Lance Burton
(born William Lance Burton
on March 10, 1960 in Louisville, Kentucky) is a stage illusionist [1] who performs nightly in his own show at the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada. He has appeared on numerous television programs, and also performed for Queen Elizabeth and President Ronald Reagan. He has also appeared on the 2006 Labor Day Weekend Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon.
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LANCE BURTON TICKETS
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History
Raised in Louisville, Kentucky, He first became interested in magic at the age of 5, when he was one of the volunteers at a magic show of Magician
Harry Collins during a Christmas party at the Frito-Lay plant where his mother worked. The trick was
The Miser's Dream, where Collins "pulled silver dollars out of the sky" and Burton's ears. The young Burton was fascinated, and a neighbor, hearing of his interest, gave him a book,
Magic Made Easy
, which her own (then-grown) children had used. It contained ten tricks, all of which young Burton quickly learned. His first performances were for neighborhood children, charging them a nickel each.
Collins, a full-time magician, noticed the interest, and became his mentor when Burton was in his teens, teaching him the fundamentals of the trade. In 1977, as a teenager, Burton entered his first magic competition and won first prize. In 1980, shortly after his 20th birthday, he was awarded a "Gold Medal of Excellence" from the
International Brotherhood of Magicians. After that, he moved to Southern California, where within a week he appeared on
The Tonight Show
. Host
Johnny Carson watched him in rehearsal, and allowed him to do an unprecedented 12-minute routine. Through the course of Burton's career he was invited back for a total of ten performances while Johnny Carson was host, and another ten performances during
Jay Leno's tenure. Burton has also appeared on
The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson
.
He performed an initial eight-week trial at the
Folies Bergere
show in Las Vegas, and this was then extended for a record-breaking nine years. In 1982, he competed at the international
Fédération Internationale des Sociétés Magiques (FISM) competition in
Lausanne, Switzerland, and won the "Grande Prix" prize, (the main event of the FISM competition) the youngest person to ever win the main event, and the first American to do so.
In 1986 he appeared in
Nickelodeon's Halloween Special
Mystery Magical Special.
In 1991, he produced, directed, and wrote his own show, which opened at the
Hacienda Hotel and ran for five years.
He had a brief marriage to female magician
Melinda Saxe in August 1993, but they divorced shortly after.
In August 1994, Burton signed a 13-year contract (the longest contract given to any entertainer in Las Vegas history) with the Monte Carlo Resort in Las Vegas. The 1,274-seat "Lance Burton Theater" was built to Burton's specifications for his show, cost $27 million US, and opened on June 21, 1996.
Entertainment Today
magazine lists it as the #1 family magic act, during the 13-year run Burton is expected to earn more than $110 million USD.
[2]
At
Buffalo Bill's Hotel & Casino in
Primm, Nevada, Lance Burton staged an illusion in which he appeared to escape the path of a speeding roller coaster while on the tracks of "
The Desperado". The Desperado is one of the tallest and fastest roller coasters in the United States - taking one minute to climb, and 3.5 seconds to descend to where he was on the tracks. He appeared to avoid the coaster by a mere tenth of a second, the trick having apparently gone wrong. After the "narrow escape", he looked at the camera and said "I was stupid... I was
really
stupid."
[3]
Lance Burton celebrated his tenth anniversary at the Monte Carlo by introducing his newest illusion entitled "Solid Gold Lady" in which he utilizes $10 million in gold.
Awards
- He has twice been awarded "Magician of the Year" by the Academy of Magical Arts.
- He won the Grand Prix Award at FISM in 1982 for his performance, where Burton stood in a street scene in traditional top hat and tails and spectacularly produced doves, candles and gentleman's walking canes, seemingly from nowhere.
- 1998 Blackstone Theatre Award
See also
- List of famous Louisvillians
References
- Randi, James. ''Conjuring''.(St. Martin's Press, 1992) ISBN 0-312-09771-9 page 284
- This magic man soars
- Las Vegas Shows: Lance Burton Escapes The Desperado Rollercoaster