# Does David Copperfield still do huge showpiece illusions? **URL:** \ **Category:** Cafe Society\ **Created:** [May 21, 2023, 11:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-david-copperfield-still-do-huge-showpiece-illusions/984373 "2023-05-21T23:38:55Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 9\ **Page:** 2
**Author:** ![ftg](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/ftg/32/2801_2.png) [@ftg](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/ftg)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2023, 10:55pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-david-copperfield-still-do-huge-showpiece-illusions/984373/21 "2023-05-22T22:55:08Z")
There was a discussion here a few years back about his “trick” to make a [train car disappear](https://youtu.be/LtNpOXcoNTI). It’s obviously uses stooges. Hardly impressive. It all seems to be like that. In searching for the vid, I saw there seems to be a “[David Copperfield Channel](https://www.youtube.com/@DAVIDCOPPERFIELDCHANNEL/videos)” with him doing audio commentaries, etc. But it hasn’t posted a “new” video in 4 years. Jeff from _Coupling_ (2000): “… so why did Claudia Schiffer _bleep_ David Copperfield? …There’s a supermodel who shags total prats and I don’t know where she lives.” ---
**Author:** ![kenobi\_65](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kenobi_65/32/13178_2.png) [@kenobi\_65](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/kenobi_65)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2023, 11:00pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-david-copperfield-still-do-huge-showpiece-illusions/984373/22 "2023-05-22T23:00:36Z")
> [@ftg](#): > > In searching for the vid, I saw there seems to be a “[David Copperfield Channel](https://www.youtube.com/@DAVIDCOPPERFIELDCHANNEL/videos)” with him doing audio commentaries, etc. But it hasn’t posted a “new” video in 4 years. And, I suspect it’s not owned/run by Copperfield, either. Youtube channels that are “official artist channels” have a little icon by the name, and that channel doesn’t. I suspect it’s just run by a fan, posting videos of Copperfield from various sources. ---
**Author:** ![DocCathode](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/doccathode/32/18773_2.png) [@DocCathode](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/DocCathode)\ **Post date:** [May 22, 2023, 11:03pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-david-copperfield-still-do-huge-showpiece-illusions/984373/23 "2023-05-22T23:03:05Z")
Why? It does make me miss **Ianzin** though. ---
**Author:** ![Dewey\_Finn](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/dewey_finn/32/4222_2.png) [@Dewey\_Finn](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dewey_Finn)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 12:41am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-david-copperfield-still-do-huge-showpiece-illusions/984373/24 "2023-05-23T00:41:44Z")
> [@kenobi\_65](#): > > > [@ftg](#): > > > > In searching for the vid, I saw there seems to be a “[David Copperfield Channel](https://www.youtube.com/@DAVIDCOPPERFIELDCHANNEL/videos)” with him doing audio commentaries, etc. But it hasn’t posted a “new” video in 4 years. > > And, I suspect it’s not owned/run by Copperfield, either. Youtube channels that are “official artist channels” have a little icon by the name, and that channel doesn’t. I suspect it’s just run by a fan, posting videos of Copperfield from various sources. In the [story I linked to](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/david-copperfield-magician/) from yesterday’s episode of CBS Sunday Morning, the correspondent mentioned YouTube videos that attempt to explain how David Copperfield is able to do his tricks, but some of these videos are actually red herrings, or false explanations, that Copperfield himself posts. ---
**Author:** ![The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/the_other_waldo_pepper/32/12370_2.png) [@The\_Other\_Waldo\_Pepper](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Other_Waldo_Pepper)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 12:43am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-david-copperfield-still-do-huge-showpiece-illusions/984373/25 "2023-05-23T00:43:27Z")
> [@Dewey\_Finn](#): > > In the [story I linked to](https://www.cbsnews.com/news/david-copperfield-magician/) from yesterday’s episode of CBS Sunday Morning, the correspondent mentioned YouTube videos that attempt to explain how David Copperfield is able to do his tricks, but some of these videos are actually red herrings, or false explanations, that Copperfield himself posts. Unless _that’s_ a false explanation. 😉 ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 1:03am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-david-copperfield-still-do-huge-showpiece-illusions/984373/26 "2023-05-23T01:03:24Z")
The size of Copperfield’s tricks make them less impressive. The flying illusion showed him flying through a ring at the beginning. That was very impressive. But after that there was nothing, drawn out to long. Similar, the Statue of Liberty trick was pretty obvious, like something from _Banacek._ He could be good when he stuck with smaller tricks, but more is less. Note that he showed a model of a new trick on _CBS Sunday Morning._ ---
**Author:** ![Chronos](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/chronos/32/134_2.png) [@Chronos](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Chronos)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 1:21am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-david-copperfield-still-do-huge-showpiece-illusions/984373/27 "2023-05-23T01:21:23Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The flying illusion showed him flying through a ring at the beginning. That was very impressive. Huh, the only version I’ve seen has his Lovely Assistants twirling the rings as they pass over him. I guess it’s supposed to look like an impressive flourish, but to me it just screamed “be careful to avoid hitting the wires”. He’d have called less attention to the wires by not using the rings at all. Or, you know, with the usual magician standard of rings with small gaps in them. And the rest of his flying has him either hovering in place and striking poses, or moving through three-dimensional space while just “standing” there. It looked like he hadn’t mastered the art of swooping while flying. ---
**Author:** ![Mahaloth](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mahaloth/32/1079_2.png) [@Mahaloth](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mahaloth)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 1:28am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-david-copperfield-still-do-huge-showpiece-illusions/984373/28 "2023-05-23T01:28:28Z")
> [@RealityChuck](#): > > The flying illusion showed him flying through a ring at the beginning. That was very impressive. But after that there was nothing, drawn out to long. I asked on the Dope how he did the flying illusion some 23 years ago. > [@How Did David Copperfield Fly?](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/how-did-david-copperfield-fly/40057): > > I searched the engine and saw no threads of this. Anyone know how he did it? I’m talking about that famous show he did where he flew around at the end, including going inside an enclosed box and flying. Very smooth and nice. How did he do this? ---
**Author:** ![RealityChuck](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/realitychuck/32/195_2.png) [@RealityChuck](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/RealityChuck)\ **Post date:** [May 23, 2023, 2:06am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-david-copperfield-still-do-huge-showpiece-illusions/984373/29 "2023-05-23T02:06:54Z")
The one I saw was his crossing the Grand Canyon. He went straight through a simple ring at the beginning. That was impressive. The flying after that was not. [Previous page](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/does-david-copperfield-still-do-huge-showpiece-illusions/984373.md?page=1)