Criss Angel Biography
Known professionally as Criss Angel, Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos (Greek: o; born December 19, 1967) is an American magician, illusionist, and musician. Prior to relocating his headquarters to the Las Vegas Valley, Angel started his professional career in New York City. Criss Angel Mindfreak, a stage and television production, and Criss Angel Believe, a live performance illusion show produced in conjunction with Cirque du Soleil and performed at the Luxor Casino in Las Vegas, are two of his most well-known roles.
In 2010, the show brought in $150 million in tourism revenue to Las Vegas, but Mindfreak LIVE!, which is produced in part by Cirque du Soleil but exclusively by Criss Angel, took its place in 2016. Additionally, he appeared in the 2014 stage production Criss Angel Magicjam as well as the television series Criss Angel BeLIEve on Spike TV and the reality competition program Phenomenon on NBC.
He was selected Magician of the Decade in 2009 and Magician of the Century in 2010 by the International Magicians Society. He also has numerous world records that he set while performing magic. Angel was the lead singer for his industrial band Angeldust, which issued five albums, in addition to his work as an illusionist. The book Mindfreak: Secret Revelations was also written by him.
Criss Angel Early life
Criss Angel was born on December 19, 1967 in Hempstead, Long Island, New York, at Hempstead General Hospital. He has Greek ancestry. Up until the fourth grade, Angel was raised in Elmont before his family relocated to East Meadow, New York. John Sarantakos, his father, had a restaurant and a donut store. He originally became interested in magic at the age of seven, and at the age of 12, he gave his first show for which he received $10. Harry Houdini had a major early influence on him.
By the age of 14, Angel began doing performances at East Meadow restaurants, like the Wine Gallery, during her senior year of high school. Making his mother float in their living room was Angel’s first notable illusion. Marc Morrone, an animal breeder and reality television show, assisted Angel early in his career by helping him find and train a group of doves for his performance.
By the time he left East Meadow High School, he had made up his mind not to go to college as his parents had planned, but to become a professional magician. “Angel hit the road and started touring with other traveling performance acts,” the Biography Channel reports. He made an effort to continue his studies on his own while traveling and performing by researching the background of magic at public libraries. He also pursued studies in ballet, music, martial arts, and spirituality.
Criss Angel Early career
According to Angel, “I stayed away from magicians when I was younger because I didn’t want to think like them and wanted to create my own style.” In 1994, he made his debut appearance on television when he participated in the ABC primetime show Secrets. Horror filmmaker Clive Barker was one of Angel’s earliest backers. 1995 saw Barker approach Angel about collaborating on his movie Lord of Illusions. Later on, he also produced the World of Illusion: System One album intro for Angel.
“Criss Angel is extraordinary, a spectacular mix of visionary magic,” said Barker in the middle of the 1990s. This is the future, and it must arrive soon. In same year, he worked with musician Klayton to create the magic and music act known as Angeldust. Musical Conjurings from the World of Illusions, their debut album, was published in 1998. Angel performed 60 acts each day at the “World of Illusion” convention in Madison Square Garden that year, each lasting ten minutes. But by 2000, Angel’s website no longer listed Klayton.
The Science of Magic, a 1997 television film, and The Science of Magic II, a 2003 sequel, both starred Angel. Criss Angel Mindfreak was originally an off-Broadway production that was bought up by the World Underground Theatre in 2001. It would subsequently go on to become Angel’s debut television series. Angel worked the streets to promote the concert to pedestrians when she wasn’t performing the show. Between 2001 and 2003, Criss Angel Mindfreak played at the World Underground Theater in Times Square for more than 600 performances. His 24-hour stint buried totally under water established a world record for the longest period of time for a person. Additionally, this performance would be featured in his debut television special.
Additionally, Angel has been known to deliberately discourage the practice of mediumship, contending that there is no way for mediums to communicate with those who have passed on. “If someone is doing that for entertainment, that’s one thing,” he has remarked. However, if they assert to be in touch with the dead, I won’t care if they are from my hometown or members of my family—I’ll expose them and declare them for who they truly are.
Water torture cell in Times Square, 2002
In August 2002, Angel spent a full day imprisoned underwater in a cell the size of a phone booth close to the WWE entertainment complex in Times Square, which also owned the World Underground Theatre where Angel had been presenting his stage play. He practiced the trick adjacent to his mother’s home in East Meadow, New York, in a neighbor’s backyard swimming pool. He had only been able to remain in the water for a total of 12 hours prior to the performance.
To avoid having to leave the theater and use the restroom during the performance, he fasted for 24 hours prior to it. He went through 16 oxygen tanks while performing the stunt. He was forced to take off his own chains and shackles after the trick before coming out of the water. His skin started to significantly respond to the water after an hour.
At the conclusion of the act, according to Ted Shaffrey, “Angel ripped away the air hose that allowed him to breathe before he emerged from the phone-booth sized apparatus of translucent plastic and steel. About 100 people gathered outside the window where he was on exhibit, and assistants placed a black curtain over the 220-gallon (832-liter) chamber to obscure the view of television cameras. Under cover, Angel reportedly broke free from the chains that shackled his arms, legs, and neck before ejecting himself with a joyous scream from the damp cell.
He was sent to St. Clare’s Hospital to be treated for severe dehydration after pulling off the trick successfully; he was reported as having “skin crinkled and his eyes bloodshot” upon exiting the tank. He later claimed that while inside the tank, he had experienced overheating, jaw tiredness, and semi-consciousness.
Television specials and promotional appearances (2002–2005)
Criss Angel Mindfreak: Postmodern illusionist, an hour-long performance and homage to Harry Houdini, was an ABC Family television special that aired on October 20, 2002. The show was rebroadcast on Channel 4 in the UK on December 24, 2002. Criss Angel is currently building a name for himself as a more provocative, darker alternative to [other illusionists], according to The Birmingham Evening Mail’s review of the performance.
In addition to hypnotizing bystanders as he moves through the streets of New York, he also turns takeout coffee cups into cockroaches and suspends himself from the ceiling by hooking them into his back. The most impressive of all these mental tricks is an updated version of Houdini’s underwater trick, which involves an attempt to spend 24 hours padlocked and constrained in a tank of water. Everything appears to be going according to plan until the filter system malfunctions and the water starts to heat up.
The hour-long Supernatural special starring Angel aired on October 31, 2003, on the SciFi Channel. In a statement on the program, Kate O’Hare said, “Filmed in part at Universal Theme Park in Orlando, Fla., ‘Supernatural’ finds Angel crawling up buildings, passing a quarter through his skin, spontaneously combusting, and having otherworldly creatures burst from his chest.” Angel responded, “I like to have my hand in everything on my TV specials,” when asked how he goes about making television specials.
The executive producer, director, and creator are all me. I compose all of the music for my live performances and television shows. I have that on my label. I produce it and write it. During the performance, Angel pulled off tricks like setting himself on fire and causing a tarantula to crawl out of a passing pedestrian’s Coke container. 2003 also saw Angel appear in the two-hour Made in Japan TBS special.
On the eighty-first anniversary of Houdini’s final performance in Milwaukee, Wisconsin, Angel performed at the unveiling of the new Miller Lite logo in early 2003. He was restrained in a straitjacket for the performance and suspended ten floors above the ground. In 2005, he also gave an illusion performance at Ozzfest. Angel made up to $50,000 a day selling autographed items during this time.
Criss Angel Mindfreak television series
Criss Angel Mindfreak, which premiered on the A&E Network in January 2005, was created, directed, and executive produced by Angel in 2005. While Season 3 was shot at the Luxor Las Vegas, Seasons 1 and 2 were shot at The Aladdin in Las Vegas. The show’s illusions, which made their debut on July 20, 2005, included walking on water, levitating, climbing the side of the Luxor Hotel (in the light of 39 focused lamps that can be seen from space), floating between two buildings, making a Lamborghini disappear, surviving in an exploding C4 Crate, cutting himself in half in front of an audience, and being run over by a steamroller while lying on a bed of broken glass.
After the program’s run on television was over, the first season was made available on DVD.On a separate one-disc DVD package, the program also made available its Halloween special and two more special episodes. The program returned for a second season in May 2006, and the Tulsa World newspaper rated it one of the top summer programs. The program was renewed for a third season in July 2006; by the end of that third season, the program had more than 1.5 million viewers and was A&E’s highest-rated program.
In order to advertise the event, he performed while hung above Times Square in a concrete cube. He managed to escape the block just before it was about to fall to the ground. Criss Angel is the biggest name in magic since Houdini, according to magic effects inventor Sean Field, who said of Angel this year, “No other magician has infiltrated pop culture to the extent that Criss Angel has. He has transformed the perception of magic and made it hip. In regions of Asia, notably China, the program rose to become one of the most watched foreign television programs.
The television program was noticed as a component of the movies, shows, and books from the middle of the 2000s that sparked a revival in the general public’s interest in magic.The first weekly magic television program to run in 40 years was Criss Angel Mindfreak.”The stunts alone are impressive,” the Daily Variety wrote in its review of the premiere. However, what makes the presentation fascinating are the small-town details in which we see the young New Yorker, who began honing his magic at the age of 6, perform.
Angel, who is constantly conscious of the camera, is able to add some personality, especially when family is involved. Viewers follow the illusionist as he considers new, riskier tricks, while his crew, including his frequently irritable siblings, provide insight into factors other than ego that would motivate someone in this line of work.
He appeared on prime time television more often than any other magician in history from the beginning of the show in 2005 through the end of the season in 2010. Seances were done during the play, along with other tricks, to teach the audience about con artists and how to avoid schemes designed to defraud people of their money.
In front of an audience of about 50,000 people in July 2008, Angel made his escape from a beachfront hotel before it was demolished, an illusion that was also shown on the television program. Following the deception, Angel demonstrated to the audience in detail how he made the escape. He began by removing a pair of handcuffs that held him bound to a balcony railing. He then broke the room’s window to gain entry into the building and picked the locks on the internal door and the stairway door.
After picking five locks on the roof’s door, the escape was originally planned to take place by a ladder that hung above the hotel’s roof 30 seconds before it collapsed. Instead, as the building collapsed, Angel emerged from the debris and asserted that the original goal was always to flee via the helicopter. With dynamite placed on the first, second, and fourth levels of the structure, the entire illusion had a four-minute time limit.
Criss Angel Believe
Stage show
The stage production Criss Angel Believe (stylized as “Criss Angel BeLIEve”) was created in 2006 by Angel in collaboration with Cirque du Soleil. On September 26, 2008, the performance had its Las Vegas debut at the Luxor. It went on to become the world’s best-selling live magic show. The word “believe” was chosen by Harry Houdini, according to the legend, as a codeword for contacting him after his death. This is how the show got its name. The performance was funded with $100 million by MGM Mirage, the parent company of Luxor.
The performance was finally scheduled for a grand debut on October 31, 2008, with preview performances taking place in late September on the 82nd anniversary of Harry Houdini’s passing. The initial reviews and reactions to the preview were conflicting. The lack of the enchantment for which Angel is renowned as well as a perplexing and uninspiring theme were among the criticisms made by reporters for the Las Vegas Sun, Los Angeles Times, and Las Vegas Review-Journal. They also believed that during these initial performances, neither Cirque du Soleil nor Angel were able to provide their best work.
Positively, Star Pulse later told the Las Vegas Sun, “He has produced a live presentation that is all a perfect magic performance should be — and then some. It’s transcendent art that won’t simply blow your mind but could perhaps transform your life; it’s not just amazing wizardry.
A performance of Believe in April 2009 was cut short by Angel “hurling obscene insults” at audience member and blogger Perez Hilton. Angel was informed near the end of the concert that Hilton had texted his fans throughout the performance to say that the show was “unbelievably BAD” and that he’d “rather be getting a root canal.” Cirque du Soleil later expressed regret for Angel’s comments to Hilton.
After being dissatisfied by the first show, the Las Vegas Sun critic John Katsilometes claimed in 2010 that Believe had improved by focusing more on the magic and less on the narrative. “The show is easily the most exciting thing now on stage in Vegas,” the Toronto Star declared in 2011. The concert brought in an estimated $150 million in ticket sales that year. The performance continued through 2019 and, as of 2013, it was Las Vegas’s best-selling magic show.
He started his new performance “Mindfreak Live” at Planet Hollywood in 2019,[65] where he currently performs five nights per week.
Criss Angel Television series
In October 2013, the theatrical production marked its fifth year since it first appeared on stage. On Spike TV that month, a cable television series based on the program called Criss Angel BeLIEve premiered. 11 one-hour episodes, totaling 118 distinct illusions, made up the inaugural season. Shaquille O’Neal, Ice-T, Randy Couture, and Ludacris are among the show’s guests. In response to a question regarding the three years that had passed since the final Mindfreak episode, Angel said, “I didn’t take long at all to go back to television. Working on the live Cirque show and achieving my goals for it were decisions I made.
I felt it was in a terrific place and I could think about television again now that that show is just humming and doing amazing business — it’s the #1 bestselling magic show in the world in terms of ticket sales and the perception that people are experiencing and going back to see it numerous times. Naturally, “Believe” will change until its final performance because I’m always modifying it and adding new magic to it.
I missed being on television, and Spike turned out to be the ideal platform for me to convey something new and unique. According to The Hollywood Reporter, the program was the “most-watched new original series [on Spike TV] in more than 18 months” after Endemol acquired the show’s global distribution rights.
The horror film’s director, Clive Barker, was honored by Angel in the episode “Lord of Illusions — Death Premonition.” In the episode, Angel enacted the film’s final stunt, in which he lay beneath a circle of hung swords and foresaw the precise placement of six falling swords in order to avoid being stabbed through the torso. Using a randomly bouncing ball, the audience choose which swords to use. The Las Vegas Sun reports that “Criss is the only, and first, magician in the world granted permission from the inventor and filmmaker to re-create the film’s death-defying stunt.”
The NYPD urged him not to pre-announce the performance for a different episode of the series that was recorded in New York City since crowd management for some Angel concerts had become a problem for the authorities. As part of this performance, Angel hung his feet while being restrained by two straitjackets around his waist and a noose around his neck that was fastened to metal weights. Despite pulling off the stunt successfully, Angel tore the muscles in his shoulders, necessitating surgery in January 2014.
Because of this, the Believe stage show was temporarily closed from January to April 2014 as he recovered from the operation and got back into performing shape. In place of appearing in his own show, he did, however, present a new stage event in February and March 2014 that included other magicians. With over 15 million views, episodes of the show also became the most viewed magic videos on YouTube in site history.
Angel told the audience the details of some of his illusions throughout the performance. The “Lord of Illusions” trick was one example of this, in which he showed that he had the swords in a predetermined order so that he could dodge them. In the episode that features this illusion, Angel and his team meet to address an issue with the trick and how to make sure it does not happen again.
Phenomenon
He began making appearances as a judge on Phenomenon with Uri Geller in October 2007. He said, “No one has the ability, that I’m aware of, to do anything supernatural, psychic, or talk to the dead,” in an interview with Larry King on CNN about the program. And I declared that I would treat Phenomenon in that way. I’m going to expose everyone who appears on that program and asserts that they have extraordinary psychic abilities live on television.
In order to help uncover the contents of a locked box, paranormalist Jim Callahan summoned the allegedly deceased author Raymond Hill on the October 31, 2007 episode of the TV series Phenomenon. Uri Geller, a fellow judge, appreciated the performance, but Angel referred to it as “comical” and asked Callahan and Geller to predict the contents of two envelopes he pulled out of his pocket while offering the winner a million dollars of their own money. This resulted in a fight between Callahan and Angel, during which Callahan approached Angel and referred to him as a “ideological bigot,” and the two were then pulled apart as the program cut to commercial.
Since then, Angel has revealed one envelope’s contents, and at the revelation, he has again challenged Geller. Despite the fact that we were born one day apart (I was born on December 20 and you were born on December 19), there were many years – 40 – between us when I first appeared with my spoon-bending act. Criss At this time, Angel interrupted him and said, “I guess this is a ‘no,'” before opening the envelope. The index card in the envelope read “911” for September 11, 2001, and it was inside.
According to Angel’s reasoning, hundreds of lives could have been saved if someone had known on September 10 that September 11 would occur. On the first episode of Criss Angel’s fourth season, the contents of the other envelope were supposed to be revealed: Mindfreak
Criss Angel Stage shows
Criss Angel Magicjam
Criss Angel Magicjam, a temporary alternative performance for Believe, was presented in the same Luxor theater. The show featured “Longtime Las Vegas comedy-illusionist Nathan Burton; Banachek, the world’s top mentalist; and new female magician Krystyn Lambert, who has been heavily featured in the Spike series… joined by grandmaster manipulators Jason Byrne and Tony Clarke, supreme close-up artist Armando Vera, and the magic comedy of Russ Merlin,” according to the Las Vegas Sun.
Criss Angel both wrote and oversaw the production. Criss Angel Magicjam will embark on a North American tour in the summer of 2014, Angel revealed in January 2014. The program also included Angel doing his own illusions for roughly 40 minutes. When describing the performance, Robin Leach commented, “Magicjam is great fun and a high-energy show packed with mind-blowing magic.”
Mindfreak LIVE!
2014 saw Angel’s stage production of Mindfreak LIVE! debut. Angel’s own illusions are featured in the traveling production and have gotten favorable reviews. Angel’s illusion laboratory in Las Vegas, which is housed in a 60,000 square foot warehouse, is where the demonstrations for the performance were created. The first time Angel had toured internationally with his show in almost six years was during this time. The performance’s debut performance took place in November 2014 at Connecticut’s Foxwoods Resort Casino.
The Supernaturalists
The Supernaturalists made their debut in June 2015 at The Fox Theater at the Foxwoods Resort Casino, with Angel serving as the show’s creator, executive producer, and director. A few of the performers for the show are close-up magician Adrian Vega, illusionist Landon Swank, magician Krystyn Lambert, escape artist Spencer Horsman, mentalist Banachek, and dog conjuror Johnny Dominguez. The concert received “overwhelming positive reactions,” according to Robin Leach, who also noted that it had “the most mind-blowing magic spectacle that’s playing anywhere.” The performance, which Angel claims has been in planning for ten years and that he started in 2005, is planned to tour the world and serve as a debut location for a number of new illusions from each magician.
Variety show appearances and guest spots
On WWE Raw, Angel has made a number of special television guest appearances, including one on March 8, 2010.[84][85] Additionally, he had an appearance on The Oprah Winfrey Show, including in the season 24 opener.[86][87] He successfully deduced the number between 1 and 100 he requested Winfrey to consider during a 2007 episode of the program without revealing him.
Along with The Late Late Show with Craig Ferguson, Jimmy Kimmel Live!, The Megan Mullally Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, The AVN Awards Show 2007, and Larry King Live on CNN, Angel has also made appearances on various talk shows. Additionally, he appeared as a guest on The Tonight Show, The Late Show with David Letterman, America’s Got Talent, The Rosie O’Donnell Show, and many other shows. Additionally, he appeared as a guest actor on the popular television programs Rules of Engagement, CSI: NY, and Las Vegas. Angel also made an appearance in an Orville Redenbacher Pop-Up Bowl popcorn advertisement in 2011.
At the VH1 Rock Honors in May 2005, Angel chewed the head off a bat as a part of the introduction of recipient Ozzy Osbourne as a nod to Osbourne’s early onstage antics. At the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, Angel assisted Britney Spears in planning her stage presentation, which started the television broadcast, and performed an illusion as part of her musical performance. Prior to Jackson’s passing, he was also selected to serve as the illusionist for the scheduled 2009 Michael Jackson concerts at the O2 arena.
The Incredible Burt Wonderstone (2013) featured a cameo by Angel, and it has been claimed that Jim Carrey’s character “Steve Gray” was based on Angel. The Madame Tussauds wax museum in Las Vegas houses a wax statue of Angel.
Criss Angel Other projects
Music
Angel loves music and asserts that he has been a musician for longer than a magician. He filmed a promotional music video for the song “Don’t You Want My Love” in 1989 while fronting the short-lived heavy metal group Angel, which featured various magic tricks. Later, in 1995, Angel formed a new band called Angeldust with industrial rock musician Klay Scott. Musical Conjurings from the World of Illusion, the debut album by Angeldust, was released in 1998.
Later, he issued System 1, System 2, and System 3 albums. He issued the album Supernatural in 2003. Although he has mentioned that his musical style has aspects that are more electronic and orchestrated passages, his musical style remains to be in the heavy metal genre. I choose to take it in various locations because I am motivated by emotion and by helping others connect to, or feel, an emotion, whether it be exhilaration, crying, or happiness. He also worked with Korn and Godsmack musicians to create the soundtracks for his television show Mindfreak.
Books
The 2007 release Mind freak: Secret Revelations by Angel was distributed by Harper Entertainment. In that year, Mind freak: Secret Revelations made the Los Angeles Times bestseller list. The 295-page book “details the early beginnings of his career, memorable demonstrations from his TV show, and personal reflections,” the Las Vegas Sun reports. Additionally, “Secret Revelations” includes a number of images and detailed instructions for 40 of his fundamental Mind freaks.
“Tells of Criss Angel’s evolution as a performance artist, magician, and musician, charting his rise to fame beginning at age 6 and adding details of his life and his artistic philosophy and influences… His survey covers the ‘Mindfreaks’ which allow him to push for excellence in very different worlds,” California Bookwatch wrote.
Internet
Since the late 2000s, Criss Angel has garnered the highest internet traffic among magicians. By 2010 and 2013, his video “Walk on Water” acquired more than 39 million and 46 million views, respectively. More than 200 million people had viewed his films by the beginning of 2013. Another popular clip is “Rip Bodies Apart,” which was featured in the BeLIEve season 1 premiere and received over twelve million views in a single month.
Merchandise
The Criss Angel Magic Collection, which included instructions for six Mindfreak Magic Tricks, 250 tricks, and a magic kit for kids, was released in 2010 as a result of Angel’s collaboration with IdeaVillage. The product had a $50 million marketing budget.
Criss Angel Recognition
Awards
In addition to winning the Magician of the Year honor from the International Magician Society in 2001, 2004, 2005, 2007, and 2008, Angel also received the organization’s “Magician of the Decade” and “Magician of the Century” awards in 2009 and 2010. He was the 22nd Louie Award winner for excellent accomplishment in the magic arts. He has additionally appeared on the covers of the magazines Magic and Genii. Angel was one of the first Harry Houdini Award nominees in 2008, presented by the Harry Houdini Museum.
Angel is the youngest magician to have ever been inducted into the Magic Hall of Fame of the International Magician Society. In addition, he is the first individual to have twice taken home the Merlin Magician of the Year title, in 2001 and 2004. He received the Living Legend honor from the World Magic Legacy Awards in 2011. The Hollywood Walk of Fame, which is next to The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel, honored Angel with a star on July 20, 2017.
World records
Angel holds multiple world records, including the shortest time to perform the “Metamorphosis” illusion (less than one second) and the longest body suspension (five hours and 42 minutes), (Better source is required) He also holds the Guinness World Record for “The Most People to Disappear in an Illusion” after performing Believe at the Luxor on May 26, 2010, and making 100 individuals vanish.
Criss Angel Personal life
Angel wed his longtime partner JoAnn Winkhart in 2002. Four years later, the couple decided to divorce. Despite the fact that Angel was seen with his wife in the illusions of being buried alive (season 1, episode 6, 2005) and being suspended in midair (season 1, episode 5, 2005), she was only given the title “Criss’s Girl” instead of “Angel’s Wife.” Angel started seeing Holly Madison, a previous love interest of Hugh Hefner, in November 2008. The couple split up in February 2009.
On September 7, 2011, at a sunset dinner in Cabo San Lucas, he proposed to Sandra Gonzalez. Shortly after, they split up. Shaunyl Benson, an Australian musician, and Angel have been a couple since 2012. The couple’s children include two sons born in 2014 and 2019 as well as a daughter born in 2021.
For Criss Angel, who featured the motorcycle designers on his show Criss Angel Mindfreak, Big Bear Choppers had built seven bespoke motorcycles as of 2010. Additionally, he had an Orange County Choppers-built Harley Davidson motorcycle that he used during the Criss Angel Mindfreak intro. Angel is a philanthropist who founded the Believe Foundation with the motto “Believe Anything is Possible.” On May 19, 2010, she received the Make-A-Wish Foundation Award for Most Supportive Celebrity. Additionally, in 2007, he received the foundation’s Chris Greicius Celebrity Award. As of 2016, Angel’s business ventures brought in roughly $70 million a year.
Who is Criss Angel?
On December 19, 1965, in Hempstead, Long Island, New York, Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos, also known as Criss Angel, was born to John Sarantakos, a restaurant and doughnut shop owner. He is 55 years old right now.
He was brought up in Elmont until he entered the fourth grade, at which point his family moved to East Meadow, New York. He fell in love with magic at the age of 7, but didn’t start performing until he was 12 years old. For this, he was paid $10 USD.
He acknowledged Harry Houdini, the inventor of modern magic, as being his principal inspiration. He began performing at East Meadow restaurants when he was 14 years old.
He caused his mother to float in their family’s den for his first significant delusion. Marc Morrone, an animal breeder and reality television show, assisted Angel early in his career by helping him find and train a group of doves for his performance.
By the time he left East Meadow High School, he had made up his mind not to go to college as his parents had planned, but to become a professional magician.
Where is Cris Angel from?
Criss Angel was born on December 19, 1967, in Hempstead, Long Island, New York, at Hempstead General Hospital. He has Greek ancestry. Until his fourth grade, Angel was raised in Elmont before his family relocated to East Meadow, New York. John Sarantakos, his father, had a restaurant and a donut store.
What is Criss Angel known for?
He is a renowned American illusionist and magician. His work with Cirque du Soleil on the live illusion act “Criss Angel Believe” at the Luxor Hotel & Casino in Las Vegas is what made him most famous. He is a singer and one of the most famous magicians in the world.
How did Criss Angel become famous?
With the Criss Angel Mindfreak television series from 2005, which aired on the A&E channel every Wednesday night, he became well-known. While seasons 1 and 2 were shot at the Aladdin Hotel in Las Vegas, season 3 was shot at the Luxor Hotel.
Does Chris Angel have a son?
Criss Angel, a magician and illusionist, recently shared some exciting information: After a 6-year struggle with B-cell acute lymphoblastic leukemia (ALL), his son Johnny Crisstopher, now 7 years old, has attained remission. Johnny was initially identified in 2015.
How many houses and cars does Criss Angel have?
In a similar vein, Criss Angel also drives a number of high-end vehicles, including a Lamborghini Huracan Spyder and a Rolls Royce Wraith.
How much does Criss Angel make per year?
The magician earns roughly $6 million a year.
What investments does Criss Angel have?
Criss Angel has made savvy investments in real estate holdings, tech companies, as well as in property ownership and smart investment strategies.
How many Endorsement deals does Criss Angel have?
Some of the biggest brands, including Pepsi, Apple iPhones, Burger King, and Kia Motors America Inc., have endorsement relationships with him.
How many Philanthropy works has Criss Angel supported?
Criss Angel has contributed to organizations and has a special concern for kids and their families. The Make-a-Wish Foundation is the one of these organizations he has been most actively involved with. Through his foundation, he has given millions of dollars in donations, along with his time and assistance.
How many businesses does Criss Angel own?
He runs his own retail business. In order to release the Criss Angel Magic Collection, he collaborated with IdeaVillage.
