Meet Eric “Sharpo!®” Sharp | “Sharpo!® the Magician!”

We had the good fortune of connecting with Eric “Sharpo!®” Sharp and we’ve shared our conversation below.

Hi Eric “Sharpo!®”, how does your business help the community?
Sharpo!® Magic and Mystery definitely has a a super positive impact on the community. I’m on a mission to make life more fun for everyone. Spreading the sunshine: That’s my business. That’s my work. I love that I get to help create good times and create great memories to cherish for my customers. I love to encourage people to collect experiences instead of things. I believe my performances offer a momentary escape from the ordinary or mundane and also an escape from the noise of modern life. When I perform my interactive magic and mystery shows for parties I deliver a shared experience that brings people together. Making people happy for a while, laughing together – that brings me great satisfaction.

It’s ironic, I think, that I can use magic – “the art of deception,” to illustrate the larger truth that many barriers between people are artificial. The things that keep us separated are just illusions themselves. These days people are more and more isolated in their own little worlds on social media. When I can get them to put away the phone for an hour – sometimes two hours or more – that is a huge victory in reminding them and myself that we are all in this life together and that is something to celebrate!

Alright, so let’s move onto what keeps you busy professionally?
I have had and continue to enjoy a very eclectic life as a performing artist. I am a Magician and Actor and Improviser. I have had the great fortune and opportunity to be spend my life doing this as well as as writing plays, composing music and producing theater and events. It all goes into the soup. Being an actor has strengthened my magic show presentation and being a magician has made made my acting performance more disciplined and focused. Writing and creating a lot of my own routines sets me apart from a lot of others because my performances are unique.

I confess that I have always felt the need to reinvent the wheel. I think they call it outsider art. I do my own thing. I read voraciously and have an overactive imagination. That helps the work too! It sparks ideas and hopefully innovative approaches to magic routines. I am fortunate too to be almost 60 and healthy – knock wood! I have lived a life! How can we expect to express the human condition if we don’t go out there and live?

I have always sought to use my work to make that human connection. I have brought my performances to the high and mighty, rich and powerful and to everyday folks like you and me. This isn’t bragging and I mention it only to illustrate a point – that people are people. The human condition is universal among us. I look for that humor. To be be human is to have humor. No one gets out of this life alive so I try to tap into that in order to create a conduit of shared humanity.

No, my journey has not been easy. I don’t think anyone really lives on Easy Street. Lol. I was a sickly child and bullied a lot. We grew up with very little money and so there was always some financial insecurity. I was a troubled youth and had a difficult time in school. I am not complaining! I chose my life path. It really was the only way for me. I have never regretted it. In many ways it helped me a lot because I learned to live lean when I needed to.

I got a lot of breaks, too. I was lucky! I got cast in TV Shows and Movies. Bit roles – but remember there are no small parts, just short actors, ha! Ultimately I wasn’t satisfied though with the roles I was getting but I loved creating my own act for live audiences because I got to be the star of my own show. Of course, starting out on my own, I was what you might call, severely under-capitalized. So, building the brand wasn’t easy. And then there is the stress of living up to your own brand. You are only as good as your last show! Every audience deserves the absolute best you can deliver. That is a tremendous amount of energy put into every show. I put my brand Sharpo!® on everything I put out there so the stakes are always personally very high for me! I don’t mind bit roles these days in Hollywood productions. I enjoy every minute of being part of that now and there is a lot less pressure since I don’t have to carry the show on those gigs.

I have been at it now for thirty plus years and, its still thrilling for me to perform live on stage, or at parties and in film, TV and all of it. It’s exhilarating and after so many years I know that I know what to do so I can relax a little and just do the work with gusto.

I would say this to those who choose to live the life of a performing artist: One size doesn’t fit all. Everyone’s journey is different. Embrace you path and have a life outside of it too. And do not compare your career with anyone else’s . You are the only you there is so there is no comparison! One more thing: Do this thing to be of service to others. Create value and have the goal to add enrichment to other people’s lives. That will bring you more satisfaction than any vanity project might bring.

Any places to eat or things to do that you can share with our readers? If they have a friend visiting town, what are some spots they could take them to?
You know I am going to say the Magic Castle – if you can snag an invite from a member! I would also recommend a studio tour. Universal or Warner Brothers, maybe. That is what built this town after all.

Can you see a show at the Pantages? If so, that is amazing and special.

Then I would invite you to go up to fabulous LeChene, French Cuisine in Santa Clarita, to see my famous Sharpo!® Mystery and Magic Show.

Better plan a day at the Beach too! My favorite is Will Rogers State Beach but if you are coming in from out of town you really need to go to the pier at Santa Monica and walk around Venice.

I love the El Cid Dinner Theater too, in Silver Lake. Its a fantastic historic venue.

Feel like driving a little? The haunted and historic Glen Tavern Inn in Santa Paula is about an hour’s drive. I have done many overnight Murder Mystery and magic shows there and it is very special.

Finally take a small nature break in Griffith Park and maybe visit the observatory.

That’s probably your whole week. If you have more time, the Getty Museum of course! The City of Angels has it all. It is a magical and wonderful place.

Shoutout is all about shouting out others who you feel deserve additional recognition and exposure. Who would you like to shoutout?
My audiences have been my greatest teachers over the past three decades. It is said that if you just listen to your audience and make adjustments over many shows, they will write your whole act! I believe that to be true. We can study, research, practice for countless hours but it must all be honed by actual flight time – actual time performing your craft in front of real audiences. Honing the act, polishing the act – that never stops. You’re never done with improving the thing.

That said, I have heroes in the world of entertainment, as we all do, that have influenced me greatly throughout my life. The superstar actors, magicians, musicians and entertainers who have reached millions of people worldwide through their work have certainly affected me! Listing them all would be impossible – especially since I have had the joy of working in several different entertainment fields: As a rock and roller, an actor, a writer, theater and event producer and my favorite thing: Magician! Each of these disciplines have provided me with many wonderful teachers and guides. Then there are life teachers too! My parents, my children and my children’s mother – they have all been instrumental in making me who I am today.

In the spirit of this being a Shout-out Series I will name Kathy Reed & John Dwyer from Kathy Reed Productions, LLC back in Monmouth County, New Jersey. They gave me my first paid gig in front of an audience. I did a lot of shows with their wonderful company before coming to California.

Here in Hollywood I would say the Magic Castle and all the members of the magic community! That is a very supportive environment. Jack Goldfinger, the director of entertainment there, (and a living legend in magic) helped me immeasurably by booking me into the close up gallery there. Everyone knows that the Magic Castle is like Broadway for Magicians and being a showroom performer there has really opened up a lot of opportunities for me.

Can’t forget my television and film agent, Mimi Mayer from Angel City Talent. She is a rare breed. She really cares deeply about the people she represents and she believes in me. That is huge! If you see me on TV or in the Movies she has a lot to do with it!

I should also thank Maura Hanlon Smith of Celebration Entertainment, LLC. She has booked me on countless events over the years. She is a joyful person who is also dedicated to spreading the sunshine. Her tireless positive attitude and optimism is so contagious.

“Acme” Adam Lieblein, the Hollywood agent, turned comedian, turned agent again, got me several breaks in Sitcom TV in the 1990s and he continues to help and guide a lot of people in the biz.

Like I said, I can go on and on. If you like my work, it is the result of an army of teachers and mentors and guides who I am channeling through my performance. Sometimes a person will say just one little thing in passing that someone else hears and it is a key that helps them through their whole lives! When the student is ready the teacher appears, right? I am forever a student of life and I thank you all for teaching me how to play this wonderful, mysterious, crazy and challenging game of life.

Website: https://Sharpo.com

Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/Sharpo_Magic

Facebook: https://Facebook.com/Sharpo

Youtube: https://YouTube.com/Sharpo