Oz Pearlman, a mentalist who rose to fame after appearing on “America’s Got Talent” was announced as the headline entertainer of the White House Correspondents dinner coming up on April 25.
“I am thrilled to be the featured entertainer at this year’s WHCA dinner and join the ranks of Frank Sinatra, Jay Leno and Conan O’Brien, among many other legends,” said Pearlman. “This is a rare opportunity to gather so many accomplished, perceptive people in one place and invite them to share moments of wonder, surprise and awe.”
As Pearlman mentioned, comedians often headline the event, which brings senior government officials and members of the news media together. Last year’s event didn’t include an entertainer and President Donald Trump did not attend.
In 2024, the headliner was former “Daily Show” host Trevor Noah and in 2023 Colin Jost of “Saturday Night Live” was the headliner. Per the White House Correspondents’ Association, the event was first held more than 100 years ago, in 1921.
According to a profile from his alma mater, the University of Michigan, Pearlman was born in Israel and grew up in Farmington Hills, a northwestern suburb of Detroit. He first became interested in magic and “mentalism” while aboard a Bar Mitzvah cruise when he was 13.
A year before, Pearlman achieved near-perfect scores on high-school level aptitude tests. He enrolled at U-M when he was 16 to study chemical engineering, but magic remained a part of his life. Even after he took a job on Wall Street, he continued the performances that helped him pay for college.
Pearlman’s side gig was so successful that it eventually became his full-time gig. His appearances on Sunday Night Football and Monday Night Football have been viewed over 1 billion times, he’s made more than 200 TV and media appearances (including a performance right after the Super Bowl), and he’s won an Emmy.
Though Pearlman’s career was inspired by a magic show, U-M noted that mentalism is different than many people associate with magic tricks.
“It combines a multitude of techniques including the art of suggestion, subliminal messaging, body language reading, statistical analysis and neurolinguistic programming,” the university explained. “Every show is different because every person is different.”
It noted that he has described it as engineering, but inside the human brain.
“A lot of the skill set is very similar to engineering,” Pearlman explained. “It’s about defining a problem and solving it. And most of the problems involve getting inside of people’s heads and asking ‘how do they think?’”
“As the world’s most celebrated mentalist, Oz Pearlman will offer a fascinating glimpse into what’s truly on the minds of Washington’s newsmakers,” said Weijia Jiang, president of the association. “We look forward to an exciting, fresh, and interactive evening as we celebrate the First Amendment and Washington news coverage together.”
According to the organization, proceeds from the dinner help finance its work, including awards recognizing excellence in the profession and scholarships for journalism students.