Murray The Magician is walking the plank — the magic world’s version, anyway, as the famed Magic Castle suspends him for breaking a longstanding rule about revealing how to do tricks, but he says that rule’s gotta change.
Here’s the deal … Murray filmed a fun video he shared online, doing a bunch of different magic tricks for the camera only to have his sexy sidekick — his wife, Dani — burst his bubble and reveal the secret behind each trick.
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Murray’s video racked up more than 50 million views on Facebook, and now Hollywood’s most famous and exclusive magic club, The Magic Castle, has suspended him.
The Academy of Magical Arts, the group that runs The Magic Castle, told Murray he’s suspended pending an investigation into complaints he violated their rules by exposing magic online.
In the letter, obtained by TMZ, the AMA tells Murray he’s no longer allowed to even enter the Magic Castle, where he’s been a member for decades and frequently performs.
Murray tells TMZ … the magic community needs to update these outdated rules because it’s 2024, and folks can go on the internet and learn magic tricks on their own.
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TMZ.com
Basically, Murray’s calling out the AMA for guarding an empty safe by punishing magicians who pull back the curtain. As he says, it’s not like he was sharing details behind David Copperfield or Criss Angel’s famous tricks, because everything in his viral video is available on Amazon for anyone to purchase and use.
Murray says the real issue here is his fame … he says the video wouldn’t be a problem if he was a birthday magician in Barstow, but because his video is racking up a bunch of views, suddenly the AMA has beef.
Bottom line for Murray … there’s no harm in exposing basic magic tricks because the art form is all about entertainment, and he feels that’s what he’s accomplishing here.