Raking in millions and dating A-list girls is easy. Try making stereotypes disappear.

-By Steve Kandell
-Photograph by Greg Delves

Have any theories on the illusionists' winning ways? Reveal them in the comment section

Photograph by Greg Delves

Amid the speculation as to why Britney Spears crashed and burned at the Video Music Awards in September, one explanation stuck out: Her performance lacked magic. That's what she gets for not including Criss Angel, the 39-year-old goth illusionist who was supposed to have been the creative force behind her act and, more to the point, was widely rumored in the celeblogs to be sleeping with her (both Angel and Spears deny this). A month earlier, Cameron Diaz had been named as a primary cause in Angel's divorce papers and freely admitted to having dated Angel (though she claimed he and his wife were already separated). So what does it mean that this guy—who just signed a $200 million contract with the Luxor and Cirque de Soleil and who rolled up to the premiere of the third season of his A&E series Mindfreak in a black Lamborghini—seems to be plowing through Justin Timberlake's little black book? After decades as pop culture's most reliable punch line (hello, G.O.B. Bluth), magicians—yes, you read that right—have risen like blow-dried phoenixes to become . . . cool. Remember the wiry kid in the corner of the lunchroom, begging passersby to pick a card, any card, only to get wedgied for his efforts? Well, he's finger-banging the cheerleader.