Paul Harris, Jay Sankey, Chris Kenner, Greg Wilson, to name a few.

Well, it's not a contest and there are plenty of incredible and inspirational people in magic, but I do have a small alter in my bamboo hut on which I sacrifice small virgin goats and poultry to the great Lennart Green.

Banachecks, Osterlind, Max maven, Dedy Corbuzier, Lance Burton, Angela funovits, Jeff McBride, Aldo Colombini (tnahks for your real danger), and my all time fave, David Copperfield.

Without a doubt Alex Elmsley. Amazing work

John Carney, Eric Mead, Bob Sheets, Roy Walton, Harry Anderson, Gregory Wilson, Kostya Kimlat (is scary good and scary clever), and Gazzo. Also, I'm fixing up a Delorean so I can go back in time to watch John Ramsey perform at his grocery store.
Cheers;
Mike

Love the creations of Paul Harris and Marlo's cardwork. But, Cyril Takayama's presentations are amazing.

Oh and an honorable mention for Jerry Sadowitz. Realize his style may not be everyone's cup of tea, but its certainly unique. Shame he doesn't put more emphasis on magic in his shows.

Derren Brown (i know), jay sankey, david penn, richard bellars, Jimmy Salter, kinda like my own stuff to I guess and the greats, Burger, Vernon, Braue, Slydini

David Blaine, Derron Brown, Michael Vincent, David Copperfield, Greg wilson

Fred Kaps. I remember seeing the 30 year anniversary of the Beatles appearance on the Ed Sullivan show. Fred Kaps had the unenvious position of performing immediately after them. He performed a homing card routine the likes of which I have never seen since. It was pure magic presented with charisma and style . Ever since then Kaps has been my favorite for both close-up and stage.

Lou

Penn&Teller, Kozak, Johnny Thonpson, Mac King, Michael Finney, Steve Spill, Jeff McBride, Rudy Coby, Doc Eason, Bob Sheets, Derren Brown, Ricky Jay. Penn&Teller first the rest in no particular order.

Derren Brown, Richard Osterlind, Penn & Teller, Banachek, Lance Burton...

I believe they are not the best, but I love to see them perform. There are so much good and entertaining magicians, that I think I will discover a lot more of them in the future.

Seems to me as though penn&teller have the most votes. Tamariz has alot, as does Copperfield.


JI would pick penn and teller, vernon, erdnase and globbi

Whit Haydn.


Shoot Ogawa, Michael Vincent, Armando Lucero, Brian Gillis (doing close-up), Johnny Ace Palmer, Gregory Wilson, Michael Ammar.

And for stage comedy-magic, Dana Daniels. Talk about an act I could watch over and over.

Robert Houdin, Dai Vernon, Fred Kaps, Juan Tamariz, Bob Read, Al Goshman, Arturo Ascanio, John Carney, René Lavand, Tommy Wonder, Pete, Biro, Johnny Thompson, Derek Dingle, David Williamson, Gaetan Bloom, Daryl Martinez, Michael Ammar, David Roth, Whit Haydn, Mike Gallo, Michael Vincent, Tom Mullica, Roberto Giobbi, Shoot Ogawa, Antonio Romero...



I agree. I only had the chance to see Dana Daniels once at the Magic Castle: I got very impressed by his great stage presence and huge talent.
On stage I also love Shimada and Kevin James.

Old School: Jay Marshall, Fred Kaps, Billy McComb, Johnny Thompson, Amazing Ballantine. Middle School: Penn and Teller, Mac King, Fielding West, Michael Finney, Mark Korhauser, Hobson, Steve Spill, Paul Harris, Daryl, Kozak. Gen X: Dan Sperry, Shoot Ogawa, Daniel Garcia, Wayne Houchin, Andrew Golderhersh.

My top 10 closeup magicians, in rough order - Michael Skinner, Martin Nash, Harry Lorayne, Frank Garcia, Paul Gordon, Richard Osterlind, Michael Vincent, Greg Wilson, Randy Wakeman and Bill Malone.

Chalk up another vot for Tom Mullica.

Pete am I mistaken or is Bill Anderson the one that wrote The Magic Digest Book?

Favorites for me so many but some of the top in no special order are as follows. Fred Kaps, Dai Vernon, Roger Klause, Michael Skinner, Allen Ackerman. Looy Simonoff, Bill Malone, Roy Benson, Tommy Wonder, Richard Ross,

I have MANY mentors. I have so may I cannot name them all. They speak to me from the dim past and from five minutes ago. All of them in one way or another have influenced me on so many levels and they in turn have influenced each other.

A few I want to mention and why:

Harry Lorayne: To me, the very DEFINITION of teacher. How many of us have been influenced by Mr. Lorayne's works? I would say that at least in this card section section of the Café, a significant number.

Theo Annemann: The trailblazer, the man who said EFFECT is everything. A tragic end, yes, but a shining legacy that will endure long after we are gone. "To a memory"

Quintino Marucci a.k.a Slydini: Poetry, slow, deliberate, gentleman, relentless assassin of the senses, Master.

Stewart James: The late great Rick Johnsson summed it up best about James: "Gandalf lives!"

Jean Hugard: Writer of so many foundational and seminal books on our art.

David Regal: His love for Magic and his consummate skill and keen observations and real world theory of entertainment should be an example for all magicians.

Doug Henning: Say what you will about the rainbow stage sets, but, this man - who was a MUCH better magician that you might realise - really DID revive magic and he did it in a time when the world needed it. He is missed.

Derek Dingle: I had the privilege of knowing this great man. I watched him work impromptu at a pub near Penn State University. He annihilated all and sundry.

Simon Aronson: I don't know where Simon Aronson gets his methods. The man goes for the jugular in each and every effect. Truly one of the greats.

Buck Bressler: Buck is the owner of IllusionsMAGIC in Cleveland. Buck has been and is my dear friend who also does one of the best second deals I have never seen.

Paul Gallagher: THIS guy is simply fantastic. His skill with a pack of cards is nothing short of astounding, and Paul will take the time to advise and to teach. He is a walking encyclopedia of the Art.

I have MANY more mentors of course but I want to mention two friends in Magic with whom I have grown:

Fred Becker: Fred and I lived and breathed Magic. Some of our best sessioning came from marathon Frisbee tosses. Fred is a successful entertainer and deserves his success.

Ben Salinas: I have seen Ben grow into an amazing magician. His love for the Art is contagious. I am privileged to have him as a friend.

Finally, as a I write this, I pause to look around my office in my home set aside for music/magic/graphics development. I see all of these books and magazines and effects by thousands of magicians living and passed on. To ALL of them I say: thank you; you are all my favourites!

Best,
Vlad