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Magic career
Blaine began his career by bringing street magic to the public, performing card tricks and illusions such as levitation (Balducci 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:
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. Passers by could watch him 24 hours a day. He emerged on April 12 on schedule. Some people even say they saw a black cross hovering over his "coffin" which is just a myth.
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. A tube provided him with air and water while his urine was removed with another tube. He was encased in the box of ice for 61 hours, 40 minutes, and 15 seconds before being removed.{{"Information and pictures of this stunt"}} The 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.
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. Due to the terrorist attacks earlier in the day and a nationwide shutdown of airports, Blaine was forced to delay his training.
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.He remained on the pillar for exactly 34 hours and 23 minutes without food, water or anything to lean on.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.
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 |
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