By Graeme Wood, THE DAILY
On Feb. 6, 1922, 27-year-old magician Dai Vernon broke this rule before the toughest of audiences: Harry Houdini. The bold gambit was one of the most storied events in the modern history of magic. Houdini, 47, was not only the world’s most famous magician but also its most famous debunker. He bragged he could figure out any illusion he saw three times, and he repeatedly proved second and third demonstrations unnecessary. Houdini had an enviable reputation as a card manipulator, and after diversifying into escape artistry, he had begun a third career exposing so-called “spirit mediums,” conjurers and seers. Some of the conjurers used elaborate setups, but Vernon challenged Houdini with nothing more than a blue-backed deck of Aristocrat playing cards. […]
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“For the uninitiated layman, everything Steve Cohen presents in “Chamber Magic” must seem totally impossible and could easily convert anyone to believe in the paranormal.
“Other mentalists and all magicians should watch Steve carefully. Not so much for the actual effects but for his superb patter, timing and presentation. Few other entertainers are able to create the kind of intimate and mysterious atmosphere that this evening offers and, in the best show-business tradition, he leaves them wanting even more!”
–David Berglas
I was honored to receive this praise from David Berglas, one of the living legends in magic. David and his wife Ruth visited my show in London, and we’ve remained in touch over the years. A few years back, they visited New York City, and I organized a lavish luncheon in David’s honor at the Waldorf-Astoria. Here is the personalized menu from the Peacock Alley private dining room […]
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I had an uncanny out-of-body experience this week. A gentleman from England sent me his uncle’s scrapbooks from the 1930s and 40s, and they were filled with memorabilia of a famous magician who worked for 18 years at the Waldorf-Astoria hotel in New York. The magician’s name? Dr. Sydney Ross PhD.
He entertained aristocrats, dazzled celebrities, and stumped politicians – even several US presidents. For all intents and purposes, he was “The Millionaires’ Magician” of his day, and even worked in the same hotel as me!
Going through his clippings, photos and promotional material felt like I was reading about myself from the future. What a mind-trip!
According to his nephew, Dr Ross jokingly told people that his PhD was in “phinagling.” He must have been very good at it, since he was invited to entertain Franklin D Roosevelt and Eleanor Roosevelt in the White House. More on that in a moment. […]
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Way back in 2002, just a couple of years after starting up my show, CNN correspondent Jeanne Moos came to visit me at the Waldorf. She brought her camera crew and did a feature story about Chamber Magic. The show has changed a lot since then, but it’s fun to see what she found interesting enough to discuss with Anderson Cooper, Jack Cafferty and Paula Zahn, in a roundtable at the end.
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I receive at least one email per month from magicians around the world. Their notes usually begin like this:
Dear Mr. Cohen,
I am a magician in [name of town] trying to build my client base and marketing reach.
I would like to use your idea of doing parlor magic using a high end hotel as a base. Would you object if I used that approach here in [name of town]?
Any advice you can offer would be appreciated. Do I split ticket sales with the hotel? Or, does the hotel pay me a fee and take all ticket profits? Does the hotel supply drinks as a part of the show price? How long should the show be? How much should tickets be? etc. etc.
—
Before I offer an extremely rare rant (not the type of prose you’ve come to expect from me), here is my form-letter response: […]
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My friend Peter Greenberg, the travel expert for CBS television, created and narrated this Chamber Magic promo video. My 10 year old son said, “It looks like a movie preview!” Have a look, and please leave comments…
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To celebrate Father’s Day, I invited my two children, Alex (age 10) and June (age 5) to perform at the Waldorf in Chamber Magic last night. It was their debut performance, and they did an amazing job! In this post, I’ve added a photo-essay and two videos of their world-premiere.
Sharing the stage with my children was, to me, the best Father’s Day present I could ever imagine.
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Cole Porter, the beloved American songwriter, lived in several suites in The Waldorf Towers from 1934 to 1964, eventually settling on room 33A. This spacious and grand suite later became the home of Frank Sinatra. If you’ve ever visited my show in New York City, you’ve had a peek inside the Towers. The Waldorf Towers are the super-luxury, high-security, residential “hotel within a hotel” in the Waldorf-Astoria.
Cole Porter’s piano – a small mahogany Steinway with Louis XVI courtly figures – is on display in the Park Avenue cocktail terrace of The Waldorf-Astoria. If you’re a Cole Porter fan, it’s definitely […]
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Teller (of Penn & Teller) was kind enough to write an endorsement of my Waldorf-Astoria show. A few years back, he visited together with Dick Cavett. It was a great night. After the show, we talked extensively about Groucho Marx, Richiardi, and Slydini. Teller expertly performed a Slydini coin vanish, making my silver dollar disappear in the purest fashion.
Here is the full text of the quote that Teller […]
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Yoda visited Chamber Magic at the Waldorf last night.
Andy Nyman, my old friend and a truly wonderful man, brought him along. Of course, Yoda came in the form of his inventor, Frank Oz. He’s also the man behind the Muppets: Cookie Monster, Grover, Fozzie Bear, Bert, and Miss Piggy. After the show, we had drinks together at the Bull & Bear. What a thrill. During our conversation, he grunted in Cookie Monster’s voice for me, but I didn’t ask him to speak like Yoda. It just didn’t feel like the right thing to do.
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