Burton, Lance, 1960-

Lance Burton delights in talking about his magic craft and the joyful memories of his early and swift rise to become a master magician. This oral history includes memories of his rise to fame from youthful phenomenon to an over-thirty year Las Vegas career that began in 1981. He believes in the extraordinary value of magic and shares a poignant anecdote of a young autistic boy’s reaction to his magic show.

Burton is the son of William Jerry and Hilma Gay Burton. He was born in March 1960 and raised with his younger sister, Robyn, in Louisville, Kentucky. From the impressionable age of five, young Lance and his sister were present for a performance of magician Harry Collins at a Frito-Lays Christmas party where his mother worked, he was determined to learn magic tricks.

As a quick-study of magic, teenage Burton wowed others and by age 20, he had won the 1980 Gold Medal of Excellence from the International Brotherhood of Magicians. The next year he was featured on The Tonight Show with Johnny Carson—and then was off to an eight-week gig at the Tropicana.

In 1996, the Monte Carlo opened on the Strip and included the Lance Burton Theatre, which was a first. And by 2010 when he stepped away from a residency show, he had been a fixture of Las Vegas for over thirty years. During that time he performed more than 15,000 shows for over five million people in Las Vegas alone.

Burton has crafted a storytelling approach to his magical philosophy and is a multimedia presence. His resume includes: guest appearances on television, Billy Topit (movie), and youth programs such as the Desert Seminar of Magic.

He remains an international superstar of the magic world and a generous donor to children’s organizations and for animal protection. During this interview he also reflects briefly n the impact of the COVID-19 pandemic.