 | This article needs additional citations for verification .(December 2019) |
The Chinese Water Torture Cell is a predicament escape made famous by Hungarian-American magician Harry Houdini. The illusion consists of three parts: first, the magician's feet are locked in stocks; next, he is suspended in mid-air from his ankles with a restraint brace; finally, he is lowered into a glass tank overflowing with water and the restraint is locked to the top of the cell.
The original Chinese Water Torture Cell was built in England in 1911. Houdini first performed the escape for an audience of one person as part of a one-act play he called Houdini Upside Down!. This was so he could copyright the new escape (having learned with his Milk Can escape that patents failed to stop imitators). The first public performance was at the Circus Busch in Berlin, Germany, on September 21, 1912. [1] In letters Houdini referred to the effect as "the Upside Down" or "USD". Houdini continued to perform the escape until his death in 1926. Despite two Hollywood movies depicting Houdini dying in the Torture Cell, the escape had nothing to do with his demise. [2]
After Houdini's death, the cell was willed to his brother Theodore Hardeen. Hardeen never performed the cell himself, and despite Houdini's instructions for it to be "burned and destroyed" upon Hardeen's death, his brother gave the cell to Houdini collector Sidney Hollis Radner in the 1940s. The cell remained in Radner's basement until 1971 when it was put on display at The Houdini Magical Hall of Fame in Niagara Falls, Canada. Here the cell suffered from neglect and theft. At one point, the museum owners put a fish tank inside the cell to achieve an aquarium effect. The leaky tank caused mold and damage to the cell wood and structure.
In 1995, the Houdini Magical Hall of Fame burned to the ground. It was initially reported that the cell was completely destroyed, but the metal frame survived and the cell was restored by illusion builder John Gaughan. In 2004, the restored cell was sold at auction to magician David Copperfield. It now resides as part of his massive private magic collection in his home in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Sidney Radner gave the burned wood, screws, nails, metal straps and many other unused pieces of the original Water Torture Cell to Geno Munari. In August 1998, John Gaughan subsequently sent those items to Geno Munari, owner of Houdini's Magic Shops, in Las Vegas. Additionally, Geno Munari provided John Gaughan an original back-up Water Torture Cell glass plate from The Houdini Museum in Las Vegas. This backup glass traveled with Houdini as a spare in case the Water Torture Cell had to be axed to save Houdini's life.
In 2003, an exact duplicate of the Water Torture Cell was discovered, leading to controversy over the authenticity of the restored cell. Sidney Radner filed suit against John Gaughan. [3] [4]
In 2012, a never-before-seen photo of Houdini performing his Water Torture Cell in 1920 was unearthed and put on display in Scotland. The photo shows two horizontal bands wrapped around the cell. [5]
Several magicians and escape artists have performed the escape since Houdini, among them Al Marks (1940s, using a steel tank with no window), Dill-Russel and Norman Bigelow.
In the 1950s, magician Leo Irby performed the escape for You Asked for It .
In 1975, magician Doug Henning (b. 1948 — d. 2000) performed a version of the Water Torture Cell during his first live television special on NBC. In his version, a twist ending revealed the magician to be one of the hooded ax-wielding assistants standing beside the cell. [6]
In the Happy Days episode "The Magic Show" (original airdate December 5, 1978), magician James Randi is scheduled to perform the trick (referred to as "the milkcan escape"), which has supposedly been successfully performed only by three magicians (including Randi himself), as part of a magic show at a charity function, but he inadvertently drinks alcohol and becomes too intoxicated to do so. The Fonz takes over Randi's act and performs admirably, but the audience insists on seeing the milkcan escape. Unwilling to fail the charity recipients, the Fonz enters the tank. By now, Randi has recovered and, horrified to learn the Fonz has been in the tank for nearly half a minute, insists he be released before he drowns, but the Fonz surprises everyone present by successfully escaping without assistance. According to the episode's opening credits, all magic tricks during the episode, including the milkcan escape, were performed without special effects.
In the spring of 1980, John R. Hall (author, blogger, magician) (stage name Keoni - pronounced key-OH-nee) purchased a Chinese Water Torture Cell from Tony Spina of Tannen's Magic Shop (a magicians supply company in New York City) and performed the escape on 5 October 1980 for broadcast television's PM Magazine . The Chinese Water Torture Cell purchased by Keoni was represented by Tannen's as a duplicate of the cell constructed for Doug Henning's live television broadcast on NBC. Like Doug Henning's performance, Keoni's escape ended with a twist, when the curtain around the cell was lowered, the cell was empty and Keoni retook the stage by running from the back of the theaters and down the aisles back to the stage. [7]
Escape artist Kristen Johnson performs a water cell escape that was inspired by Houdini's trick. Johnson's stunt is significantly different in that she remains in full view of the audience throughout the escape. She performed her 1,000th water torture cell on November 4, 2012, at the Atlanta Motor Speedway and is known in the industry as doing a legitimate three minute plus breath hold in the water torture cell. Johnson has performed her version at NBA half time shows and has been seen on ESPN's SportsCenter .
In 2003, 2012, 2013, and again in 2016, Chicago magician Dennis Watkins performed the Chinese Water Torture Cell while playing the role of Harry Houdini in Death and Harry Houdini produced by the [House Theatre of Chicago]. [8] Watkins' interpretation of the Water Torture Cell is performed within 5 feet of the audience, and is performed in a cell that is 2'x 2'x 6', which leaves almost no room for maneuvering. [9] Watkins has performed the illusion nearly 100 times, including public performances at Chicago's Navy Pier, as well as in earlier versions of Death and Harry Houdini.
In September 2010, escape artist Alexanderia the Great, performed a smaller more confined version of the Chinese Water Torture Cell in full view (no curtains) that she calls UC or the Underwater Cell. [10] A recent performance was in a front-page story for the Metrowest Daily newspaper.[ citation needed ]
In July 2013, celebrating the 100th anniversary, Richard Sherry and Female Escape Artist Dayle Krall, released their 21st Century Chinese Water Torture Cell. This cell is a variation of Houdini's original creation, with an inner cage and two outer crossbars. [11]
Erik Weisz, known as Harry Houdini, was a Hungarian-American escape artist, illusionist, and stunt performer noted for his escape acts.
Escapology is the practice of escaping from restraints or other traps. Escapologists escape from handcuffs, straitjackets, cages, coffins, steel boxes, barrels, bags, burning buildings, fish-tanks, and other perils, often in combination.
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 sleeves, the person restraining the wearer crosses the sleeves against the chest and ties the ends of the sleeves to the back of the jacket, ensuring the arms are close to the chest with as little movement as possible.
Douglas James Henning was a Canadian magician, illusionist, escape artist and politician.
P. T. Selbit (1881–1938) was an English magician, inventor and writer who is credited with being the first person to perform the illusion of sawing a woman in half. Among magicians he was known for his inventiveness and entrepreneurial instinct and he is credited with creating a long list of successful stage illusions.
A predicament escape is any form of magic trick or escapology stunt in which the performer is trapped in an apparently dangerous situation and is required to escape from it. Classic examples include the Table of Death, Houdini's Chinese Water Torture Cell, Princess Tenko's escape from an exploding boat and the Upside Down Suspended Straitjacket escape, in which a performer is suspended high in the air from a burning rope.
Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos, known professionally as Criss Angel, is an American magician, illusionist and musician. He is often referred to as one of the world's most successful illusionists, generating in excess of $150 million in tourism revenue for Las Vegas in one year.
Jim Steinmeyer is an American author, inventor, and designer of magical illusions and theatrical special effects. He holds four US patents in the field of illusion apparatus, including a modern version of the Pepper's Ghost illusion. Steinmeyer has consulted for many famous magicians, including David Copperfield, Doug Henning, Siegfried and Roy, and Lance Burton.
Ferenc Dezső Weisz, known as Theodore "Dash" Hardeen, was a Hungarian-American magician and escape artist who was the younger brother of Harry Houdini. Hardeen, who usually billed himself as the "brother of Houdini", was the founder of the Magician's Guild. Hardeen was the first magician to conceive escaping from a straitjacket in full view of the audience, rather than behind a curtain.
Houdini is a 1953 American Technicolor biographical film from Paramount Pictures, produced by George Pal and Berman Swarttz, directed by George Marshall, that stars Tony Curtis and Janet Leigh. The film's screenplay, based upon the life of magician and escape artist Harry Houdini, was written by Philip Yordan, based on the book Houdini by Harold Kellock. The film's music score was by Roy Webb and the cinematography by Ernest Laszlo. The art direction was by Albert Nozaki and Hal Pereira, and the costume design by Edith Head.
Kristen Johnson is an American escape artist who works with her husband, magician Kevin Ridgeway, under the names Living Illusions, Ridgeway & Johnson, and Breathless. She was the featured magician on the cover of the June 2009 issue of the magicians' magazine The Linking Ring.
Dean Gunnarson is a Canadian escapologist. 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 appeared on television in over 165 countries around the world performing his escapes. Gunnarson has performed over 500 shows across China and his TV escapes have been seen by millions of people there. In 2012 the Chinese Government presented him with "The World's Top Escape Artist" award after a successful escape on live TV. He has also performed across Canada and the US on TV, fairs, shopping malls, sporting events, and for many of the countries top corporations.
Conjuring is an illustrated book about conjuring, or magic, by James "The Amazing" Randi, who himself was a magician and escape artist. Drawing on his extensive knowledge and experience in the field, Randi offers a series of brief biographies of a variety of noteworthy magicians and their unique styles, including Harry Houdini, Chung Ling Soo, Harry Blackstone Sr., Harry Blackstone Jr., Howard Thurston, and many others. He also provides an overview of several genres of magic such as stage magic, escapology, and mentalism, and of specific tricks such as the bullet catch. Reviews of the book were mainly positive.
Sidney Hollis Radner was a rug salesman from Holyoke, Massachusetts, who owned one of the world's largest and most valuable collections of Harry Houdini artifacts. Radner was a 1937 graduate of Worcester Academy and matriculated to Yale College.
Herbert Lawrence Becker is an American former magician, escapologist, stunt performer, author, and businessman. As a magician, Becker performed as Kardeen.
Stage illusions are large-scale magic tricks. As the name implies, stage illusions are distinct from all other types of magic in that they are performed a considerable distance away from the audience, usually on a stage, in order to maintain the illusion. Stage illusions usually use large props and may involve the use of assistants or large animals. Examples of stage illusions include sawing a woman in half and Lady-to-Tiger.
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 is to be distinguished from paranormal magic which are effects claimed to be created through supernatural means. It is one of the oldest performing arts in the world.
Jay Owenhouse is an American illusionist who operates the second largest touring magic show in the United States. He is known for his work with tigers and his performances of famous illusions originally done by Harry Houdini. Notably he has performed a version of the Suspended Straitjacket Escape with the addition of spiked jaws that slam shut after two minutes.
Doug Henning's World of Magic is a series of seven annual prime-time television specials starring magician Doug Henning that aired from 1975 to 1982.
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.