John Gaughan

Illusion Designer, Magic Historian, Automata Collector

If you’ve ever been “blown away” by the performance of a world-class magician and wondered, “How did they do that!”—the answer could very well i ...read more

If you’ve ever been “blown away” by the performance of a world-class magician and wondered, “How did they do that!”—the answer could very well involve an Irish-American named John Gaughan. Since 1960, John has been building magic illusions for professional magicians as well as stage productions, TV, movies, touring rock groups and soloists. His handiwork has graced the stages of people like Doug Henning, Siegfried & Roy, Barbra Streisand, and Earth, Wind and Fire. And he has long been affiliated with amusement parks all over the world, including Disney Parks and Universal Studios in Florida and Southern California. When he’s not busy putting together mind-blowing illusions, John enjoys delving into magic from the Nineteenth century -- particularly as it relates to the ingenuity and craftsmanship of automata. His keen interest in these marvelous mechanical figures led him to restore Robert-Houdini's Antonio Diavolo and recreate the famous Automaton Chess Player of von Kempelen. Every other year since 1995, John and his partners have produced the Los Angeles Conference on Magic History, a convention where wonderful antique illusions and props are displayed and demonstrated to hundreds of admiring fans.

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John Gaughan, Illusion Designer, Magic Historian & Automata Collector (EG6)

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Register for EG 2020.

30 April - 2 May 2020

Our team has been working hard behind the scenes to bring you a superb program for EG2020. However, in light of growing and legitimate concerns regarding the rapid spread of Coronavirus (COVID-19) which have gutted international events of all sizes, we have made the difficult decision to put EG on hiatus until it is once again deemed safe.


We know how much each of you look forward to EG and we were looking forward to seeing old friends, and welcoming many new ones, but we do need to prioritize the health and safety of our attendees, presenters, and partners, especially those traveling from afar.

We will be in touch in due course with future plans.