Houdini II spoke out after dangling nine stories above Hollywood to honor the legendary escape artist whose name he carries.
The performer, whose real name has not been disclosed, completed the upside-down straitjacket escape last Friday beside the Magic Castle, the private club for magicians that has anchored the Hollywood Hills since 1963. He needed just under two minutes to work himself free while suspended roughly 80 feet in the air, organizers confirmed.
He did it without an airbag or any protective landing system waiting below.
The straitjacket itself carried its own Hollywood pedigree. The performer said it was an “exact replica” of the one actor Tony Curtis wore in the 1953 film “Houdini.”
The stunt fell on Halloween, the precise centennial of Harry Houdini’s death in 1926. The original Houdini died at 52 from peritonitis, though witnesses long speculated that a man who punched him repeatedly in the stomach after Houdini claimed he could endure such blows had actually caused the fatal injury.
Organizers had promised an unusual twist before the crane lifted Houdini II skyward: he would throw $1,000 from above as what they called a “gesture promoting social unity, peace, and global harmony.”
The performer has built a career on similarly dangerous public escapes. He has jumped from Miami’s MacArthur Bridge into Biscayne Bay while bound with ropes and chains, then freed himself from a submerged coffin-like wooden box, organizers noted. He recently wrapped a 10-month tour promoting his documentary, “Houdini II: A Beautiful Day to Die.”
After touching down safely, Houdini II made clear the moment had overwhelmed him.
“It’s crazy man, it’s beautiful up there,” he said. “But all for Houdini and the Magic Castle that let this go on today. We love it. We made history.”
The Magic Castle, operated by the Academy of Magical Arts, has long served as a gathering place for illusionists and escape artists carrying forward traditions that Houdini himself helped establish during his own career of death-defying public performances.
Houdini II continues to schedule appearances connected to the documentary tour.