Taylor Reed was born
on May 15, 1966, and
he grew up in Clute,
Texas.
At the age
of four, Taylor was
already sitting in
on the drums in his
father's Fifties
band. Then, as fate
would have it,
Taylor attended the
Dean Scott show
where he was
introduced to
magic. The magic
act brought an
insatiable craving
for Taylor to learn
all about the art of
illusion. Thus,
Taylor's career was
initiated at the age
of five when he
began performing
professionally in
his home town area.
As a child,
Taylor performed
in front of live
audiences from
Clute, Texas to
Las Vegas,
Nevada with a
Captivating show
designed to
dazzle
spectators of
all ages.
Taylor and his
15-member crew
traveled
throughout the
United States to
share his gift
with many
charities such
as the March of
Dimes, the Shriners, and
the Ronald
McDonald House.
While taking
time off from
touring, Taylor
performed eight
to ten shows a
week at the
Taylor Reed
Magical Dinner
Theater, where
many other
charitable
performances
were given.
Many of Taylor's
generous
performances
were covered on
television.
Taylor's devotion in
magic paid off in
1979, when he became
the Texas
Association of
Magician's Junior
Stage Magician of
the Year at the
competition in San
Antonio, Texas. The
next year, Taylor
was hired as the
finale of the show
at the convention,
which also featured
Lance Burton.
Taylor spent most of
his time growing up
practicing magic and
playing drums in his
garage. Taylor had
a
young
friend who was
dreaming of becoming
a singer, named
Selena Quintanilla,
and Taylor gave her
sister drumming
pointers. On
December 13, 1981,
Selena's father
hosted a dinner
night at his local
restaurant, Papa
Gayo's. There, the
evening "featuring
Bobby Reed's tribute
to Elvis, his son
Taylor's magic show,
and a style show" is
noted in Como la
Flor by Joe Nick
Patoski. Taylor
also had the chance
to play drums with
Selena when she won
the National Talent
Competition -
StarMania. Selena
moved on and became
a successful singer,
but her life ended
way too soon.
Taylor was one of
the lucky ones who
had the opportunity
to know her.
In addition to
performing, Taylor
has spent endless
hours creating,
designing,
directing, and
building his own
custom illusions,
such as the World's
Largest Hourglass.
Taylor was
influenced by Harry
Houdini's
death-defying water
torture cell
illusion. In this
illusion, Taylor was
covered by sand
inside an hourglass
and vanished in the
nick of
time to
reappear in the back
of the theater.
Taylor used his
drumming genius to
create and to design
the 25-Piece Drum
Set Vanish, which
transformed into a
motorcycle. These and many other
chances to create
and to design at 14
years old, allowed
Taylor to gain
respect from many of
magic's superstars
such as Siegfried &
Roy, David
Copperfield, Lance
Burton, and First
Lady of Magic,
Melinda. The media
is no stranger for
Taylor either.
Taylor has been in
various magic
magazines since his
debut in Las Vegas
at 15 years old
about his
performances
throughout the
world. Taylor has
also appeared on
various talk shows
and performed in
commercials for the
former Vacation
Village China Buffet
and China Town, both
formerly in Las
Vegas, Nevada.
Taylor made himself
a world renowned
magician by
performing 720 shows
in over six months
at the Lotte World
Theme Park in Seoul,
Korea. Performing
in Korea taught
Taylor discipline
and gave him a
chance to "polish"
his stage presence.
Vegas Lights,
a Las Vegas variety
show, was another
touring experience
for Taylor which
took Las Vegas to
various western
United States
cities. Taylor
thrilled spectators
from Washington and
Oregon to Salt Lake
City, Utah and
Pahrump, Nevada.
Since 1994, Taylor
has been putting his
creating and
designing ability to
use in his own
company, DTR
Entertainment, where
he has created sets
and props for some
of Las Vegas' most
successful
productions, such as
Las Vegas headliner
and AT&T spokesman,
Carrot Top. Taylor
also created the
entire productions
of Beyond Death's
Door, a
traveling religious
experience for the
First Baptist Church
in Amarillo, Texas.
In addition to
building items for
American clients,
Taylor has also
designed and built
magic illusions for
famous Japanese
acts. Beyond
performing and
creating, Taylor has
been technical
director for
StarMania -
America's Premiere
Talent Search, John
Stuart's Legends
in Concert,
Razzmatazz (a
Las Vegas Review),
and Whiz
Kids/Prime Time Kidz
television pilot.
Taylor Reed has
performed many
corporate events as
well, such as the
Miss Teen USA
broadcast, where he
custom designed his
magic to fit the
theme of the
productions.
Due
to his creativity
and professionalism,
Taylor is becoming
known in the
entertainment
business as the
"mastermind behind
the magic" and the
leader of corporate
magic events. In
2005, Taylor turned
his focus to
headlining in
Branson, Missouri.
According to Taylor,
with the secrets of
magic now being
revealed,
"We as magicians who truly
love the art of
magic, must dig
deeper to protect
what is ours. A
secret is not to
share with just
anyone. It is to
hold onto for
centuries to come so
magicians of today
and tomorrow can
always hear that
question that brings
a smile to their
faces - 'How did you
do it?' That's
what magic is all
about - to entertain
and to mystify the
audience."
