Alain Nu is an American mentalist, illusionist, television personality, author, and speaker. He is known for demonstrations of ESP, mind reading, telekinesis, metal bending, and illusions. Nu's career as an entertainer has spanned more than three decades, with performances and appearances in many countries. Nu's trademarked brand is "The Man Who Knows."
Early life
Nu was born on 21 August 1965 in San Francisco, California. His mother and father were from China and Vietnam respectively. Nu is the son of Hoa Nguyen, a retired librarian of the Library of Congress, and Janet C. Nguyen, a retired librarian of the National Library of Medicine. At the age of 5, Nu's family moved to Ithaca, New York, and at the age of 8, Nu's family moved to Bethesda, Maryland, a suburb of Washington, DC. Nu has lived in the Washington, DC, area ever since. It is stated in the book State of Mind, "As a youth, his interest in the unknown manifested in anything he could research and/or get away with -- basement seances, UFO clubs, and playfully testing he and his friends' psychic ability with playing cards. He asked his father, who worked at the Library of Congress, to bring home hard-to-find books on magic, strange phenomena, and parapsychology, so he could learn as much as possible about these topics." Nu, at an early age of 6 or 7 discovered that he wanted be an excellent magician. He was always identified different due to his ethnicity so he started to identify those things that welcomed his distinction. At the age of 13, Nu became a member of DeMolay International, a fraternal organization for young men, later achieving the elected position of master councilor of the Samuel Gompers and Potomac Chevy Chase DeMolay chapters.
Performing career
At the age of 19, Nu was hired as the stage/road manager for a theatrical illusion show entitled the Denny & Lee show, which performed at clubs, resorts, corporate events, and universities across the U.S. Nu set up the equipment and ran the sound and lights for the show. From 2000 to 2004, Nu performed annually in a show titled The Mysterious World of Alain Nu at Caesars Palace in Las Vegas, Nevada. In 2005, Nu was the subject of a series of four television specials on TLC entitled The Mysterious World of Alain Nu. Nu performed for inaugural balls for both of President Barack Obama's inaugurations and helped organize entertainment for the friends and families of the many surviving Medal of Honor recipients for The American Legion's Presidential Inaugural Ball. He also performed at the second of George W. Bush's inaugural events. Nu also performed three times at the vice president's residence during Al Gore's tenure. In 2006, Nu performed a show called Circus of the Mind at the National Theatre in Washington, DC. From 2008 to 2012, Nu toured with a one-man show entitled Invisible Connections. In 2010, Nu performed the show for six weeks in Las Vegas. He also performed the show at universities and colleges, high school "Project Graduation" events, corporate and private events, and organizations' fundraisers. Since 2011, Nu has performed an annual show entitled The ESP in Espionage at the International Spy Museum in Washington, DC. The show was inspired by the Stargate Project, the trickery of spies, and other top secret projects. From January to May 2014, Nu was a headliner performing as the premier mind-reader at the "Illusionarium" aboard Norwegian Cruise Line's Norwegian Getaway. The "Illusionarium" is an entertainment venue devoted to magic and illusion performances. Since 2016, Nu has been a producer and performer for a comedy open mic and magic show Monday nights at Madam's Organ Blues Bar in the Adams Morgan neighborhood of Washington, DC. Nu has had a long history, off and on, at Madam's Organ since 1995. In 2000, Eric Brace of The Washington Post called Nu, "a magician of the highest order". In 2017, Nu became The Watergate Hotel's "Resident Man of Mystery," performing at the rooftop restaurant In February 2018, Nu was featured in a video on The Washington Post's website, in which he bent a spoon and performed effects. The video accompanied a feature article on Nu for The Washington Post Magazine's "Just Asking" column. Nu performed a show at the Theatre of Dreams in Castle Rock, Colorado, on May 4, 2018. Nu performed for the District of Columbia Mayor's Office Asian American and Pacific Islander Heritage Month Celebration on May 7, 2018, at the Lincoln Theatre in Washington, DC. In October 2018, Nu began weekly appearances at The Lexington Hotel NYC in New York City. On Oct. 31, 2018, Nu was one of several magicians gathered at Harry Houdini's first home in New York City to perform during a séance held annually on the anniversary of Houdini's death, later doing a special Halloween performance at The Lexington Hotel. Nu was the opening act for at the Lord Baltimore Hotel in Baltimore on June 1, 2019. "Alain Nu amazed with phenomenal psychic predictions, impossible metal bending and even something a little bizarre with the works of Edgar Allan Poe," stated Vince Wilson, founder of the theatre. In January 2020, Nu began a residency, performing as "The Man Who Knows," in Las Vegas at the Attic Showroom at OYO Hotel & Casino.
In 2015, Nu held a unique three-day conference in Las Vegas called PSI-Posium, in which the position of magic from both the perspective of illusion and reality was discussed and contemplated at length. John B. Alexander, Ph.D., wrote of the conference, "The common theme for the weekend was that real magic is not only possible, it occurs regularly and it is up to the individual to recognize it when it happens.... Adroit and superbly skilled in their craft, organizers and participants alike both demonstrated established ingenuity and contemplated taking their performances to a higher level. There were a few card tricks shown that entailed either forces or considerable digital dexterity that require a high degree of proficiency. But true to the premise of the seminar it was also indicated that there are times in which neither are required because the operator does get a mental signal. Psychokinesis is one of the more contentious topics in the world of magic. Most stage magicians and scientists claim that mind over matter is simply impossible. They generally discounted offhand demonstrations of 'spoon bending' or psychokinesis metal bending. Based on the accomplishments of Uri Geller, aerospace engineer, Jack Houck, developed a process by which regular people could engage in such an experience and called it a PK Party. Rather than watching a performance groups could try it themselves. Displayed at PSI Posium were items that bent totally devoid of physical force by naive subject. A critical point is creating a belief that these things can happen - then they often do. Yes, there are numerous tricks and they can look very authentic. But sometimes, and only on occasion, do macro-psychokinetic event happen that defy explanation."
