Joe M. Turner
Encyclopedia
Joe M. Turner is an American
magician
, mentalist
, and professional speaker
. Based in Atlanta, he is widely respected as a leader in the field of corporate magic as well as an authority on the process of customizing magic performances, keynotes and seminars for trade shows, product launches, and other marketing efforts, conferences, or corporate events. He frequently incorporates magic and mentalism into keynote addresses as a motivational speaker
for corporate and private groups, speaking on topics of memory training
, change management, and creativity. He was one of only six performers selected to represent various aspects of the magic industry on the CNN Headline News
feature "A Day of Magic." His performances have also been featured on Good Morning America
and Nightline, as well as on numerous local programs in the United States and abroad.
Turner is best known within the magic industry as a columnist for Genii
magazine. He is the first native Mississippi
an and the first Georgia
magician to perform in all three showrooms at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, California. He has appeared at Monday Night Magic in New York City
and at the Dickens Parlor Theater at the Tropicana Atlantic City. He was named IBM/SAM Greater Atlanta Magician of the Year for 2000 and again for 2010, and FEA Atlanta Magician of the Year for 2009. His primary performance expertise is in the field of sleight-of-hand card magic, though his performances have increasingly incorporated mentalism and para-psychological illusions as well.
Turner and his wife have two children and live near Atlanta.
and grew up in nearby Brandon. His early years were marked with interest in magic, music, and acting. He was fascinated with the televised magic performances of Doug Henning
and David Copperfield
. He cites Johnny Carson
, Dick Van Dyke
, Red Skelton
and Victor Borge
as additional influences on his style.
Turner attended Mississippi State University
where he was awarded one of the first Schillig Leadership Scholarships. While a student at Mississippi State, Turner earned a 1989 summer undergraduate fellowship to study nuclear physics
at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
. He spent evenings in Oak Ridge as the pianist/music director at the local theater. During the summers of 1991 and 1992 he was awarded music direction and performance internships at Maine State Music Theatre
. He later wrote and composed the stage musical BankNote$. He had leading and supporting roles in numerous productions and was awarded Outstanding Performance by an Actor in 1991 and Outstanding Director in 1992. In 1991 he was named to the Mississippi State University Hall of Fame in recognition of his various academic, artistic, and leadership achievements.
Turner graduated summa cum laude in 1992 with a B.S. in physics/chemistry education, also completing significant additional coursework in astrophysics, music and theater. This crossover of interests and aptitudes has been a continuing theme in his work and in his ability to synthesize a variety of messages into cohesive presentations. He now serves on the selection committee for the Mississippi State University Distinguished Scholars program, which encompasses the original Schillig program plus other subsequently endowed scholarships.
. He began this career in 1993 with Andersen Consulting (now Accenture
) in Atlanta, where he was promoted twice and became a manager in the firm’s change management practice. He left that position in 1998 to become a Vice President at Bank of America
, working on similar human performance and communication issues within the Business Practices Integration division. He left the bank in 2000 to pursue a career as an entertainer and entrepreneur
.
. After a selection process that involved numerous professional magicians and magic consultants across the United States, Turner was engaged by CMI (a division of Clear Channel Entertainment), The Coca-Cola Company
, and Reading is Fundamental
to design, write, direct, and train performers to use magic in a project to promote literacy among school-age children. This project, the Storytraveler Illusion Show, was tied to Coca-Cola’s sponsorship of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
and other films in that series. Turner's magic consulting work on that project helped it to win a silver Reggie Award in the "Best Cause-Related Promotion" category from the Promotion Marketing Association in 2002.
Turner subsequently became a regular speaker and performer for The Coca-Cola Company at events at their Atlanta headquarters. He has also created customized magic at trade shows, meetings and conferences for a variety of clients such as Microsoft
, InterContinental Hotel Group
, Industrial Information Resources, Eton Corporation
, American Water Works Association
, the Possible Woman Conference, Alcoa
, Pitney Bowes
, the Atlanta Falcons
, Biosound-Esaote, and American Honda Motor Company, as well as hundreds of other small and medium-sized companies and associations. He continues to appear at trade shows, conferences, corporate events, and public entertainment venues across the United States and internationally, billed with the title "Chief Impossibility Officer."
In addition to his corporate work, Turner starred in an ongoing one-man magic cabaret show in Atlanta's Buckhead
district from 2005 through 2008. The show, Shenanigans, was presented at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta and was highlighted as a favorite by former Atlanta mayor Sam Massell
. Turner now tours the show to small theaters and other venues around the country.
As a motivational speaker, Turner combines his magic performance skills and change management experiences to create presentations on the "magical" results that can be achieved through focus and determination. He delivers magic-enhanced keynotes on memory improvement, change management, and creative problem solving. He has been a guest speaker in college settings for both students and faculty.
Since 2001, Turner has written a product review column for Genii magazine in which he evaluates new instructional materials for professional and amateur magicians. He contributed to the magic book Scripting Magic by Pete McCabe, and has been cited in numerous other works.
Turner is a member of the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees of the International Brotherhood of Magicians
, where he also serves as Territorial Vice President for the state of Georgia. He served as the Executive Secretary of the Southeastern Association of Magicians from 2001-2002.
In February 2010, Turner was elected a member of The Magic Circle
in London, receiving the unusual and prestigious distinction of immediate advancement to the degree of Associate of the Inner Magic Circle (A.I.M.C.) with silver star.
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
magician
Magic (illusion)
Magic is a performing art that entertains audiences by staging tricks or creating illusions of seemingly impossible or supernatural feats using natural means...
, mentalist
Mentalism
Mentalism is a performing art in which its practitioners, known as mentalists, appear to demonstrate highly developed mental or intuitive abilities. Performances may appear to include telepathy, clairvoyance, divination, precognition, psychokinesis, mediumship, mind control, memory feats and rapid...
, and professional speaker
Public speaking
Public speaking is the process of speaking to a group of people in a structured, deliberate manner intended to inform, influence, or entertain the listeners...
. Based in Atlanta, he is widely respected as a leader in the field of corporate magic as well as an authority on the process of customizing magic performances, keynotes and seminars for trade shows, product launches, and other marketing efforts, conferences, or corporate events. He frequently incorporates magic and mentalism into keynote addresses as a motivational speaker
Motivational speaker
A motivational speaker or inspirational speaker is a speaker who makes speeches intended to motivate or inspire an audience. In a business context, they are employed to communicate company strategy with clarity and help employees to see the future in a positive light and inspire workers to pull...
for corporate and private groups, speaking on topics of memory training
Art of memory
The Art of Memory or Ars Memorativa is a general term used to designate a loosely associated group of mnemonic principles and techniques used to organize memory impressions, improve recall, and assist in the combination and 'invention' of ideas. It is sometimes referred to as mnemotechnics...
, change management, and creativity. He was one of only six performers selected to represent various aspects of the magic industry on the CNN Headline News
CNN Headline News
HLN, formerly known as CNN Headline News and CNN2, is a cable television news channel based in the United States and a spinoff of the cable news television channel, CNN. Initially airing tightly-formatted 30-minute newscasts around the clock, since 2005, the channel has increasingly aired long-form...
feature "A Day of Magic." His performances have also been featured on Good Morning America
Good Morning America
Good Morning America is an American morning news and talk show that is broadcast on the ABC television network; it debuted on November 3, 1975. The weekday program airs for two hours; a third hour aired between 2007 and 2008 exclusively on ABC News Now...
and Nightline, as well as on numerous local programs in the United States and abroad.
Turner is best known within the magic industry as a columnist for Genii
Genii (magazine)
Genii, The Conjurors' Magazine is the longest-running independent magazine devoted to magic and magicians in the history of the art. It was founded by William Larsen, Sr. in 1936, and run by his descendents until 1998, when it was sold to The Genii Corporation, headed by well-known magic author...
magazine. He is the first native Mississippi
Mississippi
Mississippi is a U.S. state located in the Southern United States. Jackson is the state capital and largest city. The name of the state derives from the Mississippi River, which flows along its western boundary, whose name comes from the Ojibwe word misi-ziibi...
an and the first Georgia
Georgia (U.S. state)
Georgia is a state located in the southeastern United States. It was established in 1732, the last of the original Thirteen Colonies. The state is named after King George II of Great Britain. Georgia was the fourth state to ratify the United States Constitution, on January 2, 1788...
magician to perform in all three showrooms at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, California. He has appeared at Monday Night Magic in New York City
New York City
New York is the most populous city in the United States and the center of the New York Metropolitan Area, one of the most populous metropolitan areas in the world. New York exerts a significant impact upon global commerce, finance, media, art, fashion, research, technology, education, and...
and at the Dickens Parlor Theater at the Tropicana Atlantic City. He was named IBM/SAM Greater Atlanta Magician of the Year for 2000 and again for 2010, and FEA Atlanta Magician of the Year for 2009. His primary performance expertise is in the field of sleight-of-hand card magic, though his performances have increasingly incorporated mentalism and para-psychological illusions as well.
Turner and his wife have two children and live near Atlanta.
Early years
Joe Milton Turner was born in Jackson, MississippiJackson, Mississippi
Jackson is the capital and the most populous city of the US state of Mississippi. It is one of two county seats of Hinds County ,. The population of the city declined from 184,256 at the 2000 census to 173,514 at the 2010 census...
and grew up in nearby Brandon. His early years were marked with interest in magic, music, and acting. He was fascinated with the televised magic performances of Doug Henning
Doug Henning
Douglas James Henning was a Canadian magician, illusionist, escape artist and politician.-Early life:...
and David Copperfield
David Copperfield (illusionist)
David Copperfield is an Emmy Award-winning American illusionist, and was described by Forbes as the most commercially successful magician in history. Copperfield's network specials have been nominated for 38 Emmy Awards and won a total of 21 Emmys...
. He cites Johnny Carson
Johnny Carson
John William "Johnny" Carson was an American television host and comedian, known as host of The Tonight Show Starring Johnny Carson for 30 years . Carson received six Emmy Awards including the Governor Award and a 1985 Peabody Award; he was inducted into the Television Academy Hall of Fame in 1987...
, Dick Van Dyke
Dick Van Dyke
Richard Wayne "Dick" Van Dyke is an American actor, comedian, writer, and producer with a career spanning six decades. He is the older brother of Jerry Van Dyke, and father of Barry Van Dyke...
, Red Skelton
Red Skelton
Richard Bernard "Red" Skelton was an American comedian who is best known as a top radio and television star from 1937 to 1971. Skelton's show business career began in his teens as a circus clown and went on to vaudeville, Broadway, films, radio, TV, night clubs and casinos, all while pursuing...
and Victor Borge
Victor Borge
Victor Borge ,born Børge Rosenbaum, was a Danish comedian, conductor and pianist, affectionately known as The Clown Prince of Denmark,The Unmelancholy Dane,and The Great Dane.-Early life and career:...
as additional influences on his style.
Turner attended Mississippi State University
Mississippi State University
The Mississippi State University of Agriculture and Applied Science commonly known as Mississippi State University is a land-grant university located in Oktibbeha County, Mississippi, United States, partially in the town of Starkville and partially in an unincorporated area...
where he was awarded one of the first Schillig Leadership Scholarships. While a student at Mississippi State, Turner earned a 1989 summer undergraduate fellowship to study nuclear physics
Nuclear physics
Nuclear physics is the field of physics that studies the building blocks and interactions of atomic nuclei. The most commonly known applications of nuclear physics are nuclear power generation and nuclear weapons technology, but the research has provided application in many fields, including those...
at Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory
Oak Ridge National Laboratory is a multiprogram science and technology national laboratory managed for the United States Department of Energy by UT-Battelle. ORNL is the DOE's largest science and energy laboratory. ORNL is located in Oak Ridge, Tennessee, near Knoxville...
. He spent evenings in Oak Ridge as the pianist/music director at the local theater. During the summers of 1991 and 1992 he was awarded music direction and performance internships at Maine State Music Theatre
Maine State Music Theatre
The Maine State Music Theatre is a performing arts organization based in Brunswick, Maine, United States. Founded in 1959 as the Brunswick Summer Playhouse, it became a non-profit in 1970. In 1988 it changed to the current name to reflect its growing area of patronage. Governor John R...
. He later wrote and composed the stage musical BankNote$. He had leading and supporting roles in numerous productions and was awarded Outstanding Performance by an Actor in 1991 and Outstanding Director in 1992. In 1991 he was named to the Mississippi State University Hall of Fame in recognition of his various academic, artistic, and leadership achievements.
Turner graduated summa cum laude in 1992 with a B.S. in physics/chemistry education, also completing significant additional coursework in astrophysics, music and theater. This crossover of interests and aptitudes has been a continuing theme in his work and in his ability to synthesize a variety of messages into cohesive presentations. He now serves on the selection committee for the Mississippi State University Distinguished Scholars program, which encompasses the original Schillig program plus other subsequently endowed scholarships.
Pre-magic career
Turner’s early career was in the field of management consultingManagement consulting
Management consulting indicates both the industry and practice of helping organizations improve their performance primarily through the analysis of existing organizational problems and development of plans for improvement....
. He began this career in 1993 with Andersen Consulting (now Accenture
Accenture
Accenture plc is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company headquartered in Dublin, Republic of Ireland. It is the largest consulting firm in the world and is a Fortune Global 500 company. As of September 2011, the company had more than 236,000 employees across...
) in Atlanta, where he was promoted twice and became a manager in the firm’s change management practice. He left that position in 1998 to become a Vice President at Bank of America
Bank of America
Bank of America Corporation, an American multinational banking and financial services corporation, is the second largest bank holding company in the United States by assets, and the fourth largest bank in the U.S. by market capitalization. The bank is headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina...
, working on similar human performance and communication issues within the Business Practices Integration division. He left the bank in 2000 to pursue a career as an entertainer and entrepreneur
Entrepreneur
An entrepreneur is an owner or manager of a business enterprise who makes money through risk and initiative.The term was originally a loanword from French and was first defined by the Irish-French economist Richard Cantillon. Entrepreneur in English is a term applied to a person who is willing to...
.
Corporate magic and speaking career
Turner’s first major project as a professional corporate magician was for The Coca-Cola CompanyThe Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer, retailer and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. The company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia...
. After a selection process that involved numerous professional magicians and magic consultants across the United States, Turner was engaged by CMI (a division of Clear Channel Entertainment), The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company
The Coca-Cola Company is an American multinational beverage corporation and manufacturer, retailer and marketer of non-alcoholic beverage concentrates and syrups. The company is best known for its flagship product Coca-Cola, invented in 1886 by pharmacist John Stith Pemberton in Columbus, Georgia...
, and Reading is Fundamental
Reading Is Fundamental
Reading Is Fundamental, Inc. is the oldest and largest nonprofit literacy organization in the United States. Founded in 1966, it is based in Washington, D. C.. RIF's community volunteers in every state and U.S. territory provide 4.5 million children with 16 million new, free books and literacy...
to design, write, direct, and train performers to use magic in a project to promote literacy among school-age children. This project, the Storytraveler Illusion Show, was tied to Coca-Cola’s sponsorship of Harry Potter and the Sorcerer’s Stone
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone (film)
Harry Potter and the Philosopher's Stone, released in the United States and India as Harry Potter and the Sorcerer's Stone, is a 2001 fantasy film directed by Chris Columbus and based on the novel of the same name by J. K. Rowling. The film is the first instalment in the Harry Potter film series,...
and other films in that series. Turner's magic consulting work on that project helped it to win a silver Reggie Award in the "Best Cause-Related Promotion" category from the Promotion Marketing Association in 2002.
Turner subsequently became a regular speaker and performer for The Coca-Cola Company at events at their Atlanta headquarters. He has also created customized magic at trade shows, meetings and conferences for a variety of clients such as Microsoft
Microsoft
Microsoft Corporation is an American public multinational corporation headquartered in Redmond, Washington, USA that develops, manufactures, licenses, and supports a wide range of products and services predominantly related to computing through its various product divisions...
, InterContinental Hotel Group
InterContinental
InterContinental is a brand of upscale luxury hotels, founded by Pan American World Airways, under Juan Trippe, and now owned by InterContinental Hotels Group. The chain operates over 200 hotels and resorts in approximately 75 nations.-History:...
, Industrial Information Resources, Eton Corporation
Eton Corporation
Etón Corporation is an American company established over 25 years ago based in Palo Alto, California, formerly known as Lextronics. It is famous for its line of shortwave and emergency hand-crank radios. It also sells Grundig-branded radios in North America and Europe...
, American Water Works Association
American Water Works Association
American Water Works Association was established as an international non-profit professional organization dedicated to the improvement of water quality and supply. Founded in 1881, it claims a membership of around 56,000 members worldwide as of 2010.AWWA has become the largest organization of...
, the Possible Woman Conference, Alcoa
Alcoa
Alcoa Inc. is the world's third largest producer of aluminum, behind Rio Tinto Alcan and Rusal. From its operational headquarters in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, Alcoa conducts operations in 31 countries...
, Pitney Bowes
Pitney Bowes
Pitney Bowes Inc. is a Stamford, Connecticut-based manufacturer of software and hardware and a provider of services related to documents, packaging, mailing, and shipping, collectively referred to as mailstream. The company has approximately 36,000 employees worldwide. It is one of 87 existing...
, the Atlanta Falcons
Atlanta Falcons
The Atlanta Falcons are a professional American football team based in Atlanta, Georgia. They are a member of the South Division of the National Football Conference in the National Football League...
, Biosound-Esaote, and American Honda Motor Company, as well as hundreds of other small and medium-sized companies and associations. He continues to appear at trade shows, conferences, corporate events, and public entertainment venues across the United States and internationally, billed with the title "Chief Impossibility Officer."
In addition to his corporate work, Turner starred in an ongoing one-man magic cabaret show in Atlanta's Buckhead
Buckhead (Atlanta)
Buckhead is the uptown district of Atlanta, Georgia, United States, comprising approximately the northern one-fifth of the city. Buckhead is a major commercial and financial center of the Southeast, and it is the third-largest business district in Atlanta, behind Downtown and Midtown...
district from 2005 through 2008. The show, Shenanigans, was presented at the Grand Hyatt Atlanta and was highlighted as a favorite by former Atlanta mayor Sam Massell
Sam Massell
Sam Massell, a life-long resident of Atlanta, has had successful careers in real estate brokerage, elected office, the field of tourism, and association management....
. Turner now tours the show to small theaters and other venues around the country.
As a motivational speaker, Turner combines his magic performance skills and change management experiences to create presentations on the "magical" results that can be achieved through focus and determination. He delivers magic-enhanced keynotes on memory improvement, change management, and creative problem solving. He has been a guest speaker in college settings for both students and faculty.
Since 2001, Turner has written a product review column for Genii magazine in which he evaluates new instructional materials for professional and amateur magicians. He contributed to the magic book Scripting Magic by Pete McCabe, and has been cited in numerous other works.
Awards and honors
Turner was named Greater Atlanta Magician of the Year for both 2000 and 2010. He was honored with the IBM Ring 9 President’s Award in 2002. He was named FEA Atlanta Magician of the Year 2009. He was the first performer ever to win both the Doyne Michie Award for Excellence in Close-Up Magic and the J.C. Doty Award for Excellence in Stage Magic. He remains the only Georgia magician ever to appear in all three major showrooms at the Magic Castle in Hollywood, California: the Close-Up Gallery, the Parlor of Prestidigitation, and the Palace of Mystery. He also won numerous awards in competitions at local and regional magic conventions. He has twice served as a judge for the finals of the International Brotherhood of Magicians international stage magic competition, and once as a judge in the finals of the IBM close-up magic competition.Turner is a member of the Executive Committee and Board of Trustees of the International Brotherhood of Magicians
International Brotherhood of Magicians
International Brotherhood of Magicians is the world's largest organization for professional and amateur magicians, with approximately 15,000 members worldwide. The headquarters is in St...
, where he also serves as Territorial Vice President for the state of Georgia. He served as the Executive Secretary of the Southeastern Association of Magicians from 2001-2002.
In February 2010, Turner was elected a member of The Magic Circle
The Magic Circle
The Magic Circle is a British organisation, founded in London in 1905, dedicated to promoting and advancing the art of magic.- History :The Magic Circle was founded in 1905 after a meeting of 23 amateur and professional magicians at London's Pinoli's Restaurant...
in London, receiving the unusual and prestigious distinction of immediate advancement to the degree of Associate of the Inner Magic Circle (A.I.M.C.) with silver star.