Born Leonard Montano on June 14, 1956, in East Los Angeles, California, Val Valentino is best known as "The Masked Magician" - the controversial figure behind Fox TV's "Breaking the Magician's Code: Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed" (1997-1999).
Valentino's first foray into magic was at age 5 with a trick called "the ball and vase" that his father gave him while he was recovering from an illness. By age 8, he had his first magic kit, and by age 11, he was performing at parties and community functions in Los Angeles.
In his teens, Valentino performed with the "International Cultural Awareness Program," entertaining over a million students throughout the school system. These performances already included revealing magic secrets to encourage others to become magicians.
By the late 1980s, he had moved to Las Vegas and was performing in casino shows including "Viva Las Vegas" and "Splash." He also appeared on The Merv Griffin Show and in a music video for Herb Alpert.
Fox Network had been trying to make a show revealing magic secrets for 18 years, but professional magicians consistently refused. When they approached Valentino while he was performing in Las Vegas, he initially turned them down. Eventually, he agreed - on the condition that he would only reveal secrets to old, classic illusions (not modern methods).
For two years (1997-1999), Valentino performed as the "Masked Magician" in four Fox Network specials, wearing a squid-like kabuki-style mask to conceal his identity. The show became a ratings hit, even beating the World Series.
In the final special, Valentino revealed his true identity, explaining that he believed revealing secrets would encourage children to try magic rather than discourage them, since the entertainment value comes from the magician's showmanship, not the mystery of the method.
Valentino became one of the most despised figures in the magic community. Magicians criticized him for adversely affecting their acts and for selling out. He received numerous threats and was barred from magic conventions. Despite the controversy, he maintained that his mission was to educate and encourage new generations of magicians.