James Brown was once dubbed the hardest working man in show business. But with nearly 300 shows a year, Roger Blakiston may give the Godfather of Soul a run for his money for that title.

Blakiston, who moved to the Village of Oak Creek six years ago, has been entertaining people for nearly 60 years with his combination of magic and comedy. Originally from England, he’s performed under the stage name of Jolly Roger ever since moving to Phoenix more than two decades ago.

“I’ve been doing magic basically all my life,” he said. “I started when I was 8 and by the time I was 12 I had my first show. People really loved what I did. I always enjoyed performing and I was just fascinated by magic as an art form. I always wondered how the heck they did their tricks. And now that I know the secrets, I try and perform them.”

By the time Blakiston really got into his craft, magic itself had hit a bit of a lull as the days of Harry Houdini and Harry Blackstone had passed. And having come from a family in which five generations of men were in the clergy, becoming a professional magician was about as far from that line of work as one could get.

“My mother always wanted me to get a proper job,” he said, laughing. “They were more keen on the idea of me becoming an actor because it was more respectable than being a magician. But as time went on they became very supportive of what I did for a living.”

Blakiston’s speciality is comedy magic, with his shows geared toward both children and adults.

“I always keep it clean and above board,” the 67-year-old said. “With my shows, the comedy comes first and the magic actually comes second. There’s also a lot of audience participation. My shows have always been popular with kids, especially boys, who seem to be more interested in magic than girls.”

According to his website, “Jolly Roger can perform his magic shows for large audiences of several hundred children of mixed ages. Although these Jolly Roger Magician shows are primarily intended for the children, the adults enjoy them as well. It is a second childhood for them, and they love to watch the children coming up on stage. They are frequently in awe when they see the smiles on their faces, and hear the uncontrollable laughter coming from the audience.

“Roger’s lively and exuberant personality comes into full play in these shows, as he romps through a series of fast paced, clever magic tricks and illusions.”  

Even though his audience — or any of those who attend a magic show — know that it’s just an illusion or a trick, Blakiston said that rarely matters to them.

“We live in an awfully violent world, so magic is a good escape for many,” he said. “It takes some to a bit of a fantasy world, while for others it takes them back to their childhood.”

As a comedy magician, Jolly Roger has performed all over the world, his website states. This includes television shows in five countries, three summer seasons in Italy, six months touring Australia, numerous trips to the Persian Gulf and 15 different cruise ships. He has also worked extensively as an actor, master of ceremonies, presenter and voice-over talent, for radio, television, commercials, industrials and live performances.

In addition to touring Australia for six months, he’s also performed for audiences in several other countries including Russia and China.

“Magic is like music, it’s an international language,” he said. “It is challenging but in those cases, I focused more on the magic than the comedy. But magic is understood and appreciated no matter where you go.”

When it comes to some of the top magicians in the business over the last two decades like David Copperfield, Siegfried and Roy, Penn and Teller, Lance Burton, and Chris Angel, Blakiston said most change their acts to keep trendy and fresh. But for others, he said the same style has worked for years so there’s no need to change things up. And while he respects all his fellow magicians, attending magic shows doesn’t have the same appeal as it may to others.

“Depending on the type of magic, I can still go and enjoy myself but I look at it from a different perspective,” he said. “The fact that I know the secrets behind most of the tricks, it does kind of spoil it a bit for me but I can still be entertained.”

Blakiston said it’s difficult to trademark a trick. So the key is to put your own twist on it to avoid looking like you’re blatantly stealing someone else’s act.

“There are a lot of thieves in the magic world who copy other people’s work all the time,” he said. “That said, there are really no new inventions when it comes to magic these days. They’re just extensions of old principles. A few years ago, big illusions were what it was all about. But now, we’re getting back more into the intimate setting with sleight-of-hand magic, which is very popular. These things all go in cycles.”

For more information on Blakiston, visit comicmagician.com.