Dorothy Dietrich was a groundbreaker: she was the first and only woman to perform the bullet catch in the mouth trick (a trick for which Penn and Teller are known these days), as well as the first woman to perform a straitjacket escape while suspended from a burning rope hundreds of feet in the air. Feminism at its finest!
On October 31, 2008, Curtis Lovell pulled off Harry Houdini's infamous Buried Alive escape: Lovell was shackled, handcuffed, placed in a pine coffin, lowered into a grave, and-- you guessed it--buried alive under 200 pounds of dirt. Lovell escaped after 16 minutes, dangling the empty shackles and cuffs.
The Davenport Brothers preceded Harry Houdini by about 40 years, riding the tails of the Spiritualism craze in America. They were known for the box illusion, in which the brothers were tied up and placed in a box which contained musical instruments. Once the box lid was closed, the instruments would sound; but when the box was opened again, the brothers would still be tied in the positions they had been at the start of the trick. They claimed "supernatural forces" made the instruments playing possible.
A British escape artist, David Straitjacket holds records for the World's Fastest Straitjacket Escape, World's Fastest Underwater Handcuff Escape, World's Fastest Handcuff Escape, World's Fastest Straitjacket Escape Whilst Balanced On Stilts, World's Fastest Suspended Straitjacket & Chains Escape, and Having The Heaviest Person Stand On His Chest, While Lying On Broken Glass.
Dorothy Dietrich was a groundbreaker: she was the first and only woman to perform the bullet catch in the mouth trick (a trick for which Penn and Teller are known these days), as well as the first woman to perform a straitjacket escape while suspended from a burning rope hundreds of feet in the air. Feminism at its finest!
Locks fascinate Thomas Solomon. As a 13-year-old, he apprenticed himself to a locksmith, moving from answering phones and sweeping floors to learning about the inner workings of the most complicated of locks. As an escape artist, he has escape from over 5,000 different pairs of handcuffs, all different types, all from different eras in history. So far he hasn't found a lock that can hold him.
A Hungarian escape artist, David Merlini is believed to be the heir of Harry Houdini himself because of this strange-but-true fact: he was born 52 years to the day after the death of Houdini, who himself died at age 52. He specializes in high-tech tricks, such as being launched along with a SCUD missile, being embedded in a block of concrete and thrown in a river, and being frozen with liquid nitrogen. He has also escaped from the inside of a steel perforated box after being chained and padlocked and thrown in the Danube in a mere three minutes.
Beginning her magical career as magician John Bundy's assistant, Morgan has since earned acclaim on her own as 2009's World Magic Awards Best Female Escapist winner. In her 55 Gallon Underwater Challenge, Morgan is cuffed with four pairs of handcuffs and lowered into a 55 gallon barrel of water, which is then wrapped in 25 pounds of steel chains and locked with three padlocks. Fun fact: she cites Dorothy Dietrich as one of her principal influences.
Steranko is most well-known for writing and drawing the 1960s superspy feature "Nick Fury, Agent of S.H.I.E.L.D" for Marvel. However, he spent his earlier teenage and 20-something years as an illusionist and escape artist. Quite the multi-talented man.
Okay, you may have heard of Doug Henning if your parents are really into 1970s Broadway. This Canadian magician made waves when he brought his illusions to the Broadway stage in Stephen Schwartz's musical The Magic Show. In 1975, he also successfully recreated Houdini's Chinese Water Torture Cell trick for the first time since its original performance: his feet locked in stocks and he was lowered into a tank of water, from which he escaped. Furthermore, he did it on live TV.
Miss out on the turn-of-the-century sideshow craze? Well, Roslyn Walker runs a 21st Century Sideshow. Not only is he an escape artist, but also he's a human blockhead, glass walker, sword swallower, juggler, stilt walker, and mentalist, among other things; and he does it all with a lovely Victorian air. Classy.
Johnson and her husband, Kevin Ridgeway, are devout Christian magicians who specialize in faith-based events. Like Doug Henning, she does Houdini's Chinese Water Torture Cell-- but she doesn't hide behind a curtain while she does it: she escapes in full view. Her average time is two minutes and 48 seconds on one breath, but it has occasionally taken as long as three minutes and 18 seconds.
A former con man, Matt the Knife now uses his criminal skills as a perfectly legal conjurer. He has broken 12 Guinness world records, including escapes, sword swallowing, fire manipulation, and card manipulation, and he is also now an anti-fraud expert. Way to turn your life around!
A dwarf performer who was a contemporary of Houdini, Zamora specialized in contortionism and "enterology," or, squeezing into impossibly tiny spaces. He claimed to be triple-jointed-- maybe he missed his calling as a Batman villain!
