Spending a day with magician Deddy Corbuzier<\/p>\n
Deddy Corbuzier, 26, became obsessed with magic after watching
\nmagicians on television aged 8. Born in Jakarta, he's become so
\npopular he has two television shows and performs on Sundays at
\nthe Regent Hotel, South Jakarta. His rise to national prominence
\nwas capped by a performance at the closing of the recent South
\nEast Asian (SEA) Games in Surabaya. Although the bachelor has a
\nhouse in Bintaro, South Jakarta, he prefers to live with his
\nparents in downtown Jakarta. In conversation with The Jakarta
\nPost's contributor William Furney.<\/p>\n
JAKARTA (JP): Because I suffer from insomnia, I don't get up
\nuntil about 9 a.m. I turn on the computer and check e-mails and
\nmy schedule. I never have anything to eat at that hour of the
\nday.<\/p>\n
I have meetings about 10 a.m. or 11 a.m. Before I go out I do
\nmy makeup -- eye shadow, eyeliner and foundation. I used to have
\nsomeone do it for me, but it took too long. I've learned to do it
\nmyself. I wear it everywhere I go because I want to show people
\nthat when I step down from the stage, I'm still a magician, or
\nmentalist as I call myself. My work is my life, or vice versa. I
\ndecided to have a widow's peak hairstyle because some magicians
\nin the past had them -- as did Emperor Ming in Flash Gordon. I
\nhad a mould made at a salon, and I use it to shave my head. The
\ncut on my left eyebrow is from an accident. People ask me if I
\ndid it myself as some kind of trendy thing, but I didn't.<\/p>\n
I'm recognized wherever I go. People ask me how I am and shake
\nmy hand. At the beginning, about three years ago, it was
\nentertaining. But it's moved so fast from being entertaining to
\ndisturbing to annoying. I have to smile and say hi all the time
\nand I need the recognition. Otherwise, I wouldn't be doing what I
\ndo.<\/p>\n
When I was 8 years old, I watched magicians on TV and thought,
\n\"I can do that\". My parents were pleased with what developed into
\na hobby. I used to do tricks in school and was quite popular
\nbecause of it. Later, when I was in university studying
\npsychology, I decided to perform full-time, and I ditched my
\nstudies. My parents thought I was crazy. But I've proven to them
\nthat I'm not.<\/p>\n
I went to Los Angeles last year to do a test for the
\nInternational Brotherhood of Magicians. They don't tell you what
\nthe test is; they just hand you something, like a spoon, and tell
\nyou to do magic with it. In my case, they gave me a ball of paper
\nand asked me to do a trick, which I did. So, I became a member.
\nIt's a great brotherhood in terms of resources. Magicians from
\nall round the world communicate via the Internet, trade secrets
\nand other things. Buying secrets is an expensive business. Top
\nmagicians like David Copperfield can spend thousands of dollars
\non buying the secret to just one trick. A magician gave me a
\nsecret when I was in Malaysia recently and then asked me for
\nUS$60 to \"honor the invention\"!<\/p>\n
The brotherhood doesn't allow us to give away the secrets. But
\nin the two TV shows I do, I have magic puzzles. I challenge
\npeople to find the secret. If they do, then I give them a prize.
\nSo, it's not really giving anything away -- except gifts.<\/p>\n
Magic is all about psychology and tricks -- there's no real
\nmagic, I'm afraid. As a magician, I don't believe in magic, even
\nthough there are many forms of it in Asia, including the things
\nparanormals do.<\/p>\n
My afternoons are taken up with more meetings with clients and
\nso on. I have a manager and right now I'm forming my own
\nproduction company.<\/p>\n
New tricks come from other magicians. There are some who are
\nbrilliant at making new tricks but are unable to perform them. So
\nthey sell the tricks.<\/p>\n
As a mentalist, I concentrate on mind reading, spoon bending
\nand things like that. I don't do illusions. If I bend a fork, I
\ncan give a lot of explanations about how it's done: maybe I have
\na chemical in my head that I secretly put to the fork to make it
\nweak; maybe I am so strong I can bend the fork while the audience
\nis not looking, what we call misdirection; or maybe I switched it
\nwith my own fork. But I really can't say which one.<\/p>\n
Lots of times when I'm performing, there are tricks that just
\ndon't work. It happens to all magicians. That's why I tell people
\nit's an experiment. It's good to be a mentalist -- if you're an
\nillusionist sawing someone in half and it goes wrong, I don't
\nthink the person is going to be too happy. I was an illusionist
\nat the start of my career, and once almost cut my girlfriend. I
\nprefer mentalism.<\/p>\n
When I started performing professionally, there was no one
\ndoing what I do. Nowadays, there are so many people doing almost
\nthe same magic as me. It makes me sad, but, on the other hand,
\nit's testament to my success. It gets boring, though, as they're
\nall doing the same tricks.<\/p>\n
I was supposed to do something with Gus Dur (President
\nAbdurrahman Wahid) at the closing ceremony of the SEA Games. I
\nmet him two days prior and he agreed to be a magician and do a
\nmagic show with me. Even though Gus Dur is physically disabled,
\nhe has a very sharp mind. He's got a sixth sense about things.
\nBut the Games ran over by two hours and he had to leave. I was
\ndisappointed but felt very proud because magic is never used in
\nclosing ceremonies.<\/p>\n
The business of magic is very lucrative for me. I charge a lot
\nfor my shows because Indonesians believe the more they pay, the
\nbetter it will be. I charged PON (the National Games) Rp 75
\nmillion for the SEA Games show.<\/p>\n
I think Harry Houdini was the best magician there ever was. I
\nfeel he really supports me spiritually. David Copperfield has the
\nbiggest PR machine in the world. In Las Vegas, he's not that
\nfamous. There, it's Seigfreid and Roy. I've performed abroad, in
\nplaces like Singapore and Brunei. Next year, maybe in January,
\nI'm planning on holding a junior magic championship.<\/p>\n
Even though I've been performing professionally for years,
\nevery time I step onto a stage my heart beats wildly and I get
\nnervous. I thought that after the experience I have, it's not
\nsupposed to be like that. But now I think it's good; it means I'm
\nthinking about what might go wrong, and that makes the show
\nbetter.<\/p>\n
I love Indonesian food, especially Padang. I love everything
\nwith chilies. Western food doesn't do much for me. I don't like
\nthe taste. I like to read books in the evenings -- I've got a big
\nStephen King collection -- and don't like going out that much as
\nI don't like crowds. Right now, I've got no plans for marriage;
\nI'm still looking for a girlfriend.<\/p>\n
I'm up until 5 a.m. most mornings, because of my insomnia.
\nI'll be surfing the Internet and reading during the small hours.
\nYou can call me at 3 a.m. and I'll be up. Then I fall asleep with
\na book in my hand.<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/spending-a-day-with-magician-deddy-corbuzier-1447893297",
"image": ""
},
"sponsor": "Okusi Associates",
"sponsor_url": "https:\/\/okusiassociates.com"
}