Michael Bairefoot: Using His Illusion | Working for a Living

Michael Bairefoot decided to become a magician at age 6, after he saw his father make a quarter vanish.

He told The Surge that he was from DC, but after a well-placed pause added that it stood for Darlington County. He attended Francis Marion University on a tennis scholarship and was a political science major, transferring from Benedict College in Columbia after his first year.

Bairefoot, now 47, moved to Myrtle Beach in 1993, after already working summers at Thee DollHouse.

“It was a straight magic show like a show you would see in Vegas with the girls dancing and the guy doing magic,” he said.

His reasoning for gravitating here made sense.

“To make a living at what I do, you’ve got to be close to a seashore. You need a place where you have got tourists and a place that has a venue.”

That methodology seems to work for him. He has been performing close-up magic at Angelo’s Steak & Pasta for 17 years – currently from 6 p.m. – 8 p.m. Mondays, Tuesdays, Fridays and Saturdays.

He does bigger magic shows at two other venues.

“Sundays and Wednesdays I am at the Landmark Resort [for four years running]. Thursday nights I am at Ocean Lakes Campground, and I have been working with them for almost 20 years,” he said.

Over the years, Bairefoot has won multiple awards and has traveled far afield, performing at spots like the Magic Castle, a renowned private club for magicians in Hollywood – a gig that came about after one of the Castle’s founders, the late Irene Larsen, saw him perform in at the Canadian Association of Magicians’ convention in 2005 – a performance that snagged him a first-place win in the close-up category. He also garnered a second-place award there for stage magic.

“She thought I was so hilarious that they brought me out there,” he said, adding that comedy is a major component of his act.

“I am a comedy magician, but close-up magic is what I blow people away with.”

Other awards include a first place in close-up magic at Magic at the Beach in Myrtle Beach in 2010, first place in stage magic at Magic at the Beach in 2013, a People’s Choice Award in 2013 at the Winter Carnival of Magic in Pigeon Forge, Tenn., and a stage champion win from the South Carolina Association of Magicians in 2005. He was the only magician to win three categories at the International Battle of Magicians in Canton, Ohio.

And that’s only scratching the surface. The list of awards on his web site [www.123magicshow.com ] is dizzying.

He was a two-time president of the local chapter, or ring, of the International Brotherhood of Magicians, of which he still a member. He is also a member of SAM – the Society of American Magicians.

And unlike the military, 4F is a good thing for him – in this case Eddie Fechter’s Finger Flicking Frolic – a close-up magic organization, of which he is also a member.

“Every year, they pick 100 people in the world to go to this convention in New York,” he said. “I am one of those guys. I have been three times and was asked to perform each time, so I have my ‘Doctorate’ degree of magic from 4F.”

He is working on debuting an alter-ego called “Mr. VIP.”

“He’s a magician that’s been frozen and is back from the disco era – and he comes down with a big afro and big bellbottomed pants. The whole act is based around a guy who is from the 70s and he’s Mr. VIP because he used to be cool because he hung out at Studio 54. He’s going to be hitting the town next, and he can go into a sit-com somewhere. That character can actually be tailored to go into these big theatres – come in, do 20 minutes at the most – and leave.”

Bairefoot hits up the comedy circuit as well, and competed last year at the Comedy Cabana.

Because his original business card at age 6 was “Magic by Mike,” does this qualify him as the original Magic Mike?

“He stole that from me,” he said. “At the beginning of my show, I say, ‘Ladies – I’m sorry if you came here expecting to see Magic Mike, but since the movie it’s been downhill for me.”

This story was originally published July 11, 2016 at 2:53 PM with the headline "Michael Bairefoot: Using His Illusion | Working for a Living."