The Pendragons

About The Pendragons

Jonathan and Charlotte Pendragon are an award-winning husband-and-wife team of American illusionists who call their work "physical grand illusion". They are widely known thanks to numerous national and international television appearances. The couple are distinguished from many other husband-and-wife magic acts in that Charlotte Pendragon is credited as an equal partner rather than an assistant. She has been honoured in her own right as a magician and has achieved notable firsts as a woman in the magic profession. Jonathan Pendragon has been described as one of the most influential magicians in recent history.

The couple met at the University of California, Irvine, where Jonathon was studying theatre and Charlotte was studying dance under choreographers Eugene Loring and George Balanchine. They married soon after. Charlotte (born Charlotte Brown) is a dancer and former gymnast and body builder. Jonathan (born Jonathan Yarbrough) was a gymnast, spring board diver, martial arts expert and fencer. He used his athletic skills in a career as a Hollywood stuntman, performing the back hand springs for John Belushi down the church aisle in The Blues Brothers. He became Belushi's stunt double and friend, coordinating stunts and second directing in the movie Continental Divide.

Jonathan and Charlotte's athletic skills allowed the pair to develop a distinctive and graceful take on classic illusions such as levitation. Their show includes a number of illusions with which they have become particularly associated, including Interlude, in which a woman crawls through a man's chest. They were the first artists to perform this trick. The Pendragons are revered by fellow magicians for their version of Metamorphosis. This illusion won them a place in the 50th edition of The Guinness Book of Records, under the heading of the "Fastest Transformation Illusion". Another ground-breaking illusion is Clearly Impossible, a sawing in half trick designed by Jonathan. It's distinctive feature is a transparent box that allows the audience to see Charlotte from head to toe throughout the trick.