Max Maven


Max Maven is an American magician and mentalist whose performances are considered erudite and intelligent. He is ranked as one of the most influential mentalists of all time, and one of the 100 "Most Influential Magicians of the 20th Century" by Magic Magazine.
He often appears on television magic shows to perform "interactive" mind reading tricks. Among other cities, including Rome, Maven grew up largely in Boston, Massachusetts, where he became known for his performances at several nightspots including the then popular Playboy Club. In Boston, he was formerly a radio deejay.
He is a prolific author and conceived many magical and mentalist effects used by other magicians. He has been a magic consultant for such performers as David Copperfield and Penn & Teller, Siegfried & Roy, and Doug Henning, and is a frequent contributor to industry journals such as Genii, The Linking Ring, and M-U-M.
He has been featured on the cover of over 30 such magazines over the years, including The Linking Ring, Genii in 1983, and also in 2007 and in 2018, and on the cover of Penguin Magic Monthly in 2019. He has also been the featured magician at the annual conventions of both the Society of American Magicians and the International Brotherhood of Magicians.
His name has been changed legally to Max Maven but he still uses "Phil Goldstein" as a pen name for technical writings.
Maven is considered a legend in the world of magic, and has a broad knowledge of magic history and the origins various tricks and methods. He has stated that he believes it vital to preserve the history of the art and provide credit to the originators of ideas.

Media and Public Appearances

Although he doesn't consider himself a comedian, Max Maven spent much of the 1980s performing and headlining in comedy clubs throughout the United States.
His one man show, Thinking in Person, ran for two months at the Beverly Hills Playhouse in 1988, and an expanded version of the show was relaunched twenty years later in 2008. The show was later mounted Off-Broadway at the Abingdon Theatre Arts Complex in 2012.
He has occasionally played a magician character on various television series, such as, "Magic", "The Art of Magic", "Something Strange with Max Maven", and "The MAXimum Dimension". He has appeared in television series in Sweden, Norway, Finland, Taiwan, England, Canada, Spain, Portugal, and Chile.
Maven has appeared as a part of the traveling science exhibit called "Magic: The Science of Illusion" and the "Magic of the Mind Illusion," which has toured in science museums such as Los Angeles and Boston. He has performed often in Japan, and speaks Japanese.
He has been a frequent speaker at the EG Conference on creativity and innovation.
He hosted a 12-part series for HTV in Britain, "Something Strange with Max Maven," a talk-show exploring all aspects of the paranormal. The show set a ratings record, and led to a second series the following year. He also starred as the title role in FOX's 1992 Halloween special Count DeClues' Mystery Castle. His performed his interactive magic on The World's Greatest Magic, NBC's highest rated special of 1994.
He hosted his own show on Israel's Channel 2, a licensed version of called Mi Yapil Et Ha Master. And he was a judge for a number of episodes of the 2008 TV reality tv series Celebracadabra.
He appeared in Sitcoms and TV dramas, including as "The Great Mentos" in the 1995 Fresh Prince of Bel Air episode "Save the Last Trance for Me," the 1982 episode of Mork & Mindy entitled "Drive, She Said," and episodes of General Hospital and Top Chef.
In 2019, he appeared on screen in the documentary about The Amazing Johnathan directed by Ben Berman and was interviewed by the Los Angeles Times about recent developments at The Magic Castle.
The well-reviewed feature documentary entitled Max Maven: A Fabulous Monster was released about him in 2007 by Reel Time Images. It is available for streaming on Amazon Prime.

Awards and Recognitions

Max Maven has received a number of awards for his creativity and performance, including awards from the Society of American Magicians, International Brotherhood of Magicians, and the Academy of Magical Arts. In addition, he has received the following recognitions: