Ricky Jay

Biography: An offbeat renaissance man, Ricky Jay had distinguished himself as a magician, a sleight-of-hand artist, an author, and an archivist of unusual information, but he's become increasingly visible to filmgoers thanks to a series of choice supporting roles in notable motion pictures. Born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1948, Ricky Jay spent most of his childhood in New Jersey, where his grandfather, a professional magician, first showed him how to do card tricks. Jay made his first appearance on-stage at the age of four, when his grandfather brought him out during a performance for the Society of American Magicians. As he grew older, Jay developed a passionate interest in both magic and cardistry, as well as the stranger tributaries of entertainment history, and after graduating from Cornell University, he worked for a time as a barker and sideshow performer with a traveling circus. In the 1970s, Jay moved his act from the sideshow to night spots and theaters, performing his tricks and stuntsAn offbeat renaissance man, Ricky Jay had distinguished himself as a magician, a sleight-of-hand artist, an author, and an archivist of unusual information, but he's become increasingly visible to filmgoers thanks to a series of choice supporting roles in notable motion pictures. Born in Brooklyn, NY, in 1948, Ricky Jay spent most of his childhood in New Jersey, where his grandfather, a professional magician, first showed him how to do card tricks. Jay made his first appearance on-stage at the age of four, when his grandfather brought him out during a performance for the Society of American Magicians. As he grew older, Jay developed a passionate interest in both magic and cardistry, as well as the stranger tributaries of entertainment history, and after graduating from Cornell University, he worked for a time as a barker and sideshow performer with a traveling circus. In the 1970s, Jay moved his act from the sideshow to night spots and theaters, performing his tricks and stunts (including spearing a watermelon with a playing card which was thrown at over 90 miles an hour) in comedy and magic clubs, and opening shows for the likes of Tina Turner and the Nitty Gritty Dirt Band. Jay also began sharing his historical research with the world in a series of books: Cards As Weapons (a history of card tricks as well as a guide to performing them), Learned Pigs and Fireproof Women (about odd and anomalous figures in the history of entertainment), and Jay's Journal of Anomalies, a compendium of information about "conjurers, cheats, hustlers, hoaxters, pranksters, jokesters, imposters, pretenders, side-show showmen, armless calligraphers, mechanical marvels, and popular entertainments." In the 1980s, Jay made the acquaintance of playwright and director David Mamet, with whom he shared an interest in the workings of confidence games; Jay became a consultant for the original stage production of Mamet's play The Shawl in 1985, and two years later Mamet called on Jay to play an unscrupulous card shark in his film House of Games. Jay soon became a regular in Mamet's screen productions, and appeared in six films he's directed, including The Spanish Prisoner and Heist. Mamet also gave Jay's offscreen career a boost, serving as director for Jay's one-man show Ricky Jay and his 52 Assistants, which became a major hit both off-Broadway and on the road. (The show was later videotaped for broadcast on HBO in 1996; a year later, Jay would host another TV special on the history of magic.) Jay's acting work also caught the eye of filmmaker Paul Thomas Anderson, who cast him in small but showy roles in two of his films, Boogie Nights and Magnolia (the latter featured Jay narrating a sequence on odd and anomalous crimes which could have come from one of his books...one of which was later shown on a library table). And Jay's research in magic has also given him another connection to the film industry: He runs a small company called Deceptive Practices, which specializes in creating trick props and illusions for the movies (their work as been featured in such pictures as Forrest Gump, Leap of Faith, and Congo). Expand

Ricky Jay's Scores

Average career score: 75
Highest Metascore: 80 Deadwood: Season 1
Lowest Metascore: 65 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Season 1
Score distribution:
  1. Positive: 3 out of 3
  2. Mixed: 0 out of 3
  3. Negative: 0 out of 3
3 tv reviews
Title: Year: Credit: User score:
tbd Sneaky Pete: Season 3 May 10, 2019 Ricky Jay 7.5
65 The Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon: Season 1 Feb 18, 2014 Guest 6.3
tbd The View: Season 16 Sep 4, 2012 Guest tbd
tbd Late Show with David Letterman: Season 20 Aug 13, 2012 Guest tbd
80 Moguls and Movie Stars: A History of Hollywood: Season 1 Nov 1, 2010 Remarks By 8.3
tbd The Simpsons: Season 22 Sep 26, 2010 Himself 6.1
tbd Lie to Me: Season 2 Sep 28, 2009 Mason Brock 8.2
tbd The Unit: Season 4 Sep 28, 2008 Agent Kern 8.8
tbd The Unit: Season 3 Sep 25, 2007 Agent Kern 9.0
tbd Jimmy Kimmel Live: Season 5 Jan 3, 2007 Ricky Jay tbd
tbd The Unit: Season 2 Sep 19, 2006 Agent Kern 9.2
80 Deadwood: Season 1 Mar 21, 2004 Eddy Sawyer / Eddie Sawyer / Writer / Eddie Sawyer 9.1
tbd The X-Files: Season 7 Nov 7, 1999 Maleeni/Pinchbeck 7.9