Who is Lance Burton? Renowned magician is all set to appear on Criss Angel's Magic With the Stars Season 1

Renowned magician Lance Burton will soon be seen on screen again as a judge on Criss Angel's Magic With the Stars. The show's first season will air on October 22, 2022, at 8 pm ET/PT on CW.

On the show, he will judge the celebrity competitors for their magic tricks along with two other judges, Criss Angel and Loni Love. The synopsis of the show reads:

“The celebrity competitors are tasked with mastering three major categories of magic which they perform in front of a panel of three judges: “the number one magician on the planet” (Las Vegas Sun), Criss Angel (“Criss Angel MINDFREAK,” “AMYSTIKA,” “RAW”), Emmy(R) Award-winning comedian Loni Love (“E! News”) and master magician Lance Burton.”

---

Who is Criss Angel's Magic With the Stars judge Lance Burton

Lance Burton is an American magician who was born and raised in Louisville, Kentucky. He is considered to be the greatest stage magician of the previous century by his fellow peers. Moreover, he has performed for over 5,000,000 people in more than 15,000 Las Vegas shows before retiring in 2010.

Burton became interested in magic at the age of five when his mother took him to a Christmas party featuring magician Harry Collins as a performer. While there, he volunteered for a magic trick called The Miser's Dream, where Collins pulled silver dollars out of Burton's ears.

The young Burton was fascinated and instantly hooked to the magic trick. Since then, there has been no looking back. Mentioning about Burton’s magic journey, his official website states:

“A neighbor, hearing of his interest, gave him a book, Magic Made Easy, which her own (then-grown) children had used. It contained ten tricks, all of which young Burton quickly learned. His first performances were for neighborhood children, charging them a nickel each.”

When Burton entered his teens, Collins became his mentor. Under the latter's expertise and tutelage, Burton mastered “the fundamentals and techniques of performing sleight-of-hand, and the correct way to manipulate playing cards.”

An important portion of Burton's education was spent perfecting the art of misdirection. Moreover, because of his fabulous mastery of this art, he has often been referred to as "A Magician's Magician."

Burton entered his first competition as a junior magician at a convention in 1977 and won the first prize while he was there. In 1980, he became the first winner of the coveted Gold Medal for Excellence from the International Brotherhood of Magicians. On July 10, 1982, he even won the Grande Prix, which recognized him as a World Champion Magician.

Additionally, the magician has won various accolades and titles throughout his career. On May 12, 1994, Lance Burton was awarded the honor of having the "Mantle of Magic" passed to him by Master Magician Lee Grabel, which made Lance a new member of The Royal Dynasty of Magic.

After moving to Southern California, Bill and Milt Larsen immediately signed him up for their annual It's Magic show.

As per the website, the magician

“burst onto the national stage on October 28, 1981 by making his first appearance on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson."

He then appeared on various shows, including David Letterman, Jay Leno, The View, Craig Ferguson, The World’s Greatest Magic, Hollywood Squares, and even acted in guest starring roles on Knight Rider and Las Vegas.

In 1996, Burton got his own show on NBC with LANCE BURTON MASTER MAGICIAN; THE LEGEND BEGINS. This was quickly followed by a series of annual TV specials. The magician then hosted specials for Discovery, Animal Planet, The Family Channel, and The History Channel, among others.

Tune in on CW this Saturday to watch Master Magician Lance Burton once again on Criss Angel's Magic With the Stars.