There was an article written by Milt Larsen awhile back listing the top 10 greatest magicians of all time. Copperfield didn't even make the cut. I know Mr. Larsen is absolutely singin-in-the-rain in LOVE with vaudville, so the list was mainly populated with vaudville-esque magicians, but the whole premise is kinda faulty because what makes a 'great' magician is all a matter of opinion. There's also the issue of actual magic skill vs. showmanship. It's a debate with no end, so here is a more provable list:

Throught the history of ANYTHING, it's always SOMEone's turn to be the 'top dog'. In a broad example I could use nations: right now top-dog is the U.S, before that, it was Britain, before that, it was France, then Spain...all the way back to Egypt. (and AFTER the US, it will probably be either China or India!) So going back to the early days of magic performance, who were the top-dogs and how long were their reigns? Again....I'n not asking who the BEST magician of the time was, just which one was top-of-the-pole...household name...say "magician" and this is the name everyone knew at that time.

The list was as follows:

Houdin
Hermann
Kellar
Houdini
Thurston
Blackstone
Wilson
Blackstone Jr.
Henning
Copperfield
Burton
Penn & Teller
Siegfried & Roy
Blaine
Angel

I cnat remember the dates used but I do recall that Burton's reign was the shortest, and Thurston's the longest

The US is the top dog for now, but Japan is putting out some find magicians. I still the think the Dutch have the greatest collection, but like you said, all of this is just opinion.

You neglected to give the list. Here it is:

1. Harry Houdini
2. Dante
3. Harry Blackstone Sr.
4. Doug Henning
5. Richiardi
6. Tihany
7. Mark Wilson
8. Siegfried and Roy
9. Lance Burton
10. Dai Vernon

Your comment about Milt in LOVE with vaudeville, only one vaudeville performer is on this list and that is Houdini. The list is pretty good, but of course Copperfield is left out and that is a shame. I think Tihany should be considered, because of his influence in South America, but I would take him out and replace him with Copperfield.

But, this is just my opinion.

Hello Mtpascoe,

Thanx for finding that list! When I said the US I was referring to it's status as a nation, not it's magician content, but youre right, we do have the most though Japan & China & India are coming on strong! And by "vaudville-esque" I mean LIKE vaudelville....so I'm surprised Henning made the list!

Houdin was not a magician. His son-in-law, Robert-Houdin was.

Also, Siegfried and Roy belong much earlier on the list, before David Copperfield.

The top dog?
BRIAN. (it used to be Lassie)

Thanks for the correction on Robert-Houdin Bill. As for S&R's placement, I can only suppose it refers to when the apex of their carreer came about. I know they were succesful before Copperfield, but their popularity really hit it's high-point in the early nineties I'd say.