Jonathan Real is a master magician from New York that performs close-up magic for small intimate audiences that often include chart-topping musicians and famous celebrities.
Jonathan became enamored with magic at the early age of 4. Jonathan was a born performer: his winning personality and love for magic were nothing short of amazing. Perhaps this is why the nickname "Amazing Jonathan" stuck with him early on. At age nine, Jonathan started meeting with master magicians such as Jeff McBride, Just Alan and former national president of the Society of American Magicians (S.A.M.) Bill Andrews.
In 1994 Jonathan became one of the youngest members of the Society of American Magicians (the oldest known magic association in the world). After years of performing at parties and running his own entertainment business, he was able to bring his magic to a new level through the creation of a benefit film project entitled Real Magic New York. The hour-long feature followed Jonathan across the state of New York as he raised spirits and money in the wake of 9-11. The film featured magic with random people on the street as well as a special segment taped on a music group's tour bus.
Real Magic New York premiered on a 6-story IMAX screen in New York in 2002, and ignited a frenzy of artists, managers and publicists interested in involving musicians in a future 'Real Magic' project. The success of the film and demand of entertainers led to the creation of Real Magic TV (RMTV). RMTV combined the magic, with live music performances and laid back interviews with artists from around the world. The program utilized both Jonathan's magic skills and his relaxed personality to create an unparalleled environment for celebrity interviews.
Through his original program Jonathan has since been invited to perform for many influential entertainers including the platinum-selling artists Maroon 5, Jason Mraz, Evanescence and Fall Out Boy, and notable actors Dan Aykroyd and Kevin Bacon.
As Jonathan's performances grew in notoriety so did the size of his audience and show distribution. He navigated his way into some groundbreaking independent deals with broadcasters like the FUSE TV network, technology companies like Sony and Cisco, and online television distributors like Hulu.
In addition to his private performances and hosting RMTV, Jonathan also gives back to the magic community by donating his time and magic skills to coaching youngsters as a Director at the Society of Young Magicians. Bill Andrews, one of Jonathan's early magic mentors and the founder of the CT Assembly of the Society of Young Magicians, asked Jonathan to take over his long-running chapter in 2009.