Tony Slydini was born as Quintino Marucci in Foggia, Italy. He is the son of an amateur magician who encouraged him to practice sleight of hand from a young age. While still a child, Slydini and his family left Italy to live in Buenos Aires, Argentina. It was there that he began to experiment with magic more seriously. Without help or guidance, he reinvented much of the popular magic of the time, while developing new effects and illusions. Slydini is attracted to the psychological aspects of his art. He is inspired by the relationship that exists between a magician and his audience, which fuels his desire to be a close-up artist rather than an illusionist.

 For a brief period he found work in South American vaudeville, but the Great Depression hit the continent and work became scarce. In the late 1930s his family moved to New York where he obtained work at Hubert's Dime Museum on 42nd Street. The museum provides inexpensive entertainment for the working class and provides the young magician with a large platform on which he can experiment and continue to improve and develop his already honed skills.

 While visiting his sister in Boston, he caught the attention of a theater agent who offered him a show, three days a week, for $15 a day. The agent recognizes Slydini's skills and his impeccable show with playing cards, coins and two ordinary white silks. He remained in Boston for almost seven years before returning to New York. It was there, in 1949, that Slydini opened his magic studio located at 341 West 45th Street. Magicians from all over the world have come to this place for over fifty years seeking instruction and guidance.

Throughout the Second War, Slydini entertained thousands of soldiers in camps, hospitals and recreation centers. Between 1949 and 1950, he toured the United States under the direction of Ralph W. Read, who hired him to give his famous “demonstration lectures” to more than 30 magical organizations. Finally, Europe and Asia requested his presence and he complied. There, he performed publicly, made television appearances, and gave numerous lectures and private instructions to curious magicians wishing to learn his new form of close-up magic and misdirection.

During his life, many books were written about Slydini, his sleight of hand techniques, the psychology behind his performance, and his clever methods of misdirection. There have also been films, videos and countless articles about his methods and philosophies. The scientific professions have also taken an interest in it and more than a dozen in-depth articles have been written on its psychological methods of distraction. The journal Scientific American published a research article in 2015 titled The neuroscience of Slydini's paper ball magic trick . The magician who taught himself continued to teach others until he was eighty years old.

Tony Slydini died of heart failure on January 15, 1991, following a long illness and several years of imprisonment in a New Jersey nursing home. Howard Bauman, at the time editor of the International Brotherhood of Magicians' publication, The Linking Ring , wrote: "A magical light went out on January 15, when Slydini died. For more than 40 years, he lit up the horizons of magic with his particular brand of conjuring. Slydini was a dedicated student of magic and developed his own style of misdirection and timing that were considered truly artistic. Tony Slydini will be missed by his legion of friends.