Have any Presidents ever had famous magicians perform for them?

I can't name any, but there have been many magi who have performed in the White House.

On his last special David Blaine performed for George Bush.

David Blaine has performed for George W Bush and Bill Clinton that I know for sure of. Lance Burton performed for President Reagan as well during his presidency. that's all I can remember off the top of my head right now

Im surprised Copperfield has never performed for a President. I hardly see him in the news anymore. Maybe the SS is scared he'll make a President Vanish?

Yeah I looked for something on David performing for a president but I couldn't find anything related to it online.

DC has (for a few different prezes, I believe). I know for a fact he performed for Clinton, at some gala event. The First Lady was the onstage participant for the Graffiti Wall bit. I saw the video awhile back on YouTube, but I think it has since been taken down.

There is an interesting story about Max Malini. In 1922, at a public reception at the White House, he bit a button off the coat of the current president (Warren G. Harding). He then showed that the button had vanished, and the President found the button sewed back on his coat.

I heard this story from the book: Malini and His Magic, by Dai Vernon.

I performed for the president of my golf club

I think Chris Angel performed for Obama also.

Good one, George. I bet your golf club's president was more receptive and appreciative or your magic than most Presidents of the USA would or have been.

That's odd that a YouTube video of DC performing for Bill and Hilary with Hilary on stage would get pulled from YouTube. Heck, I can watch every one of David's TV specials on YouTube and they've been up there for years. Hmmmm... I wonder if it was the Hilary camp at some time during her run at the White House that got the video yanked. Maybe it wasn't very flattering of her, although for me THAT kind of thing (enjoying and taking part in a magic performance) would have given me cause to consider her for the job.

Ooops... sorry, sir. I didn't mean to speak of things political, since I know that discussions on her should avoid religion and politics, which is just like what ALL polite conversations should do - AVOID THOSE TOPICS!

Speaking of topics, what were we talking about? I think someone employed a bit of misdirection there, because I certainly didn't see how David Blaine was able to get past the Secret Service and get to George W like he did. I know if I was SS and I saw him approaching George W, I think I'd have to stop him and detain him for a bit. It was somewhat akin to when John Lydon (Johnny Rotten of the Sex Pistols) tried to get in to have a chat with Queen Elizabeth. If I recall, I don't think they let him in. Okay, maybe not exactly like that, but... close.

Copperfield did perform at a Presidential Gala. I don't remember which one, but I do remember he did the Duck Bucket with his companion Webster, and then did a humerous reveal, repeating it in slow motion. If I recall, Chris Kenner was the "hidden assistant" that stole Webster out of the bucket.

Copperfield, Thomas Solomon and Lance Burton all performed for Ronald Reagan. I am fairly certain Copperfield even borrowed the coin from Reagan for the cigarette through the quarter routine. Max Malini performed at the White House for McKinley, Harding, Coolidge, and Teddy Roosevelt. Faucett Ross performed for Wilson, FDR and Truman as did Russell Swann. Many other magicians entertained FDR, but Warren E. Simms was known as "The White House Magician" during the administration.

Hello Fellow Magic - Ites

I'm fifty - six and have been interested in the American Presidents since I was ten or eleven. I'm also interested in the great magicians of long ago, so its only natural that I'd start researching magicians and the presidents. Heres a few tid bits that I've found -

In 1845 Alexander Heimburger was invited to the White House to perform for President Polk, making him the first magician to be invited there to entertain the president.

WYMAN THE WIZARD (John W. Wyman Jr.) and COMPARS AND ALEXANDER HERRMANN have entertained Abraham Lincoln at the White House, while Signor Blitz and Lincoln met in front of the White House during a parade. Wyman is said to have performed for Lincoln four times. Does anyone know the dates of Wyman's four performances for Lincoln?

Horace Goldin is said to have performed for Warren Harding and Woodrow Wilson.
(Does anyone know when these two performances took place?)

In 1925 Howard Thurston performed for President Calvin Coolidge.

One magic trick I would have loved to have seen is for a magician to have made George W. Bush vanish and then forget how to make him reappear. LOL. Now, if I have offended anyone, lets just pretend I never wrote this. To quote Errol Flynn -
"If I owe anyone money, I'm willing to forget about it if they are".
Bob

The Pendragons performed for George W. Bush.