Alan Alan

Alan Alan

Alan Alan at The Magic Spot
Born Alan Rabinowitz
November 1926
London, England
Died 4 July 2014 (aged 87)
London, England
Occupation escapologist and magician

Alan Alan (born Alan Rabinowitz, November 1926 – 4 July 2014) was a British escapologist and magician.[1] He originated tricks that have subsequently become familiar features of the repertoire of other performers and he was honoured by The Magic Circle.[2]

Alan achieved fame through a series of stunts staged for the media. He made headline news in 1949 when a "buried alive" stunt, performed for Pathe News, nearly went wrong.[2] He is credited with devising the burning-rope straitjacket escape,[3] in which he is suspended upside-down from a crane with a length of thick rope doused with petrol; once ignited there is a short time to escape before the rope burns through.

He appeared in a number of television magic shows, including The Magic of David Copperfield.[4] He also "taught" the inmates of Wormwood Scrubs prison how to escape from handcuffs in his performance with a number of other magicians.[5] In more recent years he was seen on the Channel 4 TV show The Secret Cabaret with Simon Drake.

He was proprietor of Alan Alan's Magic Spot, a magic shop based on Southampton Row, London until its lease expired in the mid-1990s.

Alan's standing and influence in the world of magic was formally recognised in 2006 when The Magic Circle chose him to receive the coveted Maskelyne award for services to British magic.[2] He died on 4 July 2014.[6]

References

  1. ↑ "Magicians' Biographies". magictricks.com. Archived from the original on 29 June 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  2. ↑ 2.0 2.1 2.2 "The Magic Circle Awards Banquet". The Magic Circle. Archived from the original on 2007-07-04. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  3. ↑ "BURNING ROPE ESCAPOLOGIST". British Pathe Ltd. 26 October 1959.
  4. ↑ "The Magic of David Copperfield". BFI Film ad TV Database. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  5. ↑ "This Billing is a Smash Hit". Calgary Herald. 1959-04-06. Retrieved 2011-01-16.
  6. ↑ Milazzo, Franco. [Obituary: Alan Alan, “The British Houdini” "Obituary: Alan Alan, "The British Houdini""]. This Is Cabaret. Retrieved 6 July 2014.