Baldwin High Grad Hitting it Big as Magician

Some magicians never give away their secrets. Others have none. Lee Terbosic, a 2001 graduate, definitely falls somewhere in the middle. Though, that's the only thing average about Lee.

Part-magician, part-comedian – "magidian" as he calls it – Terbosic has been doing card tricks since he was 12. Now 28, he still plays with cards, but he'll play with your mind, too. He even guessed this writer's favorite color just by reading his thoughts – twice actually, despite the writer's best attempts to foil the prestige.

Terbosic saw a magic show at a friend's birthday party when he was growing up in the Lincoln Place community of the City of Pittsburgh. He's been hooked ever since and eagerly began to hone his craft.

Not long after, he landed his first paying gig when he impressed an employee at a Lincoln Place Pizza Hut while showing his friends a few tricks. The employee made him an offer.

If $50 per night to entertain diners wasn't enough to entice the then 13 year old, all the pizza that he could eat was the clincher. And just like that, Terbosic was in show business, performing at the restaurant every Tuesday night. He even made business cards and landed other gigs, doing community days and Boy Scout functions around the same time.

Lee and his family moved to the in time for ninth grade, which brought him to Baldwin High School.

A self-described nomad who spends much of his time performing on the road, Lee still maintains an address at his family's townhome on Palace Court, just off of Churchview Avenue in North Baldwin. In fact, he runs his business, Lee Terbosic Productions, from the building.

"Every dollar I've made has been from amazing people," he says. "In high school, I was lucky enough to get enrolled in entrepreneurship classes. I knew really fast that 'show business' was two words. Obviously, the show is fun, but you gotta have a business background.

"I was in FBLA [Future Business Leaders of America] at Baldwin. And the entrepreneurship class I had was one of the toughest classes that you could take. I had to write a business plan in that class, so I wrote a business plan on myself. You line up all of your competition, what you expect to make, what if 'this' happens, the insurance side of it. It's more or less a give-and-take on your industry – how much you know about it, how much more you could know about it. You learn about all of the variables in your industry, and you try to write a business plan based on it. I remember submitting it as a 12th-grader and doing very well."

Not only did Terbosic learn how to make a living while in high school, he also practiced a lot – of soccer that is. And track & field.

Terbosic played four years of soccer and indoor and outdoor track & field for the Highlanders, but he still found time and unique ways to show off his true passion while balancing school and sports.

He established somewhat of a cult following at Baldwin High, especially among its student-athletes, when he would pass time on away trips by showing his teammates tricks on the bus. He also made long hours of track meets like the Baldwin Invitational go by much faster by entertaining any passers-by while he and his teammates relaxed in a large purple-and-white tent. Even some of his competitors would stop and watch his quick hands before watching his quick feet pass them by on the track a little later.

The high school also offered Terbosic formal ways to show off his magic with the occasional talent show, but once he graduated, it was completely up to him to find more ways to make appearances (and money) through his trade.

He built his career the old-fashioned way – networking and never turning down a gig. After nearly a decade of experience now after high school, not to mention grabbing a bachelor's degree in marketing from Robert Morris University along the way, Terbosic can afford to be a bit more selective.

Still, with the way the economy's been, he never quite knows what his monthly income will be. Not that he's complaining. After all, he knew exactly what he was getting into and has made friends that offer him advice and help him make connections.

"Another magician from Pittsburgh named Paul Gertner has been my mentor," he says, "and I've become great friends with a comedian out in [Los Angeles] named Mark Eddie [who hails from Pittsburgh]. Whenever I go out to L.A. to perform, I stay with [Eddie]. He even made a phone call and got me involved with the Pat Tillman Foundation."

(The Pat Tillman Foundation honors the late professional football player and U.S. Army soldier by providing aid to military veterans and their families.)

It was at a Tillman Foundation event that Terbosic met another celebrity who was kind enough to give him his time. After Terbosic performed voluntarily at the event for green-room celebrities, another performer – Gene Simmons from KISS – was impressed enough with him that he began to show Terbosic around to other celebrities, including Simmons' family – the cast of the "Gene Simmons: Family Jewels" reality show on the A&E Network.

The show's directors approached Terbosic after filming him and informed him that the footage may indeed air on "Family Jewels" in 2011.

Time will tell if Terbosic's footage is left on the "Family Jewels" cutting-room floor or if he'll catch a break there. Though if he doesn't catch that break, he'll simply keep making breaks on his own. That's show business, and he's gotten used to it.

It won't have to be Terbosic against the world, though. While he can still find business independently, agent David Sedelmeier of Talent Network Inc., now represents Terbosic as well. Talent Network also counts WDVE-FM Morning Show co-host Jimmy Krenn among its clients, not to mention national stars like Howie Mandel and Jay Leno.

You can view Terbosic's website here.

He also showed the Baldwin-Whitehall Patch some of his best close-up tricks during lunch at Dave & Buster's Restaurant in Homestead, Pa., right across the street from the Improv, another of his many venues. Those videos are available near the top of this page.

In an industry where you're never guaranteed work, Terbosic, one of the Cystic Fibrosis Foundation's 2009 Pittsburgh's 50 Finest honorees, has at least found this to be always true: When he's on top of his game, he makes a lasting impression on those who have met him.

"I've gotten quite a few standing ovations over the years," he says. "That's pretty powerful. The standing ovation I believe is one of the most sincere things that you can do for a performer … to show respect. Applause is great. Everybody will applaud you in one way or another, but if you can get someone to stand out of their seat to give you a standing ovation, that's when you know that you've done something pretty cool."

He also knows that the best way to leave an audience is open-ended.

"Always leave them wanting more. That's the staple of every performer."

On that note …