An escape artist who performs as Houdini II is scheduled to dangle roughly nine stories above the pavement outside Hollywood's Magic Castle Friday at 8 a.m., attempting a live escape with no airbag or protective landing system waiting below him. Organizers say the stunt, set for about 90 feet in the air, will also mark the first time an African American escape artist has performed a live escape in front of the famed private club.
According to a release detailed by MyNewsLA.com, the escape is being billed by organizers as historic for the venue, which sits in Hollywood, California. As part of the performance, Houdini II plans to throw $1,000 from the sky, a gesture organizers describe as meant to promote social unity, peace and global harmony, per a statement carried by PRNewswire.
The timing is no accident. The stunt lands one day before the 100th anniversary of Harry Houdini's death, which fell on October 31, 1926, when the legendary escapologist succumbed to peritonitis in Detroit at age 52, according to a post from Wild About Houdini. The Magic Castle itself is set to host a string of centennial tributes that weekend, including the Official Houdini Séance, scheduled for 5 p.m. Pacific on October 31 at the club's Franklin Avenue address in Hollywood, the same source notes. The venue remains a private club open only to members, with limited press admitted strictly by invitation, per Wild About Houdini.
A History of High-Wire Theatrics
Houdini II is no stranger to spectacle. Organizers say his past feats include jumping from Miami's MacArthur Bridge into Biscayne Bay while bound with ropes and chains, as well as escaping from a submerged, coffin-like wooden box before reappearing behind startled spectators, per the PRNewswire release. He's also described in an earlier PRNewswire announcement as an escape artist who has performed more than 100 escapes over his career, and he works as a keynote and motivational speaker who incorporates magic into his presentations.
He recently wrapped a 10-month tour promoting his documentary, Houdini II: A Beautiful Day to Die, which had screenings in Berlin, London and several U.S. states before concluding at Brooklyn's Bushwick Film Festival, organizers say.
Appleton Stunt Drew Conflicting Height Reports
The Hollywood performance follows a similar high-wire act Houdini II pulled off this past summer in Appleton, Wisconsin, Harry Houdini's hometown, though accounts of exactly how high he was suspended differ. A PRNewswire announcement described the Appleton straitjacket escape as taking place 100 feet above the ground, roughly the height of an eight-story building, while the Post-Crescent similarly reported the suspended escape was completed approximately 80 feet in the air. Wisconsin Public Radio, however, reported the escape was suspended 100 feet above Houdini Plaza.
That Appleton gathering, tied to the Society of American Magicians, also featured a mass demonstration of Houdini's chain escape, with about 300 magicians completing the trick simultaneously in 58 seconds, according to Wisconsin Public Radio. The event additionally included individual performances of Houdini's historic milk-can and mid-air straitjacket escapes, the Post-Crescent reported.
Centennial Auction Joins the Weekend's Tributes
Hollywood's stunt arrives amid a broader wave of programming marking a century since Houdini's death. Potter & Potter plans to present what it calls a landmark sale of Houdini memorabilia at the Magic Castle on October 31, described in its own listing as marking 100 years since the magician's death. The sale will publicly offer 100 historic items from the collection of Kevin Connolly for the first time, many of which were personally owned by Houdini himself, according to the auction house.
