May/June 2013, p. 160

by Jim Windolf

Anyone with a handheld device is a magician of sorts. So how to explain the resurgence of old-fashioned magic in popular culture? Why are people falling for a brand of entertainment that seemed at its height a hundred years ago, when Harry Houdini was all the rage? Haven’t we moved beyond that?

Apparently not. In a private suite at New York’s Waldorf-Astoria, Steve Cohen, known as the “Millionaires’ Magician,” presents a stately 90-minute illusionfest, Chamber Magic, five times a week. Last year he became the first magician in nearly four decades to appear at Carnegie Hall’s Weill Recital Hall, and his refined act has impressed guests at the homes of Barry Diller, Martha Stewart and Warren Buffett, among others. And maybe that’s the role of magic these days – to provide a dash of wonderment for those who have seen it all.

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A cluster of of well-to-do couples huddle in the lobby of the Waldorf Towers in New York City, buzzing with anticipation. At the stroke of 8:45 p.m. on Saturday evening, a tall man in a tailored suit ushers everyone into a gold-plated elevator – the same one that the President of the United States rides when he stays in New York. Primping and fidgeting, the group lines up at a suite at the end of a hallway on the 35th floor. 58 people file in for tonight’s magic show in Steve Cohen’s living room, run solely by word-of-mouth.

Steve Cohen, also known as the Millionaires’ Magician, has performed his show at the Waldorf Towers 3,000 times — for 250,000 people.

Cohen’s “Chamber Magic” shows inspire an intimate, old-timey parlor feel. Attendees, many of whom have purchased tickets months in advance, are expected to dress well. He doesn’t bother with hats, rabbits, or sleight-of-hand tricks; instead, he uses one gleaming tea kettle to produce five different drinks at the audience’s request.

At age 10, Cohen worked the elementary school circuit, appearing at kids’ birthday parties and Cub Scout meetings. Now, he brings in about 300 viewers each weekend – including high-profile guests like Martha Stewart, Barry Diller, and David Rockefeller  – and a seven-figure annual income. “I put people in an environment where anything can happen,” Cohen says, pausing to sip Kombucha tea (the ginger helps his throat). “People start thinking, Maybe there’s another force in the world, and this guy has control over it.”

Age: 41

Graduated from: Cornell University, psychology major; Waseda University in Tokyo, Japan

Based in: New York, N.Y.

Years as a full-time magician: 17

Previous jobs: After graduating from Cornell, I stayed in Tokyo for five years as an English translator. It involved sitting at a desk with lots of legal work and patents.

That seems like a pretty far stretch from your current line of work. The translation work was terribly boring, but lucrative. I was eager to do magic, so I got some part-time jobs performing in hotels, and those got more and more lucrative. I came back to New York and started from scratch as a consultant for other magicians. Then, I started doing my own shows.

Who – or what – brought you into the world of magic? My uncle. He was very talented with cards, and taught me the fundamentals of card magic that you need to become a good magician. I spent all my times at family parties with him. He gave me a book called Magic With Cards, a book from the 1890s that is very hard to find.

How did you turn a childhood hobby into a multimillion-dollar business? For two years, after moving back to America from Japan, I lied to my wife and told her we were breaking even. But we were losing money every show; I lost about $200,000 of my own money. I was about to throw in the towel when an editor from DailyCandy.com came to review the show. Overnight, the show sold out for a year in advance. Then CBS Morning did a segment on me, and by the end of the week, I had sold $1 million worth of tickets. I had to add more shows.

Is the Waldorf your permanent home? I stay here on weekends. I have another apartment on the Upper West Side with my family – my wife and two kids, ages 12 and 8 – during the week.

Do your kids love magic? They each practice one trick each year, and on Father’s Day, they perform it at my show. But my daughter is more into it than my son. She’s a ham. But there’s not that many women in magic, if you think about it.

Why do you think more men than women are into magic? I’m not sure. But I don’t really recommend becoming a magician to anyone. People are constantly making gags about it. Imagine going into your child’s school for a parent-teacher conference, and the teacher says, “Your child seems to think you’re a magician of some sort.” You always have to explain what you do.

In your grand finale, two audience members shuffle two separate decks of cards. Then, you reveal that each card in the first deck falls in the exact same order as each card in the second deck. The audience really goes wild for that one. People seriously go bananas – they have heart palpitations. They can’t sleep that night. And I’m jumping up and down like Willy Wonka.

It’s funny you mention Willy Wonka. You remind me of him — Gene Wilder’s version, at least. The character of Willy Wonka has been a role model for me. I like his transition from mysterious man to crazed maniac – peeling away layers and seeing more and more about this nutty guy.

Did he inspire your three-piece suit, too? In London, I saw Prince William wearing this exact outfit – a morning coat, a vest with a little lapel, and striped trousers. So I went to the store where the princes shop, and bought that exact outfit. I think it’s so appropriate in this environment.

Cohen uses as few props as possible in his shows; he believes they create barriers and cheapen the experience. The kettle is an exception.

It plays into the magician archetype. People want the character of a wizard or a magician to come into their lives and give them hope and possibility. Why do you think Harry Potter is so popular? I’m not doing wizardry here, but I feel like Harry Potter or Dumbledore. People squeal in delight. During my “Think a Drink” trick, a woman in the front row actually cried. [For this trick, five audience members wrote down their favorite drinks, from vodka to banana smoothie. Cohen then produced these drinks from a small kettle.]

Best part of your job: Immediate feedback. I can tell by looking at audience members’ eyes whether I have them under my thumb. When people’s eyes are glowing, I know I’ve done my job. I’ve learned what captures people’s imaginations.

Most challenging part of your job: Nobody else in the world is doing this type of performance, so I don’t have a support team. I’ve lost the camaraderie of fellow magicians; a lot of them are jealous.

Resources for new material: The Conjuring Arts Research Center in New York has a database with every secret that has ever been published in magic, from the 1500s to present-day. You have to be a member or have special access.

Any pre-show traditions? David Copperfield once told me that he brushes his teeth with a certain toothbrush before every show. I joke around and say that I floss before every show. But the fact is, no. I’m very relaxed. Everything in my show is meticulously planned. Without fail, I know the precise minute that I’ll be saying a certain line.

The last time you got nervous: When Woody Allen came in and sat in the front row. I had cotton balls in my mouth, but he was the greatest audience. He laughed at all the right times.

What would people be surprised to learn about your job? You can buy and sell secrets. I once licensed a trick from another magician for my show, but after the terms of the legal contract expired, he wanted the trick back. So I had to create my own version of the trick.

Your most expensive trick: I spent $10,000 for a trick that only lasts two or three minutes, but it’s a really good trick. I fill a flower vase with all different flowers and cover them with a handkerchief. Then, I ask an audience member to name her favorite flower. Say she responds with yellow tulip. I take the handkerchief away, and all the flowers have transformed into yellow tulips.

How do you deal with uncooperative audience members? People have predispositions toward magic shows. Those who give me problems – maybe they got embarrassed at a magic show when they were little. I handle them the same way I would handle kids, and try to diffuse the challenge by making my show lively and interactive.

One weekend, Warren Buffett paid Cohen to cancel all his shows and fly to Omaha (pictured above).

Your website boasts some of your more famous clients, like Warren Buffett. I still get people coming in here all the time, like, Warren sent me. I always carry with me a card that he signed.

Physical parameters of your show: I need to be inside of a room with no other distractions. People must be completely riveted on just me. I can’t have people thinking about what they’re going to make for dinner. 

Your required reading: Influence: The Psychology of Persuasion by Robert Cialdini. It’s about how and why to persuade people to see things your way.

You never leave home without: My deck of cards. I rarely do magic outside of a venue, but it makes me feel good that I could, if I needed to.

Have you ever pulled a rabbit out of a hat? Yes, and it’s wonderful. I don’t do it regularly, though, because then you have to keep a rabbit as a pet.

LAUNCHING YOUR CAREER>>

Find a venue that is appropriate to your vision of magic, and become the person best suited for that venue. If you’re really good at performing at Bar Mitzvah parties, for example, become the very best Bar Mitzvah magician out there, and work tons of them.

Tickets for Chamber Magic range from $75 to $100; priced separately for private company events. Follow Steve on Twitter and on his Facebook page. All photos courtesy of Steve Cohen.

Originally published: http://nojoeschmo.com/2012/12/04/the-magician-in-the-waldorf-astoria/

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As I performed privately for two of the guests, I noticed that a photographer was furiously snapping pictures over my shoulder.

The photographer later informed me: “Those two men you just entertained were the Secretary of the Treasury and Secretary of Transportation. The only person who can usually bring them together is the President of the United States. And you just did the same thing with magic!”

—

This reminds me of another occasion, when Michael Bloomberg invited me to his Park Avenue office in NYC prior to being elected mayor. After chatting for twenty minutes about golf, memory techniques, and how to master a second language (he was studying Spanish), Bloomberg asked me to show him some magic.

I asked if he had a dollar.

The billionaire chuckled and said, “Have I got a dollar? I’ve got quite a few!” We both laughed as he handed me a single dollar bill from his pocket.

I slowly and deliberately displayed the bill to him and called attention to the Secretary of the Treasury’s signature at the bottom. The name read Laurence Summers. Without a single false move, I waved my hand over that signature and magically transformed it into the signature of Bloomberg himself – Michael R. Bloomberg. The ink changed visibly in front of his eyes.

He rubbed the bill with his thumb and was delighted to see that his signature had been permanently printed on his own bill – real U.S. currency. At first he challenged me to change it back, but I countered, “Are you kidding? That’s a collector’s item. The next time I come to your office, I want to see that in a frame on your wall!”

I like to think that’s where it hangs to this day…

Here’s a photo of Michael Bloomberg and me (the summer before he was elected NYC mayor), at a Bloomberg company picnic.

The post A Magical Cabinet Meeting in Washington DC appeared first on Chamber Magic.

Last night I was booked to perform at a private show for just eleven people, in a Madison Avenue apartment in New York City. As always, I will not reveal the names or details of any people present, out of respect for privacy. Needless to say there were several billionaires in the room.

During the show, I asked the host if he had a favorite book. He answered, “Yes, it’s To Kill A Mockingbird.” I inquired if he had that book handy. His eyes darted to the corner of the room, and I followed his gaze. There was a hardbound copy of this book on display in a special place on a side table. He said, “I have another copy in the next room, but the one over here is a first edition, first printing. It’s in mint condition, and extremely rare.”

I took a deep breath and picked up the book. This would be my first time performing magic with a book that (I later discovered) is worth $25,000.

Instead of my usual routine, in which I handle the book, I opted to let the host hold onto the book himself. I could see he was concerned about it being used as a show prop.

He opened up the book to a random page, mentally chose any word on the page, and closed the book. Standing five paces away from him, I looked into his eyes and told him the word – “ammunition.” He and the others jumped out of their seats. It was a great moment.

After the show, I asked if it would be alright to take a photo of the book. And as you can see from the above photo, he graciously said yes.

Would you like to hear more stories like this one? I have many more to share, but don’t want to sound like I’m bragging. Let me know what you think.

The post Magic with To Kill A Mockingbird – First Edition appeared first on Chamber Magic.

Hedge fund billionaire Steven A. Cohen (shown above, with me and his charming wife Alex) has been to my show in NYC, and has also invited me to perform privately in Connecticut. We first met at an event years ago at the Pierre Hotel in New York, and have stayed in touch ever since. Steve then introduced me to Robin Hood Foundation, and arranged to have me entertain the Board of Directors at their annual luncheon. A truly amazing group.

Funny enough, I get a fair amount of “Steve Cohens” who come visit me at my Waldorf show. After the show I always do a meet-and-greet, and these fellows come up to me with a challenging tone in their voice, saying “Bet you can’t guess my name!” The moment they say that, I KNOW it must be “Steve Cohen.”

When I first began my show in 2000, my marketing budget was slim to none. I tried to think of clever ways to get people in the door without spending too much money. One of the things I did was send out advertising postcards to every “Steve Cohen” in the Manhattan telephone book! (There were several pages worth.) I figured that people are vain, and would wonder what my show was about. Sure enough, when they received the postcards, their curiosity got the best of them, and a lot of them actually showed up at once.

For completeness’ sake, here is the text of the NY Times article, by Joseph Berger:

Calling Steven Cohen. No, Not That One.

January 4, 2011, 2:38 pm

Steven M. Cohen, left, with Andrew M. Cuomo, then the attorney general, at a news conference last April. Mr. Cohen has been named secretary to Mr. Cuomo. But perhaps he is not the only Steven Cohen in the picture.

Steven Cohen is the new secretary to Gov. Andrew M. Cuomo, among his most powerful aides. So please don’t confuse him with Steve Cohen, the Memphis congressman, or Steven A. Cohen the billionaire hedge fund manager.

Or the two Steve Cohens who are experts on Israel often quoted in The New York Times and other newspapers — Steven M. Cohen at Hebrew Union College in New York and Stephen P. Cohen at the Institute for Middle East Peace and Development, also in New York.

And though they have the same middle initial, the latter should not be mistaken for the Stephen P. Cohen who is an expert on South Asian politics at the Brookings Institution. And he should not be confused with Columbia University’s Steven A. Cohen, who is director of its environmentally focused Earth Institute. Or New York University’s Stephen F. Cohen, who is a professor of Russian studies and history.

None of the above is the Steve Cohn who was a Democratic district leader in Brooklyn for many years, until he decided not to seek re-election in 2010. (His son sought his seat and lost.)

The world is filled with accomplished Steven Cohens or so it might seem when entering the realms of academia or public policy, which seem to be populated by a profusion of quotable Steven Cohens. A search of Wikipedia has articles on no less than 12 Steven or Stephen Cohens, including a wrestler, a magician and a soccer player, and not including Stephen Cohn, a composer of concert and film music.

To be one of these Steve Cohens, however, can mean wrestling with the muddles growing out of their identical or nearly identical names.

“I believe I’m the third one my wife went out with,” said the environmental Steven Cohen, who also blogs for The Huffington Post.

He also had the misfortune of ending up in the same building on Morningside Heights where the Russian studies Stephen Cohen had once lived, so he spent a good deal of time forwarding mail.

“And Google has only made it worse,” he said. “I get e-mails from people asking me about Jewish social policy or Russian politics and I refer them to the other Steve Cohens.”

This Mr. Cohen met Mr. Cuomo’s Steven M. Cohen — a former federal prosecutor — during the campaign for governor because he was asked to write position papers on energy and the environment.

“He was a very nice guy,” he said of the governor’s Steve Cohen. “There was, of course, confusion.”

Stephen Cohen, the Russian expert, recalls receiving an enveloping bear hug from Bill Clinton at a fund-raiser about six years ago because the former president wanted to consult about Middle Eastern policy and thought he was buttonholing that Stephen Cohen.

More than coincidence may explain this plethora of namesakes, and there are several Steven Cohens with the credentials to provide an analysis.

Steven M. Cohen, the professor of Jewish social policy at Hebrew Union College in Greenwich Village, pointed out that Cohen is the most common Jewish name. And Steven or Stephen was a popular name for baby boomers, adds the environmental Steven Cohen, particularly among Jewish parents wanting to brand their children with an Americanized moniker.

Those boomer Steven Cohens have now reached their 50s and 60s, an age where their reputations have been burnished.

“So it is no surprise that there are so many Steven Cohens at the peak of their careers,” said the Jewish social policy Steven Cohen.

That Steven Cohen also thinks that it should not be surprising that many professors have the name Cohen because a high proportion of Jews work in academia. The abundance of namesakes explains why so many Steven Cohens are insistent about using their middle initials.

Some might speculate that the prominence of Steven Cohens has to do with the fact that almost all Cohens are descendants of the esteemed priests — the Cohanim — that tended the Jewish temple. However, the environmental Mr. Cohen said that he is not such a descendant. His last name was given to his grandfather by an Ellis Island immigration official looking to simplify a now-obscure Eastern European name.

Not all Steven Cohens have distinguished themselves in a way that promotes pride among their doppelgängers.

Indeed, Wikipedia shows that a Stephen M. Cohen was accused by a federal court in California of fraudulently acquiring control of the domain name sex.com in 1995 — not long after he spent time in prison for bankruptcy fraud.

And other names are common enough to have generated numerous Wikipedia entries — Mark Levine, say, or Steve Ross, or John Williams, a name that includes an award-winning composer and two authors, one black and one white, who were often confused with each other.

Charles M. Newman, a professor at the Courant Institute of Mathematical Sciences at New York University and a probability expert, said, “These kinds of coincidences are not as unusual as they sometimes sound.” If Steven Cohen is a common name, then a certain percentage of them would be well known, depending on what threshold one uses for fame.

His own name, he pointed out, is relatively common. Four years ago, he found himself somewhat unnerved by opening The Times and seeing an obituary of a namesake, the editor of a literary magazine. He was relieved when he read that the literary Charles Newman had been married five times. The mathematical Charles Newman has only been married once.

Do you have a name that seems to have you coming and going? And, if so, does it bring you pride — or is it unsettling?

The post NY Times: Too Many Famous Steve Cohens! appeared first on Chamber Magic.

Billionaires, millionaires, media personalities, and other distinguished guests joined forces to support the Mercy Corps Action Center to End World Hunger on December 8, 2009 at the Magic4Mercy Benefit.

I presented a one-hour show that was well-received by business and community leaders, actors, fashion designers, and other luminaries including billionaire Steven A. Cohen, Founder of SAC Capital, and his wife Alexandra, who both served on the Honorary Committee for the event.

Other Action Center supporters in attendance were CBS News Travel Editor Peter Greenberg; Fashion Designer Malan Breton; Actor Paul Hecht; and Co-founders of the Inside Sports and Entertainment Group, Ety Rybak and Alan Baum. Proceeds from the evening, which began with a champagne reception, will benefit the Action Center, opened one year ago at 6 River Terrace in Battery Park in an interactive space designed by Edwin Schlossberg of ESI Design.

Program for Magic4Mercy charity performance

Event Venue: Mercy Corps Action Center to End World Hunger, in Battery Park, NYC

Performing a handkerchief trick for actor Paul Hecht

Me with the "other" Steve Cohen (founder of SAC Capital) and his wife Alexandra

Chatting with SAC's Steve Cohen, before the show

Welcoming the audience to Action Center

Addressing the audience at the start of the show

Performing the "boomerang card"

"Examine the silver dollar, would you?"

An enthusiastic audience during the charity performance

The post Magic4Mercy charity event recap appeared first on Chamber Magic.

Once you’ve flown on a private jet, there’s no going back. I just landed in Cancun, on a Bombadier Challenger 605. And it’s all thanks to card tricks. My flight bag is loaded with six decks of Tally-Ho cards, a purseful of antique silver dollars, one red silk hanky and two false thumbs. Try explaining that to Customs at the Mexican border.

Immigration at the private jet terminal, though, were easily swayed. My client, a billionaire oil magnate arranged for an easy arrival, and quiet mention to the chief officer helped us avoid an inspection of my other case.

Good thing too, since that case contains my magic tea kettle for the classic “Think-a-Drink” trick. If Immigration forced me to open it in front of the thirty two other guests in our group, one of the all-time greatest magic secrets would’ve been exposed. As usual, money talks, and I was ushered through with a simple nod.

My show tomorrow night is at the Rosewood Mayakoba resort – definitely near the top of the list of gorgeous places I’ve presented Chamber Magic. The show is a solid ninety minutes of magic, mindreading and storytelling. Think Mark Twain, delivering an after-dinner speech in the home of his wealthy patrons. That’s what I do, with the addition of magic tricks. Basically I’m a gun for hire, but instead of a rifle, I carry a magic wand – a nice one too. It’s custom spun from ebony, with tips made from 4,000 year old mastodon ivory tusks.

Like many other trips before this one, I’ve been invited by a high net-worth client who needs to impress a group of hard-to-impress friends. For people at the top there are not many surprises left. When everyone in your circle is super-wealthy, it becomes increasingly harder to find ways to dazzle them. That’s when they call me.

The oil magnate – or “wildcatter,” as he calls himself – sat next to me on the van ride to our resort. His mobile phone rings. It’s a colleague in Dubai who wants to talk business, a hostile takeover apparently. He deflects serious business, explaining that we just arrived in Cancun. The colleague asks if he’s come to Mexico to dig for oil. His response: “The only oil down here, John, is the tanning oil on the girls at the beach…”

Upon arrival at the resort, I’m given full celebrity treatment. The resort manager introduced me to my private butler, Luis. Apparently they’re excited to have a magician staying on property.

A private jet, a private butler and an all-expenses paid trip to the Mayan Riviera. Even if I wasn’t being handsomely paid to perform, I’d still be living out my childhood dream.

The post “Oil” magnate appeared first on Chamber Magic.

Please follow my new blog – this is the first post. I’ll be adding many observations, recommendations, and insider stories that won’t be available anywhere else. Do you want to hear about my recent performances for the Oracle of Omaha? The favorite trick of Saudi Arabia’s Crown Prince? What did one of the world’s billionaires say after my show at the United Nations? I’ll be releasing these stories, and more, over time.

I also have some opinions on luxury collectibles, art that I collect, and resorts that I’ve performed at that you should make a point of visiting. If you’re searching for unique luxury experiences, then trust the Millionaires’ Magician… I have been fortunate to have access to a world most people only dream of.

My new site, www.chambermagic.com is being released in two stages. The first was in mid October, and the second will be on Halloween. Lots of content to be added, including some terrific photos that have never been seen before. Enjoy!

-SC

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