“Big Daddy Cool” is the swingin’ alter ego of award-winning entertainer, broadcaster, and storyteller John B. Pyka. For over 20 years, John B. Pyka has been entertaining audiences all over the world with his distinctive theatrical fusion of Vocal Music, Amazing Magic, and Situational Comedy with Larger-Than-Life Characters and Audience Participation. He is an award-winning actor, singer and magician whose credits include MTV's Spring Break, A&E's An Evening At The Improv, the touring production of the Broadway Musical Closer Than Ever, Norman Bulansky in ABC's The Boys Next Door, PBS documentary Magical Time Travelers, and the BBC special The Convention Crasher. John also fulfilled a dream recently when he was invited to appear as a guest vocalist at the famous Carnegie Hall in New York City with the New England Symphony in a performance of Fuare's "Requiem."  As an entertainer John has appeared all over the country performing for millions of people in nearly every venue imaginable; from singing at Carnegie Hall, to appearing on the BBC documentary The Convention Crasher and appeared as “Big Daddy Cool” in the Off-Broadway production of Swingin' At The Roxy.

 

John has appeared in nearly 1000 stage productions, on every major TV network and in 4 major motion pictures. He has performed magic in some of the best restaurants and nightclubs in the country, including the Improv, The Laugh Factory, Zanies, Bamboozles, and Saratoga's premiere nightspot, Gaffiney's. In addition, he has performed for numerous corporate clients, including Churchill Downs, Dillards, Shell Oil, Habitat for Humanity, Mercedes Benz, Symantec, and the Amway Corporation.  He is a three-time Champion of Magic, and a two-time recipient of the Houdini Award for Variety Artist of the Year.

 

One of John's talents as a performer is to create unforgettable, larger than life characters. He has played some of the great characters in theater like The Cowardly Lion, Jud Fry, Rooster Hannigan, Marryin' Sam, Norman Bulansky, Buffalo Bill and Mr. Bumble. He has created several original characters, including the 1940s swing magician Big Daddy Cool, the past-his-prime vaudevillian Uncle Eddie Sparks, and the World Heavyweight Champion strongman Johnny Awesome!

 

As a producer and director, John is the creator and producer of popular variety shows like The Magic Cabaret, Opry Mills Olde Time Family Theater (with The Radio City Rockettes), The Opry Mills Holiday Family Theater, Music City Magic and many more! John is also the producer and host of the Diesel Powered Podcast, THE Voice of Dieselpunk  on iTunes and Stitcher, which consistently is ranked in the top 10 performing arts podcasts. He is also the producer and host of the weekly live stream web-show Comixstravaganza Live, hosted by www.graphicpolicy.com 

and boasting over 25,000 viewers per week! To learn more about John Pyka Productions visit www.johnpykaproductions.com

 

He is also the author of 4 books on magic, including the best-seller Theatrical Magic. His first novel, Tales From the Flip-Side is published by Pro Se Press and available wherever books are sold – also available as an audiobook!

 

Visit John's Amazon Author Page...