Meet Dan and Dave Buck, the millionaire twin magicians behind Art of Play in Kelly Clarkson row

The owners of Art of Play, Dave and Dan Buck, are currently embroiled in a bitter row with Kelly Clarkson but who actually are they? Well, as it turns out they’re actually very wealthy are very well known in the magic world so they’re certainly not your classic small shop owners. 

Daniel and David Buck, who perform under the stage name Dan and Dave, are American sleight of hand practitioners known for their contributions to cardistry. They grew up in Sonora, California, and decided at 12 that they wanted to be illusionists after watching David Copperfield on television.

After watching one of David Blaine’s street magic specials, they moved to close-up magic and eventually to card magic alone. Learning a famous cut known as the Sybil led them to card flourishing, and they spent the following years practising little else. 

In 2001 the twins released a home-made instructional VHS tape called Pasteboard Animations, filmed on a tripod-mounted camcorder and sold for $25. Several hundred copies sold during their high school years. By 2004 they had created more than 18 flourishes of their own and released them on an instructional DVD, The Dan and Dave System. The DVD is believed to have created, or hugely expanded, cardistry as an art form. A three-box follow-up, The Trilogy, came in 2007 and reportedly sold 25,000 copies worldwide at $85, netting them over $2 million from the sales. 

The pair performed their card flourishes in the 2013 film Now You See Me, which were then edited to look as though the lead character was performing them. Dave had earlier performed hand doubles for Jeremy Piven in the 2006 film Smokin’ Aces. They also performed card tricks on LazyTown Extra. In 2014 they helped organise the first Cardistry-Con in San Diego, which grew into an annual three-day event.

As for Art of Play, Dave and Dan Bruck became the owners in 2013 after founding the shop as a  subsidiary of their lifestyle brand, Dan and Dave Industries, Inc. It offers designer playing cards, some under the brothers’ own label, along with puzzles and amusements sourced from around the world. Dave Buck is CEO, and Dan Buck is listed as president.

Art of Play owners Dave and Dan Bruck have become embroiled in a public back and forth with Kelly Clarkson, and the fact the whole thing revolves around an animatronic bird is actually quite hilariously beautiful. 

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