www.davidacer.com - Comedian, Magician, all around cuddly guy.

David Acer's News of Interest

David got into the Halloween spirit a little early this year with a week of shows at the world famous Magic Castle in Hollywood, CA. The Castle, a private club, boasts a long list of celebrity members, from Jason Alexander to Neil Patrick Harris, not to mention three unique theater spaces, a variety of additional cabarets and showrooms, a library that you can only find if you know where it is, and a piano-playing ghost. This was David's third appearance at the club. (10/10)

David is caught "mid-miracle" on the cover of the October, 2010 issue of GENII, one of the magic industry's oldest and most respected magazines. Inside, there's an article on David by L.A. writer David Regal (Everybody Loves Raymond), an article by David himself on the use of magic on the syndicated TV series Mystery Hunters, and 5 of David's tricks, plus all the magazine's regular columns and features. It's $6 U.S. on magic-shop news-stands now, or click here to order a copy. (while supplies last!) (09/10)

In April, 2010, David’s book, GOTCHA! 18 AMAZING WAYS TO FREAK OUT YOUR FRIENDS, won the Hackmatack Children’s Choice Award for Best Non-Fiction! Won I tells ya! The award was presented at an afternoon gala in Saint John, New Brunswick, where more than a dozen authors had a chance to meet hundreds of readers. (05/10)

More good news for GOTCHA! 18 AMAZING WAYS TO FREAK OUT YOUR FRIENDS - the book, written by David, has been nominated for a 2010/2011 Diamond Willow Award! The Willow Awards are voted on by more than 10 000 students in Saskatchewan over the course of the school year. The winners from the 2010 nominees are announced in the Spring of 2011. (03/10)

For those of you who don't read the Huffington Post, David was just named 2009 Magician of the Year by the Canadian Association of Magicians. In an interview following the award show, David said he felt what put him over the top was the swimsuit portion of the competition. For a sneak peek at David's magic, visit the David Acer Magic Shop. (07/09)

Good news for GOTCHA, and all its inhabitants - the book has been nominated for a 2010 Hackmatack Childen's Choice Award. The Hackmatack is an Atlantic Canadian book award that allows thousands of kids from hundreds of schools, libraries and reading groups to choose their favourite Canadian books. This year, they'll read from a selection of forty books divided in four categories: English Fiction, English Non-fiction, French Fiction and French Non-fiction, chosen for their literary, cultural and entertainment value. The winner will be announced in May of 2010. For the complete list of nominees, go to www.hackmatack.ca/pr2010shortlist.html. (05/09)

Doubting Dave fans rejoice! The first ever Mystery Hunters/Doubting Dave book of paranormal tricks and hoaxes is coming out in North America on September 1st, 2008. GOTCHA! 18 AMAZING WAYS TO FREAK OUT YOUR FRIENDS, written by David Acer and illustrated by Stephen MacEachern, also features guest appearances by Araya and Christina, and has already been sold to two international publishers for simultaneous release in French and Danish. Scheduled Release Date: September, 2008. Publisher: Kids Can Press. CLICK HERE TO ORDER

MYSTERY HUNTERS won a prestigious 2007 Japan Prize (sponsored by the Japanese television network NHK) in the Early Education category. The STONEHENGE episode (from Season III), written by David Acer and Sara Edelson, was awarded the Minister of Internal Affairs and Communications Prize. Producers Jonathan Finkelstein and Stacey Tenenbaum flew to Tokyo to accept the award. For more info, click here. (11/07)

David had the pleasure of headlining Absolute Comedy in Ottawa at the end of October, doing 7 shows (5 sold out) in 5 days with fellow comedians Rick Currie and Kevin Gasior. At some point during the week he also appeared on the popular 93.9 BOB FM morning radio show. Here's an excerpt from the interview - "...the..." All rights reserved. (10/07)

On August 28th, 2007, David received his second Gemini Award nomination (the Canadian equivalent of the Emmys), which he shares with Ramelle Mair, for Best Writing in a Children's or Youth Series (Mystery Hunters Season III: Giant Shark). Mystery Hunters Season III also received a nomination for Best Children's or Youth Non-Fiction Series, bringing the total number of nominations for the series to 8. The Gemini Awards will air on CBC October 28th, but the winners in the youth television categories, along with documentary, reality, and the like, will be announced on October 16th. (08/07)

This summer, David is collaborating with Apartment 11 Productions and educational video-game producer Creo Productions on a new animated, funny, science-action-adventure television series called WHIZ KIDS S.C.I. The series is in development for Canadian broadcaster TVO, and while we’re not allowed to divulge any details yet, we can tell you it will be animated, funny, and full of science, action and adventure... and it’s a series...

David’s recent headlining weekends at The Comic Strip in Edmonton and the newly relocated (and upscaled) Comedy Cave in Calgary resulted in a handful of radio and television appearances, including an hour with Steve, Billy and Jim on Edmonton’s K-ROCK morning show, a high-energy drive-time interview with Lexine Stephens on Calgary’s Q107, and an extended interview on the popular Canadian newsmagazine show, HelpTV, co-hosted by Melissa Dominelli, Jenny Adams (from The Bachelor) and David’s old friend Rick Bronson. For a video clip from David’s HelpTV appearance, click here. (03/07)

Canadian director Serge Marcil brought together a handful of his friends (actors, cameramen, editors, etc.) to produce a fun and funny short film called "Unfinished Monkey Business" in less than a week for Dreamworks' "On The Lot" competition. The film (loosely scripted by Serge) is a mockumentary about a struggling dancer named Frank Swanson (played by David) who sees great art in what he does, even if the people he performs for don't. Clip coming soon. (02/07)

David recently made an appearance as a bumbling magician on YTV Canada's hit show, PRANK PATROL, a role for which he has been preparing all his life.

Oddly, that same week, a new business book was published in the U.S. called FOLLOW THE OTHER HAND by Andy Cohen, in which David was mentioned in the context of a business lesson and singled out as a "great magician." Very conflicting messages... (12/06)

David recently signed a deal with Apartment 11 Productions and KidsCan Press to write a book of paranormal tricks and hoaxes kids can unleash on their friends. The material will be based on his “Mystery Hunters” labs, with an eye towards teaching kids to be skeptical of other tricksters and hoaxers. Scheduled release date - Spring, 2008. (09/06)

24 episodes of the hit children’s series POPULAR MECHANICS FOR KIDS have just been released in a 6 DVD Box Set. David wrote segments for 5 episodes in the set, including “In Deep Water” on SUPER SEA CREATURES, “X-Treme Rides” on X-TREME SPORTS, and “Killer Creatures” on GATORS AND DRAGONS & OTHER WILD BEASTS. The DVDs have received glowing reviews in magazines across North America, in addition to winning the National Educational Media Network’s Silver Apple Award, the Oppenheim Toy Portfolio Award, and the Bronze Plaque at the Columbus International Film & Video Festival for Excellence in Children’s Programming! You can order the box set online at www.amazon.com. (12/05)

PRANK PATROL is a new series on YTV and Discovery Kids (in Canada) featuring Andy Simoneau and two “prank ninjas” who help real kids pull off their dream pranks on friends and family members. David has written four episodes in the first season, including a prank wherein a young girl who lives out in the country invites her three best friends over for a slumber party that’s crashed by an astonishingly convincing UFO, and an unusual prank in which a young boy challenges his overly-confident best friend to a video game wherein the main character actually takes a disliking to the friend and breaks through the screen into the third dimension to attack him! Click here for airtimes.

Mystery Hunters Season II, produced by Apartment 11 Productions for Discovery Kids, just received 3 Gemini Award nominations (the Canadian equivalent of the Emmys): Best Children's or Youth Non- Fiction Program or Series, Best Writing in a Children's or Youth Program or Series, and Best Original Music Score for a Documentary Program or Series. The Best Writing nomination is shared by David, Barry Julien and Ramelle Mair. The awards gala will be broadcast on Global Television in Canada on November 19th, and Season III of Mystery Hunters starts production in January, 2006. (10/05)

Mystery Hunters will begin shooting its third and final season for YTV and Discovery Kids this winter. In addition to writing for and appearing on the show as Doubting Dave, David (photo right) will also be taking over the job of Executive Story Editor from Gary (photo left). Meanwhile, fans of the show finally have a place to direct their comments and questions – go to www.mysteryhunters.tv. (09/05)

Beginning this month (May, 2005), David becomes an editor at Genii Magazine, one of the oldest and most respected magic periodicals in the world. Specifically, David will edit (and continue to contribute to) the Magicana (i.e. trick) section, which will return as a monthly feature after four or five years of appearing only sporadically. For more information, go to www.geniimagazine.com. (05/05)

David travelled to New York recently to tape a segment for "Secret World of Magic," which begins airing on Sky One in the U.K. this month (April, 2005). Hosts (and magicians) Pete Firman and Alistair Cook take us on a magical mystery tour around the globe, visiting six different cities (Paris, Madrid, Buenos Aires, New York, Los Angeles and Las Vegas), where they reveal the true stories behind some of the world's most legendary tricks and attempt to wow the locals with their own unique brand of magic. Guests include Juan Tamariz, Gaetan Bloom, Harry Lorayne, Jeff McBride, Mac King, Penn & Teller, Dean Dill, Rene Lavand, Dominique Duvivier, Henry Evans, John Gaughn and Max Maven. For airtimes and dates, go to www.skyone.co.uk. (04/05)

Discovery Kids U.K. recently announced that MYSTERY HUNTERS was their number one show for all of 2004 with viewers aged 4-14 years old. Production on the second season of the show finished in early December, bringing the total number of episodes now in circulation to 52. (03/05)

www.mylovelyassistant.com, a website dedicated to honest (sometimes controversial) reviews of magic books, tricks and DVDs, is now entering its third year, and features a database of over 8000 products. Official reviewers include Eugene Burger, David Parr and David Acer, but magicians who log onto the site are encouraged to add their own comments and opinions. (01/05)

In May, David was nominated for the CANADIAN MAGICIAN OF THE YEAR award by the Canadian Association of Magicians, along with Carl Cloutier, Julie Eng, Richard Forget, Murray Hatfield and Romaine. Past winners of the honour, now in its third year, are Greg Frewin and Shawn Farquhar. The winner will be announced in the Fall, whereupon David will send his congratulations... On a related subject, and also in May, David was voted among the Top 10 Comedians in Montreal in a reader’s poll conducted by THE MIRROR (a weekly alternative newspaper). David placed 7th in the poll, which included both French and English comedians. (06/04)

David made an appearance on the new Comedy Network series, “Just For Laughs: The Lost Tapes” on April 8th, along with Lee Evans and Arj Barker. David’s segment was taken from his 1999 gala performance at the Just For Laughs Festival. Other comedians in the series include Norm MacDonald, Tracy Morgan, Denis Leary, Brian Regan and many more. (04/04)

This is but one of the over 600 photos that were taken by Guy Camirand last month for David’s forthcoming book, RANDOM ACTS OF MAGIC, his first big collection of original material since 1999’s NATURAL SELECTIONS, VOL. II. The book is now being laid out and contains just over 60 routines, including contributions from some of David’s friends (Jay Sankey, Joshua Jay, Richard Sanders, Max Maven, Simon Lovell, Bob Torkova, Michel Huot and more). The Camirand Academy projects an October release. (03/04)

The three-time Gemini-award-nominated television series Mystery Hunters, co-written and co-hosted by David, has been picked up for a second season. 26 new episodes were ordered by Discovery International and will begin shooting in June of 2004, with Christina Broccolini and Araya Mengesha returning to co-host alongside Doubting Dave! Season One is currently airing on Discovery Kids in Canada, the U.S. and the U.K. (01/04)

On September 9th, the television series Mystery Hunters, co-hosted and co-written by David, was nominated for three Gemini Awards (the Canadian equivalent of the Emmys): Best Children’s Non-Fiction Program or Series, Best Photography in an Information Program or Series and Best Picture Editing in an Information Program or Series. The Gemini Awards will air live on CBC television on October 20th. Until then, CLICK HERE for some clips of Mystery Hunters! (09/03)

David Acer and Sylvain Larocque co-host Crossing The Main, a CBC comedy special scheduled to air on Friday, July 25th at 7:00pm. The special features stand-up comedy by Mike Paterson (Trailer Vision), David Pryde (Just For Laughs), Isabelle Gaumont (Un Gars, Une Fille), John Buehler (Comedy Now), and more, plus segments with David and Sylvain filmed on the streets of Montreal. Clip coming soon! (06/03)

David’s first national comedy special (Comedy Now Presents: David Acer) aired on CTV in Canada on Saturday, May 24th. The half-hour special is an edited version of the hour-long special David taped in the summer of 2002 for The Comedy Network. (06/03)

David makes a cameo of sorts in the recent blockbuster film, The Core. Co-written by his friend, John Rogers, the movie features a research assistant early on named “Acer” in honour of David, though it is spelled “Acker” in the credits (and the script), so the name would be pronounced correctly by the actors.(04/03)

David plays one of a handful of leads in the short film, “Whistleblowers Anonymous,” which was screened on May 4th in the Moc Docs category at the Hot Docs Festival in Toronto. The film was written and directed by Matt Holland, and won an award for script-writing.(04/03)

David Acer made an appearance on the 2002 CFCF Telethon of Stars on December 1st, hosted by Randy Tieman, Caroline Van Vlaardingen and Mose Persico, among others. The Telethon, which took place over 22 hours on both CFCF and TQS, raised $4 517 926 for research into Children’s diseases, and featured an array of celebrity guests. Click here for video clip!

With the February, 2003 issue of Genii magazine, David's column, Confessions of a Road Warrior, will enter its third year in the publication. Tricks slated to appear in the coming months include a mind-boggling approach to Triumph ("Time Boards"), some serious trick photography ("Photo Finish"), and a killer version of Tenkai Pennies ("New Millennium Tenkai Pennies"), plus essays on TV Magic, Coins Across, Christmas Shows, and more! (12/02)

David Acer and Rick Bronson acted as consultants and hosts for the Edmonton Oilers home opener against the Philadelphia Flyers on October 10th at the Skyreach Center. The evening was called "A Night of Magic," and featured The Pendragons during an extended pre-game show, as well as live and pre-taped clips of Acer and Bronson on the Jumbotron over the course of the game. In addition, there were nine close-up magicians working the concourse, including Jon Charles, Richard Sanders and Sheldon Casavant. The evening was regarded as a complete success, with many reviews the next day singling out the work of Acer, Bronson and The Pendragons. (10/02)

During the week of the Just For Laughs Festival (July 17-21, 2002), David co-hosted the afternoon show on Mix 96 Radio with Nat Lauzon, live from the Delta Hotel (the Festival HQ). Check out some clips from the show on the www.davidacer.com COMEDY page, under AUDIO, or just click here. (O7/02)

Starting in May, 2002, David returns to the pages of The Magic Menu with a new column called "Lost and Found," dedicated to reviewing older, often overlooked magic books. The reviews will focus on the relevance of each book from a practical stand-point in today's magic world. Already completed are reviews of Early Vernon, Early Marlo, Fork Full of Appetizers and The Close-Up Magician. (www.magicmenu.net) (05/02)

Taping has begun on "Mystery Hunters," a new series for Discovery Kids scheduled to air this summer. David is a writer on the show, and will also appear weekly as Doubting Dave, a magician/scientist/skeptic who helps the kids solve their mysteries. See Video Clips on the www.davidacer.com TELEVISION page, or just click here. (04/02)

Tricks with your head

Crown Publishing has just released "Tricks With Your Head," a magic book by Mac King and Mark Levy written for the public. You can purchase this book through Amazon.com by clicking here. The book is also available at your local bookstore, and contains fun and varied contributions from Paul Harris, Kevin James, David Acer and many more! (04/02)

"Levity" is the title of a feature film currently in production starring Billy Bob Thornton, Holly Hunter and Morgan Freeman. David appears in the film in a scene with Thornton and Hunter as a man on Open Mic Night who has never done stand-up comedy. (03/02)