David Blaine

About David Blaine

David Blaine (born David Blaine White on April 4, 1973 in Brooklyn, New York) is an American, world record holding magician and endurance artist. He made his name as a performer of street and close-up magic.

David Blaine was born in Brooklyn to a father of Puerto Rican-Catholic descent and a mother of Russian-Jewish descent. His mother Patrice Maureen White (1946–1995) was a school teacher living in New York, and his father William Perez is a Vietnam veteran. He was raised by his single mother. He attended many schools in Brooklyn. At the age of 10, David Blaine's mother married John Bukalo and they moved to New Jersey. He moved to Little Falls, New Jersey, where he attended Passaic Valley Regional High School. He has a half-brother named Michael James Bukalo.

On May 19, 1997, Blaine's first television special, David Blaine: Street Magic, introduced his unique brand of street magic to the world when it aired on the ABC network. With its strong focus on spectators' reactions and showmanship, Street Magic revolutionized the way magic is performed and portrayed on television. According to The New York Daily News, “Blaine can lay claim to his own brand of wizardry. The magic he offers in tonight’s show operates on an uncommonly personal level.”