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By author Ricky Jay and by courtesy of Encyclopaedia Britannica, Inc., copyright 2011; used with permission. Conjuring, also called magic, prestidigitation, or sleight of hand, the theatrical representation of the defiance of natural law. Legerdemain, meaning “light, or nimble, of hand,” and juggling, meaning “the ...

"I’ve collected thousands of books in my life about magic technique. But I believe that the real key to learning is personally. It’s almost like the sensei master relationship in the martial arts--that the way you want to learn is by someone that you respect ...

"If I had never seen him do magic he'd be the most remarkable person I ever met," say Ricky Jay of his friend and mentor, the magician Dai Vernon (1894 -1992), also known as "Professor." A remarkable observer is one way Ricky Jay describes the ...

The 2015 American Masters season kicks off with its first magician profile --- the great Ricky Jay --- followed by Pulitzer Prize-winning playwright, August Wilson; violin virtuoso Jascha Heifetz; and Ken Burns' portrait of American Ballet Theatre. More films to be announced.

American Master Ricky Jay was introduced to the art of magic and sleight-of-hand by his grandfather, an amateur magician whose master magician friends became Jay's mentors. "I’ve been really, really, lucky to be around people...and to feel very much part of this ongoing continuum of ...

Filmmaker Molly Bernstein describes her astonishment the first time she saw Ricky Jay perform. It led her to learn more about sleight-of-hand and the history of magic. She and her partner eventually earned Jay's trust and began the documentary film that was more than a ...

Bing Crosby sings the African-American spiritual "Joshua Fit the Battle of Jericho" with three of his sons on his television special in 1960. Crosby's first four sons --- Gary, twins Dennis and Philip, and Lindsay --- created the The Crosby Boys quartet in 1959. This ...

Launching the series’ 29th season, American Masters — Ricky Jay: Deceptive Practice premieres nationwide Friday, January 23, 2015, 9-10 p.m. on PBS (check local listings). Here is a look back at an in-depth profile in The New Yorker from 1993, when Jay had recently formed ...

In this web exclusive, see Bing Crosby's full performance of "The Second Time Around" (music by Jimmy Van Heusen and Sammy Cahn). A clip of this song from Crosby's television special in 1961 is seen in American Masters - Bing Crosby Rediscovered, which after its ...

This portrait of the inimitable magician Ricky Jay delves into the mysterious world of sleight-of-hand and its small circle of eccentric devotees. Jay is also a best-selling author, historian, actor and a leading collector of antiquarian books and artifacts. Told largely in Jay’s own distinctive ...