Who Is The Masked Magician? Revealed

From 1997-1999, Fox aired a series called Breaking the Magician’s Code: Magic’s Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed. The show featured the Masked Magician who, dressed in all black and gloves, performed classics of magic, and revealed each one in detail. Given the importance of secrecy in magic, the Masked Magician took loads of backlash from professional magicians, but there was one problem–nobody knew who they were criticizing. But then, in 1999, in one of the final episodes of the show, Val Valentino revealed himself.

Who is Val Valentino?

Originally born in Los Angeles in 1956, Valentino had a relatively normal upbringing for a magician, and was by no means anyone special prior to this series airing. Many magicians, understandably, turned down the show, but Valentino accepted.

Why did Val Valentino Expose Magic?

Valentino generally doesn’t do interviews. However, in this video, which aired in 1999 at the end of the series, Valentino claims that he gave away secrets in order to inspire the public about magic and get kids interested in the art form. Twenty years later, when magician Joshua Jay interviewed Valentino, he said the exact same thing. Additionally, he argues that by exposing magic’s classic methods, he forced magicians to come up with newer and better tricks. There is absolutely truth in that statement.

Furthermore, Valentino said that he “discovered that knowing a few secrets made people love magic even more.” While magicians are quick to dismiss this, it’s crucial to remember that all magicians got into magic because they too love learning secrets. Therefore, when magicians criticize Valentino, there is a touch of hypocrisy.

Did Val Valentino get punished for revealing magic secrets?

Unlike medicine or law, there is no certification process to become a magician. Therefore, breaking an ethical code carries no legal penalties, as there are no official organizations to enforce them. While societies like The Magic Circle in England will suspend or remove members if they expose secrets, nothing official happened to Valentino.

However, he’s effectively been blacklisted by every respectable magician–you won’t see Valentino lecturing at local magic clubs, or on stage at any prestigious magic conventions. Valentino’s blatant exposure, coupled with his complete lack of remorse or regret, generates no sympathy from the magic community.

If magicians can teach tricks to each other, why can’t the Masked Magician reveal tricks on TV?

There is a consensus in the magic community that teaching and revealing magic are very different things. If someone is willing to be taught and critiqued, most magicians will share their secrets, at least initially, and observe if the student is willing to work. However, magicians are remiss to blatantly reveal their tricks, especially in such a public forum where anyone could run with the secret. In short: magic’s secrets must be earned. Exposure for the sake of exposure doesn’t help anyone.

But, while many magicians argue that Valentino’s exposure actively hurts them–after all, many magicians make their living off of these exact tricks–that argument is relatively weak and exaggerated. A viewer would have to diligently watch and remember each episode of Magic’s Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed to render another magician’s performance unnecessary, and even then, there are far more tricks to perform than there were tricks revealed on the show. It is likely that the negative impact this show had is far overestimated by magicians. In fact, it’s possible that this show got more people interested in magic, accomplishing Valentino’s goal.

Where is Val Valentino Now?

Valentino’s whereabouts are currently unknown, but as of this interview in 2021, he was in Brazil.