Jim Steinmeyer

March 26th, 2009 | Posted in production-team | No Comments »

Jim Steinmeyer

Writer, Illusion & Special Effects Designer, Creative Consultant

The New York Times calls Jim Steinmeyer the ?celebrated?invisible man?inventor, designer and creative brain behind many of the?great stage magicians of the last quarter-century.? Recognized for his?extensive, innovative creations in magic, a recent profile concluded that Jim?was ?the best living originator of stage illusions,? noting his many?creations as the ?defining illusions in contemporary magic.? ?Jim?Steinmeyer has worked with virtually every leading magician around the world,?produced magic on television, and written extensively on his illusions as well?as his research into the history of magic.

From 1981 to 1987, Steinmeyer was the magic designer for Doug Henning He invented impossibilities in four Henning television specials, six touring shows, and numerous television and Las Vegas appearances. He served as a consultant for?Siegfried?and Roy, David Copperfield, and Lance Burton. For one of Copperfield’s television specials, Jim proposed the idea and “secret” by which the Statue of Liberty could “disappear”, making headlines with the mystery.

In 1994, his illusions were featured in the Walt Disney Company’s “Beauty and the Beast” on Broadway. This earned Steinmeyer a Drama Desk Nomination. In 1991, he was awarded the Creative Fellowship by the Academy of Magical Arts, recognizing his continuing inventions. The Fellowship Awards are magic’s “Oscars” and constitute a lifetime achievement in the art. At 32, Steinmeyer was the youngest person ever to win a Fellowship.

Since 1987, Steinmeyer has worked as a concept designer and consultant for Walt Disney Imagineering, the creative development division of the Walt Disney Company. In this capacity, he was responsible for overall concepts as well as show outlines and scripts

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