For the first time, magician David Copperfield has admitted that he thought he would die while attempting his death-defying stunt over Niagara Falls. “We would have a raft and use steel ramps to take me into the water. We were there for a week before just to build it.
“I remember going to my hotel room every night and dreaming how I was going to die. It was really, really horrible. It wasn’t like, ‘what did I get myself into?’ after the fact; this was before, and it was really bad.
“Then at the end, I would be on a rope dangling from a helicopter. We had a stuntman there ready to rehearse for me, and it was so dangerous, he even refused to do it. “
The amazing escape was the finale of his 13th TV special in 1990. David’s rare and remarkably candid interview in which he also confesses that he’s still trying to get magic exactly right appears in the October issue of Magic Magazine published here in Las Vegas by my pal Stan Allen.
I’ve interviewed David several times over the years -- including going on an exclusive tour of his magic warehouse but he’s never gone into such detail about his career, its dangers and disappointments and his extraordinary achievements.
Stan talked with David at the Society of American Magicians national convention held here recently at the Golden Nugget. It’s a lengthy and insightful story that you can read next week at MagicMagazine.com with video at Magic Plus. Stan gave Vegas DeLuxe an advance look at his story.
Stan Allen: How did you discover magic?
At one point, I went looking for a better puppet. I went to Macy’s -- Macy’s magic counter. There was a demonstrator there who made a masterpiece out of the effect where the coin vanishes on a little wooden board, as well as other classics, like Cups & Balls and the Professor’s Nightmare. He made his living pitching magic, and he was really skilled.
It’s a parallel of my life. You learn from doing lots of shows. That’s probably where I got the idea. I bought that little board at Macy’s, probably the first trick I bought. I remember looking through the New York phone book for a magic store, and I found Louis Tannen Magic. I went there, the elevator door opened, and I knew my life was changing. Everyone knows that feeling, like you’ve walked into heaven. Man, you walked in, and you just went, “This is it!”
According to Newsmax.com, David Copperfield alleges that he’s found the fountain of youth. He bought a cluster of small islands in the Bahamas for $50 million, and states that things which are nearly dead come into contact with the water and are restored back to life. They appear to bestow perpetual youth. He’s inviting biologists to study it, but has not invited visitors to drink from or swim in it. I wonder if it was Dick Clark who sold it to him prior to his stroke last year? Maybe this solves the dilemma of how Keith Richards can still be alive and playing guitar…
