David Blaine

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David Blaine (born David Blaine White on April 4, 1973 in Brooklyn, New York City, USA) is an American magician and stunt performer. He made his name as a performer of street and close-up magic. His father was Spanish-Puerto Rican and his mother, Patrice White, was Jewish of Russian descent.

Contents 1 Magic career 1.1 Premature Burial 1.2 Frozen in Time 1.3 Vertigo 1.4 Mysterious Stranger 1.5 Above the Below 1.6 Cancelled stunts 2 Personal life 3 Trivia 4 Notes 5 References 6 External links

[edit] Magic career

Blaine began his career by bringing street magic to the public, performing card tricks and illusions such as levitation or giving the appearance of bringing dead flies back to life. He used a small camera crew to record his act live in front of everyday people which provided the basis for his television specials, David Blaine: Street Magic, David Blaine: Magic Man, and David Blaine: Mystifier.

He later turned his attention to stunts and feats of endurance:

[edit] Premature Burial

Beginning on April 5, 1999, Blaine spent seven days buried inside a glass coffin at the bottom of an open pit in front of a New York City building provided to him by Donald Trump. On top of the coffin was another coffin of the same size filled with water. The surrounding area was covered in dirt. Passersby could watch him 24 hours a day. He emerged on April 12 on schedule.

[edit] Frozen in Time

On Monday, November 27, 2000, Blaine began a stunt called "Frozen in Time," which was covered on a TV special. Blaine stood in a closet of ice located in Times Square, New York. The ice was sculpted to fit his body, and a tube provided him with air and water while his urine was removed with another tube. He was encased in ice for 61 hours, 40 minutes, and 15 seconds before being removed.^{[citation needed]} The block of ice was on a stand, with space between the ground, and the ice was transparent, to prove he was inside the ice the whole time. He was taken to the hospital immediately after being removed because doctors feared he was going into shock. ^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Vertigo

Blaine's next stunt was called "Vertigo." He was to have started training for this particular stunt in Los Angeles, California, and was scheduled to board an American Airlines flight from JFK Airport to Los Angeles on September 11, 2001 at noon.^{[citation needed]} Due to the terrorist attacks earlier in the day and a nationwide shutdown of airports, Blaine was forced to delay his training.^{[citation needed]} On Monday 22 May 2002, Blaine performed the stunt in Bryant Park, New York City, where a crane lifted him onto a 90 ft (27 m) high and 22 in (56 cm) wide pillar.^{[citation needed]} He remained on the pillar for exactly 34 hours and 23 minutes without food, water or anything to lean on.^{[citation needed]} With his legs weak from standing atop the pillar for so long, he ended the feat by jumping down onto a landing platform made of a 12 foot (3.7 m) high pile of cardboard boxes. ^[1]

[edit] Mysterious Stranger

On October 29, 2002, Random House published David Blaine's Mysterious Stranger: A Book of Magic. Part autobiography, part history of magic, and part armchair treasure hunt, the book also includes instructions on how to perform card tricks and illusions.

The treasure hunt, Blaine's $100,000 Challenge, was devised by game designer Cliff Johnson, creator of The Fool's Errand, and solved by Sherri Skanes on March 20, 2004, 16 months after the book's publication.

• The Official Solution
• The Winner's Tale

[edit] Above the Below

On September 5, 2003, Blaine began his 44-day endurance stunt sealed inside a transparent Plexiglas case suspended 30 feet (9 m) in the air over Potters Fields Park on the south bank of the River Thames in London. The case, measuring 7ft by 7ft by 3ft (2.1 x 2.1 x 0.9 m), had a webcam installed so that viewers could observe his progress.^{[citation needed]}

The stunt became the subject of much press and media attention, due to many Britons' going to the Thames and hurling abuse at David Blaine, however British documentary makers Richard Gordon and Lauren Hannon told a very different story in their documentary Below the Above, in which five people lived below Blaine to show their support for what he was doing^{[citation needed]}

Blaine emerged on schedule on October 19, murmuring "I love you all!" and was quickly hospitalized. He appeared gaunt and he claimed to have lost 54 pounds (24.5 kg) during his fast.^{[citation needed]}

[edit] Cancelled stunts

After Above the Below, Blaine told media that one of his stunts would be a "Dive of Death" from a helicopter hundreds of feet above a river.^[2] The jump was scheduled for his 31st birthday on April 4, 2004, but on April 1, three days before the jump was to take place, his publicist announced that the stunt had been cancelled.^[3]

[edit] Personal life

• He has dated Fiona Apple, Josie Maran, and Lonneke Engel. The New York Post reported on July 4, 2006 that the Dutch model ended the relationship. ^[4]
• He attended Passaic Valley High School in Little Falls, New Jersey.^{[citation needed]} Blaine graduated in 1991.

[edit] Trivia

• During his appearance in Last Call with Carson Daly, he pretended to pull his heart out and fainted. The segment was staged but NBC almost cancelled the illusion. It was told that the audience was completely shocked and some members ran away crying or screaming.^[5]
• He has the concentration camp number, 174517, of Primo Levi tattooed on his left forearm.^[6]
• Was a key figure in the South Park episode "Super Best Friends".

[edit] Notes

1. ^ Vertigo. Magic Directory.
2. ^ CNN Larry King Live transcript, CNN News, 2003-11-03
3. ^ Blaine cancels dive of death stunt, ITN News, 2004-04-01
4. ^ Liquid Lust, New York Post, 2006-07-04
5. ^ Video of Blaine pulling out heart.
6. ^ Jews With Tattoos - Boston Globe Aug 15, 2004.

[edit] References

• Mysterious Stranger, Blaine's autobiography published by Vilard Books and Channel 4 books. ISBN 0-7522-1989-8.
• BBC news pages on Blaine's time in London - 1 2 3
• Korbonits M., Blaine D., Elia M., Powell-Tuck J., "Refeeding David Blaine: studies after a 44-day fast", New England Journal of Medicine 2005;353:2306-7. PMID 16306536.

[edit] External links

• David Blaine's official website
• Below The Above official website
• David Blaine at the Internet Movie Database
• Blaine rescued in nick of time
• TV Special Waters Down Blaine's Stunt
• David Blaine Defying Gravity Video
• David Blaine video clips