![After Harry Houdini jumps off Harvard Bridge in Boston 1908](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/3/35/After_Harry_Houdini_jumps_off_Harvard_Bridge_in_Boston_1908.jpg)
Escapology is the practice of escaping from
restraints or other traps. Escapologists (also classified as escape artists) escape from
handcuffs
Handcuffs are Physical restraint, restraint devices designed to secure an individual's wrists in proximity to each other. They comprise two parts, linked together by a Link chain, chain, a hinge, or rigid bar. Each cuff has a rotating arm whi ...
,
straitjackets
A straitjacket is a garment shaped like a jacket with long sleeves that surpass the tips of the wearer's fingers. Its most typical use is restraining people who may cause harm to themselves or others. Once the wearer slides their arms into the ...
,
cages,
coffins
A coffin is a funerary box used for viewing or keeping a corpse, either for burial or cremation.
Sometimes referred to as a casket, any box in which the dead are buried is a coffin, and while a casket was originally regarded as a box for jewel ...
, steel boxes,
barrel
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, ...
s, bags, burning buildings,
fish-tanks, and other perils, often in combination.
History
The art of escaping from restraints and confined spaces has been a skill employed by performers for a very long time. It was not originally displayed as an overt act in itself but was instead used secretly to create illusions such as a disappearance or transmutation.
In the 1860s, the
Davenport Brothers, who were skilled at releasing themselves from rope ties, used the art to convey the impression they were restrained while they created spirit phenomena.
Other illusionists, including
John Nevil Maskelyne
John Nevil Maskelyne (22 December 183918 May 1917) was an English stage magician and inventor of the pay toilet, along with other Victorian-era devices. He worked with magicians George Alfred Cooke and David Devant, and many of his illusions a ...
, worked out how the Davenports did their act and re-created the tricks to debunk the brothers' claims of psychic power. However, the re-creations did not involve overt escape, merely a replication of tricks with the statement that they were accomplished by secret magicians' skills rather than spirits. It took another thirty years before the pure skill of escape began to be displayed as an act in itself. The figure most responsible for making escapology a recognized entertainment was
Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...
, who built his career on demonstrating the ability to escape from a huge variety of restraints and difficult situations.
Houdini made no secret of the fact that he was an expert on restraints and the skills needed to overcome them but he often concealed the exact details of his escapes to maintain an air of mystery and suspense. Although many of his escapes relied on technical skills such as
lock-picking
Lock picking is the practice of unlocking a lock by manipulating the components of the lock device without the original key.
Although lock-picking can be associated with criminal intent, it is an essential skill for the legitimate professi ...
and contortion, he also performed tricks such as
Metamorphosis
Metamorphosis is a biological process by which an animal physically develops including birth or hatching, involving a conspicuous and relatively abrupt change in the animal's body structure through cell growth and differentiation. Some inse ...
and the
Chinese Water Torture Cell
The Chinese Water Torture Cell is a predicament escape made famous by Hungarian-American magic (illusion), magician Harry Houdini. The illusion consists of three parts: first, the magician's feet are locked in stocks; next, he is suspended in mi ...
, which are essentially classic stage illusions reliant on cleverly designed props. Houdini's feats helped to define the basic repertoire of escapology, including escapes from
handcuffs
Handcuffs are Physical restraint, restraint devices designed to secure an individual's wrists in proximity to each other. They comprise two parts, linked together by a Link chain, chain, a hinge, or rigid bar. Each cuff has a rotating arm whi ...
,
padlock
Padlocks are portable locks with a shackle that may be passed through an opening (such as a chain link, or hasp staple) to prevent use, theft, vandalism or harm.
Naming and etymology
The term ''padlock'' is from the late fifteenth century. T ...
s,
straitjacket
A straitjacket is a garment shaped like a jacket with long sleeves that surpass the tips of the wearer's fingers. Its most typical use is restraining people who may cause harm to themselves or others. Once the wearer slides their arms into the ...
s,
mail bag
A mail bag or mailbag is a generic term for a type of bag used for collecting, carrying, categorizing, and classifying different types of postal material, depending on its priority, destination, and method of transport. It is oftentimes used ...
s,
beer barrel
A barrel or cask is a hollow cylindrical container with a bulging center, longer than it is wide. They are traditionally made of wooden staves and bound by wooden or metal hoops. The word vat is often used for large containers for liquids, u ...
s, and
prison cell
A prison cell (also known as a jail cell) is a small room in a prison or police station where a prisoner is held. Cells greatly vary by their furnishings, hygienic services, and cleanliness, both across countries and based on the level of punishm ...
s.
A succession of performers have added new ideas and created variations on old stunts, but it is common for even the best contemporary escapologists to be dubbed modern day "Houdinis". During his lifetime, Houdini argued his main escape acts were copyrighted, and sued competitors such as
John Clempert John Clempert (Siberia, April 19, 1878 – May 1940) was a Russian escapology, escape artist who became famous for his hanging tricks and for a legal dispute with Harry Houdini.
Early career
Clempert was born in Siberia on April 19, 1878, in a city ...
, who in 1906 apologized and settled out of court.
Because St.
Nicholas Owen successfully escaped the
Tower of London
The Tower of London, officially His Majesty's Royal Palace and Fortress of the Tower of London, is a historic castle on the north bank of the River Thames in central London. It lies within the London Borough of Tower Hamlets, which is separa ...
and arranged the escape of two
Jesuit
, image = Ihs-logo.svg
, image_size = 175px
, caption = ChristogramOfficial seal of the Jesuits
, abbreviation = SJ
, nickname = Jesuits
, formation =
, founders ...
inmates from the prison, the 16th-century Christian martyr is considered by
Catholic
The Catholic Church, also known as the Roman Catholic Church, is the largest Christian church, with 1.3 billion baptized Catholics worldwide . It is among the world's oldest and largest international institutions, and has played a ...
escapologists as their patron saint. Along with St. John
Don Bosco
John Melchior Bosco ( it, Giovanni Melchiorre Bosco; pms, Gioann Melchior Bòsch; 16 August 181531 January 1888), popularly known as Don Bosco , was an Italian Catholic priest, educator, writer and saint of the 19th century.
While working ...
, the two are considered the primary patrons of Catholic
Gospel Magicians.
Societies
The United Kingdom Escape Artists was formed in 2004 and is currently the only organisation in the United Kingdom devoted to the promotion of UK escape artists and the preservation of escapology within the UK. Its members are made up of professional escapologists, restraint collectors, master locksmiths, and historians. The UKEA meet once a year for their AGM.
The International Escapologists Society is an online society with its own monthly newsletter that is dedicated to the art of escape on an international level.
Escape Masters (The International Association of Escape Artists) was formed in 1985 by renowned escape artist
Norman Bigelow
Norman Bigelow (August 12, 1944 – August 16, 2015) was an American illusionist. He has been described by the Society of American Magicians as "one of America’s leading escape artists".
Biography
Trained as a locksmith and a wood-worker, as a ...
and has been run by Thomas Blacke as International President of the organization and Editor/Publisher of the magazine since 2001. This newsletter ceased publication with the passing of Mr. Blacke in 2019.
Founded in February 2021, Global Escapology Organisation (GEO) is an elite group of Escapologists and subject experts from around the world.
Forms of escape performance
*Hidden is a style of escape performance popularised by the late
Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...
that involved much of the performance taking place behind some form of screen or inside a cabinet in order to protect the secrets of the performer. This style of escape performance was popular with the majority of escape artists until the end of the 20th Century and is still preferred by many performers today. Its disadvantage is that audiences may wrongly believe a concealed assistant to have released the escapologist, whom they may not have seen struggle.
*Full View is a form of escape performance that was popularised by
Norman Bigelow
Norman Bigelow (August 12, 1944 – August 16, 2015) was an American illusionist. He has been described by the Society of American Magicians as "one of America’s leading escape artists".
Biography
Trained as a locksmith and a wood-worker, as a ...
Sr. during the 1970s. He presented his escapes as pure tests of human skill and endurance and the audience could actually see everything from start to finish. His signature escape, "The Doors of Death," inspired many escape artists to adopt this style of performance in their own shows. One performer, Jonathon Bryce, took the full view approach to the Buried Alive escape and with the encouragement of Norman Bigelow Sr., made the world debut of Buried Alive in Full View at the Music is Art Festival in Buffalo, NY with the help of Goo Goo Dolls bassist, Robby Takac. Mark Nelson, "The Great Markini" also performed Full View with his Electrified Mummy Lid Torture Board Escape.
*Escape or Die, the form of escape performance originated by Houdini, is the standard for top-of-the-line escapologists. There are at least three possible ways for an escapologist's life to be at risk from the possible failure of this escape. These are death by drowning, as in the water escapes Houdini pioneered; death by suffocation, as in escapes from airtight enclosures containing no water, such as coffins; and death by falling, as also originated by Houdini, in a straitjacket escape hanging high above the earth as when Houdini hung from cranes and buildings upside down in a strait jacket where falling would mean certain death. UK escape artist
Alan Alan
Alan Alan (born Alan Rabinowitz, 30 November 1926 – 4 July 2014) was a British escapologist and magician. He originated tricks that have subsequently become familiar features of the repertoire of other performers and he was honoured by Th ...
took this further by hanging from a burning rope hundreds of feet in the air. This type of escapology does fail, and its failures have resulted in escape artists getting hurt or losing their lives. Others who have done this type of escape include
Dorothy Dietrich
Dorothy Dietrich (born October 31, 1969) is an American stage magician and escapology, escapologist, best known for performing the bullet catch in her mouth (although Adelaide Herrmann reputedly did this earlier) and the first woman to perform a s ...
,
Antony Britton
Antony Britton is an escapologist and stunt performer. He has performed a series of large scale spectacular stunts done for television and charity. Britton first attracted notice in Wakefield, England in a 2012 stunt. He went on to perform a s ...
, Jonathon Bryce, and Mark Nelson "Markini The Worlds Youngest Professional Escape Artist" highlighted death by electrocution with his "Electrified Mummy Lid Torture Board". Escape was required in under 60 seconds or a fatal charge of electricity would be passed through the chains holding him to the board.
World Records
In 2012, Lucas Wilson, an illusionist from Canada managed the fastest ever recorded escape from a straitjacket while suspended; he escaped in 8.4 seconds while hanging upside down from his ankles at a height of 1m.
In fiction
*''
The Grim Game
''The Grim Game'' is a 1919 American silent drama film directed by Irvin Willat and starring Harry Houdini and Ann Forrest.Farmer 1984, p. 312. The basic plotline serves as a showcase for Houdini's talent as an escapologist, stunt performer and a ...
'', a
1919 film, stars
Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...
as a young man who is bound and imprisoned on numerous occasions by a gang who have kidnapped his fiancée. Considered by many as Houdini's best film. Lost for over 90 years and rediscovered in 2015 by escape artist and magician
Dorothy Dietrich
Dorothy Dietrich (born October 31, 1969) is an American stage magician and escapology, escapologist, best known for performing the bullet catch in her mouth (although Adelaide Herrmann reputedly did this earlier) and the first woman to perform a s ...
.
*''Haldane of the Secret Service'', a 1924 film directed by and starring
Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...
, who is repeatedly restrained by villains who murdered his detective-father. Filmed at Beaver Kill Falls in
Valatie, NY.
*The novel ''
The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay
''The Amazing Adventures of Kavalier & Clay'' is a 2000 novel by American author Michael Chabon that won the Pulitzer Prize for Fiction in 2001. The novel follows the lives of two Jewish cousins, Czech artist Joe Kavalier and Brooklyn-born write ...
'', written by
Michael Chabon
Michael Chabon ( ;
born May 24, 1963) is an American novelist, screenwriter, columnist, and short story writer. Born in Washington, DC, he spent a year studying at Carnegie Mellon University before transferring to the University of Pittsburgh, gr ...
and winner of the 2001
Pulitzer Prize
The Pulitzer Prize () is an award for achievements in newspaper, magazine, online journalism, literature, and musical composition within the United States. It was established in 1917 by provisions in the will of Joseph Pulitzer, who had made h ...
, features escapology as an important plot point.
*''
Ragtime
Ragtime, also spelled rag-time or rag time, is a musical style that flourished from the 1890s to 1910s. Its cardinal trait is its syncopated or "ragged" rhythm. Ragtime was popularized during the early 20th century by composers such as Scott ...
'', by
E.L. Doctorow
Edgar Lawrence Doctorow (January 6, 1931 – July 21, 2015) was an American novelist, editor, and professor, best known for his works of historical fiction.
He wrote twelve novels, three volumes of short fiction and a stage drama. They included ...
, features
Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...
as a major character, and uses escapology as a metaphor for the struggles faced by the American immigrant.
*In American
superhero
A superhero or superheroine is a stock character that typically possesses ''superpowers'', abilities beyond those of ordinary people, and fits the role of the hero, typically using his or her powers to help the world become a better place, ...
comic book
A comic book, also called comicbook, comic magazine or (in the United Kingdom and Ireland) simply comic, is a publication that consists of comics art in the form of sequential juxtaposed panels that represent individual scenes. Panels are of ...
s, many superheroes like
Batman
Batman is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. The character was created by artist Bob Kane and writer Bill Finger, and debuted in Detective Comics 27, the 27th issue of the comic book ''Detective Comics'' on ...
are trained in escapology, which is invaluable when dealing with
deathtraps. However, superheroes who are escapologists by profession include
Mister Miracle
Mister Miracle (Scott Free) is a fictional superhero appearing in American comic books published by DC Comics. He first appeared in ''Mister Miracle'' #1 (April 1971) and was created by Jack Kirby.
Publication history
Mister Miracle debuted in ...
,
Ms. Liberty and
The Escapist. (Mister Miracle and The Escapist were both based on escapologist-turned-comic artist
Jim Steranko
James F. Steranko (; born November 5, 1938) is an American graphic artist, comic book writer/artist, comics historian, magician, publisher and film production illustrator.
His most famous comic book work was with the 1960s superspy feature " ...
.) Houdini himself appeared as a time/space traveler in the comic book series ''Daring Escapes featuring Houdini.''
*The 1953 biographical film, ''
Houdini
Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...
'', starring
Tony Curtis
Tony Curtis (born Bernard Schwartz; June 3, 1925September 29, 2010) was an American actor whose career spanned six decades, achieving the height of his popularity in the 1950s (Kansas Raiders, 1950) and early 1960s. He acted in more than 100 f ...
in the title role, depicted many of Houdini's escapology performances. Curtis' performance artist character, The Great Leslie, also performs a suspended straight-jacket escape at the start of the film ''
The Great Race
''The Great Race'' is a 1965 American Technicolor slapstick comedy film starring Jack Lemmon, Tony Curtis, and Natalie Wood, directed by Blake Edwards, written by Arthur A. Ross (from a story by Edwards and Ross), and with music by Henry Mancin ...
''.
*In 1971,
Christopher George
Christopher John George (Greek: Χριστόφορος Γεωργίου; February 25, 1931 – November 28, 1983) was an American television and film actor who starred in the 1960s television series ''The Rat Patrol''. He was nominated for a Gol ...
played an escape artist named Cameron Steele in the TV movie/unsold series pilot, ''
Escape
Escape or Escaping may refer to:
Computing
* Escape character, in computing and telecommunication, a character which signifies that what follows takes an alternative interpretation
** Escape sequence, a series of characters used to trigger some so ...
''. Steele was a non-performing escapologist and night-club owner who, like
Bill Bixby
Wilfred Bailey Everett Bixby III (January 22, 1934 – November 21, 1993) professionally known as Bill Bixby, was an American actor, director, producer, and frequent game-show panellist.
Bixby's career spanned more than three decades, includi ...
's Anthony Blake (''
The Magician''), habitually helped people in trouble.
*In 1982,
Griffin O'Neal
Griffin Patrick O'Neal (born October 28, 1964) is an American actor. He has appeared in films such as '' The Escape Artist'', ''April Fool's Day'', ''The Wraith'', '' Assault of the Killer Bimbos'', and '' Ghoulies III''.
Early life and career
O' ...
played a junior escapologist named Danny Masters in the film, ''The Escape Artist''.
*In 1983, real-life escape artist Bill Shirk played himself in a film called ''The Escapist''.
*Yorick, the main character of the comic book ''
Y: The Last Man'', is an escape artist.
*In the 1991 film, ''
The Linguini Incident
''The Linguini Incident'' (also released on home video as ''Houdini and Company'', ''The Robbery'', ''Shag-O-Rama'') is a 1991 American cult crime comedy film set in New York starring David Bowie and Rosanna Arquette. The film was directed by Ri ...
'',
Rosanna Arquette
Rosanna Lisa Arquette (; born August 10, 1959) is an American actress. She was nominated for an Primetime Emmy Award for Outstanding Lead Actress in a Miniseries or a Movie, Emmy Award for her performance in the TV film ''The Executioner's Song ( ...
plays an aspiring escape artist.
*The novels ''
Specific Gravity
Relative density, or specific gravity, is the ratio of the density (mass of a unit volume) of a substance to the density of a given reference material. Specific gravity for liquids is nearly always measured with respect to water (molecule), wa ...
'' and ''
Ontario Lacus
Ontario Lacus is a lake composed of methane, ethane and propane near the south pole of Saturn's moon Titan. Its character as a hydrocarbon lake was confirmed by observations from the '' Cassini'' spacecraft, published in the 31 July 2008 editio ...
'' by J. Matthew Neal (2007 and 2008) features a scientist who is also a master escape artist.
*
Paul Adam's ''
Escape from Shadow Island
Escape or Escaping may refer to:
Computing
* Escape character, in computing and telecommunication, a character which signifies that what follows takes an alternative interpretation
** Escape sequence, a series of characters used to trigger some so ...
'', first published in 2009, features young escapologist
Max Cassidy Max Cassidy is the central character in a series of thrillers about a teenage escapologist by British author Paul Adam. The series is aimed primarily at Teen readers. By day, 14-year-old Max is a normal schoolboy, living in London with Consuela, h ...
. Two further books in the series, ''
Jaws of Death'' and ''
Dead Man's Bay'', will be released in April 2011 and 2012 respectively.
* Houdini himself - or rather his ghost - appeared in an episode of ''
The Real Ghostbusters
''The Real Ghostbusters'' is an American animated television series, a spin-off/sequel of the 1984 comedy film ''Ghostbusters''. The series ran from September 13, 1986, to October 5, 1991, and was produced by Columbia Pictures Television and DI ...
''; not having lost his touch, the protagonists' ghost traps could not hold him for more than a minute.
*Adam Phillips's essay "
Houdini's Box" uses Houdini himself, as well as a young victim of sexual abuse and other examples, to discuss escapology.
*The console video game
Exit
Exit(s) may refer to:
Architecture and engineering
* Door
* Portal (architecture), an opening in the walls of a structure
* Emergency exit
* Overwing exit, a type of emergency exit on an airplane
* Exit ramp, a feature of a road interchange
A ...
focuses around the exploits of the self-proclaimed escapologist known as Mr. ESC.
*The 2006 movie ''
The Prestige
''The Prestige'' is a 1995 fantasy novel by British writer Christopher Priest. It tells the story of a prolonged feud between two stage magicians in late 1800s England. It is epistolary in structure; that is, it purports to be a collection of ...
'' deals with two magicians who employ increasingly difficult escape illusions in a competitive one-upmanship, with tragic results.
*In the 2013 film, ''
Now You See Me'',
Isla Fisher
Isla Lang Fisher (; born 3 February 1976) is an Australian actress and author. Born to Scottish parents in Oman, she moved to Australia at age six where she began appearing in television commercials. Fisher came to prominence for her portrayal ...
plays an escape artist named Henley Reeves. In an interview, she says, "I watched all of Houdini’s work and
Dorothy Dietrich
Dorothy Dietrich (born October 31, 1969) is an American stage magician and escapology, escapologist, best known for performing the bullet catch in her mouth (although Adelaide Herrmann reputedly did this earlier) and the first woman to perform a s ...
, who is a female escapologist, who is amazing, you have to watch her." “I got to train with Dorothy Dietrich, the first lady magician to catch a bullet with her teeth." Fisher studied the life and work of Dietrich to prepare for the role. "Dorothy is a real female escapologist who is working today. She was the first woman to capture a bullet between her teeth, which is an amazing feat. She's not only good at misdirection, but she also connects emotionally with the audience, so she's better able to involve them in the stunts."
List of notable escape artists
*
Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician ...
*
Doc Cunningham
Robert Marion "Doc" Cunningham (1873–1951), was an American illusionist, stunt performer, and showman whose stage names included Zante, Cunning the Jail Breaker, Cunning the Handcuff King, Doc Cunning, The Mental Miracle Man, and Cunning the Supe ...
*
Alan Alan
Alan Alan (born Alan Rabinowitz, 30 November 1926 – 4 July 2014) was a British escapologist and magician. He originated tricks that have subsequently become familiar features of the repertoire of other performers and he was honoured by Th ...
*
Antony Britton
Antony Britton is an escapologist and stunt performer. He has performed a series of large scale spectacular stunts done for television and charity. Britton first attracted notice in Wakefield, England in a 2012 stunt. He went on to perform a s ...
*
Dean Gunnarson
Dean Gunnarson (born 27 January 1964) is a Canadian escapologist (escape artist). He was born in Winnipeg, Manitoba and raised in San Antonio, Texas. He is noted for a series of large scale spectacular stunts done for television. Gunnarson has ap ...
*
Frank Reno
*
James Randi
James Randi (born Randall James Hamilton Zwinge; August 7, 1928 – October 20, 2020) was a Canadian-American stage magician, author and scientific skeptic who extensively challenged paranormal and pseudoscientific claims. Rodrigues 2010p. ...
*
Norman Bigelow
Norman Bigelow (August 12, 1944 – August 16, 2015) was an American illusionist. He has been described by the Society of American Magicians as "one of America’s leading escape artists".
Biography
Trained as a locksmith and a wood-worker, as a ...
*
David Merlini
David Merlini is a Hungarian-Italian escape artist, and World Record holder, described by Expo 2015 as the world's most famous escapologist, currently serving as Director of The House of Houdini, the only Houdini museum in Europe.
Merlini's sign ...
*
Bill Shirk
Bill Shirk (born May 3, 1945 in Indianapolis, Indiana) is an American escape artist, radio personality, broadcast entrepreneur and actor.
Biography
Radio broadcasting
Shirk graduated from Ball State University in 1967 with a Bachelor of Scienc ...
*
Dorothy Dietrich
Dorothy Dietrich (born October 31, 1969) is an American stage magician and escapology, escapologist, best known for performing the bullet catch in her mouth (although Adelaide Herrmann reputedly did this earlier) and the first woman to perform a s ...
*
Criss Angel
Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos ( el, Χριστόφορος Νικόλαος Σαραντάκος; born December 19, 1967), known professionally as Criss Angel, is an American magician, illusionist and musician. Angel began his career in New ...
*
Michael Griffin
*
Kristen Johnson
*
Jonathan Goodwin
*
Roslyn Walker
Roslyn Walker (b. Russel Erwood on 19 March 1981 Brislington, Bristol, England) is an entertainer. He currently resides in Conwy with his partner, dancer Foxee Stole.
Walker made his name as an escape artist and stuntman but his work also incl ...
*
Major Zamora
Major Zamora was a dime museum performer in the late 1890s. Born in St. Johns, Zamora was a physical dwarf who specialized in feats of contortionism and enterology (squeezing into impossibly small spaces, or getting inside a sealed container with ...
*
Gopinath Muthukad
Gopinath Muthukad (born 10 April 1964) is an Indian magician and motivational speaker from Kerala. He employs magic as a medium to convey his messages to public. Muthukad founded the world's first magic academy, The Academy of Magical Science ...
*
Johnny Strange
Johnny Strange (born 6 December 1988), nicknamed "the man with ears of steel", is an English world record breaking performance artist, producer and street performer based in London, England. He is known for performing daredevil stunts with a c ...
See also
*
Illusionist
Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It ...
*
List of magicians
This is a list of magicians/illusionists, prestidigitators, mentalists, escapologists, and other practitioners of stage magic. For the list of supernatural magicians, see List of occultists.
Magicians are listed by the most common name used in ...
*
Stunt performer
A stunt performer, often called a stuntman or stuntwoman and occasionally stuntperson or stunt-person, is a trained professional who performs daring acts, often as a career. Stunt performers usually appear in films or on television, as opposed ...
References
External links
Houdini Museum Tour * Magic ShowEscapology — the magic art of escapeBusker Central- Rare and historic videos of Escapologists.
{{Magic and Illusion
Magic (illusion)
Magic tricks
Physical restraint
de:Fesselung (physisch)#Entfesselungskunst