Magician Steve Cohen Dishes On How His Show Chamber Magic Has ‘Evolved’ Over The Years: ‘I Am Having The Time Of My Life’

By Jaclyn Roth, April 13, 2023

Even if you don’t believe in magic, Steve Cohen will quickly change that when you step into his show, Chamber Magic, a riveting evening consisting of magic and mind tricks.

“My uncle was an amateur magician who was born in 1901. He saw a lot of the great magicians in New York City when he was growing up in the early 20th century, and when I was a boy, he showed me some of the pocket tricks he used to carry with him,” the magician exclusively tells OK!, adding that people would carry dice, knives and coins in their pockets back then.

But the problem was that everyone in Cohen’s family was a smoker, so when he would frequent these parties, the room would be filled with smoke, creating a magical atmosphere. “When my uncle would do a trick, he would take a gold coin in his hand and squeeze it and it would then vanish. For me, it vanished into a puff of smoke because the whole room was filled with smoke. Every time we had these family parties, my uncle would teach me a new trick,” he shares.

Cohen’s uncle said in order to learn new tricks, he had to master one at a time. By the age of 10, Cohen got paid to perform for some children at a neighborhood birthday party, but little by little, he would do more and more shows. He was eventually introduced to Carl Sagan, a famous astronomer, and he performed for some astrophysicists at Cornell. “These were some of the smartest people on the planet, which taught me that magic had to be bulletproof,” he says. “In other words, the secrets had to be really strong.”

Cohen then traveled around the world to perform, learning magic from different people. He lived in Tokyo, Japan, for quite some time, where he perfected his skills. When he landed back in New York, he knew he wanted to set up a shop here. “I didn’t realize that it would be hard to open a show in the most competitive theater market in the world,” he quips. “I started the show in 2000, and it’s now 2023, so this year will be my 6,000th performance and over half a million people have come to see the show.”

The New York native wanted the show to be “worthy of word of mouth,” which makes it easy to explain to a friend or colleague. “You say, ‘This guy did this thing with a teapot where he asked people to name their favorite drink and he poured it — and he did it for everyone who asked for one,'” he explains of one of his amazing tricks.

Over the years, Chamber Magic, which first began at Waldorf Astoria and later moved to the Lotte New York Palace, has “changed a lot” as Cohen wants people to constantly be surprised. “It’s evolved. However, there are some tricks that have stayed in every show. For instance, there’s a brick in the hat in every show because I love that trick,” he says.

From reading people’s minds to having objects levitate, Cohen admits he is constantly trying to outdo himself. “I have a skillset now which is pretty advanced, so I can learn things faster than I could when I was younger. When I am learning a new trick, I’m using skills I’ve already oftentimes internalized,” he says. “Having said that, sometimes it could take a year or two before I am confident enough to put it into a show. I may technically be able to do the magic, but I might feel scared to present it to an audience.”

In order to nail the trick, Cohen makes sure to perform for his family whenever possible. “They think I am the worst magician,” he quips. “If they have critiques, I go back to the drawing board and work on them a bit more.”

Cohen is constantly changing the show, where guests wear cocktail attire to dress up for the night. “I have a new trick I am working on right now, but it uses an egg, a lemon and a walnut!” he says. “I’m excited about that. I’m always working on new magic, and that’s because I love it. I still feel like a little boy. I remember when my uncle showed me a trick for the first time, and my eyes would light up and I’d get this amazing feeling. I want to share that experience with my audience and let them feel that way, too. Being a magician is very liberating and freeing because there’s no limitations.”

As for where his inspiration comes from, Cohen relies on friends, who are also magicians, in addition to reading books (he has about 2,000 books in his home alone). “I’ve even written magic books myself,” he says. “But it’s oftentimes a collaboration and you see results from this one performer, but it’s almost never that one person’s genius idea. It’s many people’s input that make something into a more robust magic trick.”

Naturally, Cohen does mess up sometimes — but he lives for the rush of it all. “I have things go wrong every show, and I love it! I love when things don’t go right because it’s my job to keep my mind centered and focused on how can I fix this before the audience realizes,” he admits. “A lot of times I’ll be aware of a mistake before the audience does, and so it becomes this game of cat and mouse. There’s a lot of fail safes or checkpoints I have along the way to make sure I don’t make that certain mistake.”

From Katie Couric to Peter Weber from The Bachelor, Cohen has received accolades from a slew of A-listers — something he is still trying to process. “It’s really fun. I don’t always know when celebrities are going to come to the show,” he says. “Sometimes I look out and I see someone and say, ‘There’s Seth Rogen in the front row.’ One time, Tracy Morgan came out of nowhere with his family, and Guillermo del Toro, the famous filmmaker, came to the show three times. It’s a real thrill when I look out and see famous people, but to be honest, when I am performing, everyone becomes equal. That’s one of the things I love about magic — it puts everyone in the audience on equal ground.”

Though Cohen has been performing for two decades, he isn’t surprised at how far he’s come. “When I started the show at 29 years old, I said to myself, ‘I am going to make this show a success.’ That was my goal, and I worked really hard for 20 years to make that goal come true. When I turned 49, I realized I was not ready to retire. I am having the time of my life, and I love what I am doing! This was my dream the whole way through, and it’s fulfilling,” he says.

“I still feel like the show is in its infancy because I have so many ways to make the show better,” he adds. “As an artist, I have things I want to express that I haven’t included in the show yet, so the show will continue to grow here in New York.”

The post OK! Magazine Interview appeared first on Chamber Magic.

Steve Cohen, star of the long-running show “Chamber Magic” in New York City, celebrated his “full deck” birthday, turning 52 years old. To mark the occasion on February 13, 2023 he invited magicians and notable celebrities to a once-in-a-lifetime party that dazzled people who are hard to impress.

The party was at the New York Lotte Palace, where Steve performs his sold-out shows each week. In attendance were Dick Cavett, world-renowned television host and amateur magician, Joel Hodgson, developer of Mystery Science Theater 3000, Richard Garriott, avid magician and president of the Explorers Club, Charles Kochman, editorial director of The Diary of a Wimpy Kid, and Gwen and Peter Norton developer of Norton Anti-Virus software.

And there were 40 magicians from all over the nation who had flown in for the party as well. Paul Gertner and Garrett Thomas, both “foolers” on Penn and Teller’s “Fool Us,” were among the notable names who came to celebrate. Dick Cavett said that if a bomb dropped on the hotel the future of magic would be wiped out.

The location for the party was Rarities, a 19^th century speakeasy in the original mansion that became the New York Lotte Palace. There were dazzling displays of rare bottles of every imaginable kind of adult beverage. Justin Lorenz, beverage director for the hotel personally served top shelf drinks throughout the party. And there were lavish hors d’oeuvres everywhere.

At one point Steve amazed the group by bringing out a tea kettle, the original prop owned by David Devant.  Built in 1905, it was capable of pouring any drink called for, in any order, including choice of coffee: black or with milk. Steve showed the workings to the magical group, and the workmanship was remarkable. The kettle has passed from magician to magician over the years, with Steve acquiring it from John Fisher, to whom it was bequeathed by British magician Paul Daniels.

Steve’s best friend Mark Levy made the following toast:

“Let’s be clear. Steve is incredibly successful. He has the top-rated show on TripAdvisor, among all the live shows in New York City. It’s rated higher than even Hamilton. He’s written several books, and he’s had his own television special on the History Channel. But for me, the thing that helped me know how successful he is, is when he told me who was going to be here.”

“All of you are the tops of the top. You have all achieved such unbelievable things. And I remember thinking, “How many people do I know who could get so many magnificent people in one room? It’s nuts!” So this is a real testament to Steve, that he could have a murderer’s row, like you people here tonight.”

“Steve has truly elevated the art of magic in the world. And, to me, he’s done it in a really remarkable way. He hasn’t stepped on people to do it. He honors the people of today, and also the people of yesterday. He stands on the shoulders of giants, and he pays homage to them, even while moving things to new places. That’s a really remarkable thing!”

And the party was remarkable as well. I witnessed a wallet and playing card change places in the hands of one guest while walking from one conversation area to another. There were discussions of shows, tours, effects, and of course Steve and his career.

Dick Cavett told stories about his interaction with famous magicians including Tony Slydini and Okito. He also told us about watching Milbourne Christopher mistakenly hand out the key ring for inspection (!), and then going on to fail at three card forces. When the shudders had subsided, a beautiful and delicious cake was served. The cake was magical in its own way, designed and baked by celebrity baker Ron Ben-Israel, who has won various baking shows.

Steve Cohen is a master magician, but also a master businessman and promoter. This combination spells success.

And, just to illustrate the attention to detail, the sign-in board was the 9 of diamonds. For a 52-year-old birthday party, this brought a smile to my face. Mem deck workers will recognize this as a nod to Mnemonica.

The post Steve Cohen’s “Full Deck” Birthday appeared first on Chamber Magic.

FORBES.COM

Anyone who can make three bottles of Pappy Van Winkle appear is a magician in my book. After seeing his ‘Chamber Magic‘ show at the Lotte New York Palace I met with Steve Cohen — known as the Millionaires’ Magician — at the hotel’s elegant hidden bar Rarities which kindly conjured up bottles of Pappy Van Winkle 10, 20 and 23 for us. Along with amazing card tricks and sleights-of-hand the highlight of Cohen’s act is ‘Think-a-Drink’ where the audience names their favorite beverages — from Martinis to Lemonade — and they are all magically poured, one after the other, from the same tea kettle. Cohen and I discussed how he became the magician for millionaires, how he discovered his favorite bourbon and what is really the most important part of any magic trick.

What started your journey in magic?

I’ve been doing magic since I was 6 years old. I performed at all my family gatherings. My aunt said “Steve, you have the gift of gab and that’s going to take you far.” And to me magic was about sleight-of-hand not presentation — but she reminded me the magic doesn’t happen in your hand. It happens in the audience’s mind.

So connecting with the audience is just as important as any physical skill?

David Berglas, one of the iconic magicians of the 20th century, broke down the formula. In order of importance it’s personality, presentation and then the method. And the one thing that can’t be taught is personality. People have to like you first. You need to be relatable. You can’t stand too far up above them on an ivory pillar. The technique is the bedrock but it can’t be the ultimate focus of the performance. The art of magic is to conceal the art.

It’s easy for people to look up tricks online now. Do audience members ever try to expose what you’re doing?

I haven’t had that happen. The ticket price is at high enough a price point that people are not going to heckle me — it’s in your left hand! They are invested in it.

How did you become the ‘Millionaire’s Magician?’

I grew up in Chappaqua where there were a lot of expensive houses. Even though I wasn’t wealthy I was comfortable around wealth and I wanted a way to market myself. I was performing at country clubs and yacht clubs and no one had really claimed that market. Penn & Teller are the bad boys of magic, David Blaine was the street magician. I’m performing for millionaires. I started using it in pitches and the media picked it up. It stuck.

How did you discover Pappy Van Winkle?

I was performing my ‘Think-a-Drink’ trick and someone said they wanted a Manhattan. I asked what bourbon he wanted and he said “I like Pappy Van Winkle, you don’t have that!” And I bluffed and said of course I do. I poured him a Manhattan and he drank it down and said “this is great.”

After the show a wealthy businessman asked “was that really Pappy?” I said it wasn’t and he said “do you want some Pappy Van Winkle? I’ve got a garage full of them.” He doesn’t even drink, he collects things: pinball games, cars, watches and bourbon. So he sent me a bottle of Pappy 15 and Pappy 23. I’ve shared the 15 with friends but I’ve never opened the 23.

Tell me about your ‘Think-a-Drink’ trick.

It’s become my trademark. There’s no one else performing it to my knowledge. It’s also been known as the ‘Bar Act’ or the ‘Inexhaustible Bottle.’ It dates back to at least the 1800s when Robert-Houdin — the magician Houdini named himself after – used to perform the trick with a glass bottle. At the end he would crack the bottle open and there would be a guinea pig inside.

The trick has universal appeal because it’s wish fulfillment. They are asking for their favorite drink. Hot chocolate? Do you want that with mini-marshmallows? And I pour out mini-marshmallows. Hibiscus tea? Do you want that hot or iced? Margarita — tequila or mezcal? I’ve even had sommeliers ask for specific varietals, and they know how to tell a Brunello from a Montepulciano.

Have you ever had a drink with one of your idols?

I had dinner with John Williams the composer at Tanglewood maybe three summers ago. Easily one of the highlights of my life. Growing up I used to play alto saxophone and played many John Williams scores: Star Wars, Superman, all the songs you heard growing up. And being able to talk to him and ask questions about the music, how he creates, what inspired him to write certain pieces — that was a real treat.

You’ve performed for a lot of celebrities. Any one that was a particular favorite?

Tracy Morgan. I had met him on the street one day and I told him about my show and the next weekend he bought out the whole front row for his family. During the show he was shouting and yelling and screaming and it was hilarious. He’s pumping his fist in the air and saying “you’re better than Houdini. I’m going to put you on my TV show.” He really inserted the right amount of levity. I love it when a celebrity can be a part of the show but not overpower it.

You also performed for Carl Sagan.

I was a student at Cornell and he heard through my professor that I was a magician. He called me up and said I’d like you to perform for a group of visiting astrophysicists. I thought there’s no way I’m going to fool these guys, they are literally the smartest people on the planet. At end of the show I got a standing ovation. It reminded me that you have to assume the audience is intelligent and is paying close attention. Therefore I have to work harder upfront. Once I create these psychological traps that the audience can’t escape from, they will follow the path I put before them.

Which has been your favorite of the Pappys today?

I like the 10 best. I’ve had similar experiences with Japanese whiskies. Some of the younger ones had a better taste to me. The older ones aren’t necessarily better.

You’ve kind of performed another trick — you managed to finally drink the 23 without opening your own bottle.

That’s the beautiful thing about working at The Palace. I think we’re both lucky and getting some magic here.

Steve Cohen performs his ‘Chamber Magic‘ show every Friday and Saturday night at the Lotte New York Palace including upcoming Christmas Eve and New Year’s Eve shows.

To learn more about Rarities and their collection of rare spirits, wines and champagnes visit their website.

The post Drinking Pappy Van Winkle With The ‘Millionaires’ Magician’ Steve Cohen appeared first on Chamber Magic.

This year, Mark Sicher’s family generously donated his entire library to Tannen’s Magic Camp. I matched each book with one of my own, doubling the size of the donation to nearly 300 volumes. Every student at Tannen’s Camp received two books, containing a bookplate with the following text:

From the Libraries of MARK NATHAN SICHER and STEVE COHEN, With hopes to inspire future generations of Tannen’s Campers

Contest winners were given additional books as part of their prize.

Many of the books were autographed by the authors, including Eugene Burger, Harry Lorayne, Frank Garcia, Juan Tamariz, and Tommy Wonder. Yes, we gave away the good stuff!

Campers were encouraged to thoroughly read the books they received, even if the subject didn’t initially appeal to them. Sometimes one secret, or even a single sentence, can help solve a problem. Many campers shared their findings with each other, like Mark and I during our formative years, and even exchanged books before heading home.

Books are the perfect delivery system to teach secrets – they’re portable, they combine text with illustrations, and they require no on-off switch. By simply opening the front cover, we can explore the secrets of yesteryear, momentarily stepping back in time in order to make advances in our own magic.

I’m a proud alumnus of Tannen’s Magic Camp, and am pleased that the information I’ve learned over decades of study can benefit the young magicians who are just starting their journey.

For information about Tannen’s Magic Camp, visit: https://www.tannensmagiccamp.com/

The post Gift to young magicians at Tannen’s Magic Camp appeared first on Chamber Magic.

By Bob Gill

Max Malini was fêted by kings, heads of state, VIPs, A-listers and the filthy-rich alike, but did not get a special day named after him. The keeper of his flame has been a fixture of the New York magic scene for more than 20 years. In 2017 Steve Cohen gave the five-thousandth performance of his award-winning weekly show Chamber Magic. To commemorate the occasion, New York Mayor Bill de Blasio officially declared October 6, 2017 ‘Chamber Magic Day’ in the city. No other magician has been accorded such a tribute.

Steve Cohen’s unique weekly live show, Chamber Magic, ran in the sumptuous surroundings of the Duke of Windsor Suite at the Waldorf-Astoria Hotel, the epitome of distinguished hospitality, perfectly suiting the ethos of the Chamber Magic show. When the Waldorf-Astoria was purchased by the Anbang Insurance Group for $1.95 billion in 2014 (making it the most expensive hotel ever sold) Steve’s show moved to another opulent hotel, the Lotte New York Palace. It runs four shows a week, with tickets starting at $125 and is sold-out weeks in advance to adults only, with a capacity of 64 per show. Steve has notched up more than 6,000 performances of his unique show.

Steve Cohen’s story has been exhaustively documented in the press – magic and popular alike – and has built him an enviable and unparalleled legacy, ironically matched only by one Max Malini. Here are some highlights:

Steve Cohen was born in 1971, in New York.

At the age of six he learned his very first magic trick from his great-uncle, an amateur magician.

In his teens he performed table-hopping at Elliott’s Restaurant in New York.

At 17 he took first prize in Junior Close- Up Magic at the IBM convention in Nashville.

In 1991, he studied at Waseda University in Tokyo. While at school, Steve worked a part-time job at Ton Onosaka’s famous Magic Land shop.

Steve lives in an Upper West Side apartment with his wife, Yumi, and their children Alex and June.

Returning to Tokyo for four years, he table-hopped weekly at Park Hyatt Tokyo and Ginza Lion.

In 1995 he returned to New York City, where he performed for small private gatherings while also working as a Japanese translator/interpreter to help pay the bills. He’d show up every Wednesday night, as a patron, at the main bar in the Peninsula Hotel on Fifth Avenue, and perform casual magic for customers at the bar, whilst schmoozing and networking with wealthy guests, gaining him gigs at private parties.

In 1999 he worked as television consultant to David Blaine for two years.

For 25 years he wrote the instructions for Tenyo’s releases, since he was fluent in Japanese and earned a living part-time as a translator in Tokyo.

In 2000 he put on his first show, Mystery Salon, at a friend’s upscale apartment in Greenwich Village. This morphed into Chamber Magic, a title that harkened back to the Victorian era.

In 2001, he performed a series of twenty Chamber Magic shows at the prestigious National Arts Club, in Gramercy Park. By that summer, he had bagged the residency at The Waldorf Towers.

In 2017 the Waldorf Astoria closed its doors, and the show moved to Lotte New York Palace where it now resides, two shows a night, two nights a week.

In addition, he has presented a modified version of the show many hundreds of times at private events for celebrities, tycoons, aristocrats, including royalty.

By Gabe Abelson

There can be no better way to gain a sense of Steve’s performance than the heartfelt account Gabe Abelson gave in Genii, September 2008, Vol 71, Number 9, which offers a detailed biography of The Millionaires’ Magician (reproduced with kind permission from member Richard Kaufman) of experiencing Steve Cohen’s trademark routine:

My wife and I entered the Duke and Duchess of Windsor’s suite. There were about 60 chairs set up, three rows on either side of the aisle, 10 chairs per row. The magician’s table was set front and centre between rows, no more than three feet from the closest chair.

Before the show audience members were each handed index cards on which to write their favourite alcoholic beverage.

The show began. Out walked Mr Cohen in a $3,000 tuxedo with tails, gold pocket-watch chain gleaming. The Millionaires’ Magician who looked like a million. Despite his diminutive frame, he immediately (and silently) commanded attention. In a mellifluous voice, filling the silent suite at the Waldorf, Steve introduced himself to the crowd.

[Cohen then performed his full show, at the end of which…] He directed our attention to a beautiful tea service on a large platter holding a gleaming silver kettle, surrounded by about ten shot glasses in a perfect semicircle. The service had been in full view since the start of the show. This would be the moment where the index cards we filled out before the show would be called back into play.

He asked for a volunteer to step forward to handle the index cards which had been passed down the rows and collected by an audience member. Steve asked me to remove any five of them, distribute four cards to random members of the audience and keep one for myself. “Please just shout out what you see.” One cardholder spoke out, “Manhattan!” “What’s in a Manhattan? Bourbon, sweet vermouth, bitters? Sir, anyone could have gone first, but it was you.” Cohen slowly poured a brown-burgundy liquid from the kettle, completely filling a shot glass before the kettle seemingly ran dry. Cohen handed it out and said, “First, smell it.” Disbelievingly, the audience member responded, “It smells like bourbon.” Momentarily feigning relief, Steve said, “That’s a good sign.” Laughter. The man was then asked to taste it. Sure enough, it’s a Manhattan. Think a- Drink [is] a routine that not only fries the mind, but in addition, engages and stuns three senses— sight, smell, and taste.

“Let’s try someone else!” says Cohen enthusiastically, inviting another guest to shout out the name of a drink. “Orange juice,” she reads. “Okay, which do you prefer: with or without pulp?” asks Steve. “With!” the woman responds, chuckling.

“Freshly squeezed?” “Yes.” Steve proceeds to pour thick, pulpy orange juice from the kettle. Again, just enough in it to fill the shot glass. Following the OJ, came a man who read “Grasshopper.” Naturally, the green drink was poured.

What followed was yet another moment that is indelibly etched in my brain. The fourth person holding a card yelled out, “1987 Cabernet.” Steve asked, “That’s kind of specific. Is red wine good enough?” More laughter. The cardholder then shocked everyone by revealing that he was, in fact, a sommelier! “Well,” the man said teasingly, “1987 Cabernet would be nice.” (laughter) “In fact, ’87 was a wonderful vintage— but if it’s red wine, it’s still a great trick!” Cohen said he would see what he could do. Tipping the kettle, what was clearly red wine spilled into the shot glass. The drink was then carried over to the sommelier. The crowd sat in silent anticipation as the man sniffed, then tasted the wine. “Jesus!” he exclaimed. “1987 Cabernet! How the hell…?”

Steve asked me to read my card, which I did. Iced mochachino. At this point, of course, I’m thinking, “How’s he going to get out of this one, even with the ‘trick’ kettle he won’t relinquish?” Taking me completely off-guard, Steve offered me the kettle and said, “Why don’t you pour this one?” Gladly, I took it from him, and realized at this point that I was actually somewhat frightened. I gingerly poured myself a shot … which just filled the glass, and as I poured it, I could see that I wouldn’t even have to taste the drink to recognize it … but I downed it anyway. Iced mochachino. Delicious: and at this point, almost hallucinatory.

Steve Cohen and Mark Levy, the co-creators of Chamber Magic had constructed the strongest, most perfectly paced, most enjoyable and memorable evening of magic I have ever experienced.

The post The Millionaire Millionaires’ Magician appeared first on Chamber Magic.

The Magic Circular, July 2022

By Bob Gill

Of times of yore Steve Cohen MIMC cites his inspirations as fourfold. Johann Nepomuk Hofzinser, who performed during the mid-1800s for Viennese high society in the intimate setting of his private salons; Charles Bertram, a favourite of King Edward VII for whom he performed 22 times; and Jean-Eugene Robert-Houdin, resident performer at the Palais-Royal, Paris.

But it was primarily Max Malini who would shape Steve’s approach to his magic. There are too many parallels between these two extraordinarily entrepreneurial talents to ignore; both highly accomplished magicians, risk takers, high achievers, charmers, equally at ease in the company of Kings or tycoons, above all gifted with an eye to the chance and the ability – and chutzpah – to pounce upon every opportunity and turn it to their benefit.

Bob Gill: Between them this quartet of classic entertainers changed the general perception of magic from street performance or sideshow act to that of upscale, elegant society entertainment. But of those four magic colossi’s lives and careers it was Malini’s you chose to document.

Steve Cohen: He fascinated me. Vernon was a devotee, and to my generation Vernon was godlike. He was clearly impressed with not just how Malini performed but the colourful life he led. Vernon was drawn to characters and opportunists, and Max was both. Vernon would often praise Malini in his Genii columns, and of course Harry Stanley put out the Ganson/Vernon book in 1962, Malini and His Magic.

Bob: As a dear friend and mentee of Lewis Ganson I remember Lew saying he regarded their Malini book as the weakest they ever put out.

Steve: Well, I did not know that. How interesting. But it figures; it was a thin book, light on details, a compendium of anecdotes from a fan. The way I heard it was that Stanley brought Vernon over to the UK for a lecture tour and had very little to sell on the back of them. Ganson had accumulated a pile of stories and accounts of tricks intended for his magazine, The Gen, and hastily put them together for a book for the tour. But thin or not, it certainly inspired me when I read it.

Bob: I sometimes wondered whether the Malini legend was just that.

Steve: I know exactly what you mean. I thought everything I’d heard was too good to be true. He became this sort of mythical character. I had to do the research to check how real it was. And it turned out to be true. Fortunately for me, because Malini was so heavily featured in the press around the world, his escapades were extremely well documented. The thing is the people who had seen Malini, and had acquired any insight on his work, wouldn’t share it. Maybe out of respect for the legend, I don’t know. But when they passed the direct generation of links with Malini died with them. So that’s why I determined to write the book. It took 20 years of research, gathering titbits of information, a story here, a reminiscence there. His tricks and techniques were pretty well documented, in fact, but spread throughout the magic literature, and it took some detective work to pull it all together.

Bob: Wow… 20 years in the making!

Steve: Oh yes, a mild obsession. As people in magic got to know what I was up to they’d get in touch with stories. One fellow let me handle the table knife Max used to cling to his pudgy fingertips. I’ve personally handled three of Malini’s Egg Bags; Copperfield has them in his museum. One was used in the White House for President Harding. One was just a plain cloth bag, with no pockets or gimmickry; he’d make the egg appear and disappear through palming or vesting… he was a big user of vesting.

Bob: Did Covid help facilitate you to finish it?

Steve: Yes, when the pandemic took hold I didn’t know what to do with regards to work. I wasn’t interested in the Zoom shows some of my peers were doing, and with live shows being dark, it seemed an opportunity to pull all my years of work together and write it.

Bob: It’s not your first book though is it, so you weren’t starting from scratch?

Steve: It’s not the first book I’ve written, no, so I knew I had it in me. But it was the first on this scale, and I felt a responsibility to do it – and Max – justice. I spoke with friends who were writers and publishers. Bill Kalush said, “Whatever you do, don’t make it a list. Tell us why we should care – and who Malini really was.” So I got on with it, and became immersed in it: at times I could sense Max in the room alongside me while I was writing; it was weird, but not uncomfortable.

Bob: As if Max was approving the project.

Steve: Kind of, yes. And as I got deeper into the writing I began to view things as I believe Max did. He went to such lengths to set up scenarios, so that everything seemed to happen on the spur of the moment, which is why his performances were so astonishing to watch. I relished his resourcefulness; he was always one ahead.

Because he travelled all over the world, working in the smartest of venues, often revisiting them several times, he gradually set up a kind of global card index. So, he’d note that in a particular salon in the Hotel Adlon in Berlin he’d hidden a Two of Clubs behind the painting on the wall; when visiting the Istana Kampong Gelam Palace in Singapore the Five of Diamonds had been secreted behind the clock. Hence he was set to perform miracles when he turned up at these places.

Bob: He wanted to make the greatest impact so it would be remembered.

Steve: Yes. And when you read his press, he did generate that level of impact. They remembered who he was, what he did, how he did it. And I began to realise – if you move at your own pace and choose the moments to strike, you become the instigator of the pace. You feel almost godlike, in control of your environment. The set-ups in the luxury places he’d work – steamships, hotels, luxury trains – were similar, and he became the master of his surroundings, using them within his performances.

Bob: And like you, he’d get gigs from the many contacts he made.

Steve: Oh yes, he was the ultimate networker within a relatively small world, the rich and famous. He created a funnel: the contacts he made whilst travelling became his clients on tour. Malini did it by travelling around the world eight times; I did it by building my own performing environment of which I was firmly in charge, and using that to attract private bookings. It becomes a social proof that you are the best, and worthy of the best.

Bob: You must have been very single-minded in setting out to achieve that positioning.

Steve: I was fascinated by Max’s appeal to the wealthy and famous. And I realised early on that if you only surround yourself with such people, and conduct yourself as if you were one of them in the way you look and act, you will grow to become the society entertainer.

Bob: Yet despite the many parallels between you, Max Malini was so unlike Steve Cohen in personality.

Steve: Yes, of course. Max was this offbeat, amusing, larger-than-life character who spoke in a language all his own: a mixture of Yiddish and heavily accented English known as Yinglish. I’m very different in my chosen persona; I strive for elegance, the upper-class New Yorker who speaks, dresses and behaves like the people I aimed to perform for. I will not use a standard magic prop, but get it made in an antique form.

I admired his choice of magic, he tended to perform simple, uncluttered, classic plots that stood out in the spectators’ minds. Complicate the effect and it will not form a clear memory for the individual experiencing it. That was a good lesson for me too.

Bob: I’m guessing your favourite of his effects was the surprise production from beneath the hat? You devote a lot of pages in the book to it.

Steve: It was his trademark effect, the one everyone talked about because the surprise of the appearance was so visceral following what was a simple plot of a coin toss under a hat. Usually a real house brick would appear but on special occasions the block of ice. I perform it in my show and it always produces a gasp of surprise.

As to the block of ice, I admired his enormous patience. He’d wait – and wait – and wait for the right moment to unleash the effect he’d set up perhaps hours before. Famously he’d sit there with a huge block of ice under his jacket, soaking his shirt and pants and leaving a puddle under the chair, waiting for the perfect moment to unleash the production on them. Or he’d palm a card in his pudgy little hand and wait for the time came to perform using it. That way he was always one step ahead. Vernon loved that about him.

Bob: One thing you didn’t try to emulate was the way Malini would speak to the highest in the land.

Steve: [Laughs]. Yes! He had a quirky way of speaking. It was a combination of his heavy Eastern European accent and his memorable use of language. The cadence of spoken Yinglish has a singsong, slightly whining quality to it; it became a staple of Jewish comedians such as Sid Caesar and Groucho Marx. I’m not entirely sure whether he exaggerated a natural trait for effect, or whether it was entirely manufactured, but it was comical, and endearing. He also got away with being quite impudent with his illustrious spectators.

Bob: There are plentiful examples of his patois in your book. They’re so entertaining.

Steve: [Laughs again at the memory]. At the turn of the twentieth century on the occasion of Malini’s first appearance before the crowned head of England he was being given instruction on how to address King Edward VII at Sandringham Palace: “Don’t forget to fall on your knees as soon as the King enters. Address him always as ‘Your Exalted and Benignant Majesty.’ Always walk backwards. Wear riding breeches and black silk stockings, and an Inverness cape. Use a touch of patchouli. And try to speak in a refined voice.”

After Max returned from his royal errand his guide asked him how it had gone. Max replied…

Ah, you tink me von big fool, eh! Valk backyards…patchouli! Exalted and benizzant! Bah! I spit at you! Me, Max Malini. I know ver well how to speak wit kings. He jus’ com’ to me after I have perform and say: ‘Ver goot, Meestaire Malini; ver goot indeet,’ an’ I answer: ‘Much opliged to you, Royal Mister!’ “Then the King he laff an’ say: ‘Haf a schmoke,’ an’ I take a cigar an’ say: ‘You bet—I keep zis wit my others keengs’ cigars vot I haf gollect,’ an’ he laff again and say: ‘Vell, here’s anudder, an’ don’t keep zat! Schmoke it!’”

Newspapers would gleefully report his sayings: “Ah! Chust der very feller I vanted to bump into! I show you a few dricks vit a pack of gards. Come as closer as you likes. I vas just tinking of you. If that ain’t mental palotapy [telepathy], vat in the devil is it?”

Malini’s son Oziar once recommended that he improve his command of English, to integrate more naturally with his elegant audiences. Malini offered a caustic rebuttal: “If I talk good, you don’t eat.”

Bob: That was him told. Were you aware that Paul Daniels did a Malini show?

Steve: Oh, yes, we spoke about it at some length. Paul took the show to Edinburgh for the Festival there. I was impressed at the sheer number of tricks he packed into the hour.

But I was a little disappointed that he didn’t get more into Malini’s history. Paul Daniels relied on surface-level historical details, and took artistic license with the methods, to perform Malini-flavored effects.

Bob: You were going to tell me what happened when Max visited London?

Steve: Oh yes. Max attended a stream of press interviews, in places like The Savoy. One of the reporters had a most distinctive tie pin. Max borrows it and vanishes it. But he doesn’t reproduce it: he goes to move off. “What about my pin?” asks the reporter, a little frantically. “Ver vill you be goin’ next?” – “Back to the office.” – Max points to a taxi: “…take that one.” The reporter opens the taxi door and there, impaled on the back seat cushion, is his pin.

Now I ask you: what kind of mind dreams that up? And who was even the stooge in that case? The taxi driver? The hotel concierge? A waiter who smuggled it out of their room several floors up? All of them? Amazing.

Bob: And how has the book been received?

Steve: Extremely favourably. We’re planning a second edition, as the first 2000 have sold out.

I’ve a couple of photographs to add that have come to light. There are a few small things in there I want to correct, and people have sent me fresh anecdotes and clippings about Max. I’m also planning a website, since so many of the hundreds of photos I have are too low- resolution for a quality book.

My book has been received better than I could have dreamt. It is so touching when a subject dear to your heart affects others too. And I think there is much we can all learn from Max’s approach to his magic.

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July 2022 issue

Book reviewed by Bob Gill

‘Chutzpah’ is from Aramaic, meaning audacity bordering on the irresponsible. In traditional cultures it was a word of rebuke, while in more modern times it has come to carry with it a tinge of admiration. It is the term one constantly returns to when attempting to encapsulate the subject of this hefty book, the living embodiment of the word.

Max Malini was that entity who still stands today as a true one-off; there has not been his like since his demise in 1942 at the age of 69, which in a collective of copyists is something to behold. That’s not to say Malini’s reach was not extensive, but none was so completely under Malini’s spell than the author of this love story to him. For it wasn’t just Malini’s routines Mr Cohen seized upon; it was his entire ethos as the high- society magician of his time. So it seems entirely apposite that it is Cohen who pens this tribute; veneration permeates every fibre of the pages in this tome.

In the meantime Dai Vernon and Charlie Miller continued to heap praise upon Malini in their columns in Genii. Vernon was particularly taken with how spontaneous Malini made all his magic seem. In that respect Malini was ahead of his time; no stagey coloured boxes or tubes beloved of that era, no props at all other than the articles Malini borrowed or ‘found’ on site. Vernon loved that Malini would go to such effort to engineer his effects, staying at least one step ahead; for example, he’d note what coinage was included in the change a punter would receive at the bar, so he knew what coins he had in his pocket, and make full use of that knowledge.

The author’s fascination with Malini began when he read Ricky Jay’s Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women (1986). This prompted him to seek out Malini references wherever he could, and he made a point of collecting information about this continuously itinerant performer. The result is a rich collection, three- quarters devoted to Malini’s magic, the remainder to his life and some larger-than-life stories about the Napoleon of Magic.

The first part of the book explores Malini’s life. It is more anecdotage than biography, since it appears that even the diligent Mr Cohen could not nail all the fine detail. Malini is one of those figures, like Churchill, whom one pictures as a man of mature years, and there are scarcely any photos of him, even in this lengthy homage, as a young man. What we do get presented with in abundance are colourful yarns, and this makes the biographical section of this tome an easy read.

For the record, Max Breit was born in 1873 [editor note: 1875] in the village of Ostrov on the Polish/Hungarian border. Breit came under the spell of Frank Seiden, a magician, fire-eater and ventriloquist who kept a drinking saloon on the Bowery and showed him some simple sleight of hand. As a busker and saloon entertainer Malini would walk into a bar, loudly make himself known by the name that he had chosen to adopt, in his guttural, heavily accented growl, before performing with articles readily available in the hostelry: knives, glasses, glasses, matches, hats and playing cards. His magic was simple in plot  and bold in execution. An early associate and influence was Emile Jarrow, who likewise used his deep Polish accent to add colour to his patter.

It is an interesting dichotomy that Max earned his spurs in the decidedly low-class saloon bars of those areas in New York where one feared to walk alone after hours. At some point Max Breit transitioned from selling matchbooks in lowly bars ankle-deep in spittoons and sawdust, through worldly barroom troubadour to become the overdressed dandy Max Malini who, dripping with medals and aiguillette, every inch the opera star or theatrical impresario, would perform exclusively for the wealthy and esteemed in chambers cushioned by the deepest pile carpet, in the process becoming one of the most publicised close-up workers the world has ever seen.

The transition began at the age of 29 when he tore the button from US Senator Hanna’s jacket and then magically restored it. Malini had the ability and bearing to impress people and command attention; the day after his button display he was performing for the then President of the United States. Thereafter he didn’t trouble the backstreet hostelries any further; he spent much of his life on his travels plying his well- paid trade on steam ships, luxury trains, five-star hotels, private mansions and palaces around the world. This was all at odds with the lot of the contented family man, a part of his life touched on in this book. He was, however, close to his son Oziar, who shared the stage with him as a child magician and went on to cover for Malini when he’d be increasingly indisposed in later years.

Of course, Malini’s encounter with that Senator was far from spontaneous; it was an opportunity that Malini prepared for and knowingly made the most of. This studied readiness for apparent spontaneity was a ploy Malini would use time and again, a trait best captured in Mr Cohen’s chapter “Chutzpah: Tales of Boldness”, which brings Malini’s unique personality to life through many diverting anecdotes. These include examples not just related to magic, the loading of a duplicate card into a spectator’s hat under great misdirection, for example, but talking an art dealer into giving him a valuable sculpture, one of only a pair in existence.

One area in which he was ahead of his time was self-promotion. Like Harry Houdini, he realised the power of the press early in his career, and he handled the Fourth Estate adroitly. The book gives countless examples of stories that were written about Malini. As so much of Cohen’s research was gained from press articles, we get to see them first-hand; as magicians we realise how many of them fall into the ‘too good to be true’ camp, but they make fascinating reading nonetheless, as the reader comes to realise how he gradually, inexorably built the legend of Max Malini as the hacks added to the stories to justify their by-lines. Every time he performed this must have put Malini under a degree of pressure to live up to these high expectations, but with this number of effects at his beck and call – around a hundred in these multitudinous pages – he had no such problem.

The abiding lesson from this wealth of descriptions, particularly those in the press, is how Malini would routinely take the simplest trick and make it a memorable mystery. His performances were framed in such a way as to infiltrate them into the spectator’s mind, like some kind of magical earworm, and remain there, to be extracted and retold, inflated with suitable augmentations in the telling that only added to the legend. He had the chops, despite his famously tiny hands, and armed with these he applied them in unforgettable ways. Cohen examines Malini’s techniques in some detail, particularly those with cards, most of which he made his own in idiosyncratic handlings. You’ll find here his quirky way with many of the standards: peeks, passes, top change, steals, colour changes, forces, and palms. He used his chops to deliver punches that still resonate in the repertoires of close-uppers today: “Card to Mouth,” “Universal/General Card,” “Card on Chair” and “Card on Wall or Ceiling.” He imbued these classics with a great sense of theatre, such that they became important performance pieces rather than magic tricks.

Malini’s trademark effects are probably, for most readers with even a fleeting awareness, “The Ice/Brick Under Hat,” “Biting A Button” and “The Malini Egg Bag.” With these standards Cohen does not disappoint, and he explores in some considerable detail not only how Malini performed them, but how the reader might learn to perform them him-or her-self. Arguably the trick that became forever associated with Malini was the production of a block of ice from beneath the hat he, or a participant, was wearing. Of course Malini was by no means the first to use a large surprise production to close a trick, but it was the choice of that improbable object that showed his mastery of the psychology of wonderment. His audiences were well aware of how a hefty block of ice is heavy, extremely awkward to handle, messy – and would surely have melted away if it was secreted on his body in a warm room. Slightly less spectacular, but still astonishing, was the production of a large, unruly, messy house brick, still with shards of mortar clinging to its sides, that Malini preferred to produce, reserving the ice for special occasions.

Intriguingly, and perversely perhaps, Malini did not publish details of his Egg Bag handlings (of which he had several, including one with an unfaked bag) but his methodology is laid bare by a guy called David Alexander (no, me neither) who made a study of various handlings employed by Malini, as well as that of Charlie Miller (which heavily informed the handling popularised by Ken Brooke in the 1970s).

One of the most valuable attributes Cohen brings to this work is the time he spent studying the stand-out routines for inclusion in his own programme, which adds an intrinsic practicality to his descriptions: they are truly authentic. The one that most tickled me was how they both went about transporting a selected card into the tailor-sewn lining of a volunteer’s jacket, a masterpiece of detailed planning, cunning and execution.

A welcome attribute that marks this out as the work of a true fanboy is the number of photos and memorabilia included within these ample pages, many from Cohen’s own collection: an invaluable resource of Malini’s timeline and his media references, and a diligent feat of research. It exemplifies the thoroughness of Cohen’s labours, which make this the authoritative book about one of magic’s more colourful characters and self- publicists.

Read this impressive labour of love to discover what all the fuss was about, and how prescient Max Malini was in his whole approach to performance: a very modern magician well ahead of his time in so many ways, who has much to teach us all. Along the way you also learn a great deal about Steve Cohen, itself no bad thing given the scale of his own achievement in the framing of magic performance. Give thanks for his passion bordering on obsession, his indomitable detective work, and his ability to bring the whole story alive.

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Society of American Magicians M-U-M magazine

June 2022
Book Review by Marc DeSouza

If I were looking for a sensationalist headline for this book it would be “Obsession + Pandemic = Incredible Magic Book.” And that would not be far from the truth.

Steve Cohen has been obsessed with Max Malini for decades. His interest came through the writings of Dai Vernon and Ricky Jay. In the ensuing years, Steve searched incessantly for any information he could find on Malini. He uncovered much that had not been unearthed before, much of it thanks to the Internet. But his research went far beyond that.

First, I believe that Steve is the perfect person, if not the only person, to write this book. It is not merely a recitation of dates and factoids. It feels like a living, breathing tome. He has not only done the research, he has performed many of Malini’s favorite routines. He has researched them and uncovered multiple methods for many of them. He has also spoken to others who have performed some of Malini’s effects to get their views and experiences with them. He has also obtained information that questions some of the previous writings on Malini.

If it were not for the pandemic, I doubt we would have seen this book. Steve has a very busy career as The Millionaires’ Magician, with a steady schedule of public and private performances. Having no venue to perform in allowed him the luxury of time to create this amazing vanity project. Malini is a legendary performer whose life and magic deserved a great tribute. With all due respect to Dai Vernon, Lewis Ganson, and Harry Stanley, their volume pales in comparison. This is well over 500 pages and screams quality. The design of the entirety is sumptuous. It appears to be a period piece from the cover and binding, to the text in period font, but with beautifully reproduced photographs. This is a book to be fully appreciated over time. I must make special mention of Steve’s writing. I’m not sure what I was expecting, but his text is wonderfully descriptive when required, and really gives Malini a voice throughout. You come away feeling like you know much about the man, as well as the performer.

The book opens with biographical information. Much of it we’ve heard before, but there is so much new information to be gleaned from these pages. There are wonderful anecdotes sprinkled throughout this section and the ones that follow. There are recollections from magicians, journalists, and statesmen alike, culminating with a letter from Charlie Miller, a man far closer with Malini than Vernon. And that’s just the first 100 pages.

The majority of the remainder of the book is about Malini’s magic and performances. Steve begins with a chapter on impromptu magic, an area that Malini truly capitalized on. There are things that had been previously printed, but the author uses the analysis of all methods and his own experience to reveal the most likely way Malini performed them. I could talk about each trick, but you owe it to yourself to read them. I will say that some of the highlights for me include the Ring on Stick, Sugar Cube Assembly, and the Brick from Hat. One key point in this and the following chapters is that of simplicity. Malini’s effects are, for the most part, very direct and uncluttered. Some of them can be found in beginner’s books, but Malini’s personality and technique elevate them to strong performance pieces. His methods are straightforward and uncomplicated. Cohen’s photo-illustrated descriptions of this material are first rate.

The next chapter is about his “Card Magic.” Malini was renowned for his card work and we get to learn many of the techniques as well as some of his finest routines. There is so much to study and we can see how Malini created incredibly strong, commercial card magic. Many of these laid the groundwork for so many routines used by top professionals to this day. He made good use of The General Card, Card on Ceiling, and the Multiple Selection routine. Pay particular attention to Malini’s method of forcing cards. It is emphasized throughout this and the next section that it is not so much a force but giving the cards to the participants. Such was Malini’s bold and effective manner.

This chapter is followed by one on “Platform Magic.” His entire stage show is described and broken down, routine by routine. Again, so many current magicians are performing much of Malini’s repertoire and you get to see not only the source but analysis by some of today’s finest performers of that material. Included is commentary by Bob Sheets, the foremost performer of the Blindfolded Card Stab, the late David Alexander’s Egg Bag Routine, and Bob Stencel’s Rope Cut. Other highlights include the Magnetic Fingertips, The Lamp Chimney Silk Vanish, and Bills in Lemon and Egg. Surprisingly, we also have descriptions and discussions on classic “Chinese Magic” such as the Giant Bowl productions and Linking Rings that he included in his full evening shows for a time. This is a grand departure for a man who made his reputation by performing an entire show without visible props, ostensibly borrowing everything he used. This chapter closes with a discussion of his perennial closer, The Eggs and Glasses. This is not a magic effect per se, but a juggling stunt that would still garner a huge ovation today. I believe this chapter is worth the price of the book.

The book closes out with some further biographical information, including several obituaries, the transcript of a talk given by his son Oziar, a selection of newspaper articles from the world over, and a timeline, putting all of this into place.

If you are a lover of magical history, you will love this book. If you love reading stories of larger than life performers, you will not want to miss out on this one. If you simply love great magic, buy this book now. When I heard Steve was writing it, I couldn’t wait to read it. Now that I’ve read it, I can say that every aspect of it exceeded my expectations. It is a modern classic and I believe it will be classed as the magic book of the decade.

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