Johnny Thompson
Encyclopedia
Johnny Thompson is a Polish
-American Las Vegas
illusionist who performs under the stage name The Great Tomsoni with his wife, Pamela Hayes. They have a comedic slapstick
act with the well-dressed Thompson and his gum-popping assistant, Pam, performing illusions while enduring a series of mishaps. Within the magician community, Tomsoni is considered a virtuoso, widely known as a mentor and teacher of magic, and a creator of tricks, as opposed to simply a performer. He has worked behind the scenes with magicians such as Penn and Teller, Lance Burton
, and Criss Angel
. In 1999, he was awarded one of the highest honors in the magician community, a Masters Fellowship with the Academy of Magical Arts
.
comic magical act in which he plays the role of a dapper but buffoonish vaudeville
gentleman, with a gum-popping assistant, and they endure various mishaps during their performance. One of his trademarks is producing pure white dove
s on stage, which are trained to play along with the act once they have appeared.
He has been featured on many episodes of Criss Angel's Mindfreak, the "Hair" episode of Penn and Teller's Bullshit!
, and the film The Aristocrats
. His wife and assistant, Pamela Hayes Thompson, was featured in the film Women in Boxes about magicians' assistants.
He is also a bass harmonica player.
Poland
Poland , officially the Republic of Poland , is a country in Central Europe bordered by Germany to the west; the Czech Republic and Slovakia to the south; Ukraine, Belarus and Lithuania to the east; and the Baltic Sea and Kaliningrad Oblast, a Russian exclave, to the north...
-American Las Vegas
Las Vegas, Nevada
Las Vegas is the most populous city in the U.S. state of Nevada and is also the county seat of Clark County, Nevada. Las Vegas is an internationally renowned major resort city for gambling, shopping, and fine dining. The city bills itself as The Entertainment Capital of the World, and is famous...
illusionist who performs under the stage name The Great Tomsoni with his wife, Pamela Hayes. They have a comedic slapstick
Slapstick
Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...
act with the well-dressed Thompson and his gum-popping assistant, Pam, performing illusions while enduring a series of mishaps. Within the magician community, Tomsoni is considered a virtuoso, widely known as a mentor and teacher of magic, and a creator of tricks, as opposed to simply a performer. He has worked behind the scenes with magicians such as Penn and Teller, Lance Burton
Lance Burton
Lance Burton is a stage illusionist. He has appeared on numerous television programs, and also performed for Queen Elizabeth and President Ronald Reagan...
, and Criss Angel
Criss Angel
Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos , better known by the stage name Criss Angel, is an American illusionist, writer, director, musician, and actor...
. In 1999, he was awarded one of the highest honors in the magician community, a Masters Fellowship with the Academy of Magical Arts
Academy of Magical Arts
The Academy of Magical Arts is a California non profit mutual benefit corporation organized and devoted to the promotion and development of the art of magic.Although begun in 1952 as a loose association of magicians by William Larsen, Sr...
.
Biography
Along with his wife Pamela Hayes, he performs a slapstickSlapstick
Slapstick is a type of comedy involving exaggerated violence and activities which may exceed the boundaries of common sense.- Origins :The phrase comes from the batacchio or bataccio — called the 'slap stick' in English — a club-like object composed of two wooden slats used in Commedia dell'arte...
comic magical act in which he plays the role of a dapper but buffoonish vaudeville
Vaudeville
Vaudeville was a theatrical genre of variety entertainment in the United States and Canada from the early 1880s until the early 1930s. Each performance was made up of a series of separate, unrelated acts grouped together on a common bill...
gentleman, with a gum-popping assistant, and they endure various mishaps during their performance. One of his trademarks is producing pure white dove
Dove
Pigeons and doves constitute the bird family Columbidae within the order Columbiformes, which include some 300 species of near passerines. In general terms "dove" and "pigeon" are used somewhat interchangeably...
s on stage, which are trained to play along with the act once they have appeared.
He has been featured on many episodes of Criss Angel's Mindfreak, the "Hair" episode of Penn and Teller's Bullshit!
Bullshit!
Penn & Teller: Bullshit! is an American documentary television series that aired from 2003 to 2010 on the premium cable channel Showtime. In Canada, the series aired on The Movie Network and Movie Central.- Overview :...
, and the film The Aristocrats
The Aristocrats (film)
The Aristocrats is a 2005 documentary film about the famous dirty joke of the same name. It was conceived and produced by comedians Penn Jillette and Paul Provenza, edited by Emery Emery, and released to theaters by TH!NKFilm...
. His wife and assistant, Pamela Hayes Thompson, was featured in the film Women in Boxes about magicians' assistants.
He is also a bass harmonica player.
Names
Thompson's act has performed under the following names:- The Great Tomsoni
- The Great Tomsoni & Co.
- The Great Tomsoni and Company
- The Great Tomsoni: The Wizard of Warsaw
- Tomsoni & Co.
Awards
- Magicians of the Year: Johnny and Pam Thompson
- LOUIE award, Tannen's Magic Jubilee, 2000
- Masters Fellowship, Academy of Magical ArtsAcademy of Magical ArtsThe Academy of Magical Arts is a California non profit mutual benefit corporation organized and devoted to the promotion and development of the art of magic.Although begun in 1952 as a loose association of magicians by William Larsen, Sr...
, 1999