First let me state that David Roth has an amazing ability when performing with coins. He is truly a genius. I have been fortunate to have enjoyed the confidence and friendship of the leading exponents of coin manipulation of the past. T. Nelson Downs, Allan Shaw, Manuel and Welch Miller all specialized in this branch of the magical art. To the very best of my judgment, David’s ideas and execution far surpass any one of them. I feel quite certain that if they could witness his performance they would not only be astounded but realize that they had seen the master.
—Dai Vernon
David has performed the world over. He has made television appearances in South America, Europe, Japan, and of course the United States, where he has been seen on the David Letterman show, HBOs “Magical Moments,” and other network appearances over the years.
Roth was an important contributor to Richard Kaufman’s Coinmagic a widely regarded text on contemporary coin technique; his major work was chronicled in David Roth’s Expert Coin Magic, a book co-written with Richard Kaufman. Roth has lectured for magic enthusiasts around the world and has produced numerous instructional videos. Roth is associated with Conjuring Arts Library in New York City.
Lauded by his peers, he has twice won the coveted Magician of the Year award at the Magic Castle, and their Creative Fellowship for Lifetime Achievement in Magic. He received the Medal of the Inner Magic Circle with Gold Star from the Magic Circle in England. He was backstage magic consultant to Ricky Jay in “Ricky Jay On The Stem” and has traveled extensively with Jay in the hit show, “Ricky Jay & His 52 Assistants.” His book Expert Coin Magic has become a standard text on the subject and is known to magicians all over the world.
David also worked with Conjuring Arts Hocus Pocus Project, bringing magic to incarcerated youth. Read the New York Times article here.
He honed his remarkable skills the way a concert pianist would, and he was continually developing new routines and adaptations of classical ones. His style, his wit, his affability and his charm are unequaled, and he was an asset at any kind of event you may be hosting—cocktail parties, birthday parties for adults, trade shows, corporate events—you name it!
David Roth: Master in Residence by Noah Levine
Magic Castle awards
1974 “Visiting Magician of the Year”
1977 “Close Up Magician of the Year”
1998 “Creative Fellowship Award”
1999 The “Medal of the Inner Magic Circle with the Gold Star”
1999 “Lecturer of the Year”
Major technical contributions
Roth’s trick “The Hanging Coins” (which was first revealed in Apocalypse magazine, Volume 1, No. 6, page 68, 1978) took an ancient, and long ignored, sleight of hand technique and made it far more deceptive and useful. This technique, which Roth dubbed “Edge Grip,” has subsequently been explored in depth by other experts in the field. It is a significant tool of contemporary coin magic.
Roth’s virtuoso execution of a “persistence of vision vanish” led to tremendous interest in his handling of the move (which he refers to “The Retention Vanish”), and – perhaps – to increased use of this move among magicians.
Roth’s handling and application of a technique that has—largely thanks to him—become known as “The Shuttle Pass” is highly influential.
Roth’s “The Original Chinese Coin Assembly” was highly influential as the first published coin assembly that used the bare hands. This was a highly influential development that has been widely used and explored by other sleight of hand experts.
Roth’s literary works
Expert Coin Magic by David Roth (Instructional book on coin magic published by Richard Kauffman)
Expert Coin Magic Made Easy vol 1–3 (Instructional DVD set)
ULTIMATE COIN MAGIC COLLECTION vol 1–4 (Instructional DVD set)
Theatrical credits
In 2003 Roth co-wrote and co-starred along with Darwin Ortiz in All of the People, All of the Time. It also co-starred actress Ruth Williamson and was co-written by Patrick Cook. It opened in Charlotte, North Carolina and later played in Waterford, Connecticut.
He has consulted for Ricky Jay’s production of On The Stem as well as Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants in which he was credited in the program as Ricky’s ‘53rd Assistant.’