<P> At age 19, he headlined and created the first "Magic of David Copperfield" at the Pagoda Hotel in Honolulu, Hawaii with the help of Audio / Lighting Designer Willy Martin for several months . </P> <P> Copperfield's career in television began in earnest when he was discovered by Joseph Cates, a producer of Broadway shows and television specials . Cates produced a magic special in 1977 for ABC called The Magic of ABC, hosted by Copperfield, as well as several The Magic of David Copperfield specials on CBS between 1978 and 2001 . There have been 17 Copperfield TV specials and 2 documentaries between September 7, 1977, and April 3, 2001 . </P> <P> Copperfield also played the character The Magician in the 1980s horror film Terror Train and had an uncredited appearance in the 1994 film Prêt - à - Porter . Most of his media appearances have been through television specials and guest spots on television programs . His illusions have included the disappearance of a Learjet (1981), the vanishing and reappearance of the Statue of Liberty (1983), levitating over the Grand Canyon (1984), walking through the Great Wall of China (1986), escaping from Alcatraz prison (1987), the disappearance of an Orient Express dining car (1991) and flying on stage for several minutes (1992). </P> <P> One of his most famous illusions occurred on television on April 8, 1983: A live audience of 20 tourists was seated in front of a giant curtain attached to two lateral scaffoldings built on Liberty Island in an enclosed viewing area . Copperfield, with help from Jim Steinmeyer and Don Wayne, raised the curtain before lowering it again a few seconds later to reveal that the space where the Statue of Liberty once stood was empty . A helicopter hovered overhead to give an aerial view of the illusion and the statue appeared to have vanished, with only the circle of lights surrounding it still present and visible . Before making the statue reappear, Copperfield explained in front of the camera why he wanted to perform this illusion . He wanted people to imagine what it would be like if there were no liberty or freedom in the world today and what the world would be like without the freedoms and rights we enjoy . Copperfield then brought Lady Liberty back, ending the illusion by saying that "our ancestors couldn't (enjoy rights and freedoms), we can and our children will". Both the disappearance and the reappearance of the statue were filmed in long take to demonstrate the absence of camera tricks . </P>

Magician who made the statue of liberty disappear