4. • Born David Seth Kotkin – Sept. 16, 1956 in Metuchen,
New Jersey, USA
• Parents are Jewish immigrants from Russia – named
Rebecca and Hyman Kotkin
• Rebecca – Insurance adjuster – Born in Jerusalem,
Israel
• Hyman – Owned men’s clothing store called Korby’s –
Born in Metuchen, New Jersey
6. • As a child – Wanted to be a ventriloquist
• At seven – Learned first trick
• At ten – Started magic as “Davino the Boy Magician”
• At twelve – Admitted to The Society of American
Magicians
• At twelve – Became a professional magician
• David Copperfield was very shy – Magic helped
8. • As a teenager – David Copperfield sneaked into
Broadway shows – liked to watch Stephen
Sondheim and Bob Fosse
• At sixteen – Became a professor at the New York
University – Taught a course called “The Art of
Magic”
• At eighteen – Graduated from the Metuchen High
School
9. • At eighteen – Went to Fordham University
• At eighteen – Got the lead role in “The Magic Man”
– Longest running musical
• At eighteen – Adopted the name David Copperfield
• At nineteen – David Copperfield was the main
performer in the “Pagoda Hotel” in Honolulu, Hawaii
11. • At twenty two – David Copperfield became the host
of the ABC special “The Magic of David Copperfield”
• At twenty two-present day – He got Emmy awards
or was nominated
• At twenty four – Played the role of “Ken the
Magician” in a film called “Terror Train”
• At twenty four and thirty one – Named Magician of
Year – By the Academy of Magical Arts
12. • At twenty five – David Copperfield vanished a jet
airplane
• At twenty five – Named Entertainer of the Year –
By American Guild Variety Artists
• At twenty six – David Copperfield
founded/created Project Magic
• At twenty seven – He vanished the Statue of
Liberty
13. • At twenty eight – David Copperfield levitated across
the Grand Canyon
• At twenty nine – He was named one of the Ten
Outstanding Young Men in American U.S.
• At thirty – Walked through Great Wall of China
• At thirty – Became the first American to produce the
American TV special in The People's Republic of
China
• At thirty one – Escaped from the Alcatraz prison
14. • At thirty one – David Copperfield got the Golden
Rose award – By Monteux Film Festival
• At thirty one – Top Ten Entrepreneurs (age 30 or
under) Young Entrepreneur Organization
• At thirty two – National Spokesperson for disabled
athletes at the 1988 Olympics
15. • At thirty three – Escaped from an imploding building
• At thirty four – Survived Niagara Falls
• At thirty five – Vanished Orient Express Car
• At thirty six – Founded the International Museum and
Library for the Conjuring Arts
• At thirty six – First illusionist to fly without the aid of
strings or camera tricks
16. • At thirty seven – Bambi Award (European equivalent
to Oscar)
• At thirty seven – Fastest Rising Star by Forbes
Magazine
• At thirty seven – Escaped from burning ropes 13
stories above the ground
• At thirty eight – Knighted by the French government,
receiving the Chevalier of Arts and letters
17. • At thirty eight – Esquire Magazine Cover
• At thirty nine – Inducted into the Hollywood Walk of
Fame
• At forty – Cover of Vanity Fair
• At forty one – Record breaking Broadway Show
Dreams and Nightmares
18. • At forty three – Awarded Honorary Doctorate of
Humane Letters from Fordham University
• At forty four – FISM Magician of the Millennium
• At forty four – Named Living Legend by Library of
Congress
20. • David Copperfield – Explores magic and illusion
• Makes all tricks unique
• Finds a way to make any trick good
• He takes magic to it’s limits
• Each trick tells a story
Average Magician Method
David Copperfield Method
22. • First living illusionist – honored with a star on the
Hollywood Walk of Fame
• Knighted by the French government
• Received the Living Legend award from the United
States Library of Congress
• Has been named Magician of the Year, Century
and Magician of the Millennium
23. • He is on the postage stamps of six different
countries – only living magician to receive this
honor
• He’s won over 21 Emmy awards for his television
specials
• Holds 11 Guinness World Records and has sold
more tickets than any other solo entertainer in
history – with ticket sales in the billions
25. • He changed people’s view of magic
• He can do what only he can do
• Created big illusions
• Made people enjoy magic more – (In my opinion)
• Made magic more fun
