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Let Us Do the Work…While You Do the Entertaining
Oz Pearlman speaks directly to America’s Got Talent judge Howard Stern during last
year’s season, where he made it to the finals.
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Ex-Detroiter, a finalist on America’s Got
Talent, to headline B’nai B’rith event.
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38 September 15 • 2016
f you call him Oz, as in the “Wizard
mance at the Berman will be treated to
of,” he won’t correct you. Mentalist
the same interactive experience.
Oz (pronounced OHs) Pearlman
“Audience members are constantly a
finally gave up trying. Fortunately for
part of the show, [involving] upwards
the Israeli-born, former Farmington
of 50 people in the crowd,” he explained
Hills resident now living in Manhattan, to me. “I create the illusion of reading
being a finalist on last year’s season of
people’s minds by analyzing their body
America’s Got Talent (AGT) has helped
language, knowing whether they’re
remedy the problem.
lying, and being able to determine
Numerous other net-
things about their behavior and
work appearances also
their past that I couldn’t possibly
have bolstered Pearlman’s
have looked up or possibly know
national profile, including
with any normal explanation.” At
a visit on the Today Show
that point, I was relieved I wasn’t
just last week. And this
interviewing him in person.
Sunday night, Sept. 18, at
Though it would make a good
the Berman Center for the
story even better, Pearlman
Performing Arts, you can
couldn’t offer up any evidence
Alan Muskovitz that his mentalist abilities were
have the opportunity to see
this “hometown boy makes
a result of some sudden super-
good” for yourself. Yours truly will
natural epiphany. As it turns out, being
warm up the crowd and emcee the
invited on stage by a magician during
event, presented by the B’nai B’rith
a family cruise, a bar mitzvah gift from
Great Lakes Region, with all proceeds
his parents, did “the trick,” if you will.
going to its College Scholarship Fund.
Simply going from audience member to
I watched Oz throughout his entire
magician’s assistant would change his
run on AGT; his performances never
life forever. Within a year, at only 14,
failed to leave me spellbound. Need a
Pearlman would make his professional
second opinion? His mentalist act is
debut and, like his cruise ship experi-
so riveting that the New York Times
ence, it was all about being at the right
declared “even skeptical viewers are
place at the right time.
won over!” You can add a national
Sam Pearlman, Oz’s father, reached
television audience in the millions
back to me by email to share his recol-
to the growing list of believers. Each
lection of how his son got his first paid
week, he upped his game on America’s
gig in 1996. It took place at a suburban
Got Talent, effortlessly appearing to
Detroit Italian restaurant; the name
telepathically plant thoughts in the
escaped him, but the circumstances are
judges’ minds. Then he would remove
still perfectly clear.
any doubt by correctly guessing, with
“While we were waiting for our food
100 percent accuracy, what they were
to come, Oz drove me crazy, saying,
thinking.
“Hey, Abba, look at this.” Sure enough,
Those attending Pearlman’s perfor-
minutes later the salt disappeared, the