American magician, David Copperfield has been a professional magician for 51 years; since 1972. He started his career at 18 years old when he was just a freshman at Fordham University.
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He left college to play the lead role in the musical The Magic Man in Chicago. That was when he adopted the stage name, David Copperfield. He took the name for Charles Dickens’ novel because he liked how it sounded. The play became the longest-running musical in Chicago history.
He created and headlined his show, the Magic of David Copperfield show for months when he was just 19 years old. The show was held at the Pagoda Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii.
Copperfield’s career in television began in earnest when he was discovered by Joseph Cates, a producer of Broadway shows and television specials. He hosted his debut television show in 1977 dubbed The Magic of ABC, and also hosted The Magic of David Copperfield specials on CSB between 1978 and 2001.
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His illusions have included the disappearance of a Learjet in 1981, the varnishing and reappearance of the Statue of Liberty in 1983, levitating over the Grand Canyon in 1984, escaping from Alcatraz Prison (1987), the disappearance of an Orient Express dining car (1991), and flying on stage for a few minutes (1992).
Copperfield sold 33 million tickets and grossed over $4 billion in 2006, more than any other solo entertainer in history by a large margin. Forbes listed his earnings at $63 million in 2015 for the previous 12 months and ranked him the 12th highest-earning celebrity in the world.
During the COVID-19 pandemic, he was performing daily, with 15 shows scheduled each week, at the David Copperfield Theatre in the MGM Grand Las Vegas. Each show lasted for 90 minutes.
He also manages his chain of eleven (11) resort islands in The Bahamas, which he calls Musha Cay, and the Islands of Copperfield Bay.
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