I Lie for Money : Candid, Outrageous Stories From a Magician?s Misadventures

Teller of Penn & Teller declares “nobody knows more about magic from the inside than Steve.” Here is Steve Spill’s life story about lying for a living. In this irreverent memoir, magician Steve Spill reveals how he managed to survive decades inside a rarely profitable, often maddening, but ultimately rewarding offbeat showbiz profession—that of a working magician. Starting when his grandfather sewed secret pockets in a magician’s tuxedo back in 1910, Spill’s dream of performing magic took him on a journey from shows at house parties to engagements in Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean. Today, he stars in shows at Magicopolis—the theater he designed and built himself. In his memoir, Spill reveals the many unique encounters that his profession has led him to enjoy (and endure): hosting Sting as his opening act one night, spending two days on camera with Joan Rivers, and selling tricks to Bob Dylan as well as encounters with Adam Sandler, Stephen King, and many other celebrities. I Lie for Money captures the highs and lows of an extraordinary life. Spill will delight and amaze you “with his combination of writing and performing skills and his endless inventiveness” (Dick Cavett). "In this funny, irreverent, unique, eccentric memoir, magician Steve Spill reveals how he managed to survive decades inside a rarely profitable, sometimes maddening, but often deliciously rewarding offbeat showbiz profession-magic! Spill tells of how his tailor grandfather sewed secret pockets in a magician's tuxedo back in 1910, which started his childhood dream to become a magician. This dream took Spill on a journey that started with him performing, as a young boy, at a "Beauty on a Budget" neighborhood house party to engagements in Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean, to today in Santa Monica, California, where he's been starring in his own shows since 1998 at Magicopolis, the theater he designed and built himself. Being a magician has given Spill the opportunity to interact with the world's most famous and fascinating people. In his memoir, Spill reveals the many unique encounters that his profession has led him to enjoy and endure: hosting Sting as his opening act one night, spending two days on camera with Joan Rivers, and selling tricks to Bob Dylan, as well as encounters with Adam Sandler, Stephen King, and other celebrities. I Lie for Money. is a literary magic show that captures the highs and lows of an extraordinary life that will delight and amaze you with wit and wickedness. This book should be an obligatory read for anyone considering a creative career, and it serves as an inspiration to those who desire to craft an independent life."-- Provided by publisher In this funny, irreverent, unique, eccentric memoir, magician Steve Spill reveals how he managed to survive decades inside a rarely profitable, sometimes maddening, but often deliciously rewarding offbeat showbiz profession#x97;magic!Spill tells of how his tailor grandfather sewed secret pockets in a magician's tuxedo back in 1910, which started his childhood dream to become a magician. This dream took Spill on a journey that started with him performing, as a young boy, at a #x93;Beauty on a Budget" neighborhood house party to engagements in Europe, Africa, and the Caribbean, to today in Santa Monica Cover; Title Page; Copyright; Dedication; Contents; Introduction; I Used to Open for The Eagles, Now Sting Is Opening for Me; Part One: First Best Jobs; The Jolly Jester; The Lemon Trick; Busking; When Bob Was Bess and I Was Harry; Part Two: Way Back; A Leads to B Leads to C; A Fifty-Cent Deck of Cards; The First Time I Advertised My Magic Show; The Legend of Cardini Lives On; Part Three: Becoming Myself; The Magic Castle; Men I Have Loved, My Eight Favorites; My First "Hand Job"; Dr. Q's Hypnotic Act; World's Greatest Magicians at the Magic Castle; Carter's Magic Cellar