Magicians’ club votes to give control of the Magic Castle to its landlord

The conjurers have decided to stay put at Hollywood’s Magic Castle.

In a membership vote of the Academy of Magical Arts that concluded Monday, members say that about 92% of those voting endorsed a reorganization plan designed to give control over the castle’s operations and revenue to a company owned by Magic Castle landlord Randy Pitchford.

As part of the deal, AMA members can continue to use the castle as their clubhouse. The AMA, a nonprofit group, would continue to promote magic, running educational efforts and awards programs.

If the magicians had voted no, they would have needed to find a new venue at the expiration of their lease on Dec. 31, 2028.

Members said they received results by email from the academy Tuesday morning, with tallies showing a 1,038-89 vote to approve changes to AMA bylaws and a 1,043-84 vote to approve changes to AMA articles of incorporation. The vote “will provide a strong foundation for the future of the Academy of Magical Arts,” wrote Christopher Grant, president of the AMA board of directors, in an email to members. The Magic Castle remains open daily and leaders have vowed a swift transition to new management.

Leaders of the AMA and Magic Castle Enterprises — the Pitchford-owned company taking over operations — declined to comment on the results. An AMA spokesperson said “the AMA and MCE treat membership proceedings as private club matters and therefore refrain from public comment on internal processes.”

The AMA’s membership was recently put at 4,664, suggesting that most academy members didn’t vote.

In the run-up to voting, some members said they were not being told enough about what the AMA gets out of the deal. Several academy members said that moving from their historic home could deeply damage the AMA.

“We’ve given up a significant portion of self-governance for an undefined and indefinite occupancy,” said Ralph Shelton, a longtime AMA member and attorney who opposed the proposal.

Soon after reporting vote totals on Tuesday morning, AMA leadership sent another missive saying that veteran Magic Castle general manager Hervé Lévy was leaving his position, effective Tuesday. Lévy was not immediately available for comment.

The Magic Castle, a 1909 Edwardian-style mansion, opened in 1963 as a clubhouse and performance venue for the Academy of Magical Arts, a nonprofit group founded by the Larsen family. The membership vote, conducted Sept. 8 through 29, follows several dramatic changes for Pitchford, the Magic Castle and the Academy of Magical Arts.

Despite trouble in 2020, when the pandemic shut it down and a Times investigation detailed allegations of sexual harassment and racism, the mansion reopened in 2021 amid a leadership overhaul.

Pitchford, 54, is a longtime academy member, having married his wife, Kristy Pitchford, in the castle in 1997. His Texas-based company, Gearbox Entertainment, created the popular Borderlands video game franchise. When he bought the Magic Castle building in 2022, he inherited a lease that allows the AMA to remain at the castle through December 2028. Rather than negotiating to extend that pact, Pitchford and his team MCE have been working on plans for a dramatic reorganization.

With the changes, Pitchford’s MCE is to gain control of castle operations, including its restaurant, bar, gift shop and valet parking. Also, MCE will get to nominate two members to the AMA board, which will shrink from nine members to five.

Some members expressed faith in Pitchford’s long history with the Magic Castle and noted that two members of academy’s pioneering Larsen family hold key positions with MCE. During the voting period, longtime AMA member Christopher Hart, who serves as chair of the academy’s board of trustees, said, “I think [Pitchford] has tried to do everything in his power to preserve the nature of this iconic place.”