In this present day of adrenalin and high-risk sports, many people across the globe are looking for new and exciting ways to push the barriers of the human body, this however is not a new entity, and people have been performing crazy stunts all over the world for more than 30 years. They come in many forms, from riding a motorbike at full speed into the side off a stationary van, attempting to jump the same bike over a large row of buses, leaping from the top of skyscrapers with nothing more than a parachute or even attempting to escape from a straight jacket whilst submerged under water and bound with chains. All of these crazy stunts have been attempted at some point over the years by a number of the many stuntmen and women across the planet.
Quite possibly the oldest and most legendary of all the stuntmen of past years is the Hungarian/American escapologist Harry Houdini, born March 1874 and died October 1926. Harry and his large family immigrated to the United States in 1878 when he was only 4 years old, they spent their early days in America in Appleton Wisconsin, they were later to relocate to New York city in around 1887. During his childhood, Harry had various jobs, he even managed to become a cross-country running champion at a very early age, and his first public appearance however came at the age of 9 as a trapeze artist. The early days of Harry’s magic career were not overly successful; he spent much of the early days concentrating on card tricks and hand magic until 1899 when he caught his big break. A man named Martin Beck spotted him and advised him to concentrate on his escapology acts, this would prove to be the making of him. By 1900 harry was booked for a tour across Europe performing all of his crazy stunts, he became commonly known as the handcuff king.
Over his long and illustrious career, Harry Houdini performed many dangerous and crazy stunts, many of which brought him within seconds of his life. In 1904 the Daily Mirror newspaper had laid down the gauntlet to Harry that he could not escape from a new handcuff that had reputably taken the blacksmith concerned 7 years to make, Harry promptly accepted the challenge, and after many hours, in front of a crowd of over 4000 people finally succeeded. In 1912, he performed one of his most famous acts, the Chinese water torture cell. His feet were secured by locks into stocks and he was lowered, upside down into a metal and glass tank over water, a curtain was drawn around the tank to hide his escape, which again was a success, this would be an escape that he would continue to perform until his death in 1926. Many over the years have tried to emulate him but Harry Houdini to this day remains one of the most famous and respected performers of death defying crazy stunts that has ever walked the earth.
Crazy Stunts