Kevin James (magician)

Infobox Person
name = Kevin James

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caption = Kevin James with assistant Antonio Hoyos, 2007
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birth_date = birth date and age |1962 | 04|28
birth_place = France
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residence = U.S.A.
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occupation = Magician
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website = http://www.kjmagic.com
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Kevin James (born April 28 1962) is an award-winning French-American magician, known for creating several unique magical effects, such as the "Floating Rose" which is performed by David Copperfield. He has also had longrunning performance runs at venues such as Crazy Horse (Paris) and Caesars Palace. He has won the prestigious "Parlour Magician of the Year" award from the Magic Castle and also appeared on the CBS television special "World's Greatest Magicians at the Magic Castle." In 2007, he was a contestant on the second season of the televised competition America's Got Talent, where he proceeded as far as the semi-finals.

Biography

He was born Kevin James Lowery in France, to Darrell and Mary Lou Lowery. His father was a USAF helicopter pilot stationed in Europe, though later the family relocated to the small town of Jonesville, Michigan, where James grew up. He attended Western Michigan University, studying drama but dropped out in his third year and moved to Los Angeles, where he supported himself with small "strolling" performances at various restaurants, working for tips and a meal.

It was in California that James joined local magician groups such as the "Long Beach Mystics" and the Magic Castle Juniors, where he was allowed to watch the professional performers. He steadily improved his technique, and in the mid-1980s won the award at the P.C.A.M. competition. He also created a routine which aired on Japanese and European television. In 1991 he appeared on the French variety show "Sebastien C'est Fou", which led to a job at the famed Crazy Horse in Paris, where he worked steadily for years, performing 2-3 shows per night, seven days a week.

After Paris, James moved to Las Vegas, becoming a featured performer at the award-winning Splash show at the Riviera Hotel, for another multi-year run. He has opened for comedian Louie Anderson at Bally's, the Sporting Club in Monte Carlo, and headlined at the Sheraton Walkerhill in Seoul, Korea. In 2005, he was headliner and star of "The World's Greatest Magic Show" in Las Vegas. [http://magic.about.com/od/magicinthemedia/a/academy.htm]

In June 2007, James auditioned for the show "America's Got Talent", and received unanimous approval from the judges to move on to the Las Vegas callbacks. ["America's Got Talent", June 23, 2007 broadcast] At the callbacks, ["America's Got Talent", July 10, 2007 broadcast] James astonished the judges again and was passed on to the short list. James was then sent through to the semi-final round ["America's Got Talent", July 11, 2007 broadcast] where he disappointed the judges, ["America's Got Talent", July 17, 2007 broadcast] resulting in his elimination. ["America's Got Talent", July 24, 2007 broadcast]

Awards

* "Parlour Magician of the Year", 2003, Magic Castle [ [http://www.kjmagic.com/miscellaneous/magic.html "Kevin James at the New Crazy Horse"] , September 1992, "Magic Magazine"]
* "Most Original", 2005, International Magicians Society [ [http://www.magictimes.com/archives/2005/2005-05-16.htm May 16, 2005] , "Magic Times"]

References

External links

* [http://www.kjmagic.com Official website]
* [http://www.kjmagic.com/miscellaneous/genii.html "Kevin James is on the Edge"] , August 1994, "Genii" magazine
* [http://www.kjmagic.com/miscellaneous/showbiz.html "Toast of Paris"] , February 1994, "Showbiz Weekly"
* [http://www.kjmagic.com/miscellaneous/ring.html "Inside the Mind of Kevin James"] , June 1999, "The Linking Ring"