Justin Willman

Justin Willman (born July 11, 1980)[3] is an American magician, comedian, producer, and television personality. He is the creator and star of Magic for Humans on Netflix. The third season of Magic for Humans released on May 15, 2020.[4] He has made regular appearances on The Tonight Show, The Ellen DeGeneres Show, and Conan. His debut comedy/magic special Sleight of Mouth premiered on Comedy Central in 2015.[5] He hosts the shows Cupcake Wars, Halloween Wars and King of Cones on the Food Network and Disney’s Win, Lose or Draw on Disney Channel. He resides in Los Angeles with his wife Jillian Sipkins and son Jackson Willman.

Justin Willman
Born (1980-07-11) July 11, 1980[1]
St. Louis, Missouri, U.S.
Other namesJustin Kredible
Alma materEmerson College
OccupationMagician, comedian, producer, television personality
OrganizationMagicAid
Spouse(s)
Jillian Sipkins
​
(m. 2015)​
[2]
Children1

Early life

Born in St. Louis, Missouri, Justin Willman began entertaining at the age of 12, after breaking both of his arms. His orthopedic surgeon recommended he learn card tricks as an alternative to occupational therapy and to get the dexterity back in his hands. Soon he was performing for friends and family then eventually at birthday parties under the stage name "Justin Kredible" (a play on the words just incredible), a name given to him by his mother.[6] He has since dropped the stage name, using his given name Justin Willman in all of his professional work.

Willman graduated from Ladue Horton Watkins High School in St. Louis, then graduated from Emerson College in Boston,[7] where he majored in Broadcast Journalism.[8] He was raised Catholic.

Career

Willman has performed his magic on "Magic Meltdown" on YouTube,[9] which became a webseries for the Nerdist Channel[10] and incorporated some of the tricks from his magic tours. In Magic Meltdown Justin performed tricks based on a chosen topic such as technology, children, and food.

In 2011, he performed for the first family for the White House Halloween party.[11] In 2014, James Galea called on Willman along with Justin Flom and Nate Staniforth to form Band of Magicians.[12]

TV host

From 2009 to 2013, Willman hosted Cupcake Wars on Food Network.[13][14] He also hosted Halloween Wars[15] and Last Cake Standing on Food Network, and the variety show Hubworld and the game show Scrabble Showdown on the Hub Network.[16]

Willman began hosting Win, Lose or Draw on Disney Channel, a revival of the teen version of the Burt Reynolds and Bert Convy classic game show in 2014.[17] In July, Comedy Central ordered a pilot for Sleight of Mouth, a weekly magic-based variety show hosted by Willman. The show was not picked up, but Comedy Central aired the pilot in April 2015 as a special.[18]

Willman is the host and executive producer of the show Magic for Humans which was released on Netflix on August 17, 2018.[19] Season 2 of Magic for Humans premiered on December 4, 2019 [20] and the third on May 15, 2020.[21]

Willman appeared as a guest judge on season 3 of Netflix's Sugar Rush.[22]

Acting

Willman has guest starred on the CBS show Defenders, and made a cameo on the Disney sitcom The Suite Life on Deck where he played Armando.[23]

In 2014, he appeared in a short called All's Fair, directed by Todd Strauss-Schulson.[24]

In 2020, Willman had a cameo in the film Magic Camp, which he also served as the magic consultant for.

Philanthropy

Willman is the magic director and serves on the board of directors for the nonprofit organization MagicAid, a 501(c)(3) based out of New York.[25]

References
  1. "Justin Willman Official Facebook Page". facebook.com. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  2. "Comedian Justin Willman and His Bride Follow Drunk History Parody with Magical First Dance". PEOPLE.com. Retrieved January 28, 2018.
  3. "Justin Willman Official Facebook Page". facebook.com. Retrieved April 1, 2020.
  4. Ray, Shiladitya (May 13, 2020). "Magic for Humans Season 3: Release Date, Host, New Season 2020, Netflix". The Cinemaholic. Retrieved May 24, 2020.
  5. "Justin Willman Sleight of Mouth on Comedy Central". CC.com. Retrieved January 2, 2020.
  6. Early start as a magician helped by Dr, www.all-about-magicians.com, retrieved September 27, 2013
  7. "JUSTIN WILLMAN | First Avenue". first-avenue.com. Retrieved September 8, 2018.
  8. "Justin Willman Is One Magical Lion". Emerson College Today. February 20, 2020.
  9. Vankin, Deborah (December 9, 2011), LA times article – Magic Meltdown show, www.latimes.com, retrieved September 27, 2013
  10. Magic Meltdown webseries for Nerdist, www.nerdist.com, retrieved September 27, 2013
  11. Performance at the White House, www.daytondailynews.com, retrieved September 27, 2013
  12. "Welcome to Time Out". Archived from the original on July 14, 2014. Retrieved July 9, 2014.
  13. Food Network Bio, Food Network, archived from the original on October 4, 2013, retrieved June 4, 2020
  14. Cupcake Wars Show Page, Food Network, retrieved September 27, 2013
  15. Halloween Wars Show Page, Food Network, retrieved September 27, 2013
  16. Fledgling Hub kids network sets skein, Variety, archived from the original on October 4, 2013, retrieved September 27, 2013
  17. Laura Prudom (April 17, 2013), Disney Channel brings back games show Win, Lose or Draw, HuffPost, retrieved September 27, 2013
  18. Justin Willman Lands Comedy Central Special from Chris Hardwick, Variety, retrieved June 16, 2016
  19. "Magic for Humans with Justin Willman on Netflix August 17, 2018". Brian Harrington. Retrieved July 10, 2018.
  20. "Magic for Humans with Justin Willman". Netflix. Retrieved January 31, 2020.
  21. Willman, Justin [@Justin_Willman] (January 17, 2020). "Magic for Humans got picked up for a SEASON 3!!! So cool hearing @jimmyfallon announce the news last night. Thank you all for your support. New episodes coming in MAY!! 🤪 #MagicForHumans @netflix @FallonTonight" (Tweet). Retrieved April 1, 2020 – via Twitter.
  22. "Sugar Rush Season 3: Who Are Guest Judges Fortune Feimster, Justin Willman and Tyler Posey?". ScreenRant. August 3, 2020. Retrieved August 14, 2020.
  23. Behind the Scenes Suite Life Deets, www.m-magazine.com, retrieved September 27, 2013
  24. "All's Fair - Short Film". www.shortoftheweek.com.
  25. "MagicAid". magicaid. Retrieved February 21, 2020.
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