World famous magician, hypnotist and illusionist David Copperfield mastered his first tricks in early childhood. At the age of 10, he was already performing in front of the public, at 12 he received a calling in the society of American magicians, and at 16 he taught the course "The Art of Magic" at New York University.
Biography
On September 16, 1956, the future famous illusionist and hypnotist was born in the town of Metachen, New Jersey. The boy was named David Seth Kotkin. In early childhood, he possessed a phenomenal memory. According to a family legend, the baby was only 4 years old when his grandfather showed a card trick, and David immediately repeated it. Parents encouraged the child's hobby, and at the age of 12 the young magician became a real professional in his field.
By the age of 16, he began teaching a course in magic at New York University and took on the pseudonym David Copperfield after one of the heroes of the popular novel by Charles Dickens. Along with his work as a teacher, David was educated at Fordham University, at the same time he starred in the leading role in the Chicago musical "The Magician", thanks to which he gained fame.
Famous wizard, TV personality, writer and cafe owner
In 1978, Copperfield was invited to the ABC channel to host The Magic of ABC. The following year, he played a supporting role in the movie "Train of Terror". Having become popular, the illusionist began performing on the CBS channel with the show "The Magic of David Copperfield". At the same time, he came up with the idea of creating large-scale illusions, and the first of these was the disappearance of the plane. Then came the flight over the Grand Canyon, the escape from the Alcatraz prison, the disappearance of the Statue of Liberty, the passage through the Great Wall of China, the trip to the Bermuda Triangle, the fall from Niagara Falls, survival in a pillar of fire, and many others.
David Copperfield is a versatile personality. He is not only an illusionist, but also a writer. Several books were published, written by him in collaboration with several science fiction writers. Copperfield opened an unusual cafe in New York, which has no waiters. A voice, sounding out of the darkness, asks the visitors what they want to taste, and then the ordered dishes appear on the tables, materializing out of thin air.
In 1982, Copperfield founded Project Magic Magic, a rehabilitation program that uses the magic of manual dexterity as a method of physical therapy. The program is accredited by the American Occupational Therapy Association and is used in hospitals around the world.
Copperfield also opened a museum dedicated to the preservation of the history and art of magic and has the largest collection of magical artifacts in the world (including the Orson Welles Peale Illusion Live Music and the Houdini Torture Chamber).
Awards
Over the course of his long career, Copperfield has collected 21 Emmy awards, won the Wizard of the Century and Millennium Wizard, a Hollywood Walk of Fame star, and the US Congress Living Legend Award (other recipients: Steven Spielberg, Martin Scorsese and Colin Powell). In addition, Copperfield was knighted by the French government.
According to Forbes magazine, David Copperfield is the richest wizard. In 2005, he made $ 57 million. By 2012, his fortune was estimated at $ 150 million, and nearly $ 3 billion worth of tickets were sold for his show.
Personal life
David Copperfield does not talk about his personal life and little is known about it. In 1993, he announced his engagement to Claudia Schiefer, but this relationship did not end with the wedding, and after 6 years the couple broke up. Then the illusionist was seen with the model Ambre Friske, but he also did not marry the beauty. It is known that Copperfield has a daughter, whose mother is Kloe Gosselin.
