See the 'Millionaires' Magician' travel for tricks

Steve Cohen has been dubbed "The Millionaires' Magician" because he has performed for David Letterman, Stephen Sondheim, Middle East royalty, Warren Buffett, New York Mayor Michael Bloomberg and more.

His shows in a suite at the Waldorf Astoria hotel in Manhattan are popular with the A-list, though anyone can buy a ticket and attend them. He also does "parlor magic" at more intimate "Miracles at Midnight" shows at the luxury hotel.

His signature is "Think-A-Drink" — pouring the quaff of audience members' choices from a single teakettle. Cohen tells me he can make anything from a Cosmopolitan, to cider, to Bordeaux appear for people. "Someone asked for a frozen margarita," he says. The next person ordered hot chocolate with mini-marshmallows, and Cohen fulfilled the request, he says. No, he will not give a hint about how he does it (the magician's code of secrecy, you know).

Cohen, whom you may have seen on Letterman's TV show, now has a TV special of his own, called Lost Magic Decoded, premiering tonight on the History Channel (check listings).

Vintage tricks from around the world will be spotlighted on the TV special, which takes him around the USA, to Europe and India to perform magic that in many cases has been "lost" for centuries. You'll see him catch a live bullet in his mouth, shot from a Glock with a bullet marked by an audience member so a fake one can't be substituted. Cohen, 41, says this trick has killed people who've performed it.

Then there's a jaw-dropper from India that involves a levitating rope, and more.

Cohen thinks the show will appeal to travel and history buffs as well as lovers of magic.It takes viewers to exotic places and is "about giving respect to magic," which he says is "not just a guy walking out and doing tricks."

And why are so many rich and powerful people (such as Steve Martin and the late Michael Jackson) fascinated by magic?

"When you know you can have anything, the only thing left is the mysterious," he says. It's also a way to escape and "have fun and know you can't have control" for once.

If you want to know more about Cohen or his NYC shows, visit his chambermagic.com website. Or visit the Lost Magic Decoded Facebook page.

Have any readers seen his shows and if so, what did you think?