Shawn Farquhar facts for kids
Quick facts for kids
Shawn Farquhar
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| Born | June 7, 1962 |
| Occupation | Magician |
Shawn Farquhar, born on June 7, 1962, is a famous Canadian magician and illusionist. He is known for winning the "Grand Prix World Champion of Magic" title from the International Federation of Magic Societies. This is like the Olympics for magicians!
Shawn has won many awards. He is the only magician ever to win first place at the International Brotherhood of Magicians (IBM) for both stage magic and close-up magic (sleight of hand). He has also been named Canadian Magician of the Year twice. At FISM, the "Olympics of Magic," he won a World Championship in Card Magic and the Grand Prix World Championship for Close Up magic. In August 2009, he won his biggest prize at the FISM World Championship in Beijing.
Shawn lives in British Columbia, Canada. He travels all over the world to perform his magic shows. He also teaches other magicians and helps with magic tricks for TV shows and movies. His picture has been on the cover of major magic magazines in Asia, Europe, and North America. He has performed in famous places like Las Vegas and the Opera House in Blackpool. He even performed for Queen Elizabeth II and Princess Anne!
Shawn Farquhar has also been a leader in the magic community. He was the president of several important magic groups. These include the International Brotherhood of Magicians and the Canadian Association of Magicians.
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Amazing Magic Tricks and Creations
Shawn Farquhar is famous for inventing many unique magic tricks. These are called "original magic effects." One of his well-known tricks involves a playing card that someone has signed. This signed card then magically appears inside a brand-new, sealed deck of cards!
Other tricks he created include:
- A musical card routine called "Shape of My Heart."
- "MatriXpress," a fast and visual coin trick.
- "Torn 2 Pieces," where a torn item is magically put back together.
- A special wallet trick called "C2W."
- A "cups and balls" routine that ends with the cups becoming solid.
- A comedy book test called "Sheer Luck" that even fooled Penn & Teller!
Television Appearances and Fame
Shawn Farquhar has appeared on many television shows. Before he became super famous, he was a contestant on a Canadian game show called Talk About in 1989.
Appearing on The Ellen DeGeneres Show
On January 13, 2010, Shawn was a guest on The Ellen DeGeneres Show. Ellen DeGeneres herself called him "the best sleight-of-hand magician in the world." On the show, Shawn performed several of his amazing tricks. He made a signed card appear inside a sealed deck while Ellen was holding it. He also performed a trick where a torn photograph was magically restored.
Fooling Penn & Teller Twice
Shawn Farquhar is especially famous for appearing on the UK show Penn & Teller: Fool Us. On this show, magicians perform tricks for the famous duo Penn & Teller. The goal is to do a trick so well that Penn & Teller cannot figure out how it was done.
In 2011, Shawn appeared on Season 1 of the show. He successfully fooled Penn & Teller with his signed card in a sealed deck trick. This win earned him the chance to perform in Penn & Teller's own show in Las Vegas!
Shawn returned to Penn & Teller: Fool Us on July 13, 2016. This time, he performed his comedy book test called Sheer Luck. He asked the new host, Alyson Hannigan, to help him. Shawn was able to recall random pages from the novel The Adventures of Sherlock Holmes. He fooled Penn & Teller again, making him the first magician ever to fool them twice! This meant he got to perform in their Las Vegas show once more.
Documentary Film Appearance
A documentary film called Lost In The Shuffle was shown in theaters in 2024. In this movie, Shawn Farquhar explores old mysteries hidden in a deck of cards. He also visits other magicians to learn about their favorite card tricks.
