Guide Note
Magician and endurance artist David Blaine has received much media attention for his world record breaking stunts and public feats of endurance. Blaine is also a renowned street magician with several TV specials highlighting the awed reactions of bystanders and participants.
Fast Facts
- Born: April 4, 1973
- Birthplace: Brooklyn, New York
- Ethnicity: Jewish (mother's side) and Puerto Rican (father's side)
- Started doing magic when he was four years old
- Dated Fiona Apple
Street Magic
Blaine started his career by using magic to charm his way into the offices of ABC. After amazing ABC president Ted Harbert, he was given 1 million dollars to put together his first TV special, David Blaine: Street Magic. The show launched him into the limelight and created a stir amongst magicians and fans for its fresh approach.
Acts of Will
In April 1999, Blaine performed his first public endurance stunt by enclosing himself in a plastic coffin beneath a three ton water tank on 68th Avenue in New York City. When he was released seven days later, he was smiling. Thousands of spectators visited the site during his entombment.
Numerous stunts followed, including encasement in ice, a 35 hour perch on a 90 foot pole, and 44 days suspended in a box above the Thames without food. Blaine also attempted to break a world record by holding his breath underwater for nine minutes, but the attempt failed. He did, however, succeed in surviving eight days in a water tank and later broke another world record for holding his breath under water with the help of preparatory oxygen.
Quotes
- "David combines great talent with charm and personal presence. If there's a more deserving magician out there. I suggest they get a better agent."—Ted Harbert, president of ABC
- "Make no mistake about it, the focus of this show, boys and girls, is not Blaine. It is really about theatrical proxemics; about the show-within-a-show and the spontaneous, visceral reactions of people being astonished."—Jon Racherbaumer
- "You don't get into magic. Magic gets into you."—David Blaine
