WHO KNOWS THE MAGICIAN'S SECRETS?

John Gaughan has made a lifetime study of the lost secrets of magic and is profiled for his efforts in Los Angeles Weekly. The article focuses primarily on his recreation of Wolfgang von Kempelen's Turk which made its' debut in the court of Catherine the Great in 1770. “It took me years to recreate this thing,” says John Gaughan, the master magic builder who spent $120,000 of his own money researching and painstakingly rebuilding one of the greatest illusions of all time. “It was a fitting obsession,” says Gaughan, who is widely considered the greatest living designer of illusions. Over the past 35 years, Gaughan has built magic tricks for Ricky Jay, David Blaine, Harry Blackstone Jr. and, of course, our friends in spandex, Siegfried & Roy. Gaughan is the best designer of magic, but also best at keeping that magic secret, so all the greats can turn to him in confidence.