Matt the Knife
Encyclopedia
"Matt the Knife" was born in Massachusetts
and grew up in Boston
, but now resides in Rhode Island
. He is a magician and mentalist as well as the breaker of a multitude of Guinness World Records
. but began his career as a professional con man
.
He’s probably best known for his feats of mentalism but also often mixes sword swallowing, stunts, escapes, magic and his unique brand of humor in to his stage shows.
But in spite of his claims that it was only intended for entertainment and that the theatrical community it has come under fire by some right-wing religious groups in the US.
, ESPN Magazine, Philadelphia City Paper
, PLAY Magazine, The "METRO" Paper, Road King Magazine, Escape Masters Magazine, Amusement Business Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal
; as well as being on The Discovery Channel, NBC
, Ripley's Believe It or Not!
, CNN
, The History Channel
, National Geographic Channel
, Adult Swim
on The Cartoon Network, Guinness World Records
, Sirius Satellite Radio
, CCTV (China), Rai Tre
(Italy) and The BBC (United Kingdom).
He was also a question on the American game show Jeopardy!
.
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
and grew up in Boston
Boston
Boston is the capital of and largest city in Massachusetts, and is one of the oldest cities in the United States. The largest city in New England, Boston is regarded as the unofficial "Capital of New England" for its economic and cultural impact on the entire New England region. The city proper had...
, but now resides in Rhode Island
Rhode Island
The state of Rhode Island and Providence Plantations, more commonly referred to as Rhode Island , is a state in the New England region of the United States. It is the smallest U.S. state by area...
. He is a magician and mentalist as well as the breaker of a multitude of Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
. but began his career as a professional con man
Confidence trick
A confidence trick is an attempt to defraud a person or group by gaining their confidence. A confidence artist is an individual working alone or in concert with others who exploits characteristics of the human psyche such as dishonesty and honesty, vanity, compassion, credulity, irresponsibility,...
.
Early life
From the ages of approximately 14 through 21, he worked as a con artist, operated a card-cheating ring, a shoplifting ring and a pick-pocketing ring who bilked dozens of casinos, corporations and even at least one Mafia family (in spite of, or possibly due to, being tied to at least two criminal families himself) out of untold sums.Transition into the magical arts
Sometime around 2000 he began to adapt his talents from that of a criminal to the skills of a conjurer and slowly transitioned out of an illegal lifestyle over the next couple of years. Since then his magic has taken him on to perform in 15 countries across 4 continents (including television shows in the United States, China, Italy, Canada, the United Kingdom and several others).He’s probably best known for his feats of mentalism but also often mixes sword swallowing, stunts, escapes, magic and his unique brand of humor in to his stage shows.
Guinness World Records
he's broken 12 Guinness records. They include records for things such as escapes, sword swallowing, fire manipulation, feats of strength, and card manipulation. He usually performs these stunts either for publicity or for the climax of his various television specials.Lecturing
Since his transition from a grifter to a performer he's also gone on to be an anti-fraud expert. The stories from his early years along with tips on how to protect yourself, information about fraudulent activities, and demonstrations of many of these feats were put together for his keynote speaking engagements. The lecture has been featured at theaters, colleges and corporate events.Consulting
In 2003 he founded a consulting firm that specializes in the prevention of fraud and cheating within the gaming industry and their personnel, corporations, security & police forces, as well as the film, literary, theatrical and television industries to create realistic characters and help develop more accurate depictions of topics involving criminal activity, the occult, the allied arts, the magical arts and mentalism.Spiritualism and séances
Some time between 2001 to 2004 he began to occasionally perform a very different style show than what he'd become known for. It is a séance based performance entitled "Epitaph". It debuted in Rhode Island and it has toured in several major cities including Philadelphia, Boston, Washington DC and New Orleans.But in spite of his claims that it was only intended for entertainment and that the theatrical community it has come under fire by some right-wing religious groups in the US.
Media credits
Matt The Knife has been featured in The New York Post, The New York TimesThe New York Times
The New York Times is an American daily newspaper founded and continuously published in New York City since 1851. The New York Times has won 106 Pulitzer Prizes, the most of any news organization...
, ESPN Magazine, Philadelphia City Paper
Philadelphia City Paper
Philadelphia City Paper is a free alternative news weekly in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. It was established in November 1981 as a spin-off of the now defunct WXPN Express newsletter. New issues are released every Thursday....
, PLAY Magazine, The "METRO" Paper, Road King Magazine, Escape Masters Magazine, Amusement Business Magazine, and The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal
The Wall Street Journal is an American English-language international daily newspaper. It is published in New York City by Dow Jones & Company, a division of News Corporation, along with the Asian and European editions of the Journal....
; as well as being on The Discovery Channel, NBC
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company is an American commercial broadcasting television network and former radio network headquartered in the GE Building in New York City's Rockefeller Center with additional major offices near Los Angeles and in Chicago...
, Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Ripley's Believe It or Not!
Ripley's Believe It or Not! is a franchise, founded by Robert Ripley, which deals in bizarre events and items so strange and unusual that readers might question the claims...
, CNN
CNN
Cable News Network is a U.S. cable news channel founded in 1980 by Ted Turner. Upon its launch, CNN was the first channel to provide 24-hour television news coverage, and the first all-news television channel in the United States...
, The History Channel
The History Channel
History, formerly known as The History Channel, is an American-based international satellite and cable TV channel that broadcasts a variety of reality shows and documentary programs including those of fictional and non-fictional historical content, together with speculation about the future.-...
, National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel
National Geographic Channel, also commercially abbreviated and trademarked as Nat Geo, is a subscription television channel that airs non-fiction television programs produced by the National Geographic Society. Like History and the Discovery Channel, the channel features documentaries with factual...
, Adult Swim
Adult Swim
Adult Swim is an adult-oriented Cable network that shares channel space with Cartoon Network from 9:00 pm until 6:00 am ET/PT in the United States, and broadcasts in countries such as Australia and New Zealand...
on The Cartoon Network, Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records
Guinness World Records, known until 2000 as The Guinness Book of Records , is a reference book published annually, containing a collection of world records, both human achievements and the extremes of the natural world...
, Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio
Sirius Satellite Radio is a satellite radio service operating in North America, owned by Sirius XM Radio.Headquartered in New York City, with smaller studios in Los Angeles and Memphis, Sirius was officially launched on July 1, 2002 and currently provides 69 streams of music and 65 streams of...
, CCTV (China), Rai Tre
Rai Tre
Rai 3 is part of RAI, the Italian government broadcasting agency, which owns other channels, such as Rai 1 and Rai 2 . Rai 3 first started transmissions on December 15, 1979. In the eighties it was under the predominant political influence of the Italian Communist Party...
(Italy) and The BBC (United Kingdom).
He was also a question on the American game show Jeopardy!
Jeopardy!
Griffin's first conception of the game used a board comprising ten categories with ten clues each, but after finding that this board could not be shown on camera easily, he reduced it to two rounds of thirty clues each, with five clues in each of six categories...
.