without cutting you in half
The magician uses humor as a form of misdirection. Even without this in the performer’s toolbox, magic—even without jokes— magic can elicit laughter without any overt jokes.
Why do people laugh at a magic trick?
The release of shock or tension caused by the perception of something going wrong with the laws of the universe can produce anxiety or laughter. Because the impossibility is framed within the context of a show and not a spontaneous event in your ordinary life, you know that you are safe.
Confident in your safety, you feel secure and laugh at the unsettling absurdity of it. Even if you don’t laugh in response to the magic moments, you’ll find yourself laughing at your friends who do have normal reactions to a supernormal event.
David Copperfield is surprisingly funny in his stage show, but I believe Copperfield’s comedy takes a back seat to his magic. With the comedy magicians given below, the comedy is so in your face that you forget you are watching a magician.
Tommy Cooper
The first modern comedy magician and the most influential hilarious magician. He would often make a mess of a trick but would always retain the secret and come out looking good in the end. Sadly—or perhaps he would’ve chosen this—the magician’s heart failed him while performing what would be his final magic show.
<div”>
Chipps Cooney
This sad sap, inept magician performs his tricks with a “What’s the point?” air about him. It’s as if he’s being forced to perform a magic act against his will. Chipps ranks among the funniest magicians.
Tom Mullica
Funny-looking magician Tom Mullica, best known for his astounding ability to eat lit cigarettes, is blessed with an enormous mouth. In Tom Mullica’s mouth, Tom can hold over a dozen lit cigarettes.
John Archer
John Archer is a funny magician. He uses mentalism to entertain his audiences. Though you’ll probably be fooled (he fooled magicians Penn & Teller), you’ll go to his magic show and feel entertained regardless.entertained regardless.
Steve Martin
Not many know that Steve Martin got his start as a magician. In the end, he took the comedian path. His early magic shows were so good that I’m tempted to steal them myself.
Whit Haydn
Whit “Pop” Haydn is a disarming hillbilly character from Tennessee with at least one groundbreaking technique having to do with (in general terms) influencing a participant to select a playing card from a face-up spread of playing cards. You wouldn’t guess it from his nonchalant, silly persona.
Harry Anderson
You may know this magician as the judge on Night Court. Or maybe you were lucky enough to see him on his nightclub show Hello Sucker. But he got his start as a street magician. He continues to influence magicians around the world to this day on the lecture circuit. There are some accounts of him (by other magicians) performing the miraculous. One example I recall is someone walking down the hall in The Magic Castle and looking into one of the rooms.
In this room, Harry Anderson was caught sitting at a table.
Comedy magician Harry Anderson wassitting there, watching a deck of cards deal itself onto the table.
Mac King
The first time I saw the Mac King comedy magic show, I was rolling in laughter. King comes across as cheesy, but his magic is still of a high quality. This comedy magician said that Teller’s sleight of hand is eclipsed only by his slight of stature.
It’s safe to say that one-half of Las Vegas magicians Penn and Teller cares more about the show than about the magic. The magic serves the show, not the other way around. That’s a good thing. Why doesn’t Teller Speak? Teller (the quiet one) has a passion for magic. Penn (the tall, bombastic one) is a juggler. After Penn and Teller met, they joined and hit the street performing street magic shows (Penn’s juggling helped draw a crowd). Funniest funny comedy magicians.
They have done a great show, but what makes them stand out is Penn’s business genius and Teller’s encyclopedic knowledge of magic. If you, like me, watched the ascension of Penn Jillette on Donald Trump’s reality TV show The Apprentice, you’re well aware that there’s a depth to Penn you’d never expect.
Penn met Teller when Teller was a Latin professor. You may be surprised at this since you never hear Teller profess anything on stage.
David Williamson is one of the funniest magician I’ve ever seen. David Williamson is so funny It can take a while before you realize how technically advanced he is. You won’t find his technical proficiency in this clip,magic plus a lot of laughs.
In the future, I’ll add a list of 7 more hilarious magicians. One such magician is the magician the Amazing Johnathan. Another magician is Kevin King, who got his start performing in several venues in Central Indiana.
