Erik Weisz, known as Harry Houdini, was a Hungarian-American escape artist, illusionist, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his mentor in magic, French magician Robert-Houdin (1805–1871).
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.
Handcuffs are restraint devices designed to secure an individual's wrists in proximity to each other. They comprise two parts, linked together by a chain, a hinge, or rigid bar. Each cuff has a rotating arm which engages with a ratchet that prevents it from being opened once closed around a person's wrist. Without the key, the handcuffs cannot be removed without specialist knowledge, and the handcuffed person cannot move their wrists more than a few centimetres or inches apart, making many tasks difficult or impossible.
Llandudno is a seaside resort, town and community in Conwy County Borough, Wales, located on the Creuddyn peninsula, which protrudes into the Irish Sea. In the 2011 UK census, the community – which includes Gogarth, Penrhyn Bay, Craigside, Glanwydden, Penrhynside, and Bryn Pydew – had a population of 20,701. The town's name means "Church of Saint Tudno".
Scott Arbuthnot is an American magician who specializes in escape-artist feats and grand illusions.
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.
Fanfarlo are a London-based indie/alternative band formed in 2006 by Swedish musician Simon Balthazar. They fuse elements of folk, indie rock and post-punk using eclectic instrumentation including trumpet, violin, mandolin, musical saw, clarinet and saxophone. Since their formation they have released three studio albums and one EP.
A belly chain is a physical restraint worn by prisoners, consisting of a chain around the waist, to which the prisoner's hands may be chained or cuffed. Sometimes the ankles are also connected by means of longer chains.
Curtis Lovell II is an American illusionist and escape artist. He is known for his high-profile escape performances and his events for corporations. The Washington Times interviewed him for a political piece subtitled "Houdini Factor". He was referred to in an article in weekly entertainment newspaper Citizen LA as "the premiere [sic] escape artist of our time." He has also received coverage for his stunts, including a performance with actor Tony Curtis and Larry King.
Alexis Arts, aka Danilo Audiello, is an Italian illusionist, actor, dancer, and creative director in the theatre world. He is currently the fastest escapologist in the world. His shows mix artistic illusionism with mentalism and other disciplines such as dance, transformation (quick-change), mime, theatre, Chinese shadow artistry, and martial arts. As such he could be defined not only as a magician, but as an all round entertainer trained in numerous fields. His passion is to combine these skills in order to create different atmospheres and characters that tell moving, unexpected stories—stories which make audiences question their perceptions of reality. As such Arts refers to himself as a "fantasist"—dedicated to building surreal spectacles and stories that both move and perplex the viewer.
Michael Griffin is an American escape artist, magician and illusionist. He is best known for his $100,000 worldwide challenge to anyone who can keep him prisoner, as well as being the only person to have survived a public hanging.
Antony Britton is an escapologist and stunt performer. He has performed a series of large scale spectacular stunts done for television and charity. Britton first attracted notice in Wakefield, England in a 2012 stunt. He went on to perform a series of stunts for charity, and in 2014 thousands turned out in Bradford city centre to watch him attempt the inverted straitjacket escape. In 2015 he attempted the Buried Alive escape challenge, making him the third person to have attempted the routine in 100 years. He was unsuccessful and had to be rescued.
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.
The House of Houdini is a private exhibit and performance venue located at 11, Dísz Square, within the walls of the Buda Castle in Budapest, Hungary. The building houses the only collection of original Houdini artifacts in Europe.
The 2017–18 Cymru Alliance is the 28th season of the top football league in North Wales. Mirroring its South Wales counterpart the Welsh Football League Division One, the 16-team division forms half of the second tier of the Welsh football league system and falls one level below the nationwide Welsh Premier League. The season began 12 August 2017 and is scheduled to conclude on 31 March 2018.
Reynold Sebelén Medina is a Puerto Rican magician and illusionist known professionally as Reynold Alexander.
Norman Bigelow was an American illusionist. He has been described by the Society of American Magicians as "one of America’s leading escape artists".
Robert Marion "Doc" Cunningham (1873–1951), was an American illusionist, stunt performer, and showman whose stage names included Zante, Cunning the Jail Breaker, Cunning the Handcuff King, Doc Cunning, The Mental Miracle Man, and Cunning the Supermind.
A burial artist is a person who intentionally endures premature burial by being voluntarily buried for extended periods as a form of human endurance contests, endurance art, escapology, or magic (illusion).
