Max Maven (born Philip T. Goldstein; December 21, 1950 – November 1, 2022) was an American magician and mentalist whose performances were considered erudite and intelligent. He is ranked as one of the most influential mentalists of all time, and one of the 100 "Most Influential Magicians of the 20th Century" by Magic Magazine. Life and career Maven often appeared on television magic shows to perform "interactive" mind reading tricks. Among other cities, including Rome, Maven grew up largely in Boston, Massachusetts, where he became known for his performances at several nightspots including the then popular Playboy Club. In Boston, he was formerly a radio deejay. Maven was also a prolific author and conceived many magical and mentalist effects used by other magicians. He was a magic consultant for such performers as Harry Blackstone Jr., Mark Wilson, David Copperfield, Penn & Teller, Siegfried & Roy, and Doug Henning, and was a frequent contributor to industry journals such as Genii, The Linking Ring, and M-U-M. Maven was featured on the cover of over 30 such magazines over the years, including The Linking Ring, Genii in 1983 (with Japanese magician Shigeo Takagi), and also in 2007 and in 2018, and on the cover of Penguin Magic Monthly in 2019. He was the featured magician at the annual conventions of both the Society of American Magicians and the International Brotherhood of Magicians. His name was changed legally to Maven but he still used "Phil Goldstein" as a pen name for technical writings. Maven was considered a legend in the world of magic, and had a broad knowledge of magic history and the origins of various tricks and methods. He stated that he believed it vital to preserve the history of the art and provide credit to the originators of ideas. Maven died from brain cancer on November 1, 2022, at the age of 71. Media and public appearances Although Maven did not consider himself a comedian, he spent much of the 1980s performing and headlining in comedy clubs throughout the United States. His one man show, Thinking in Person, ran for two months at the Beverly Hills Playhouse in 1988, and an expanded version of the show was relaunched twenty years later in 2008. The show was later mounted Off-Broadway at the Abingdon Theatre Arts Complex in 2012. Maven occasionally played a magician character (often as himself) on various television series, such as,