Many kids pick up a magic kit at some point in their childhood. They play with it for a while, get bored, put it away in the closet, and forget about it. The difference between them and George A. Magician is that he never put his kit away.

Magician has been a magician for 40 years, having been spellbound as an eight-year-old boy by the tricks of his father’s friend, Harry Wedell. Wedell was a banker and a magician who came and pulled cigars out of Magician’s ears. He became Magician’s mentor, taking him on tour — where his job was to keep kids from touching Wedell’s equipment — and teaching him his tricks.

“He taught me the art of magic,” says Magician. “I attribute my success to him.”

The first trick Magician learned was to make bottle caps disappear through sleight of hand. It is the same principle used as when making coins or cards disappear and reappear in a different location. This is known as close-up magic.

“My forte is money magic,” says Magician. “My claim to fame is an effect that I invented myself which I call the ‘Miser’s Dream.’”

In the Miser’s Dream, which concludes every show that Magician performs, Magician pulls silver dollar coins out of thin air, dropping them into a bucket, eventually producing a bouquet of dollar bills.

Magician performed his first show when he was 13. It was a birthday party for a child, and he was paid three dollars. Now he performs at corporate events, on cruise ships, at large-scale private parties, in hospitals, and, of course, at children’s birthday parties. He has booking agents and is paid anywhere from 150 to 500 dollars for a show. His rates are about half of what other professional magicians charge, which he says is not to undercut competitors, but to provide his client with value. He says he often receives tips.

“They are very pleased with what I present,” he says. “They often had no idea it would be that good.”

Every year he volunteers his services for a free show at the Ryther Center for troubled children. He also does free shows on Christmas, and for children with cancer. Before 9/11, Magician says he performed 20 shows a month. Afterwards, things got slower, and now he’s down to six paying shows per month.

“It’s been really tough because people don’t have to spend that money,” he says. “People are tightening their belts.”

In addition to George A. Magician, he is George A. Mack, father of two and husband of 33 years. For 20 years, he was a firefighter, driving fire engines and performing emergency medical aid. Mack is now a technician at the Puget Sound Blood Bank.

When Mack was eight, his father died in a tragic car crash. His mother was unable to care for her five children, so he and his siblings were separated and shuffled through foster homes in Washington for five years.

“Magic was like a blanket,” he says. “It comforted me. I had a box with magic tricks. That was my salvation so I didn’t become overly depressed. I embraced magic because of tragedy.”

Magician says he would rather put on a fun magic show than a serious one. Up on stage, he is a comedian, speaking and moving animatedly, bumbling around and playing himself a fool, but never actually flubbing a trick.

A 25-year member of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, he has been awarded with the Order of Merlin, only given to long-term members in good standing. He has attended many IBM conventions to watch shows, learn magical effects, and buy new tricks in the dealer’s room. He also learns his magic from videos, books, and other magicians.

“Say you buy an illusion to make a pencil float in the air for 50 dollars,” he says. “You open it up, and you’ve got a rubber band and a pencil. But what you’ve also got is the method. That’s what you’re really paying for: an idea.”

His favorite well-known magicians include Chris Angel, David Blaine, Siegfried and Roy — before Roy was attacked by a tiger — and Harry Blackstone Jr. He used to like David Copperfield, but doesn’t care for him anymore, since he has been charged with rape.

“He was using the art of magic for his own deviant sexual pleasures,” says Magician. “I don’t think too highly of him.”

Despite his awareness of the method used to create an illusion, Magician still loves to attend magic shows. Unworried about competitors, his only concern is keeping the art of magic alive.

“I respect anyone who is keeping the art alive,” he says. “I encourage anyone considering becoming a magician big-time.”