Ali Cook the British Magician!
Well, we have an illustrious entry today.
Ali Cook has many talents and besides being a great magician and a Headliner on the British Stand Up Comedy circuit, is also an accomplished actor … and written and starred in no less than 7 British television Magic shows. A Member of the Inner London Magic Circle with Gold Star (with the likes of Lance Burton and David Copperfield).
We put some questions to Ali, for your viewing pleasure:
What is your date of birth.
I’d rather not say as someone used my DOB to hack my credit cards.(Editor’s note: Rats!… we all have to be careful).
What made you become a magician?
My mum ran a new age book shop and sometimes magic books would come in to the shop. I got hooked on The Royal Road To Card Magic and that was it.
Where are you based, live?
London.
How long have you been performing?
Too long Maybe twenty years.
What type of magic do you most enjoy performing?
I perform stage illusions, mentalism, stand up comedy and parlour magic but my first love has always been sleight of hand.
Where are some of the places you have performed?
I’ve performed in the west end magic show “Impossible” in their premiere run in 2015, I’ve starred in seven of my own British television magic shows for Channel four, Five and Sky One. I was the very first act to open the pilot of Penn And Teller Fool Us and I’ve done guest slots for tv variety shows such as Le Plus Cabaret Du Monde and The Slammer for BBC1.
(editors note: as you can see, a truly pedigreed performer… some you tube clips – rare- are given below).
What is your best magical story (i.e. funniest moment, scariest thing, etc.- something you would like to share)?
The time we used a home made water torture cell escape made out of garden furniture and glass for a t.v. series I made called Monkey Magic. The ‘lid’ was made of wood and when the water was heated; the wood became swollen. I was genuinely trapped and hammered through the shackles and got out, just.
(editors note: guess it was funny… AFTERWARDS!)
What are your top tips for performing?
When you are absolutely sick of a trick, you’re beginning to get there.
What would you like to make even “better” in magic?
There should be a copyright law over material similar to the music industry and there should be graded lessons similar to music – a real core set of lessons.
What would you like to see on this site?
More clips of me! Oh and a link to my website www.alicook.com
(editors note: unabridged… and funny).
What do you consider the best books/ videos/ etc. to learn magic from?
The Vernon Chronicles Volume 1. By Bruce Cervon and Stephen Minch. The Five Points In Magic by Juan Tamariz, The Magic Way by Juan Tamariz. Using Your Head by Gary Kurtz, Principles And Deceptions by Arthur Buckley, The Encyclopedia Of Magic And Magicians by T.A. Waters.
Have you won any special awards that you would like to put on the page?
I won the Northern Magic Circle close up Magician of the year and the IBM British champion of close up magic when I was seventeen. More recently I was nominated for a British Comedy Award for co-writing my tv series Dirty Tricks for Channel Four.
Have you designed/ invented a product/ book/dvd, etc. that you have for sale?
Some lecture notes called Beginnings.
(Editor’s note: I will find out more about where these are available from Ali).
For more of Ali Cook, see below.
Rare videos with Ali Cook:
And finally… a clip about a magician on a first date
Some more news on Ali Cook (27/09/2017)… he is doing a fantastic show in Norwich.
The show “Principles of Deception“. He does the full gamut of magical styles/ types of magic.
Here is the link to the article that released the news: evening news (this article gives a great insight into Ali’s thinking and character).
More videos:
Articles with Ali Cook
https://www.forces.net/radio/magician-and-tv-star-ali-cook-bamboozles-bfbs-radio-presenters (removed link, deleted on the site)
