David blaine biography ethnic origin
David Blaine
David Blaine (born David Blaine White on April 4, ) is an Americanmagician. He has set and broken several world records.
Early & personal life
[change | change source]Blaine was born and raised in Brooklyn, New York City. His father, William Perez, was a Vietnamveteran. His mother was Patrice Maureen White, a school teacher.
At the age of four, he saw a magician performing at a magic show in the subway, and became interested in the subject. Growing up, he was raised by his single mother. He attended many schools. When he was ten years old, his mother married another man, and the family moved to Little Falls, New Jersey.
Blaine has a half-brother named Michael James Bukalo. When he was 17 years old, he moved to Manhattan.
Blaine married Alizee Guinochet. They have one daughter, Dessa, who was born in January Blaine and Guinochet separated in
Stunts and specials
[change | change source]Since and throughout his life, Blaine has been doing all kinds of stunts. Some of them include (in time order):
- Street Magic and Magic Man
- Buried Alive
- Frozen in Time
- Vertigo
- Mysterious Stranger
- Above the Below
- Drowned Alive
- Revolution
- Guinness World Records
- Dive of Death
- Electrified: One Million Volts Always On
Charity and more
[change | change source]Every year, David Blaine has traveled all across the country and the world to perform magic for children.
On January 15, , David Blaine started performing "Magic For Haiti" in Times Square. He performed for 72 hours. He raised nearly one hundred thousand dollars.
David Blaine has traveled internationally. He has performed for President Bill Clinton and Secretary of State Hillary Clinton, President George W. Bush, Secretary of Defense Donald Rumsfeld (at the Pentagon), Governor Arnold Schwarzenegger, Henry Kissinger, Bill Gates and Mayor Michael Bloomberg. He has also performed magic for the President of Russia Dmitry Medvedev, the President of Georgia
Who is David Blaine?
David Blaine is a polarising figure: I’m not the first to write this about the infamous magician and I surely won’t be the last. Whether you love him or not, you’ve undoubtedly heard of him. But do any of us really know who he is?
Personally, I’m a big believer that art should comfort the disturbed and disturb the comfortable, and Blaine’s magic embodies this. He’s mostly known for his dangerous stunts and performances which have left him with several injuriesand frequently reward him with gasps of shock and horror. I don’t know a single person who can watch him sew his own mouth shutwith a needle and thread without being disturbed.
But in , when the world stood still and we were all looking for a sign of hope, Blaine took to the skies with 52 colorful balloons and gave us all the lift we needed with his latest stunt Ascension.
Most of Blaine’s tricks and stunts are performed for real. Blaine has risked permanent damage and even death performing these feats, and he’s suffered from a severe concussion, starvation, hallucinations, internal organ damage, and been rushed to hospital on numerous occasions. His magic is no joke and the consequences are frighteningly real.
So, does that make him a madman?
Who would go to such lengths in the name of entertainment?
The British public certainly wasn’t impressed by his day stay suspended above the River Thames in a transparent box in his stunt Above The Below. Some were, understandably, offendedby Blaine’s self-imposed starvation when, for millions around the world, it’s a harsh reality. The magician didn’t use this as an opportunity to raise awareness or fundraise for others, and many viewed it as a narcissistic call for attention.
But that doesn’t make Blaine’s performances selfish or meaningless. Blaine views the stunts as a search for “the ultimate truth.” After one of the earlier stunts in his career Buried Alive, Blaine emerged from the underground tomb that had been his home
David Blaine
American illusionist and extreme performer (born )
David Blaine (born David Blaine White; April 4, ) is an American magician, mentalist, and endurance performer. Born in New York City, Blaine became interested in magic at a very young age. He gained prominence in , when his first television special, David Blaine: Street Magic, aired on ABC. That year, he also appeared in Magic Man. He later starred in the television specials David Blaine: Real or Magic (), Beyond Magic (), and The Magic Way ().
Known for his dangerous stunts, in he attempted to break the Guinness World Record for breath holding. He succeeded in holding his breath for 17 minutes 4 seconds, setting a new world record for oxygen assisted static apnea. He is the author of Mysterious Stranger: A Book of Magic (), an autobiography and armchair treasure hunt with instructions on performing magic tricks.
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 Jewish ancestry, and father William Perez, who is a Vietnam War veteran of Puerto Rican and Italian descent.
When Blaine was four years old, he saw a magician performing 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 Per another, "When Blaine was 21, his mother was stricken with cancer and passed away in " When Blaine was 17 years old, he moved to Manhattan, New York City.
Stunts and specials
Street Magic () and Magic Man ()
On May 19, , Blaine's first television special, David Blaine: Stre () David Blaine made a tape of a magic performance and sent it to ABC, where the response was tremendous. His first special, David Blaine: Street Magic, was a ratings hit in David Blaine: Magic Man followed two years later. In , Blaine performed his first endurance stunt, and in , he followed with "Frozen in Time" in which he was frozen into a block of ice for 72 hours. David Blaine was born on April 4, , to a single mother in Brooklyn, New York. A street performer provided Blaine's introduction to magic, as the curious 4-year-old waited for a subway train. Magic was not his only interest, however, and Blaine went on to attend the Neighborhood Playhouse drama school and appeared in several TV commercials and soap operas. It was during this time that his ability to levitate off of the ground surfaced and, at the urging of his personal physician, Blaine underwent a thorough examination. When Blaine was 21, his mother was stricken with cancer and passed away in Though grief-stricken, he continued to perform and make a name for himself at celebrity functions by doing magic tricks for famous people, such as Mike Tyson, Al Pacino and David Geffen. Blaine made a tape of a performance and sent it to ABC, where the response was tremendous and an interview was soon requested. His first special, David Blaine: Street Magic was a ratings hit in David Blaine: Magic Man followed two years later. In , Blaine performed his first endurance stunt: submerging himself in 4, pounds of water for over one week. In , he followed with "Frozen in Time" in which he was frozen into a block of ice for 72 hours. Two years later, he stood on a foot pillar for 35 hours in "Vertigo." Unfortunately, there were more skeptics than supporters during 's "Above the Below," which involved Blaine living in a glass box suspended by the River Thames in London for 44 days David Blaine
Who Is David Blaine?
Early Life
Street Magic
Endurance Stunts