"Haydn has a very different and engaging manner of talking--it is infectious and the audiences loved it. He also performs his magic superbly." - Dai Vernon (the "Professor") Genii - The International Conjuror's Monthly

"You aren't just a magician, you are a great actor!" - Alan Alda

"Haydn is one of the best close-up magicians I have ever seen..." - Merv Griffin

"In my opinion, Pop is one of the few magician's left along with Darwin Ortiz who really understands magic as a craft and as a theatrical experience. Pop, along with Darwin are two people in magic whose opinion about my work really matters to me." - Michael Vincent
 

What will he teach?

Close-Up:

• Chicago Surprise: Pop’s version of the Chicago Opener/Red Hot Mama which contains an extra piece of magic, plus an absolutely killer ending.
• Impromptu Card Code/Routine for the Blind: An impromptu ESP routine in which a blind person acts as psychic.
• ESP Survey: A Street Scam that can make money for street performers when it is too cold to work.
• Fast and Loose: Pop's routine for the Endless Chain is recognized as one of the best ever.
• Intricate Web of Distraction: Pop's routine for the color-changing knives will make you dig yours out and start performing with them again.

Standup and Stage:

• Six Card Repeat: Pop's new routine for this old classic is a beautiful mixture of solid, comedic timing and subtle sleight-of-hand.
• Multiple Peeked Card to Pockets: Pop has a couple of people simply peek at cards and both appear in separate pockets… then reappear AND switch pockets… then another card repeatedly jumps to his pocket… and finally, the whole deck. It’s a fantastic sleight-of-hand routine, not for the faint of heart.
• Mongolian Pop Knot: Pop teaches everyone how to tie this infamous knot which makes two pieces of rope restore back into one… or does he?
• Four Ring Routine: Yes, this is Pop’s routine for the linking rings, and you’ll love how much entertainment he is able to wring from this classic of classics!

Who is he?

Whit "Pop" Haydn is the winner of six "Performer of the Year" awards from the Magic Castle, the Hollywood clubhouse of the Academy of Magical Arts. In February 2006, he also became Vice-President of that organization, and served for four years in that capacity. He has opened for Jerry Seinfeld, the Smothers Brothers, Loretta Lynn and others, and performed on cruise ships of many different lines, including Cunard Line's Queen Elizabeth 2, and the Diamond Princess. Haydn has worked hotels and casinos including Caesars Tahoe, and was one of the first acts chosen in 1996 to open Caesar's Magical Empire in Las Vegas. He was the chief magic consultant on Norman Jewison's major film Bogus starring Whoopi Goldberg, Gerard Depardieu and Haley Joel Osment, and worked as well as a consultant on multiple television documentaries including the Discovery Channel's "Houdini, People Came to See Him Die" and David Copperfield's television special, "Orient Express." Pop was the consultant for an episode of "Franklin and Bash" (Sony) and for "Bunheads" (ABC Family). He appeared on an episode of "Haunted Collector" (Discovery) as a gambling expert.

Haydn studied acting with Robert Leonard and also with Allan Rich. He worked for two years in the mid-Seventies with the touring improvisational company The Road Co. and has appeared in several plays in the Los Angeles area in the past few years. He is a published poet, with a selection of his poems appearing in the books Tar River Poets and Trio in Gold from the East Carolina University Poetry Forum Press. Pop Haydn, with his business partner, Chef Anton, started a company called School for Scoundrels in 1996. School for Scoundrels teaches a course every year at the Magic Castle on street scams like the Shell Game, Three Card Monte and Fast and Loose. School for Scoundrels also markets numerous books, DVDs, and props for these ancient scams and hustles. Pop Haydn is dedicated to revitalizing live variety entertainment, and his Pop Haydn in the 21st Century! show is his vision of a 19th Century Medicine Show revamped and reinvented for the 21st.