| An Interview with David Copperfield, Magician |
Toronto Star Wheels - 5/12/07 | |
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Who knew that almost getting crushed by a Ferrari could be good for one’s career?
Certainly not magician David Copperfield. When his Floating Ferrari illusion went awry during a show and the convertible he’d been levitating suddenly dropped to the ground, he considered himself just lucky to be alive. “It was a lucky incident in the |
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sense that a few minutes later I would have been underneath it. I would have actually walked beneath the floating car and if I did it would have fallen on me and I would have disappeared.,” explains Copperfield.
“Normally I have a Plan B and a Plan C for things but I didn’t, and that was the ending of the show, -with the illusion not functioning correctly. It was pretty embarrassing at the time.” Embarrassing maybe, but it turned out that Ferrari faux pas had a positive effect on ticket sales as more people came out to the then-fledgling entertainer’s shows, possibly “to see me screw up. Everybody appreciated the fact that mistakes happen and you might come to find something interesting in the show.” While there haven’t been any more crashing cars since that Tahoe show in the early 1980’s there certainly have been other vehicles in his act; either floating, vanishing, transporting, or suddenly being conjured up out of thin air. “Nobody dreams about pulling a rabbit out of a hat, but everybody dreams of having the perfect car, or perfect motorcycle, so that’s what we do”, says Copperfield of the vehicles that are an integral part of his latest show: An Intimate Evening of Grand Illusion. Speaking via telephone from Nevada, the 5o-year old Emmy award-winning entertainer is preparing to, yet again, load up five tractor-trailers worth of gear and take his show on the road. His shows at Ontario’s Casino Rama, starting May 11th, are just a few of the over 500 he’ll do this year. Performing professionally since the age of 12, many of his illusion have featured a motorcycle that magically vanishes while suspended high above the stage only to reappear amidst the audience, or have beautiful women appear in its stead. Then there are the dramatic entrances with Copperfield suddenly appearing atop a gleaming (classic) Harley-Davidson. “It’s a softail custom. I just love the shape of it, the form, it’s an American vehicle. It’s something that people really relate to. It’s more than just a prop in the show, it’s a statement about freedom, dreams. I’m very passionate about it.” The magician also speaks passionately about an illusion in his current show called “the Lottery”, which culminates with the startling appearance of a green 1948 Lincoln Continental convertible; a car Copperfield’s grandfather apparently could not afford but long dreamed of buying with lottery winnings. “My grandfather always wanted that car and he never got it and I kind of make his dream come true by making that car appear as I look up in heaven every night in the show. My relationship wasn’t the greatest with him towards the end and this is my way of making things right with him and making his dream come true night after night.” Not above a little name-dropping, Copperfield offers that Warren Beatty admired the vintage Lincoln when he recently brought his family, including wife Annette Bening, to Copperfield’s Las Vegas show. “When Beatty came backstage he said when he was a kid that was the car. Something about the form of it, the shape of it, the whole essence of it, was inspiring to him as a kid. It was kind of cool to hear.” Despite the presence of the Lincoln and the Harley in his shows, there’s some question about the status of Copperfield’s own driver’s licence. Asked whether he actually possesses a licence, the master magician chuckles and tries a little verbal slight-of-hand. “Sometimes…depends what country. No comment, I’ll get myself into trouble.” Obviously there’s no sense in pressing the issue, especially knowing that in the event of a problem the man could just simply make the whole matter disappear. “You want to see my licence for this motorcycle, Officer?” Poof! “Motorcycle? What motorcycle?” |