CBS: Criss Angel is Huge Hit!Inside MagicMagic News Updated Daily for the Professional Magician

Magicians know about Criss Angel and have known of his powers for years but it's nice to see the rest of the world getting a clue.

The rather staid CBS morining installment, The Early Show, needs all the boosting it can get to compete with NBC's Today and ABC's Good Morning America.

They knew they needed the big gun, the one celebrity who is a proven cross-demographics monster hit. Women love to watch Criss Angel, and men like to watch him as well. It rare to find one star with the special something to appeal to both men and women.

Criss has it and CBS wants it.

On Friday's episode, Mr. Angel was brought into do his magic. The show called him "The New Houdini."

How big a hit has MindFreak proven to be? Its success is so astounding that it cause Mr. Angel to want to cause physical pain to his body.

"I pinch myself. It's amazing," Angel said.

Well, with or without self-mortification, Mr. Angel has the number one show on cable television. That's saying something pretty amazing.

A&E originally signed for just "a handful of episodes." But now, it is in the words of CBS host Harry Smith a "juggernaut."

We looked up the word "juggernaut" and it's not a dirty word — it just means a huge machine that cannot be stopped.

Interestingly, the same dictionary identified the opposite of "juggernaut" as "like or pertaining to David Blaine."

"It's been amazing," Mr. Angel said. "We've done over 45 episodes. We're talking right now about doing a third season, maybe. (We've) been very fortunate, indeed."

As we used to bark from out front of our 10-in-1 touring south Texas and Mexico, "Here is the Beauty Part."

Mr. Smith wanted to know how Angel describes himself, since he's been called, among other labels, "a magician, an illusionist, whatever."

"I'm just an artist that uses many different paint brushes," Angel responded, "whether it's mentalism, hypnosis, escapes, illusion, magic, music, performance art, to try to blur the line between reality and illusion and create an experience that hopefully is engaging and connects to people."

Not one of those aspects of performance deny he is still based in the Magical Arts. He isn't ready to deny his past or loyal fans by claiming to be something more sophisticated than a magician.

To watch Angel's interview, click here.

To see Angel's performance, click here.

Criss Angel Magic Review Magic News