I will tell you that he looks like absolute crap, but calling him "Crissy" isn't neccessary. He signed to be in a show for ten years, and he still has a t.v. show going on. He's doing something right, isn't he?


And some of you would'nt even be here if it weren't for him. Love him or hate him, he did publisize(spl.)magic more than any of us could ever dream of.

He didn't "bring in" any magicians as you put it. Was it his fault that little kiddies exposed his tricks and became horrible performers? No! Have we ever heard him ever say "Hey everybody! You have to be a magician just like me" NO! Same thing happened with David Blaine, people took a liking to the guy and kids started doing his tricks. Did I hear you Edited and moan when that happened? I don't think so. Again, it wasn't his fault that people tried to imitate him.

I agree with you - Crissy looks like crap, that was the whole motivation for the topic. I started calling him Crissy ever since he adopted that attitude of a spoiled little Edited. His smugness and “I’m better than you” demeanor sickens me and alienates many fellow magicians.

What he did right was being in the right place at the right time and a lot of money to finance his start. There are plenty of talentless performers out there that still rake in money for whatever reason.

I was a professional magician long before I had ever heard of this numbskull. He has had zero influence on how I perform or present myself. If anything, He’s a guide on what not to do. When I was performing in Europe, I was publicizing myself. Crissy had no influence on that since no one had heard of him there either.

So nutshell summary: Crissy is a spoiled, arrogant ideological bigot. He makes other magicians look bad. And he looks like crap.

David Blaine did magic, Criss does camera editing and cutshots with all stooges, and is very condescending. He has no reason to be however, because his close-up is so poor that he should not even be doing it. He is simply a jealous "Blainiac" trying to steal Blaine's spotlight, which Blaine earned by doing legitmate magic, not BS.

How the edited is he spoiled? He's rich, that doesn't mean he's spoiled. The only thing that you have against him is the incident with Callahan, which in my opinion, both are at fault. How is he a guide on what not to do? You don't want to be successful and make lot's of money? And how exactley is he making other magicians look bad? Yes he does use camera tricks, and yes that is wrong, but in the laymens eyes, he is showcasing magic, which last time I checked was our jobs.


Sirbrad, you have a good point. But I wasn't reffering to his tricks, I was referring to adjones' comment on how a lot of new magicians come about because of Criss Angel or David Blaine.

I notice how you singled out” spoiled” from the selection of expletives I have given him. But to answer your question, yes, he’s spoiled. He has surrounded himself with “Yes men” and butt-kissers so he always hears what he wants. I’ve had long conversations with crew members that used to work on his show and they have plenty to say about him and spoiled brat and arrogant jerk came up a lot.

You assume the only thing I have against Crissy is his attack on Jim Callahan. You couldn’t be further from the truth. (And don’t assume; it’s bad for your health). I disliked Crissy before Phenomenon, but that show did reflect his true colors of arrogance and his jealousy of other magicians and it did tip me over the edge from dislike to disgust. I had casted for that TV show by the way and I seriously reconsidered when I discovered Crissy was going to be on the show. The grace of Fate had me picked as one-in-twenty instead of one-in-ten. (Since the show tanked, I am happy I was not associated with it). By the Way, the show is killing in Germany. They’re following Uri’s original Israeli format, not NBC’s format which added Crissy Angel.

I feel it unnecessary to explain why Crissy is a perfect example of what not to do, but for the kids on the short bus I’ll tell you - Clearly he’s doing something to attract so much negative publicity. Being egotistical and arrogant is the tip of the iceberg. Doing magic tricks, for a TV show, that are impossible to perform live then claiming, no camera tricks and no stooges is beyond annoying.

Asking if I want to be successful or not has nothing to do with Crissy. Of course I want to excel at what I do, but that’s beside the point. Another point I would like to mention; Magic to me is not a job, it’s an art form and a career. (If you want a job, I hear they are hiring at Wal-Mart).

I could write long essays why Crissy is a moron, but I don’t need too. Too many professional magicians agree with me and it’s a waste of my time. This particular thread was about how he looked like a hobo at an awards event. I am done arguing because I proved my point time and time again. Nitpicking my statements so I feel compelled to justify them is also a waste of my time.

People who worked for him actually called him an arrogant jerk? I find that extremly hard to believe, even if they were one, I would never call a co-worker as such. And he's not attracting the ammount of negative publicity that you say he has, he may be disliked in the magic world, but since when was he gaining negative publicity? And i don't consider a article from tmz about his beard negative publicity, I call it nonsense, and most of you should too. Bottom line is, he never said he was better than anyone, he never showed that he was "spoiled" (Who exactley are these butt-kissers your reffering too? I never see anybody with Criss that sucks up. His producers talk proudly about him on the show, but that's just to boost ratings and hype up the show, not to make anybody feel better) and the only arrogant thing that he's done is call out Callahan. If you could think of anything else that's made him seem like a jerk, please, enlighten me.

He's had a lot of bad publicity recently. From his divorce and the mess that's in (accusations of infidelity, etc.) to his messed up "love" life. Then there is his new appearance, where he has taken a completely stupid reason for. He's gone from trying to be a magician, to trying to be a super-star. He acts like some punk rock star (punk not describing a type of music). He's constantly being reported negatively. That's pretty much all I here from him now.

And it's very obvious that he's egotistical. He took on the title of self-proclaimed "bad-[edited]" voice of the people when he agreed to the Phenomenon show. He was intent from the beginning to bust Uri (who, in my opinion, held himself professionally in this instance. I don't have respect for him, but I didn't see him crossing any lines in this instance). And then blatantly attacked Jim childishly, even though Criss has done pretty much the same thing in his show. Criss claims to do real stuff, and has crossed the line on a number of occasions. Yet he doesn't find it right for anyone else to do so.

You can try to defend him as much as you want, but to do so, you have to look away from everything that he is doing. If he respected the art like he should, then there would be no problem, but he shows disrespect to the art constantly, and that upsets many people.

I know the adult industry is really trying to push into the mainstream but it is still considered a low class taboo for the most part. Yes some celebrities show up at the adult awards but they usually aren't the really big names. Carrot Top goes I think but you never see names like Tom Cruise or other celebrities that actually want to be taken seriously.

I agree. It's like he wants to turn from being a magician to being Paris Hilton.

C'mon, for real, are you that caught up in another person's personal life like that? Good grief, celebrity gossip/news is ridiculous. For real, lay off the soap operas and celebrity gossip and bon-bons, and let's worry about the magic...not the "rumors of infidelity" that, in all honesty, you know absolutely NOTHING about. That's just ignorant rumor-spreading and mud-slinging...and would be unfortunate if you were to ever find out that you did all that and none of it was true.



Again, you really need to ease up on the E! network. As for his appearance, who cares? Quit worrying about the girlie/groupie nonsense and talk about the magic...goodness. If you want to be honest, most of these "bad reports" are because its selling to people like yourself, which in essence is beefing up and making more famous the celebrities you claim to have issues with. Calm down, take a chill pill, and spend time practicing your own craft rather than looking at half naked pictures of Criss Angel everyday wondering if his abs are getting flabbier.




Actually, Criss Angel has stated very clearly several times that he does not believe in psychics, mediums, fortune-tellers, and the like...and has repeatedly knocked down claims that he's able to do these things. In his biography, he says time and again that he doesn't believe in these things and leaves his magic for audience interpretation- often flat out claiming NOT to be using any paranormal abilities. So what you've just said there is completely false.



How has he disrespected the art? Because he's a celebrity doing the thing we want to do? There's a lot of magicians who have and are. Because he's attacked others claiming to be born with special powers or blessed with paranormal abilities? Houdini was famous for that. Because he's been the source of celebrity gossip? Blaine, Copperfield, Henning, Sigfried and Roy, Houdini...all have been caught up in messy and negative gossip and slander. Because you think you can do what they have done better? Well, I'd say about any decent magician has thought that about most other big name magicians.


I'm not a Criss Angel fan. In fact, I've probably seen less of his shows than most magicians I know (I didn't realize he had so many seasons already done to be honest). There are things I've seen Criss Angel perform that I think were stupid, or not done well at all(pulling a card out of the air while on the motorbike is one that comes to mind). But the fact is, its easy and typical to hate on another magician because he's doing it, and your not. And what's worse is when you see magicians hating on someone, and doing it over things 13 year old girls gossip about: "He dresses ugly now...I heard he's a jerk to his girlfriend...I heard he's mean in real life...Did you hear about his new hairstyle..." Blah Blah Blah!

If your going to criticize the man, do your homework first, and the stuff you see on VH1 or E! Celebrity gossip shows don't count as homework. I could care less about the man's new hairstyle, or personal life (that we know NOTHING about besides what some gossip reporter tells you for $1). I'm not searching on information about your life, your hairstyle, your girlfriend or terrible things you may have done recently. Then why would I care about Criss Angel like that?

The fact is, any one of us gets famous and crosses over into the mainstream like Blaine and Angel have, and you're going to have dirt thrown at you from someone. Without question. So if we're going to knock on someone, can we do it for something worthwhile and for real, and not this girly, stupid ridiculous gossip that has nothing to do with magic?

But for you all who love your gossip, here's some about me!

I am a professional magician and have a fair amount of publicity in Colorado. Today, I woke up...probably scratched my butt as I got out of bed (a bad morning ritual). I watched 300, went to work, came home and made dinner and ate with my wife as I watched Fresh Prince of Bel-Air. I came upstairs to my office to check out the Penguin and Magic Cafe forums (which I call "Checking out the hot sheets"). I'll go to my magic room and practice for a bit before going to bed. Other information, I did change up my hairstyle last week so that it's all even all the way around, instead of my usual shadow fade down the sides and the back. I have put on a few pounds this last year, so I've gotten a tiny bit flabby in the stomach. I'll be working out at my gym, Fitness 19, to work that off and get in shape for my upcoming gigs, as I have several in the next month.

My wife and I are happily married, and I expect that will continue for the rest of my life. Oh...I do have a juicy secret: I have a slight World of Warcraft addiction, a game I play every so often. And oh yeah...two days ago my wife and I got into an argument, and I got angry. Another juicy bit of gossip about a magician! I also borrowed a quarter from someone at work to practice palming with and I forgot to give it back. I've lied before, misled people several times in my life, been rude to others at times, and have been seen in public wearing sweats and a old t-shirt. Oh yeah, and I think Kari from Mythbusters is strangely attractive. Now that's a story!


Perhaps that bit of saucy news just made your day!
Kthxbye.

First, I never said the accusations were true. I was simply reporting the bad publicity that he's had. This stuff was reported on magic sites that deal with news in magic. That's why I know anything about it in the first place. I was simply showing that he's had a lot of bad publicity, and it continues constantly. It's not my fault that he just happens to be constantly getting bad publicity, and that his stories end up on the sites that I read in order to keep up on what's going on in magic. For the most part, I know the majority of the stories are embellished, but that still doesn't matter, as he is still getting the bad publicity that I was talking about. Which was my point; and I'll repeat it again; Criss Angel is getting a lot of bad publicity.


It seems as if you assume that I really believe that majority that is reported on Criss. That is by far not the truth. I know a lot of the stuff is embellished. And I don't spend much time thinking about Criss either. He doesn't effect me what so ever, because his fame is dying down, and no one really cares about him in my area of the country. I was simply making a point. Also, if you notice, I'm on this site very seldom anymore. Mainly because I am in the process of producing my own stage show next month, and working on new material. So the last part of your comment was unnecessary and just rude.

As for talking about Criss Angel's magic; that would be quite a difficult task to do, as he does lack in that ability. His close-up magic is severely lacking. His stage magic is not bad, and is interesting to watch (or was).




Actually, Criss Angel has stated very clearly several times that he does not believe in psychics, mediums, fortune-tellers, and the like...[/quote] He may have stated so, but actions speak louder than words. A couple Halloweens ago, he had an episode that he did a seance. Throughout the whole show, he never stated that what he was doing was just magic. He led the audience to believe that it was true. At the end of the show, he did say that he doesn't believe in ghosts, but it was a very quick mention, that really says nothing. That episode itself stepped over a boundary. It was his responsibility to inform people he was just doing magic. He did not do that.

That's just one instance. Now he can state whatever he wants in whatever source he wants. But it doesn't matter if he disregards that and performs a seance where he doesn't inform people that it's just magic, and nothing paranormal. Also, throughout his show he does claim that some of the stuff he does is illusion, and the other is real. So it's left up to the audience to try to figure out what is what. When in reality, it's all illusion.




How has he disrespected the art?..... [/quote] When Criss first came out, I liked him. His first two specials were very interesting. His first season was alright. However, the more I learned about magic, the less and less I liked him, because of his disrespect for the art. First, his blatant use of camera tricks, and stooges. Henning, Copperfield, the Blackstones, etc. went on TV and didn't perform camera tricks. They used the camera to their advantage from time to time, but that's a must for TV (which is not what Criss does. He does blatant camera tricks). But they instilled a trust into the general public that what they were seeing is what was happening. Criss took that trust, and used it to his advantage. He irresponsibly used it by using camera tricks, and telling the audience that he did no such thing. He played on the trust that had been created by the greats before him.

In magic, we lie. It's as simple as that, but we are honest liars. That's something that people know. However, Criss has gone too far with his lies as well. Informing the audience that what they see is what they get, when he's obviously doing camera tricks, or using paid actors/stooges (who he's "never met before") is crossing a line. It's taking advantage of people's trust, which is not something that we should be doing. There is a certain boundary that a magician has. When a magician lies, it should be fun. And the audience knows it's a lie. When you use a lie to take advantage of people's trust though, you step over that boundary.

Criss Angel's actions towards David Blaine are also very uncalled for, and disrespectful. Even some of the comments that he's made about David Copperfield are disrespectful. Criss Angel has an ego problem; it's as simple as that. I mean he goes as far as posting advertisements telling his "Loyals" when and where they can get a chance to see him naked (part of his last season, I believe). He's even gone as far as disrespect Houdini in his last season. If you can't see that he disrespects the art, then you're simply not looking. And it's not like I actually keep up on him. I could really care less about the guy; however, it just happens that he's the big name in magic, and is being reported on the magic news sites that I visit.

Again, I think I should restate that I was simply making a point though. I was showing that Criss has had a lot of bad publicity. I never stated it was true, or even that I believed it. I was simply showing that what Nicholas96 said about him not having bad publicity wasn't true. That was the point of my last post. And again, I get my information from magic news sites, that just so happen to be reporting what happens to Criss as he is the big name in magic right now. I do not go out looking for information on him so I can bash him, because he's not worth it. Also, I have no problem with other big names in magic. I have respect for David Blaine, even though I hate his presentation. I have a lot of respect for David Copperfield. As well as many other magicians (those two are the only ones that come to mind when I think of celebrity magicians though).

I don't understand why your hating on camera tricks so much. I'm not the biggest fan of them, but hey, if they get your job done for you, why not do them. Regardless the method, as ling as your entertaining your audience, in this case viewers, it's fine.

I have a problem with his camera tricks simply because he's taking advantage of a trust that has been built up by the greats of the past. Magicians like Doug Henning worked to get a trust with the TV audience. The trust was built on him not using camera effects. Other magicians who have followed have done the same thing. They work on gaining the audience trust, that what they see on TV, is what they would be seeing if they were actually there.

Now, that is not the 100% truth. Because when filming TV magic specials, you do have to take multiple takes. However, the effect that you see is the actual effect. It's not a bunch of random video that is strung and edited together to create an effect that is completely impossible to replicate. Criss Angel does the former. He does camera tricks, which takes advantage of a trust that the greats of the past built. It's also a disrespect to the art. Because what he's doing now is nothing more than Hollywood visual effects, not magic.

It’s not fine - Because when you’re a professional magician and some uneducated layman challenges you to do a Crissy Angel trick, live and impromptu, you’re forced to decline. The layman then makes some ignorant statement like, “You’re not as good as him – He can do this stuff anytime, anywhere.”

The audience is unaware of the method so they assume Crissy is more skilled because he can do stuff other magicians cannot do. Which we all know is not the case. It’s one thing to lie about your presentation; it’s another thing to lie about your skill level.

As a TV entertainer, it’s no problem for the audience, but Crissy could not perform 99.9% of the stuff he does on his little cable show, live and impromptu, like he claims. Due to clever camera editing and an army of assistants he gives the illusion of actually looking skilled.

A writer and several crew members told me firsthand one example where he showed up on set without a clue what he was supposed to do that day. It took Luke Jermay over 2 hours to explain the method to him. Crissy finally performed the magic trick, but not that well. In post-production they edited the content and showed the reactions of the actors/spectators and the TV audience saw a mini-miracle.

It’s not fine.