Gerry McCambridge is a stage mentalist from Long Island, New York.[1]
He has been a professional mentalist for over 20 years. His father was an NYC detective and an expert at interrogation. Gerry actually learned some skills from observing his father at work. He performed his first show at the age of 12 and started touring the country at the age of 15.
He has studied memory techniques, body language, hypnosis, linguistics, statistics, law of averages, non-verbal communication, magic, acting, theatre and stand up comedy, all of which he uses in his act.[2]
Starting in October 2007 he appeared on Phenomenon with Criss Angel and Uri Geller.[3]
On June 25, 2008, Gerry McCambridge celebrated his 500th Las Vegas performance having been in that city for three years.
At the end of the 500th performance, Gary Gregg, the COO. of Hooters Casino Hotel came on stage to congratulate him. As a token of appreciation, Mr. Gregg presented him with a diamond Rolex watch. In addition, Mr. Gregg announced to that Hooters would extend his contract for another year, and that the casino would add a 6th night to his weekly performing schedule.
This makes McCambridge the longest running mentalist show in Las Vegas history.
On May 12, 2004 Gerry had his first prime-time network TV special titled "The Mentalist." Over 6.2 million viewers tuned in to watch the one hour special. The show has aired in United States, Canada, South Africa, Korea, The Middle East, New Zealand, India, Thailand, Australia, Denmark, The Netherlands, Malaysia and the United Kingdom.
From the age of 9 years old, Gerry was fascinated by magic. He started to study the art as a hobby. Years later he took his love for magic, and mixed it with the observational skills he learned from his father, a New York City Detective, to create the character of “The Mentalist.”
In the 1980s Gerry was headlining as “The Mentalist” in Comedy Clubs across the country. He also specialized in entertaining at Fortune 500 corporate events and celebrity “A-List” parties. Gerry also appeared on countless radio and TV talk shows.
In 1999, the International Magicians Society presented Gerry with the “Merlin Award” for “Mentalist of the Decade”. Gerry was the first mentalist in history to receive the Merlin award for mentalism since the organizations inception in 1968.
In 2002 Gerry wrote his first TV script titled “The Mentalist” and took it out to Los Angeles to pitch it to the networks. Jeff Zucker, the president of NBC witnessed Gerry’s live performances many times, and instantly bought the show for his network. Gerry became the creator, executive producer and star of the hit prime-time network television show "The Mentalist” which started airing to millions around the world in May 2004.
Later that summer in 2004 the Psychic Entertainers Association, an international organization of his peers, awarded Gerry for his “Outstanding Contributions to the Art of Mentalism.”
Also in the summer of 2004 Gerry performed his one man show “The Mentalist” to critical acclaim Off-Broadway in New York City and made his acting debut in the movie "Mattie Fresno and the Holofulx Universe."
In 2005 the Psychic Entertainers Association again awarded Gerry. This time he received the “Mentalist of the Year” award.
In June 2005 Gerry moved his one man show “The Mentalist” from New York City to Las Vegas. The show was an instant success in Sin City. The Las Vegas Review Journal readers poll nominated him “Best Magician” in all Las Vegas.
In October 2007 Gerry starred in the reality television series “Phenomenon” with Criss Angel and Uri Geller.
In 2008 CBS thought the concept of merging the skills of a mentalist with a detective was so interesting, they contacted Gerry and asked him to help with a weekly TV series based on that concept.
In August 2008, the International Magicians Society presented Gerry with the “Merlin Award” for “Mentalist of the Year.”
In 2009 he was voted one of the "Top 10 Absolutely Have To See" shows in Las Vegas by the Las Vegas Weekly Magazine.
In 2010 the Las Vegas Review Journal readers poll placed Gerry's show as the "Best Bargain Show in all of Las Vegas."