Meet My Family: A Magician’s Magician

Few people outside my family know that I have a magician for an uncle. As a boy I’ve had eggs appear out of nowhere from behind my ear, coins pulled from my nose, and as a teenager, I spent  many days as my uncle’s assistant. Especially memorable were the nights helping him set up for his shows at classy nightclubs in Canada, where the audience had no idea of the magic about to unfold.

Before he left Egypt, my uncle was a TV personality, a familiar face on a children’s show called Mama Sameeha. People from my generation still remember him for his catchphrases like "Hens Beng Feng" and "Don’t forget to drink your milk."

My uncle ‘Aladdin’ the magician. 1963.

It was from him that I learned the expression "the magician’s magician," a title reserved for those fine magicians who master their craft to the point that even fellow magicians are left in awe.

They are a special breed of magicians, ones who make it all look so simple. Those who work close to and in the middle of the audience. They’re the masters who include fumbles and mistakes, making it seem like they've given away the trick or made a misstep, only to fool the audience into a double take when they finally reveal that they had everyone played all along. My uncle was one of those magicians.

From him, I learned that life always has a little extra magic if you’re paying attention. This post is dedicated to him and the lessons he taught me.

Here are two amazing acts that capture a bit of that same wonder. They are rated two of the best in the world.

See if you get fooled like I did.