Friday Magic Showcase: Tony Chapek

From The Gwinnett Citizen:

“I started thinking of ways to combine slight of hand with video,” Chapek said of the act. “So I began doing tricks with video and started passing coins through the TV screen.” Chapek was a regular at the Atlanta Magician’s Club, and one day he showed his act to the club. They went wild. Buoyed by his peers support, Chapek sent a demo of his act to the television show America’s Funniest Home Videos. The ABC Network liked the clip so much that it flew Chapek to Hollywood to appear on the show with the host Bob Saget. Chapek was on a roll. In 1991, one year after appearing on national television, Chapek attended the IBM, not the networking giant but the International Brotherhood of Magicians. At the Baltimore event Chapek was one of 25-magicians presenting their act. From that number 6-finalist were picked to showcase their act. Finally, one person was selected as having the best original act. Chapek was the last man standing.