Andre Eddington, the assistant manager of equipment for the Bakersfield College football team, may appear to some as any other staff member at first glance.
But Eddington has some hidden talents and hindrances. What might go unrealized is, as Eddington said in his own handwriting, “I’m a deaf man. I’m a magician.”
Known as Andre the Magician for the majority of his 32-year long journey in performing magic, Eddington has performed for adults and children in many different venues despite having lived in Bakersfield his entire life.
At the age of 9, Andre began teaching himself how to perform magic tricks of all kinds until he was able to smoothly maneuver himself (and any captivated spectator) through every demonstration.
Whether his work involved coins, cards, balls or birds, Andre the Magician could adeptly entertain countless people.
It was this ability that first turned the head of his former manager, who noticed Eddington at a Las Vegas magic club.
Shortly after seeing Andre perform, he offered him a job at The Mirage Hotel and Casino in Las Vegas. Eddington’s career flourished in Las Vegas.
He entertained guests of The Mirage for 20 years while still living in Bakersfield through traveling there every three months. He conveys that he preferred to not live in Las Vegas full time.
While in Vegas, Andre expressed that all he would do the entire time was eat, sleep, and perform magic tricks, with practically no change in that routine.
Even though he was doing something he was passionate about and enjoyed perks, like having a limo drive him around while in Vegas, the routine could get demanding and redundant.
The fact that he is deaf does not seem to have any sort of bearing on what Andre chose to do with his career as a magician or anything else, for that matter.
He received his AA from BC in 1978 and has worked at BC since 1981. Aside from magic, Andre has also worked in sports for 27 years.
But while he is still involved in sports career-wise, Andre has forfeited his title of magician for good.
He ended his career at The Mirage due to complications from dialysis and claims to be through with magic, even though he carries a few different trick cards in his wallet.
With fluid hand movements, he can still make a coin disappear and re-appear so many times that it is almost impossible to determine where the coin will end up.
He also has a three-card trick where he presents a person with two number 10 cards and one number 4 card.
After watching Andre place all three cards face down and a few shuffles later, an audience member is asked to place a finger on top of one of the cards.
Upon doing so, Eddington lifted up the chosen card to reveal a message: Thanks for the donation – You are now an official member of the sucker club.
At 48 years old, Eddington seems content with working as an assistant equipment manager at Bakersfield College, despite his extensive background in magic.