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Curtis Lovell II
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 escape artist of our time." He has also received coverage for his stunts, including a performance with actor Tony Curtis and Larry King. Career When Lovell was seven, his father performed a magic trick by pulling a coin from the young boy's ear. This inspired him to become a magical entertainer. At an early age, Lovell mastered the art of close up magic. In the Death Trap, created for a nightlife/entertainment complex in Singapore, Lovell attracted thousands of spectators and media on 18 subsequent nights when he was chained up and lowered into the Singapore River. He has performed Houdini's Cube of Death trick hundreds of times, including 29 times ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Magic (illusion)
Magic, which encompasses the subgenres of illusion, stage magic, and close up magic, among others, is a performing art in which audiences are entertained by tricks, effects, or illusions of seemingly impossible feats, using natural means. It is to be distinguished from paranormal magic which are effects claimed to be created through supernatural means. It is one of the oldest performing arts in the world. Modern entertainment magic, as pioneered by 19th-century magician Jean-Eugène Robert-Houdin, has become a popular theatrical art form. In the late 19th and early 20th centuries, magicians such as Maskelyne and Devant, Howard Thurston, Harry Kellar, and Harry Houdini achieved widespread commercial success during what has become known as "the Golden Age of Magic." During this period, performance magic became a staple of Broadway theatre, vaudeville, and music halls. Magic retained its popularity in the television age, with magicians such as Paul Daniels, David Co ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Paris Hilton
Paris Whitney Hilton (born February 17, 1981) is an American media personality, businesswoman, socialite, model, and entertainer. Born in New York City, and raised there and in Beverly Hills, California, she is a great-granddaughter of Conrad Hilton, the founder of Hilton Hotels. Hilton first attracted tabloid attention in the late 1990s, when she became a fixture in NYC's social scene, and ventured into modeling at age 19, signing with Donald Trump's agency Trump Model Management. After David LaChapelle photographed her and sister Nicky for the September 2000 issue of '' Vanity Fair'', Hilton was proclaimed "New York's leading It Girl" in 2001. The reality television series '' The Simple Life'' (2003–2007), in which she starred with her friend Nicole Richie, and a leaked 2001 sex tape with her then-boyfriend Rick Salomon, later released as '' 1 Night in Paris'' (2004), catapulted her into global fame. Hilton published her debut book, '' Confessions of an Heiress'' ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
1981 Births
Events January * January 1 ** Greece enters the European Economic Community, predecessor of the European Union. ** Palau becomes a self-governing territory. * January 10 – Salvadoran Civil War: The FMLN launches its first major offensive, gaining control of most of Morazán and Chalatenango departments. * January 15 – Pope John Paul II receives a delegation led by Polish Solidarity leader Lech Wałęsa at the Vatican. * January 20 – Iran releases the 52 Americans held for 444 days, minutes after Ronald Reagan is sworn in as the 40th President of the United States, ending the Iran hostage crisis. * January 21 – The first DeLorean automobile, a stainless steel sports car with gull-wing doors, rolls off the production line in Dunmurry, Northern Ireland. * January 24 – An earthquake of magnitude in Sichuan, China, kills 150 people. Japan suffers a less serious earthquake on the same day. * January 25 – In South Africa the largest part of the town ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
John Edward
John Edward McGee Jr. (born October 19, 1969) is an American television personality, author and a self-proclaimed psychic medium. After writing his first book on the subject in 1998, Edward became a well-known (and controversial) figure in the United States with his shows broadcast on the Sci-Fi Channel premiering in July 2000 along with broadcasting on We TV since May 2006. Biography Edward (born in Glen Cove, New York) is the only son of an Irish-American police officer and an Italian-American working mother. The religion he was raised practicing was Roman Catholic. Although Edward later stopped practicing that faith, he has been quoted as saying that he has never stopped feeling connected to God and still feels closely connected to his Catholic roots. Edward was quoted saying, "This is something that is driven by a belief in God. It's the energy from that force that I think allows us to create ''this'' energy." According to Edward, when he was 15 and "a huge doubter" (in ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Psychic
A psychic is a person who claims to use extrasensory perception (ESP) to identify information hidden from the normal senses, particularly involving telepathy or clairvoyance, or who performs acts that are apparently inexplicable by natural laws, such as psychokinesis or teleportation. Although many people believe in psychic abilities, the scientific consensus is that there is no proof of the existence of such powers, and describes the practice as pseudoscience. The word "psychic" is also used as an adjective to describe such abilities. Psychics encompass people in a variety of roles. Some are theatrical performers, such as stage magicians, who use various techniques, e.g., prestidigitation, cold reading, and hot reading, to produce the appearance of such abilities for entertainment purposes. A large industry and network exists whereby people advertised as psychics provide advice and counsel to clients. Some famous psychics include Edgar Cayce, Ingo Swann, Peter Hurkos, Janet Le ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
David Blaine
David Blaine (born April 4, 1973) is an American Magic (illusion), illusionist, endurance artist, and Stunt performer, extreme performer. He is best known for his high-profile feats of endurance and has set and broken several world records. Early life Blaine was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City, the son of a single mother, Patrice White, a teacher who was of Russian Jews, Russian-Jewish ancestry, and a father who is a Vietnam War veteran of Puerto Rican and Italian descent. When Blaine was four years old, he saw a magician performing Magic (illusion), magic on the subway. This sparked a lifelong interest for him. He was raised by his mother and attended a Montessori school in Brooklyn. They later moved to Little Falls, New Jersey, where he attended Passaic Valley Regional High School. Per one account, his mother developed cancer when Blaine was 15 and died when he was 20. Per another, "When Blaine was 21, his mother was stricken with cancer and passed away in 1994." ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini (, born Erik Weisz; March 24, 1874 – October 31, 1926) was a Hungarian-American escape artist, magic man, and stunt performer, noted for his escape acts. His pseudonym is a reference to his spiritual master, French magician Robert-Houdin (1805–1871). He first attracted notice in vaudeville in the United States and then as "Harry 'Handcuff' Houdini" on a tour of Europe, where he challenged police forces to keep him locked up. Soon he extended his repertoire to include chains, ropes slung from skyscrapers, straitjackets under water, and having to escape from and hold his breath inside a sealed milk can with water in it. In 1904, thousands watched as he tried to escape from special handcuffs commissioned by London's ''Daily Mirror'', keeping them in suspense for an hour. Another stunt saw him buried alive and only just able to claw himself to the surface, emerging in a state of near-breakdown. While many suspected that these escapes were faked, Houdini ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Curtis Lovell II Buried Alive
Curtis or Curtiss is a common English given name and surname of Anglo-Norman origin from the Old French ''curteis'' ( Modern French ''courtois'') which derived from the Spanish Cortés (of which Cortez is a variation) and the Portuguese and Galician Cardoso. The name means "polite, courteous, or well-bred". It is a compound of ''curt-'' "court" and ''-eis'' "-ish". The spelling ''u'' to render in Old French was mainly Anglo-Norman and Norman, when the spelling ''o'' was the usual Parisian French one, Modern French ''ou'' ''-eis'' is the Old French suffix for ''-ois'', Western French (including Anglo-Norman) keeps ''-eis'', simplified to ''-is'' in English. The word ''court'' shares the same etymology but retains a Modern French spelling, after the orthography had changed.T. F. Hoad, ''English Etymology'', Oxford University Press paperbook 1993. p. 101a It was brought to England (and subsequently, the rest of the Isles) via the Norman Conquest. In the United Kingdom, ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Straitjacket
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. Although ''straitjacket'' is the most common spelling, ''strait-jacket'' is also frequent. Straitjackets are also called camisoles. The effect of a straitjacket as a restraint makes it of special interest in escapology. The straitjacket is also a staple prop in stage magic. The straitjacket comes from the Georgian era of medicine. Physical restraint was used both as treatment for mental illness and to pacify patients in understaffed asylums. Due to their strength, canvas and duck cloth are the most common materials ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Los Angeles Athletic Club
Los Angeles Athletic Club (LAAC) is a privately owned athletic club and social club in Los Angeles, California, United States. Established in 1880, the club is today best known for its John R. Wooden Award presented to the outstanding men's and women's college basketball player of each year. History Establishment The Los Angeles Athletic Club (LAAC) was founded on September 8, 1880. By the end of its first month of existence the fledgling club counted 60 enlisted members and was able to rent its first facility, two halls located in Stearns Hall on Los Angeles Street in downtown Los Angeles. A 19th Century history indicates that the club had the dual purposes of "providing its members with the means of physical development" along with "the advantages of a gentlemen's club.Charles F. Lummis (ed.)"Los Angeles Athletic Club,"''The Land of Sunshine'' os Angeles vol. 5, no. 3 (Aug. 1896). pg. 134. The club relocated for the first time in 1881, moving to more commodious accommoda ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Jules Verne Festival
The Jules Verne Awards were a set of annual film awards, awarded from 1992 to 2012 in Paris, France. The awards are for "celebrating achievements in arts, exploration, and conservation, in the tradition of French writer Jules Verne". History The awards were created in 1992 by filmmaker/environmentalists Jean-Christophe Jeauffre and Frédéric Dieudonné, the two founders of the Jules Verne Festival ( (JVAFF)) and also known as the Jules Verne Film Festival, The awards were organized and overseen by the Jules Verne Adventures organization. They were first given in 1992 at the first Jules Verne Film Festival, which took place at the Institut océanographique de Paris. In December 2007, the festival came to Los Angeles. This edition of the festival was known as the Jules Verne Adventure Film Festival. It was held in LA again the following year in October, at The Edison and The ImaginAsian Center. The Jules Verne Festival traditionally includes an awards ceremony during which ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
