About Magical Monty
New York City born and bred, Lemont Haskins (aka Mister Mystic, Magical Monty) hails from a family of professional performers. From his humble beginnings of receiving “T.V. Magic Cards,” countless magic sets, and watching the magic great Mark Wilson and family on television, Monty has been performing for more than three decades as a professional magician. From the streets of New York to the “Tokyo Dome” in Japan to the United States Embassy in Cairo, Egypt and eight other countries around the world, Monty has appeared, performed, amazed, and left audiences wondering. He fuses the art of sleight-of-hand magic with the cutting edge illusion technology of mentalism, and his off-beat sense of humor which combine to create a family oriented show sure to bring wonder and delight to all ages.
Monty’s spellbinding talents have earned him prestigious honors like the Raoul Wallenberg Humanitarian Award, selection as one of 84 magicians throughout the United States to be labeled a “Marlboro Magician,” and a feature in the book “Conjure Times: The History of Black Magicians in America,” among others. He was a member of the Big Apple Circus’ Special “Clown Care Unit,” in which talented performing artist tended to the bedsides of sick children in unique clown doctor attire, and has performed at countless corporate and special events, trades shows, private parties, hospitals, casinos, and college campuses. He has enchanted politicians, royalty – he once performed for the King of Arabia and his family – television personalities, nobles, and nice people like you! Magical Monty always leaves his audiences breathless with laughter and enjoyment.
The internationally acclaimed Apollo Theater has also been a home to Monty’s talent; there he did an extended engagement as the “take-off man” during the theater’s famed Amateur Night where he replaced the legendary Howard “Sandman” Sims. Dubbed “The Executioner,” Monty used the magic of physical comedy and improvisation to thrill and excite audiences while removing undesirable acts from the stage. Monty has also appeared on television numerous times with his first major performance having been with the late Bob McAllister on his award-winning series “Kids are People Too.” He has appeared in several commercials including a role as the principal performing magic in a Bell Atlantic commercial and a role as a street hustler in a commercial for the clothing store Daffy’s where he exhibits his skills at Three-card Monte. Most recently he displayed these same skills on an episode of “The Hansen Files” on Dateline NBC and on the National Geographic special “Brain Games.” These are just a few highlights of what Lemont Haskins has done, and there so much more to come. Stay tuned!
