In the mid-1990s, Coby and his troupe of illusionist comrades performed in the Gem Theatre in downtown Detroit for an unprecedented thirteen weeks.
[citation needed] After a hiatus of 14 years, Coby returned to performing in 2009, including a twelve-week run between June 13 – September 7 at the Galaxy Theater at Valleyfair, a theme park in Minneapolis.
[4] When Rudy Coby did a revival of his stage show in 2010, Marilyn Manson played the role of his nemesis.
[citation needed] Coby's TV specials and live performances often feature several characters, including his robotic female assistant, Nikki Terminator, his sidekick, Atom, and others.
Rudy then performs several tricks, some with audience participation, before "accidentally" cutting his assistant Nikki Terminator in half with a chainsaw.
One device used in both shows is LabCo's "Hypnotron 2000", an animated optical illusion (designed by Jerry Andrus) in which concentric rings of black/white stripes rotate in alternating directions.
Coby shows this animation for about fifteen seconds, and then instructs viewers to look at a photograph, or the back of their hand, to see the object they look at appear to distort in front of their eyes.