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Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos (; born December 19, 1967), known professionally as Criss Angel, is an American magician, illusionist and musician. He is often referred to as one of the world's most successful illusionists, generating in excess of $150 million in tourism revenue for Las Vegas in one year.
Angel began his career in New York City, before moving his base of operations to the Las Vegas Valley. He is known for starring in the hit television show Criss Angel Mindfreak and the stage show Criss Angel MINDFREAK LIVE! (previously Criss Angel Believe) at the Luxor casino in Las Vegas. Following his departure from The Luxor after a decade-long run, Angel opened the new MINDFREAK show in the Criss Angel Theater at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas. He also produced and starred in the TV series Criss Angel's Magic with the Stars on CW, Criss Angel BeLIEve on Spike TV, a one-hour special Trick'd on A&E, and the reality competition show Phenomenon on NBC.
He also holds multiple world records made during his magic performances, and was named Magician of the Decade in 2009, Magician of the Century in 2010 by the International Magicians Society. In 2017, he received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. Vanish magazine awarded him the "Greatest of All Time" award in 2019. In addition to his career as an illusionist, Angel was the lead singer for his industrial music band Angeldust, which released five albums. He also authored the book Mindfreak: Secret Revelations.
By the time he graduated from East Meadow High School, he had decided to pursue a career as a professional magician instead of attending college as his parents wanted. According to the Biography Channel, "Angel hit the road and began touring with other traveling performance acts. Between traveling and performing, he attempted to further his education on his own by studying the history of magic in public libraries. He also studied the art of mysticism, music, martial arts and even dance."
Angel also starred in the 1997 television movie The Science of Magic and its 2003 sequel The Science of Magic II. Criss Angel Mindfreak, which would later become Angel's first television series, was originally an off-Broadway show by Angel, which in 2001 was picked up by the World Underground Theatre. When not performing the show, Angel worked the streets promoting the show to pedestrians. Criss Angel Mindfreak ran for more than 600 performances between 2001 and 2003 at the World Underground Theater in Times Square. His 24 hours in a tank of water set a world record for the longest amount of time for a human to be completely submerged under water. This performance would also become a part of his first television special.
Angel has also been known to actively discourage a belief in mediumship, stating that there is no way for mediums to speak with people beyond the dead. He has said, "If somebody's doing that for entertainment purposes, that's one thing. But if they claim to be communicating with the dead, I don't care if they're from my hometown, I don't care if they're my family members: I'll expose them and tell them what they really are."
At the end of the performance, according to Ted Shaffrey, "Before he emerged from the phone-booth sized contraption of clear plastic and steel, Angel yanked out the air hose that allowed him to breathe. Then assistants pulled a black curtain over the 220-gallon (832-liter) chamber to block the view of television cameras and about 100 people gathered outside the window in which he was displayed. Under cover, Angel apparently escaped from the shackles that bound his arms, legs and neck, before pulling himself from the watery chamber with a celebratory scream." Upon successfully completing the trick, he was described as having "skin crinkled and his eyes bloodshot", and upon emerging from the tank he was taken to St. Clare's Hospital and treated for severe dehydration. He reported afterwards that he had suffered from overheating, jaw fatigue, and semi-consciousness while in the tank.
On October 31, 2003, the Sci-Fi Channel aired the one-hour special Supernatural starring Angel. Kate O'Hare said of the special that, "Filmed in part at Universal Theme Park in Orlando, Fla., "Supernatural" finds Angel crawling up buildings, passing a quarter through his skin, spontaneously combusting and having otherworldly creatures burst from his chest." When asked about his process in creating television specials, Angel said that, "I like to have my hand in everything on my TV specials. I'm the executive producer; I direct it; I create it. I write all the music for my TV specials and my live performances. It's on my label. I write it; I produce it." During the special Angel performed stunts, including lighting himself on fire and making a tarantula emerge from a pedestrian's soda can. In 2003, Angel was also featured in the two-hour TBS special Made in Japan.
In early 2003, Angel performed at the release of the new branding for Miller Lite beer in Milwaukee, on the 80th anniversary of Houdini's last performance in that city. For the performance, he was suspended ten stories in the air and bound in a straitjacket, from which he escaped. He also performed an illusion at Ozzfest in 2005. During this period Angel also earned money selling signed merchandise, making up to $50,000 a day.
The first season of the show was released on DVD after it completed its on-screen run. The show also released its Halloween special, along with two special episodes, on an additional one-disc DVD offering. The show returned for a second season in May 2006, and was named one of the best shows of the summer by the Tulsa World newspaper. The show was renewed for a third season in July 2006; as of that third season the show was A&E's number one rated show, with more than 1.5 million viewers. That year he promoted the show with a performance where he was suspended within a cube encased in concrete above Times Square, escaping from the block before it was set to crash to the ground. Magic effects creator Sean Field stated of Angel this year that, "Criss Angel is the biggest name in magic since Houdini ... No other magician has invaded pop culture to the degree that Criss Angel has. He has changed the image of magic and made it cool." The show became one of the most popular foreign television shows in parts of Asia, including China.
The television show was noted as a part of the mid-2000s films, television, and books that drove a resurgence of the public popularity of magic. Criss Angel Mindfreak was the first weekly magic television show to air in 40 years. Daily Variety reviewed the premiere writing, "The stunts alone are impressive. But what makes the show fascinating are the down-home touches in which we see the kid from New York, who first honed his magic skills at the age of 6. Keenly aware of the camera at all times, Angel manages to offer some personality, especially where family is involved. Viewers follow the illusionist as he contemplates new and more dangerous stunts, while his crew, including his often-fretful brothers, offer insight as to what, other than ego, drives someone in this profession."
The show ran from 2005 until 2010, at which point he had been featured for more hours on prime time television than any other magician in history. Other tricks performed in the show included the performance of séances, as well as other tricks in order to teach his audience about con men and how to avoid scams intended to manipulate money out of people.
In July 2008, Angel escaped from a beachside hotel before its demolition in front of a crowd of about 50,000 people, an illusion that also aired on the television program. After the illusion, Angel showed the audience step by step how he achieved the escape. He first picked open a set of handcuffs that had him shackled to a balcony railing. He then smashed the window of the room in order to enter the hotel, and picked padlocks on both the room's internal door and the door to the stairwell. The escape was initially supposed to occur via a ladder that dangled above the hotel's roof 30 seconds before collapse, after picking through five locks on the roof's door. Instead, Angel emerged from the rubble after the collapse, claiming that the initial plan was always to escape via the helicopter. The total time allotted for the entire illusion was four minutes, with dynamite located on the first, second, and fourth floors of the building.
After several delays, the show was set for a gala opening on October 31, 2008, with preview shows in late September on the 82nd anniversary of Harry Houdini's death. The initial preview received mixed reactions and reviews. Reporters for the Las Vegas Sun, Los Angeles Times, and Las Vegas Review-Journal cited a lack of the magic Angel is known for, as well as a confusing and uninteresting theme. They also opined that neither Angel nor Cirque du Soleil were able to perform to their capabilities during these initial performances. On the positive side, the Las Vegas Sun later quoted Star Pulse, stating, "He has created a live show that is everything a perfect magic performance should be — and then some. It's not just remarkable magic — it's transcendent art that won't just blow your mind; it will quite possibly change your life."
In April 2009, Angel ended a performance of Believe by "hurling obscene insults" at blogger Perez Hilton, an audience member. Hilton reportedly had texted to his fans during the performance that the show was "unbelievably BAD" and that he'd "rather be getting a root canal", and word had gotten back to Angel by the end of the performance. Cirque du Soleil later apologized to Hilton for Angel's remarks.
In 2010, the Las Vegas Sun critic John Katsilometes, after being unimpressed by the initial show, said Believe had improved by reducing the narrative elements and focusing on the magic. In 2011, the Toronto Star wrote: "The show is easily the most exciting thing now on stage in Vegas!" That year the show attracted an estimated $150 million in ticket sales. The show ran through 2019, and was the best selling magic show in Las Vegas as of 2013.
In 2019, he began his new show "Mindfreak Live" at Planet Hollywood, where he currently performs 5 nights a week.
"Now that that show is just humming and doing amazing business — it's the #1 bestselling magic show in the world as far as ticket sales and the perception that people are experiencing and coming back to see it multiple times — I felt it was in a great place and I could think about television again. Obviously, "Believe" will continue to evolve until its last performance because I always want to add new magic, I'm always tweaking and transforming it. I missed being on television, I had something new creatively to say, and Spike became the perfect home to do it." Endemol purchased the foreign distribution rights for the show, and was the "most-watched new original series on in more than 18 months" according to The Hollywood Reporter.
In the episode "Lord of Illusions — Death Premonition", Angel paid homage to Clive Barker, the director of the horror movie of the same name. In the episode, Angel performed the closing stunt from the film, in which he laid beneath a circle of suspended swords, and predicted the correct order of six falling swords to avoid becoming stabbed through his body after their release. The swords were selected by the audience with the help of a randomly bouncing ball. According to the Las Vegas Sun, "Criss is the only, and first, magician in the world granted permission from the inventor and filmmaker to re-create the film's death-defying stunt."
For another episode for the series filmed in New York City he was asked by the NYPD not to pre-announce the performance, as crowd control for some Angel performances had become a concern for the police. This trick saw Angel hanging his feet, while bound with two straitjackets and a noose around his neck which were attached to metal weights. While he was successful in the trick, Angel tore his shoulder muscles and this required surgery in January 2014. This resulted in the temporary closing of the Believe stage show between January and April 2014, while he was recovering from the surgery and returning to performance shape. He did however host a new stage show featuring other magicians between February and March 2014 in lieu of performing in his own show. Clips from the show also became the most watched YouTube magic clips in the history of the site, with more than 15 million views.
In the show, Angel revealed the secrets behind some of his illusions to the audience. This included the "Lord of Illusions" trick, where he revealed that he had the swords in a preset order so that he could avoid them. The episode featuring this illusion also includes a meeting between Angel and his team discussing a problem with the trick and how to ensure it does not happen again.
On the October 31, 2007, episode of the reality show Phenomenon, Mentalism Jim Callahan performed a summoning, purportedly of deceased author Raymond Hill, to help discover the contents of a locked box. Although fellow judge Uri Geller praised the performance, Angel called it "comical" and subsequently challenged both Callahan and Geller to guess the contents of two envelopes he pulled out of his pocket, offering a million dollars of his own money to whoever could do so. This led to an argument between Callahan and Angel, during which Callahan walked toward Angel and called him an "ideological bigot", with the two pulled apart as the show promptly went to a commercial break. Angel has since revealed the contents of one envelope and at the unveiling he challenged Geller one more time. Geller responded, "Although we were born one day apart - I was born on the 20th of December and you on the 19th - a lot of years between us - 40 years, you were one year old when I came out with my spoon bending..." Criss Angel cut him off at this point, saying, "I guess this is a 'no,'" and proceeded to open the envelope. The envelope contained an index card with the numbers "911" printed on it for September 11, 2001. Angel's explanation was this: "If on 9-10 somebody could have predicted that 9-11 was going to happen, they could have saved thousands of lives". The other envelope's contents were scheduled to be revealed on the first episode of Season 4 of Criss Angel: Mindfreak.
In May 2005, Angel introduced honoree Ozzy Osbourne at the VH1 Rock Honors awards, biting the head off a bat as a part of the introduction in homage to Osbourne's early career onstage antics. At the 2007 MTV Video Music Awards, Angel performed an illusion as a part of the musical performance by Britney Spears and helped to plan her stage show, which opened the television broadcast. He was also hired as the illusionist for the planned 2009 Michael Jackson O2 arena concerts before Jackson's death. In 2013, Angel had a cameo in the feature film The Incredible Burt Wonderstone, and Jim Carrey's character in the movie "Steve Gray" has been said to be modeled after Angel. There is a wax statue of Angel in the Madame Tussauds wax museum in Las Vegas.
Each week two celebrities compete against each other after they are trained by Angel. There are three categories which are performed in front of a live audience and judged by Angel, Loni Love and Lance Burton.
In 2011, he was awarded the World Magic Legacy Awards' Living Legend award. During the same year, Angel was inducted to the International Magicians Society's Hall of Fame. As a result, it made him the youngest IMS inductee to date, aged 43. On July 20, 2017, Angel was the recipient of a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame. His star is located next to The Hollywood Roosevelt Hotel and across the street from the star of his childhood idol, Harry Houdini. The International Brotherhood of Magicians presented Angel with a Lifetime Achievement Award in July 2018, becoming only the sixth illusionist to receive the award. Vanish Magic magazine awarded Angel "The Greatest of All Time" illusionist award in 2022.
As of 2010, Big Bear Choppers had produced seven custom-made motorcycles for Angel, who featured the motorcycle designers on his show Criss Angel Mindfreak. He also had a Harley Davidson motorcycle built by Orange County Choppers, which he rode in the intro filmed for Criss Angel Mindfreak. As a philanthropist, Angel created the Believe Foundation 'Believe Anything is Possible', and was awarded the Make-A-Wish Foundation award for most supportive celebrity on May 19, 2010. He was also awarded the foundation's Chris Greicius Celebrity Award in 2007. As of 2016, Angel's business interests made about $70 million in revenues annually.
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