Making vehicles vanish -- like magic

Who knew that almost getting crushed by a Ferrari could be good for one's career?

Certainly not magician David Copperfield. When his Floating Ferrari illusion went awry during a show and the convertible he'd been levitating suddenly dropped to the ground, he considered himself just lucky to be alive.

"It was a lucky incident in the sense that a few minutes later I would have been underneath it. I would have actually walked beneath the floating car and if I did, it would have fallen on me and I would have disappeared," said Copperfield.

"Normally I have a Plan B and a Plan C for things but I didn't, and that was the ending of the show – with the illusion not functioning correctly. It was pretty embarrassing at the time."

Embarrassing maybe, but it turned out that Ferrari faux pas had a positive effect on ticket sales as more people came out to the then-fledgling entertainer's shows, possibly "to see me screw up."

While there haven't been any more crashing cars since that Tahoe show in the early 1980s, there certainly have been other vehicles in his act; either floating, vanishing, transporting, or being conjured up out of thin air.

"Nobody dreams about pulling a rabbit out of a hat, but everybody dreams of having the perfect car, or perfect motorcycle, so that's what we do," said Copperfield of the vehicles that are an integral part of his latest show: An Intimate Evening of Grand Illusion.

Speaking via telephone from Nevada, the 50-year old Emmy award-winning entertainer is preparing to, yet again, load up five tractor-trailers worth of gear and take his show on the road. His shows at Casino Rama, which opened last night, are just a few of the more than 500 he'll do this year.

Performing professionally since the age of 12, some of his illusions have featured a motorcycle that magically vanishes while suspended high above the stage only to reappear amidst the audience, or have beautiful women appear in its stead. Then there are the dramatic entrances with Copperfield suddenly appearing atop a gleaming Harley-Davidson.

"It's a Softail custom. I just love the shape of it, the form, it's an American vehicle. It's something that people really relate to. It's more than just a prop in the show, it's a statement about freedom, dreams. I'm very passionate about it."

The magician also speaks passionately about an illusion in his current show called "the Lottery," which culminates with the startling appearance of a green 1948 Lincoln Continental convertible; a car Copperfield's grandfather could not afford but long dreamed of buying with lottery winnings.

"My grandfather always wanted that car and he never got it and I kind of make his dream come true by making that car appear as I look up in heaven every night in the show. My relationship wasn't the greatest with him towards the end and this is my way of making things right with him and making his dream come true night after night."

Not above a little name-dropping, Copperfield offers that Warren Beatty admired the Lincoln when he recently brought his family, including wife Annette Bening, to his Las Vegas show.

"When Beatty came backstage he said when he was a kid that was the car. Something about the form of it, the shape of it, the whole essence of it, was inspiring to him as a kid. It was kind of cool to hear."

Despite the presence of the Lincoln and the Harley in his shows, there's some question about the status of Copperfield's own driver's licence. Asked whether he possesses a licence, the magician chuckles and tries a little verbal sleight-of-hand.

"Sometimes – depends what country."

Obviously there's no sense in pressing the issue, especially knowing that in any event, the man could just simply make the whole matter disappear.

Rama tonight and tomorrow.

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