Illusionist David Copperfield: biography, photo

2024 Author: Henry Conors | [email protected]. Last modified: 2024-02-12 02:45

To the question "Who is the greatest illusionist of our time?" probably everyone will answer “This is David Copperfield!”. The peak of his world popularity came in the 90s of the last century, but even now there is still no magician equal to him. However, few people know that the famous magician and showman chose his future path at a very young age, and his path to fame consisted of diligent and painstaking work to hone his talents.

David Copperfield: biography, photos of young years

David Seth Kotkin, as he was named at birth, was born on September 16, 1956 in the small town of Metachen, New Jersey. He was the only child of a Jewish clothing store owner, Hyman Kotkin, and his wife, Rebecca, an insurance agent. A huge influence on the choice of David's future profession was made by his grandfather, by the way, an emigrant from the USSR, he showed his grandson card tricks when little Kotkin became completely bored while studying the Torah. And the boy successfully repeated them, because he had a uniquememory, and already at the age of seven he proudly demonstrated tricks of his own composition in the local synagogue. His first amateur performances caused great delight among the audience, and even then the future great illusionist David Copperfield decided that he simply had to become famous.

Strong steps to success

The novice magician at a very early age began to educate himself, seeking out and studying all possible treatises on magic. He bought a wide variety of equipment for his tricks, but often he himself was engaged in the construction of the elements he needed. Already at the age of twelve, David was considered a professional illusionist, which could be considered a simply fantastic achievement, and became the youngest member of the "American Society of Magicians". At that time, he performed under his first pseudonym "Davino". At only sixteen, David was invited to New York University to teach practical courses to students in magic, manipulation, and drama. In 1974, a talented illusionist decided to continue his studies and entered Fordham University. At the same time, he decided to change his pseudonym to a more sonorous and mysterious one, and the novel by Charles Dickens turned out to be a weighty argument in this matter. However, David was always attracted not only by the path of a magician, but also by promising show business, so he did not refuse the main role in the Chicago musical "The Magician", which as a result became very popular on the theater stage for a very long time. That is why David Copperfieldleft school for a career, settled in New York and actively sought work as an illusionist.

Prelude to world fame

In 1978, a well-known American TV channel became interested in a promising and talented guy and offered him to become the main face of a show called Magic on ABC. Hosted by David Copperfield. The biography of the young wizard at that moment swerved sharply towards the charismatic showman. The transfer served as a kind of springboard in achieving his goal: "Become the greatest magician." David's amazing artistry even brought him a film role, albeit a minor one. In 1979, the film "Train of Terror" was released, which only contributed to the growth of the popularity of the aspiring star.

Goal achieved

But that was just a prelude to his glory hour. Another American TV channel, CBS, decided to lure a talented artist over to him and offered him to host his own show, setting the illusionist the task of attracting a millionth audience. This is how the “Magic of David Copperfield” appeared, which made his name famous not only in the United States, but also in all corners of the globe. David did the impossible by making the plane disappear in front of millions of viewers. The next large-scale illusion was the disappearance of the Statue of Liberty in the presence of spectators. Further more. The magician went through the Great Wall of China, flew over the Grand Canyon, got out of Alcatraz, fell from Niagara Falls, "stole" the Orient Express, got tothe Bermuda Triangle, explored a haunted house and even survived a pillar of fire. These grandiose performances were managed by a single person - David Copperfield. Photos of the greatest showman and illusionist of his time in the 90s adorned all the most prestigious print media, because then only the lazy did not talk about the great magician. Many of his illusions were so complex and incredible that they could only be declassified after a long time, and not all of them.

Present

After the surging unprecedented success, the magician did not rest on his laurels, despite the fact that in the first years of the show he managed to earn more than 50 million dollars, which was not a dream of any of the great illusionists. In total, Copperfield created fifteen editions of his program. David continued to work actively, touring all over the world, and sometimes even played several concerts a day, almost 48 weeks a year. Among other things, the showman owns his own management company. He also published several books in collaboration with other writers, collected his own magical library, and opened a museum of props for illusionists of the past. This most talented person even approached the restaurant business from an unusual angle, opening a personalized specialized cafe in New York. The feature of this institution is the absence of attendants, and the dishes ordered by visitors materialize directly from the air. Like many other celebrities, Copperfield is engaged incharity, but again quite unusual. David created a program to help people with disabilities develop manual dexterity. Now he has a contract with one of the best casinos in Las Vegas, where the illusionist shows his new show.

David Copperfield: private life is classified

It wasn't always like this. In the 90s, the magician had an affair with the famous model Claudia Schiffer, who even starred in his program. The couple was even engaged, but after six years of relationship, they broke up in 1999. Evil tongues claim that this novel was just a screen hiding David's real personal life, but there is no reliable information on this. After Schiffer, the illusionist met with another fashion model named Ambre Friske, but again it did not come to marriage. Copperfield does not change his passions and his next passion was the designer and supermodel Chloe Gosselin, whom the showman hid from prying eyes for a long time and who nevertheless became his wife. In 2011, it became known that the couple already have a one-year-old daughter named Sky.