January
A new documentary on the life and career of John Calvert, “John Calvert: An Amazing Life,” was released. After performing magic professionally for some 80 years (he was a contemporary of Thurston and Blackstone), Calvert is still touring and entertaining today and is scheduled to perform at the London Palladium on his 100th birthday. Read about it here.
In the aftermath of the Haitian disaster, David Blaine performed magic in New York's Time Square to raise money for the Red Cross. Read about it here.
Are magicians too plentiful in Las Vegas? A prominent writer discussed "Vegas Darwinism" - letting the six good magic shows in town survive and allowing the adequate ones to close. Furthermore, the writer stated, "Unless magicians can show us something we haven't seen before, we've seen enough." Early in the year, the article foresaw the turmoil in the Las Vegas magic scene. Read about it here.
March
After wondering if Disneyland would lose its magic store, the Disneyland Main Street Magic Shop reopened under new management, “Houdini's,” best known for operating tourist-oriented magic shops in Las Vegas casinos. Read about it here.
Dirk Arthur announced that after six years, he was closing his Xtreme Magic show at the Tropicana in Las Vegas. His final show was on March 12, 2010. But by year’s end, Dirk Arthur resurrected himself on the Las Vegas strip, albeit in a far smaller venue. Read about it here.
April
Rudy Coby returned to the Magic Castle stage in the special "Science vs. Magic" week. The week was one of exceptional magic entertainment. Read about it here.
May
David Letterman featured a different close-up magician each night during his "Close-up Magic Week" that included: Michael Ammar, John Carney, Steve Cohen, Johnny Ace Palmer and Jason Randall. Read about it here.
While there was lots of interest in Letterman’s “Close-up Magic Week,” readers responded to my comments about the poor magic trick performed by actor Matthew Fox. “Why are beginning magicians so over-confident?” I asked. "Fox barely got by with a poor choice of a trick," I stated in the story. "He was fortunate that he was a celebrity because an unknown magician performing such a boring trick would have died on stage...Why do beginners commonly have these out-sized expectations of their abilities?" Read about it here.
In a bit of good news coming from Las Vegas, comedy-magician Mac King celebrated 10 years of performing the "Mac King Comedy Magic Show" at Harrah's Las Vegas. Read about it here.
June
In "Australia’s Got Magic Talent," stylish and charismatic brother and sister magic act, Adam Murby and Selina Murby, dazzled the judges and audiences. The magical pair didn’t win, but they made a name for themselves. Read about it here.
There had been talk for some time that the U.S. Playing Card Company was thinking about ending gaffed versions of its popular Bicycle playing cards. Murphy's Magic Supplies announced that the new Bicycle 809 Mandolin playing cards will be used for gaffed magic cards. Read about it here.
July
A magic-themed movie, “The Sorcerer's Apprentice,” which evoked the Mickey Mouse-starred segment from Walt Disney's "Fantasia," promised whimsy, but ultimately landed in an action-packed, mindless heap. Read about it here.
August
Other than Criss Angel himself, who could have foreseen the longevity and popularity of MindFreak that launched its unprecedented sixth season on television? Read about it here.
September
After nearly 15 years and 5,000 shows, Lance Burton closed his show, "Lance Burton Master Magician," at the Monte Carlo in Las Vegas. Burton estimated that he performed for more than 5 million people and with his run at the old Hacienda, he performed a total of some 15,000 shows.
In this year’s "America's Got Talent" 2010, Michael Grasso made it past the semi-finals to achieve the highest placement of any magician who has competed on the show. The season also featured first rate performances from Murray SawChuck, Dan Sperry, Restivo and William Scott Anderson. Read about it here.
October
As a promotion, The Orlando Magic pro basketball team kicked-off its 2010 season with live magic performances at home games. Read about it here.
The BBC announced that it will feature magic in an upcoming five-week long competition between magicians that's complete with reality-show-style challenges and humiliations and a dose of celebrity. I thought that it sounded bad for magicians and magic. Read about it here.
Doug Henning was honored by the Canadian Walk of Fame. Many agree that he single-handedly revived the art of magic as theatrical entertainment and paved the way for the likes of David Copperfield, Criss Angel, David Blaine and more. Read about it here.
Teller's off-Broadway show, "Play Dead," which channels the old midnight spook shows and spiritualist seances, launched. The show stars and was co-written by Todd Robbins. Read about it here.
