The Saturday night buffet at the Atrium Cafe inside the Bridgeport Holiday Inn features such fare as hand-carved roast beef, popcorn shrimp and two types of steamed crab legs. But during a recent visit, Nora Johnson couldn't stop talking about two gold-wrapped chocolate coins.

It's not that the 13-year-old Audubon resident was that taken by the candies' flavor. What impressed her was how they were delivered to the table she shared with her 18- year-old sister, Georgia: One was conjured from the flame of a piece of burning paper, the other appeared from thin air.

"It was cool," marveled Nora, as she continued to mull exactly what magican Kevin Bethea had accomplished.

"I love the fact that I can create a sense of wonder to both young and old," said Bethea, a 39-year-old Sicklerville resident. "When I perform tableside magic, I bring people into my world. For a few moments, I help people forget about their problems or forget about bills that have to be paid.

"The look of wonder, the gasps of surprise and laughter and amazement, the `How did you do that?' reactions. All those things are priceless to me. I know that my magic has moved, touched or inspired them in some way."

That Bethea (pronounced "beth-AY") performs at area restaurants is not that unusual - many establishments employ strolling magicians to entertain patrons. But he is unique in that he is a black man in a field of show business historically dominated by whites.

The married father of three young children believes there are a couple of reasons why there are just a handful of successful black illusionists.

"I think it's very similar to Tiger Woods' situation," he reasoned. "There are (few) role models out there that ( black kids) can see. When kids see me, it's `He's like me!' I am a role model in that regard."

Equally significant, he added, is the lack of information available to black children about professional magic.

"It's them not really knowing how you can support a family doing tricks. A lot of people think you have to be ( David) Copperfield or Siegfried & Roy to make a lot of money in magic."

Bethea didn't have to look far to find his role models when he was a child. His uncle "used to pull quarters out from behind my ears," and his father would mesmerize him with some basic maneuvers, like the "paper bag trick," involving a disappearing ball.

Those elementary parlor tricks were the beginning of Bethea's lifelong devotion to magic. Like most professional illusionists, he started with a toy-store magic set. But the budding wizard wasn't content with mastering the kit's tricks. He began exploring libraries and book stores, finding as much to read about magic as he could.

"I wanted to learn more," he said. "Books catapulted me into that world. They really sparked the flame for me."

But what intrigued him most of all was the sense of empowerment he found in doing illusions. "As an 8-year- old," he recalled, "doing something that fooled your parents was bizarre. Or I'm 10, and I'm fooling police officers ... wow!" Because his father was an Army "lifer," Bethea's family moved regularly when he was young. They lived in such far-flung locations as Germany, Panama and Guam.

From 1978 to '80, he lived in Maple Shade, where he developed into a star basketball player at Maple Shade High School: He was a 1980 McDonald's All-American pick, an honor also bestowed on the likes of superstar NBA center Patrick Ewing and Camden's Milt Wagner, father of soon-to- be-NBA-lottery-pick, Dujuan Wagner.

That prowess led to a scholarship from Kean College in North Jersey, where Bethea prepared for what he thought would be a career in physical therapy. His athletic career ultimately ended when the 5-foot-10 Bethea realized he wasn' t NBA material.

Throughout his time at Kean, he continued doing magic, earning money performing at area hotels and restaurants. However, his real education took place not on the Kean campus, but across the Hudson River in Manhattan.

Every Saturday, Bethea would visit Reuben's delicatessen, a popular gathering place for top magicians and those looking to break into the field. For the young illusionist, it was an invaluable experience. "I would soak up knowledge like you wouldn't believe," he said.

Just as important, Reuben's was where Bethea began to realize he might have what it takes to make a living in magic.

"You couldn't just walk in to Reuben's and say, `Teach me.' (The established magicians) would hand you a deck of cards and say, `Show me what you can do.'"

He impressed several veterans enough for them to give Bethea free lessons. "I honed my skills from these lessons," he said.

Graduating college after switching his major to computer sciences, Bethea started selling computer hardware. That led him to be hired by vendors to work trade shows.

Even then, his ability to perform magic proved valuable. He'd attend trade shows and draw potential customers to his exhibit with sleight-of-hand and card tricks.

The selling paid the bills, but magic was still his passion. "I'd practice anywhere I could, especially in bars. That's a good place, because if you're not good, people will let you know it real fast." If he had no other options, Bethea wasn't above setting up a table on a street corner.

For much of the past two decades, Bethea kept magic as a part-time thing, performing at corporate events, restaurants and private parties, including a birthday bash for former 76ers owner Pat Croce.

At the beginning of this year, he decided to take the full-time plunge, although he currently runs a corporate recruiting and staffing consulting business from his home as a sideline.

As he always has, Bethea deals exclusively in "close-up" magic, involving small props. He eschews elaborate, device- dependent illusions, like those favored by Copperfield and Siegfried & Roy.

"You experience a different level of magic with close- up, than when you see David Copperfield from 100 yards away. To me, the magic I do touches and inspires people."

Bethea's work with such objects as coins, dollar bills, foam rubber balls and playing cards has impressed the professionals and the public alike.

"He's an incredibly skilled performer with an innovative presentation of magic," said Pennsylvania-based master magician Marc DeSousa. "His manner and demeanor are very professional, and he has a great way of presenting magic."

After the magician made small "Nerf" balls magically appear in the clenched fist of 8-year-old Kristen Torres of Rahway, her father, Ed, admitted he was stymied by what he' d just witnessed while dining at the Atrium Cafe.

"I was trying to watch his hands to see if anything was moving, but I couldn't," said Torres, 38. "He's very good."

Added Torres' wife, Noemi: "I was just amazed."

Al and Nina Leonardi of Swedesboro have made the trip to the restaurant three times in the two months Bethea has performed there. "He's very good, and his personality is wonderful," said Nina.

According to Holiday Inn general manager Rhone Carr, foam balls and chocolate coins aren't the only things Bethea has been conjuring up on Saturday nights.

"We've seen an approximately 20 percent increase in our ( Saturday night buffet) business," said Carr. "It's worked out real well so far."

Carr said Bethea's skills can come in handy when customer problems arise. "We can send him out there to bridge the gap" until situations such as a delay in service are resolved.

As for his future, Bethea insisted he's simply taking one day at a time.

"I have no busines plan," he said. "I basically want to take this wherever things take me. I just enjoy the art.

"This was a hobby that turned into a part-time profession that turned into a full-time profession. I'm just kind of riding the wave right now."

Kevin Bethea

AGE: 39
OCCUPATION: Magician
RESIDENCE: Sicklerville
FAMILY: Wife, Maya; twin 3-year-olds, Brandon and Cory; daughter Jordan, 1
COLLEGE: Graduated Kean College in 1986; B.S. in computer sciences
RECOGNITIONS: McDonald's High School All-American Basketball Team, 1980; 1989-91: first-place awards for sleight-of-hand magic presented by International Brotherhood of Magicians Ring No. 106.

If you go

Kevin Bethea performs close-up magic 6 to 8 p.m. Saturdays at the Holiday Inn, Center Square Road and I-295, Bridgeport, (856) 467-3322; cf,helcr 11 a.m. to 1 p.m. Sundays at the Mansion on Main Street, Kresson and Evesham roads, Voorhees, (856) 751-1717; and 7 to 9 p.m. Thursdays at The Elephant & Castle Pub & Restaurant, Route 70 and I-295, Cherry Hill, (856) 427-0427

< Return to News