Cyril Takayama (born 1973) is an American illusionist, born and raised in Hollywood, California, USA. He is perhaps best known for his street magic performances in Japan. His father is of Okinawan descent, while his mother is Moroccan-French, both of whom were beauticians. He was a member of the short-lived television series T.H.E.M. In 2007 he won first place in The Magic Woods Awards, Best Magician Category.
Cyril became interested in magic when he was 7 years old, when he went to a magic show in Las Vegas where he saw a guest magician levitate a woman and cut himself in half. The first time Cyril ever performed magic in front of people was during his school's talent show. At the age of 12, he entered the junior program at the Magic Castle in Hollywood.
Some of Cyril's signature tricks include the hamburger in the menu trick, having his head fall off his shoulders, and the card in the window trick. His most dramatic trick was above a Las Vegas hotel, where he bungee jumps into the hotel pool with a sword and spears the chosen card of his co host from a deck floating in the water.
Because of his large popularity in Japan, Cyril frequently goes out in a disguise, his most notable one being "Sero jisan" or Old Man Cyril.
Performances in Japan & Korea
Cyril has been very active in Japan. Since 2005, he appeared in
Three "Super Street Magic Magazine" episodes (broadcast on TV Tokyo)
One 90 minute Korean magic special (October 2006, September 2007, February 2008)
Since 2005 Cyril has been steadily increasing in popularity in Japan as well as on the Internet, due to many of his magic shows being uploaded and viewed on the popular video-sharing site YouTube.
In his 2006 magic specials, Cyril visited Thailand to put on a show for orphans with HIV. He also did the same with orphans in Nepal.
Cyril appears on the new MTV series called Room 401 where magicians prank unsuspecting victims.
Totally Hidden Extreme Magic
T.H.E.M.- Totally Hidden Extreme Magic — combines the voyeurism of a hidden-camera show with unbelievable illusions and unsuspecting victims. A gang of talented street magicians sets up various scenarios to lure unsuspecting targets. After the team has amazed viewers and bewildered their victims, they reveal themselves to the target as one of T.H.E.M.
WHO ARE T.H.E.M.? T.H.E.M. is the troupe Magic X, a gang of modern-day Merlins who combine illusion and manipulation with music and performance art. They are:
