Does anyone remember
Doug Henning, the sort of flower-child magician who always smiled? He was such an opposite of David Blaine and, IMO, far more talented. He always stressed that what he performed were simply illusions, not "tricks" and I liked the honesty. He was an incredible sleight of hand magician and was a master of "close-up" magic. Best of all, he didn't have the attitude of Blaine that I find very annoying. Blaine's not a bad magician but he is pretty full of himself.
I always loved magic and wanted to be a magician after watching Henning but my stubby monkey hands never had the dexterity that was required. ::sigh::
And as far as I'm concerned, the best magician out there is a guy named
Ricky Jay. Simply baffling. If you ever get a chance to see him, do it. His shows always sell out almost immediately but he is wonderful.