Howie Schwarzman

Howard Schwarzman ( b. 1927, New York) is an American magician, card manipulator, sleight of hand expert, and trick inventor. Considered a "living legend" in the Eastern United States magician community, [http://www.maesonline.org/conv2005.htm] he is best-known as a columnist within the magician trade press, and an importer of very rare tricks from outside the United States.

Biography

In his youth, Schwarzman was considered a "red-headed prodigy", and was mentored by New York orchestra leader Richard Himber, creator of the Linking Finger-Ring trick (which later became part of David Copperfield's stage repertoire). Schwarzman was known for pulling pranks at Himber's request, such as impersonating mentalist Joseph Dunninger. In 1962, Schwarzman began mentoring himself, working with the teenaged Denny Haney, who he booked to perform at the Society of American Magicians. [http://www.dennymagic.com/cgi-bin/hazel.cgi?client=46666661&action=SERVE&item=article.html]

Schwarzman was one of the charter members of F.A.M.E., [ [http://www.houdini.org/fame.html FAME Future Americain Magical Entertainers ] ] the "Future American Magical Entertainers", a magic club created for young magicians in New York City in the 1940s, under the tutelage of Professor Abe Hurwitz, father of Shari Lewis.

Schwarzman became a magic dealer in 1976 and specialized in rare imported tricks. He also wrote a popular column, "I've Said It Before", for Tannen’s Magic Manuscript Magazine.

He has been a member of the Parent Assembly Nr. 1 of the Society of American Magicians for 45 years, and was named "Magician of the Year" in 2007. He is also a long time attendee at FFFF, "Fechter's Finger Flinging Frolic" a convention for close-up magicians held in upstate New York.

When Schwarzman first began to lecture magicians clubs in 1961, Dai Vernon said of him, "In the last few years, you have certainly taken your place among the top flight card men in New York ... I think I'm familiar with the work of almost everyone interested in card handling, both professional and amateur, in this country. I unhesitatingly assert you can hold your own in the fastest company." [http://liesofbrian.com/ARTICLES/howie.html]

Schwarzman retired is 1993, but still attends many major magic conventions and gives occasional lectures. He currently lives in Baltimore, Maryland, and also flies his own plane.

Selected works

* Dynamic Deceptions: Close Up Magic by Howard Schwarzman (lecture notes)
* MUM Reprint of Howard Schwarzman's column "I've Said It Before" from May 2007 onwards

References

* http://pages.cs.wisc.edu/~roy/magictalk-wisdom/discussions/pass.html
* [http://liesofbrian.com/ARTICLES/howie.html Interview with Howard Schwarzman]

External links

* [http://www.ffffmagic.com/ Fechter's Finger Flicking Frolic]
* [http://www.mallofmagic.com/convpix/ffff2001/ffff01_2.htm Photos of Schwarzman at FFFF]