Alan Alan
Alan Alan at The Magic Spot
Born
Alan Rabinowitz

(1926-11-30)30 November 1926
London, England
Died4 July 2014(2014-07-04) (aged 87)
London, England
Occupation(s)escapologist and magician

Alan Alan (born Alan Rabinowitz, 30 November 1926[1][2] – 4 July 2014) was a British escapologist and magician.[3] He originated tricks that have subsequently become familiar features of the repertoire of other performers and he was honoured by The Magic Circle.[4]

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.[4] He is credited with devising the burning-rope straitjacket escape,[5] 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.[6] He also "taught" the inmates of Wormwood Scrubs prison how to escape from handcuffs in his performance with a number of other magicians.[7] 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.[4] He died on 4 July 2014, aged 87.[8]

References

  1. ↑ Obituaries in the Performing Arts, 2014. 30 April 2015. ISBN 9780786476664.
  2. ↑ "Alan Alan". www.telegraph.co.uk. Retrieved 20 July 2021.
  3. ↑ "Magicians' Biographies". magictricks.com. Archived from the original on 29 June 2007. Retrieved 8 July 2007.
  4. 1 2 3 "The Magic Circle Awards Banquet". The Magic Circle. Archived from the original on 4 July 2007. Retrieved 2007-07-08.
  5. ↑ "BURNING ROPE ESCAPOLOGIST". British Pathe Ltd. 26 October 1959.
  6. ↑ "The Magic of David Copperfield". BFI Film ad TV Database. Archived from the original on 4 March 2008. Retrieved 8 July 2007.
  7. ↑ "This Billing is a Smash Hit". Calgary Herald. 6 April 1959. Retrieved 16 January 2011.
  8. ↑ Milazzo, Franco (6 July 2014). "Obituary: Alan Alan, "The British Houdini"". This Is Cabaret. Retrieved 6 July 2014.


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