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Lance Burton (born William Lance Burton on March 10, 1960 in Columbia, Kentucky^{[citation needed]}) is an American stage magician.^[1] He performed more than 5,000 shows at the Monte Carlo for over 5,000,000 people.^[2] In 2010 he ended his 31-year career.^[2]

History [edit]

Burton 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.^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]} In 1977, as a teenager, Burton entered his first magic competition and won first prize.^{[citation needed]} In 1980, shortly after his 20th birthday, he was awarded a "Gold Medal of Excellence" from the International Brotherhood of Magicians.^{[citation needed]} After that, he moved to Southern California, where within a week he appeared on The Tonight Show (on October 28, 1981).^{[citation needed]} 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.^{[citation needed]} Burton has also appeared on The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson.^{[citation needed]}

He performed an initial eight-week trial at the Folies Bergère 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.^[3]

In 1986, he guest starred on Knight Rider in the Season 4 episode "Deadly Knightshade" as the mastermind behind the murder of a Foundation trustee.

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 magician Melinda Saxe in August 1993, but they divorced shortly after.

For his Top Secret special that first aired on February 24, 1999, at Buffalo Bill's Hotel & Casino in Primm, Nevada, 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."^[4]

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 listed it as the #1 family magic act, and during its 13-year run Burton earned an estimated $110 million USD.^[5]

Burton has had four network television specials, his last one being Lance Burton: On The Road with guest stars Ali Landry and Dylan Ace.

In 2004, Burton celebrated his tenth anniversary at the Monte Carlo by introducing an illusion entitled "Solid Gold Lady," for which he used $10 million in gold.

In 2006, he appeared on the Labor Day Weekend Jerry Lewis MDA Telethon.

On July 1, 2009, Burton signed a six-year contract extension with the Monte Carlo Resort and Casino (where he had performed since 1994), which would continue his contract until 2015. However, the contract was ended 5 years earlier than planned, and the final show was performed on September 4, 2010.^[6]

Burton appeared on an episode of the History channel series American Restoration, televised November 1, 2010, in which the Rick's Restorations crew repaired a lightpole at Burton's residence that had been destroyed in a windstorm.

Awards [edit]

• He won the Masters Fellowship from the Academy of Magical Arts.
• 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 [edit]

• List of famous Louisvillians
• List of magic museums

References [edit]

External links [edit]

• Lance Burton's website
• TV.com biography
• FISM Grand Prix winners
• Lance Burton review & video
• "Interview with Lance Burton", January 10, 2004, CNN
• USA Weekend, June 27, 2004, "This magic man soars"
• Lance Burton at the Internet Movie Database