Lee Asher

Lee Asher (born 1976) is a close-up magician noted for originating new card tricks and hypnotic[1] sleight of hand moves.[2] He is considered an expert in playing cards, and as a collector is especially known for his work with the American Playing Card Collectors Club, of which he is the serving President.

Lee Asher
Born
Ft. Lauderdale, Florida, U.S. Born July 1976
OccupationTechnological inventor, Sleight of Hand Artist
Height5'7
TitleCard Star
PredecessorLou Tannen
WebsiteLeeAsher.com

Early Years

Lee Asher was born in Fort Lauderdale, near Miami in southern Florida, to Louise and her husband, Mark Horowitz. He is the older of two children and has a sister, Alexis. His father managed an optometric practice, and as a boy he would learn magic from Al Flosso and Lou Tannen in New York City in the 1960s.[3]

He attended Marjory Stoneman Douglas High School in Parkland until 1994, and then the University of Nevada/Las Vegas, which he graduated with honors. During this time, he would often sneak into casinos like the Golden Nugget. Here, he would watch master magician Michael Skinner who would later influence his magic. After jobs as magic demo man at the Magic Mansion, he was hired to work at Caesars Magical Empire in Caesars Palace performing card magic, from 1996 to 1997. He worked with world famous magicians like Earl Nelson, Jeff McBride, Chappy Brazil, Joey Burton, Daryl, Michael Ammar, Jonathan Pendragon, and many more. His official character title was 'Cardius Sharkus'. Once work was over, he finished school - officially graduating from university in 1999.

Magic Career

From an early age, Asher knew that he wanted to be a magician. His first magic gigs were wherever he could get a job, performing evenings, and weekends - though his real passion came from inventing magic. At the young age of 15, he invented a technique titled 'The Asher Twist'. The Eugene Weekly reported, "After inventing "The Asher Twist," a sleight-of-hand card trick that made an international name for him, Lee Asher spent the better part of 10 years traveling the world and performing his own brand of cutting-edge magic.[2]

He is the first place International Brotherhood of Magicians Junior Close-up Champion (1991 and 1992), and was a featured lecturer at the inaugural Session Convention, a British convention for close-up magicians, in 2006.

Since then, Lee has been given several opportunities to appear on prime time television on channels such as the Discovery Channel, The Learning Channel, and 'The World's Greatest Magic on NBC. He has also traveled the world, lecturing to magicians. Other guest appearances include being the special guest at Sorcerers Safari Magic Camp in 2001, and an appearance on the iTricks.com podcast in 2007 for the week of October 12.

He has published in industry magazines such as Trapdoor, Channel One, The Penumbra, The Magic Circle, Apocalypse, Labyrinth, and Genii Magazine. Lee is also part of CURIOSIDADES, a group of magicians formed by BJ Bueno to bring magic to Bueno's home country (Dominican Republic).[4]

Playing Cards

Asher is highly regarded for his contributions and expertise as a collector of playing cards. In 2016 he became the youngest ever President of 52 Plus Joker, the prestigious American Playing Card Collectors Club. He is the current President, and is also actively involved in the publication of their magazine, Card Culture.

He is known for his passion for Jerry's Nugget playing cards, and is considered instrumental in popularizing the original decks, and in spearheading a project in 2019 to recreate them.

Awards and honors

Published works

Lee Asher's mainstream releases:

  • (1995) Cooking with Lee Asher VHS
  • (1999) Well Done VHS
  • (1998) Sex Sells Booklet
  • (1998) Thinking Out Loud Booklet
  • (1999) Five Card Stud VHS
  • (1999) Le Asher Booklet
  • (2000) Pulp Friction Booklet
  • (2001) Close Cover Before Striking Booklet
  • (2001) Hand Jobs Booklet
  • (2002) Five Card Stud DVD
  • (2003) Hit the Road DVD
  • (2004) Losing Control Cd-Rom
  • (2004) Catch 33: Three Card Monte PDF
  • (2005) Diving Board Double PDF
  • (2005) Three Stylin Booklet
  • (2005) On Tour with Michael Ammar
  • (2006) Asher Twist DVD
  • (2007) Thunderbird: The Modern Ace Production PDF
  • (2007) WITNESS: A Lesson in Simplicity DVD
  • (2008) Nu Sense co-produced with Alain Nu
  • (2009) Lee Asher Signature Series 605s High Quality Playing Cards printed by Naipes Heraclio Fournier
  • (2010) Losing Control PDF
  • (2010) Jerry's Nugget playing cards Care and Handling Guide
  • (2012) Conditioning and Care Guide for your 605 playing cards printed by Naipes Heraclio Fournier
  • (2012) Asher Twist DVD (HD)
  • (2013) Catch 33: Three Card Monte PDF Update

Notes
  1. Pollak, Michael (2000-07-06). "Screen Grab - An Online Magician Who Has a Sense of Drama - N.Y. Times". The New York Times. Retrieved 2008-04-12.
  2. "More Than Smoke and Mirrors". The Eugene Weekly. Archived from the original on 2016-03-04. Retrieved 2006-01-19.
  3. (September 17, 2019) "Interview with Magician and Collector Lee Asher". PlayingCardDecks.com. Retrieved 31 January 2020.
  4. MAGIC Magazine January, 2013
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