Max Maven (21 December 1950) is an American magician, mentalist magic consultant and author. who appeared as S. Devlin, the rather devillish looking driving examiner Mork gets when trying to obtain his licence in Season 4's Drive, She Said.
Biography[]
Max Maven was born Philip Goldstein in 1950 in Ithaca, New York, USA. Among other cities, including Rome, Maven grew up largely in Boston, Massachusetts, where he was a radio deejay.[1]
His name has been changed legally to Max Maven but he still uses "Phil Goldstein" as a pen name for technical writings.
Curently living in Hollywood, California. In 2007 he successfully underwent a triple bypass.[2] While in April of 2021 he underwent a biopsy and recevied treatment for a brain tumor at Cedars Sinai Hospita in L.A.[3]
Career[]
Maven became known for his performances at several nightspots including the then popular Playboy Club. While his public persona and performances fall squarely within the genre of mentalism, Maven's contributions to the magic community span far wider. He is respected within the industry for being a prolific author, and innovating many of the magical and mentalist effects that are used by other magicians. He has been a magic consultant for such performers as David Copperfield, Penn & Teller, Siegfried & Roy, and Doug Henning, and is a frequent contributor to industry journals such as Genii, The Linking Ring, and MUM. [1] [4]
From the early 80s on, starting with his episode of Mork & Mindy alongisde his live appearances on stage and radio, he began appearing in Sitcoms, TV dramas, and reality shows including as "The Great Mentos" in the 1995 Fresh Prince of Bel Air episode "Save the Last Trance for Me," and episodes of General Hospital and Top Chef.[5]
Filmography[]
| Year | TV Series | Episode(s) | Role |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1982 | Mork & Mindy | Drive, She Said | S. Devlin |
| 1992 | The Secret Cabaret | 6 episodes | He insisted on separate billing |
| 1994 | Something Strange with Max Maven | Max Maven | |
| 1995 | The Fresh Prince of Bel-Air | Save the Last Trance for Me | The Great Mentos |
| 1995 | Max Mystery Show | Max Maven | |
| 1998 | The MAXimum Dimension | Max | |
| 2006 | Nada x aquí | Especial de Halloween | Guest star |
| 2014 | Brain Hacker | Free Will | Guest |
| 2018-2020 | Unicorn Wednesday | 5 Episodes | Magician / Self |
| Year | TV Movie | Role | |
| 1993 | Count DeClues' Mystery Castle | Count DeClues | |
He also produced a direct to video presentation Max Maven's Mindgames (1984).
Mork & Mindy[]
Maven played S. Devlin, the driving examiner a worried Mork gets for his driving test in Season 4's Drive, She Said. His appearance making him all the more worried, as Devlin looks exactly like the Satanic version of the examiner he had in the nightmare he tells Mindy about the night before his test. As aspects of the test unfold like Mork's nightmare, Devlin at first hardly seems to care about the extreme trouble Mork runs into, only to smirk and live up to the devlllishness of Mork's dream when he tells an already panicked Mork, in a teetering car, to drive out into the Highway.
Behind the Scenes Note:[]
His playing the examiner who gives Mork his driving test is somewhat ironic because Max himself does not know how to drive.