David Seth Kotkin (born September 16, 1956), known professionally as David Copperfield, is an American magician, described by Forbes as the most commercially successful magician in history.
Copperfield's television specials have been nominated for 38 Emmy Awards, winning 21. Best known for his combination of storytelling and illusion, his career of over 40 years has earned him 11 Guinness World Records, a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame, and a knighthood by the French government. He has been named a Living Legend by the US Library of Congress.
As of 2006, he has sold 33 million tickets and grossed over US $4 billion, more than any other solo entertainer in history by a large margin. In 2015, Forbes listed his earnings at $63 million for the previous 12 months and ranked him the 20th highest-earning celebrity in the world.
When not performing, he manages his chain of 11 resort islands in the Bahamas, which he calls Musha Cay and the Islands of Copperfield Bay.
David Copperfield's TV specials:
- The Magic of ABC (1977)
- The Magic of David Copperfield (1978)
- The Magic of David Copperfield II (1979)
- The Magic of David Copperfield III: Levitating Ferrari (1980)
- The Magic of David Copperfield IV: The Vanishing Airplane (1981)
- The Magic of David Copperfield V: The Statue of Liberty Disappears (1983)
- The Magic of David Copperfield VI: Floating Over the Grand Canyon (1984)
- The Magic of David Copperfield VII: Familiares (1985)
- The Magic of David Copperfield VIII: Walking Through the Great Wall of China (1986)
- The Magic of David Copperfield IX: Escape from Alcatraz (1987)
- The Magic of David Copperfield X: The Bermuda Triangle (1988)
- The Magic of David Copperfield XI: Explosive Encounter (1989)
- The Magic of David Copperfield XII: The Niagara Falls Challenge (1990)
- The Magic of David Copperfield XIII: Mystery on the Orient Express (1991)
- The Secret of the Phantom of the Opera (1991)
- The Magic of David Copperfield XIV: Flying- Live the Dream (1992)
- The Magic of David Copperfield XV: Fires of Passion (1993)
- David Copperfield: 15 Years of Magic (1994)
- The Magic of David Copperfield XVI: Unexplained Forces (1995)
- David Copperfield: Great Escapes (2000)
- Copperfield- Tornado of Fire (2001)
David Copperfield's work includes examples of:
- Audience Participation: Not only of the standard stage magic variety, later specials include interactive illusions the at-home audience can participate in.
- Dramatic Wind: The Fan is dedicated entirely to this while walking through a giant fan.
- First Snow: Unexplained Forces ends with David producing flurries of snow from his fingertips, recreating the first time he saw snow.
- Literary Allusion Title: Yes, Copperfield's Stage Name is borrowed from the novel by Charles Dickens. Ironically, the magician claims he's never finished the book, finding it "too dark" for his tastes.
- Meaningful Name: Most of the illusions David performs are literally named (Squeezebox, Camera Trick, etc.); Unexplained Forces's The Blade and The Fan lampshade this.
- Parody Magic Spell: In his trick with Orson Welles (using archive footage) in Flying- Live the Dream, Orson is redubbed to use yabba dabba doo as one of his magic phrases.
- Public Domain Soundtrack: Mozart's Eine Kleine Nachtmusik and Marriage of Figaro underscore the building implosion escape in Explosive Encounter.
- Saw a Woman in Half: Not only has David himself been sawn in half in the Death Saw, but he also performed The Blade, where a woman is sawn in half vertically.
- Scenery Porn: Later specials like Mystery on the Orient Express feature large, lavish scrims as stage curtains.
- Timed Mission: In Explosive Encounter's finale escape, David has two minutes and 30 seconds to escape from a locked safe before the building it's in is demolished.
- "Well Done, Dad!" Guy: The crux of his most-recent Las Vegas stage show is that he and his father had been close but grew distant as he gained success. His father had made attempts to rebuild the relationship but he brushed them aside — only to regret it when his father passed away. The climax of the show has David find closure.
