How you doing?

Pretty good, ready to do an interview?

I am.

Are you in California today?

Yes.

How are the shows?

Really good. Sold out. Very good. San Luis Obispo.

Have you ever done a show in Montana before?

I think so. Missoula I think.

How long ago was that?

I can’t remember exactly.

What can people expect from your show?

This show is about people’s dreams. It’s all about dreams, ‘cause people don’t dream about pulling rabbits out of hats or people don’t dream about making the Statue of Liberty disappear unless their me. People dream about winning the lottery for example. So I show you how it’s possible to win the lottery. So, that’s pretty good to know. People dream of traveling around the world, so I’ve got a team in Hawaii and people will disappear off the stage and reappear on that beach in Hawaii and you’ll see them on satellite feed with proof for people in the audience. Pretty cool stuff.

I was reading your bio and regardless of what field you’re in, it’s strange to see “12-year-old” and “professional” in the same sentence. What kind of performances did you do at that age?

I did shows for the other kids. I was also inventing magic. I was published in a number of encyclopedias, inventions that I created as a very young kid. It came very easy, let’s put it that way. I was teaching when I was 16, at NYU. It felt comfortable. It felt right, so that’s what I kept doing.

What is your earliest memory as a magician? What was the first thing you remember ever pulling off?

I made my teacher disappear, so I was very popular.

What age was that?

Ten.

How’d you make him disappear?

She had to come back to give me a grade.

Who were your idols growing up?

Magicians. People like Orson Welles. Walt Disney. People like that. Film directors who could take their art form and moving forward a little bit, breaking new ground and I try to do the same thing with my magic.

Why magic? When you were at that young age, why did it click in your head that magic was what you enjoyed and what you wanted to do?

I’m not sure. I think we all search for things. I just kind of fell into it. I discovered I was a ventriloquist too, a bad ventriloquist. Nobody could tell which one was the dummy.

I remember watching the Statue of Liberty special and just like everybody else was dumfounded by it. How do you ultimately come up with the ideas and goals of like making airplanes disappear and walking through the Great Wall?

At that point in my career, I was doing bigger than bigger stuff. Statues would disappear. Walking, or floating over the Grand Canyon. That was kind of the theme of what I was doing at that time. That started because I vanished an airplane to go one step beyond what other people had done and it got such an amazing response that I started that as a way of doing it. But that’s changed. I’ve found that things can be large in size emotionally if it touches people. That’s why I’ve done things with dreams.

What are some ideas that you had that were eventually scratched that you thought, ‘I’m not going to go there?’
Nothing yet. Everything’s still in the hopper.

Everything’s fair game?

Yes.

What do you think of some of the younger illusionists, like David Blaine and the things that he’s doing?

I like it. It’s different. Different from what I’m doing, sort of. As long as it’s new territory, it’s good. We do different things. He doesn’t sell any tickets. He doesn’t do shows. It’s cool. I like him.

What’s the greatest reaction that you’ve ever gotten from a stunt or a trick?

Let’s see. I guess it happens every night (laughs). I don’t know what to tell you. To watch people be very disarmed is very gratifying.

You mentioned earlier about sending somebody to Hawaii and things like that. Is that something that you do every night at the show?

Every night for every show.

Do you pretty much get the same reaction every time?

It ranges. People freak out. People start crying. It’s very emotional. The person’s feelings get very involved. It’s like seeing a movie, but three dimension and live.

Have you ever had an encounter where you freaked someone out so bad that they were scared of you?

Not scared. I don’t know really. You’d have to ask them. I don’t know.

You’ve never had someone running away screaming?

I’ve had a few things like that, but nothing I can really discuss. Some very strange. I guess it depends on the nationality of the person. Some freak out a little bit more than others.

When it’s all said and done, what is your ultimate goal professionally in doing what you do?

To move people, not just amaze them. To really take them on a journey. To touch people with magic. It works. They laugh, they cry, they feel all kinds of emotions that they’ve never felt before in the theater. Especially for magic shows. It’s been pretty rewarding.

When every thing is done with, 100 years from now, how do you think people will explain your actions to future generations?

Hopefully they’ll say ‘he’s still not dead.’ That’ll be the best thing.

What are some of your other interests? What do you do when you’re just hanging out at home?

I have some pretty cool hobbies. I collect and restore arcade machines from the turn of the century. Fortune tellers and strength tests. Hundred year old things that you find in Coney Island arcades and stuff. I’ve got a whole floor of my apartment in New York dedicated to 150 of those machines.

I hope you’re ready for some cold air. It’s already snowed here.

Thanks for the warning.

David, I appreciate the conversation.

My pleasure man.

Have a good one.

Thanks.