Who is David Copperfield? See Net-worth, Quote, Awards, Fact, Wiki

David Seth Kotkin Wiki Biography

David Seth Kotkin, commonly known as David Copperfield, is a famous American magician, illusionist, as well as an actor. To the public, David Copperfield is perhaps best known for his magic tricks, such as levitating, flying, and making objects disappear, most of which were released in a format of 20 television specials. Copperfield’s first television special entitled “The Magic of ABC” aired on screens in 1977. In addition to including Copperfield’s impressive performance, it featured such famous guests as Shaun Cassidy, Cindy Williams, Adam Rich and Penny Marshall to name a few. His fifth special called “The Magic of David Copperfield IV: The Vanishing Plane” brought him an Emmy Award for “Outstanding Technical Direction”. Overall, David Copperfield has been nominated for 38 awards, and collected a total of 21 Emmy Awards,. Aside from his appearances on television screens, Copperfield has become notable as an owner of the “International Museum and Library of the Conjuring Arts”. Copperfield is also known for his charitable activities, the most popular being the “Project Magic” program, which focuses on helping physically challenged people. For his contributions to the entertainment industry, David Copperfield was awarded with a Living Legend Award, was named “Magician of the Year” in 1980 and 1987, and even received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame.

David Copperfield Net Worth $800 Million

A well-known magician, how rich is David Copperfield? According to sources, David Copperfield’s net worth is estimated to be $800 million, the majority of which he has accumulated from his appearances on television screens.

David Copperfield was born in 1956, in New Jersey, United States, where he studied at Metuchen High School. Copperfield’s interest in magic brought him to the “Society of American Magicians”, a fraternal magic organization, when he was only ten years old. As a result of his studies, Copperfield became proficient in magic, and even taught a course about magic at New York University at the age of 16. Upon his graduation from high school, David Copperfield decided to continue his education at Fordham University. He failed to graduate from the university, since instead of studying he chose to perform on stage. One of his very first performances was in “The Magic Man”. Around the same time, inspired by the Charles Dickens’ novel, he changed his name from David Seth Kotkin to David Copperfield. Soon after meeting Joseph Cates, who expressed interest in his talents, he made an appearance on television with “The Magic of ABC”,

In addition to having his own television specials, Copperfield made an acting debut in a slasher film, starring Ben Johnson, Jamie Lee Curtis and Hart Bochner called “Terror Train”. Since his popularity started growing, Copperfield has become a welcomed figure in the entertainment industry. Over the years, he has succeeded in selling more than 40 million tickets to his shows.

In regards to his personal life, David Copperfield married Claudia Schiffer in 1993, yet the couple split up in 1999. Several years after their divorce, Copperfield met Chloe Gosselin, whom he married in 2006.



Net Worth $800 Million
Date Of Birth September 16, 1956
Place Of Birth Metuchen, New Jersey, United States
Height 5 ft 11 in (1.82 m)
Profession Magician, actor, illusionist
Education Metuchen High School, New York University, Fordham University
Nationality American
Spouse Chloe Gosselin (2006–), Claudia Schiffer (1994–1999)
Children Sky Copperfield
Parents Rebecca Kotkin, Hyman Kotkin
Partner Chloe Gosselin, Chloe Gosselin
Nicknames David Seth Kotkin , David Kotkin , Seth Kotkin
Facebook https://www.facebook.com/davidcopperfield
Twitter https://twitter.com/D_Copperfield
IMDB www.imdb.com/name/nm0004518
Awards Emmy Award for “Outstanding Technical Direction”, Hollywood Walk of Fame
Nominations 11 Guinness World Records, Living Legend by the US Library of Congress, “Magician of the Year” (1980, 1987)
Movies “Terror Train” (1980), “The Magic Of David Copperfield XVI: Unexplained Forces”, “David Copperfield: Illusion” (1994)
TV Shows “The Magic of ABC”, “The Magic of David Copperfield IV: The Vanishing Plane”, “Project Magic”
Quote
1 Each five-minute piece you now see in my show takes two years from idea to execution. That is why – when someone steals my creations – it’s very difficult to deal with.
2 (on working with Claudia Schiffer in his magic shows) I really love having Claudia with me in my shows. She’s a great performer and a real natural with the illusions. And she’s really trusting too – It’s not every woman who’ll trust someone like me enough to let me strap her to a guillotine and chop her head off. But the best thing about having her in my shows is that I can say that I spend my evenings sawing the most beautiful woman in the world in half.
Fact
1 He was nominated for the 2016 New Jersey Hall of Fame in the Performance Arts category.
2 On January 9th, 2003, it was opened www.copperfield.ru, a Russian site with the explicit intention to reveal the largest possible number of tricks performed by David Copperfield, with the justification: “Copperfield deceives the spectators, and we only open your eyes on the truth”. Site authors (a team of magicians, designers and engineers lead by Timur Abdulov) worked for more than 5 years, documenting and analyzing the illusions of Copperfield. The illusions revealed (in Russian and English) were dozens, minutely described and also accompanied by screenshots, images and some animation created by computer. Many of these illusions were never revealed before by anyone, remaining for years shrouded in mystery. The authors also published recording of the call made by Copperfield himself, who expressed his disagreement with the opening of a site so vast, which however has been deleted from the World Wide Web in 2005-2006.
3 In April 2010 he appeared at the Hollywood Theater, at the MGM Grand Casino in Las Vegas, Nevada.
4 Copperfield performs over 550 live shows every year since 1983. This is the list: The Magic of David Copperfield: Live on Stage (from 1983 to 1986) The Magic of David Copperfield (from 1987 to 1990) David Copperfield: Radical New Illusions (from 1991 to 1992) David Copperfield: Magic for the 90’s (from 1992 to 1994) David Copperfield: Beyond Imagination (aka The Best of David Copperfield) (from 1995 to 1996) David Copperfield: Dreams and Nightmares (aka Magic is Back) (from 1996 to 1998) David Copperfield: Journey of a Lifetime (aka U!) (from 1999 to 2000) David Copperfield: Unknown Dimension (aka Global Encounter) (from 2000 to 2001) David Copperfield: Portal (from 2001 to 2002) David Copperfield: An Intimate Evening Of Grand Illusion (aka World of Wonders) (from 2003).
5 Actor Robert Hegyes was born in Perth Amboy but raised in nearby Metuchen, New Jersey, the hometown of Copperfield.
6 He is fan of Carl Ballantine, that also performed in his first official TV special The Magic of David Copperfield (1978).
7 Owns the buzz saw version of the “sawing a woman in half” illusion that used to belong to Orson Welles. Welles used to saw Rita Hayworth, Marlene Dietrich and Marilyn Monroe in half. Copperfield maintains the illusion in full working order, and has occasionally used it to saw in half various celebrity assistants including Claudia Schiffer, Penélope Cruz and Cat Deeley.
8 In 1993, David did an on-stage illusion in which he weightlessly flew with a lady from the audience in his arms. His flight illusion was considered by many experts and historians of magic to be the greatest illusion ever performed on stage.
9 His favorite movies are Citizen Kane (1941) and The Wizard of Oz (1939). In The Magic of David Copperfield III: Levitating Ferrari (1980), during the “Record Album Prediction” illusion he tells the audience that Dumbo (1941) was his favorite movie when he was a kid.
10 He has said he likes roller coasters.
11 Has appeared on Late Night with Conan O’Brien (1993) where he presented his collection of turn-of-the-century prank devices. One, a paddle that when used to spank someone exploded powder, was used incorrectly by host O’Brien. Copperfield’s pants (and behind) caught on fire, an accident from which he still carries a scar.
12 One of his schoolteachers New Jersey school days was ABC News correspondent Judy Muller.
13 In 1993 he met supermodel Claudia Schiffer at a Berlin celebrity gala, and in January 1994 they became engaged. During this engagement, she sometimes used to appear in his stage shows as a special guest assistant in a number of illusions: first he would levitate her high in the air before making her vanish and reappear, then he would use a large guillotine to behead her. Finally, he would saw her in half inside a glass-sided box in what has sometimes been voted by other magicians as one of the most baffling versions of the sawing in half ever performed. Claudia also appeared in David Copperfield: 15 Years of Magic (1994), a documentary in which she played the role of a reporter interviewing Copperfield in his Magic Warehouse. After a six-year engagement, in September 1999 they announced their separation.

Director

Title Year Status Character
Copperfield: Tornado of Fire 2001 TV Special
David Copperfield: 15 Years of Magic 1994 TV Special documentary
The Magic of David Copperfield XV: Fires of Passion 1993 TV Movie as David Kotkin
The Magic of David Copperfield XIV: Flying – Live the Dream 1992 TV Movie as David Kotkin
The Magic of David Copperfield XIII: Mystery on the Orient Express 1991 TV Movie as David Kotkin
The Magic of David Copperfield XII: The Niagara Falls Challenge 1990 TV Movie as David Kotkin
The Magic of David Copperfield XI: The Explosive Encounter 1989 TV Movie as David Kotkin
The Magic of David Copperfield 10: The Bermuda Triangle 1988 TV Movie
The Magic of David Copperfield IX: The Escape from Alcatraz 1987 TV Movie
The Magic of David Copperfield: China 1986 TV Movie
The Magic of David Copperfield VI: Floating Over the Grand Canyon 1984 TV Movie
The Magic of David Copperfield V 1983 TV Movie

Producer

Title Year Status Character
Now You See Me 2 2016 co-producer
Copperfield: Tornado of Fire 2001 TV Special executive producer
The Magic of David Copperfield XVI: Unexplained Forces 1995 TV Movie executive producer
David Copperfield: 15 Years of Magic 1994 TV Special documentary executive producer / producer
The Magic of David Copperfield XV: Fires of Passion 1993 TV Movie executive producer
The Magic of David Copperfield 10: The Bermuda Triangle 1988 TV Movie executive producer
The Magic of David Copperfield IX: The Escape from Alcatraz 1987 TV Movie producer
Magic with the Stars 1982 TV Movie producer
The Magic of David Copperfield IV: The Vanishing Airplane 1981 TV Movie producer

Writer

Title Year Status Character
David Copperfield: 15 Years of Magic 1994 TV Special documentary as Seth Kotkin
The Magic of David Copperfield XV: Fires of Passion 1993 TV Movie as Seth Kotkin
The Magic of David Copperfield XIV: Flying – Live the Dream 1992 TV Movie as Seth Kotkin
The Magic of David Copperfield XIII: Mystery on the Orient Express 1991 TV Movie as Seth Kotkin
The Magic of David Copperfield XII: The Niagara Falls Challenge 1990 TV Movie as Seth Kotkin
The Magic of David Copperfield XI: The Explosive Encounter 1989 TV Movie as Seth Kotkin
The Magic of David Copperfield IV: The Vanishing Airplane 1981 TV Movie
The Magic of David Copperfield III: Levitating Ferrari 1980 TV Movie
The Magic of David Copperfield II 1979 TV Movie

Actor

Title Year Status Character
The Simpsons 2015 TV Series David Copperfield
7 Days in Hell 2015 TV Movie David Copperfield
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone 2013 David Copperfield
Scrubs 2002 TV Series David Copperfield
Michael Jackson: Liberian Girl 1989 Video short David Copperfield (uncredited)
Terror Train 1980 The Magician

Miscellaneous

Title Year Status Character
Now You See Me 2013/I magic inspired by
The Costumes Are the Sets: The Design of Eiko Ishioka 2007 Video documentary short images
Heroes of Magic 2000 TV Special documentary archive material courtesy of
Terror Train 1980 illusion creator

Editor

Title Year Status Character
Copperfield: Tornado of Fire 2001 TV Special as David Kotkin

Thanks

Title Year Status Character
The Prestige 2006 the producers wish to thank
Rudy Coby: Ridiculously Dangerous 1996 TV Special special thanks

Self

Title Year Status Character
Dinah! 1979-1980 TV Series Himself – Magician
The Magic of David Copperfield II 1979 TV Movie Himself / Jewel Thief / Detective
The Mike Douglas Show 1978-1979 TV Series Himself – Magician
The Magic of David Copperfield 1978 TV Special Himself
The Magic of ABC 1977 TV Special Himself – Conductor
Magic at the Roxy 1976 TV Special Himself
Last of the Showmen 2017 Documentary filming Himself
The Imagineering Story 2016 Documentary filming
Brother vs. Brother 2016 TV Series Himself
Good Morning America 2015 TV Series Himself – Guest
Unity 2015 Documentary Narrator (voice)
2015 Billboard Music Awards 2015 TV Special Himself
The Daily Show 2015 TV Series Himself
American Restoration 2014 TV Series Himself (2014)
The Amazing Race 2014 TV Series Himself
Entertainment Tonight 2014 TV Series Himself – Magician
Perspectives 2014 TV Series documentary Himself – Magician
The Crazy Ones 2014 TV Series Himself
History Specials 2013 TV Series Himself – Illutionist
The Next Iron Chef 2012 TV Series Himself
Oprah’s Next Chapter 2012 TV Series Himself – Magician
Wizards of Waverly Place 2011 TV Series Himself
Test Your Brain 2011 TV Series documentary Himself – magician
Brain Games 2011 TV Series documentary Himself – Magician
The Colbert Report 2011 TV Series Himself – Guest
A Message from David Copperfield 2011 Short Himself
Private Islands 2011 TV Series Himself
The Simpsons 2011 TV Series Himself
Live with Kelly and Michael 2010 TV Series Himself
The 37th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards 2010 TV Special Himself
Oh My God 2009 Documentary Himself
The 7PM Project 2009 TV Series Himself
44th Annual Academy of Country Music Awards 2009 TV Special Himself
Larry King Live 2007 TV Series Himself
Feste der Volksmusik 2006 TV Series Himself
Canada A.M. 2006 TV Series Himself
Houdini: Unlocking the Mystery 2005 TV Movie documentary Himself
Go’ aften Danmark 2005 TV Series Himself
Guinness World Records – Die größten Weltrekorde 2005 TV Series Himself
Getaway 2005 TV Series Himself
Ruben & Joonas 2004 TV Series Himself
Ellen: The Ellen DeGeneres Show 2004 TV Series Himself
The Tony Danza Show 2004 TV Series Himself
World Music Awards 2004 2004 TV Special Himself – Presenter
Penn & Teller: Bullshit! 2004 TV Series documentary Himself
Otro rollo con: Adal Ramones 2004 TV Series Himself
Pulse 2004 TV Series documentary Himself
CBS at 75 2003 TV Special documentary Himself
Late Night with Conan O’Brien 1995-2003 TV Series Himself
The Tonight Show with Jay Leno 1994-2002 TV Series Himself
50 Greatest Magic Tricks 2002 TV Movie documentary Himself
Copperfield: Tornado of Fire 2001 TV Special Himself
Saturday Night Live 2001 TV Series Himself
Wetten, dass..? 2001 TV Series Himself
Mundo VIP 2000 TV Series Himself
David Copperfield: The Great Escapes 2000 TV Special documentary Himself
HermanSIC 2000 TV Series Himself
The Panel 1999 TV Series Himself
Get Bruce 1999 Documentary Himself
Caiga quien caiga 1997-1998 TV Series Himself
Sabor a tí 1998 TV Series Himself
AFI’s 100 Years… 100 Movies: America’s Greatest Movies 1998 TV Special documentary Himself
CBS: The First 50 Years 1998 TV Movie documentary Himself
Biography 1998 TV Series documentary
Michael Jackson: HIStory on Film – Volume II 1997 Video documentary Himself (segment “Liberian Girl”)
An Audience with Elton John 1997 TV Special Himself (uncredited)
Mister Rogers’ Neighborhood 1997 TV Series Himself
Happy Birthday Elizabeth: A Celebration of Life 1997 TV Special Himself
Late Show with David Letterman 1994-1996 TV Series Himself
Very Important Pennis 1996 TV Series Himself
The Oprah Winfrey Show 1996 TV Series Himself – Magician
The 53rd Annual Golden Globe Awards 1996 TV Special Himself – Audience Member
Pebble Mill at One 1983-1996 TV Series Himself
Belly Talkers 1996 Documentary Himself
The Magic of David Copperfield XVI: Unexplained Forces 1995 TV Movie Himself
Oscars 1995 1995 TV Movie Himself
Ready to Wear 1994 Himself (uncredited)
Buona Domenica 1994 TV Series Himself – Magician
La grande magia di David Copperfield 1994 TV Movie documentary Himself
Schmidteinander 1994 TV Series Himself
David Copperfield: 15 Years of Magic 1994 TV Special documentary Himself
When Stars Were Kids 1994 TV Movie Himself
0137 1993 TV Series Himself
The Magic of David Copperfield XV: Fires of Passion 1993 TV Movie Himself
CBS This Morning 1993 TV Series Himself
The Arsenio Hall Show 1989-1993 TV Series Himself – Magician
The Magic of David Copperfield XIV: Flying – Live the Dream 1992 TV Movie Himself
One on One with John Tesh 1992 TV Series Himself
The Magic of David Copperfield XIII: Mystery on the Orient Express 1991 TV Movie Himself
The Magic of David Copperfield XII: The Niagara Falls Challenge 1990 TV Movie Himself
The Magic of David Copperfield XI: The Explosive Encounter 1989 TV Movie Himself
The Pat Sajak Show 1989 TV Series Himself
The Magic of David Copperfield 10: The Bermuda Triangle 1988 TV Movie Himself
All Star Gala at Ford’s Theatre 1987 TV Movie Himself
The Magic of David Copperfield IX: The Escape from Alcatraz 1987 TV Movie Himself
The Late Show 1987 TV Series Himself
The Magic of David Copperfield: China 1986 TV Movie Himself
Solid Gold 1985 TV Series Himself
The Magic of David Copperfield VII: Familiares 1985 TV Movie Himself
The Magic of David Copperfield VI: Floating Over the Grand Canyon 1984 TV Movie Himself
A Christmas Dream 1984 TV Movie Himself
Grandpa, Will You Run with Me? 1983 TV Movie Himself
The President’s Command Performance 1983 TV Movie Himself
The Magic of David Copperfield V 1983 TV Movie Himself
The Regis Philbin Show 1982 TV Series Himself
Magic with the Stars 1982 TV Movie Himself
Lena 1982 TV Series Himself
The John Davidson Show 1980-1981 TV Series Himself – Magician
The Magic of David Copperfield IV: The Vanishing Airplane 1981 TV Movie Himself
Dance Fever 1981 TV Series Himself
All-Star Salute to Mother’s Day 1981 TV Special Himself
Marie 1981 TV Series Himself
The Merv Griffin Show 1977-1980 TV Series Himself – Magician
The Magic of David Copperfield III: Levitating Ferrari 1980 TV Movie Himself / James Bondage
The Big Show 1980 TV Series Himself – Magician

Archive Footage

Title Year Status Character
The Americans 2016 TV Series Himself
20 to 1 2011 TV Series documentary Himself
Quelli che… il calcio 2008 TV Series Himself
Getaway 2007 TV Series Himself
The Story of Light Entertainment 2006 TV Mini-Series documentary Himself
Magic 2004 TV Mini-Series documentary Himself
Otro rollo con: Adal Ramones 2004 TV Series Himself
Celebrities Uncensored 2003 TV Series Himself
Heroes of Magic 2000 TV Special documentary Himself
Magico David 1992-1994 TV Mini-Series Himself
Sei un fenomeno 1991 TV Mini-Series Himself

Won Awards

Year Award Ceremony Nomination Movie
1995 Star on the Walk of Fame Walk of Fame Live Performance Awarded on April 25, 1995 at 7021 Hollywood Blvd.

You May Also Like

Donell Jones’s net worth, biography, fact, career, awards and life story

Donell Jones net worth: Donell Jones is an American singer-songwriter and producer who has a net worth of $500 thousand. Donell Jones was born in Chicago, Illinois and signed with Untouchables/La Face Records in the mid-90s. He released his first studio album in 1996, “My Heart”, and the album spawned the hit track, “Knocks Me Off Feet”, a cover of the Stevie Wonder song. From there, he went on to release five more studio albums. He rose to widespread recognition with his sophomore album, “Where I Wanna Be”, and its hit single, “U Know What’s Up”. It went on to earn Platinum status. His next album, “Life Goes On”, released in 2002, was certified Gold. He has enjoyed multiple Top 100 hits on the R&B charts over the years, including, “This Luv”, “You Know That I Love You”, “I’m Gonna Be”, and “Love Like This”. His seventh album, “Forever” is slated for release in 2013, and its first single of the same name was released earlier this year.
Read More