Comedy Magician Jeff Lefton

My magic formula is: strong magic + comedy = entertained guests.
That is what you get when you hire me. Great magic, lots of laughter, & happy, well entertained guests.

In terms of style, people tell me I'm very personable. I connect well with people. I have a self deprecating sense of humor. Sometimes in my tricks, things go wrong. People almost feel sorry for the poor magician! But then I pull it out, to people's amazement! You can get a sense of my style from watching the video. Watch the people's reactions as well.

I always email a confirmation with all the details upon booking.

I call you a few days in advance to touch base.

I arrive early. I like to allow plenty of time to get ready. I find that clients appreciate this, as they don't worry "when is that guy going to get here?" You have enough to worry about without having to worry whether the magician will show up on time!

Why do I do this? I love performing magic and making people happy and having fun. Every audience is different. I try to play off the audience, and I'm always working on new tricks to keep things fresh.

In conclusion, you can expect a quality performance, professionalism, and someone who is easy to work with.

I have been performing magic professionally since I was 12 years old. I have been fortunate to perform: in Hollywood at The Magic Castle; in Las Vegas; and on a 3-month national tour for General Motors.

Early Years
My dad travelled a lot for work when I was growing up. One week he was working in New York and he ran into W. Clement Stone (known for the power of positive thinking) in the hotel gift shop. Stone told my dad that every kid should have a magic set. There was one for sale in the shop, so my dad brought it home for me. I was 8 years old and I loved it! Most kids are smart enough to put it away at some point. I never was, and love entertaining people with magic still today.

I started performing at kids birthday parties when I was 12. My mom would drive me around on weekends. "Presto the Magician" was my magic name.

My career as a St Louis magician didn't start out very well. In my first paid show (which I charged $6 for, by the way), I was letting the kids make their own goodie bags from prizes I had brought. The children were supposed to get 8 prizes each--but one child filled his bag so full that he could hardly lift it! Fortunately an observant parent pointed this out, otherwise I'd have been cleaned out right from the start!

Later Years
Fortunately things improved after that. I did magic through high school and college. When I graduated, I became a full-time magician, focusing on trade shows and corporate events. I went back to school and got my Masters in Business to learn more formally the business end of the entertainment business.

In 2005 I started Abra-Kid-Abra. It taught magic to kids in after school classes and summer camps. I was shy as a child, and bullied in middle school. Magic helped me come out of my shell. I wanted to teach magic to children to help them develop their self confidence. We wound up teaching kids in over 100 schools and camps. In 2018 I sold Abra-Kid-Abra to our general manager, Dan Davis.

Today my main focus in magic is performing for corporate events, adult parties, and at high school after prom and project graduation parties. I still enjoy performing for children and do it occasionally when I can.

Performing Philosophy
My philosophy is entertainment first. My goal, first and foremost, is to entertain your guests. To get them laughing and having fun while doing amazing magic. Have you ever seen someone do card trick after card trick? To me, it can get boring after a while. I focus on engaging and entertaining the audience, while doing strong magic. I find that humor + great magic is a great combination.

I am pretty flexible. Ideally, I like having the audience close to me. If possible, it works out better to have them spread more side to side than deep.

Ideally, doors that people come in and out of would be toward the back of the audience, so if anyone arrives late, it is not distracting to the audience.

If there are over 75 people or so, a microphone is generally helpful. Cordless is preferred. I prefer a handheld microphone, though a lavalier is also fine.