PAUL ZENON

The self-monickered original Fun Loving Criminal (other aliases include 'King Con' and 'The Sultan of Swindle'!) Paul Zenon is the UK's leading comedy magician and TV shelter.

As magician, comedian, author, actor, panellist, pundit, prankster, lounge wizard, snake-oil seller and Britain’s oldest juvenile delinquent, Paul Zenon has spent a lifetime dedicated to deceit – and most importantly entertainment.

To date, the magician turned comedian and back again has hoodwinked and entertained people in more than 30 different countries from the glitzy hotels of Las Vegas, London Palladium and The Magic Castle in Hollywood to the hold of an aircraft carrier in the Adriatic, the jungles of Belize and the back of a truck in a Bosnian war zone.

And he’s also been in your house. With more than 200 appearances to his name, from primetime children’s TV to adult late-night fun,  Paul Zenon is everyone’s favourite funny trickster.
But then Paul Zenon has always had a devious streak. He was eight years old when he first sold raffle tickets to his neighbours and invented a fictional winner to avoid having to present the non-existent prize.

He bunked off school to make his first stage appearance when he was just 11 and was on TV just four years later. As a teenager, he spent every summer working in a Blackpool joke and magic shop, while spending the evenings performing in promenade hotels and guest houses. These seaside sojourns probably account for Paul Zenon’s fascination with the bizarre in the shape of sideshows and freakshows and a dress sense reminiscent of a fairground waltzer operator – the louder you scream the faster he goes.

Turning 18 and supposedly becoming an adult, Paul Zenon travelled around the Mediterranean earning his living as a street magician and fire-eater and telling imaginary fortunes to tourists. Back in Blighty, after he spent a short spell as a casino croupier in Scandinavia, he returned to his vocation of trickster and comedian, serving his apprenticeship in summer seasons in Blackpool and Jersey and continental holiday hotels, on cruise ships and several tours of British and United Nations military bases in Germany, Belize, Gibraltar, the Falkland and Ascension Islands, Croatia and Bosnia.
At the same time, Comedian Paul Zenon honed the comic side of his act with regular slots at the nation’s comedy clubs including the Comedy Store in London.

Paul Zenon got his big TV break in the early Nineties, when he presented the first of four series of kids magic show Tricky Business and Tricks 'n' Tracks for the BBC and children's game-show Crazy Cottage, which reached number one in the ratings in each of its three series on the ITV network.
By now completely sick of children, the late Nineties Zenon pioneered what has now become known as ‘street magic’ in a series of ground-breaking TV shows (some of which were among Channel 4’s highest-ever rating specials), where he honed a cutting-edge contemporary style, the influence of which is readily apparent in the current crop of magic-based television shows. He continues to appear in various guises on numerous television shows across every genre, including as regular special guest in Dictionary Corner on Channel 4’s Countdown. Other recent shows have included The Story of Light Entertainment on BBC2, and Paul Zenon‘s Revenge Squad and White Magic with Paul Zenon, both screened on ITV1, and The One Show on BBC1..

For over fifteen years Paul Zenon has specialised in corporate entertainment, presenting and performing at conferences and events worldwide, as well as being a favourite on the comedy club circuit. His client list is littered with Blue Chip companies and his style and material are fresh, original and contemporary One of his major strengths is his ability to gauge an audience and adapt accordingly: not many performers receive a standing ovation at the Comedy Store and the Savoy in the same evening!

Recent
His one-man show was a huge hit at the '97 and '99 Edinburgh Festivals, receiving much critical acclaim and five star reviews in The Scotsman, The List and The Guardian.
During the past three years Paul Zenon has appeared in Ireland, France, Germany, Italy, Greece, Spain, USA, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Indonesia, Kuwait and Australia.

Top Magician comedian Paul Zenon has performed at major theatres around Britain as part of the Comedy Store National Tour, and was 'Special Guest' at the Royal Television Society's annual Craft and Design Awards. In 1999 the hour-long Channel 4 Easter special, Paul Zenon Turning Tricks received rave reviews, and his second special Paul Zenon's Tricky Christmas was Channel 4's highest rating entertainment show of the holiday season.

During 2000 Paul performed a sell-out run at the Adelaide Festival, worked as magic consultant for Eurotrash (!), appeared as 'Special Guest' on all seven episodes of Something for the Weekend (Channel 4), and was one of the select few invited to appear at the opening of the new Comedy Store in Manchester.

Recent highlights have included an appearance at the Formula One Grand Prix in Barcelona, a show for the Ford Motor Company in Las Vegas, performances in Jakarta, Bali and Kuala Lumpur, hosting shows for British and U.S. troops on the Kuwait/Iraq border, a BBC1 Hard Cash Special: Cons R Us, repeats of the Paul Zenon Turning Tricks and Paul Zenon's Trick or Treat Specials on Channel 4, appearances on Child of Our Time (BBC1), Shoot the Messenger (Paramount Comedy Channel), Hear'Say It's Saturday (ITV), Stupid Punts (BBC), The Big Breakfast (Channel 4), The Big Stage Magic Special (Channel 5), Live Floor Show (BBC Scotland) and It Shouldn't Happen to a TV Performer (ITV).

Current and Future
Recent appearances include The World's 50 Greatest Magic Tricks, a two hour special on Channel 4, The Johnny Walker Show (Radio 2, with Stuart Maconie), The Chris Moyles Show (Radio 1), This Morning (ITV) and The War Magician, an hour-long documentary as part of the Secret History series, also on Channel 4 (provisional transmission date Tuesday 2nd July). The programme explores the life of stage illusionist Jasper Maskelyne, whose magical powers were utilised by the allies in combat against German forces in the Middle East during World War II. A major Hollywood movie based on the story, starring Tom Cruise is currently in pre-production.

Edinburgh Festival - Paul will be performing his one-man show at the Assembly Rooms from the 2nd to the 26th of August at 10.30pm.

The Off The Street, On The Road Tour: Paul appears at major theatres around the UK from the 15th to the 29th of September.

His new book, A Hundred Ways to Win a Fiver, will be available around this time.
In recent years, Paul’s shows have had sell-out runs at the Edinburgh, Brighton, Adelaide, Melbourne and Auckland festivals, where he has also been a regular in the celebrated burlesque show La Clique at the Famous Spiegeltent.

The majority of Paul’s live work for many years now has been in the corporate sector (they‘ve got money, you know), where he is widely acknowledged as one of the leading after-dinner entertainers, performing and presenting at prestigious conferences and events worldwide. During the past few years, in addition to Europe, he has appeared in Australia, Argentina, Dubai, Kuwait, Hong Kong, Manila, Mauritius, Marrakesh, New Zealand and Tokyo.

Paul is the author of the best-selling 100 Hundred Ways to Win a Tenner (available in the US as 100 Ways to Win a Ten-Spot), Paul Zenon's Dirty Tricks and Street Magic, all published by Carlton Books. He is an experienced pundit and dedicated sceptic with regard to matters 'paranormal' (ghosts, astrology, crop circles, UFOs, psychics, faith healing, cryptozoology, etc.) and also a leading expert on the subject of scams, swindles and conmen, pranks and hoaxes, and an acknowledged world authority on mini bars.

Paul is the founder of The Wonderbus, a Not-For-Profit organisation which takes older people on days out to see live entertainment, whether they want to or not. He recently toured theatres with comedians Harry Hill and Lee Mack in 'On the Bus!', a variety show, to raise funds for the project.

Paul Zenon is probably best known for his four one-man 'street magic' specials screened on Channel 4, ITV, and in around twenty countries worldwide - Paul Zenon Turning Tricks, Paul Zenon's Tricky Christmas, Paul Zenon's Trick or Treat (shot in Prague) and White Magic with Paul Zenon (shot in Lapland). The latter was screened on ITV1 last New Year's Eve. His latest show, Paul Zenon's Revenge Squad, was also screened on ITV1 over the festive period. At the other end of the spectrum, Paul is a regular special guest in Dictionary Corner on Channel 4's Countdown.

Since fronting four series on Childrens' BBC in the early Nineties - Tricky Business and Tricks 'n' Tracks - Paul has made over two hundred TV appearances spanning almost every genre, in guises as diverse as performer, factual and L.E. presenter, chat show guest, panellist, pundit, consultant, mentor, format creator, voice-over artist, and producer. As 'expert' he has waxed lyrical on subjects including the various uses and practioners of magic, illusion and psychology throughout history, comedy and variety, pranks and hoaxes, scams, swindles and conmen, and he is known for his mischievous and passionate scepticism with regard to so-called paranormal and New Age phenomena and their exponents.

So far, Paul has managed to resist the offers to spend weeks on end sat in a house/fake jungle/skip arguing about nothing with emotionally- challenged celebrities-you've-never- heard-of. Given the choice, he would like to present more factual programmes and wouldn't turn down a part in Doctor Who if it was offered.

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