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DAVID BLAINE: STREET MAGIC (TV)

Summary

This special program spotlights the talents of street magician David Blaine, who performs card tricks, mind readings, contortions of body parts, and acts of levitation on the street, right before pedestrian's eyes. Actor Leonardo DiCaprio conducts an interview with Blaine about his life as a magician, interspersed with many of Blaine's magic tricks. Highlights include the following: Blaine takes a bite out of a quarter and spits it back together; makes a card levitate out of the deck as a person holds it; makes a signed card jump to the top of a shuffled deck; and rips a card with a person's name on it into pieces, folds it, and makes it appear in one piece. DiCaprio then speaks with Blaine about his preference for performing magic on the street without props or special effects. Next, Blaine hosts a version of three card monty, featuring Dallas Cowboys Emmitt Smith and Darryl Johnston, and then sticks a lit cigarette through a quarter and pulls it out with the quarter intact. After Blaine and DiCaprio discuss the history of magic, Blaine spins his arm counter-clockwise while his palm is flat on the ground; makes cigarette ashes appear in a person's closed fist; and makes a quarter disappear from a person's hand simply by waving his own hand over it.

Next, Blaine tells DiCaprio the reasons he enjoys the audience reactions and describes the way magic breaks down language barriers. After guessing a number that a person had chosen, Blaine tells DiCaprio how he lends the tricks a psychic quality, which some people believe is real, and then describes his family's influence on his profession and the first magic trick he ever performed. Next, he places a card inside a deck and throws the entire deck against a window, making the chosen card appear on the other side; takes people's watches as he performs basic tricks; and makes himself levitate off the ground, which absolutely shocks Deion Sanders of the Dallas Cowboys and every other witness. Includes commercials with Candice Bergen for Sprint phone service and George Steinbrenner for Kentucky Fried Chicken; promos; and a public service announcement. This program is closed-captioned.

Details

  • NETWORK: ABC
  • DATE: May 19, 1997 Monday 8:00 PM
  • RUNNING TIME: 0:56:53
  • COLOR/B&W: Color
  • CATALOG ID: T:48812
  • GENRE: Specials
  • SUBJECT HEADING: Specials; Magic and magicians
  • SERIES RUN: ABC - TV, 1997
  • COMMERCIALS:
    • TV - Commercials - "Zeus and Roxanne" (home video)
    • TV - Commercials - A1 Sweet & Tangy steak sauce
    • TV - Commercials - Best Foods mayonnaise
    • TV - Commercials - Chevrolet Cavalier automobile
    • TV - Commercials - General Motors automobiles
    • TV - Commercials - Hallmark greetings cards
    • TV - Commercials - Huggies Ultratrim diapers
    • TV - Commercials - Kentucky Fried Chicken restaurant
    • TV - Commercials - Little Debbie breakfast cakes
    • TV - Commercials - McDonald's fast food
    • TV - Commercials - Milk
    • TV - Commercials - Neutrogena anti-wrinkle cream
    • TV - Commercials - Saturn automobiles
    • TV - Commercials - Sears stores
    • TV - Commercials - Sprint phone service
    • TV - Commercials - Toys 'R' Us toy stores
    • TV - Commercials - Wendy's fast food
    • TV - PSA - Partnership for a Drug-Free America
    • TV - Promos - "Barbara Walters Presents 6 to Watch"
    • TV - Promos - "Detention: Siege at Johnson High"
    • TV - Promos - "Home Improvement"
    • TV - Promos - "Murder One"
    • TV - Promos - "Roseanne"
    • TV - Promos - "Straight Talk"
    • TV - Promos - "The 24th Annual Daytime Emmy Awards"
    • TV - Promos - "The 81st Indianapolis 500"
    • TV - Promos - "The Drew Carey Show"

CREDITS

  • Stephen Chao … Executive Producer
  • David Blaine … Executive Producer
  • Edward Connolly … Supervising Producer
  • Jay Scharer … Producer
  • Teri Kennedy … Line Producer
  • Lucas Meyers … Music by
  • Justin Reinhardt … Music by
  • David Blaine … Host, Performer
  • Leonardo DiCaprio … Interviewer
  • Darryl Johnston
  • Emmitt Smith
  • Deion Sanders
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