NEWS
RICKY JAY
A LEGEND PASSES
The magic world has lost another icon of our times with the passing of Ricky Jay.
His influence on modern day magic can be seen in the work of many others and it is
something that will live on forever.
Richard Jay Potash (Ricky Jay was his stage name) also acted in TV shows and movies,
including “Boogie Nights,” “Magnolia,” “House of Games” and “Deadwood.”
Potash was born in Brooklyn, New York in 1946 to a middle-class Jewish family and
grew up in Elizabeth, New Jersey.
Ricky Jay, the master-showman magician, actor, scholar, special effects consultant
and author who was called “the most gifted sleight-of-hand artist alive,” died on
Saturday at his home in Los Angeles.
He could hit a target with a single playing card at 190 feet and could aim multiple
cards at a fresh watermelon, piercing its flesh time after time. He appeared in over 40
or so film and TV roles which included “Tomorrow Never Dies” (1997), the James Bond
film (starring Pierce Brosnan) in which he played a cyberterrorist, and “Boogie Nights”
(1997), in which he was a porn-film camera operator.
He also narrated the 1999 anthology film “Magnolia,” whose ensemble cast included
Jason Robards, Tom Cruise, Julianne Moore and Philip Seymour Hoffman. And he
played a cardsharp, Eddie Sawyer, on the first season (2004) of HBO’s notably dark
Wild West series “Deadwood.”
In his first film, David Mamet’s thriller “House of Games” (1987), Mr. Jay portrayed the
obviously superior poker player who stuns Joe Mantegna’s cocky character by beat-
ing his three aces. “Club flush,” Mr. Jay’s character announces calmly. “You owe me
$6,000. Thank you very much. Next case.”
He and a business partner, Michael Weber, founded Deceptive Practices, a consult-
ing firm, in the 1990s. Their film-industry projects included a wheelchair that made
Gary Sinise’s Vietnam War-veteran character in “Forrest Gump” appear to be a double
amputee. A 2012 documentary about Mr. Jay’s life and career was titled “Deceptive
Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay.”
He built his fame with what The New Yorker called an “out-of-left-field brand of
gonzo-hip comedy magic, a combination of chops and artistic irreverence.” His Off
Broadway productions included “Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants,” directed by Mr.
Mamet.
Mr. Jay’s other books include “Cards as Weapons” (1977), “Learned Pigs and Fireproof
Women” (1986) and “Celebrations of Curious Characters” (2011).
In 2002 Mr. Jay married Chrisann Verges, an Emmy-winning producer and location
manager, and she survives him.
He was often asked to reveal at least some of the secrets of his magic acts, but he
considered that sort of thing grossly counterproductive. Here is his response in The
Times in 2002.
“Most people realize that magical powers are not being invoked and that it’s some-
one who’s created a way to mystify and entertain you. The key to that is surprise. If
you’re giving away the method, you’re denying someone the surprise.”
I highly recommend everybody watching Deceptive Practice to get an insight in to
the incredible Ricky Jay.
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VANISH Magazine
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