Richard Jay Potash (born 1948), known professionally as Ricky Jay, is an American stage magician, actor, and writer. In a profile for the New Yorker, Mark Singer called Jay "perhaps the most gifted sleight-of-hand artist alive". Jay is best known for performing sleight of hand, card tricks, card throwing, memory feats, and stage patter. He has also written extensively on magic and its history. He has acted in the films "The Prestige", The Spanish Prisoner, Heist, Boogie Nights, and Magnolia and in the HBO series Deadwood.