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Steve Cohen (magician)

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Steve Cohen
Born (1971-02-01) February 1, 1971 (age 53)
Yonkers, New York, United States
NationalityAmerican
Occupation(s)Magician, illusionist, writer, television host
Known forParlor magic performances at the Lotte New York Palace hotel
Height5 ft 8 in (173 cm)
Websitewww.chambermagic.com

Steve Cohen (born February 1, 1971) is an American magician who specializes in parlor magic. Sometimes called the "millionaires' magician", he performs regularly at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel in Manhattan and at private parties in other places.[1][2][3]

Biography

Steve Cohen was born in Yonkers, New York on February 1, 1971, and raised in Yorktown Heights and Chappaqua in the northern portion of Westchester County, New York. He attended Horace Greeley High School in Chappaqua and Cornell University, and also participated in a foreign exchange program at Waseda University in Tokyo. He is fluent in the Japanese language, and has attained Level One certification in the Japanese Language Proficiency Test. Since 1997, the Japanese magic manufacturer Tenyo Co, Ltd. has appointed Cohen to translate the instructional booklets for their international line of magic products from Japanese to English.[4]

Cohen lived in Tokyo for five years, where he worked as a society entertainer at the Park Hyatt Tokyo hotel in Shinjuku. For the last two years of his stay in Tokyo, Cohen entertained guests weekly at the New York Bar & Grill, the setting of Sofia Coppola's film Lost in Translation.[citation needed]

In 2005, HarperCollins published his first book, Win the Crowd: Unlock the Secrets of Influence, Charisma and Showmanship in which he highlights the psychological secrets of magicians and how people can use these secrets in their everyday lives.[1] The book has been translated into seven languages, including Turkish, Japanese, Spanish, Korean, and Indonesian.

Cohen holds the rank of MIMC (Member of the Inner Magic Circle) with Gold Star, awarded by The Magic Circle in London.[citation needed]

Cohen regularly presents his Chamber Magic show at the homes and events of wealthy individuals, with notable hosts including Warren Buffett, Michael Bloomberg, Barry Diller, Martha Stewart, Jack Welch, Michael Eisner, Stephen Sondheim, André Previn, Anne-Sophie Mutter, and the Crown Prince of Saudi Arabia.[1][2][5]

Cohen starred in, and as a co-executive, produced Lost Magic Decoded,[6] a two-hour documentary that premiered on the History Channel on October 18, 2012.[7]

Work

Chamber Magic

Chamber Magic has been presented by Cohen since April 2001;[8] its creative director is magician, author and positioning expert Mark Levy.[9] The show's title was inspired by the term chamber music, the intimate form of classical music typically performed in sophisticated and smaller venues. Cohen has recreated the intimacy of 19th century parlor magic performances by performing in the close quarters of a private suite. His show is strongly influenced by the Viennese magician Johann Nepomuk Hofzinser (1806–1875), the father of parlor magic, who entertained an elite audience of invited guests three or four times a week.[10] Chamber Magic shows are held five times weekly, previously in the Waldorf Astoria, now at the Lotte New York Palace Hotel, but have also been presented for public groups at The Willard InterContinental Washington (District of Columbia),[11] Beverly Wilshire Hotel (Los Angeles),[12] Drake Hotel (Chicago), Beau-Rivage (Geneva), Langham Hilton (London),[13] Four Seasons (Houston), Harvard Faculty Club (Boston), and the Ritz Carlton (San Francisco).[14]

Miracles at Midnight

In March 2009, Cohen launched a show titled Miracles at Midnight which is billed as the world's most exclusive magic show.[15] Audiences are limited to only twenty guests, and the show is held only once monthly, at midnight on the last Saturday of each month. Like Chamber Magic, this presentation also takes place in a private suite at the Waldorf Astoria.[16]

Theater of Wonder

On January 12, 2012, Cohen debuted his stage show Theater of Wonder at Carnegie Hall in New York City.[17] The two-hour solo performance was the first magic show to appear in the famous music hall in 38 years. The performance took place in the 268 seat Weill Recital Hall.

Lost Magic Decoded documentary

Cohen created, starred in and co-executive produced a two-hour television special for The History Channel, titled Lost Magic Decoded. The special premiered on October 18, 2012 to critical acclaim.[7] In Lost Magic Decoded, Cohen traveled across three continents to locate vintage magic tricks that have not been seen for hundreds of years. Amongst others, he demonstrated such classic tricks as: The Turk (a chess-playing automaton), Think-a-Drink (a kettle that pours any beverage called for),[18] the Light and Heavy Chest, the Indian rope trick, and the Bullet catch.

Confronting Magic art book

In collaboration with Assouline Publishing, Cohen released an art book in January 2021 titled Confronting Magic, a retrospective of his twenty-year public career. The book's foreword was written by film director Guillermo del Toro.[19]

Television appearances

Cohen has appeared on numerous talk show and news programs, including Late Show with David Letterman, CNN, Martha Stewart Living, CBS Sunday Morning, The History Channel, The Morning Show with Mike and Juliet, The Richard and Judy Show, and Night Talk on Bloomberg Television.

Awards

Steve Cohen was awarded the 2024 Performing Fellowship from the Academy of Magical Arts, at the Magic Castle.[20]

He has also received the 2019 Allan Slaight Sharing Wonder award[21] and the 2019 Masters Award from the Milbourne Christopher Foundation.[22]

References

  1. ^ a b c Neumeister, Larry (January 24, 2007). "NYC Magician Shares Psychological Tricks". The Washington Post.
  2. ^ a b Miller, Matthew (October 10, 2005). "Magician to the Rich". Forbes.com. Archived from the original on November 2, 2005.
  3. ^ Brunner, Jeryl (December 22, 2016). "Where Will Steve Cohen The Millionaires' Magician Take His Show Next". Forbes.com.
  4. ^ "Inventor's Profiles". TenyoWorld.
  5. ^ Lowenstein, Kate (July 4, 2007). "Sleight difference". Time Out.
  6. ^ "Lost Magic Decoded" (Press release). A+E Networks. October 4, 2012.
  7. ^ a b Genzlinger, Neil (October 17, 2012). "Now You See It: Tales of Amazing Illusions". The New York Times.
  8. ^ Kleinfield, N. R. (March 5, 2010). "Grand Illusions". The New York Times.
  9. ^ "Levy Innovation: About Mark Levy, Positioning and Branding Expert". Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  10. ^ "Johann N. Hofzinser". Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  11. ^ "Magician Steve Cohen brings night magic to Pennsylvania Ave". Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  12. ^ Wayne Kawamoto. "Steve Cohen Chamber Magic". About. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  13. ^ "review_show_one_man_jack". Archived from the original on September 25, 2014. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  14. ^ "Magician Knows the Trick to Pleasing a Crowd". Los Angeles Times. June 15, 2003. Retrieved September 25, 2014.
  15. ^ Vickers, Dodd (March 29, 2007). "Miracles at Midnight". The Magic Newswire.
  16. ^ Cox, Gordon (July 17, 2009). "Magician's 'Miracles' sells out". Variety.
  17. ^ Kreinin Souccar, Miriam (January 1, 2012). "Magician takes tricks to Carnegie Hall". Crain's New York Business.
  18. ^ "Think-a-Drink". MagicPedia.
  19. ^ "Interview: In Confronting Magic, Steve Cohen Looks Back on 20 Years as the "Millionaires' Magician"". Theatermania.com. Retrieved February 15, 2021.
  20. ^ "Hall of Fame". The Magic Castle.
  21. ^ "Sharing Wonder 2019". Magicana.
  22. ^ "2019 Milbourne Christopher Awards". PR Newswire.
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