THEY'VE GOT MAGIC TO DO VALLEY CONJURERS ENJOY FOOLING AUDIENCES.

Byline: MARK KELLAM Valley News Writer

Whether it's pulling a rabbit out of a hat or making a coin disappear, magic has thrilled and confounded people for centuries.

The San Fernando Valley is home to many magicians who perform for audiences of all ages. All the magicians profiled here are affiliated with the Magic Castle, at 7001 Franklin Ave., Hollywood. To visit the Magic Castle, you must be a member or the guest of a member.

David Minkin of Northridge has been doing magic for about 10 years.

Minkin, 37, got involved in magic late in life; others catch the magic bug when they're children.

He was in graduate school at California State University, Northridge, pursuing a master's degree in physical therapy when he got interested in magic. ``A classmate showed me some (magic) stuff and I just got hooked,'' Minkin said.

He doesn't have a lot of jokes in his patter -- the magicians' term for the things they say while they're doing their tricks.

``There's an element of humor, but it's not comedy magic,'' he said. ``I like to create a real sense of wonder.''

His specialty is strolling magic, which can be done anywhere and focuses on up-close tricks, often right in an audience member's hands. In 2002, Minkin won the Strolling Olympics at the Magic Castle. He competed against 15 other magicians. In 2003, he went head-to-head against 63 magicians from around the world in a magic competition in Japan and finished second.

He did earn a master's degree in physical therapy but worked in the field for only about a year. His hands started hurting, so he fell back on magic to help pay the bills. ``I realized I was so much happier doing magic,'' he said. ``I've not been a good person for a 9-to-5 job. I'm more of an artistic person.''

He's now focusing on marketing his act, particularly to companies who use his talents for a variety of purposes, including boosting morale or promoting a new product. Sometimes a company will ask him to come in to drive home a point with employees -- say, the importance of being aware of your client's needs -- in an entertaining way.

``I feel really fortunate to have found something that I love to do,'' Minkin said.

Gifts from a well-known magic store in New York City helped lead David Regal to become a magician.

Regal, 42, of Burbank grew up in Boston. He first got interested in doing tricks when he received a magic set as a gift. Many young magicians receive a magic set, which includes basic tricks such as the cups-and-balls trick and handkerchiefs that change colors.

Also, a friend's father often traveled to New York City and would go to Louis Tannens Magic Store. He bought tricks for Regal, which further enhanced his interest in magic.

He then got a copy of Tannens Magic Catalog, which was a hard-bound, 700-page book. It was broken into categories of various types of magic such as cards, coins, fire, illusions -- even cigarettes.

``As an 11- to 12-year-old, I memorized that catalog. I would go to bed with it,'' he said. ``And you should have seen me as a 12-year-old doing cigarette magic.''

He then started doing impromptu shows for cousins. While in high school, he was hired by the city of Boston to travel to poor areas to perform magic for children. He then went to Emerson College in Boston, studying acting and music. He kept his hand in magic, though.

After graduation, he joined a New York City-based improvisational comedy troupe called Chicago City Limits. Regal usually would do one trick per performance, which he said the other actors and the audience liked because it added variety.

He eventually decided to move into television and took an executive position with an interactive television company. He moved to California with his wife and two young children. The job didn't last, but his involvement in the television industry did. He was the head writer for ``The Rugrats'' and co-head writer for ``The Wild Thornberrys,'' both animated series. He also wrote a couple of scripts for ``Everybody Loves Raymond'' as well as the short-lived series ``Whoopi!,'' ``Living With Fran'' and ``Life With Bonnie.''

He still does magic part time and gives lectures to magicians. He's written three books about magic -- ``Close-Up and Personal'' and two volumes of ``Constant Fooling.''

Regal likes to add a wrinkle to traditional tricks. For example, he'll do a trick with two sets of cups and balls. One is the plastic cups and little sponge balls that come with many children's magic kits. The other is a set of fancier metal cups and larger balls. His patter takes the audience from when he was 12 years old doing the trick for the first time to the day he ``graduated'' to the more ``grown-up'' version. In the end, though, the kid inside him is always there -- as the plastic cups and small sponge balls make a return at the close of the trick.

Regal plans to keep performing on a part-time basis, usually at the Magic Castle. ``Right now, it's my therapy,'' he said. ``Rather than go to the psychiatrist, I do magic.''

Magician Aye Jaye, 65, of Sun Valley uses his background growing up in a carnival in his act. Calling it ``carny magic,'' his style is to incorporate things associated with carnival side shows, such as sword swallowing, into his magic.

He may also pick the pocket of an unsuspecting audience member or steal his watch.

``They're things I learned on the midway,'' Jaye said with a chuckle.

His grandfather, and later his father, owned and operated Badger State Shows, a carnival company that toured throughout Minnesota.

Jaye, however, didn't want to continue the tradition. He did, however, continue in another form of entertainment -- clowning. He was the head Ronald McDonald for McDonald's eateries for 35 years. He would be brought in to play the famous clown at events that were expected to have high media exposure. In addition, he trained, hired and fired other performers who portrayed Ronald across the country.

He continued to do magic on the side, however.

Why?

In the beginning, he didn't think McDonald's restaurants would be around long, he said, laughing. In the end, though, he stayed with magic because it's in his blood.

``Everyone in this business is compelled to do this,'' he said.

He's written a book titled ``The Golden Rule of Schmoozing,'' in which he tells readers how to master the art of ``patching.'' A patch is a carnival employee who would ``make nice with the towners,'' so the carnival could return again next year, Jaye said.

He's working on another book, titled called ``Carnival Knowledge,'' about his years growing up on the midway. It tells the true story of a retarded boy whose parents had died and he was basically adopted by a group of carnival employees. They raised him and made sure he was properly cared for. ``And he always had a smile on his face,'' Jaye recalled.

Jaye doesn't use traditional magic props in his act. He incorporates items he finds at rummage sales. His latest trick, for example, uses an old tape recorder that talks him through performing a trick. Jaye regularly performs at the Magic Castle as well as at private parties and corporate events.

Jaye said sometimes magicians don't always get support from family members when they start off in their magic careers. Imitating his father, Jaye yells, ``I said a physician, not a magician!''

Matt Singer of Calabasas is still early in his journey as a magician. The 15-year-old started doing magic in the first grade after he received a magic kit as a birthday gift. His first performances were at family get-togethers for Thanksgiving. He then graduated to his first public show during a Mother's Day program at Chapparal Elementary School, where he was a student.

He's been part of the Junior Academy at the Magic Castle since he was 12 and recently auditioned to perform during Sunday brunch there. For the past two summers, he attended Tannens Magic Camp in Long Island, N.Y. In the past, he's paid his own way to the camp. This summer, however, he received a scholarship to attend.

Singer, who attends Calabasas High School, doesn't plan to make magic his career, though. He wants to one day be a reconstructive plastic surgeon. Since he was a child, he's wanted to be a surgeon. ``I've also been kinda artsy,'' he added.

Reconstructive plastic surgery is the ``arts side of medicine,'' he said. What also attracts him to that field is the fact that he can help burn victims or people with deformities feel better about themselves and lead happier lives.

And that can be a magical feeling, he added.

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Photo:

(1 -- 4 -- color) TOP FROM LEFT: Matt Singer, 15, of Calabasas fans a deck of cards while performing a trick in which a card changes colors. David Regal of Burbank does a card trick with three audience members. Aye Jaye of Sun Valley uses his background growing up in a carnival in his magic act. David Minkin makes the driver's license of a woman in the audience levitate.