Photo by Kamp Fender.
David Merlin is a local magician, illusionist, comedian and actor who has performed on TV programs like “America’s Got Talent” and the “Late Show with David Letterman.”
Sitting in the corner of a local Starbucks, David Merlin slapped a box of playing cards onto the table in front of him and pulled out a silver knife.
Then, in one quick swoop, he jammed the knife through the cards as they hung over the table’s edge. Or so it appeared.
A moment later, after withdrawing the blade from the box, Merlin emptied the contents into his hands.
He held a solid metal block.
“That’s what you call … the power of the mind," he said.
Merlin’s mind is more powerful than most.
The 53-year-old, who splits his time between Vestavia Hills and Sylacauga, is a master magician, illusionist, actor and comedian. He has performed on such grand stages as "America’s Got Talent” and the "Late Show with David Letterman."
“It’s kind of surreal sometimes,” Merlin said. “But I don’t think I’ve done my best stuff yet.”
Already, he has come a long way.
Merlin launched his professional entertainment career in the early 1990s, performing at smaller venues like Hoover’s StarDome Comedy Club. There, he honed his craft and connected with entertainers like Ray Wold, who performed a comedy act featuring fire.
Merlin meshed with Wold and moved to California to work with him in 1995.
It was one of the best decisions he made.
Merlin built illusions for his friend, served as his manager and joined him on stage during performances.
They garnered much attention.
Together, the two brought their act to professional sporting events and nabbed multiple invites to the Letterman Show in New York City.
“To come from Alabama and all of a sudden you’re in Times Square getting picked up by a limousine going to the Ed Sullivan Theater, that’s pretty big,” said Merlin, who was born in Fort Payne.
But Merlin has gone to places far more exotic than the Big Apple. He’s lived in Las Vegas and worked on cruise ships, traveling the world while wooing audiences with illusions like levitation.
Merlin said he was the longest running magician in the history of Star Cruises, which is based in Asia, and has worked on other lines like Princess Cruises and Holland America.
Merlin has been to Aruba, Tahiti and Thailand, among numerous other destinations.
“I’ve gotten to see a lot,” Merlin said. “It’s like being paid to go on vacation.”
Since moving back to Alabama in the late 2000s, Merlin has primarily concentrated on building illusion props for other magicians. But he did go on "America’s Got Talent" in 2014, performing as a magical comedy character he invented called Psycho Jack, and on “Germany’s Got Talent” in 2018.
Merlin said he wants to start performing more frequently and is currently promoting a new show: David Merlin, The Paranormalist.
He said it will include illusions, telekinesis, mentalism — or mind reading — premonition and clairvoyance.
“My whole thing will be to the audience, I’ll tell them that I’m not going to claim nor deny that I have any special supernatural abilities, that they’ll be the judge and jury through the show to determine what’s real and what’s illusion," he said.
He would like to perform his new act locally at private events, theaters, fundraisers and other venues, both large and small.
Ultimately, he said his goal is to one day have his own permanent show in Nashville, Tennessee, or Savannah, Georgia.
“I want it to be serious, but I want it to be funny," Merlin said of his new act, "and then I want it to be a little bit scary in there, too.”
Merlin will perform his new show May 11 at 3 and 7 p.m. at First United Methodist Church of Sylacauga. Find more information about Merlin at davidmerlin.com.
This story was updated April 24 at 6 p.m.
