Criss Angel

Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos, known professionally as Criss Angel, is an American magician, illusionist, and musician born on December 19, 1967. He is best known for starring in the television series Criss Angel Mindfreak and his prominent Las Vegas stage shows. Throughout his career, he has worked as a performer, lead singer, author, and television producer.

Angel was born at Hempstead General Hospital in Hempstead on Long Island, New York, and is of Greek descent. He was raised in Elmont until fourth grade, when his family moved to East Meadow, New York. His father, John Sarantakos, owned a restaurant and doughnut shop. Angel developed an interest in magic at age seven, taking inspiration from Harry Houdini. By age 12, he gave his first paid magic performance, and by age 14, he was performing at local restaurants. After graduating from East Meadow High School, he chose to pursue a professional magic career rather than attend college, touring with performance acts and studying magic history, mysticism, music, martial arts, and dance.

Angel made his first television appearance in 1994 on the ABC primetime special Secrets. Early in his career, he collaborated with horror director Clive Barker and musician Klayton, forming the industrial band Angeldust, which released its first album in 1998. He performed stage shows and stunts in New York City, including an off-Broadway production titled Criss Angel Mindfreak at the World Underground Theatre in Times Square. In August 2002, he performed a high-profile stunt in Times Square, spending 24 hours shackled inside a water torture cell.

In 2005, Angel launched the A&E Network television series Criss Angel Mindfreak as creator, director, and executive producer. Running from 2005 to 2010, the show featured stunts such as walking on water, levitating, and surviving an exploding crate. Following this series, Angel produced and starred in various other television projects, including the Sci-Fi Channel special Supernatural, Trick'd on A&E, Phenomenon on NBC, Criss Angel BeLIEve on Spike TV, and Criss Angel's Magic with the Stars on The CW. He also authored the book Mindfreak: Secret Revelations.

Angel established a major presence in Las Vegas by partnering with Cirque du Soleil to create the stage show Criss Angel Believe at the Luxor casino, which premiered in 2008. The production was later succeeded by Criss Angel MINDFREAK LIVE!. Following a decade-long run at the Luxor, Angel opened a new MINDFREAK show in the Criss Angel Theater at Planet Hollywood in Las Vegas.

In addition to his magic career, Angel served as the lead singer for Angeldust, which released five albums. He holds multiple world records set during his magic performances and actively discourages a belief in mediumship. Angel received several industry recognitions, including being named Magician of the Decade in 2009 and Magician of the Century in 2010 by the International Magicians Society. He received a star on the Hollywood Walk of Fame in 2017 and was honored with the "Greatest of All Time" award by Vanish magazine in 2019.