Ricky Jay obituary

Film actor and magician whose stage shows mixed sleight of hand with erudition and lip-smacking verbosityRicky Jay, who has died aged 72, was a highly respected magician, bibliophile and raconteur who occasionally also acted in films, primarily those directed by his friend David Mamet.These included the thrillers The Spanish Prisoner (1997) and Redbelt (2008) and the movie-business comedy State and Main (2000). Mamet also directed him in several one-man magic shows, as well as a 1996 HBO film of