THE DIGITAL REPOSITORY FOR THE BLACK EXPERIENCE
"Good is Great when Great is not Present."
Magician Kenrick Ice McDonald was born on July 6, 1960 in Albuquerque, New Mexico to Bernice McDonald and Nixon McDonald, Jr. He graduated from San Diego High School in 1978 and attended San Diego City College.
In 1984, McDonald moved to Los Angeles, California to pursue a career in magic, where he founded the entertainment company Ice Storm Entertainment Group in 1993. He has performed in magic shows around the world.
McDonald published a memoir about his journey to become a magician, Born for This – Destiny Authenticated, in 2015. McDonald released his first film, Death of an Innocent Swan, in 2014. His second film, a documentary about the history of African American magicians, Quiet Masters – The History and Relevance of the Black Magical Artist, premiered in 2018. McDonald was featured in the documentaries GOD and the Master Magician – The Unsynonymous Connection and The Art and Soul of Magic – The Story of America’s Black Magician.
McDonald has been involved in numerous magic organizations throughout his career. He joined the Academy of Magical Arts in 1983, the International Brotherhood of Magicians in 1990, and the Society of American Magicians in 1991. From 2009 to 2010, he served as regional vice president of the Society of American Magicians. From 2010 to 2013, he served as national vice president of the executive board of the Society of American Magicians. McDonald was elected national president of the Society of American Magicians in 2014, the first African American to hold the position in the organization’s history (founded 1902). In 2016, he co-founded the International Association of Black Magical Artists. McDonald also has served as vice president of the board of trustees of the Magic Hall of Fame and Museum, Inc., and as chairman of the diversity and inclusion committee of the Academy of Magical Arts since 2020. In 2022, McDonald was elected to the Board of Directors of the world-famous Magic Castle/Academy of Magical Arts.
For his performances, McDonald has been the recipient of numerous awards including two Entertainer of the Year awards, the Commander’s Medal for Excellence from Air Force Commander Lt. Colonel Trent R. Pickering, and India’s Trophy of Honor in 2008 presented by then-Prime Minister, Manmohan Singh, for a performance he gave in Trivandrum, India. Between 1995 and 1998, McDonald received three International Performance Awards from the Pacific Coast Association of Magicians. In 2015, he received the Society of American Magicians’ Presidential Citation for his achievements and a Presidential Citation from Shawn Farquhar, president of the International Brotherhood of Magicians. He also received the Impact Docs Documentary Award for his documentary Quiet Masters. McDonald was inducted into the Society of American Magicians’ National Magic Hall of Fame in 2018. In 2019, McDonald was listed as one of the 21st Century Christian Magicians, and, in 2020, he was named one of the Most Influential Magicians of the Decade.
McDonald resides in Los Angeles, California with his wife, Paris McDonald. They have three children.
Kenrick Ice McDonald was interviewed by The HistoryMakers on May 14, 2022.