THE VIRGINIAN-PILOT
Copyright (c) 1997, Landmark Communications, Inc.
DATE: Thursday, January 9, 1997 TAG: 9701090031
SECTION: DAILY BREAK PAGE: E6 EDITION: FINAL
LENGTH: 25 lines
A NEW YORK TIMES News Service article describing a reporter's efforts to find out how the magician David Copperfield performs his tricks included inaccurate information.
The article, published Wednesday in The Daily Break, included an interview with a man identifying himself as an audience ``plant'' who explained how the magician could make him appear to levitate on a couch 20 feet above the stage.
The man, who produced ticket stubs indicating that he had been at many performances, said he was disgruntled about being paid late for his work. He identified himself as Seth Greenspan, an employee of the show, but that identification was false.
After the article was published, the producer of Copperfield's ``Dreams and Nightmares'' show, which closed its run on Broadway on Dec. 29, visited The Times with the real Greenspan, who produced full identification.
A telephone number at which the impostor had been reached after the original interview has since been disconnected.
The producer, Jonathan Hochwald, declines to discuss the accuracy of the impostor's comments about how the tricks were performed.