Man-to-Man with David Dellman
A peek behind the curtain at this most fascinating and erudite magician
As a writer and performer, I spend a lot of time reading articles online, listening to podcasts and watching videos. I’m always keeping my eyes and ears bent and antennae raised to noticing unique and interesting people and topics.
I do have a tendency to “binge” on YouTube, and often find myself chasing pointless rabbits down mindless, and seemingly endless, rabbit holes. Usually, such “activity” (if watching videos ad nauseam can honestly be called “activity). Occasionally, however, even a blind squirrel finds an acorn, and this one sure did!!
I stumbled across David Dellman’s YouTube channel quite by accident. What initially hooked my interest was his iconic, professional dress on camera. In a waistcoat and tie, sitting at a desk against a vast library of books in the background, he conveyed professionalism and understanding, confidence and wisdom. I had no choice but to subscribe.
Over the next several weeks, I watched and absorbed every Dellman morsel, until I finally came across an interview he gave to fellow magician John E. Marshall via John’s Comedy & Magic podcast.
For the next hour I was glued to my phone, and such was the high quality of the discussion that I came away with an even greater hunger to learn about the magic of David Dellman. A link to that podcast is here:
I soon reached out to David in an email to see if he’d like to do an interview with me here on Substack, and he graciously agreed.
David is a 1997 alumni of Towson University, earning a Master of Science Degree. He has memberships in the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM), the Society of American Magicians (SAM), and the Fellowship of Christian Magicians (FCM).
He began posting weekly to his YouTube channel, every Friday, after December 4, 2018, and his subscribers list has grown from 10 subscribers to currently more than 1,700. Admittedly, a smaller number than many; however, David views these numbers in a positive light. “My subscribers are a small, but an active and engaged audience. Growth was very slow at first, but today, I typically add 30 or so subscribers every month.”
Indeed, he has every right to be proud of his progress so far. His channel has attracted more than 115,000 views as of this writing. The word is definitely out there about the treasure trove of information that is David Dellman’s YouTube channel.
I wanted to pull back the curtain and take a look at this, most interesting and charismatic, man. So, join me for the next few minutes, won’t you?
….. I guarantee you won’t be sorry!!
Where do you live and perform?
I grew up in Baltimore City, and now live in Baltimore County, north of Baltimore City but south of York PA. I perform in Maryland, Pennsylvania, and Virginia primarily.
I’ve been married for 40 years. We don’t have kids, but we do have a parrot and a dog.
Are you a military veteran?
No. I showed an interest in joining the Air Force when I was in high school, but when the recruiter told me I would never become a pilot, I decided to follow a different career path.
What first sparked your interest in magic?
My dad was a magic fan. When my father was a child, his father (my grandfather) took him to see the big touring magicians of the golden age. My dad’s favorite magician was Blackstone Sr.
George Goebel had a passion for the grand illusion show in the tradition of the great masters of the Golden Age. Like dad, he was also a fan of Blackstone, Sr., so I really look to Blackstone as the “Father” of my magic. I was raised on stories of the Blackstone show.
Later, when I was a cub scout, my father, then Pack Master, hired George Goebel to entertain at our pack meeting. It was he who most inspired me as a child.
At the pack meeting, George performed the razor blade trick, the vanishing bowl of water, the hip hop rabbits, the shirt pull and the cut and restored neck tie (both with my dad). This was my very first exposure to in-person magic.
A couple of years after that, my father took me to see the Goebel illusion show, and it was at that point that I became completely hooked on magic. During his full stage illusion show, he performed the crystal casket, mummies sarcophagus, and the Asrah levitation.
I talked my dad into buying me the magic book that George was selling in the back of the room. Sadly, though, it contained none of the tricks I had seen that evening, but I read it the next day and learned every trick in the book.
When I was eight, I performed my first magic show – a magic kit - for my third-grade show and tell. Another child in the class got the same set for Christmas and shouted out the secrets as I performed each effect. The other kids laughed. You might have thought it a career ending performance, but it wasn’t. It only deepened my resolve to create magic that would actually mystify and entertain.
I resolved to never perform effects exactly as presented in the instructions. That resolution has served me well over the years.
What was your childhood like growing up in Baltimore City?
I had a very tight family with many cousins, aunts, and uncles. We all vacationed together in Ocean City, Maryland; we celebrated holidays and birthdays together. It was truly an idyllic childhood.
Have you found people in your life to always be supportive of your magic aspirations?
No, not at all. My mother was abused by an ill-mannered magician when she was a child and she hated magicians ever since. She was reluctantly “volunteered” by the magician, who dragged her up on stage and proceeded to place her hand into a Disecto. My mom was too young to know it was “just a trick” so, naturally, she was terrified.
Knowing her story, I vowed to never humiliate or terrify any audience member for any reason. My role as a magician is to serve and entertain, not to humiliate or frighten
.As a child, do you recall the first trick that you learned?
Very hard to say. It could be glass through table, or maybe Professor’s Nightmare, or maybe a die and sword
penetration, or nickels to dimes. I really don’t recall my first trick.
Who are your magic influences, early in life and today?
Well, George Goebel, Doug Henning, and David Copperfield were early influences. Today, along side those three, I’d list Denny Haney, Richard Osterlind, Eugene Burger, Rob Zabrecky, Tyler Rabbit, Carisa Hendrix, and Joe Bruno
What other careers or “jobs” have you had or do you have now besides magic?
I am an author, a speaker, and an HR Professional. Human Resources has been a prime source of income and stability for me for the last twenty-eight years. I have also authored three books, two fiction and one non-fiction.
What conflicts do you experience between the two, if any?
Obviously, I can perform magic more when not tied down to a 40 to 60 hour per week job.
On the other hand, a good salary can pay for a lot of props and books. It also affords a bit of creative freedom. I can be selective about my audience and my material more so than when I am depending on magic as my sole, primary source of income.
I don’t see income sources as being in conflict. I see them all as working together; a means to an end. The end being the life I have imagined.
I perform magic full-time for a season, then find that I miss the workplace and go back. I have done that at least twice.
It is not easy to leave a comfortable day job to pursue a career in magic. There are risks and disadvantages, like losing company paid health insurance, life insurance, vacation and sick time, not to mention a steady
income and matched 401K contributions.
But there are also benefits and privileges. I love doing magic full-time because I can devote more time and attention to perfecting my art and to performing.
When I’m working full-time in magic, I spend more time in marketing than in rehearsal, effect development, or performing. In fact, the full-time job of a professional magician IS sales.
In addition, when I know I must satisfy the audience (or my booking agent), I tend to take fewer risks, sticking instead to time-tested, tried-and-true routines.
When magic is part-time, I feel at liberty to take more chances, experiment, and devote time to routines that may never be “commercial.” Thus, while performing magic full-time enables me to hone and perfect routines, working part-time provides the liberty to be more creative.
So, artistically speaking, I find that I am more satisfied when I do magic part-time.
To what extent has performing as a career change or distort the early feelings you had about magic?
The more I perform, the more I love magic. Doing magic full-time only enhanced my love for the art. Magic has never lost its “sparkle” to me, not when I do it full-time and not when I do it part-time.
What frustrates you the most as you perform magic?
Getting sufficient high paying gigs, for me, is easily the most frustrating aspect of performance magic.
What are the greatest rewards?
When the audience enjoys the performance, THIS is the greatest reward!
Some in the Magic community have strong feelings about magic becoming too “commercial”. What thoughts or opinions do you have about the direction that magic may heading these days?
If “commercial” means designed to appeal to a lay audience, then I am all for it.
Imagine two circles, one circle includes all the material you love to do. The other circle includes the commercial material audiences love. Now look for the area of overlap. This is where performances should be.
At the end of the day, if what we do is not commercial, then we will ultimately fail as businesspeople and we will not get opportunities to perform
“The art of a magician is to create wonder. If we live with a sense of wonder, our lives become filled with joy.” – Doug Henning
What environment is your favorite in which to perform?
I love a stage. My favorite venue today might be classified as parlor or maybe small stage, before adult audiences. I no longer perform grand illusion, but I am most at home in a conference room or assembly hall, doing a show for an audience of 25 to 100 people.
What about LEAST favorite or most DREADED?
I’m not fond of “walk-around.” It can be fun, but in most of the walk-around situations I have experienced, the “audience” is not there to see a magic show. They came to eat or to attend a wedding reception or some other focus event.
While most audience members do enjoy walk-around magic, the magic at these events is secondary, and my preference would be that the audience be there primarily for the magic, not for some other reason or purpose
What is the ONE book you would recommend to someone starting in magic today?
Choosing only one book is quite difficult. However, if a person with absolutely no prior magic experience approached me and asked for a good basic book to get started, I would recommend Mark Wilson’s Complete Course in Magic, (by Mark Wilson, of course). It is inexpensive, loaded with good material and advice that will
serve anyone well as they grow and develop, and it covers a wide array of magic genres.
Are you writing anything now?
I am. Currently, I’m working on a book on how to manage the fear of public speaking. After completing and publishing it, I will be devoting some time to fiction once again.
David’s talent for writing is easily on par with any writer today, and well worth the investment of time and money. To date, he’s published three books (two novels and a non-fiction book). One novel has a Christmas theme, and I’ve purchased it as a gift to my wife this season. It genuinely will make a great Christmas gift to any reader on your list..
All three books are readily available on Amazon, as well as by emailing David directly. I’ve included his link to Amazon at the end of the article, and his email address is: david@daviddellman.com
Do you consider your current magic act to be complex or simple?
My act is a combination of traditional magic, mentalism, and bizarre. The themes I deal with are rather complex and esoteric, and yet even a child can have fun at my show.
A typical one hour show for me contains roughly fourteen different effects.
You’ve just completely bombed a show; it went so far south, you don’t expect to see it again until spring. However, you managed to crawl your way out of the ashes and cross the finish line.
Where was it, what were you performing in your act, how did it tank, and what did you do once it was over?
Well, my most awkward show was for a person celebrating her 90th birthday.
I was hired by her son. When I began my performance, the family sat the guest of honor down in front so she could have an unobstructed view of my performance.
As I began, she was all smiles. But after a few effects, not only did she lose her smile but she became noticeably agitated.
Finally, she slammed her hand down hard or her chair (so hard that the noise from the “crack” was startling). She looked up at me and yelled, “Are you gonna take your clothes off or what?”
Her son (the man who hired me) intervened and said, “Mom, this is a family event. I told you - no strippers.” To which she replied, “And I told you - I WANTED A STRIPPER!”
I finished my show, but my guest of honor was not happy at all! There were maybe sixty people at the event, including some children and everyone enjoyed my show except the one person the show was allegedly dedicated to.
Let’s talk a little about some of your other projects. What inspired you to start your YouTube channel?
My mother passed in 2015, and in 2017, my dad required 24/7 care because of advanced Alzheimer’s disease. Caring for my parents during that period drove home for me the shortness and frailty of life.
Magic has been a central passion of mine for over 50 years. I have an extensive library, have performed every conceivable kind of show in a wide variety of venues, and I have had the privilege to learning from and performing alongside some legendary performers (and some not-so legendary, but maybe ought to be).
I’ve been a member of the Society of American Magicians (SAM Local Assembly 6) for many years. It was while a member of that Assembly that I had the privilege to meet Joe Bruno, George Dency, Bob Tilford, and many other prominent Baltimore area magicians.
I was personally mentored by these performers, eventually producing shows and performing with them on stage. I would not be the performer I am today without that Assembly 6 experience.
I realized I wanted to share my passion for magic, and I knew that I had a limited time to do it. That is why I started my channel.
How do you keep your channel content so fresh and interesting week after week?
I’ve never struggled with content or finding subjects to speak on. My struggle is finding the time to research, record, and edit. Sometimes, I have so much going on that I fall behind, and have to scramble to catch up. But, in reality, there are so many more stories related to magic than I will ever have time to tell in my lifetime.
I am deeply devoted and passionate about magic. That energy has never waned over all the years. My deep passion for the art of magic provides all the motivation I need to keep going both on the channel and in my performances.
What episodes or subjects are you particularly proud of?
I put out a history on the sawing illusion well before Mike Caveney published his massive book on the same subject. I was proud of that. I also did a tribute to Denny Haney the week he passed, and it was very well received by those that knew and loved him.
But, honestly, I am always the proudest of the episode I posted this week. My heart and soul goes into every one and I am proud of them all.
Every episode is a journey. I begin with only the subject, then I do as much research as I am able to do. I have never done an episode that I did not learn from.
“If you want to learn something, read about it. If you want to understand something, write about it. If you want to master something, teach it.”
- Yogi Bhajan
Once my research is complete, I assemble the material in an outline that makes sense to me. If I am doing a tribute to a performer or a biography, I organize the material in chronological order.
Moving forward, on my YouTube channel, I would like to do more of two things:
1. Interviews. I want to do far more interviews than I have done.
2. Nuanced historic material. I want to tell stories from our history that are not front and center. Everyone knows David Copperfield, but not everyone knows Willard the Wizard. I want to make people more aware of both the greats and the not-so-greats that have come before us. I love, for example, the story of Dr. Hooker and his card rise.
Nothing is more inspirational to me than learning and telling the stories of the lives of other magician’s, whether they be full or part time professionals, or hobbyists.
David is a true gentleman. Throughout the electronic back and forth between us these few weeks, finally culminating in this interview, I found him to be truly humble, fully engaging and generously outgoing.
The feeling I was most enveloped with was his genuine and authentic desire to make this interview successful; not so much for him as for ME (and by extension,YOU, the reader). Such a man is rare to find today, and therefore his friendship is coveted once discovered! Thank you, David.
David Dellman is a real man, and I am a better man today having spent time with him. Take some time getting to know him for yourself by visiting his website links below. Links to his YouTube channel and his Facebook page are also included. It’s a priceless investment you can make in yourself
David’s websites:
https://themagicofdaviddellman.com/
To order David’s books from Amazon:
https://www.amazon.com/David-Dellman/e/B08FJGH6LM
David’s YouTube channel:
https://www.youtube.com/daviddellman
David’s Facebook page:
I also would like to thank Substack for providing this publishing platform, and thank you for reading along.
Cheers !!