RIP Ricky Jay

This one hurts.

He was simply amazing with a deck of cards.

Literally thought he died like a decade ago, but this sucks.

You should not be able to do things like this with your hands.

He really worked magic with his 52 assistants, too.

I was struck by that story since I first saw it years ago. I’ve never wanted to know less about how a magic trick was done.

It’s been quite a while since a “celebrity” death has had this effect on me.

Man, I loved that guy. Way back in the day, I watched him throwing cards on Letterman and could not believe it. Years later my wife and I saw him on Broadway and it was astonishing what he could do with feats of dexterity or intellectual prowess… plus all his excellent film performances. What a talent.

Oh, I forgot about this one

This is going to sound silly, but I remember this guy from Deadwood and I had no idea he was a magician. These videos are really cool.

I didn’t know him either, but wow he’s really good with cards!

Also, a scholar and author of a fantastic book:

What a bummer. I loved Ricky Jay and the idea of all the lore he had stored up. I remember the X Files episode where his head spins around, or something.

RIP!

I just heard about this today. I loved him in The Great Buck Howard. RIP