15 Facts About Jim Steinmeyer

Jim Steinmeyer was born on November 1,1958 and is an American author, inventor, and designer of magical illusions and theatrical special effects.

Jim Steinmeyer holds four US patents in the field of illusion apparatus, including a modern version of the Pepper's Ghost illusion.

Jim Steinmeyer is known for his work on Broadway, and received two Drama Desk nominations for his effects in Merlin and Into the Woods.

Jim Steinmeyer has designed illusions for Disney's stage productions of Aladdin, Beauty and the Beast, and Mary Poppins.

Jim Steinmeyer has written multiple books on the history of magic, including the Los Angeles Times bestseller Hiding the Elephant.

Jim Steinmeyer grew up in Hinsdale, Illinois and attended Loyola University Chicago.

Jim Steinmeyer has served as a magic consultant to Siegfried and Roy, David Copperfield and Lance Burton, as well as creating magic effects for Orson Welles, Harry Blackstone, The Pendragons, Simon Drake, Ricky Jay, Jason Bishop, and many others.

For Copperfield, Jim Steinmeyer created the illusion of the Vanishing Statue of Liberty, which was featured on a live television special in 1983.

Musician Alice Cooper used a Jim Steinmeyer-designed effect in his 2009 tour, where at one point he is confined inside a polished metal torture device, then impaled with a rack of sharp spikes.

Jim Steinmeyer created several enhanced effects for the Las Vegas production of Phantom of the Opera, including a special version of Christine's dressing room mirror in Act I and Raoul's torture cage in Act II.

Jim Steinmeyer has worked as a producer and magic consultant for many magic television shows, and as a consultant and concept designer for Walt Disney Imagineering, where he developed theme park attractions for The Walt Disney Company.

In 1986 Jim Steinmeyer served as technical advisor for the NBC crime drama series Blacke's Magic, starring Hal Linden as magician Alexander Blacke.

At that time Jim Steinmeyer was 32 and was the youngest person to ever win a fellowship.

In 1996 Jim Steinmeyer received the Milbourne Christopher award in recognition of contribution to magic design and in 2002, he received his second Fellowship award from the Academy of Magical Arts, this time collecting the Literary Fellowship Award.

Jim Steinmeyer has written many books on magic's history and technical books on techniques of illusions.