Magician enjoys putting creativity into work

When Tony Blanco was 15 he got a magic set. After only a short while, he lost interest. But the story doesn't end there.

Blanco, now a magician for 26 years, later met a friend who was a magician. Where the kid's magic set had failed, his friend influenced the rest of Blanco's life.

The New York native studied magic and performed as a street mime in Manhattan. He later studied the circus arts at Ringling Bros. and Barnum & Bailey School. Then, Blanco decided to move to Las Vegas.

He worked as a ringmaster and a clown at Circus Circus while booking freelance magic acts privately. He has written several sections in a book called "Creative Clowning" and articles in Laugh Makers magazine. But, what he likes best is magic and comedy.

"I'm not happy unless I'm creating," Blanco said. "I always thought an entertainer did everything."

Now working independently as a clown, puppeteer and magician he books engagements all over the metropolitan area. Ten years ago, he bought a house in Henderson and set up his own prop building shop where he makes many of his tricks and puppets.

"My father would be so proud of me," he said.

The magician said he likes the way Henderson has grown into a community in recent years. Just a few weeks ago he did a puppet workshop with children at the Borders Books store on Stephanie Street. Those engagements are a change of pace from the conventions and parties he books where his comedy is more adult-oriented and the tricks are all about Vegas.

"I try to make it as personable as I can," Blanco said.

In the weeks following the Sept. 11 terrorist attacks, Blanco said he wants to provide people with an escape now more than ever.

"Houdini was famous during the depression. People wanted the escape," he said. "You 'gotta have some magic in your life."

Performing in Las Vegas, a city dubbed "The New Magic Capital of the World," Blanco said it's a good place to be for him. He remembers that his father died at the age of 41, renting an apartment in New York, while Blanco was able to buy a house by the age of 31.

Aside from working at different engagements, Blanco is now researching old magic books and magazines to study what past great magicians did. He hopes to incorporate tricks that are 40 to 50 years old, but will seem new to audiences today.


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