I'm pretty fortunate that I'm in the films I'm in largely because the directors have asked me to be in them. I'd love to do more of them, but the writing and historical stuff I'll probably always do.

Ricky Jay

Categorized in : Writing Historical Film

I think a lot of people just assumed I came to L.A. to do more television and get into show business.

people television thinking

Writing is the only thing in my life that doesn't get easier. It... by Ricky Jay

Writing is the only thing in my life that doesn't get easier. It just doesn't.

easier writing

I grew up like Athena — covered with playing cards instead of armor — and, at the age of seven, materialized on a TV show, doing magic.

tv-shows magic age

Magic is a powerful art that can support a weak performer. by Ricky Jay

Magic is a powerful art that can support a weak performer.

support powerful art

In the winters, I enrolled in the hotel management program at Cornell University. I naively thought that I knew something about sleight-of-hand, entertainment and food, and that would be all I needed.

entertainment winter hands

I think the toughest thing about being an actor in a film is to be with a director who doesn't know what they want. And that can be really, really frustrating.

actors want thinking

I always read what I write out loud, and I did that long before any radio thing. My editor finds that unusual.

editors writing long

Once you get into the era of the printed book, it gets a little easier. After years and years, you make a serious survey of that literature, and then you make it more specific depending on what kind of case appears. I never set out to collect material on cheating at bowling, but I found out that after 20 years, I had a lot of material on cheating at bowling.

literature book cheating

I know absolutely nothing about the 20th Century. by Ricky Jay

I know absolutely nothing about the 20th Century.

absolutely-nothing 20th-century century

I started doing radio pieces with no clear, preconceived idea, except that I have a tendency to be theatrical.

pieces radio ideas

That's one of the ways language evolved, by some very obscure form becoming common usage. And I must say that I'm very intrigued by use of language and slang, and criminal underground terms.

becoming use way

Sitting with a deck of cards in your hand all day is an obsession. Visiting print shops and bookstores and libraries is an obsession. And writing about this is an obsession. I think, in general, most collectors are obsessed. I think the only form of a rationalized greed is when you're collecting something you are supposedly serious about.

greed writing thinking

Maybe the the luxury of not having acting be my only profession is that I can be more selective about what I choose to be in. I've been really lucky in terms of film projects with people, terrific actors and also writers and directors that I really respect.

lucky acting people

One of the best sleight-of-hand guys I know is a plumber. by Ricky Jay

One of the best sleight-of-hand guys I know is a plumber.

guys best know plumber

Magicians from the nineteenth century threw cards distances, but I think I'm the first one who made a thing about using them as weapons.

first who think cards

I wasn't obsessed by magic. People say, 'How you can you claim you practiced eight hours a day and weren't obsessed?' Well, people go to a job they don't even like for eight hours a day; it's not obsessive if it's something you like.

job day you people

I was considered a comedy magician. And - how do I put this without sounding egotistical? - it didn't take me long to realize that comedy magicians usually couldn't do comedy or magic.

me comedy magic long

Like every art form, there are jealousies and angers and competitiveness in magic. But there's camaraderie among magicians, whether you perform it for a living or you're an enthusiast.

you living magic art

I do think deception... There's something kind of odd about tricking people for a living, but ultimately, it's a remarkably honest profession, when you think about it. If you violate that code, and you say you're not using camera tricks, and then you do, I actually think that's a kind of serious moral issue.

camera you serious people

For the most part, magic secrets are available on a level that's overwhelming and frightening, and they are very accessible if you do the tiniest bit of digging. But, that said, there's a certain group of individuals, in which I am included, who are very tight about secrets and don't share them with anyone.

secrets i-am you magic