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What do Muhammed Ali, Sally Struthers, and Luciano Pavarotti have in common?
All three have had their watches stolen by Whit Haydn...
Amazingly--They got them back.
Whit "Pop" Haydn is that strangest of
creatures, an honest cheat--a fake scoundrel. Whether on stage or
performing close-up magic at an elegant private party, Pop combines his
magic with the wit and charm of a professional con artist and the
deftness of a pickpocket.
Caesars chose Pop Haydn to be one of the acts
to open the new $60 million Caesars Magical Empire at Caesars
Palace in Las Vegas. He has also performed at Caesars Tahoe,
and at other casinos. Whit works on some of the world’s largest and most
prestigious cruise ships—including the QE 2, the Norway,
and the Westerdam. He has performed as the opening act for Jerry
Seinfeld, Loretta Lynn, Gallagher, and others.
Pop Haydn has appeared on television in the
United States, Canada, and Japan. You may have seen Whit on the
Discovery Channel in the documentary Houdini—They Came to See Him
Die for which he acted as a contributor and consultant. He has
worked as a consultant for David Copperfield’s television specials, and
was the chief magic consultant for the Norman Jewison film Bogus
starring Whoopie Goldberg, Gerard Depardieu and Haley Joel Osment.
The Academy of Magical Arts (The Magic Castle),
has honored Whit Haydn with six academy awards— once as "Stage
Magician of the Year," twice as " Parlour Magician of the Year," twice as "Close-Up Magician of the Year" and once as "W.
C. Fields Bar Magician of the Year."
Each year in November since 1996, Haydn and Chef
Anton, along with guest teachers like Bob Sheets, Gazzo and Doc Eason,
teach a popular ‘masters’ course known as the School for Scoundrels
for members of the Magic Castle. This eight-hour course concerns
the famous street swindles the Shell Game, Three-Card Monte, and
Fast and Loose (the Endless Chain)—the subject of Whit’s books and
DVDs for School for Scoundrels.
Pop Haydn is an expert at these games, and one
of the acknowledged authorities on their history and psychology. With
his business partner, Chef Anton, Pop runs the company School for
Scoundrels that supplies training, props, and educational products
concerning hustling, pool, swindling, con games, and sleight of hand.
Pop Haydn is currently serving as the
Vice-President of the Magic Castle, and has his own 1908 medicine show
featuring Old Time Music, magic, comedy, and variety entertainers--Pop
Haydn's Post-Modern Medicine Show.
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