Richard Jay Potash (born 1948), better known by the stage name Ricky Jay, is an American stage magician, actor, and writer. He is a sleight-of-hand expert and is notable for his card tricks, card throwing, memory feats, and stage patter.
Jay was born in Brooklyn, New York to a middle class Jewish family. Magician With A Lot Up His Sleeve | Article from The Washington Post | HighBeam Research His grandfather, Max Katz, was a well-to-do certified public accountant and amateur magician who introduced Jay to the profession. The World Wide Website of Ricky Jay Forbes.com - Magazine Article
At least three of his one-man shows, Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants, On the Stem, and A Rogue's Gallery were directed by David Mamet, who has also cast Jay in a number of his films. Jay has appeared in productions by other directors, notably Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights and Magnolia, as well as The Prestige.
Jay joined the cast and crew of the HBO western drama Deadwood as a guest star and writer for the first season in 2004. The series was created by David Milch and focused on a growing town in the American West. Jay played card sharp Eddie Sawyer, a dealer in the casino of ambitious newcomer Cy Tolliver. Jay wrote the episode "Jewel's Boot Is Made for Walking". He left the series at the end of the first season.
He also played a henchman to villain Elliot Carver in the James Bond film Tomorrow Never Dies.
Until recently, Jay was listed in the Guinness Book of Records for throwing a playing card 190 ft at (the current record is by Rick Smith, Jr.). Ricky Jay can throw a playing card into a watermelon rind (which he refers to as the "thick, pachydermatous outer melon layer" of "the most prodigious of household fruits") from ten paces.
Consultant
Jay created a consulting firm, Deceptive Practices, which provides "arcane knowledge on a need-to-know basis." His firm's clients are often within the stage, television, and film industries. He has worked with libraries and museums on their collections, including the Mulholland Library of Conjuring and the Allied Arts and the Museum of Jurassic Technology in Culver City, CA.
The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson (October 26, 1970)
Saturday Night Live (1977)
Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women - 1 hour special for American TV (1989)
Simon Drake's Secret Cabaret (UK)
Ricky Jay and His 52 Assistants - 1 hour version of his Off-Broadway show, taped for HBO (1996)
The X-Files - "The Amazing Maleeni" (2000)
Hustlers, Hoaxsters, Pranksters, Jokesters and Ricky Jay (1996)
MythBusters - Episode 20, "Exploding Jawbreaker, Static Cannon, Deadly Playing Cards." Ricky demonstrated card throwing, and the speed of his throws was clocked. (2003)
Deadwood - Eddie Sawyer (2004), Season 1
Tales From The Crypt (Unknown)
The Unit (2007)
Kidnapped (2007)
Lie to Me (2009)
FlashForward - Flosso (2010)
Film
House of Games (1987)
Things Change (1988)
Homicide (1991)
The Ranger, the Cook and a Hole in the Sky (1995) (TV)
When not performing, Ricky Jay collects rare books and artifacts. He is the author of several books:
Extraordinary Exhibitions: The Wonderful Remains of an Enormous Head, The Whimsiphusicon & Death to the Savage Unitarians - a collection of 17th, 18th, and 19th-century broadside Quantuck Lane Press || Extraordinary Exhibitions:
