Talk:Criss Angel/Archive 2

This is an archive of past discussions about Criss Angel. Do not edit the contents of this page. If you wish to start a new discussion or revive an old one, please do so on the current talk page.

Archive 1

Archive 2

Archive 3

magic

i've read most of the stuff on the discussion page. it's kinda funny. first, i am not really a chris angel fan. that said, i find it funny how many people here are making comments about angel being a fake and how all his tricks are fake. bad new folks. ALL MAGICIANS ARE FAKE. this guy is just trying to do his job. there is no real magic. angel, houdini, copperfield, blaine. none of them do real magic. i'm worried that there are people out there that think a man can really walk on air. angel himself acknowledges that magic isn't real. why can't it just be fun to watch? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Wellcraft11 (talk • contribs) 16:27, 7 December 2008 (UTC)

Estedica

Estedica is not a word.

"He will be in estedica for the entire movie. Mandrake will start shooting in March of this year."

It's not a word. yes it is! it means death

personal Info

Why is Criss's birth name still up there[im an idiot]? It has been asked several times that it be removed as he goes by, and everyone knows him as,Criss Angel, and nothing else. It needs to be removed. - ImxSoxRad 17:11, 7 July 2006 (UTC)

I agree, Criss does not want his personal info ou, so we must respect his privacy.--Happycat93 18:04, 7 July 2006 (UTC)Happycat93

He is a public figure, and there's no compelling reason not to include his relevant biographical info.—Wasabe3543 08:44, 10 July 2006 (UTC)

How ridiculous. Chris Sarantakos, I mean "Criss Angel", doesn't get to choose what information can be put in his Wikipedia article. What next, removing his birthdate because he's sensitive about how old he is? 172.151.102.217 22:19, 9 August 2006 (UTC)

agreed. he is a public figure. if he doesn't like his info out there then he needs get out of the public and enjoy his privacy in private.

What an amazingly pretentious thing to say for somebody who claims to not want himself to overshadow his work. Wikipedia's rules are quite clear on what's allowed and not allowed for articles about living people, and basic verifiable information (such as DoB and birth name) are completely allowed, and can't be censored for such a silly reason. Prgrmr@wrk 01:46, 3 April 2007 (UTC)

"It has been asked"*. Who asked? And what made those people who asked "better"? So what if "everyone knows him as ..."? Encyclopedias are about FACTS, not FICTION. And EVEN IF someone legally changes names, an encyclopedia should STILL give the FACTS about their birth names. So who cares if "Maurice J. Micklewhite" is much less known as "Michael Caine"? Or "Thomas Cruise Mapother IV" than "Tom Cruise"? Or "Marion Michael Morrison" than "John Wayne"? This is an ENCYCLOPEDIA. This is about FACTS. NOT about what people WANT to believe or what people SEE.

Exactly. Wikipedia is not in charge of PR for Criss Angel. I wouldn't rely on a thing I found in Wikipedia if I knew it had been vetted by the person or persons mentioned in the article. 63.3.10.130 16:01, 21 August 2007 (UTC)Wrightelz

Signing talk pages

Can the editors commenting on this page please start signing their comments by typing four tildes ~~~~. It is impossible to work out who said what. Thanks. Sarah Ewart (Talk) 09:19, 16 July 2006 (UTC)

I removed the sentence that said he was gay because he is not. he has a girl in the show.

- And someone who has a girl in the show can't be gay? So a heterosexual individual who has a same-sex partner in a show or something is gay? Are you kidding? Please let's stick to facts here. I have very little knowledge about Criss Angel, so I won't make any remarks as to his sexual preferences. At the same time removing a remark about someone and only giving "I removed the sentence that said he was gay because he is not. he has a girl in the show." as an explanation might be just as short-sighted as the person who originally posted that. Come on, if you are so concerned, then give some more than that. A guy is nice to another guy, so he's gay? A guy says something nice to a girl, so he's not gay? Funny, there are lots of confirmed gay guys who give women the nicest compliments and really mean it. So, even though they openly admit to being gay, that means they are not? As for leaving the tildes... sure, I'll leave them. The only reason I do not use my Wiki-account anymore is that I'm tired of the fights. Under my Wiki-account, I made a LOT of contributions. Now, I only make contributions whenever I feel like it, but, to avoid fights, I make them anonymously. I have better things to do than start flame wars on the internet. 67.8.85.101 02:53, 3 May 2007 (UTC)

- - One more thing before I move on: Use your common sense. That's one of the reasons that I, a big contributor to Wikipedia, left, only to post occasionally and anonymously. You see two guys together somewhere, anywhere, and you conclude they are gay? You see a guy and a girl somewhere, anywhere, and you conclude they are not gay? VERY narrow-minded. 67.8.85.101 02:57, 3 May 2007 (UTC)

Boundaries and the Impossible

It looks to me like the exposing Masked Magician brought about a change in TV conjuring. Magic, thanks to Blaine and Angel, is now "in your face" out in the streets where it began, without all the glitter, dancing babes, and mysterious boxes. Some call it reality TV. The TV conjuring of Criss Angel, David Copperfield, Blaine, and others brings up an interesting question. When one entertains using the art of deception on TV can the limit and tricks of the camera or anything else be used to the conjuror's advantage? Aren't the rules to the art of deception, there are no rules? Is magic supposed to be fair? Since when? Informed conjurors know the great Theodore Annemann declared it is only the effect, the prestige, the sense of wonder that is important; not the method with which it is accomplished. The spectator and the average magician doesn't really know how clever conjurors' methods are, he isn't aware of all the subtleties, the sophisticated intricate cancelling out of multiple methods employed to put him in that situation which he perceives as "impossible". Check out James Randi's classic Project Alpha and you will see exactly what I am talking about. Here we deal with proud uninformed scientists. User:Kazuba 26 Jul 06 THis isn't really the place to be discussing the merits of camera tricks in magic. I would suggest a forum for magicians. Magicbunny.com is pretty good. This eassay I believe covers everytthing that needs covering and can also act as citation for the the criticism section http://www.online-visions.com/michaeljay/0604fx.html Schnizzle 16:08, 3 January 2007 (UTC)

false, undocumented accusations

In the "legitimacy" section, I'm seeing some disturbing stuff: Between the weaselly and undocumented accusations "Many viewers and critics allege..." and "This has caused controversy among fellow magicians." an editor added-> The accusations are not false: The proof is on youtube, showing how he uses "DIGITAL COMPOSITING" to do his bike jump, walking up walls, levitations, etc. The helicopter is digitally removed, and replaced with a looping shot of clouds. His show is nothing but edits, and computer generated tricks. I also saw the leg reverse. The stooges he uses are countless. Also, the great "IMPLOSION" stunt. It was advertised as a "LIVE" demonstration. Then, he used a PRE-RECORDED tape while he exited the building. How embarrassing when minutes after the show aired, FOX13 news disclosed how he did the trick. He actually stole this trick from David Copperfield who did it 15 years ago, and also used a pre-recorded tape. "An example supporting this accusation can be seen on an episode of Mindfreak, during an on-the-street levitation: spectators are asked to hold a woman horizontally, and she crosses her legs right-over-left and hands left-over-right, and is held rigidly that way. After Angel says “very slowly, remove your hands,” there is a cut to a different view, and suddenly the woman’s legs and hands are now reversed, left-over-right and right-over-left despite people holding her feet and shoulders the whole time, pointing to the possibility that wires were attached during the cut and that the spectators are actually actors."

Unfortunately, this is terribly false. I'm assuming the editor is speaking of Episode 2 of season 1 (he fails to cite the source) in which the "featured" illusion was the levitation of an audience member in the street. I have the episode in front of me and i say and repeat: From the lifting of the lady to the letting her float, there are no camera cuts. Where this whole "leg and arm crossing" thing comes from, I can only guess secondhand anecdotal evidence of dubious pedigree.

UPDATE: Bah. Why do i have to do the skeptics' job for them? :) The video in question is: http://www.crissangel.com/data/generic_site/crissangel/video/2003/tslevi.htm And yes, she's being held up by people, then we jump to the other side, and the legs are switched. However, I'm not convinced that this example alone warrants the removed paragraphed as typed; It gives the impression that there's more strength to the "critics" than can be shown. What's remains in the "legitimacy" section (Many viewers and critics allege that Angel uses camera special effects, post-production effects, forced viewing angles, and assistants acting as amazed spectators for the TV audience. Many magicians who perform magic without camera tricks resent these methods while others simply see them as modern tools of magic on television) should suffice.

I left in the weaselly "Many viewers and critics allege..." but took out the even worse "This has caused controversy among fellow magicians."

By the way, someone please nuke the section above (Boundaries and the Impossible) and below (The Cameras): They're pointless. 68.116.93.138 11:39, 28 November 2006 (UTC)

Can you all quit attacking each other, its pointless! Nikkicontraband (talk) 04:20, 20 December 2008 (UTC)

The Cameras

Why exactly can't he have one camera from one angle recording his whole act? They always have to switch angles or go to the audience or something. Because it's all fake and the audience is fake.

Has anyone here seen this guy CLOSE UP doing his stuff? No. Thank you.

I have seen him close up and in person at the Hard Rock in Vegas in the spring of '06. He is the world's greatest illusionist. I stood right there and watched him perform his "magic". The people were "real"...I talked to them later.

Actually, yeah, we have. Several of his stunts on Mindfreak are shown with a single camera angle, regular people are standing all around him, and people see his live shows, where he does alot of the same stunts. {Great logic you've got there--he's faking everything on TV, yet when he does the exact same stunts onstage, he's not faking? And no s*** it's not real; if you think magic is real to begin with, you're a frightening individual.}

Umm I agree with the first person... most of his stuff is camera tricks - not much "magic" to it. Really easy to edit the video and make it look like "magic". People call his tricks illusions

Wow. I just read your post, but all it said in my eyes was, "DUUUUUUH".

First off, he has virtually no say in what gets done with his show after it's filmed.

BS dude if you look at the credits he is the executive producer, editor, and creator of the show lol

Second, as I stated before, he has done alot of the tricks he does on TV in his live stage shows. Where people see him perform the tricks in person. Right in front of their damn faces.

Third, how come if David Blaine were to do the exact same tricks, no one here would call him a phony? Is this whole thing merely because Angel's relatively recent?

-Performing a levitation on a stage, or a vanish on a stage, or a vertical walk up a wall on stage, is a lot easier to do it on a stage, for technical reasons. This does not prove what he does outside is all true.

Another thing we have to take into account is that there are clear examples of him using camera tricks. (http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Qb_fTGasypI one example, http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=vFvetRFj7A0 how he levitates, youtube shows many more)86.140.48.102 07:29, 8 June 2007 (UTC)

I see no concrete proof of it being a camera trick. Again: HE HAS LITTLE TO NO SAY IN WHAT GETS USED ON THE SHOW. Okay, it shows you how he does SIMPLE levitation. Now explain how he floated from one building to another in broad daylight with nothing above or below him, above a crowd of ordinary people. Explain how he recently levitated above the pyramid in Las Vegas. Oh, what's that? You can't? Thought so. It's shown on youtube how he levitated from buildind to building. He was suspended by a helicopter, 140 feet above. With "DIGITAL COMPOSITING", the copter was replaced by clouds. It also shows two different landings on the roof, one with his legs bent, another straight. Shadows disappear from one shot to the next. It was pieced together. Also watch the bike jump. Two different shots put together. The jump and then the explosion, composited. The proof is, the explosion lit up the 37 story building behind it, but not the bike. The jump and the explosion were digitally put together. He has all the say what is done with the tape after it's shot.

Again, I'd bet anything that if David Blaine, whom I hate for being a performer of forbidden alchemy, were to do these same stunts, you'd support him all the way. >_> You're probably all targetting Criss because he's the newest guy. He's not the new guy, just the ONLY guy who has to do his magic with computers. He can fool the general public, but not those experienced in VIDEO production.

Let me guess--is he faking every serious injury he gets from his stunts too? I believe he is: Why did his feet bleed only after he walked on the LAST screw driver. After the steamroller farce, done with a hole dug and laying on probably a matress, was there so little blood. The car hitting him through the brick wall was "digital compositing, two seperated shots, proven by the car changeing length as it went through the wall. The bike jump was TWO SEPERATE SHOTS, proven by the building lighting up from the explosion, but not the bike. All of his impossible stunts, ARE IMPOSSIBLE, done with computers. To say he is a fake, fraud and con artist is putting it mildly.

-

Season 1 was at least was full of "illusions" created through editing and digital trickering of the image. Kinda lame in my opinion, as they are not "real" illusions at that point anymore. This is not to say that he would be unable to perform real illusions, as he does the on his live shows.

For example watch the scene where he walks up and down a small white building. This trick is traditionally achieved with very narrow wires, attached to a structure at the top. But there is no structure that the wires could be attached to. Well... There IS a camera up there pointing downwards, because the footage cuts to that camera every once in a while. We see Criss from upwards, from a camera which is 1-3 feet off from the roof. And yet that camera isn't visible on any other cameras, even if it should be.

The only logical explanation is that they digitally removed the structure that was holding both the camera and the wires. The other explanation is that Mindfreak is shot with invisible cameras that can float in the air, but I don't find that explanation believable.

Tuukka Tiensuu

-

If you think its fake then how do you explain all the random people who watch it? You cannot camera edit that. The tricks are real enogh so that all those people that surround the entire magic tricks believe them. So you could argue back by saying they are all payed to act surprised. Yea, like the producers would spend that much money on these thousands of random viewers and like they could trust them to keep it a secret. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 222.155.205.63 (talk) 02:14, 7 December 2008 (UTC)

Here is an explanation of the crowds for you...... What crowds???? Its mostly a small group of people. Why did he levitate inside the Luxor lobby very late at night when there hotel was empty? Why not do it in front of a large crowd during the day? Why levitate from building to building in front of 6 people? Why not do it across the vegas strip or in front of a large crowd to prove it legit? The answer is simple.. the small groups are in on the camera tricks on and are acting. They don't have to be paid... if you were a tourist in Vegas and Criss Angel asked you to be part of the show and act amazed...YOU WOULD or you wouldn't be on tv. If you want to make it to air you have to sign a release agreeing not to tell it was faked.

The Pryamid levitation was a legit live performance. Some of the stuff he does is but MOST of it is all camera tricks. Check out this clip and you'll see how he did the building implosion escape. They show PROOF of Camera edits here... http://uk.youtube.com/watch?v=CYKbnC6O2os

Now here is a question for you.... if he can do all this levitation stuff on the street in broad daylight in front of people and is so legit then why can't he do it on stage in his live show that all the critics say sucks? For the first few weeks of the show everyone talked of how the can see the wires. He can hide wires in broad daylight without camera tricks but can't hide them in a theater where he can control the lighting??? How can he vanish on TV no problem but everyone who sees the live show can see all the trap doors each time he vanishes? The answer is very simple...CAMERA TRICKS are used on MindFreak but not on the live stage! He can't do live what he does on television. DannyDunn —Preceding undated comment was added at 03:24, 7 December 2008 (UTC).

Expose

Sarah, I am confussed why my addin to external link of criss's levitation keeps being removed? Am I missing something here (please don't flame me, I think it has relevance to the article)70.160.240.103 02:20, 4 August 2006 (UTC) otherjohn

Hi John, I don't think the link meets External link guidelines. Also, I feel that labelling it "Criss Angel shows how he performs his levitation" implies it is an official site or somehow approved of by Criss and from what I can see it is not. It seems, in fact, to be a site containing the opinion of someone watching and attempting to deconstruct Angel's magic. Is it your website? Sarah Ewart (Talk) 02:33, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

Thanks for explaining it. I admit, I didn't read the Eternal Link Guidelines and should have done that first. Now what about writing an addon to the article about public controversy on Criss and his acts (how he seems to move away from performing illusions and into fooling that he himself has powers). That's covering different points of views. The article seems to be very one sided and from a fan based only. -just my 2 cents otherjohn --70.160.240.103 03:16, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

You are welcome to add a "controversy section" to the article if you wish. It is important to make sure edits are of a neutral point of view, do not contain your personal opinion and are verifiable. If you'd like more information, the relevant policies are WP:NPOV, WP:V and WP:OR. Sarah Ewart (Talk) 03:54, 4 August 2006 (UTC)

Discography table?

I thought the Discography section might look more organized in a table, so I created one and put it on my user page here. I thought I'd get the opinions of those who edit this article first, rather than adding it right away, but if you'd like to use it you can copy the code straight from my page. I'm not fantastic with tables, though, so someone else might be able to do a better one. There are some examples of discographies with images under WikiProject Albums: Discography. —Helfaery 07:37, 10 August 2006 (UTC)

Hey Helfaery, well, no one has raised any objection in the last week, so I reckon you should put it into the article and we can see how it looks. If people decide they don't like it, it can always be removed. Personally, I think it looks good, though it's hard to tell when it's on a page on its own. Sarah Ewart (Talk) 04:33, 17 August 2006 (UTC)

I'm in the process of putting it up now. The table is in; now I'm updating it with the information added since I created the table (in case anyone is wondering where it went). —Helfaery 21:01, 19 August 2006 (UTC)

Criss Angel Exposed in Clearwater Beach, FL : [1] —Preceding unsigned comment added by Proedgebiker (talk • contribs) 18:41, 1 August 2008 (UTC)

1.1 Legitimacy

The above doesn't cite its sources, nor does it seem NPOV. Am I wrong? --Balcerzak 15:19, 4 September 2006 (UTC)Balcerzak

Thanks, I've removed it. Please feel free to delete anything like that in future; it is considered vandalism. Cheers, Sarah Ewart (Talk) 15:27, 4 September 2006 (UTC)

It amazes me that he gets away with these camera tricks. The edits are so obvious, and not even well done. The girl appearing in the bag at the Military site. Notice, in the rear shot, his hands are far apart..They cut to the front shot, his hands are together. During this "EDIT", they place a mirror behind the little platform, making it appear you can still see under it. The girl simply hides behind it and comes up through the bag. Throwing cards at the bus windshield. He spreads out the cards and asks her (Accomplice) if the card is still there. Notice the slight change in his hands between shots. During this "EDIT", the chosen card is place on top. The force of the deck causes the top card, coated with wax to stick to the glass. Then, they don't even show him getting off the bus..Wonder how the card got outside.DUHHHH Same thing with the chain around his neck, the manhole cover that he rolls up. ETC. ETC. ETC. It just shows how gullible people are. If I was a REAL magician, i'd be insulted by his mockery of the trade. His magic is "VIDEO EFFECTS". PHONY in the dictionary should be defined as Criss Angel.

Has the statement "Angel often claims that several of the levitations, teleports and demonstrations of telekinesis he performs are done through the power of the mind, body and spirit attained through meditation" been verified? He puts out DVD's on how to accomplish some of his tricks, including the levitation trick. Many of his stunts, though, do require extreme mental and physical stresses which would be aided by meditative techniques... 68.148.121.132 03:19, 6 December 2006 (UTC)

I renamed this section to "Career in Magic and Entertainment" because it does not discuss the legitimacy of his work at all. It's more biographical in nature than an analysis of the validity of his magic. Anyhow, calling it "Legitimacy" implies that his work is in anyway "illegitimate" (and there is need to prove otherwise), which doesn't really make sense from a technical point of view. Magic may be a form of entertainment that is based on illusion, but all of his "illusions" are in fact performed and exist, making his work by definition, "legitimate". Whether or not his stunts are REAL or not, is another question, and does not really make him an "illegitimate" performer (performer is the keyword here). Magic is not meant to be real, I'm pretty sure even Criss knows this; his career, however, is legitimate, the same way any performer's is. Also, if someone has a better wording than "Magic and Entertainment", please fix. -- 24.203.151.126 22:28, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

Inaccurate References

I removed the Vegas blog (which is, not surprisingly, ad driven) link because it briefly mentions rumors of Angel in Vegas and didn't confirm any of the statements in the article about Angel's actual contract (basically its a spam link). I also revised the massive spin someone placed in the article using unrelated references. In the article cited, there's no mention of Penn Jillette, and the only real mention of a challenge is one that Blaine extended to him, that Angel never accepted. Seems like a few fans are trying to spin this as a less-famous Angel dropping challenges that Blaine won't accept, when the same articles cited prove the exact opposite.

Camera tricks, etc

The article says "Many viewers and critics allege that Angel uses camera special effects, post-production effects, forced viewing angles, and assistants acting as amazed spectators for the TV audience." Isn't this obvious? In one show, even I saw two cases of the use of camera tricks. Bubba73 (talk), 18:53, 5 December 2006 (UTC)

Not as obvious. I don't know what it's like with most of his tricks, but I caught an impromptu performance when my husband and I were in Vegas as we were coming out of Carrot Top's show (I even had to sign a release). Everything was performed live when I was there, and I was truly shocked and surprised (it's a trick that might be in season 3 -- producer has yet to tell me when it's going to air). I can tell you from my experience, it's live. Scoop 20:21, 1 January 2007 (UTC) ScoopPC11

Some of the "tricks" or whatever you want to call them might be live. But ask yourself - what is art and magic and what is "making money" ? Let me put it this way: Cheap tricks for a lot of money - not better or worse than cheap music, cheap design and a bad kind of cultural consumption (loss ?). PS: The one with the amputee i hate most :-|

It's magic when the performer isn't using the obvious tricks, like video manipulation, audience plants, or amputees. If they are using a "cheat" like that, they're just a performer, not a magician. I know it's not real, and I expect fiction, but it's rude to outright lie to the audience. Prgrmr@wrk 06:21, 11 March 2007 (UTC)

He does use some camera tricks. On the opening on one of his episodes he said he won't be using any camera tricks at all throughout the episode.64.178.154.131 22:27, 16 March 2007 (UTC)

Money? I know he makes money from the show, but I thought his audience was always able to watch for free. That's the impression I got from the show, anyway.. Mathew Williams 10:40, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

Provocateur

From my understanding, a provocateur is a sort of sleeper cell, causing unrest within a group, usually politically. So why is Criss Angel being labeled one? He is a television magician and ocasionally a musician, not a political agent. If I'm wrong I'm open to correction, but if I'm right i'm removing the mention. Anton1234 06:34, 25 February 2007 (UTC)

Deleted for now… (diff) — atchius (msg) 04:12, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

Thanks. If anyone has any information or sources confirming Mr. Angel's supposed "provocateuring", discuss it here before adding it to the page. Anton1234 21:59, 27 February 2007 (UTC)

He describes himself as a provocateur, despite the original meaning of the word. A source of this description can be found on the radio show Loveline during the October 19, 2005 episode. I'm sure it could be found in more viable alternative sources as well. --MadameArsenic (talk) 16:41, 19 December 2008 (UTC)

I would think the word would be used in the sense that he is causing unrest within the traditional magicians group 76.201.111.201 18:39, 28 August 2007 (UTC)

CSI guest appearance

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Criss_Angel#Career_as_an_Illusionist talks about an episode of "CSI" -- I saw most of it, but missed the last 15 minutes. Does anyone know how it ended, i.e. was he being framed, or was Criss Angel actually okay with portraying a murderer? :-\ 199.214.27.11 18:23, 21 March 2007 (UTC)

Although I don't know I have to ask why you thought this would in any way be a good place for asking? Dad?

Why does everyone criticize him?

Criss Angel, is a magician, he's got to have some ability or he wouldn't keep his career running smoothly. Or, sort of smoothly. I guess I agree with most of you, he does fake some of his tricks, and that is unappealing. I think he's hot for 40. By the way, the end of the c.s.i episode was he was portrayed as a murderer, I'm obsessed with him, so I had definitely watched c.s.i. P.S. Is Joann his wife? I can't help but ask, even though I doubt an accurate answer. Dude, whoever ( this is Taylor) is messing with my file knock it off, cause you wrote stuff on mine!!! Taylor208.100.204.183 20:06, 14 April 2007 (UTC)

Why does everyone criticize him? "Criss Angel, is a magician" Seems fair enough to me. Mike Murray 03:54, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

I think he is criticized because he acts like like a "tool" for lack of a better word. The fame has clearly gone to his head and he looks and acts the part of a rich, celebrity asshole. I used to respect him as an artist, and he appeared to be a decent person but the obvious change in his demeanor and the fact the he is always winding up in the "gossip pages" do little to enhance his reputation. It's the old story of the guy/woman who works hard to "finally" achieve the long desired fame and as soon as he/she does, they forget who they are and where they came from. The next order of business is to ditch the "starter" husband/wife and upgrade to the "previously unattainable" hot girlfriend (in Angels case, a playboy model) and we all know the rest of the story... --24.189.35.249 (talk) 21:03, 5 January 2009 (UTC)

He's not emo and he's not magician he's an illusionist I think that he's the best but every body has is own opinion and they all have the right to say at loud what they think about any thing so I guest that is why he's being very criticized there's also lot's of jalousie behind that because he's pretty rich and all that stuff but every body talk about every thing and every body that the human nature from : JadouxXx

In most cases it's probably because 40 year olds being "faux emo" is annoying, or because special effects should never be passed off as an actual performance (magic or otherwise). It would be equivalent to actors on Star Trek claiming they're real pilots because their characters flew a spaceship.Prgrmr@wrk 18:36, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

He's not a magician he's a Mind freak lol lrn2fanboi (and emo as hell) also David Blaine is a lot better 24.63.170.16 (talk) 17:20, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

Problem being with that argument is that the Trek actors never said they were anything but actors (Famous line: It's just a show), however CA says he's for real. Whether this is true or not revolves mainly around whether you believe that kind of thing is possible. Personally, I'm a firm believer in the Supernatural, and do think a lot of what he does is for real. In other words, there's no one (Outside of, I'm sure, some mentally unstable fans) who think Star Trek is anything but a show. For Criss Angel, it's different. 70.70.97.117 (talk) 06:29, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

Recent vandalism

I just took out a week's worth of edits to this article because somebody inserted copyrighted material and several vandals from different IP addresses hit the article. In case I took out any substantial content, you can look at this diff to see if there is anything worth adding back. --Idont Havaname (Talk) 01:31, 1 May 2007 (UTC)

Holy crap, a lot of the stuff edited out looks like an advertisement. Not exactly neutral, it's a good thing it was edited out. Another comment I have is the use of "fagology" in the article. It sounds like vandalism to me, and I pretty sure it's not even a real word. I'd remove it myself, but I would know what to replace it with.

Mathew Williams 10:45, 20 May 2007 (UTC)

Perhaps it might not be such a bad idea to request protection against editing from new or recent editors status for this article? Trusilver 04:12, 13 June 2007 (UTC)

When i first saw the show he looked like he was 29 now I find out he is almost 40 i was amazed and i dont want to start any fight either

Introduction of the page

Someone with some knowledge of wiki-syntax should fix the first line of this article... "|name=Criss Angel |caption=Criss Angel |birth_date=December 19, ..." and so on...

I fixed it; thanks for posting about it. It was just more vandalism from that person who keeps adding remarks about "Tanner" to the article. --Idont Havaname (Talk) 11:55, 3 May 2007 (UTC)

Opinion statement needs removal

At the very end of the legitimacy section it states, "Without a doubt, Criss Angel is single-handedly responsible for magic’s most recent resurgence in popular culture." This comment is not factual - it is merely opinion. Unless it is included as a quote by someone (i.e., "___ has sated taht ...")I think it needs to be removed. Melissa Dilo 22:27, 7 May 2007 (UTC)Melissa Dilo

Yep, you're right, I have taken this sentence out. It's good to bring up more controversial edits on article talk pages, but with more clear-cut problems (like this) you can usually be bold and fix it yourself. →Ollie (talk • contribs) 23:53, 7 May 2007 (UTC)

Hehe...I am always afraid to delete things. But, I'll try and be more proactive next time :-) Thanks! Melissa Dilo 03:05, 10 May 2007 (UTC)Melissa Dilo

2008 Magician of the Year?

How can he be the 2008 Magician of the Year when it's only 2007?--69.113.131.124 22:03, 11 May 2007 (UTC)

that's exactly what I came here to ask about! what's up with that?

Maybe it's a typo? 70.55.0.138 11:41, 13 June 2007 (UTC)

Oh c'mon guys... It's magic. Mike Murray 03:51, 20 June 2007 (UTC)

== Criss's Height == IMDB has false information the person who edited his bio gave the wrong height. he IS 6' tall he's said it in radio interviews on his tv show its even in his own book. stop changing it i'm sick of coming in here and cleaning it up. in fact im also going to go over to imdb and report the person who gave false info on Criss.

Until you can cite evidence (with a WP:Reliable source that 5'10" is incorrect, please do not change it. OhNoitsJamie ^Talk 20:53, 25 June 2007 (UTC)

http://www.mindfreakconnection.com/archives.html http://www.mindfreakconnection.com/bionew.html UNDER THE NEWS...THE OWNER OF THAT SITE WAS FRIENDS WITH CRISS FOR 5YEARS

Using all-caps does not supersede WP:Reliable sources. OhNoitsJamie ^Talk 05:53, 27 June 2007 (UTC)

I cited evidence it's published it's straight from his mouth. I'm just gonna contact someone worth contacting on Wikipedia. Now I know why so many people complain about the information here.—The preceding unsigned comment was added by Kayleighluffscriss (talk • contribs).

If he's 6 feet tall then he ways more then 165lbs. He looks too muscular to only way 165 at 6 feet tall.... I think he's shorter then 6 feet as he is shown as shorter then a lot of people when he stands nextto them on his show. I'd say maybe 5'6 at the shortest to 5'9 at the most.

The enitre piece is nothing more than one big op ed.I certainly dont search wikipedia because am looking for how hot someones suppose to be or anyother byas they may or may not feel.However then again what would objectivity be without someone ranting like a 12 yr old girl who just got ahold of her first teen beat.Do us all a favor save it for your diary. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 98.213.83.28 (talk) 09:10, 23 July 2008 (UTC)

Protection

Does anyone else think this page should be semi-protected? If I keep having to restore his basic biographical info, somebody's going to think I'm a fan, and I'd hate for that to happen. It doesn't matter that Criss 'Angel' says he doesn't want his age and birth name known, it's public info and already widely available. People removing this info based on the fact that "true fans wouldn't put it up" forget that this is an encyclopedia, not a fanzine.

Wikipedia:Biographies_of_living_persons#Privacy_of_birthdays

Note that since he complains about publishing his birthday, we can change it to showing just his year of birth, not just his day of birth. In this case, even that is debateable, since the info is widely known already. Prgrmr@wrk 14:21, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Lately it seems like there's been only one anon user removing the info. I've warned the user, and will block if they persist. Protection would be appropriate if the information was repeatedly removed by multiple IPs/users. OhNoitsJamie ^Talk 14:43, 19 June 2007 (UTC)

Well if he doesn't want people to find out, why not wait to put it on when he dies from some crazy stunt xD.--Eloc Jcg

I just want to add that I was recently watching an episode of Mindfreak where Criss himself said that the day that he was doing his main trick was actually his birthday, and he himself said that the date was December 19th. Although he didn't say how old he was turning, if he was willing to offer the month and day of his birth then I don't think he cares about this stuff as much as some people think. Karabeara126 08:18, 12 August 2007 (UTC)

Mindfreek?

The article describes Criss Angel as a "Mindfreek" or "Mindfreak" I forget how it is spelled. What the hell is a Mindfreek and how does somebody become it? Does the name of his show, "Mindfreek" make him a "Mindfreek." For instance, John Madden may have "John Madden SportsMinute" but that does not make Madden himself a Sports Minute. I think that a similar rule should apply for Criss Angel. Mike Murray 03:45, 20 June 2007 (UTC) the reaso why he is a mind freak is cuz he is a freakin awesome illusionist. watch the show--drumman8510 00:47, 21 June 2007 (UTC)

I understand what you're saying. Criss does not like being called an "illusionist" or even simply a "magician" (he always refers to his tricks as "demonstrations" rather than "illusions") so he just uses "mystifyer" instead. Of course, Mindfreak is just his nickname. Neither of those are occupations so removing them from the infobox was a good call. ~Enviroboy^Talk_Contribs - 03:41, 22 June 2007 (UTC)

Magicians say: "It's all tricks" Mindfreaks say: "This is real." Although it's more of a nickname than an actual title. 70.70.97.117 (talk) 06:32, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

He calls himself a "Mindfreak" on his MySpace page etc. It's his "profession" —Preceding unsigned comment added by 68.104.224.65 (talk) 06:12, 14 December 2007 (UTC)

He originally wanted it to be Mindf*** but that wasn't marketable. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.189.90.72 (talk) 01:23, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

Marriage and Divorce

12 August 2008

Criss Angel is NOT divorced. Until it successfully goes through the courts, it is not final. Yes, Joanne Sarantakos filed for divorce --in fact she filed three different times. And yes, they did have a 15 year They welcomed their first son earlier this year. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Me&Tommylee (talk • contribs) 05:46, 13 August 2008 (UTC)

Why is there not a lot of mention of his Marriage to Joanne Sarantakos?

I just read on TMZ that his wife has filed for divorce. I know the article says it was kept "secret" but surely there should have been more on it. According to TMZ his wife has filed for divorce. Criss Angel's wife Joanne Sarantakos filed for divorce yesterday in a Long Island court. She claims that their 15-year marriage, which Angel insisted was kept secret to boost his image to women, was destroyed by his freaky fame and his recent relationship with blonde bombshell Cameron Diaz.

The Post reports that Sarantakos' lawyer will subpoena Diaz for the divorce trial. For his part, neither Angel nor his lawyer have denied the affair. http://www.tmz.com/2007/06/30/cameron-diaz-homewrecker/

User:Me 15:41, 30 June 2007 (UTC)

Joann Sarantakos has in fact filed for divorce from Criss Angel. -Fall Of Darkness 20:20, 6 August 2007 (UTC)

Joanne filed for divorce way back in late 2006, also the couple married in 2002 so it was only 5 years, Not 15. -riseabovethis

he is know married to trisha sarantakos. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 209.244.189.69 (talk) 21:25, 27 September 2008 (UTC)

Yeah, Ignore the above comment. It's a teenage fangirl on the loose. I dont think TMZ is a reliable source for anything, considering its a tabloid site. Nikkicontraband (talk) 04:27, 20 December 2008 (UTC)

NPOV

This page seems pretty biased. It doesn't mention any of the rumored controversies surrounding its subject and reads more like a media release than a wiki article. Scullser1981 01:56, 2 July 2007 (UTC)

I completely agree. It reads like a list of his "achievements" with none of the controversy. But I am too busy to edit it right now, so you can do it if it irks you that much. The great kawa 01:17, 27 July 2007 (UTC)

what?

So he can marry his best friend who is no one else but Klayton Scott. They got the idea from hit movie I Now Pronounce You Chuck and Larry.--Kingforaday1620 21:44, 31 July 2007 (UTC)

Grammar

Who is editing this page? This is one of the worst pages I've seen on Wikipedia. "...disappearing a lambo..." Who writes like that? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.80.145.124 (talk • contribs)

Feel free to help. --Tom 17:13, 8 August 2007 (UTC)

mistake?

Poemisaglock 01:15, 16 August 2007 (UTC) The article says "Criss Angel won the Academy of Magical Arts' Magician of the Year award in 2005[4] and the IMS Magician of the year in 2001, 2004,[5] 2007 and 2008.[6]", but 2008 hasn't rolled around yet.

Copyvio

The whole body of the article is copyvio from http://www.crissaholicsanonymous.zoomshare.com/rss.xml, with a poor attempt having been made at rewording it. I've removed it and put up the template. --Nucleusboy 02:51, 16 August 2007 (UTC)

It seems that someone cut'n'pasted the whole Wikipedia article onto the criss blog, without referencing the source. GFDL violation. Sigh. --Alvestrand 05:03, 10 September 2007 (UTC)

Height?

What's his height?Cuz before it said he was 5'9",now it says he's 6'0",which one is it? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.140.128.34 (talk) 23:00, 6 September 2007 (UTC)

"Scoring" a show

This article is kind of messy and I'll do what I can to clean up. However, I'm confused by the line: 'Criss then scored a show on Broadway titled "Criss Angel Mindfreak," which ran up until January 6, 2003 ...' The article earlier lists him as a musician - did he actually write the score to his own show? Or can we assume that the writer meant "starred in" or "wrote" or "produced"? I'll clean up what I can grammatically but don't know enough about the guy to reword facts. 64.222.153.188 17:06, 13 September 2007 (UTC)

This is kinda strange. On the one hand, Criss Angel does write the music for most of his shows, working with Klay Scott (as mentioned in the article.) On the other hand, in the context of the article as it stands, I think "scored" is an informal statement meaning "won" or "earned" and should probably change. But I can't tell. gnfnrf 16:08, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

Phenomenon

Um how cum on the main page there is nothing about the one tv show on nbc Phenomenon? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.245.232.227 (talk) 22:29, 3 October 2007 (UTC)

Tricks

I've noticed a few tricks Criss uses. For example in the episode where he makes his cat disappear in front of people, when he pulls the lady in the hat from the audience, she's already standing in front of the guardrail, instead of behind it with the other audience members. Seems like a plant to me. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 65.93.61.181 (talk) 05:36, 14 October 2007 (UTC)

So? He's a magician, of course what he does are tricks. However, that has no business in this article. C56C 20:49, 11 November 2007 (UTC)

A Mistake/Vandalism

I noticed that under the section Early Life it says that his father is from Iran and the name is wrong. Just pointing it out though, it should be fixed.Anthestria 00:49, 3 November 2007 (UTC)

i think that no one has the right to put his information on here, he he doesnt wish to have it on here. yes, he is a public figure, but would you want your things posted al over? some in which arent true? no, probly not. i think people just need to leave him alone about what he wants out and what he doesnt. theres no reason to know everything, and anything about him. its stupid, soo get over it. i love criss<3

hm... well learn how to type, and then say something. i love criss more.

Dude, Criss Angel's father is Iranian. Accept it and get over it. His mother is Greek and his father is Iranian of Persian heritage.

Stop the editing already.

Agreed. And as long as information exists and isn't copyrighted or otherwise protected, it should be given out. 70.70.97.117 (talk) 06:35, 6 December 2007 (UTC)

Please stop deleting Criss's Iranian heritage

Criss Angel's father is Persian from Iran. He is not Greek.

Stop editing the above from Criss's profile.

Thank You

If you can find a reliable source indicating his father's heritage, feel free to add it. OhNoitsJamie ^Talk 17:51, 17 November 2007 (UTC)

Where do you get your "reliable source" from? Should we ask Criss Angel himself to email you!?

Please stop changing the information, his father is Iranian and his mother is Greek.

If you continue to add unsourced information to Wikipedia, you will be blocked from editing. OhNoitsJamie ^Talk 01:48, 18 November 2007 (UTC)

Please look at the reference to Criss's book at the end. He talks about his father in his book. Stop this prejudicial behaviour please.

Can you provide me with proof that Criss Angel the illusionist’s father is Greek???

It is your verison which is unsourced and not mine.

I will place the same version that several people before me have posted its more detailed and it comes from Criss's own mouth in his book titled (mind-freak) and from friends that know him personally.

PS: I am currently in communication with Wikipedia in relation to this issue.

Criss says in his book Mindfreak:Secret Revalations that both of his parents are Greek. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.189.90.72 (talk) 01:26, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

"always had an interest in magic"

In Early Life, "and has always had an interest in magic" is contradicted later by "Criss Angel first became interested in magic at the age 6". It's also not very ...something. Bitwiseb (talk) 15:07, 19 November 2007 (UTC)

That's because the person who keeps deleting the true version of his early life (OhNoitsJamie) is refusing to accept other people’s versions.

He has been deleting my and other people’s versions of Criss's early life fanatically. He sites the reason for doing so that my version is not sourced. But his version is not sourced either.

There is no reason to expect anything less. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 60.242.144.237 (talk • contribs) 04:38, 20 November 2007

You should sign your posts with a ~~~~ and also thread them by beginning them with the appropriate number of colons. It would be less confusing :D. Bitwiseb (talk) 19:53, 5 December 2007 (UTC)

I think "and has always had an interest in magic" and Criss Angel first became interested in magic at the age of 6" are pretty much the same. I think 6 is pretty young and can be considered "always". If it was had "and has always had an interest in magic" and then "Criss Angel first became interested in magic at the age 16". Then thats worth the change. 75.68.165.212 (talk) —Preceding comment was added at 03:33, 2 January 2008 (UTC)

Mandrake

He's not playing the title character anymore,some dude named Jonathan Rhys Meyers is. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 69.140.128.34 (talk) 15:26, 23 November 2007 (UTC) EDIT:He is,however,designing the illusions and might have a small role.It's supposed to be filmed in China and the US.I don't know exactly where in the US,though.

It says in the article that he will be "in estedica" for the production. What the heck? Karisuestokes (talk) 23:49, 31 January 2008 (UTC)

Mentalists challenging Criss

$Insertformulahere$ A number of mentalists have challenged Criss, much like how Criss did to Blaine, I feel it should be mentioned in the article. Why does it keep getting deleted? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 123.2.70.169 (talk) 03:31, 19 January 2008 (UTC)

Does Criss Angel (Christopher Sarantakos) do drugs?

I'm am not asking this in an offensive way (to all you Criss Angel fans) but i was just wondering if Criss Angel does drugs. I would appreciate any answers! =] --Asian r o m a n i a n (talk) 19:36, 13 July 2008 (UTC) HELLLLLLL NOOOOOOOOO —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.126.41.196 (talk) 00:20, 21 October 2008 (UTC)

making a Styrofoam cup float?

"He has even revealed the methods for many of his tricks to viewers at home on TV and in videos, although the effects revealed are usually very simple such as making a toothpick disappear, picking a pocket, or making a Styrofoam cup float."

Unless I fail to understand the words "styrofoam cup" and "float", this isn't a trick at all. Styrofoam cups just float by themselves, naturally. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 146.142.38.17 (talk) 21:57, 21 July 2008 (UTC)

In the air? 71.119.179.199 (talk) 08:09, 24 July 2008 (UTC)

Mindfreak envelope?

It's been four days since the season premiere of Mindfreak. What was in the second envelope? Andrewb1 (talk) 18:34, 27 July 2008 (UTC)

Phenomon Envelop Contents NOT revealed in 1st ep!

I noticed on the page where it said that the contents of the evelop of Phenomon would be revieled in the 1st ep of season 4? Um.. It wasn't. Due to not believing in talking with the dead I didn't watch the final Episode of Phenom. But I did catch Criss 1st ep of season 4 & there was no envelope, No disscusion of Phenom, Nothing. This maybe on a later episode but untill it is that statement should be take down.

Thanks.. Jessi aka Riseabovethis

nnjkhjlkjl;kjfowuijsdfklafuowaftrl;zjkvlkasm f siudfjkasdf —Preceding unsigned comment added by 203.112.90.138 (talk) 20:47, 10 August 2008 (UTC)

Controversy

I see that previously there were sections about the controversy of his act and since then they have been removed. It is a huge controversy in the magic world- the fact that he uses trick photography. I think this is completely relevant and should be added to the article. I don't see anything in the talk stated why all that information was removed, can someone clear this up please? Chexmix53 (talk) 23:55, 13 September 2008 (UTC)

Cultural Sensationalist

Nothing is mentioned of Criss Angel's most obvious gimmick. His persona is structured largely on a sort of punk/anarchist fashon sub-culture, as he dresses and behaves with the distinct intention to appear outragous. I think Angel relies heavily on sensationalism and a strong cult of personality to attract attention. A number of his "escapes" are replaced by over-the-top illusions such as when he "failed" to escape a coffin which passed through a woodchipper only to emerge from the pile of "bloody" wood chips. I'm pretty certain all his quirky egotism, grandstand style magic tricks, and eccentric behavior are all blatently formulated to attract media attention. AnkhAnanku 16:39, 17 November 2008 (UTC)

IS CRISS ANGEL ALIVE???

Hello. Sorry If those words are to hard for anyone to hear, but I'm looking to find some answers. I'm new to this site and have only been a fan of Criss Angel's show MindFreak for a short time now. I just finished watching a recent episode where he gets into a car handcuffed with explosives in the car and only has 13 seconds to get out. It was unclear to me what happened at the end of the show. I just seen people panic, cry and say they thought he was dead. Unless I missed something, I didn't see for sure if he was or not. I've looked on this site for answers, but see nothing to state that he is not living anymore. When the show finished on that episode I did see one of his friends make a cross on the dirt with his initials, but I was waiting for more concrete confirmation. I wasnt sure if I missed something since I had company over tonite. Although on Criss Angel's front page here in Wikipedia, the first sentence of the first paragraph talks about how this incident went bad but didn't go into further detail nor state the outcome of this episode. I thought that was pretty strange to only have one or two sentences on that and not have a more detailed explation of what happened. I am assuming he is still alive, because nowhere does it states otherwise. But I would love to be sure. PLEASE CLARIFY THIS FOR ME....PLEASE! L. Arreola (talk) 05:05, 25 September 2008 (UTC)

Remember when Steve Irwin died? We would have found out the same way as that. In other words, from the news hours after the incident, and not after the episode aired. It was just a stunt to catch skeptics. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 67.189.213.228 (talk) 07:17, 25 September 2008 (UTC)

He's alive and still faking his stunts. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 81.159.37.143 (talk) 14:49, 26 September 2008 (UTC)

Who deleted everything?

Theres only info about his show Believe... And btw, criss is not dead. That was taped in feb and we would know by now. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 99.224.84.157 (talk) 19:55, 25 September 2008 (UTC)

  yes... hi is dead! search him myspace profile!  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 24.7.213.252 (talk) 21:27, 12 October 2008 (UTC)

CRISS ANGEL IS WELL ALIVE AND U CALL HIMA FAKE

EHH SHUTTUP —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.126.41.196 (talk) 00:30, 21 October 2008 (UTC)

Criss Angel

Dude,I am your BIGGEST fan. Me and my friend love you! I watch Mindfreakevery Wednesday

     your fans,
      andrew and aaron  —Preceding unsigned comment added by 66.114.10.5 (talk) 18:30, 24 October 2008 (UTC)

Death Rumor

I am hearing a rummor that Criss Angel has passed away. I have no details, but I assume that this is the result of one of his illusions. I hesitate to add a death tag with no reliable references. Sephiroth storm (talk) 19:52, 19 November 2008 (UTC)

Get a reliable source like the NY Times, CNN, BBC or something to cite the claim to. Nothing appears right now, and I'd assume such a thing would receive heavy reporting. --Bobak (talk) 22:55, 19 November 2008 (UTC)

Criss Angel biography

{{editsemiprotected}}Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos (born December 19, 1967), better known by his stage name Criss Angel is an American of Greek descent. He is a magician, illusionist, musician, escapologist, and stunt performer. Angel was raised in East Meadow, Long Island, New York. His family consists of Dimitra, his mom, his father JD, who died from stomach cancer, and his two brothers, JD and Costa.

Criss learned his first magic trick at the age of 6 from his Aunt Stella, and became interested in it from then on. He spent most of his childhood learning magic and it's history, and would spend days locked in his room practicing. His parents were set on him going to college, but he had a dream and persisted. He performed for friends and families, and eventually in bars around his hometown for people at the age of 14. His first real big performance was in the 80's during Madison Square Garden's Halloween Festival, called "Madison Scare Garden". Criss landed a show there where he had a 15 minute show he performed several times a day.

During this, he was also in a band, called "Angeldust" where he performed in many music videos, and most of his magic performances consisted of him singing and performing magic. He was the lead singer, and he while he didn't play them in the band, he can also play the drums. He released a cd called "The musical conjurings from World of Illusion". He later re-released that and 3 other cds as a solo artist.

Criss' first television special was "The science of Magic" which aired on the Discovery Channel in 2000. Soon after, he ended up getting a mortgage on his mother's home and he then used it to land an off broadway show titled "Mindfreak" in New York in 2001. This show was very popular and got him recognized. The show consisted of characters that included "Tronik", "Red Eyes", "Kayala", "Crimson" and more. The show ran for 2 years and was then put on hold as Criss got offered a TV special "Supernatural", which aired on ABC family in 2004 during the halloween special week. It was rated #1 that week. He then shot another DVD during the filming of "Supernatural" which was a special for TBS in Japan. He released this as "Made in Japan" and also released "Supernatural" on dvd. He then got an offer in 2005 to film another 1 hour special, which was titled "Mindfreak".

Soon after, he had plans to go on a world tour and perform, but instead A&E became interested and he developed his show, "Mindfreak". In 2005 Criss moved from New York to Las vegas to film, and lived lived in the Aladdin in seasons 1 and 2, and in 2006 he moved to the top floor penthouse in the Luxor, where he currently resides.

Criss Angel has won Magican of the Year Award 5 times, and many other prestigious awards throughout his career. He has the most hours of magic televised of all time, his DVDs are number one on A&E, and he has redefined the magic industry. He recently started his show Believe, which premiered October 31, and is expected to run for 10 more years. —Preceding unsigned comment added by Loyaljennie (talk • contribs)

Please clarify what changes you'd actually like made to the article, and provide sources for any new information. ~ mazca ^t|c 17:39, 30 November 2008 (UTC)

Injury

[2] — The second reference doesn't appear to be a correct one. I read the reference and it says nothing about Criss being injured for 3 weeks and having to stop production. Remove? — ク Eloc 貢 02:22, 10 January 2009 (UTC)

Can we discuss the biggest embarrassment in magic history? The "IMPLOSION ESCAPE".After advertising a 'LIVE" show to show he could perform live, he used a PRE-RECORDED" tape showing him running through the building while he ran to the building next to it. While going through the first door inside, the handcuffs in his pocket disappeared when they cut to the tape. FOX13 NEWS reported this shortly after the live show ended, exposing his phony trick.I posted on the A&E board, a week before it aired how he would do this trick. He actually stole the method from David Copperfield who did the building implosion trick 18 years ago. Most of his tricks are edits and 'Digital Compositing'. He's the biggest fraud in the magic field.=No criticism listed? Really? Really?== A more recent example of his "VIDEO MAGIC" is the "Grand Canyon jump" He claims it's 'ONE CONTINUOUS SHOT' In the middle of the explosion, you can see the clouds change position. Two seperate shots, with the explosion digitally composited. Another example: The levitation/vanish. This a commonly used movie effect, where the thing that vanished is covered with pixels from the backround. He really didn't go anywhere, his image was replaced digitally by clouds. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 71.230.7.9 (talk) 06:58, 11 April 2011 (UTC)

The handicapped woman who's body was missing from the waste down in the "illusion" in the city park. Didn't he catch some flack for that stunt? Come on. This guy is one of the biggest douchebags in the entertainment industry. The article is fairly rosy, though. --24.21.148.212 (talk) 07:35, 13 March 2009 (UTC)

Could it be that he didn't catch any flack for making half a woman disappear because it was an illusion? He often goes a step further with his act and try to make it look like he or someone else was injured, which can take at least as much talent as making look like he pulled off a trick successfully. Ian.thomson (talk) 11:54, 19 April 2009 (UTC)

I don't think you understand what he was saying. He should rightfully have been criticized for the stunt on the grounds that 1) it shows some (slight) insensitivity to the handicapped and 2) more importantly, it proves that his tricks aren't illusions at all. The entire premise of his act is "street magic" where he is supposedly going out and amazing random people in public. If he is using a mixture of stooges, camera cuts and special effects, then it really isn't any more of an "illusion" than Star Wars is. For example knowing a card that someone chose from a deck is somewhat impressive normally, but not impressive at all if the person is in on it. Disappearing into thin air in public would be impressive under normal circumstances, but isn't so if all you did was turn the camera off for a minute and then walk out of the shot. So yes, perhaps he should be criticized for holding himself out to be a magician rather than just an amateur special effects artist. 76.123.243.142 (talk) 17:46, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

Edit: I don't really know how to address this in the article without getting into pure speculation, but the "woman pulled apart" trick and all of his other tricks can quite easily be explained by using stooges, special effects and camera cuts. Take the video in question: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OepvNl9AwtE . Note the fact that it is a small group of people watching, how the camera cuts every few seconds during the trick and uses extreme close-ups and how the people actually involved in the trick are the ones supposedly surprised. Take for example as well http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=sBQLq2VmZcA where he walks on water. Again, despite the fact that this looks like a major hotel swimming pool, there are very few people actually there, and there is a camera cut every few seconds. The far away shots can be explained by him standing on glass or plastic in the pool, and the closer shots are all overhead ones or ones at foot level which can be explained by him simply being suspended over the water while moving his feet. (Note also the one point with an overhead shot where a swimmer goes under him and blows bubbles just to prove that he isn't really standing on something in the pool). —Preceding unsigned comment added by 76.123.243.142 (talk) 18:08, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

With what little 24.21.148.212 had written, and most of my past experiances with people that have a problem with Criss Angel (I've had the misfortune of coming across a number of folks that think he's demonically possessed, even after I explained how he pulled the tricks off), it appeared to me that he was talking about Criss Angel actually being responsible for the woman missing her legs. Bit of paranoia on my part. However, Webster's defines an illusion as "the action of deceiving," "a misleading image presented to the vision." Criss Angel's stuff isn't streeet magic, but it does consist of illusions (it deceives most of his viewers). If you can find a source that criticizes his act as being special effects and not prestidigitation, go on and put it in the article. Ian.thomson (talk) 20:32, 2 May 2009 (UTC)

Come one, you're going to use the dictionary as the arbiter for what is or isn't valid illusionism? That's hardly the sort of purpose to which a succinct definition is intended. I'll add a real source. --Ericjs (talk) 00:35, 28 August 2010 (UTC)

--Part in Pop Culture about being in Harry Potter is completely made up. How to remove? —Preceding unsigned comment added by Howardcdavis (talk • contribs) 17:53, 9 August 2009 (UTC)

It isn't about him being in Harry Potter, it's about him as a character in an episode of Robot Chicken that makes fun of Harry Potter. Ian.thomson (talk) 02:52, 10 August 2009 (UTC)

Added story

Criss Angel is under investigation for pet theft - here's the reference: [3] —Preceding unsigned comment added by Yeknomgod (talk • contribs) 14:25, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

Page Six, a noted gossip column, isn't going to work as a reference. If something develops, then its workable. --Bobak (talk) 17:09, 15 May 2009 (UTC)

Another story regarding the pet theft - ref [4] —Preceding unsigned comment added by 114.77.85.59 (talk) 15:35, 26 May 2009 (UTC) and another [5]

The Sun and the Star Magazine? Two tabloids? Yeah, really reliable sources... Ian.thomson (talk) 14:57, 25 July 2009 (UTC)

He made it into the Hot Chicks with Douchebags website this week. Should that be noted (he obviously being the douchebag)?Ndriley97 (talk) 00:24, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Even if it was Rush Limbaugh, its not appropriate for Wikipedia. Ian.thomson (talk) 02:08, 6 August 2009 (UTC)

Should it be added to the article that while filming the 5 lives of criss angel mindfreak that someone was injured, and rather seriously, while criss attempted the guillotine on hin. the video is on youtube, and here is the link: http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=rB-H8LoHuN8. --JereMerr 04:42, 13 August 2009 (UTC) —Preceding unsigned comment added by Jeremerr (talk • contribs)

Considering that it was on Criss Angel's official youtube channel, I doubt it was real. He has a tendency to fake accidents and do publicity stunts. This looks like both. Ian.thomson (talk) 14:31, 13 August 2009 (UTC)

Criss maintains contact with his uncle, Johnny Angel, in Pittsburgh, PA. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 173.75.142.3 (talk) 01:52, 22 November 2009 (UTC)

Should there be a controversy/criticism section for his vulgar four letter word cussing of Hilton during his "family show" in Las Vegas? He never apologized. The hotel denied responsibility and his animal handlers did - he being the animal. —Preceding unsigned comment added by 70.189.209.66 (talk) 04:18, 2 December 2010 (UTC)

Phenomenon section

Is that section really that notable and worthy of that much detail in relation to the rest of the bio? I would trim it back. --Threeafterthree (talk) 05:01, 3 January 2011 (UTC)

Controversy

I suggest that there should be a section on controversy. For two reasons. First, he has broken many of the rules of illusionists, includign revealing secrets publicly. Secondly, while he uses accepted methods of illusionists, such as distracting his subject, he also blatantly cheats, using the camera. Such as his flying stunts, and others, where he relies on pretty obvious trick photography, and audiences "lying" for the benefit of a TV audience. Surely that degree of fakery must be controversial.

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Supernatural episode

- Supernatural episode "Criss Angel is a Douchebag"

About an hour ago I added a fact-based entry on the parodying of Criss Angel in the Supernatural episode Criss Angel is a Douchebag, and it's since been deleted. I find this censorship to be an unacceptable bias not keeping with the spirit of Wikipedia. It's a fact that this episode was created and that a character in it was a parody of Criss Angel, and as such, deserves to be included in Criss Angel's wikipedia entry. (Edit: Sorry, forgot to sign this.) DenJansen (talk) 04:28, 2 March 2012 (UTC)

UPDATE: After my edits had been removed, I read up on the policies of Biographies of Living Persons and realized the reason they had been removed was likely due to lack of citation of my information. Therefore, I took the time and effort to locate proper citations, and reinstated the information with the necessary requirements of including properly cited sources for said information. I have now been informed I'm in an "Edit War" because I reposted valid information with the necessary citations. The only justification given for re-removal of said information is citation of Good faith, while the individual doing so has failed to assume good faith on my part. I would like to point to the following:

There is a Supernatural episode entitled Criss Angel is a Douche Bag
- In it, they deliberately parody Criss Angel by creating a Criss Angel-style character (who, in fact, mentions Criss Angel), and make a running gag of calling him a douche bag.
- While researching this episode, I wanted to find out if this joke was in direct response to Criss Angel famously referring to Perez Hilton as a "douche bag asshole" in front of his Criss Angel Believe audience. When I discovered that timing of the episode precluded the Perez Hilton incident by a few months, I included this information as relevant to those that may have made similar conclusions.
I am not personally attacking Criss Angel, and I made careful edits to ensure the neutrality of the information I posted. I have been watching Supernatural recently, and adding content to the web regarding the information I've discovered, as seen here (under the username PeepsMcJuggs):

http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Recap/SupernaturalS04E07ItsTheGreatPumpkinSamWinchester http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/Funny/Supernatural http://tvtropes.org/pmwiki/pmwiki.php/ShoutOut/LiveActionTV

This has nothing to do with Criss Angel, and everything to do with factual information that deserves to be posted on the credibility of its content. DenJansen (talk) 06:23, 2 March 2012 (UTC)
- Thats completely correct - "it's got nothing to do with C Angel" - not here on his biography. Its satirical nonsense- this is a biography of his notable life story. I won't comment about this trivial attack nonsense again - just count me as oppose inclusion of this desired addition in this WP:BLP article in all discussions from this point on. Youreallycan 07:06, 2 March 2012 (UTC)
  - Okay, well since you removed the "Parody" section entirely, fair enough. It was relevant in light of the other information in that section, but I won't argue if all of it is removed. DenJansen (talk) 07:17, 2 March 2012 (UTC)
    - Cool, appreciate that. Regards - Youreallycan 07:18, 2 March 2012 (UTC)