Photo credit: Jesse Dylan

While Ricky Jay has long been considered one of the world’s great sleight-of-hand artists, his career is further distinguished by the remarkable variety of his accomplishments as an author, actor, historian, and consultant. He is the only magician ever profiled on “American Masters” and is the subject of the documentary “Deceptive Practice: The Mysteries and Mentors of Ricky Jay.” He has acted in many films, including “House of Games,” “Boogie Nights,” “Magnolia,” “The Prestige,” “Tomorrow Never Dies” and the television series “Deadwood.” He is the author of “Learned Pigs & Fireproof Women” and “Jay’s Journal of Anomalies,” both honored by the New York Times as Notable Books. Among his other works are “Dice: Deception, Fate and Rotten Luck” with photographs by Rosamond Purcell; “Extraordinary Exhibitions”; “Celebrations of Curious Characters”; and “Matthias Buchinger, The Greatest German Living.”