Levinson was born in Brooklyn, New York, and took his stage name from a vernacular or slang term for cotton candy: "floss".
[3] Flosso was originally billed as "The Boy Magician", but later became known as "The King of Koins" after perfecting the "Miser's Dream" illusion of producing numerous coins out of thin air and dropping them with a loud clang into a bucket.
[2] During the time he ran the shop, Flosso was still a professional performer, making appearances on The Ed Sullivan Show.
It was also an atmospheric fraternity house where a visiting European magician, a superstar like David Copperfield and a curious teenager from Queens might rub elbows, ideas and magic wands.
The younger and older Flosso held court on an old sofa, both making smart comments in an accent not unlike that of W. C. Fields.