NFL player Jon Dorenbos is known as the Philadelphia Eagles long snapper. But off the field, the 35-year-old works magic too. Real magic. Before the NFL, Dorenbos became a professional magician at the age of 16. He continues to perform tricks off-season. “I do a lot in the corporate circuit,” Dorenbos tells NJ.com. He also ties his magic into his corporate speaking gigs. “I do cocktail hours, do pick pocketing, close up stuff, then do the keynote and stand-up comedy stuff with that.”
There is a tragic story behind Dorenbos’ discovery of magic. When he was 12, his father Alan Dorenbos killed his mother Kathy Dorenbos. He beat her to death with a grinding tool. Alan Dorenbos, who claimed self-defense, was charged and convicted of second-degree murder and was sent to prison for almost 14 years. After a long custody battle and spending time in a foster home, Jon was eventually adopted by his aunt and uncle, Susan and Steve Hindman. That’s when Jon turned to magic, “as an escape.” America’s Got Talent airs Tuesdays at 8pm on NBC.
