Wikipedia

Richard J. Kaufman

Richard J. Kaufman(born May 16, 1958) is an author, publisher, illustrator, and editor of books and magazines in the field ofmagicand amateur magicians of noted skill.

Richard J. Kaufman
Kaufman in 2017
Kaufman in 2017
Born(1958-05-16)May 16, 1958(age 66)
New York City, United States
OccupationWriter, illustrator, publisher,magician
Alma materQueens College New York University
GenreMagic
Website
richardkaufman.com

Early life and education

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Richard Kaufman was born in 1958 at French Hospital in New York City. He became interested in magic at age 5 after his uncle, Alan Soffin, sent him some novelties from theS.S. Adams Company.His father, Lewis C. Kaufman, encouraged his interest by purchasing tricks at a magic shop, learning them, and teaching them to his son.[1]

By the age of 14, Kaufman was inventing magic effects He marketed his first two tricks through Lou Tannen’s Magic Shop at age 15 and he illustrated his first book forHarry Lorayne,Afterthoughts(1975)[2]at age 16. He attendedQueens College,and thenNew York University,graduating in 1981 with a double major in English and acting, having studied at theStella AdlerStudio in New York City with Pearl Pearson and Mario Siletti.[3]

Career

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Kaufman illustrated many books in the field through 1994, popularizing a style of cartoon-based movement into technical magic illustration. He also began writing magic books, starting with the Interlocked Production of Coins in 1977. He self-published his first two books, then sought a partner for the financing required to publish larger books.Alan C. Greenberg,CEO of Bear Stearns, also a highly respected amateur magician, brought the financing that Kaufman required and the companyKaufman and Greenbergwas formed as a result.

In 1998,Genii, The Conjurors' Magazinewas purchased by Kaufman, his wife Elizabeth, and partners Jane and Daniel Solomon. Kaufman became editor in chief and president of The Genii Corporation and the magazine continues its publication, now in both printed and digital formats. Genii also operates The Genii Forum[4]an internet discussion group and MagicPedia,[5]an online encyclopedia of magic. The magazine and its associated entities was sold toRandy Pitchford,CEO ofGearbox Softwarein July 2017. Richard and Elizabeth Kaufman continue as Editor and Art Director.[3]

For the public, Kaufman wroteThe Project Magic Handbook(2002) forDavid Copperfield;the trick section inMindfreaks(2007) forCriss AngelandKnack Magic Tricksfor Globe Pequot Press (2010).[3]

Recognition of Kaufman's influence as a magic illustrator is described in Chuck Romano's book,The Art of Deception(1997)ISBN0-578-00752-5.

Kaufman has appeared on the covers ofGenii,The Conjurors' Magazine(1987);Magic Magazine(1993);The Magic Circular(2006);M-U-M(2011) and has given presentations at numerous magic conferences including theLos Angeles Conference on Magic History,The Magic Collectors Association, The Magic Circle Collectors Day, and Magic-Con 2011.[6]He has received the 1997 Literary Fellowship from the Academy of Magical Arts (the Magic Castle),[7]the J.N. Maskelyne Award from the Magic Circle in London in 2001,[8]the Milbourne Christopher Award in 1995, The Allan Slaight Award for “Sharing Secrets” in both 2016 and 2019[9](the only person to have received the award twice), and the Special History, Research & Scholarship Award from FISM in 2022.[10]He has also been made an honorary life member of theSociety of American Magiciansand The Academy of Magical Arts at The Magic Castle,[3]a Member of the Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star at London’sMagic Circle,and has received a president's citation from theInternational Brotherhood of Magicians.[3] Kaufman wrote for the Pop Culture website Boing Boing through 2018.[11]

Publications

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Periodicals

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Edited by Richard Kaufman:[12]

  • 1978Apocalypsewith Harry Lorayne
  • 1982Richard's Almanac
  • 1995The Looking Glass
  • 1999Genii

Books

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Written, illustrated, and/or published by Richard Kaufman:[12]

  • 1973Genesis Kingswritten by Fr. Brennan (marketed trick)
  • 1973Rollover Aceswritten by Fr. Brennan (marketed trick)
  • 1975Afterthoughtsby Harry Lorayne (Illustrated by Kaufman)
  • 1977The Interlocked Production of Coins(illustrated, and published by Kaufman)
  • 1977Balls! Lessons in Side Arm Snookery(Written, illustrated, and published by Kaufman)
  • 1977The Magic Bookby Harry Lorayne (Illustrated by Kaufman)
  • 1978On the Up and Up(Written, illustrated, and published by Kaufman)
  • 1978The Real Secrets of The Three Ball Routinesby Frank Garcia (Illustrated by Kaufman)
  • 1978The Card Classics of Ken KrenzelBy Harry Lorayne (Illustrated by Kaufman)
  • 1978Apocalypse, Vol. 1(Created by Kaufman and edited in conjunction with Harry Lorayne)
  • 1979CardMagic by Richard Kaufman(Written and illustrated and published by Kaufman)
  • 1979New Stars of Magic presents The Ultimate Invisible Assembly(trick created and contributed by Kaufman)
  • 1980The Gene Maze Card Book(Written and illustrated and published by Kaufman)
  • 1980The Very Best of Cups and Ballsby Frank Garcia (Illustrated by Kaufman)
  • 1980Exclusive Card MiraclesBy Frank Garcia (Illustrated by Kaufman)
  • 1981CoinMagic(Written, illustrated, and published by Kaufman)
  • 1981CardWorks(Written and illustrated and published by Kaufman)
  • 1982Tom Mullica's AEROBIC: Automatic-Entry Roll-Over Bill-In-Cigarette(Written and illustrated by Kaufman)
  • 1982The Complete Works of Derek Dingle(Written and illustrated and published by Kaufman)
  • 1982The New York Magic Symposium – Collection 1(Written and illustrated by Kaufman)
  • 1982The Elegant Card Magic of Fr. Cyprian by Frank Garcia(Illustrated by Kaufman)
  • 1983The New York Magic Symposium – Collection 2(Written and illustrated by Kaufman)
  • 1983Richard's Almanac Volume 1(Hardcover Reprint of Volume One) (Written and illustrated and published by Kaufman)
  • 1984Abstract(Lecture Notes) (Written and illustrated and published by Kaufman)
  • 1984The Topit Bookby Michael Ammar (Illustrated by Kaufman)
  • 1985David Roth's Expert Coin Magic(Written and illustrated and published by Kaufman)
  • 1985Don England's Gaffed To The Hilt!By Jon Racherbaumer (Illustrated and published by Kaufman)
  • 1986Sankey Panky(Written and illustrated and published by Kaufman)
  • 1986The Compleat Invocation, Vols. 1 & 2(by Tony Raven and Tony Andruzzi, Published by Kaufman)
  • 1986Spirit TheaterBy Eugene Burger (Published by Kaufman)
  • 1987The Uncanny Scot:Ron Wilson (Written and illustrated by Richard Kaufman)
  • 1987The Performance of Close-Up MagicBy Eugene Burger, (illustrated and published by Kaufman)
  • 1987Lim-TricksBy Jeff Sheridan (Published by Kaufman)
  • 1987Derek Dingle's Australian Poker(written, illustrated, and published by Kaufman)
  • 1987The New Jinx(Book) By Bill Madsen (Published by Kaufman)
  • 1988Darwin Ortiz at the Card Tableby Darwin Ortiz, (illustrated and published by Kaufman)
  • 1988New Magic of Japanby Phil Goldstein and Richard Kaufman (Published by Kaufman)
  • 1988Sawa's Library of Magic,Vol. 1 (written, illustrated, photographed, and published by Kaufman)
  • 1989Williamson's Wonders(written, illustrated, and published by Kaufman)
  • 1989The Secrets of Brother John Hamman(written, illustrated, and published by Kaufman)
  • 1989The Experience of Magicby Eugene Burger, illustrated by Kaufman
  • 1989On The Pass (Video starring Kaufman)
  • 1990100% Sankey(written, illustrated, and published by Kaufman)
  • 1990Gary Kurtz: Unexplainable Acts(written, illustrated, and published by Kaufman)
  • 1990The Amazing MiraclesOf Shigeo Takagi (Written and published by Kaufman)
  • 1991Life SaversBy Michael Weber (published by Kaufman)
  • 1991Strange CeremoniesBy Eugene Burger (published by Kaufman)
  • 1991Card CraftBy J.K. Hartman, illustrated by Joseph K. Schmidt (published by Kaufman)
  • 1991Road HustlerBy Robert Prus (published by Kaufman)
  • 1991Houdini's Conjurer’s Monthly Magazine(published by Kaufman))
  • 1991Smoke and MirrorsBy John Bannon (illustrated and Published by Kaufman)
  • 1992Five Times Five: Japan(written and published by Kaufman)
  • 1992The Collected Almanac(Written, illustrated, and published by Kaufman)
  • 1992The Compleat Invocation, Vol. 3by Tony Andruzzi (published by Kaufman)
  • 1992Totally Out of ControlBy Chris Kenner (published by Kaufman)
  • 1992Tom Mullica Starring in Show-Time at the Tom-Foolery(written, photographed, and published by Kaufman)
  • 1993Beyond CompereBy Terry Seabrooke (published by Kaufman)
  • 1993Martin Gardner PresentsBy Martin Gardner (Published by Kaufman)
  • 1993Secrets Draun From Underground(Written and published by Kaufman)
  • 1993Tarbell 8(Harlan Tarbell,Steve Burton, Richard Kaufman)
  • 1993A Tarbell Scrapbook(compiled and published by Kaufman)
  • 1993Ibidem, Vol 1Issues 1–16 (Published by Kaufman)
  • 1993The Second Now You See It, Now You Don't!by Bill Tarr and Barry Ross (reprint published by Kaufman)
  • 1993Walt Disney's The Sorcerer's Apprentice Magic and Story Bookby Bob Friedhoffer (magic section illustrated by Kaufman)
  • 1994Greater Magicby John Northern Hilliard (expanded and published by Kaufman)
  • 1994Gene Maze and The Art of Bottom DealingBy Stephen Hobbs, (published by Kaufman)
  • 1994Paul Gertner's Steel and Silver(written and published by Kaufman)
  • 1994Great Balloons!By Jean Merlin,(published by Kaufman)
  • 1994Strong MagicBy Darwin Ortiz (published by Kaufman)
  • 1994Mahatma(published by Kaufman)
  • 1995Much Ado About SomethingBy Karrell Fox (published by Kaufman)
  • 1995Duffie's Card CompulsionsBy Peter Duffie (published by Kaufman)
  • 1995CardsharkBy Darwin Ortiz (published by Kaufman)
  • 1995After Craft: More Card Trickery By J.K. Hartman(published by Kaufman)
  • 1995The Discoverie of Witchcraftby Reginald Scot (published by Kaufman)
  • 1995The Magic of Edward Victor’s HandsBy Rae Hammond (published by Kaufman)
  • 1995Magic of the Hands TrilogyBy Edward Victor (published by Kaufman)
  • 1995Facsimile 1by Jon Racherbaumer (published by Kaufman)
  • 1995New Card Control Systemsby Joseph K. Schmidt (published by Kaufman)
  • 1996Tom Mullica Lecture Notes(written by Kaufman and Tom Mullica)
  • 1996Magie DuvivierBy Jon Racherbaumer, (Published by Kaufman)
  • 1996Lou Gallo: The Underground Manby Richard Kaufman and Mark Phillips (published by Kaufman)
  • 1996A Magician Among the Spirits(Published by Kaufman)
  • 1996SéanceBy Scott Davis (Published by Kaufman)
  • 1996Facsimile 2by Jon Racherbaumer (Published by Kaufman)
  • 1996Notes to Houdini!!!By Ken Silverman (Published by Kaufman)
  • 1996Stanyon’s Magic(Published by Kaufman)
  • 1996Stanyon's Serial Lessons in Conjuring(Published by Kaufman)
  • 1997Jennings '67(written and published by Kaufman)
  • 1997Arcade Dreams: Ed MarloBy Jon Racherbaumer (published by Kaufman)
  • 1997The Feints and Temps of Harry RiserBy Ed Brown (published by Kaufman)
  • 1997Folding Money Fooling By Robert Neale(published by Kaufman
  • 1997Greater Artful Dodges of Eddie FieldsBy Jon Racherbaumer (Published by Kaufman))
  • 1997Effortless Card MagicBy Peter Duffie, (published by Kaufman)
  • 1997Facsimile 3by Jon Racherbaumer (published by Kaufman)
  • 1997Charles Bertram: The Court ConjurerBy Edwin Dawes (published by Kaufman)
  • 1997Looking Glass(4 Issues edited by Kaufman, Racherbaumer, and Hobbs)
  • 1997Basic Basic Basic Card Technique(Video starring Kaufman)
  • 1998The Book or Don't Forget to Pointby the Flicking Fingers (published by Kaufman)
  • 1998Vis a Vis: A Jack Avis BookBy Jack Avis and John Derris, illustrated by Joseph K. Schmidt
  • 1998The Mysteries of My Life: Rene LavandBy Richard Kaufman and Rene Lavand (Published by Kaufman)
  • 1998Street Magicby Jeff Sheridan and Edward Claflin (published by Kaufman)
  • 1998Five Times Five: ScotlandBy Peter Duffie (published by Kaufman)
  • 1998The Now You See It, Now You Don't! NotebookWritten and Illustrated by Bill Tarr (published by Kaufman)
  • 1998Stodare: The Enigma VariationsBy Dr. Edwin Dawes (published by Kaufman)
  • 1999Trickery Treatsby J.K. Hartman, illustrated by Joseph K. Schmidt(published by Kaufman)
  • 1999Artistic and Magical Life of Bob KlineBy Bill King (published by Kaufman)
  • 2000Mastering the Art of MagicBy Eugene Burger, (published by Kaufman)
  • 2000Facsimile 4by Jon Racherbaumer (published by Kaufman)
  • 2000Other Voices: Ventriloquismfrom BC to TV By Stanley Burns (published by Kaufman)
  • 2001The Lost Notebooks of John Northern Hilliard(Published by The Genii Corporation)
  • 2002Sexy Magicwritten and illustrated by James Hodges; translated from the French by Jane Solomon (published by Kaufman)
  • 2002Stanley Collins, Conjuror, Collector and IconoclastBy Dr. Edwin Dawes (published by Kaufman)
  • 2003David Copperfield's Project Magic Handbookby Richard Kaufman
  • 2005Seriously SillyBy David Kaye (published by Kaufman)
  • 2005One Hundred by WarlockByElizabeth Warlockillustrated by Joseph K. Schmidt (Published by The Genii Corporation)
  • 2006The Vernon TouchBy Dai Vernon (Published by The Genii Corporation)
  • 2007Mindfreakby Criss Angel and Richard Kaufman (Trick Section)ISBN0-06-113761-8
  • 2010Knack Magic Tricks: A Step-by-Step Guide to Illusions, Sleight of Hand, and Amazing Feats(Photographs by Elizabeth Kaufman and Foreword byDavid Copperfield)ISBN1-59921-779-1
  • 2011The Berglas Effectsby Richard Kaufman andDavid Berglas(published by Kaufman)
  • 2013Japan Ingeniousby Richard Kaufman andSteve Cohen(published by Kaufman)
  • 2014The Skinner Tapes(13 disc set of audio CDs and DVDs) (published by Kaufman)
  • 2015Labyrinthby Stephen Hobbs (published by Kaufman)
  • 2015Tenyoism(Written, photographed, and published by Richard Kaufman)
  • 2016The Secrets of So Satoby So Sato and Richard Kaufman (published by Kaufman)
  • 2016Super Sized Silly(David Kaye) (published by Kaufman)
  • 2017Spoiler Alert(Ryan Matney) (published by Kaufman)
  • 2018Totally Out of Control: SUPREME MME EDITIONby Chris Kenner (published by Kaufman)
  • 2018DeLand: Madness and Mystery(Written and published by Kaufman)
  • 2021Mr. Jennings Takes it Easy(Written and published by Kaufman)

Future books that Kaufman has announced:

  • Greater Magic (New Edition)
  • Mr. Jennings Takes It Tough
  • Cliff Green's Professional Card Magic

Awards

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  • TheMilbourne ChristopherLiterary Award (1995)[13]
  • TheAcademy of Magical ArtsLiterary & Media Fellowship (1997)[7]
  • The John Nevil Maskelyne Prize (2001) awarded byThe Magic Circle[14]
  • The Allan Slaight Award for “Sharing Secrets” (2016)
  • The Allan Slaight Award for “Sharing Secrets” (2019)
  • The History, Research & Scholarship Award from FISM (2022).

References

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  1. ^"Richard Kaufman".Amazon.
  2. ^"Afterthoughts (Harry Lorayne)".1975.
  3. ^abcde"About Kaufman and Company".
  4. ^"Account".
  5. ^"Home".magicpedia.net.
  6. ^http://magic-con.org/speakers/richard-kaufman/
  7. ^ab"Hall of Fame".The Academy of Magical Arts.
  8. ^"The John Nevil Maskelyne Prize – the Magic Circle".
  9. ^"Allan Slaight Award Recipients | Magicana".
  10. ^@DuvalMagic (July 31, 2022)."My dear friend and colleague and Editor in Chief of Genii Magazine, Richard Kaufman, was also honored tonight with…"(Tweet) – viaTwitter.
  11. ^"Richard Kaufman".December 31, 2018.
  12. ^ab"Account".
  13. ^"Pelaez, Lund, Kaufman Garner Milbourne Christopher Awards".M-U-M.Vol. 85, no. 4. September 1995. p. 38.
  14. ^"The John Nevil Maskelyne Prize".The Magic Circle.RetrievedDecember 29,2017.
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