One should definitely mention Bebel (France), Denis Behr (Germany), Jason Ladanye (American) and David Williamson (American). All of them are jaw-droppingly good with a deck of cards. Recently I've discovered the works of the late Gabi, who in my opinion is also one of the best card magicians who ever lived.
Really enjoyed this. Quickly going through the comments it's probably possible to come up with at least another 2/3 top card magicians lists. I'd give a shout out for Daniel Madison...as a card mechanic he's incredible.
Yes. John is fantastic: a great creator of card effects (prolific beyond belief), an unreal ability to streamline existing tricks, great sense of humor, great patter, a great pair of hands and more (this guy has the chops - he is so smooth that, even if you’re a magician, you may not have a clue that anything has happened - laymen don’t stand a chance). Can’t go wrong with any of his many DVDs.
Great list! Also, great to see a list like this. When I first started magic, I Googled "best magicians" and "best card magicians" several times but only got to see the usual suspects over and over.
I know it's tough because they're all so great, but Giobbi MUST be on this list for his contributions to the community as the modern authority on teaching card magic.
@@magiccorner2019 Checked out your channel and your right. So many viewers the video I tried to watch kept freezing on me. And subscribing was a challenge. It kept saying “Updating totals............ Please try again later.” I persisted though, and managed to squeeze in. So you’ve got yet another subscriber to deal with. How do you deal with all the attention? It must be exhausting.😁
@@magiccorner2019 Sorry about the initial freak out. I couldn’t resist taking your guys funny sarcasm to a new level. I’m enjoying watching your videos. Lots of really good card magic, which is my favourite kind. And that’s why I subscribed, not as part of the joke. Cheers.👍
As soon as I saw this video I immediately thought of teller, Michael Vincent and Leonard green. Very pleased to see all of them made the list, The only other two I could’ve possibly thought of would be David Blaine, because he holds a certain nostalgia value for myself. And Sean farquhar
Many magicians don't care to be recognized or noticed. Low key is the way to be great. If your famous and everybody knows you, then it influences how you handle a deck of cards. Flourishes, notoriety...view counts, all give you away. The best has never been seen, imo.
This is my wheel house. I absolutely love card manipulation. I love raw skill rather than a gimmicks or utility. I slightly favor card magic more than other magic performances. See what I did there? Ricky Jay... He was my first.
Such a great list... I might have snuck Daniel Madison and Jeremy Griffith in there somewhere- I don't know where, but perhaps after a long struggle in my brain.
Yeah,pretty much got the greats in there!L.Green.(comedy genius that knows exactly what he’s doing!)/R.Jay.(Sublime card manipulator and funny)etc!Fabulous list.Three or four I haven’t come across that I will defo look up! Possible one of the greatest,TAMARIZ! (Very quirky but superb!)Awesome list!Nice one!Luved it!Thanks.Its Friiiiday!!! Yahoooo!!!!
Good choices (even if I don't agree with the order of some of them), I would have included Jerry Sadowitz myself, but knowing the main demographic for this channel, I understand him being omitted LOL
Make a list of "underground" card experts alive or passed. Earick, Hollingworth, Sal P, Bill kalush, Kenner, Jim Swain, Troy Hooser, Bebel, JC Wagner, Paul Harris, Steve Draun, Ken Krenzel, Wesley James, Doug Edwards
Shin Lim is amazing but you do have to understand he uses black magic… I think he is amazing but since he used black magic sometimes the “black card mat” will do the work for him. but yes i think he is amazing just throwing my opinion out there
Daniel madison / Jay sankey / robert giobbi / Chris hannibal / jason ladanye / asi wind / Joshua jay and many others ... everyone is great 👏 David what about making a video about coin magicians ?
Has anyone ever heard of mainstream juggernauts like David copperfield, criss angel, penn and teller or sigfried and Roy? Heard a thread on the internet they might be pretty good but thought I would ask just to be sure 😋
@@magicorthodoxy Also, it's crazy how not famous he is outside of the magic community, at least in Sweden (his home country). I'm from Sweden myself, and most people have never heard of him. A shame, considering how influential he has been when it comes to magic! :)
Small detail: When this video was posted, Ricky Jay had been dead for over two years, so technically not among the greatest LIVING Card Magicians. And a personal viewpoint: I don't doubt the creative skills of Juan Tamariz, but I just can't take the mannerisms in his performances. I don't know if Garrett Thomas is famous enough to make this list, but he's certainly good enough, I think.
This came up after viewing your current video. For your number one guy, Lennart green he was magician at the Canton battle of magicians. He needed a plane to get to his his home country . It was like $800 to fly Him And 600 to drive him. I got up early😢, picked him up, drove from Canton Ohio to Detroit Michigan for an international flight. This was before GPS. I MapQuested his whole damn thing. He promised to send me a deck of cards, never did. I am forever, disappointed with Lennart Green. Do lnot serve him in an emergency for being a piece of garbage, he will not fulfill his promise. He literally lost his ride to the airport. I had nothing in this until the night I found out about his problem. The crazy thing, I asked for absolutely nothing. He offered. Then did not deliver or anything. I hope he sees this.
I think if you just added "... who are over 50 years old" and we could all agree! ;) Perhaps you are evaluating "body of work" and therefore have excluded some of the younger jedi mentioned in the comments.
Dude! How do you leave off Simon Aronson?!? He had ground breaking techniques and plots in card magic not to mention he is practically the godfather of memorized deck work. Should have been top 3 at least
I don't like your criteria of "because they are not household names". You have to ask yourself "What it the purpose of talking about the best if you aren't going to talk about the best"? I would think you would highlight people for their skill regardless of their fame. Why? Because if I want to learn a skill, I want to learn from the most skilled, not the most famous. It is very likely that what made them so famous was their charisma, not their card skills. I can study the most famous for their charisma AND learn from the most skilled even if they were not as famous or famous at all. To limit oneself to just the most famous is an out of date notion that would have made more sense in a world where people didn't have access to media and a small handful of individuals told us who to watch. Today, anyone can display their skills on the internet and much better talent is there.
Regarding DaOrtiz you stated "master of the Spanish style". I guess that's it. I have heard many other magicians talk about how good Dani and Juan are and I refer to them as well as yourself regarding their chops. As a magic lover who has watched many a dvd, youtube video and been to lectures I find Dani and Juan's performing style to be very annoying. So annoying that I can't sit through an entire trick. And really, that's what it's all about. Best performing magicians? Mullica, Williamson, Colombini, Conn, Wilson, Haydn, Sankey, Cloutier. all come to mind off the top of my head in no particular order. They know how to weave a story and engage an audience to get them to buy into WHAT they are doing. Some recommendations for viewing to see them in action for anybody reading this... Williamson: Pretty much anything on youtube. DVD, Magic farm. Mullica: Pretty much anything on youtube. DVD, the greater magic of Tom Mullica. An evening at the Tom Foolery. Colombini, Pretty much anything on youtube. DVD, lasting impressions or pretty much anything else. Conn, Head over to youtube. Wilson, youtube. DVD, on the spot or pretty much anything else. Haydn, youtube. Sankey, youtube. DVD, front row Sankey. Cloutier, youtube. DVD. Live from Lake Tahoe.
Roberto Giobbi , Shawn Farquhar and Jay Sankey as well for me
Lol, that's right!!! The guy who wrote the book called CARD COLLEGE ;) Guess David thinks he's just meh ;)
The Argentinians René Lavand and Henry Evans could also be part of this greats. And Ben Earl and Paul Wilson too!
One should definitely mention Bebel (France), Denis Behr (Germany), Jason Ladanye (American) and David Williamson (American). All of them are jaw-droppingly good with a deck of cards. Recently I've discovered the works of the late Gabi, who in my opinion is also one of the best card magicians who ever lived.
all super great !!!!
I love Denis Behr and Bebel! All amazing
Your top two choices are magicians that I've immersed myself in and been obsessed over for several years now. Good choices.
awesome !!!
Really enjoyed this. Quickly going through the comments it's probably possible to come up with at least another 2/3 top card magicians lists. I'd give a shout out for Daniel Madison...as a card mechanic he's incredible.
oh - in the comment section - there are probably 12 more !!!
Yes. John is fantastic: a great creator of card effects (prolific beyond belief), an unreal ability to streamline existing tricks, great sense of humor, great patter, a great pair of hands and more (this guy has the chops - he is so smooth that, even if you’re a magician, you may not have a clue that anything has happened - laymen don’t stand a chance). Can’t go wrong with any of his many DVDs.
Referring to John Carey.
Couldn't agree more!
You hit that list right on the head. All of them are great and my all time favorite is and will be Bill Malone.
It’s good to see other perspectives and learn about new magicians. Thanks for sharing your top 10(plus 4)!
:)
Michael Vincent is my guy! Thanks for putting this list together David, lots of legends on here, and some new names to check out too.
That's what I tried to do
Great list! Also, great to see a list like this.
When I first started magic, I Googled "best magicians" and "best card magicians" several times but only got to see the usual suspects over and over.
Thanks !!!
I know it's tough because they're all so great, but Giobbi MUST be on this list for his contributions to the community as the modern authority on teaching card magic.
so true! Why didn't I put him in there?
David, thank you for keeping my name out of this. I’m afraid the fan mail would be too much. LOL. Just kidding.
I ditto that remark. I don't think my channel could handle all the extra traffic. Lol
@@magiccorner2019
Checked out your channel and your right. So many viewers the video I tried to watch kept freezing on me.
And subscribing was a challenge.
It kept saying “Updating totals............ Please try again later.”
I persisted though, and managed to squeeze in. So you’ve got yet another subscriber to deal with.
How do you deal with all the attention? It must be exhausting.😁
@@michaelp1496 OMG that's kind of funny! As I started reading your comment I kind of freaked out thinking what's wrong with my channel LOL
@@magiccorner2019
Sorry about the initial freak out.
I couldn’t resist taking your guys funny sarcasm to a new level.
I’m enjoying watching your videos.
Lots of really good card magic, which is my favourite kind.
And that’s why I subscribed, not as part of the joke. Cheers.👍
Great job as always! The magic community is so big and Anyone can get in. True art craft
:)
Thank you for this! Currently teaching a Card Magic Class and will be showing this!
Glad it was helpful!
This was fun! Thanks, David!
Thanks Tony
But Roy Walton, Ricky Jay, Johnny Thomson and Paul Cummins are no longer with us :(
Yes so sad 😞
So then... why did he name the title the best card magicians alive?
Tellers "misers dream " is beautiful. I love Lennart, how can you not ?
agreed
David this is a wonderful list. It is sad that a few of them are no longer with us.👍👍👍👍
Yes, sad
Thanks for this one. Few I didn't know on here that I'm gonna have to check em out
Hope you enjoy!
Excellent top10 ! I’ve always been a huge fan of John Mendoza and Alex Elmsley a couple of my favorites.
both fantastic !!!
As soon as I saw this video I immediately thought of teller, Michael Vincent and Leonard green. Very pleased to see all of them made the list, The only other two I could’ve possibly thought of would be David Blaine, because he holds a certain nostalgia value for myself. And Sean farquhar
both are great
Many magicians don't care to be recognized or noticed. Low key is the way to be great. If your famous and everybody knows you, then it influences how you handle a deck of cards. Flourishes, notoriety...view counts, all give you away. The best has never been seen, imo.
Well said!
Another brilliant video! I miss Roy Walton he was a living legend!
Truth
@@magicorthodoxy Confused as to to why this is titled 'living card magicians' when a number are dead
David @magicorthidoxy is my favorite magician of all time... love this guy!
Ha ha
David Williamson, AMMAR...and believe it or not DC doing the Aces is the best card trick I ever saw
This is my wheel house. I absolutely love card manipulation. I love raw skill rather than a gimmicks or utility. I slightly favor card magic more than other magic performances. See what I did there? Ricky Jay... He was my first.
Ha ha
Such a great list... I might have snuck Daniel Madison and Jeremy Griffith in there somewhere- I don't know where, but perhaps after a long struggle in my brain.
LOL
Ben Earl, Shawn Farquhar, Helder Guimaraes
Yeah,pretty much got the greats in there!L.Green.(comedy genius that knows exactly what he’s doing!)/R.Jay.(Sublime card manipulator and funny)etc!Fabulous list.Three or four I haven’t come across that I will defo look up! Possible one of the greatest,TAMARIZ! (Very quirky but superb!)Awesome list!Nice one!Luved it!Thanks.Its Friiiiday!!! Yahoooo!!!!
Woo hoo
Good choices (even if I don't agree with the order of some of them), I would have included Jerry Sadowitz myself, but knowing the main demographic for this channel, I understand him being omitted LOL
I said that they were not in order ... Jerry Sadowitz will be in the NEXT list
We all want this type of videos. you are great
:D
Great list !!
Glad you enjoyed it
Make a list of "underground" card experts alive or passed. Earick, Hollingworth, Sal P, Bill kalush, Kenner, Jim Swain, Troy Hooser, Bebel, JC Wagner, Paul Harris, Steve Draun, Ken Krenzel, Wesley James, Doug Edwards
great list
Great list. I'm fairly new to card magic so a lot of these names are new to me. I recently discovered John Carey who I think is also great. Cheers.
Yep!
I will confess some of those names are new to me. I will definitely check them out though! Thanks👍
Great!
Jason England, Steve Forte, Gabi and David Williamson to name a few
I would also mention David Blaine Chad long Williamson
David Blaine is awesome - but he's not really known as a "card magician"
@@magicorthodoxy He does a ton of card magic.
Great list! I have learned from just about everyone on that list. However, no Shin Lim? Is he too new? Just curious.
well let me say this…
Shin Lim is amazing but you do have to understand he uses black magic… I think he is amazing but since he used black magic sometimes the “black card mat” will do the work for him. but yes i think he is amazing just throwing my opinion out there
Ben Earl, Jay Sankey and Alberto de Figueiredo
I stay with Jay Sankey and Gregory Wilson hands down!
legendary !!!
I agree with the top three but would add a fourth - Ben Earl
he's pretty awesome
Daniel madison / Jay sankey / robert giobbi / Chris hannibal / jason ladanye / asi wind / Joshua jay and many others ... everyone is great 👏
David what about making a video about coin magicians ?
Great idea
richard turner is one of my fav
Awesome
In this top 14 list .I only know on magician Richard turner
oh wow
Agree with Kostya K...Denis Behr is insanely good. Chad Long is an incredible performer....
yes yes and yes
Pit Hartling deserves a mention!
YES !!!!
I honestly think you missed David Williamson! He's the King (after Tamariz and Ascanio of course)
so true !!!
Daniel Mandison, shinlim.
Has anyone ever heard of mainstream juggernauts like David copperfield, criss angel, penn and teller or sigfried and Roy? Heard a thread on the internet they might be pretty good but thought I would ask just to be sure 😋
:)
Love Lennart Green, fantastic guy!
Couldn't agree more!
@@magicorthodoxy Also, it's crazy how not famous he is outside of the magic community, at least in Sweden (his home country). I'm from Sweden myself, and most people have never heard of him. A shame, considering how influential he has been when it comes to magic! :)
Did you missed the PROFESSOR !!
Is he LIVING?
Feel like shin lim belongs here
Tommy Wonder should always be on any top magician list
yep, but remember this list was for LIVING magicians
Without a doubt Dani daOrtiz is the best
:D
You missed out on Shin Lim and Jason Ladayne
they are both amazing
David Williamson
Gregory Wilson 💪🏻
Subjective, for sure. It best to keep your reach broad
Very true!
I dont do card magic, i dont do close up, but i think Daryl is one of the greatest.
I wish he were still alive
@@magicorthodoxy sorry i forgot the name of this video... I watch world cup football and, in same time, i watch your video. How ever, great list.
I can’t believe Asi Wind is not here....
everyone has their favorites
@@magicorthodoxy btw sadly Johny Thompson and Ricky Jay are not alive...
Small detail: When this video was posted, Ricky Jay had been dead for over two years, so technically not among the greatest LIVING Card Magicians.
And a personal viewpoint: I don't doubt the creative skills of Juan Tamariz, but I just can't take the mannerisms in his performances.
I don't know if Garrett Thomas is famous enough to make this list, but he's certainly good enough, I think.
This came up after viewing your current video. For your number one guy, Lennart green he was magician at the Canton battle of magicians. He needed a plane to get to his his home country . It was like $800 to fly Him
And 600 to drive him. I got up early😢, picked him up, drove from Canton Ohio to Detroit Michigan for an international flight. This was before GPS. I MapQuested his whole damn thing.
He promised to send me a deck of cards, never did. I am forever, disappointed with Lennart Green.
Do lnot serve him in an emergency for being a piece of garbage, he will not fulfill his promise.
He literally lost his ride to the airport. I had nothing in this until the night I found out about his problem.
The crazy thing, I asked for absolutely nothing. He offered. Then did not deliver or anything. I hope he sees this.
wow - crazy story
Great list, but your title is “Greatest Living” yet some of these guys are dead.
They were "recently living"
@@magicorthodoxy they live on through their work....
@@jlebowitz8325 That's the spirit.
@@westonding8953 👻
I think if you just added "... who are over 50 years old" and we could all agree! ;) Perhaps you are evaluating "body of work" and therefore have excluded some of the younger jedi mentioned in the comments.
Those younger guys will get their chance on future lists. ;)
Alan Ackerman 👊
Ricky Jay and Johnny Thompson are no longer living though. I would put them in with Marlo, Vernon, etc.
but they WERE living very recently ... as opposed to Marlo and Vernon who have not been living recently
@@magicorthodoxy That's very true. And great picks for the list as well@
What about Fenik?
Jeremy Griffith 👍
David Blaine Juan tamariz bill Malone chad long rene Levond green
Dude! How do you leave off Simon Aronson?!? He had ground breaking techniques and plots in card magic not to mention he is practically the godfather of memorized deck work. Should have been top 3 at least
agreed !!!!
Jerry Sadowitz 💪
I was in Colorado skiing but now I’m back so it is Day 124 of saying hi
I was in Branson MO
@@magicorthodoxy oh that’s so cool I was in Breckenridge Colorado
Sadly roy has passed away. BUT you did mention the greatest living card magician Jerry sadowitz
YES !!!
Lu Chen?
great list David 👍🏻 #goat ♠️♥️♣️♦️
Jay Sankey and Shin Lim would be on my list ... both household names
I think Daniel madison should be one of them. But i guess you didn't put him because he doesn't consider himself a magician
true
Where is shim lim
He's great for sure
hey!
Hey
this list makes me so sad. we lost so many legends in the magic community these past few years.
very true
Eddie Fechter and Tom Mullica
Dynamo
he's known as a card magician? Wow. I thought he was a magic celebrity
I thought Shin Lim is also in your list
Bro shin Lim is a best card magician
he's very popular
Ok bro
How about doing a top 10 Instagram card magicians? Ie Andrew frost etc?
Ha ha, that would be fun
I don't like your criteria of "because they are not household names". You have to ask yourself "What it the purpose of talking about the best if you aren't going to talk about the best"? I would think you would highlight people for their skill regardless of their fame. Why? Because if I want to learn a skill, I want to learn from the most skilled, not the most famous. It is very likely that what made them so famous was their charisma, not their card skills. I can study the most famous for their charisma AND learn from the most skilled even if they were not as famous or famous at all. To limit oneself to just the most famous is an out of date notion that would have made more sense in a world where people didn't have access to media and a small handful of individuals told us who to watch. Today, anyone can display their skills on the internet and much better talent is there.
I hear you, but I don't follow - hardly anyone in my list is a "household name" this list is THE BEST regardless of fame. Did you watch the video?
Regarding DaOrtiz you stated "master of the Spanish style". I guess that's it. I have heard many other magicians talk about how good Dani and Juan are and I refer to them as well as yourself regarding their chops. As a magic lover who has watched many a dvd, youtube video and been to lectures I find Dani and Juan's performing style to be very annoying. So annoying that I can't sit through an entire trick. And really, that's what it's all about. Best performing magicians? Mullica, Williamson, Colombini, Conn, Wilson, Haydn, Sankey, Cloutier. all come to mind off the top of my head in no particular order. They know how to weave a story and engage an audience to get them to buy into WHAT they are doing. Some recommendations for viewing to see them in action for anybody reading this...
Williamson: Pretty much anything on youtube. DVD, Magic farm.
Mullica: Pretty much anything on youtube. DVD, the greater magic of Tom Mullica. An evening at the Tom Foolery.
Colombini, Pretty much anything on youtube. DVD, lasting impressions or pretty much anything else.
Conn, Head over to youtube.
Wilson, youtube. DVD, on the spot or pretty much anything else.
Haydn, youtube.
Sankey, youtube. DVD, front row Sankey.
Cloutier, youtube. DVD. Live from Lake Tahoe.
You're list is better than mine !!!!