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Friday, April 09, 1999 By Tony Norman, Post-Gazette Staff Writer
When I was in my early teens, I wanted to be Scott Free. That's Mister Miracle to those whose knowledge of comic books is limited to the marquee names in fancy tights.
Mister Miracle wore fancy tights too, but his shtick was freeing himself from impossible traps. Typically, his sidekick Oberon would manacle him to a nuclear warhead and shoot him into the desert or something.
The resulting mushroom cloud didn't mean Scott Free was dead. Mister Miracle could usually be seen gliding back to Earth clutching a makeshift parachute or, emerging nonchalantly from a steamy shower in the next room, asking what all the excitement was about.
But an escape artist in a comic book has a lot more latitude than his real life counterpart, so I lost interest in becoming West Philly's answer to Harry Houdini.
Maybe that's why New York magician David Blaine appeals to my inner Mister Miracle. For those whose knowledge of magicians is limited to marquee names such as Merlin and Claudia Schiffer's ex-beau, Blaine is a talented "street illusionist" best known for levitating over Manhattan sidewalks during rush hour.
A charismatic 25-year old of indeterminate race (at least to these jaundiced eyes), Blaine has parlayed a lifelong interest in sleight-of-hand tricks into a very lucrative niche. He's the hip-hop Houdini, a card wielding baffler who counts among his admirers and running buddies Al Pacino, Madonna, Wesley Snipes, and President Clinton. Robert DeNiro is executive producing a movie based on his life.
Blaine just broke up with Fiona Apple, the high maintenance pop singer. Leonardo DiCaprio, a former friend, hosted the magician's 1997 special, so his hipster credentials must be impeccable.
But all of Blaine's chic acclaim will pale beside the fame that will rain down on him once he emerges from his "buried alive" trick in Trump Park on Monday.
According to gullible press accounts, Blaine is buried 6 feet under one of New York's most exclusive ZIP codes in a trancelike state, immobile in a transparent coffin since Monday.
He's hemmed in under a 4,000-pound, 6-foot Plexiglass tank filled with water. He's visible at all times and has become quite a tourist attraction.
Air is pumped in through a special tube. Blaine reportedly lives on four tablespoons of water a day. He can push a 'panic button' at any time and an emergency crew can, in theory, extract him from the grave in minutes.
Heat-seeking cameras attest to his "presence" in the coffin. "Inside Edition" and "Entertainment Tonight" make regular visits to the site, providing Blaine with the kind of publicity money can't buy.
It's impossible to begrudge the magician his incredible success. He's made illusion glamorous again after a long exile in Vegas. For my money, I don't think he's really there. He'll make the deadline, but his crew will panic because he won't "wake up." During the "rescue," Blaine will slip back into the coffin with no one the wiser.
His return will be smooth and undetectable, like Mister Miracle emerging from a shower after a nuclear explosion. I'm so jealous.
Tony Norman's email:. tnorman@post-gazette.com.
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