transferring the structure to the other side, exactly the same trick was done with shadows. As a result, David, who had been in a specially prepared hiding place all this time, could only crawl out of the bottom and emerge from the tent into the eyes of the amazed public, making them believe in the miracle that had occurred.

It is worth noting that not all performances during which Copperfield played with death ended successfully. So, in 1984, during a rehearsal of the “Escape from Death” trick, the hypnotist was chained and placed in a container of water. Copperfield became entangled in the chains and choked. The illusionist was pulled out of the water only after 1 minute 20 seconds. At the hospital, it turned out that the artist was not freed from captivity due to the fact that he had pulled the tendons of his arms and legs.

Personal life

Despite the efforts of the master of disguises not to make his personal life public, nosy journalists always managed to find out the most piquant and scandalous details about the magician’s communication with representatives of the weaker half of humanity. At one time, an affair with a blond German fashion model caused a lot of noise. The whole world has been discussing for a couple of years love story, which in fact did not exist.

Claudia and David's relationship began at a time when Copperfield's popularity ratings were in decline. The artist's PR manager Wendy Leister, in order to return the client to the front pages of print publications, entered into a contract with the supermodel's PR service. The essence of the agreement was that Schiffer, for a fee of $250 thousand, would play the role of Copperfield’s bride, and the illusionist, in addition to the annual payment of the agreed amount, would regularly give gifts to his “beloved” as a bonus ( Jewelry, flowers), which also need to be displayed.

The only thing the charming blonde could not do in this pseudo-relationship was to appear in public with other men. The celebrities began dating in 1993, and in 1997, a copy of the contract was published in the pages of the French magazine Paris Match. David said that the document was fake and filed a lawsuit against the publication, but the model chose to remain silent. As a result, the romantic fuse of the stars lasted for another two years, after which the couple broke up.

For a short time, David dated models Terry Holladay (from 1999 to 2000), Ambre Friske (from 2000 to 2002), Merilee Journa (from 2002 to 2004) and Maria Petlichkova (2005).

On this moment The 60-year-old artist is engaged to designer Chloe Gosselin. Copperfield met a charming Frenchwoman at a fashion show in 2006. In 2011, the chosen one gave birth to David’s daughter, who happy parents They named Sky, and in 2012 the family moved from the noisy city to an island owned by an illusionist.

David Copperfield now

In March 2017, David appeared on Bravo TV's Top Chef Masters. As a guest expert, Copperfield assessed the culinary masterpieces prepared by the project participants.

In addition to visiting television shows, film screenings and exhibitions, photographs from which the artist posts on Instagram and

David Seth Kotkin, known under the pseudonym David Copperfield, was born on September 16, 1956. During his career as an illusionist and hypnotist, David has amazed audiences many times with the performance of inexplicable tricks. We decided to recall five of his most amazing tricks.

1. Any self-respecting magician has tricks with disappearances. These could be objects, assistants, or the magician himself. In 1983, David Copperfield made the Statue of Liberty disappear in front of thousands of spectators. This trick was included in the Guinness Book of Records. There are several versions of how the trick was performed, including the use of a turntable, video editing and the play of light. There is also an opinion that everything that happened was a grandiose hoax with fake spectators and a model of the Statue of Liberty. Video in English.

David Copperfield. Disappearance of the Statue of Liberty. There are several versions of how the trick was performed, including the use of a turntable, video editing and light play

2. Another trick, where David Copperfield flew over the Grand Canyon in Arizona, was performed by the magician in 1984. Since then he has been flying in front of audiences on stage. To show that the flight is real, without the use of harnesses or cables, he flies through rotating hoops, flies into a glass box and continues to fly in it. From show to show, Copperfield can use a trained falcon and fly with a volunteer girl in his arms, like Superman. Among the versions that reveal the secrets of this trick, there is one that bundles of ultra-thin but durable fiber are attached to the magician’s body in a special way. Moreover, they are attached in the area of ​​David’s belt, where the center of gravity is located. That is why all vibrations from lifting the person’s body upward are dampened, and the magician’s movements in flight are relaxed. The video below shows Copperfield doing this.

David Copperfield. Flying. Levitation or thin line?

3. In 1990, a magician was thrown into the water just a few meters from Niagara Falls. The raft with Copperfield fell from a 53-meter height onto the rocks at the foot of the waterfall and did not break. Moreover, on this raft Copperfield was chained in a makeshift coffin. Spectators saw the magician after he was pulled out of the water by a helicopter, holding onto a rope. Skeptics point to some inconsistencies that prove that it was a stunt double who fell into the waterfall instead of Copperfield. For example, during a trick in the video, you can hear the magician talking to his assistants, whereas in the immediate vicinity of the waterfall nothing should be heard for several kilometers due to the sound of falling water. And Copperfield was pulled out of the water completely dry.

David Copperfield - The Niagara Falls Challenge.flv. The raft with the magician fell from a 53-meter height onto the rocks at the foot of the waterfall and did not break

4. Even experienced trick debunkers cannot guess how David Copperfield walked through the Great Wall of China. On one side of the wall there was a raised podium, covered on both sides with white fabric. Copperfield entered the wall and came out on the other side onto the same podium. Some argue that the part of the wall where there is a gap was used, which was filled with “bricks”.

David Copperfield. Passing through the Great Wall of China. How he did it - even experienced trick debunkers cannot understand.

5. No less spectacular is the "Death Saw" trick. David lies face down on the table, and assistants shackle his legs, torso and arms to the table and close him in a box. A huge circular saw is installed above it, which begins to work and slowly lowers down. David has exactly one minute to free himself and get free before the saw cuts him open. He doesn’t have time, he starts fussing and the saw cuts him right down the middle. After a few seconds he raises his head. After another second, two assistants move the halves of the table in different directions, with the legs on one and the torso on the other. Both halves are brought to each other, a cry is heard from the hall: “move your legs!” David looks at his legs and after a second they start moving! After which he starts the mechanism in reverse side the saw begins to spin, the halves connect, the box covers David and his legs, and a second later he rises unharmed. The secret of the trick, according to skeptics, lies in the recesses in the table hidden behind metal inserts and the presence of a secret assistant for Copperfield.

The other day, the American illusionist and magician turned 60 years old. David Copperfield. In the 1980s and 90s, viewers in many countries sat in front of blue screens with open mouths, admiring spectacular tricks reminiscent of magic.

David Seth Kotkin (David Seth Kotkin - the real name of the illusionist) was born in the small town of Metachen (New Jersey, USA) into a Jewish family. As a child, he stuttered, which made him very shy. Moreover, the boy’s appearance was not the most attractive. But at the same time, David, as a child, learned the Torah by ear and had an amazing memory. When the boy was four years old, his grandfather showed him a card trick, and David was able to immediately repeat it.

After the first trick with cards, little David began to become interested and repeat, and then come up with, his own tricks. At the age of seven, the boy amazed the parishioners of the synagogue with his skill, and at the age of 12, the residents of the entire city. Then the young magician joined the American Society of Illusionists and taught magic tricks to university students, even before reaching adulthood.

At first, David Seth Kotkin was known under the pseudonym "Davino", but then he took the name of the character in Charles Dickens's novel "David Copperfield". In 1978, the illusionist appeared on television, where he hosted a program demonstrating his tricks.

Later, Copperfield came up with the idea of ​​working on large-scale illusions. The first was the disappearance of the plane. In 1983, millions of spectators gasped when David made the Statue of Liberty “disappear” from its pedestal and from their radar screens. Later, skeptics bet that the recording was edited, the image on the radar was a fake, and the eyewitnesses were hired actors. And those who expose the tricks claimed that the spectators were real. Copperfield managed to pull off the trick himself by playing with light. At the right moment, the lighting of the statue was turned off, and the spectators were blinded by specially directed spotlights.

Copperfield's most spectacular performances were flying. And the magician not only soared into the air, he also flew through a glass cube and hoops, thereby demonstrating to people the wonders of magic. One of the trick debunkers managed to repeat the illusionist’s tricks by obtaining the necessary equipment. He used very thin cables (less than 1 mm in diameter) capable of supporting weights of up to 100 kg.

David Copperfield also had tricks that even the most inveterate whistleblowers cannot figure out. For example, passing through the Great Wall of China.

The incredible artistry of David Copperfield does not even cause the audience to think that something could go wrong. In 1984, David, shackled and submerged in water, was rehearsing the “Escape from Death” trick. Unfortunately, he became entangled in the chains and choked. This was realized only after 1 minute 20 seconds. In addition to the shock, the artist also suffered sprained tendons in his arms and legs, so for a week after the incident he moved in a wheelchair.

The talent of a magician helps David not only on stage, but also in real life. One day, when the illusionist was returning from a concert, they put a gun to his head and demanded that he give up his money. When David turned out his pockets, they were empty. Copperfield later admitted that it was very difficult for him to perform this trick while losing his composure.

Despite the fact that David Copperfield's popularity peaked in the 1990s, he still successfully gives 500 performances a year.
No less famous 100 years ago, but until now whistleblowers have not been able to reveal all its secrets.