Ricky Jay, American magician and actor, dies

American magician and actor Ricky Jay has died of natural causes in Los Angeles, confirmed his manager.

A portrait of Jay in the New Yorker in 1993 described him as "perhaps the most gifted trick-and-bolt artist in the world", able to baffle even his fellow magicians with his skill.

The artist has also appeared in films like Boogie Nights, Magnolia and Tomorrow Never Dies.

Tributes have already begun to pour in from magicians and actors.

Penn Jilette, of Penn & Teller's magical duo, has described it as "one of the best that has ever lived," while the star of How I met your mother, Neil Patrick Harris, called his death a "deep loss".

Born in Brooklyn, Richard Jay Potash, Jay did not publicly mention his childhood and his date of birth is not exactly known, from 1946 to 1948.

He would have played for the first time in public at the age of four and played in several comedy clubs and nightclubs, considered one of the first wizards to do so.

Jay was also well known for his ability to throw cards. In the shows, he was able to cast cards in the skin of a watermelon from 10 paces.

According to information from Guinness World Records, Jay would have thrown a playing card (58 m) at a speed of 145 km / h.

Jay has appeared in several major Hollywood films.

In 1997, he played the role of terrorist Henry Gupta in Tomorrow Never Dies and appeared in director Paul Thomas Anderson's Boogie Nights. Jay also recounted parts of Anderson's work in 1999, Magnolia.

Most recently, he played Eddie Sawyer in the first season of the TV program Deadwood. He wrote the episode Jewel's Boot is made to walk for the show.

He has also worked as a consultant in Hollywood. Together with collaborator Michael Weber, he founded Deceptive Practices in the early 1990s to advise film and television productions on "Arcane Knowledge".