Jeff McBride
Jeff McBride (also known as Magnus; born September 11, 1959) is an American magician from Monticello, New York. He is known for his sleight of hand skills and specializes in the manipulation of playing cards, coins, and other small objects. His stage performances blend elements of kabuki, a Japanese theater form, with traditional conjuring. In addition, he is noted for his contributions to Bizarre magic.
Magician
McBride is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. He established the "McBride Magic & Mystery School"[1] to teach the art of stage magic. McBride's Magic & Mystery School is world-renowned and is recognized as the foremost magical teaching institution available today . Eugene Burger is the Dean of the School. Guest faculty have included Teller, Lance Burton, Johnny Thompson and other magicians from all over the world.[2] Magnus was a star performer for years in Caesars Palace's Magical Empire. He created and performed at the World Magic Festival at Brushwood Folklore Center in Sherman, New York in 1993 and 1994. He performs worldwide, and has produced several instructional books and videos on the subjects of coin and card manipulation, and has presented lectures on magic and theater for such groups as the Smithsonian Institution, the Society of American Magicians, and the International Brotherhood of Magicians. In 1994, he appeared on the cover of The Linking Ring magazine.[3]
Television
In 1995, McBride was a featured performer on "World's Greatest Magic II" on NBC, hosted by Alan Thicke. He was featured in a one-hour documentary entitled A Magickal Life: Jeff McBride, produced and broadcast by Canada's VisionTV, as an episode of their series Enigma True-Life Stories in January 2006.[4] The documentary soundtrack featured music by Vegas Vortex event production collaborators Zingaia and Gary Stadler, as well as Jeff McBride's wife (married 2001) and partner, Abbi Spinner.
McBride has appeared twice on Criss Angel's show MindFreak. He was one of the celebrity judges on the 2008 reality celebrity-magic show Celebracadabra, produced by VH-1.
Neo-Pagan Movement activities
McBride is active in the American NeoPagan movement and he has organized events based on his research into "Alchemical Fire Rituals", such as Mysterium and Fires Rising.[5][6] He has been instrumental in the development of the eclectic NeoPagan organization in Las Vegas known as the Vegas Vortex, which describes itself as a "thriving magical community, dedicated to creating events which celebrate and educate in the sacred arts of magic, theater, music and dance."[7] He has appeared as a speaker, performer, and ritual leader at several NeoPagan festivals and events.
Awards
McBride has won several awards, including recognition by the Academy of Magical Arts,[8] the Society of American Magicians, and the International Grand Prix of Magic as "Magician of the Year." In 2008, he won The Magic Woods Award for Best Magician,[9] and was also named "Lecturer of the Year"[10][11][12] by the Academy of Magical Arts (at the Magic Castle).[13]
McBride has set several records in the Guinness World Records.[14]
Discography
- Songs from the Center of the Sacred Circle – Jeff "Magnus" McBride & Abbi Spinner (ACE/Llewellyn Collection)
- Dancers of Twilight – Zingaia (2000) Sequoia Records
- Soles on Earth – Zingaia (2004) Sequoia Records
Notes
- ↑ McBride Magic and Mystery School website
- ↑ McBride Magic and Mystery School Faculty
- ↑ Burger, Eugene (May 1994). The Linking Ring. 74 (5). Missing or empty
|title=(help) - ↑ A Magickal Life: Jeff McBride television documentary
- ↑ Mysterium festival description
- ↑ Fires Rising festival description
- ↑ Vegas Vortex community website
- ↑ http://www.magiccastle.com/ama/index.cfm
- ↑ The Magic Woods Awards
- ↑ http://linkingpage.com/2009/03/09/academy-or-magical-arts-award-winners-announced
- ↑ http://blog.mcbridemagic.com/?m=200903
- ↑ http://ibmring50.blogspot.com/2009/03/jef-mcbride-lecturer-of-year-at-magi.html
- ↑ http://www.magiccastle.com/
- ↑ "McBride's Guinness World Records" (PDF). Retrieved 15 August 2011.
References
- Bond, Lawrence & Ellen Evert Hopman (1996) People of the Earth: The New Pagans Speak Out (reissued as Being a Pagan: Druids, Wiccans & Witches Today in 2002 Destiny Books ISBN 0-89281-904-9) Interview.
- Cohen, Andy (2006) Follow the Other Hand: A Remarkable Fable That Will Energize Your Business, Profits, and Life. St. Martin's Press ISBN 0-312-35793-1, ISBN 978-0-312-35793-1
- Miller, Scott L. & David Morey (2004) The Underdog Advantage: Using the Power of Insurgent Strategy to Put Your Business on To. (Page 6) McGraw-Hill ISBN 0-07-143919-6, ISBN 978-0-07-143919-0
- Pike, Sarah (2001). Earthly Bodies, Magical Selves: Contemporary Pagans and the Search for Community. University of California Press ISBN 0-520-22030-7