Alan Alan

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 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 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. "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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