|
|||||||||||||
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
Cyril Takayama |
 |
This article needs additional citations for verification. Please help improve this article by adding reliable references. Unsourced material may be challenged and removed. (April 2008) |
| Cyril Takayama | |
|---|---|
| Born | 1973 Hollywood, California |
Cyril Takayama (born 1973) is an American/Japanese/French illusionist. He is perhaps best known for his street magic performances in Japan.
Contents |
Cyril Takayama was born and raised in Hollywood, California. His father is of Japanese descent from Okinawa prefecture, while his mother is Moroccan-Frenchcitation needed, both of whom were beauticians. Cyril Takayama had an eventful yet troubled upbringing. A recent profile in Magic (“The Magazine for Magicians”) describes him being expelled from school at 15 and then, on a visit to relatives in Okinawa the following year, how he got off the plane during a stopover in Tokyo and never got back on. Cyril wound up busking on the streets of Shinjuku, and at times had so little money that he could afford just one meal a day. In 1991, Cyril's dedication began to pay off. He was awarded a top prize by magic's international governing body, the International Federation of Magic Societies, as well in 1994. In 2001, he and his partner, Jane won the Golden Lion Award at Siegfried and Roy’s World Magic Seminar in Las Vegas. He was a member of the short-lived television series T.H.E.M. In 2007 he won first place in The Magic Woods Awards, Best Magician Category.1
Takayama became interested in magic when he was six years old when he went to a magic show in Las Vegas where he saw a guest magician levitate a woman and cut himself in half. The first time Cyril ever performed magic in front of people was during his school's talent show. At the age of 12, he entered the junior program at the Magic Castle in Hollywood.
Some of Cyril's signature tricks include the hamburger in the menu trick, having his head fall off his shoulders, and the card in the window trick. His most dramatic trick was above a Las Vegas hotel, where he bungee jumps into the hotel pool with a sword and spears the chosen card of his co host from a deck floating in the water.
Because of his large popularity in Japan, Cyril frequently goes out in a disguise, his most notable one being "Sero jisan" (セロ爺さん?) or Old Man Cyril.
Since 2005 Cyril has been steadily increasing in popularity in Japan as well as on the Internet, due to many of his magic shows being uploaded and viewed on the popular video-sharing site YouTube.
In his 2006 magic specials, Cyril visited Thailand to put on a show for orphans with HIV. He also did the same with orphans in Nepal.
He appeared on the MTV series called Room 401 (2007) where magicians prank unsuspecting victims. On May 31st 2008 he hosted the 2008 MTV Video Music Awards in Japan.
Cyril has been very active in Japan. Since 2005, he appeared in
|
||||||||||||||||
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
 |
