Criss Angel to attempt death-defying Houdini stunt Saturday

Erik Kabik/Retna/www.erikkabikphoto.com

Criss Angel on the blue carpet for the Viva Elvis world premiere at Aria in CityCenter on Feb. 19, 2010.

By Robin Leach (contact)

Thursday, May 6, 2010 | 9:28 a.m.

Richard Brian

Criss Angel with his Magician of the Century award.

Mindfreak magician Criss Angel faces the most dangerous stunt of his career this weekend. If he fails to escape from the chilly waters of the Colorado River at the London Bridge in Lake Havasu City, he will drown!

Criss will be chained, shackled, handcuffed, wrapped in rope and lowered into the river. “Once submerged, he has only two choices: Escape or drown,” said one of his producers of the A&E series now in its sixth season. “It’s probably the most death-defying stunt he’s ever attempted.”

Criss has told me several times of Houdini being his inspiration, and this stunt re-creates one that Houdini mastered in England. Film cameras will roll just before noon Saturday when Lake Havasu Mayor Don Callahan gives Criss a tour by boat.

Mindfreak fans and the public are permitted to watch the filming. The Lake Havasu Police Department will have four water units to control boat traffic.

Paramedics and rescue divers also will be on hand in case the stunt goes wrong. “It’s the perfect setting for the classic escape,” said Mindfreak producer Michael Soto. This is Criss’s homage to Houdini, the greatest escape artist of all time.

Criss, who has been named Magician of the Year five times and most recently Magician of the Century, appears nightly in his Cirque du Soleil show Believe at the Luxor. The Houdini escape episode will air as a one-hour special when the new season premieres in July.

Mindfreak is seen in 80 countries and by more than 100 million viewers.

Follow Robin Leach on Twitter at Twitter.com/Robin_Leach.