If our complete run-down of everything that happened at The Academy of Magical Arts’ 50th Anniversary Awards Show is a bit too long for you and you just want to know won the shiny things, this is the article for you.

Masters Fellowship and Magician of the Decade: David Copperfield 

The big winner of the night was magic icon and television mainstay David Copperfield, who walked away with not only the grandest fellowship award the AMA has to offer, the Masters Fellowship, but also the first ever Magician of the Decade award.

Magician of the Year: David Williamson

Gifted comedian and sleight-of-hand magician David Williamson was crowned Magician of the Year. Williamson’s career spans dozens of TV shows, numerous stage shows, and years of touring. He’s got more awards than I can fit in this summary. Now he’s got one more. 

Lifetime Achievement Award: Haruo Shimada

Haruo Shimada was one of two magicians from Tokyo to win an award on Sunday. Shimada began performing in the late 50’s at just 18-years-old and has apparently never spoken during a performance. Half a century in the arts has earned him a Lifetime Achievement award.

Stage magician of the Year: Shoot Ogawa

Born in Tokyo some 35 years after Shimada, Shoot Ogawa discovered his love for magic at the age of ten and by 17 he was already winning magic awards in the US. He has toured the world, performed on all seven Japanese television channels and is a regular performer at The Magic Castle. In 2003 he became the youngest magician to win an AMA Close-up Magician of the Year award at just 27-years-old. On Sunday, he added the Stage Magician of the Year award to his trophy case.

Close-Up Magician of the Year: Richard Turner

This is Richard Turner’s second Close-Up Magician of the Year award. He won his first in 2015. He is also blind, and was recently the subject of critically acclaimed documentary, Dealt. Despite losing most of his vision during his childhood, Turner has went on to become an expert card manipulator and performer. He’s currently retired, but still performs semi-regularly at the Magic Castle.   

Parlour Magician of the Year: Johnny “Ace” Palmer

Johnny “Ace Palmer” has won both The AMA Close-up Magician of the Year award and Lecturer of the Year award twice. He has performed on dozens of TV shows and in venues around the world. He is also the 2018 AMA Parlour Magician of the Year. 

Lecturer of the Year: John Carney

Sleight-of-hand magician, artist, actor and teacher, John Carney, has been Magician of the Year seven times during his storied career. This time he’s being honored for his skills as a lecturer. He regularly tours the world conducting seminars and giving lectures. He has written five books on performance magic.   

Performing Fellowships: Ray Anderson, Eric Mead  

Ray Anderson has entertained Austin, Texas for more than thirty years as the creative force Esther’s Follies. Eric Mead is a magical jack-of-all-trades who has created two TV shows of his own and appeared in dozens more. Both gentlemen came away with Performing Fellowships. 

Special Fellowship: Ken Klosterman, Peter Lane 

Both men were honored for their dedication to the preservation of magic artifacts and literature; Klosterman in his role as a private collector and merchant, and Lane in his capacity as Executive Librarian of the Magic Circle in London. 

Creative Fellowship: Chris Kenner  

Kenner’s role as executive producer of David Copperfield’s shows for more than twenty years helped earned him his Creative Fellowship award.

Media Fellowship: David Ginn  

David Ginn not only performs upwards of 300 shows a year, he’s a prolific author with over 80 books, audio recordings, and DVDs to his name. He’s also responsible for some 250 columns in magic and clowning trade publications. 40 years behind the keyboard have earned Ginn a Media Fellowship.  

Awards of Merit: Denis Behr, Randy Sinnott, and Wayne Dobson

Magician and cardist Denis Behr, former AMA president Randy Sinnott, and British magician Wayne Dobson, all came away with awards of merit for their contributions to the art.

Junior achievement wards: Kevin Li and Griffin Barry 

Kevin Li and Griffin Barry were honored for their excellence in the field of close-up magic.

Everyone here at GeniiOnline would like to extend our congratulations to everyone who won, or was nominated for, an award.