Biography

Silano was born June 12, 1962, in Paterson, New Jersey

Paterson, New Jersey

Paterson is a city serving as the county seat of Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. As of the 2010 United States Census, its population was 146,199, rendering it New Jersey's third largest city and one of the largest cities in the New York City Metropolitan Area, despite a decrease of 3,023...

. Early on in his career, Rocco studied with and was managed by sleight-of-hand expert and Tony Slydini

Tony Slydini

Tony Slydini , also known simply as 'Slydini', was a world renowned magician. Best known as a master of close-up artistry, he served as inspiration to a generation of magicians, including Doug Henning....

 protege Bill Wisch. Later, Rocco was introduced to Slydini by Bill and Rocco took lessons with Slydini as well. In 1988, he invented a gable-top milk carton that could be more easily collapsed for disposal by removing a tear strip at the bottom of the carton.

Most known for his sleeving techniques

Sleight of hand

Sleight of hand, also known as prestidigitation or legerdemain, is the set of techniques used by a magician to manipulate objects such as cards and coins secretly....

 and skill, Silano is the recipient of the Merlin and Golden Lion Awards, a two-time winner of the coveted Manhattan Association of Cabarets Award, and has been nominated nine times as Magician of the Year by 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...

 in four different categories.

Silano is the only American to win awards at two FISM

Fédération Internationale des Sociétés Magiques

The International Federation of Magic Societies was founded in 1948, and is one of the most respected organizations in the magician community. It is an international body coordinating dozens of national and international clubs and federations around the world, representing approximately 50,000...

 World Tournaments: in 1994 in Yokohama

Yokohama

is the capital city of Kanagawa Prefecture and the second largest city in Japan by population after Tokyo and most populous municipality of Japan. It lies on Tokyo Bay, south of Tokyo, in the Kantō region of the main island of Honshu...

, Japan

Japan

Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...

, and "Most Original Act" in 2006 in Stockholm

Stockholm

Stockholm is the capital and the largest city of Sweden and constitutes the most populated urban area in Scandinavia. Stockholm is the most populous city in Sweden, with a population of 851,155 in the municipality , 1.37 million in the urban area , and around 2.1 million in the metropolitan area...

, Sweden

Sweden

Sweden , officially the Kingdom of Sweden , is a Nordic country on the Scandinavian Peninsula in Northern Europe. Sweden borders with Norway and Finland and is connected to Denmark by a bridge-tunnel across the Öresund....

. Recently, he has been receiving attention for his D'Lite product, a small red light used for aiding magic tricks. Silano performed at the 2007 Austrian Magic Convention in Vienna

Vienna

Vienna is the capital and largest city of the Republic of Austria and one of the nine states of Austria. Vienna is Austria's primary city, with a population of about 1.723 million , and is by far the largest city in Austria, as well as its cultural, economic, and political centre...

, Austria

Austria

Austria , officially the Republic of Austria , is a landlocked country of roughly 8.4 million people in Central Europe. It is bordered by the Czech Republic and Germany to the north, Slovakia and Hungary to the east, Slovenia and Italy to the south, and Switzerland and Liechtenstein to the...

, and appeared in the VH1

VH1

VH1 or Vh1 is an American cable television network based in New York City. Launched on January 1, 1985 in the old space of Turner Broadcasting's short-lived Cable Music Channel, the original purpose of the channel was to build on the success of MTV by playing music videos, but targeting a slightly...

 celebrity magic reality series, Celebracadabra

Celebracadabra

Celebracadabra is an American reality television series on VH1 that premiered on April 27, 2008. The series involves celebrities attempting to learn and perform magic. Magician/actor Jonathan Levit serves as the host. On Thursday June 12, 2008 C...

, in 2008, as an adviser and guide for celebrity partner and 1st runner-up, Hal Sparks

Hal Sparks

Hal Harry Magee Sparks III is an American actor, comedian, musician and television personality. He is known for his contributions to VH1, hosting E!'s Talk Soup, and the role of Michael Novotny on the American television series Queer as Folk.-Early life:Sparks was born in Cincinnati, Ohio, but...

.

External links

• Official Rocco Silano website
• Official D'Lite website
• Rocco Interview with MagicNewswire.com
• Celebracadabra at VH1.com

Further reading

• Demaline, Jackie. (October 14, 1988) Times Union Abracadabra - It's Magic. Page C1.
• Burgess, Linda H. (February 22, 1989) The Record
  The Record (Bergen County)
  The Record is a newspaper in northern New Jersey. It has the second largest circulation of New Jersey's daily newspapers, behind The Star-Ledger. Owned by the Borg family since 1930, it is the flagship publication of the North Jersey Media Group. Stephen Borg is the publisher of The Record...
  
   From soup to sleight of hand. Magician helps meals take off. Page C3.
• The Times-Picayune (April 27, 1990) Here tomorrow, gone today. Page L4.
• Yu, Winifred. (October 30, 1990) Times Union Colored doves are a magical illusion. Page C8.
• Kelly, Martin P. (November 2, 1990) Times Union Magicians create enchanted evening. Page C5.
• Mervis, Scott. (October 8, 1993) Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
  Pittsburgh Post-Gazette
  The Pittsburgh Post-Gazette, also known simply as the "PG," is the largest daily newspaper serving metropolitan Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, USA.-Early history:...
  
   Festival of Italian arts. Page 3.
• Carney, Beth; Dezell, Maureen. (September 19, 1998) The Boston Globe
  The Boston Globe
  The Boston Globe is an American daily newspaper based in Boston, Massachusetts. The Boston Globe has been owned by The New York Times Company since 1993...
  
   Game of choice for Kearns Goodwin. Page C2.
• Times Union (October 28, 2007) My other life. Page D1.
• McMaster, Shawn. (March 2008) The Magazine for Magicians
  Magic (magazine)
  MAGIC, also known as The Magazine for Magicians, is an independent magazine for magicians that is based in Las Vegas, Nevada. A creation of Stan Allen, magician, it debuted in September 1991, with its first issue featuring Lance Burton on the cover, and over the years it has also featured David...
  
   Celebracadabra: VH1's Magic Reality Series.