Real or illusion? Magician Angel lets viewers decide

NEW YORK (Reuters) - Illusionist Criss Angel readily admits he has no magical powers, no psychic powers and no supernatural powers. So is he a fraud?

"A lot of what I do is 110 percent real," said Angel, the star of U.S. cable TV series "Criss Angel: Mindfreak" who mixes unusual stunts and street act magic with rock music, hip clothing and a crew of weird and glamorous characters.

"But I try to blur the lines between reality and illusion. Then I leave it up to my audience to decide."

Angel, 39, has been building a career as a magician since he was a teenager in New York but really came to attention in 2005 when cable channel A&E began airing his show "Mindfreak."

The show, which starts its third series in June, re-invents the traditional magic show by combining magic with dangerous stunts, rock music, and Las Vegas-style glitz and theatrics.

"Magic had been about set tricks and girls in leotards in boxes but it's time magic not be presented as a hokey novelty but as art form," Angel told Reuters in an interview.

A performer first and foremost, Angel created a character for himself that stood out.

He started out dressed in gothic outfits, with a mane of long black, black nail polish and make-up, wearing black cloaks and crucifixes, but has since mellowed his image, with shorter, highlighted hair and adorned with diamond bling.

He has even developed his own trademark -- the letter "A" with a backward "C" around it for Criss Angel which features on a chunky, diamond bracelet he wears.

Angel injected the same degree of showmanship into his stunts, such as levitation, walking on water, and lying on a bed of nails while an SUV drives over him, leaving people wondering how he does it -- or if he does it.

But like any good magician, Angel is not giving away his tricks -- at least not all of them.

In a new book "Mindfreak, Secret Revelations" that combines his life story with tips for success, Angel does share 40 of his tricks, such as how to make a cup float, a toothpick disappear, and how to pass a coin through a table.

He does not reveal how he manages to walk through glass or hang from a helicopter suspended by fishhooks speared into his back. Didn't that hurt?

"Yes, it did hurt," said Angel. "But I focus my mind on the pain so I get numb to it."

Angel readily admits he is driven by his life-long desire for fame and is helped by the strong support from his family, particularly his mother who refinanced the family home to fund his off-Broadway show in New York 15 years ago.

With his third TV series in the can, Angel has just signed with the Luxor Hotel in Las Vegas to stage 460 shows a year from 2008 for 10 years and plans to act in some movies.

"Now I have the financial freedom to do creatively what I want and show I am not a one dimensional performer," he said.

"In magic, I've never seen anything that can't be explained or reproduced and I believe anything is possible if you want it enough."

Reuters/Nielsen