The genius of Ricky Jay

Ricky JayThere has never been and will never be anyone like Ricky Jay. He was a polymath. He was erudite. He spoke in clipped tones, with words like “disapprobation”. He cited 15th-century poetry from memory, as part of his show. He cites George Bernard Shaw, “Every profession is a conspiracy against the laity.”

He was the most brilliant playing-card prestidigitator the world has ever seen. He knew more about tricks and magicians and the history thereof than anyone else before or since.

Ricky Jay and his 52 Assistants − Magic show (YouTube)

A large part of this show is explaining how to cheat, how to prestidigitate, all the while doing tricks that cannot be explained. He keeps up a non-stop, relevant, and sophisticated patter while pulling aces from the deck without looking at his hands or the deck. He demonstrates the kind of “card control” that you can only get when you’ve done it a million times. Probably literally.

It’s a friendly reminder that you should never, ever play cards with anyone you don’t know, or whose skills you don’t know.

I have written about him before,

• In 2018, I mentioned a long-form essay about him, Secrets of the Magus in 1993 (New Yorker)
• He was a favorite of David Mamet, so he appeared in his movies Redbelt in 2008, House of Games in 1987, and Heist.