At the age of nine, he lost his right hand as the result of a car accident. Rather than dissuading him from his pursuit of magic, it may have served to motivate and elevate his passion...
Jerry Andrus was as brilliant as he was eccentric—which is saying something—in fact, saying quite a lot.
One simply cannot exaggerate Jay Marshall’s success as a performer, and the lengthy list of top venues he performed at over many decades. But it’s also true that this is only a part of his story...
"...one of the most extraordinary performers I’ve ever known, and amid magicians of my generation, he had few equals and no better."
"...this week I would like to present to you the one silent manipulative magic act that is considered by many in the world of magic to be the single greatest such act of all time..."
"I once saw him pick up a kid from the audience, wrap him around his neck, and, as he made his wsay back to the stage thus decorated, declare, 'Act like a mink!'”
"Truly he was one of the wisest and most loving men I have ever known. I am privileged to have called him a friend."
"Nelson was an old-school gentleman with a voice as soft as his sleight-of-hand technique, noted among magicians not only for the gentle, unadorned manner of his performance, but also for the deliberate and distinctively unhurried pace of his work."
"To me, Presto was a real magician—maybe the first real magician I ever knew up close. Someone who did magic at the very highest level, who was a full-time working pro, and who talked to me, kindly and generously, and shared secrets with me. I was in awe of him..."
