Woodstock’s Joe Diamond to appear on ‘Penn & Teller: Fool Us’
For 20 years, mentalist and mind reader Joe Diamond has entertained audiences all over McHenry County, including sold-out shows at the Woodstock Opera House and performances at nightclubs, restaurants, theaters and schools across the Chicago area. But on Friday, Feb. 2, he’s bringing his unusual skills to “Penn & Teller: Fool Us” on The CW network.
“Fool Us,” which is in its 10th season, is a reality TV competition in which magicians and mentalists perform tricks in front of the legendary magician/comedian duo at the Penn & Teller Theater at the Rio in Las Vegas.
Out of hundreds of auditions a year, only 40 to 50 performers get the chance to perform each season, according to a news release. Because of the judges’ skeptical nature and disdain for psychics, few of the contestants selected are mentalists or mind readers. However, after auditioning every season for more than 10 years, Joe Diamond was finally selected to perform for the show biz legends.
“To be invited to perform on that very same stage, with Penn & Teller sitting next to me at the card table, was a dream come true,” Diamond said in the release. “Things like this don’t happen to every kid born in a small town like Woodstock. I’m so incredibly blessed.”
Diamond said he started performing magic as a child, and became interested in mind reading and psychic phenomena when a relative taught him how to read tarot cards. His parents took him to see David Copperfield’s show when he was 11. And when he was 20, he saved money to fly to Las Vegas so he could sit in the front row of Penn & Teller’s theater to watch their famous Bullet Catch.
This will be Diamond’s first network TV appearance. He’s been seen on Chicago and cable television before, including streaming appearances on ABC-7, WCIU, WGN, Showtime, The Movie Channel and Netflix. He’s even done mind reading over the radio on national shows like “Coast to Coast AM.”
He’s been seen by millions on YouTube channels such as the Modern Rogue, Whiskey Tribe and ScamNation. It was one of those videos that caught the eye of the television producers and convinced them to fly Diamond to Las Vegas to try to read the minds of Penn Jillette and his show biz partner of over 40 years, Teller.
The upcoming installment with Diamond is titled “The Youngest Act in ‘Fool Us’ History.” Other featured magicians include Giancarlo Bernini, Rachel Ling Gordon and Mr. Triton.
Later in February, Diamond will do a talkback and Q&A about his onscreen appearance and will share behind-the-scenes secrets from performing in Las Vegas. Doors will open at 6 p.m., and the Q&A will begin at 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 20, at Stage Left Café, 125 W. Van Buren St., Woodstock.
The event will be hosted and moderated by Anthony Barnhart, associate professor of psychological science at Carthage College in Kenosha, Wisconsin. Barnhart is a founding member of the Science of Magic Association and has consulted on books such as “The Psychology of Magic” and “Sleights of Mind: What the Neuroscience of Magic Reveals About Our Everyday Deceptions.”
To learn more about Joe Diamond, visit joediamondlive.com/.
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Joe Diamond Q&A
When: 7 p.m. Tuesday, Feb. 20
Where: Stage Left Café, 125 W. Van Buren St., Woodstock