Criss Angel - The Daredevil
Date: January 2003
Source: Forbes.com - by Susan Karlin,
Mixing equal parts Harry Houdini and
Fear Factor, magician Criss Angel attempts his greatest
stunt: superstardom.
On a chilly evening in April daredevil
magician Criss Angel frantically struggles to escape
from a covered barrel of water that dangles in midair
80 feet over a Las Vegas parking lot. He has two minutes
to wriggle out of handcuffs, grab a safety bar and disengage
the barrel body before the entire thing crashes to the
ground. Suddenly he screams:"Stop!" The barrel
is lowered to the ground, and a shaken Angel emerges.
His body had gotten too twisted to let him escape. Moments
later he ascends again, this time sliding his shackles
off and pulling the release. The barrel plunges to the
asphalt and shatters, while Angel hangs on overhead,
bare chested and triumphant. "We weren't sure he
was gonna make it," one cameraman murmurs.
Angel was shooting the stunt for his new reality TV
show, Criss Angel Mindfreak, set to debut in July. The
next day he would seal himself inside a wooden crate
and blow it apart with dynamite; by week's end he would
hover over a nearby canyon, dangling from a helicopter
and suspended by fishhooks in his skin.
This is the year Criss Angel aims to transform himself
from cult hero into mass-media star--if he doesn't kill
himself first.He is a rock-star version of a magician,
tossing timeworn trappings--the tux, the sequined babe
assistant, the same old tired tricks--in favor of pain,
mortal danger and a palpable underpinning of sex. His
dark, shaggy mane cascades over his shoulders, and six-pack
abs peek through an unbuttoned shirt, which he rarely
passes up the chance to shed.Adorning his chest are
a medallion said to ward off evil spirits and a diamond-studded
cross bearing the word "believe," the code
Houdini agreed to use if he was able to contact his
wife after death.
Angel laces his view of magic with talk of profit margins,
reinvestment and diversification. You're expecting Tommy
Lee, and out comes Donald Trump, but with way better
hair. "Magic is a wonderful art form, but it needs
to be updated," he says. "I grew up on MTV
and wanted to break the caricature of a magician pulling
rabbits out of a hat or shoving a girl in leotards in
a box. Why are magicians still doing what they did 100
years ago?" His manager, David Baram of the Firm,
adds:"We think Criss can do for magic what Cirque
du Soleil did for the circus. He understands what he
needs to do to build a company and a brand."
But turning a magician into a superstar is "almost
impossible," says Richard Kaufman, editor of Genii,
an industry trade magazine. He counts six, from Houdini
to David Blaine, and says, "Criss Angel will be
the next."
Born Christopher Sarantakos 30-some years ago, he grew
up in East Meadow, New York, on Long Island, the youngest
of three sons in a close Greek-American family. He got
interested in magic at age 6, after his Aunt Stella
did a trick for him. He did his first paid gig--for
$15--when he was 12. By age 19 he was making $3,000
a week performing at children's parties and nightclubs.
Soon he began experimenting with bigger stunts, mixing
magic with loud, pulsating rock music that he composed.
"I wanted to combine magic and music in a much
grander vision that required a band, larger illusions
and more equipment." This paid off in the mid-1990s
when Angel landed a spot in an ABC special. Then came
a show on Halloween at Madison Square Garden in 1998;
he took in $50,000 signing Criss Angel memorabilia for
fans. In 2001 he produced Criss Angel Mindfreak, a bona
fide off-Broadway hit, investing $300,000 (borrowed
against his mother's house) and reaping $4 million in
14 months. Later he landed appearances on the ABC Family
channel, TBS in Japan, MTV, Discovery Channel and Sci
Fi Channel, with most gigs paying him $300,000 to $450,000
in production fees.
Last summer Angel signed with the Firm, which manages
Robert De Niro, Leonardo DiCaprio and Cameron Diaz.
Baram, the president, matched Angel with Johnny Depp's
stylist, who stripped the magician's black nail polish,
cut his waist-length hair and traded his leather wardrobe
for a more artsy, athletic look.
His new show on A&E premieres July 20, featuring
his music, live street magic, behind-the-curtain preparation
and family life. Filmed in ten weeks of 20-hour days,
16 half-hour episodes will allow viewers to trail Angel
as he catches bullets in his teeth, gets run over by
a Hummer while lying on a bed of nails, is buried and
is burned alive. A&E will run on-air spots, post
billboards in Times Square and on Sunset Boulevard in
Hollywood and stage a stunt in New York's Bryant Park
in which Angel will submerge himself in a tank of water
for 36 hours and then escape. Presumably.
Next spring he may take a three-month tour of Asia
expected to gross $3 million. Also in the works: magic
tricks, DVDs, brand sponsorships, speaking engagements,
a U.S. tour and a standing gig at a Las Vegas casino.
Angel makes $1.5 million a year, and his handlers dream
of surpassing the $57 million a year earned by David
Copperfield. "The show gives me built-in marketing.
Without money to reinvest, I can't make more art,"
Angel says. And more art means more money.
You can read the article here.
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