Don't know if you really know the scoop on him, but actually he didn't get 'lucky.' He's pretty darn smart because he knows in Magic Business the operative word is Business--it has very little to do with magic. He approached it different than most. He started hanging out in swank bars and 'rubbing elbows' with some major stars. (If you want to be great, no better way than to hang out with 'great' people) He hit it off well with Leonardo DiCaprio and became good friends. On his behalf Leonardo went to the network and said if you give Blaine his own TV special, I'll appear on it. (this was when he was really big--Titanic) Of course they jumped at that opportunity as they knew they'd get viewers just because Leonardo was on it.

Blaine then capitalized on it and look at him now. He makes more money in a year than most of us will see in a lifetime.

I'll add more fuel to the fire.

Vernon ,Marlo, et al. are no names. They may be master technician magicians, but we shouldn't define mastery of a performing art as being completely unknown by the general public. I'd go as far to say that they are failures compared to people like Malini, Blackstone, Houdini and even Blaine. No one besides magicians cares who Vernon et al are or what they did.

The true master magicians are the ones who actually are succesful world famous performers. That makes Blaine a master compared to both Vernon or Marlo. Those two could probably knew more methods than Blaine, but they are comparatively completely unknown compared to Blaine.

So is that to say that no one can be happy and successful if they only make five or six figures a year and are not world famous? I am confused. Should getting famous be the deciding factor of weather or not an opinion is valid? I do believe that sometimes the proof is in the pudding, but I do not want to be that big. Some of the names mentioned above are not exactly rolling pennies for gas these days. If that is your standard, there is really nothing I can say. Except, of course, good job talking tough on the internet.

Getting back on track, Is there a little something extra that he is doing for the high wire act or not?

Sorry, I'd respond, but I can't stop laughing.

Well, I was going to edit my post after the laughter stopped and I had a change of heart, but there's a bizarre thirty minute time limit on editing your own posts, which I can't understand for the life of me.

Anyway ... I'll try to retype what I'd attempted to post as closely as possible.


Blaine is most definitely NOT a master compared to Vernon and Marlo. Blaine would be the first person to tell you this. Blaine is a performer, but not a master. A master is able to work with his craft, creating new works, new techniques ... he is able to be a leader in his field. Blaine does not create anything new ... he is just an excellent performer who presents material that most magicians have been doing for years.

Vernon, and Marlo to a lesser extent, shaped magic in ways that Blaine has, so far, not approached. Blaine has inspired imitators. He has "taught" aspiring magicians to be mysterious figures, but he hasn't taught them much about magic, at least not to the extent that Vernon et al have. Vernon inspired magicians with different styles, personas, etc. to take a new approach to the art. Without Vernon, there might not be a Blaine, as much of what he does -- particularly with cards -- has its roots in the revolutionary work of Dai Vernon.

From your post, and those that have preceded it, I take it that you are a younger individual, and perhaps are somewhat new to magic (that is, the last year or two). I strongly recommend -- and I say this as advice, not as criticism -- that you invest some time studying the work of Vernon and Marlo, not just to learn what they did, but why it helped to shape magic. Vernon in particular. You'll find that his work is a treasure trove, not just of effects and techniques, but ideas and theories. You'll carry his work with you for the rest of your magical life.

Its all magic...!!!