The Steve Dacri Story | A Magic Life

After nearly 30 years as a headlining magic performer, Steve was presented with the highest honors a magician can receive - "Member of the Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star" (MIMC), a designation reserved for the elite of the magic world, including Lance Burton, David Copperfield, Paul Daniels and Siegfried & Roy, among others.

And just this month, Steve was honored with a prestigious MERLIN Award (the Oscar of the magic world) for 2008 Best Close-up Magician in the World.

Steve’s road to Las Vegas and prominence began in Worcester, Massachusetts when he was 6. His parents gave him a Mandrake the Magician magic set, the bug bit him, and he’s been practicing, inventing and performing magic ever since. “I grew up watching Red Skelton, Abbott & Costello, The Three Stooges, The Amazing Ballantine and Jackie Gleason. I always knew I wanted to be able to entertain people like they did,” says Steve. Their influence can be seen in Steve’s comedic style and his ability to effortlessly make people laugh. By the age of 8, Steve was performing magic at family gatherings, at Boy Scout banquets, school assemblies, church functions and birthday parties. At 15, he added night clubs, state fairs and company parties to the mix.

Steve has enjoyed a remarkably diverse career both in front of and behind the camera. Today he is considered one of the world’s foremost sleight-of-hand artists after an illustrious career spanning over 30 years as a multitalented performer on TV, in top clubs and resorts, cruise ships and such prestigious venues as Radio City Music Hall.

Steve Dacri is the top close-up magician in the world presenting magic in trade show booths and at exclusive private events and headlining in his own Las Vegas show

Known professionally as "The Fastest Hands in the World," Steve befriended some of the legendary greats in the world of sleight-of-hand magic at an early age and spent years studying with many of them. Steve comments, “My instruction came from the truly great sleight-of-hand artists in the world, such as my friends Tony Slydini, “the Professor" Dai Vernon, and Frank Garcia. They trained me to make close-up magic the focus of my work. Everything I do is influenced by them.”

Steve has won numerous awards from the International Brotherhood of Magicians, the Society of American Magicians, and the National College Association of America. He was nominated for a Magic Academy Award for his performance in 1974 at the world famous Magic Castle in Hollywood, California where he has been a favorite performer since 1973.

Steve's career as a magic performer and television personality includes hundreds of national TV appearances, many of which still live on, with frequent repeats of his many episodes on cable all around the globe. Beginning with appearances on local (Boston) television shows, “Bob Hilton Show,” “Paul Benzaquin Show,” and “The Sonya Hamlin Show," Steve became a series regular on popular children’s shows, “Rex Trailer’sBoomtown,” “Major Mudd,” and a series regular on "Bozo’s Circus” which led to countless appearances on shows such as such as “Candid Camera,” “Merv Griffin Show," “Mike Douglas Show," “That’s Incredible,” “Dick Cavett Show,” “Tonight Show,” “Good Morning America,” “Evening at the Improv,” “thirtysomething,” and others. He also produced and starred in “Magic Notebook,” and 26 episodes of the syndicated television variety series “Magical Mystery Tour."

Steve has shared the stage with stars such as Bob Hope, Tom Jones, Tony Orlando, Steve Martin, Rodney Dangerfield, Barbara Mandrell, and Don Rickles. He has been a regular performer since 1973 in the top resorts and casinos in Las Vegas, (Bellagio, Wynn, Aladdin, Venetian, Las Vegas Hilton, Riviera, Desert Inn, MGM Grand, Bally’s, and Caesars Palace, as well as Harrah’s in Lake Tahoe and Caesars in Atlantic City). “I remember playing at the Thunderbird Hotel and the Sands Hotel, but those hotels are gone now. Vegas has really changed. Just a few years ago, I stood on the roof of Caesars Palace and watched as the Sands got blown away. Made me feel old!” Before “Xtreme Close-Up Magic”, Steve spent six years at Caesars Palace, where he headlined in the Secret Pagoda Showroom, logging over 3,00 performances..

After studying acting in Hollywood with Lee Strasberg and Larry Parke for seven years, Steve enjoyed a brief acting career, with dramatic appearances on “Quincy,” “The Fall Guy,” “Cover Up,” and some best forgotten plays. In the Troma Studios film, “Monster in the Closet,” Steve plays the nervous and nosy reporter (Clark Kent) alongside Claude Atkins, Howard Duff and Henry Gibson.

In addition to his performing career, Steve is a prolific writer, director, and instructor. He is considered one of the foremost teachers in the world of magic, having taught thousands of students in public and private settings. He has lectured on magic for many years in public schools and on college campuses nationwide, including Ohio State, WPI, Johns Hopkins and others. He has also conducted lectures at The Magic Circle in London, at Hollywood’s famed Magic Castle (where he just recently completed teaching a course in advanced sleight-of-hand) and at magic conventions throughout the US. Steve takes great pride in the fact that several of his students are now full-time performing magicians. He has also taught magic courses and workshops at seminars and sales meetings for many Fortune 500 corporations.

On the Hollywood front, Steve has taught magic to many celebrities including Bonnie Pointer, Johnny Carson, Dick Cavett, Joey Bishop, Tim Conway, Didi Conn and Tony Orlando, whom Steve taught how to perform magic and juggle for his Broadway show, “Barnum.” Steve has created many original tricks and routines and written instructional manuals for nearly 200 tricks. In 1972 he opened “Imperial Magic,” a mail order supplier of magic tricks and books. The following year, Steve opened two magic shops in his home town of Worcester, Massachusetts and nearby Shrewsbury. Steve closed the shops in 1977 and moved to California. (slowly, the complete line of Imperial Magic is once again becoming available; this time on the Internet at magicwebchannel.com)

In 1985 Steve produced “Magic Secrets,” the first instructional magic video for the general public. This was followed by “Magic Party Show.” Together these two titles have sold over 150,000 copies to date and their re-release this year has been met with wild enthusiasm. (Sequels are in production right now.) Steve is currently seen in infomercials on television offering his latest multi-volume series, “Magic Secrets from Around the World”.

Steve’s first major stage show engagement was as the opening act for Chuck Berry, followed by Jose Feliciano, Jimmy Buffet and The Beach Boys. “I have a very fond memory of opening for the Beach Boys. I’ve played drums all of my life, and the drummer, Denny Wilson, let me play his drums for one song during the sound check. I’ll never forget that.” These shows led to several college tours and performances during which he entertained audiences of all sizes, including various heads of state, such as Presidents Gerald Ford and Jimmy Carter.

Since 1975, Dacri has focused on the corporate world, designing customized magic presentations for sales meetings and conventions. His first performance in a trade show booth in 1973, for Speidel, was so successful that Speidel hired Steve for seven more years of performances. Over the years, Steve has created and built six different shows for Speidel, one which included the startling appearance of the President in a rocket ship at their National Sales Meeting. Steve is often called upon in his role as a magic consultant on television shows, which in the past have included “TV’s Bloopers and Practical Jokes,” “The New Candid Camera,” and “That’s Incredible.” Over the years, he has devised special props and customized sleight-of-hand routines for various sales meetings and television commercials.

Another honor Steve is most proud of, he is the only magician to ever appear on the stage of the famous Cavern Club in Liverpool, England, birthplace of the Beatles. Upon his return for a repeat engagement, Steve was invited to sign the fmous stage wall, next to the Beatles and all the other artists who played at the Cavern through the years.

As a writer and director, he has created many memorable TV commercials, including spots for Diet Coke, Ford, and Mountain Dew. He’s directed numerous television programs such as “Bounty Hunters,” “Emergency Call,” and “Magic Notebook,” among others. In addition, Steve wrote and produced the hit theatre production, “Mario & Mary’s Italian Wedding Comedy," an interactive dinner show that has been playing for over 6years to rave reviews in Boston and Florida. Loved by critics and audiences alike the show was an unprecedented hit, generating over $5 million in ticket sales in the first year alone! Hundreds of rave reviews, television and radio interviews, and feature articles contributed to the popularity of the show, paving the way for the follow-up dinner show, “Nathan & Nina’s Jewish Italian Wedding”, an equally funny interactive show that played for over two years in New England hotel ballrooms, and a third hit show, “All American High School Reunion”.

Yet magic will always be Steve's first love and he will always be remembered for his trademark hands, called “the fastest in the world” by none other than Regis Philbin. His world famous “Martians” (sponge balls) have appeared in the hands of thousands of people, from celebrities and sports figures, to movie stars and presidents.

Steve Dacri has come a long way since Milton Berle praised him on television (“The best I’ve ever seen”) and Bob Hope called him “my favorite magician.” He’s one magician who keeps inventing new ways of entertaining audiences. . . just like magic.

Get the results you want from Steve's 30 years of trade show booth experience and unmatched credentials.

If your company exhibits at trade shows, we can help make your booth one of the most talked about exhibits at the show. The main attraction is your message, your product or your services, combined with brilliant close-up magic, to produce a highly visible, crowd-stopping performance in your booth.

Over 32 years of trade show booth magic presentations, stopping and entertaining over 35 million trade show attendees in the last 20 years alone!
Over 5,200 trade show performances (read testimonials)
Over 3,700 corporate event performances, for nearly 600 clients worldwide.
Hundreds of National TV appearances, including Johnny Carson's Tonight Show, Merv Griffin, Candid Camera, Good Morning America, That's Incredible, and on and on.
The undisputed "fastest hands in the world", and the greatest sleight of hand entertainer in the world.
Currently stars in "Xtreme Close-up Magic" in Las Vegas.
Winner of 2008 "Close-up Magician of the Year"

Protect your image with the magic of Steve Dacri in your trade show booth.

"He draws more people to our booth than anything we've ever done in the past....weaving our message into his incredible magic." - American Express