{(({Infobox Person| name=David Copperfield| image=DavidCopperfieldNewJersey2008-05-08.jpg| imagesize=200px| caption=Illusionist David Copperfield after the show on May 8th, 2008.| birth_date=
David Copperfield (born
David Seth Kotkin; September 16, 1956) is an
Emmy Award-winning
American illusionist described by
Forbes in 2006 as the most commercially successful
magician in history.
[Forbes.com, "Houdini in the Desert" May 8, 2006, available at www.forbes.com/forbes/2006/0508/153.html ] Best known for his combination of storytelling and illusion, Copperfield has so far sold 40 million tickets and grossed over
$1 billion.
Early years
Copperfield was born David Seth Kotkin in
Metuchen, New Jersey,
[Witchel, Alex (1996-11-24). "A Maestro of the Magic Arts Returns to His Roots". The New York Times. Retrieved on 2007-12-06. "David Seth Kotkin was born in Metuchen, N.J., 40 years ago; David Copperfield was born when David Kotkin turned 18, at the suggestion of the wife of a New York Post reporter. Which is why his passport reads David Kotkin, a k a David Copperfield."] the son of Jewish parents, Rebecca, an insurance adjuster, and Hyman Kotkin, who owned and operated a men's haberdashery in Metuchen called Korby's.
Copperfield's mother was born in Jerusalem,
Israel, while his paternal grandparents were Jewish immigrants from Russia (present-day
Ukraine).
[Ike Hughes (2006). "David Copperfield has made a career out of dazzling people". Lansing State Journal. Retrieved on 2008-09-22. "His dad, who managed a men's clothing store, was the son of Russian immigrants. His mom was born in Jerusalem; both wanted him to go to college and into a profession."][www.celebritygossip.com/celebrities/david-copperfield/]