Born in Oakland, California, comedy magician Nathan Burton was bitten by the magic-bug at the age of four when he performed his first trick in front of his kindergarten class in the family’s hometown of Palm Desert, CA. Although nothing turned out as it should have – he was hooked – and decided then and there that magic was what he wanted to do for the rest of his life.
Between 1987 and 1991, Burton won four first place trophies at international stage competitions while competing against other magicians from the Soviet Union, Great Britain, Puerto Rico, Mexico and the United States. In 1996 Burton performed on NBC’s The World’s Wildest Magic sharing his unique comedy magic with a nationwide television audience; and after an incredible response from his appearance, the network featured Burton in its 1997 special World’s Greatest Magic 3.
Burton’s success continued and in 1997 he was a headliner at the Showboat Hotel and Casino in Atlantic City. European acclaim followed, including performing at Germany’s famed Wintergarten Variety as well as various television appearances worldwide in Paris, Athens, Lisbon and Santiago. Burton spent all of 2000 at the Hotel Lotte in South Korea, where he amazed audiences by vanishing an elephant nightly ... a first for Korean audiences. After spending a year in Asia, Nathan was excited to perform for American audiences again as he was featured in the all-new Showgirls of Magic in Las Vegas.
After performing nightly in Whisper at Harrah’s in Reno, Nevada, Burton headed back to Las Vegas in 2003 to perform in V – The Ultimate Variety Show, first at the Venetian Hotel and then the Aladdin Hotel & Casino, now the Planet Hollywood Resort.
In 2005, Burton was back in the national TV spotlight as the only magician in E! Entertainment’s The Entertainer starring Wayne Newton, which was seen by an estimated audience of 95 million viewers worldwide. Later that year, Burton created for himself the Ultimate Las Vegas Showgirl Challenge by spending seven nights inside a sealed box with seven showgirls – a stunt that received national attention from E! Entertainment and CNN’s Larry King.
On May 25, 2006 Nathan Burton Comedy Magic opened at the V Theater at the Aladdin Hotel & Casino featuring 60-minutes of Burton’s signature fast-paced performance that combines large stage illusions, comedy and street magic.
Just weeks after opening at the V Theater, Burton was back again on national TV and made six appearances on NBC’s hit summer series, America’s Got Talent. He wowed the judges with incredible stage illusions such as the “microwave of death” and the “steamroller,” causing judge Piers Morgan to exclaim that Burton performed one of the most amazing things he’d ever seen. Burton’s other TV credits from 2006 and 2007 include NBC’s The Megan Mullally Show, TLC’s Miami Ink and VH1’s Surreal Life: Fame Games.
On March 3, 2008, Burton signed a deal with Flamingo Las Vegas to perform in its main showroom – sharing space with the likes of George Wallace and Donny and Marie Osmond. Nathan Burton Comedy Magic opened at the Flamingo Las Vegas on April 21, 2008.
Nathan Burton became the first magician in Las Vegas to have a building wrap in his image on the Las Vegas Strip. The image of Burton hanging upside down in a straight jacket is on the front of the Flamingo, over 14 stories tall.
In 2010, Nathan Burton became the only American magician to headline his own show— simultaneously—on both coasts. Fans could catch sold-out performances of Nathan Burton Comedy Magic five times a week in Las Vegas and a large-scale Nathan Burton stage show every week at Harrah's in Atlantic City.
In April 2011, Nathan starred in the premiere series of Last Cake Standingon the Food Network. Acting as celebrity judge and magic expert, he guided contestants through the season's first challenge of creating a "magical" cake.
Nathan appeared on national television again in June 2011 by making Miss USA 2010, Rima Fakih, levitate over the Flamingo pool.
In 2012 Nathan was an invited guest performer on the live finale of China’s Got Talent in Shanghai. Burton performed 8 minutes of illusions on this special Chinese New Year edition of China’s Got Talent. With an estimated 1.4 billion viewers tuning in – this episode holds the records of the most watched television show in history.
In the fall of 2012, Nathan Burton Comedy Magic moved to Planet Hollywood Casino & Resort at the beautiful Saxe Theater, where the show continues to play daily at 4pm. In September of 2012, Nathan Burton won the “Snapple Cameo” appearance on America’s Got Talent and performed a 2 minute spot on the live results show. Nathan’s appearance wowed judges Sharon Osborne, Howard Stern, and Howie Mandel and Nathan holds the honor of the only magician to be asked to perform a guest spot without being part of the competition.
In February 2013, Nathan Burton Comedy Magic performed live arena shows in Hong Kong at the famed Star Hall for Chinese New Year, with over 5,000 audience members per show. The same month, Nathan also traveled to Houston to be the first magician to perform for the NBA All-Star Weekend.