Don Wayne

Don Wayne is a designer and consultant who has developed illusions for some of the world's most famous magicians. He has also created and marketed smaller illusions used by many professional performers. He is the owner of the company Don Wayne Magic Inc., which does work for television, theater, theme parks and concert touring productions.

Wayne was named by MAGIC Magazine as one of the "most influential people in magic in the past 100 years". He has received a multitude of industry and peer awards, including The Academy of Magical Arts "Creative Fellowship", International Magicians Society "Magic Illusion Designer and Inventor of the Decade", and an Emmy Award for "Outstanding Special Visual Effects".

Famous clients

Don Wayne was David Copperfield's principal magic creator and illusion director for over 18 years, which included 17 television specials and over 800 weeks of international touring.

In conjunction with Jim Steinmeyer he developed a vanishing jet plane illusion performed by Mark Kalin and Jinger at the Reno Hilton in February 2001, which was described at the time as the largest stage illusion in the world. Wayne’s other clients have included Michael Jackson, Britney Spears, Cher, Siegfried & Roy, Andre Kole, Criss Angel, Mark Wilson, Curtis Adams, Hans Klok, Dirk Arthur, Rick Thomas, Melinda Saxe, Steve Wyrick, Murray SawChuck, Luis de Matos, Jason Byrne, Florian Zimmer and Robert Gallup.

Don Wayne (songwriter)

Donald William Choate (May 30, 1933 – September 12, 2011), who wrote and recorded as Don Wayne, was an American country music songwriter.

Don Choate was born in Nashville, Tennessee, and attended William James High School in White Bluff. He left school early and worked as a tool and diemaker, with aspirations to become a professional musician and songwriter. One of his first successes as a songwriter was "The Lonesome Waltz", co-written with Vic McAlpin and recorded by George Morgan in 1953. In 1958 Wayne recorded "Head Over Heels In Love" for the Swan label, followed the next year by "Poor Little Jimmy" for Look Records, which, though not a hit, was later recorded by both Hank Snow and Burl Ives.

His biggest successes as a songwriter included "Walk Tall", recorded by Faron Young and a big UK hit for Irish singer Val Doonican in 1964; "Saginaw, Michigan", recorded by Lefty Frizzell; "Belles of Southern Bell", a hit for Del Reeves; "If Teardrops Were Silver", recorded by Jean Shepard; and, his biggest hit, "Country Bumpkin", a #1 hit on the country chart in 1974 for Cal Smith. Smith also had hits with several more Wayne songs including “It's Time to Pay the Fiddler”, “She Talked A Lot About Texas”, and “Woman, Don’t Try To Sing My Song.” Other musicians who recorded his songs included Jim Reeves, Loretta Lynn, Conway Twitty, and Hank Williams, Jr..