|
 Raised
in New Jersey, but born in Brooklyn, N.Y., in 1948, Jay came from a
magic family where his grandfather mixed with all the day's greats. Jay
was onstage by the age of four for the Society of American Magicians.
Vernon was in the audience. "I'm sure I was terrible," he said
during a brief phone call from his hotel room in Charleston. At the age
of 7 he appeared on TV. In the 1970s he'd drifted to Los Angeles doing
full magic while spending more that two decades with magicians Charlie
Miller and Dai Vernon. Between times, he began studying and writing
about the history of conjuring. Jay became a scholar of subterfuge. He
loves to discuss old masters with odd sounding names like Johann Nepomuk
Hofzinger, Nate Leipzig, Max Malini, and Dai Vernon or George Devol, a
19th century riverboat gambler. He has ammassed a library of 4,000 to
5,000 books.
Jay is a renowned
sleight-of-hand artist whose one-man show Ricky Jay & His 52
Assistants was a critical and popular success, receiving the Lucille
Lortel and Obie awards. Jay has broken the record of throwing a playing
card at 195ft at 90mph in the Guinness Book of World Records. He is a
historian in the fields of deception, unusual entertainment, and
conjuring and has defined the terms of his art for The Cambridge
Guide to American Theater and the forthcoming edition of the Encyclopedia
Britannica. He is the author of the Magic Magic Book, Many Mysteries
Unraveled, Cards as Weapons, and the ongoing fine-press quarterly Jay's
Journal of Anomalies. A new edition of his acclaimed book, Learned Pigs
and Fireproof Women, was just published by Farrar, Straus and Giroux. He
has also written and hosted his own television specials for CBS, HBO,
A&E, and the BBC and soon to come on Turner Classic
Movies.
Mr. Jay established the
firm "Deceptive Practices," (Arcane knowledge on a need to
know basis.) which provides consultation for films, television, and
the stage. It has done films such as "Forrest Gump,"
"Congo," "Sneakers," and "I Love Trouble".
As an actor, Jay is the most recognizable from his roles in David
Mamet's films; House of Games, Things Change, Homicide,
and The Spanish Prisoner.
He has also appeared in Boogie Nights and the James Bond film Tomorrow
Never Dies.
Charles Earle Miller,
Born in 1909 in American, was an author and renowned expert in pure
sleight of hand magic. Known as Charlie Miller, he was particularly
noted for his cups and balls routine and also added to effects like the
egg bag.
Jay became friends with
him and Dai Vernon. I'm pretty sure that is one reason he is an
expert at the cups and balls. Don't forget Vernon was one of the
greatest card magicians of our past. I'm sure that is another reason
Ricky is so extraordinary in his card manipulation. From what I know
about the two, Jay and Vernon share the same feelings about Harry
Houdini; They don't think he was as great of a close-up conjuror as he
was an escape artist.
Jay mentioned Max
Malini more than once a story about a button:
"Max Malini
approached an impeccable attired gentleman he had never met. With
practiced panache, he swooped in front of the startled stranger, bit at
his suit coat, and emerged triumphantly with a button between his teeth.
In a flash, before the stranger could lodge a protest, Malini magically
reaffixed the button and secured a lucrative engagement in the
process."
There is a whole chapter
about this 19th century magician in his newly republished book,
Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women.
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