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A Grafton resident who hails from Westborough wowed Howard Stern, Howie Mandel and Sharon Osbourne Tuesday night on "America's Got Talent," as seen Tuesday night on NBC.
Wearing a blindfold made of coins, and with much of his face wrapped in black electrical tape, Eric Dittelman, 26, successfully guessed what each of the celebrity judges drew on a blank sheet of paper: An ear drawn by Mandel, a pair of glasses by Osbourne, and Stern's self-portrait.
Dittelman received a standing ovation from the audience the three celebrity judges for his performance.
"That's amazing," Mandel gushed. "This is absolutely real, which makes it more fantastic."
Dozens of congratulatory messages to Dittelman have flooded his Facebook page.
During the second day of auditions in Austin, Texas, Dittelman competed alongside other contestants, including a woman who held an apple in her mouth that was being carved with a chainsaw, and an off-key all-girl singing group.
According to his Web site, Dittelman announced his audition on May 13. He has previously been touring comedy clubs and colleges with his act, with what he calls a "unique blend" of magic, improv, and standup comedy.
Dittelman began performing while attending Ithaca College, performing with different improv and sketch comedy troupes. His online biography reads, in part: "He ... continues to share his unique talents with audiences across the country. If you were also a mind reader, you would have already known all that."
In a segment before his performance on America's Got Talent, Dittelman said, "I got started into magic when I was little, but as I got older, I got more fascinated with the psychology aspect, and wanted to ... figure out what people were thinking."
He said he wanted his performance on the show to bring his career "to the next level."
He may have that chance. After Dittelman's audition, Stern remarked: "What I look for in an act is, do I want to see them again? And yeah, I wanna see you again."
Dittelman graduated from Westborough High School in 2003, according to his Facebook page. Lewis Dittelman, Eric Dittelman's father, who lives in Grafton, declined to comment.
Comments (4)
You can leave him a message:
http://www.facebook.com/ericdittelman
Someone else guessed it also: http://articles.philly.com/2012-06-06/news/32079856_1_duct-tape-judges-drawings
I know of at least one way it could be done! The key to the performance is to hold card with a drawing big enough to be seen & read by TV audience. A 3rd party must then in real time send a signal ( words/letters in Morse code would do) to a receiver under the "Mind Reader's" clothes. A vibrator taped to the readers skin would do, but there are many other ways to receive code not by ear!
Folding paper till he "guessed" would kill the act! A RF noise generator in the hall would likely also kill the act!
A hidden microphone is possible and I'm sure what most people think of first. Most tricks end up being simpler than you initially think.
I guess it's possible he has a tiny microphone or has a vibrator taped to his body. I'm not familiar with AGT so I'm not sure if that is something they would condone but they do need an audience to make money.
Watch his video on YouTube when he is on WXLO and tell me how he does that?
Don't say the radio station is in on it because we all know the media wouldn't lie to us.
Anyways, good for him and I hope he does well.