Drummond Money-Coutts
Encyclopedia
Drummond William Thomas Money-Coutts (born 11 May 1986), also nicknamed "DMC", is an English
magician
and specialist card sharp
. Money-Coutts is the heir apparent
to the Latymer Barony.
, the son of Crispin Money-Coutts and his first wife Lucy Deedes, the daughter of Bill Deedes
. On the death in 2003 of his grandfather Hugo Money-Coutts, 8th Baron Latymer, his father became the 9th Baron Latymer, and as such Drummond Money-Coutts the heir apparent.
Money-Coutts became interested in magic in 1994 after visiting Davenports, London's oldest magic shop located on the Strand
, underneath the family bank Coutts
where his father worked at the time. He was educated at Westbourne House School
, and then Eton College
, where he founded the Eton College Magic Society and also arranged a visit by Uri Geller
, from whom he learned how to bend spoons
. His first professional performance came in 2000 while he was still at school, at the Royal Horticultural Society
.
When Money-Coutts left Eton in 2004, his conjuring career was already well under way. By 2005, when he was at Leeds University, he had already performed before Queen Elizabeth II
, Hugh Grant
, and Michael Parkinson
. Money-Coutts made two visits to Asia that year, speaking at an International Brotherhood of Magicians
convention in Calcutta, and subsequently spent several weeks in Bangkok
learning from local professional hustlers. Also in 2005, while on a visit to New York City
, he studied with the professional magicians Jamy Ian Swiss
, Simon Lovell
, and Billy McComb
.
In July 2007, Money-Coutts published a booklet called Mr Magnificent: Highlight of the Night!, a concise guide to the professional and financial aspects of magic, written for magicians.
In September 2007, an evening's magic tuition with Money-Coutts was sold by Jeremy Clarkson
at a charity auction and fetched ₤5,000.
In 2009, Money-Coutts completed four months of training and qualified as a professional croupier and card dealer at the London Gaming College.
, Money-Coutts holds private residencies at both Annabel's
Club and The George Club (Mayfair).
In 2010, Fin's shoes released exclusively the "Drummond Evening Slipper", a style of velvet shoe voted in December as Vogue magazine's "Top 100 Christmas Buys" of 2010. In February 2011, ex-Baywatch star David Hasselhoff was seen wearing a pair of Drummond Evening Slippers upon leaving a London nightclub.
with his school friend and fellow performer Tom Lyon
to film Kenyan Conjurations: the School Built By Magic
, a DVD documentary released early in 2008 and sold to raise funds to build a primary school on the Kenyan coast. The project has raised over ₤17,000 to date.
In August 2008, Money-Coutts travelled again with Tom Lyon
to Beijing
for the 2008 Summer Olympics
, where the pair filmed their second DVD together.
In January 2010, Money-Coutts travelled to India
to film his third film project, a work titled Hindi'licious - A Magical Mecca Unto the Taj. Produced in association with the Rajasthan charity Seva Mandir
, Money-Coutts was featured on both local news channels and the national channel ETV
- broadcast to over 30 million people across northern India
.
In August 2010, Money-Coutts spent a month in Tanzania
, both performing and investigating the widespread beliefs in witchcraft
. The short film, Tanzanian Devil - The Dark Truths B'hind the African Witchdoctors, was released on the internet on 26 October 2010. In February 2011, the film was featured on Derren Brown
's blog with an article detailing the witchcraft issues in Tanzania and Swaiziland.
In February 2011, Money-Coutts took to Bangkok
to work and study alongside the card cheats and card artists of the city. The resulting short film, Thai-Boo, Cardsharks of Sin City, was released to the internet on 9 March 2011. In addition to footage of the local cardsharks, the film also explains the story of The Expert at the Card Table
, the classic card-cheating treatise written in 1902 by S. W. Erdnase
.
, in which over the course of one week, ten envelopes would be hidden throughout the museum - each containing a £50 note. Towards the end of the week, an eleventh envelope would then be concealed somewhere in the museum by an anonymous assistant - inside which was £1000 in cash. As stated by Money-Coutts in an online video - the contents and money would belong to whomsoever located each envelope. Once hidden in the museum, the £1000 envelope was not found for 72 hours - finally located by Chris Howard and Javier Trapero on the first floor of the Central Hall, on Monday 18th July. Although the Natural History Museum
was not made aware of the stunt prior to its launch, staff and management confirmed record admittance numbers during the week of the treasure hunt.
England
England is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. It shares land borders with Scotland to the north and Wales to the west; the Irish Sea is to the north west, the Celtic Sea to the south west, with the North Sea to the east and the English Channel to the south separating it from continental...
magician
Magic (illusion)
Magic is a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats using natural means...
and specialist card sharp
Card sharp
A card sharp is a person who uses skill and deception to win at poker or other card games...
. Money-Coutts is the heir apparent
Heir apparent
An heir apparent or heiress apparent is a person who is first in line of succession and cannot be displaced from inheriting, except by a change in the rules of succession....
to the Latymer Barony.
Biography
He was born in LondonLondon
London is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, the son of Crispin Money-Coutts and his first wife Lucy Deedes, the daughter of Bill Deedes
Bill Deedes
William Francis Deedes, Baron Deedes, KBE, MC, PC, DL was a British Conservative Party politician, army officer and journalist; he is to date the only person in Britain to have been both a member of the Cabinet and the editor of a major daily newspaper, The Daily Telegraph.-Early life and...
. On the death in 2003 of his grandfather Hugo Money-Coutts, 8th Baron Latymer, his father became the 9th Baron Latymer, and as such Drummond Money-Coutts the heir apparent.
Money-Coutts became interested in magic in 1994 after visiting Davenports, London's oldest magic shop located on the Strand
Strand, London
Strand is a street in the City of Westminster, London, England. The street is just over three-quarters of a mile long. It currently starts at Trafalgar Square and runs east to join Fleet Street at Temple Bar, which marks the boundary of the City of London at this point, though its historical length...
, underneath the family bank Coutts
Coutts
Coutts & Co. is one of the UK's private banking houses, now wholly owned by the Royal Bank of Scotland . RBS acquired Coutts and all of its overseas subsidiaries when it bought NatWest. On 1 January 2008, Coutts' international businesses were renamed RBS Coutts, aligning them more closely with...
where his father worked at the time. He was educated at Westbourne House School
Westbourne House School
Westbourne House School is an independent preparatory school 1½ miles east of Chichester, West Sussex, England. It is co-educational and serves around 450 boarding and day-school pupils from ages 3–13. The headmaster is Martin Barker.- History :...
, and then Eton College
Eton College
Eton College, often referred to simply as Eton, is a British independent school for boys aged 13 to 18. It was founded in 1440 by King Henry VI as "The King's College of Our Lady of Eton besides Wyndsor"....
, where he founded the Eton College Magic Society and also arranged a visit by Uri Geller
Uri Geller
Uri Geller is a self-proclaimed psychic known for his trademark television performances of spoon bending and other supposed psychic effects. Throughout the years, Geller has been accused of using simple conjuring tricks to achieve the effects of psychokinesis and telepathy...
, from whom he learned how to bend spoons
Spoon bending
Spoon bending is the apparent deformation of objects, especially metal cutlery, either without physical force, or with less force than normally necessary...
. His first professional performance came in 2000 while he was still at school, at the Royal Horticultural Society
Royal Horticultural Society
The Royal Horticultural Society was founded in 1804 in London, England as the Horticultural Society of London, and gained its present name in a Royal Charter granted in 1861 by Prince Albert...
.
When Money-Coutts left Eton in 2004, his conjuring career was already well under way. By 2005, when he was at Leeds University, he had already performed before Queen Elizabeth II
Elizabeth II of the United Kingdom
Elizabeth II is the constitutional monarch of 16 sovereign states known as the Commonwealth realms: the United Kingdom, Canada, Australia, New Zealand, Jamaica, Barbados, the Bahamas, Grenada, Papua New Guinea, the Solomon Islands, Tuvalu, Saint Lucia, Saint Vincent and the Grenadines, Belize,...
, Hugh Grant
Hugh Grant
Hugh John Mungo Grant is an English actor and film producer. He has received a Golden Globe Award, a BAFTA, and an Honorary César. His films have earned more than $2.4 billion from 25 theatrical releases worldwide. Grant achieved international stardom after appearing in Richard Curtis's...
, and Michael Parkinson
Michael Parkinson
Sir Michael Parkinson, CBE is an English broadcaster, journalist and author. He presented his interview programme, Parkinson, from 1971 to 1982 and from 1998 to 2007.- Early life :...
. Money-Coutts made two visits to Asia that year, speaking at an International Brotherhood of Magicians
International Brotherhood of Magicians
International Brotherhood of Magicians is the world's largest organization for professional and amateur magicians, with approximately 15,000 members worldwide. The headquarters is in St...
convention in Calcutta, and subsequently spent several weeks in Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
learning from local professional hustlers. Also in 2005, while on a visit to New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
, he studied with the professional magicians Jamy Ian Swiss
Jamy Ian Swiss
Jamy Ian Swiss is an American close-up magician who works primarily with cards.-Career as a Magician:Jamy Ian Swiss is world renowned as a sleight of hand performer specializing in close-up card magic....
, Simon Lovell
Simon Lovell
This article does not meet basic standards of objectivity and reads, from the very first graf, like a hagiography at best, self-promotion at worst. Consider that a supposed prime reference is a review of one his books by the L.A...
, and Billy McComb
Billy McComb
Billy McComb was a magician and comedian. He was one of the United Kingdom's leading magicians in the 1950s and 1960s, before taking up residence in Los Angeles, California in the 1970s.-Early life:...
.
In July 2007, Money-Coutts published a booklet called Mr Magnificent: Highlight of the Night!, a concise guide to the professional and financial aspects of magic, written for magicians.
In September 2007, an evening's magic tuition with Money-Coutts was sold by Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Clarkson
Jeremy Charles Robert Clarkson is an English broadcaster, journalist and writer who specialises in motoring. He is best known for his role on the BBC TV show Top Gear along with co-presenters Richard Hammond and James May...
at a charity auction and fetched ₤5,000.
In 2009, Money-Coutts completed four months of training and qualified as a professional croupier and card dealer at the London Gaming College.
, Money-Coutts holds private residencies at both Annabel's
Annabel's
Annabel's is a London nightclub, located at 44 Berkeley Square, London. It was founded by entrepreneur Mark Birley and named after Lady Annabel Vane-Tempest-Stewart, then his wife.-Background:...
Club and The George Club (Mayfair).
In 2010, Fin's shoes released exclusively the "Drummond Evening Slipper", a style of velvet shoe voted in December as Vogue magazine's "Top 100 Christmas Buys" of 2010. In February 2011, ex-Baywatch star David Hasselhoff was seen wearing a pair of Drummond Evening Slippers upon leaving a London nightclub.
Film Productions
In August 2007, Money-Coutts travelled to KenyaKenya
Kenya , officially known as the Republic of Kenya, is a country in East Africa that lies on the equator, with the Indian Ocean to its south-east...
with his school friend and fellow performer Tom Lyon
Tom Lyon
Tom Lyon is a British escapologist and magician who has appeared a number times on Blue Peter and Richard & Judy amongst other television shows.-Background:...
to film Kenyan Conjurations: the School Built By Magic
Kenyan Conjurations
Kenyan Conjurations is a film made by English magicians Drummond Money-Coutts and Tom Lyon. It is a charity project raising money to build a school in Africa.-Background:...
, a DVD documentary released early in 2008 and sold to raise funds to build a primary school on the Kenyan coast. The project has raised over ₤17,000 to date.
In August 2008, Money-Coutts travelled again with Tom Lyon
Tom Lyon
Tom Lyon is a British escapologist and magician who has appeared a number times on Blue Peter and Richard & Judy amongst other television shows.-Background:...
to Beijing
Beijing
Beijing , also known as Peking , is the capital of the People's Republic of China and one of the most populous cities in the world, with a population of 19,612,368 as of 2010. The city is the country's political, cultural, and educational center, and home to the headquarters for most of China's...
for the 2008 Summer Olympics
2008 Summer Olympics
The 2008 Summer Olympics, officially known as the Games of the XXIX Olympiad, was a major international multi-sport event that took place in Beijing, China, from August 8 to August 24, 2008. A total of 11,028 athletes from 204 National Olympic Committees competed in 28 sports and 302 events...
, where the pair filmed their second DVD together.
In January 2010, Money-Coutts travelled to India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
to film his third film project, a work titled Hindi'licious - A Magical Mecca Unto the Taj. Produced in association with the Rajasthan charity Seva Mandir
Seva Mandir
Seva Mandir is a grassroots NGO based in Udaipur, in the Rajasthan state of India. Founded by Dr. Mohan Sinha Mehta in 1966, it is currently headed by CEO, Priyanka Singh...
, Money-Coutts was featured on both local news channels and the national channel ETV
ETV Network (India)
ETV2 is first 24-hour Telugu news channel in Andhra Pradesh, India. It is one of the many channels which telecast news in pure Telugu language....
- broadcast to over 30 million people across northern India
India
India , officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country with over 1.2 billion people, and the most populous democracy in the world...
.
In August 2010, Money-Coutts spent a month in Tanzania
Tanzania
The United Republic of Tanzania is a country in East Africa bordered by Kenya and Uganda to the north, Rwanda, Burundi, and the Democratic Republic of the Congo to the west, and Zambia, Malawi, and Mozambique to the south. The country's eastern borders lie on the Indian Ocean.Tanzania is a state...
, both performing and investigating the widespread beliefs in witchcraft
Witchcraft
Witchcraft, in historical, anthropological, religious, and mythological contexts, is the alleged use of supernatural or magical powers. A witch is a practitioner of witchcraft...
. The short film, Tanzanian Devil - The Dark Truths B'hind the African Witchdoctors, was released on the internet on 26 October 2010. In February 2011, the film was featured on Derren Brown
Derren Brown
Derren Victor Brown is a British illusionist, mentalist, painter, writer and sceptic. He is known for his appearances in television specials, stage productions and British television series such as Trick of the Mind and Trick or Treat...
's blog with an article detailing the witchcraft issues in Tanzania and Swaiziland.
In February 2011, Money-Coutts took to Bangkok
Bangkok
Bangkok is the capital and largest urban area city in Thailand. It is known in Thai as Krung Thep Maha Nakhon or simply Krung Thep , meaning "city of angels." The full name of Bangkok is Krung Thep Mahanakhon Amon Rattanakosin Mahintharayutthaya Mahadilok Phop Noppharat Ratchathani Burirom...
to work and study alongside the card cheats and card artists of the city. The resulting short film, Thai-Boo, Cardsharks of Sin City, was released to the internet on 9 March 2011. In addition to footage of the local cardsharks, the film also explains the story of The Expert at the Card Table
The Expert at the Card Table
The Expert at the Card Table: The Classic Treatise on Card Manipulation, often referred to simply as Erdnase , is possibly the best book on cards and magic written in 1901 by S. W. Erdnase, a pseudonymous author whose identity has remained a mystery for over a century...
, the classic card-cheating treatise written in 1902 by S. W. Erdnase
S. W. Erdnase
S. W. Erdnase is a pseudonym used by the author of The Expert at the Card Table, a book detailing sleight of hand, cheating and legerdemain using playing cards. Still considered essential reading for any card magician, the book, known also as either the Bible or, commonly, just Erdnase, has been...
.
Public Stunts
On 11 July 2011, Money-Coutts announced a public treasure quest to take place in London's Natural History MuseumNatural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
, in which over the course of one week, ten envelopes would be hidden throughout the museum - each containing a £50 note. Towards the end of the week, an eleventh envelope would then be concealed somewhere in the museum by an anonymous assistant - inside which was £1000 in cash. As stated by Money-Coutts in an online video - the contents and money would belong to whomsoever located each envelope. Once hidden in the museum, the £1000 envelope was not found for 72 hours - finally located by Chris Howard and Javier Trapero on the first floor of the Central Hall, on Monday 18th July. Although the Natural History Museum
Natural History Museum
The Natural History Museum is one of three large museums on Exhibition Road, South Kensington, London, England . Its main frontage is on Cromwell Road...
was not made aware of the stunt prior to its launch, staff and management confirmed record admittance numbers during the week of the treasure hunt.