Category: Escape Artistry News

Inside Magic Image of Harry Houdini
Escape Artistry News, Magician Feature

Houdini Searches on Google

Inside Magic Image of Harry HoudiniWe love the world’s best known magician, Houdini.

We also take great pride in our programming abilities and yet we were stumped yesterday trying to load an active graph from Google documenting the past and present searches for Houdini since 2010. We couldn’t go back further; like to 1920 and figured out that we were limited by the reality that Google did not exist in the Roaring Twenties.

So while we don’t have the live data stream for Houdini searches on InsideMagic.com yet, we can report that the term Houdini continues to be searched daily with peaks in the number of searches on special days and weeks around Halloween and the date of his death in 1926.

Why were we trying to construct this real-time search presentation?

First because we thought it was a cool tool to put on our website. We’re always looking to spice up our space.

Second, because we search for news or articles about Houdini daily. Sometimes the searches come back related to a rapper that used Houdini in his name. Sometimes it comes back with a wine bottle opener. Sometimes it comes back with the great Houdini Magic Shop from Disneyland or Las Vegas. But usually there is at least one hit for Houdini, the world-famous magician and escape artist par excellence.

It is amazing that his name, story and images still register on the Google Search metrics.

What a testament to his self-promotion, his place in modern history and his ability to entrance modern audiences even without being present (assuming you disregard claims of connections during seances).

Magicians today still make reference to Houdini in their acts; often comparing themselves to the master performer. The modern audiences have never seen Houdini (other than the Tony Curtis film, perhaps) but the reference still resonates with them.

We tried to think of other performers that have that kind of staying power. In the 1920s the American and European theaters were jammed full of performers and on a typical evening’s bill, there would be a star or top act. Yet, we are at a loss to name any of them unless they later had a career in a more permanent medium like film or radio.

Houdini is what got us heavily into magic and we assume his popularity is having the same effect on a new generation of magicians and escape artists.

What a wonderful art we have.

By the way, if we are ever in doubt about Houdini’s work or history, we refer to the source that knows all, Wild About Houdini, run by John Cox. If you are a Houdini fan, it needs to be your first stop daily for the latest findings and exploration about this incredible legend.

We will continue to work with our crack programming team to get real time search stats on InsideMagic.com but until then, we’ll just report the highlights we find through our searching or from Mr. Cox’ website.

Escape Artistry News, Magic News, Magician Feature

Harry Houdini Exhibit at Bremen Museum

Harry HoudiniThere are two things we cannot get enough of: Harry Houdini and anything related to Harry Houdini.

So, if you have an exhibit that features images of Harry Houdini and takes attendees through the life of Harry Houdini, you win the golden ticket in our book.

Just to be clear, we have neither golden tickets or a book in which to collect said tickets, but we will remember you fondly until the day we pass to join the great card table session in the heavens.  We’ll tell  Dai Vernon and Ed Marlo about you and your organization and they will both likely teach us moves that will take an eternity to perform – but that will be okay because we will have an eternity to learn.

The Breman Museum (William Breman Jewish Heritage Museum) is based in the Atlanta area (likely within a mile of a street with the word “peach” in it).  We see that Inside Magic Favorite Joe Turner is assisting in the presentation so you know it will be without flaw and have integrity.

The museum tells visitors that the world’s most famous magician and escape artist wasn’t born but invented by the talented mind of Erik Weisz (later translated into Erich Weiss when he and his family immigrated to the United States).

The exhibit it curated by magician David London and shares the story of how this immigrant, growing up in Wisconsin became Harry Houdini – the world’s first international superstar.

Continue reading “Harry Houdini Exhibit at Bremen Museum” →

Escape Artistry News

Dean Gunnarson’s Newest Venture: Comics

Dean Gunnarson Comic ImageDean Gunnarson has been an Inside Magic Favorite for decades.  He is death-defying and fearless and, soon, a cartoon.

Mr. Gunnarson recently went to Kickstarter to announce plans to launch a comic book, The World’s Most Daring Escape Artist.  The book will be a 32-page anthology written by Lovern Kindzierski,  author of the acclaimed Shame trilogy.  Mr. Kindzierski has written for Marvel, Heavy Metal, Dark Horse and Penny Farthing Press.   Renowned British comic book artist, Simon Bisley, will create the artwork and award-winning British artist, Glenn Farby will illustrate the cover.

Mr. Gunnarson is currently starring on the OLN show tamely titled Escape or Die.  The show is a fascinating look into the hours of preparation that goes into the escapes staged around the world.

The comic book will include stories behind three of Mr. Gunnarson’s most famous escapes: The Russian Death Tank, The Shark Bait Escape and The Snake Temple.

The campaign is just starting out but looks like it is off to a great start.  We hope it gets fully funded and look forward to the book.

Escape Artistry News

Dean Gunnarson Brings Escape or Die to WV

Dean Gunnarson Escape of DieInside Magic Favorite Dean Gunnarson is bringing his Canadian TV Show “Escape or Die” to The Trans-Allegheny Lunatic Asylum in West Virginia.

We assume the asylum (referred to by those in the know as TALA) is no longer functioning as an institution but it is the subject of historic preservation efforts.  Mr. Gunnarson’s visit will help in those efforts through ticket sales.

“The ten dollars per seat actually stays at the asylum for further preservation efforts, so it’s definitely going to a good thing, and we figured, who wouldn’t want to be on international TV?” said Rebecca Jordan Gleason, TALA Operations Manager.

The hospital also raises funds through “haunted” tours and holiday-themed events.  Check out their spooky website for more information about the facilities and Mr. Gunnarson’s appearance.  You can visit Mr. Gunnarson’s website at AlwaysEscaping.com and the Escape or Die site here.

Escape Artistry News, Latest Magic News

Criss Angel Does It: Houdini-Inspired Escape a Success

Criss Angel FoxwoodsThe headlines coming across our teletype here at the Inside Magic News Room confirmed that Criss Angel succeeded in his “Houdini Death escape” at the lovely Foxwoods Resort Casino.

Anxious editors stood hunched over the clicking wire machines as they typed out the news that Las Vegas magician and television star Criss Angel entertained “a crowd of hundreds of fans from a 75-foot crane, while restrained in a regulation straitjacket with a 50 lb. weight hanging from of his neck by a noose.”

One of the grizzled old copy editors dropped his filterless cig into his coffee mug. “Well, I’ll be . . .” he said to no one as he reviewed the news feed.

Yessir, It was quite a day around the horseshoe-shaped city desk here at Inside Magic.

According to local news reports, Mr. Angel was “suspended upside down by his feet, arms constricted in a straitjacket, dangling from a 75-foot-high crane, with a 50-pound weight hanging from a noose around his neck, Angel wiggled and swung his way to freedom, seeming to rock to the beat of loud electro-rock music.”

The performer dedicated his performance to America’s veterans in keeping with the spirit of the day.

How did the 46 year-old feel?

“My legs are just spent,” he said. “I spent a lot more time up there than I would have liked to.”

Mr. Angel told reporters he succeed only half the time in rehearsals.

One school child told the local paper, “It seems almost impossible to get out of that, so it must be magic. I thought it was scary, cause he could fall and hurt himself really badly.”

Mr. Angel is performing his new touring show, Mindfreak Live at Foxwoods Thursday through Saturday.

Escape Artistry News, Magic News, Magic of Asia

Dean Gunnarson’s Frigid and Fiery Chinese Escape Attempt

Inside Magic Image of Escape Artist Dean GunnarsonUPDATE:  According to CJOB 68: Manitoba's Information Superstation, Dean Gunnarson survived and succeeded just minutes ago.

Escape Artist and Inside Magic Favorite Dean Gunnarson is back in China and freezing.

His latest escape attempt defies both belief and the naturally imprinted sense of self-preservation.  Mr. Gunnarson's had him miles high in the frigid mountains of  Xining, China.  (Think Superman's crystal home or Wolverine's den).

He intended to be locked and chained by the Chinese military inside a tomb of ice on a frozen lake high in the mountains. His goal: to escape within 100 seconds before a bus explodes and drops on him. 

From the press release:

Locked and chained by the Chinese military inside of a tomb of ice on a frozen lake high in the mountains in China. A ten ton bus loaded with explosives will be raised above him by a crane and then, Gunnarson will have exactly 100 seconds (an important number in China) before the bus will explode and drop on him from a timer, crushing the ice tomb and him if he  is inside. Dean will attempt this escape on a frozen lake that is the largest in all of China.  It is located about 100 kilometers (about 62 miles)  west of the provincial capital of Xining at 3,205 m (10,515 feet) above sea level in a depression of the Tibetan Plateau in the traditional Tibetan province of Amdo, located between Tibet and Mongolia.  This escape is extremely dangerous because of the cold but even more so from the high evaluation and lack of oxygen this high up.

Mr. Gunnarson told Inside Magic that he has been training in the thin air but it brought on altitude sickness.  “The lack of air and trying to do even small things just leaves me grasping for breath. This is like nothing I have ever encountered before.”

If he lives, the Chinese government will award him  the title "World's Greatest Escape Artist."   If he fails, he will likely not be given the title of World's Greatest Escape Artist.  We're just guessing about this.  The Chinese press did not discuss what happens if the bus explodes and lands on him whilst still chained.

As loyal readers of Inside Magic know, Mr. Gunnarson is a very scary man.  He seems so nice and gentlemanly but there's a crazy side to him.  He does stunts that are anything but sure-fire or fixed.  Check out his mistiming while trying to escape from a roller coaster track.   That escape (sort of) was in China as well.  We hope he has correctly converted the 100 seconds into the metric equivalent and escapes unharmed.  The roller coaster collision shattered his ankle and fibia.

Continue reading “Dean Gunnarson’s Frigid and Fiery Chinese Escape Attempt” →

Escape Artistry News, Latest Magic News, Magic of Australia

Escape Artist Gunnarson Takes Australia by Storm

Inside Magic Image of Dean Gunnarson Chained to High Speed Roller Coaster Track - An Escape that Nearly Took his LifeAccording to press accounts, this is Inside Magic Favorite Dean Gunnarson’s first tour of Australia and judging from the favorable press, it will certainly not be his last.

But then again, as an escape artist with a penchant for pushing the envelope with no concern for paper cuts, Mr. Gunnarson comes harrowingly close to making every performance his last.

Inside Magic readers will no doubt recall Mr. Gunnarson’s near-death experience in China last year.  He was able to free himself of the shackles and came very close to clearing the hurtling roller-coaster and landing safely on a stunt cushion.

Somewhere we heard that Force is equal to Mass times Acceleration.

We don’t know if that is true or if it is just the kooky theories cooked up by the crazy kids in their college classes.

But assuming there is a positive correlation between mass, acceleration and force, a steel framed roller coaster traveling at  62 miles per hour would likely bring a significantly larger force to bear on a human leg than would the human leg impose on said roller coaster.

You can see what happens when little mass and little acceleration meet big mass and big acceleration by visiting the frame-by-frame Zapruder-esque footage of the escape attempt here.
Continue reading “Escape Artist Gunnarson Takes Australia by Storm” →

Escape Artistry News, Magic News

Houdini Exhibit Adds Some Extras for LA Stay

Wonderful Poster Promoting Harry Houdini's Incredible Milk Can Escape - Failure Means a Drowning DeathThe must-read web site Wild about Harry reports that next stop on the Houdini: Art and Magic tour is Los Angeles, California.

Even 85 years after his passing, the showman still packs ’em in.  The show was boffo at The Jewish Museum in New York and organizers appear to be doubling down on the presentation by adding a retrospective of Jewish Magicians entitled, Masters of Illusions: Jewish Magicians of the Golden Age.

The exhibition’s home in Los Angeles will be at the appropriately fancy  Skirball Cultural Center.  The doors will spring open on April 28, 2011.

But wait, there’s even more.  According to Wild About Harry, “[o]ne notable change to the Houdini Art and Magic exhibition will be the inclusion of John Gaughan’s authentic working replica of Houdini’s Water Torture Cell. The Gaughan replica will ONLY be displayed at this L.A. stop.”

The web site promises full coverage of the exhibition, the comings and goings of noted guests and special side events.  Look for lectures featuring Joshua Jay, Mike Caveney, Max Maven, and Marvyn (“Mr. Electric”) Roy.

Be sure to keep the site on your favorites list for the latest news.

Following its Los Angeles showing, Houdini: Art and Magic will travel to the Contemporary Jewish Museum, San Francisco, CA (September 30, 2011–January 16, 2012) and the Madison Museum of Contemporary Art, Madison, WI (February 11–May 13, 2012).

Link to Press Release from Skirball Cultural Center can be found here.

Escape Artistry News, Latest Magic News, Magic of Canada

Dean Gunnarson Survives ‘Pure hell’

We told you about his plan to survive two days below ground.  Locked in a coffin, buried under tons of dirt, and, to make it harder, a committee would bind his arms and legs with shackles before placing him in the aforementioned coffin in the ground.

He hoped to escape where many have failed.  Even Houdini believed the escape was too dangerous.

Well, he made it out alive and convinced he does not want to be buried when the time comes for the divine recycling.

“I know one thing for sure, when my soul is done with my body I don’t ever want to be buried again,” Dean Gunnarson said. “I’m going to see Pete (Kilcollins) to cremate me and they can sprinkle my ashes on some flowers.”

Pete Kilcollins brought Dean to the Buried Alive stunt site in a hearse used in the Kilcollins’ cremation business.

Dean wanted to erupt from the freshly packed soil at precisely 1:26 p.m. on October 31st to link his emergence from the grave with Harry Houdini’s passing from this life in 1926.

According to The Sun, after Dean dug through the topsoil to daylight, he collapsed momentarily.

His estimation of the stunt matched Houdini’s: “It was pure hell digging my way up,” a dirt-covered Gunnarson said. “The weight was crushing and I couldn’t breathe. It was tough.”

Continue reading “Dean Gunnarson Survives ‘Pure hell’” →

Escape Artistry News, Magic News

Michael Griffin: To Live or Die at Noon Today

Inside Magic Favorite Michael Griffin is also known to fans by his well-earned title, “America’s Escape Hero.”

He could add a third appellation to his business card this afternoon, “Not Criss Angel.”

Of course that assumes he survives a very dangerous escape; otherwise he will be known as Michael Griffin “The Angel.”

Michael is, as far as we know, the only two-time winner of the World Magic Awards Best Escape Artist.

Readers know we have a tough time watching underwater or underground escapes. The elements of earth and sea do not always cooperate with a performer: currents shift, burial plots cave in. Like a lion tamer, the escape artist can perform only if the adversary behaves or at least behaves predictably.

Michael Griffin will sink to the bottom of the strong-willed Ohio River at noon today.

A committee will bind him in shackles, chains, and more chains all locked to a 20 pound cinder block designed to pull him from the surface to the river bed where he will either escape or stay forever.

If you are in the Marietta, Ohio area, you can see the stunt at the Public dock located at the ends of Front and Post Streets by the Lafayette Hotel.

And speaking of the Lafayette Hotel, Michael is performing a full show tomorrow (Saturday) night at 8:00 pm. He hopes the escape will give an enticing taste of what will be served in full courses tomorrow night.

But other than promoting his show, why would Michael Griffin risk his life?

As a special sneak preview for his show Saturday night 8:00PM Oct 30 at the historic Lafayette Hotel http://www.thelafayettehotel.com.Why is Michael Griffin willing to challenge death by drowning handcuffed, shackled and weighted down?

We hear Michael wants to perform the escape to show people what a real escape artist does for a living. Once he sinks into the rapid current of the watery boundary between Ohio and West Virginia, his survival depends on his ability to stay calm and execute the escape. There are no camera angles, no re-takes, no stooges or hidden assistants with keys and spare canisters of air.

In short, Michael Griffin will perform a very real escape with very real risks before a very real audience. Not, he points out, some scene created for TV, “a Chris Angel style camera tricks and paid stooges.”

Continue reading “Michael Griffin: To Live or Die at Noon Today” →