Larry Wilson

The pandemic years have been surprisingly bountiful for Larry Wilson. In 2017 the prestigious Forte Awards named him “Comedy-Magician of the Year,” and that triggered a demand for him that shows no sign of slowing. That’s no surprise to anyone who saw him starring in his psychedelic extravaganza, “Wonderland,” at Harrah’s Hotel & Casino in Reno. The debate over whether he is a comedian or magician leaves him unconcerned. Audiences are laughing so hard they don't care which he is. “I don’t just want to fool you,” Wilson candidly admits, “I want to blow your mind a little.”

That’s why Jimmy Kimmel and Ford came to Larry for the roll out of Ford’s 2018 Escape. They knew Larry as a seasoned corporate entertainer who they could depend on to make their promotion truly unique, something guaranteed to go viral on social media. Larry’s hilarious Pinata of Doom garnered 750,000 views online within 48 hours. That’s why Fortune 500 companies turn to Larry—there is no substitute for his years of experience.

Whether Larry’s performing onstage for 2,000 or in a private boardroom for 12, corporate people are reassured because they know everything Larry does is squeaky clean, family-friendly and certain to delight their guests. The secret added value of hiring Larry is that they can stop stressing over the entertainment and attend to more pressing matters.

How did this self-professed refugee from the Summer of Love wind up producing his own theatrical spectacles? Larry is the first to admit it’s been an unusual career. He began his performing career at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, a private club for magicians. He was somewhat apprehensive about presenting his mix of comedy and magic because of the Castle's reputation as a reserved and dignified forum for magicians. Fortunately, his satirical advertising pitch for the "Famous Magicians School" was an immediate success and even the most diehard magicians were delighted with his spoofing of the art.

In no time at all Larry found himself performing in places like Las Vegas, Atlantic City and Lake Tahoe. This, in turn, led to a long string of television appearances with his crazy assistants, the Flying Cavettis, and it was an appearance with this stage troupe which garnered Larry his first Emmy nomination as a performer.

Larry is also in high demand as a technical consultant for magic and special effects in movies and T.V. He’s taught sleight of hand to a host of famous actors including Timothy Hutton (Leverage), Patrick Dempsey (Gray’s Anatomy) and Brooke Shields (Ugly Betty.) He was hand-chosen to create the now famous comedy-magic sequence that Leslie Nielsen performed in the classic comedy hit "Airplane!" Larry has displayed his sleight of hand skills on Hard Copy, on ABC’s Line of Fire as a crooked casino dealer and on the A&E special, Stealth Technology, where he demonstrated how the military uses many of the same principles of illusion in modern warfare. Most recently, “Auction Hunters” hired him as the foremost authority on magic ephemera to appraise their unexpected acquisition of illusions from storage sites.

His work as a consultant has opened many new and unexpected doors. Prof. Alan Oppenheim attended a lecture Larry presented on the importance of communication skills and promptly invited him to lecture at M.I.T. Larry’s lecture, “The Illusion of Choice,” had been nominated as Lecture of the Year by the Academy of Magical Arts and Sciences, but it had never been presented to the lay public before its historic debut at M.I.T.

“Language shapes perception, and that perception shapes our reality,” Larry says. “I took it for granted that everyone knew this, all this knowledge I had accumulated through a lifetime of live performance. I had no idea that people were starving for this information. As I deconstructed the techniques I use onstage I began to see how anyone could use these techniques to communicate more effectively, whether it’s for business or education, even in their personal relationships.” This, in turn, led to the creation of his Wilson Method training in communication skills that he frequently pairs with corporate entertainment.

Larry is very pleased about the enthusiasm for his unique mix of magic and comedy. "Modern audiences crave a theatrical experience. They want to be immersed in something, they want to feel something. You can’t get that from your phone.” That’s why Larry has been busier than he’s ever been, despite the pandemic. He knows magic—real magic—isn’t about the tricks. It’s about how you make the audience feel. And Larry Wilson delivers that with the casual, nonchalance that epitomizes a world class entertainer.