There are magicians who perform tricks, magicians who create illusions—and then there are performers like
Rudy Coby, who seem to invent an entirely new universe for their magic.
Known as “The Coolest Magician on Earth,” Coby became one of magic's most unusual and recognizable performers by combining illusion, comedy, science fiction, comic books, bizarre characters and an imagination that seemed to have very few limits.
For audiences who discovered Coby through his television specials during the 1990s, seeing him for the first time was unlike watching almost any other magician on television.
He wasn't trying to be the next Houdini, David Copperfield or traditional tuxedo-wearing illusionist.
He was Labman.
And Labman played by his own rules.
Discovering Magic as a Child
Rudy Coby was born on April 22, 1964.
His fascination with magic began when he was around nine years old after seeing Alice Cooper's theatrical guillotine illusion. The spectacle made an enormous impression on him, and the following Christmas he received a magic set.
It changed the direction of his life.
As a youngster, Coby began performing under the name “Rudini,” but he quickly realized that he wasn't interested in simply copying the magicians who came before him.
Coby loved comic books, movies and strange characters, and he wanted his magic to reflect those interests.
Eventually, the conventional magic props began disappearing from his act.
In their place came bizarre costumes, homemade creations and an entirely new character.
The Birth of Labman
Coby created an alter ego called Labman, a strange scientific superhero who looked as though he had stepped directly out of a comic book.
With towering hair, dark glasses and an unmistakable pose, Labman became instantly recognizable.
The character also gave Coby permission to build an entire world around his magic.
Instead of presenting one unrelated illusion after another, Coby could populate his performances with strange inventions, robots, scientific experiments and unusual characters.
One of his most famous creations became the Four-Legged Man.
The illusion gave Coby the appearance of having four functioning legs and became one of the signature images of his career.
It was weird.
It was funny.
It was visually unforgettable.
Most importantly, it was unmistakably Rudy Coby.
The Three-Minute Act That Changed His Life
Years later, Coby explained an important lesson from his career that every aspiring magician could probably learn from.
A magician doesn't necessarily need thousands of tricks.
Sometimes they need one incredible act.
Coby developed what he called his “Three Minute Act” philosophy—the idea that a performer should concentrate on developing a short, powerful piece featuring an original character and original material.
For Coby, that piece was his Four-Legged Man routine.
Once he had that act, his career exploded internationally.
Coby later recalled that during the first year after developing it, he traveled to approximately 40 countries. Over the course of his career, that number grew to more than 80.
It's a fascinating lesson in creating magic.
Technical knowledge is important, but knowing hundreds of tricks doesn't necessarily make someone memorable.
Creating something audiences have never seen before can.
Becoming “The Coolest Magician on Earth”
Coby's unusual approach eventually attracted television attention.
In 1995, American audiences were introduced to Rudy Coby: The Coolest Magician on Earth, a primetime FOX television special.
This wasn't simply a television recording of a magic show.
It was closer to a live-action comic book.
Magic, characters, comedy and storylines collided as Labman encountered bizarre situations and performed increasingly strange illusions.
The special included Coby's robotic assistant Nikki Terminator and the kind of deliberately over-the-top magic that had become his trademark.
A second television special, Rudy Coby: Ridiculously Dangerous, followed in 1996.
For young magicians watching television during that era, Coby represented something important.
He proved that a magician didn't have to look—or perform—like everybody else.
A Cult Following
Coby's unusual style developed a devoted following beyond television.
During the mid-1990s, Coby and his troupe performed an extended 13-week engagement at Detroit's Gem Theatre, an unusually long run fueled in part by the cult following surrounding his performances.
His shows have sometimes been described less like conventional magic performances and more like science-fiction theater.
That description makes sense.
Watching Rudy Coby can feel like watching a comic book, B-movie, mad-scientist experiment and magic show collide onstage.
Even traditional illusions become something different after passing through Coby's imagination.
Stepping Away From Magic
Despite his success, Coby eventually stepped away from performing for many years.
He later explained that magic had stopped being fun.
After achieving many of the goals he'd dreamed about as a child—including television specials and performing around the world—the business surrounding entertainment began to overshadow the thing that had originally attracted him to magic.
Coby largely disappeared from the magic scene.
But his creativity didn't disappear.
Instead, it found another outlet.
Rudy Coby and Marilyn Manson
One of the most unusual chapters of Coby's career came through his friendship and collaboration with rock performer Marilyn Manson.
Coby became involved behind the scenes with Manson's productions, bringing his knowledge of magic, theatrical effects and bizarre visual creations into the world of rock concerts.
Elements inspired by Coby's creations—including unusual body illusions and robotic effects—found their way into Manson's stage productions.
For Coby, working in someone else's theatrical universe helped reconnect him with the creativity and childhood sense of wonder that had originally attracted him to magic.
Eventually, he began feeling the pull toward performing again.
The Return of Labman
After a lengthy hiatus, Coby returned to live magic around 2009.
In 2010, he presented Magic vs. Science at Hollywood's famous Magic Castle, transforming the venue into a world of magicians, mad scientists and unusual experiments.
It was exactly the kind of comeback audiences might expect from Labman.
Not simply another magic show.
An experience.
Coby continued performing and sharing the creative philosophy that helped make him successful in the first place.
Rudy Coby's Influence on Magic
Rudy Coby's contribution to magic goes beyond any particular illusion.
His career demonstrates the importance of identity.
Magicians spend enormous amounts of time asking:
How does this trick work?
Coby's career suggests another question may be even more important:
Why should the audience remember YOU performing it?
The Four-Legged Man isn't simply memorable because it's a clever illusion.
It's memorable because it belongs inside the strange universe Rudy Coby created.
Labman isn't simply a costume.
He's a character.
And Coby's television specials weren't simply collections of tricks.
They were extensions of that character's world.
That approach anticipated something increasingly important for modern performers: developing a recognizable identity rather than simply assembling a collection of good tricks.
Still “The Coolest Magician on Earth”
Decades after audiences first encountered Labman, footage from Rudy Coby's television appearances continues circulating among magicians and magic fans.
There's a reason.
The material still looks strange.
It still looks different.
And perhaps most importantly, it still looks like Rudy Coby.
In an art form where performers have spent centuries making cards disappear, people float and assistants vanish, creating something audiences immediately associate with one magician is an extraordinary accomplishment.
Rudy Coby did exactly that.
He took his childhood fascination with magic, comic books, science fiction and strange characters and combined them into something uniquely his own.
The result was Labman, the Four-Legged Man, unforgettable television specials and a career that took his magic around the world.
Not bad for a kid who once called himself Rudini.
And after all these years, “The Coolest Magician on Earth” still seems like a pretty appropriate title.
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