Clarks Summit magician Denny Corby will try to fool Penn & Teller on The CW Sept. 30
From a press release:
Clarks Summit magician, mentalist, and comedian Denny Corby revealed today that he will appear on the hit television show “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” next month in an attempt to hoodwink the master magicians.
The magic competition show on The CW features magicians performing for the titular duo and an audience at the Penn & Teller Theater at the Rio Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. If Penn Jillette and Teller cannot figure out how the trick was done despite their decades of experience, the performer wins a five-star trip to Vegas to serve as the opening act in Penn & Teller’s live show at the Rio, the longest-running headlining act in Las Vegas history.
Corby, who makes audiences across the country believe the impossible with heart-stopping magic, mind reading, and illusions, plans to host “a big viewing party” when his episode airs on Monday, Sept. 30 at 8 p.m.
“Thank you to all my friends, family, fans, and clients over the years!” he said on his social media pages. “I couldn’t have done this and wouldn’t have been anything without you all!”
The young entertainer performed a series of local shows last year that kicked off at the F.M. Kirby Center in Wilkes-Barre, and he continues to tour for private, public, and corporate events.
Most of us grew up believing in magic. Grandfathers made quarters appear out of thin air. Men in black suits with white gloves cut people in half and pulled furry animals out of tall hats. Somewhere along the line, though, we grew up. We stuffed that love for magic into a plastic Teenage Mutant Ninja Turtles lunchbox and tucked it away to make way for life in the “real world.”
Not Denny Corby.
Corby fell in love with magic as a young kid growing up in Scranton. His parents did everything they could to stir up his enthusiasm. They enrolled him in every magic class he could find and encouraged him to perform for friends and family as often as possible. The kid had a clear knack for entertainment.
Corby’s family owned the only paper company in Scranton. Naturally, that made “The Office” a TV staple in the Corby house. If you met him, you’d swear he was a cross between Michael Scott and Jim Halpert (with a little bit of Andy Bernard thrown in).
At the age of 16, he went to work for his parents. Between the paper business and a cleaning company his family owned, Corby had a hand in literally everything. From stripping floors and waxing bathrooms to loading trucks and making sales calls, he worked his tail off in the “real world.” Still, he couldn’t leave magic behind. While working for his parents, he continued to perform on nights and weekends.
He began his college career at Marywood University in Scranton and finished it in 2004 at Bay State College in Boston. After school, he went back to work for his parents. He loved being a part of what his family had built, but the tension between his day job and his passion for magic started to overwhelm him. Finally, his family encouraged him to step out and take a risk in doing what he truly loved.
Four years later, Corby is a wildly successful magician, entertainer, and keynote speaker. He performs regularly for a slew of corporate clients, including Comcast, Tyson Foods, Berkshire Hathaway, and BMW. His shows range from intimate office gatherings of 20 to crowds of 2,500 and everything in between.
Through appearances on major cable networks like Fox and NBC, Corby has graced television screens across the country. He’s also put out an instructional DVD, “Magic Tricks Now,” showing people how to use some of his favorite tricks to impress their friends, family, coworkers, and even strangers.
Wherever you meet him, Corby is guaranteed to make your day. He’s a warm-hearted goofball who lives to make people laugh and see them smile. You’ll never find him any happier than when he’s cracking jokes and having fun with friends, family, and even complete strangers.
At the end of each show, somebody always asks whether magic is real. His answer is simple. For whatever bit of time he has, a magician gets to pull a crowd of people out of their crazy lives and fill them with a sense of joy and wonder. Instead of worrying about their jobs or their finances, each audience member is right there in their seat loving every minute of the show.
When Corby’s not busy making full-sized automobiles appear out of thin air (yes, he actually did that), you’ll catch him making bowling pins disappear down at the local Strike & Spare. Sometimes, though, he just wants to pick up his sticks and make a little noise drumming to his favorite songs from Korn and Avenged Sevenfold… or any modern Top 40 hit, really. If he’s feeling a bit more mellow, you might find him holed up with a coloring book and a box of fresh crayons.
Wherever you find him, he will probably drop what he’s doing and make you smile.
Learn more about Corby and watch some of his magic tricks in Episode 58 of the NEPA Scene Podcast:
