Tag: Escape Artist

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.

Latest Magic News

Magician to Be Burned at Stake – We Hope Not

Inside Magic Image of Daniel GreenWolfReporter Patricia Villers of the New Hampshire Register reports on what will either be an incredible magic event or a very awkward start to the upcoming Midsummer Fantasy Renaissance Faire.

Magician Daniel GreenWolf plans to be burned at the stake to promote the faire's opening.  

Actually, Mr. GreenWolf is hoping to escape before being consumed in flames before attendees. 

The event is set for  8:30 p.m. June 23. 

In an interview with the New Hampshire paper, he admitted the obvious up-front.  “It’s definitely a little stupid,” GreenWolf admitted in a phone interview Wednesday. “It’s something that has been in my head for a very long time.”

As we know from our latest probation hearing, just because you think something, you don't need to do it.

Nonetheless, Mr. GreenWolf plans on being locked affixed to a 12-foot wooden stake on a raised platform in an open field.  He will be secured by more than 100 feet of chain, locks and rope.

Shortly after the binding, the logs and tinder at his feet will be doused in gasoline.  An ignition source in the form of a burning torch will be rigged with a "medieval-style timer" and set to fall on the platform when time has expired.  

While there will be folks with fire extinguishers surrounding the platform, it is unlikely they will be able to save the magician from serious injury should things go afoul. 

He admitted the plan is “crazy, but with a very specific message.”  Mr. GreenWolf claims inspiration comes from his study of magic history and stories of magicians burned at the stake just for doing their job. "They were wrongfully accused” of being warlocks.

The town's mayor and fire official were not able to comment on the stunt.  They were just hearing of Mr. GreenWolf's plans. 

Fire Marshal Ralph Tingley said he had not yet heard about the stunt. “(GreenWolf) needs to talk to me,” Tingley said. “I need to know what’s involved here.” He said state permits may be required.

Mr. GreenWolf said 10 percent of the event’s proceeds will go to the Against Malaria Foundation, which provides underdeveloped countries with much-needed supplies to combat malaria.

If you are in the area, you can check out the escape attempt as well as the The Midsummer Fantasy Renaissance Faire on weekends from June 23 to July 8. 

Learn more about the Faire here: www.MFRenFaire.com.

Visit Mr. GreenWolf's excellent website here: www.greenwolfmagic.com

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” →

Latest Magic News

Cannon’s Great Escapes to Shutter

We received some very disappointing news from Inside Magic Favorites Mark and Shelia Cannon, owners of our favorite place to shop for escape gear. Mark Cannon has brought fear and exhilaration to the plaque encrusted and otherwise jaded hearts of magicians and laity worldwide.

The good news: Mark and Shelia Cannon will continue to perform.

The bad news: Cannon’s Great Escapes will vanish forever at the end of this month. (Remember that June has only 30 days when calculating your cash flow / opportunity cost ratios).

The good news (for them): by closing the shop, Shelia will be able to focus on her work as a vacation specialist.

The good news (for Shelia’s clients): Mark and Shelia Cannon have performed almost everywhere on this allegedly round planet. They know the good, the bad, and the poorly maintained villas and outposts. Armed with this knowledge, Shelia can guide her clients to an enjoyable respite and avoid the traps set for those booking with less-experienced agents.

The shop will shutter forever in a little more than two weeks but the goods are going quickly. They will not be ordering additional stock and many items are completely sold out; and the additional markdowns only encourage the frenetic “shark smells blood, shark follows blood, shark creates more blood” behavior shopkeepers love.

We lusted for their Cannon’s Strong Box Escape for years. When we heard the store was closing, we rushed to the site as fast as our gas-powered laptop would go. Alas, we were too late. This incredible escape was gone. We cursed aloud because we were miffed, positively ticked that we waited too long to get something we knew we wanted. We hoped this taught us a lesson for the future. It serves us right.

Mark and Shelia Cannon are two of our very favorites. They have always been helpful and cooperative with this on-line scandal sheet. We have thanked them and their attorneys several times for their willingness to drop otherwise meritorious lawsuits in exchange for our issuing a retraction or clarification – or, when it got really bad, openly weeping in a YouTube appeal to their better natures.
Continue reading “Cannon’s Great Escapes to Shutter” →

Magic News, Magician Feature

Housewife Escapes Boredom and Cuffs

Inside Magic Image of Donna Purnell as Alexandria the Great Escape ArtistCBS News reports on Donna Purnell a/k/a Alexanderia the Great whom they describe as “housewife by day, escape artist by night.”
The network relates the story of two ordinary folks who loved to escape from rope, handcuffs and chains as they courted in their youth.
Now, with their children out of the house, they avoid the empty nest syndrome by trying more complex, more daring escapes.
Donna Purnell trains with a strength coach and a “holding breath coach.”
In the unbearably cutesy narrative, the home of Walter Cronkite, Dan Rather and Edward R. Murrow relates how her family reacted to learn of her new vocation.

“[H]er kids like the idea of having an escape artist mom – in fact, they were relieved to find out that’s all she is.
“We would walk around the house and we’d see chains and handcuffs in places,” said her daughter.
Apparently, compared to that image – seeing your mom trapped in a tank of water is nothing.

Man oh man are we cynical here at Inside Magic. This is a story that did not need the following saccharine phrases:

“She felt like her hands were tied. And it motivated her to start thinking inside the box.”
“A few of her friends think she’s jumped off the deep end.”
“Donna and the kids hope that this act and the story behind it serve as inspiration to you – to escape whatever it is you’re stuck in.”
“It’s quite a predicament – especially considering, originally, all she wanted to escape – was boredom.”

Here is our twisted take on the reporting of this story. The author apparently believes these stunts are foolproof; that no one ever drowns whilst being tied, locked, and cuffed within 700 gallons of very cold water (Boston – Outside – Winter). Whether the artist is 49 or 14, this is a story about guts. Donna has our respect not simply because she risks her life performing escapes she learned later in life; but that’s a lot of it.
Dean Gunnarson told us once that there is no “automatic” escape and there is no “safe” escape when water is involved.
Continue reading “Housewife Escapes Boredom and Cuffs” →

Escape Artistry News, Latest Magic News

Dean Gunnarson Risks it All

This Friday, October 29th, Inside Magic Favorite and world-renown escape artist Dean Gunnarson will go for broke.

We have mentioned several times that Dean Gunnarson is nuts and should be stopped before he kills himself again. (Recall that one of his first coffin escapes ended in him dying but resuscitated by incredible medical professionals). His newest stunt could bring incredible fame or posthumous second-guessing.

Here are the details of what he hopes to accomplish:

  • Dean will be chained, locked, and bound and placed inside a steel coffin;
  • The lid will be locked on and wrapped in even more chains and locks on the outside;
  • The coffin, with Dean securely locked inside, will be lowered 6 feet underground;
  • Dean will be buried alive with over 3 tons of dirt dumped on top of him.
  • He will remain within the coffin and beneath the 6,000 pounds of dirt for two days; and,
  • Dean will then attempt to escape on Sunday Halloween Day around 1:26 P.M. The exact day and time the Great Houdini died in 1926.

We should point out that he will not have access to water, food, or similar accoutrements.

Dean said his boyhood wish was to die on the same day as his mentor, Houdini.

Of course, Houdini would not have performed the stunt in the first place. The great escape artist tried it out with assistants at the ready. He nearly died. Houdini wrote in his diary that the escape was “very dangerous” and that “the weight of the earth is killing.”

“I know that from a physical and mental stand point this will be my most challenging escape ever,” said Gunnarson. “The last time I was locked in a coffin I died. (He was underwater for nearly 4 minutes before the coffin was raised back out of the murky waters and rescuers found his blue lifeless body). I never wanted to be in another one and I never have. I will have to conquer all my personnel fears and demons to make this escape on Halloween.”

Continue reading “Dean Gunnarson Risks it All” →

Escape Artistry News, Magic News

Dean Gunnarson to Kids: Get Busy

Inside Magic Favorite Dean Gunnarson is one of the fittest folks we know.  That’s one advantage of being an escape artist.  A recent study by the non-profit (but not by choice) Inside Magic Foundation showed a direct and correlative relationship between the physical fitness of an escape artist and his or her longevity.

To wit: Houdini was the gold standard of fitness for his time.  His career lasted for decades, throughout and despite spectacular physical injuries and infections. 

On the other hand, Tommy “Binge” Hardy II began his escape career on July 4, 1952 and ended six hours later.  It actually took firefighters only four-and-a-half hours to unlock the wheezing and whimpering performer from the portable toilet from which he was to escape. 

Dean Gunnarson is recovering from broken bones suffered in the well-publicized Chinese roller-coaster escape last month.  But he does not let a little thing like pulverized leg and ankle orthopedic structures get in the way of performing and encouraging others.

The Interlake Spectatorof Manitoba, Canada carries the inspiring story of Dean Gunnarson’s visit to a local school to deliver an important message for the kids.  "It's important kids learn how important physical activity is," Mr. Gunnarson told those at the Arborg Middle School’s Physical Activity Day.   As The Spectator noted, Dean Gunnarson’s “performances require him to hold his breath to escape from certain death.”

We love the turn of the phrase “escape from certain death.”  It reminds us of our favorite Houdini poster for The Milk Can Escape, “Failure Means a Drowning Death.” 

Dean Gunnarson performed some effects and then escaped from what looks like a rope tie or chain escape.  He also shared his secret for success. He told students of his vow in junior high school to live healthy; no smoking, no drugs or alcohol.  He made these choices precisely because he wanted to be an escape artist.  “These are the decisions I made in junior high school," he said. "You have to be in good shape. What I do is very physical."

Check out the full article in The Spectator here.

Be sure to visit Dean Gunnarson’s incredible web site at AlwaysEscaping.com.

Magic News

Incredible Images of Dean Gunnarson’s Collision with Roller Coaster in Escape Attempt

Dean-Gunnarson-Roller-Coaster-Escape

 

 

Dean Gunnarson's exploits are known to magicians and escape afficianados around the world.  Now, with the release of still images of his nearly fatal encounter with a speeding roller coaster, he has received notice and press coverage beyond expectation.

View the full series of images here.

Visit Dean's home on the world wide web at AlwaysEscaping.com for more information about this near tragic end to a fantastsic, but always dangerous, career.

Magic News

An Insane Kegger: Dean Gunnarson’s Latest Escape

Dean Gunnarson Locked Up Tight and Ready for Most Dangerous Escape YetDean Gunnarson is an Escape Artist without peer and an Inside Magic Favorite.

We have been following his exploits and insanity for almost a decade now.

There are two questions for which we do not need an answer: Why does he do it? How does he do it?

This Saturday, April 10, 2010, he will attempt an escape even the great Houdini found difficult and dangerous.

The show organizers plan to place the Canadian phenom in a keg of beer and seal it.   As if this was not enough — and frankly, shouldn’t it be — Dean Gunnarson will be handcuffed.

He  assures us he intends to escape in full-view of the audience.

“They’re going to take a metal drum, fill it full of beer, handcuff and chain me up, submerge me inside the drum and then lock the lid on with chains and padlocks from the outside,” he told the CBC for broadcast across the country. “The cool part is that I’m not going to use any smoke or any mirrors, or anything like that. People will be able to see the whole escape.”

Dean Gunnarson is a teetotaler.  He tells us that he has never even tasted beer.  We are guessing he does not begin drinking on Saturday.

Continue reading “An Insane Kegger: Dean Gunnarson’s Latest Escape” →