Bullet catch
Encyclopedia
The bullet catch is a conjuring illusion in which a magician appears to catch a bullet fired directly at him—often in his mouth, sometimes in his hand or caught with other items such as a dinner plate. The bullet
catch may also be referred to as the bullet trick, or occasionally the gun trick.
, demonstrating that neither will cross to the other side.
The gun is then fired through a target (usually a pane of glass
, which shatters) to demonstrate that the gun has actually fired a bullet and the catcher didn't just hide a bullet in his mouth or hand all along. The performer catching the bullet usually collapses, apparently as a result of performing such a feat, and then rises to produce the bullet which is most often spat onto a plate or tray. Historical accounts of the bullet catch describe the bullet being caught in a handkerchief
, in a bottle, on a plate or even on the tip of a sword
. The guns that Penn and Teller use in their effect are fitted with laser sights to add to the suspense and drama of the trick.
, it must eventually come to rest. If the gun were perfectly aimed using an appropriate distance, such a trick would seem plausible. This is the line of reasoning the performer of the bullet catch encourages the audience to accept.
As is often the case with other magic illusions, there is no single way the bullet catch is performed. The method a magician may use will vary from performer to performer. It should come as no surprise that the gun or the bullet is rigged in some way. In the simplest form of the bullet catch, the gun is made to fire blanks
. The target through which the "bullet" passes is set to destruct using a squib
. All the performer must do is keep the bullet in his or her mouth until ready to produce it.
If the gun is to be loaded in front of the audience, a wax bullet
is loaded into the firearm. The spray of liquid wax from the barrel of the gun is enough to break the pane of glass. A good magician is able to use misdirection
to exchange the marked bullet with one made of wax and place the marked bullet into his or her mouth. There are also electronic guns, which will simulate the sound, smoke, and flash of a firing, but not actually affect the bullet. Another method when loading in front of the audience or by an audience member is to have a small magnet
attached to the ramrod
; the magnet then removes the bullet immediately after loading. When the magician takes the stick, he removes the bullet, and holds it in his or her mouth until producing it. In that case, the gun is always gimmicked; it only simulates a shot. This method is now of course somewhat obsolete, given that modern firearms do not use a ramrod.
In cases where the bullet is marked by an audience member, the marked bullet is then transferred to the magician through sleight-of-hand, or a similar bullet is duplicated by an off-stage assistant and transferred to the magician.
The gun that Soo
used was set to fire a blank in an adjacent barrel. When the gun malfunctioned, the bullet that had been loaded into the main barrel was accidentally fired into Soo's lung
.
Despite frequent rumors to the contrary, in a radio interview with Penn Jillette
in February, 2006, magician Criss Angel
seemed to indicate his unaired performance of the bullet catch was an illusion, saying that it "was so believable" that television network A&E
barred it from airing. In Angel's performance, his musician
friend Jonathan Davis
appeared to fire a high-powered rifle into a titanium
cup custom-made to fit into Criss' mouth.
in 1631. Fifty years earlier in France
, a magician by the name of Coullew of Lorraine had performed the bullet catch, demonstrating that he could catch bullets in his hand. (This early performer was clubbed to death with his own gun by an angry assistant in 1613.) Throughout the 18th century, variations of the bullet catch were developed by a number of street performers.
In his 1785 book, Natural Magic or Physical Amusements Revealed, Philip Astley
wrote that he himself had invented the trick in 1762. However, two books published in 1761 mentioned the bullet catch as described by Reverend Beard: The Conjuror Unmasked by Thomas Denton
, and La Magie blanche dévoilée by Henri Decremps (the former an English translation of the French text). In fact, Astley's publication plagiarized much of its material from Descremps, including a similar cover illustration, but altered the material to depict conjurers in a more positive light.
Around 1840, Scottish
magician John Henry Anderson
began demonstrating the gun trick in theatres throughout Britain
. Anderson, or The Great Wizard of the North as he was called, performed for P.T. Barnum, Czar Nicholas, Queen Victoria
, and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and toured in the United States
and Australia
, thus bringing the bullet catch into mainstream magic illusions. At least four of Anderson's rivals adapted and imitated his trick in their own performances.
The bullet catch is arguably one of the most dangerous and daring illusions that a magician can attempt, even when performed in a controlled situation. Legends surround the trick, claiming that more than twelve magicians have been killed while performing it.
Although there are few documented cases of actual death, there are several accounts of the performer actually being shot. The number of deaths surrounding the bullet catch has given rise to a story that the trick carries with it a curse
to those who attempt to perform it, though in reality there have been far more successful performances than fatalities. This is a bit suspect, as magicians will often include stories of death, dismemberment, and curses as part of the staging of many tricks.
Thomas Frost
in his 1876 book The Lives of the Conjurors wrote of two separate performers in the 1820s named Torrini De Grisy and De Linsky who were responsible for the deaths of their son and wife, respectively. In 1869, a performer by the name of Dr. Epstein was killed when the tip of the wand he was using to ram the charge
into the gun broke off inside and was subsequently launched at him when the gun was fired.
The best documented instance of a performer being killed while performing the gun trick is the case of Chung Ling Soo
who was shot dead when a firearm malfunctioned
in London in 1918. This event ended the popularity of the bullet catch trick for nearly 70 years. Escape artist and daredevil Harry Houdini
wrote a historical account of the illusion and considered adding it to his repertoire but is said to have been afraid to actually perform it. To his friend Houdini, fellow magician Harry Kellar
offered this pleading advice in the early 20th century:
American
mentalist
Theodore Annemann
presented a dramatic outdoor version of the bullet catch throughout his career in the 1930s until his death in 1942.
In the 1950s, Australia
n magician Maurice Rooklyn survived being hit in the shoulder by a bullet while performing the bullet catch. After this event he wore a chainmail
vest under his shirt for safety. When he was later hit in the scalp by another bullet he decided to remove the trick from his repertoire.
German magician Ralf Bialla started to perform the bullet catch in the 1950s for a fee of 2,000 DM
a performance. He wore bullet-proof glasses, strong gloves on his hands with which he covered parts of his face, and his front teeth were made of steel. A .22 rifle was fired, and the bullet had to go through three glass panes before Bialla caught it with his teeth. He was seriously wounded nine times but survived. He was portrayed in the 1972 documentary film "Wer schießt auf Ralf Bialla?". He died in 1975 after falling off a cliff, supposedly because of constant dizziness caused by the injuries.
In 1964 Nigel Backhurst (who later performed as Nigel Gordon) developed a version of the Bullet Catch using a .22 Air Rifle, which he performed for his membership audition to the Staffordshire Magical Society. He later wrote an article describing the method used in Abracadabra and continued to perform the effect until 2000 with the Theatre of The Damned the specialist stage manager was circus artiste Tony Hickson who is now an actor.
In April, 1980, a magician named Carl Skenes attempted what is the only verified performance of the bullet-catch using a .22 rifle firing actual bullets. Skenes wore a tooth-guard mouthpiece, and then placed a steel box into his mouth. A sharpshooter then fired the bullet into the dime-sized opening at the front of the box. Skenes first performed this stunt in 1980 on the television show That's Incredible, and later performed it on similar shows in Puerto Rico
, Japan
, and Venezuela
. He used no gimmicks in his performance. The .22 rifle was mounted onto two gun stands to help keep it steady, and the protective gear and target box he placed into his mouth were put in as part of the performance. David Blaine
used this same method with Carl Skenes' assistance in September 2008 as part of the "Dive of Death" special, calling it an effect and an illusion.
In 1988, magician Dorothy Dietrich
, "The First Lady of Magic", performed the bullet catch in a performance at Resorts International in Atlantic City. This was shown throughout the world on a TV special called "Just For The Record, The best of everything." She also performed it as a featured performer for a world wide yearly convention of The International Brotherhood of Magicians that was featured on Network TV's "Evening Magazine", and on another occasion for the television show You Asked for It
with Rich Little as host. On another occasion she performed it for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on a show called "Autobus du Canada," and received the highest amount ever paid a magician on Canadian television. She advertised that she was the only woman to perform the bullet catch in her mouth. (In the 1850s, a young woman named Annie Vernone had performed the trick with her sister, and in the 1890s, Adelaide Herrmann, wife of The Great Herrmann, continued to perform her husband's routines after his death; however, they usually caught it in a plate held in front of them, and neither of them caught it in her mouth.) Dietrich advertised a $10,000 reward to anyone who could prove that a bullet did not actually leave the rifle.
In 2006, the bullet catch trick was tested on the TV show MythBusters
. The crew used a slaughtered pig's head to see if it were actually feasible for a human jaw to withstand the force of a bullet. Despite having stronger teeth than a human, the pig's teeth and jaw were badly damaged. After judging the trick "busted", the crew was challenged to design a precisely timed mechanical bullet catching rig. This device was only modestly successful at actually catching a bullet, and only after the "jaws" were switched from a human shaped metal jaw to a longer duckbill one with more surface area. Even with perfect timing aided by ultra-high speed photography, the bullet deteriorated into an almost unrecognizable mass of metal upon impact.
Despite frequent rumors to the contrary, in a radio interview with Penn Jillette
in February, 2006, magician Criss Angel
seemed to indicate his unaired performance of the bullet catch was an illusion, saying that it "was so believable" that television network A&E
barred it from airing. In Angel's performance, his musician
friend Jonathan Davis
appeared to fire a high-powered rifle into a titanium
cup custom-made to fit into Criss' mouth.
Bullet
A bullet is a projectile propelled by a firearm, sling, or air gun. Bullets do not normally contain explosives, but damage the intended target by impact and penetration...
catch may also be referred to as the bullet trick, or occasionally the gun trick.
In performance
The trick usually involves a gun which is loaded and operated by someone with a knowledge of firearms to demonstrate that no deception is being used. In most instances, the bullet is marked by an audience member so that it can be identified later. Great efforts are usually made to show that the person firing the gun does not come in contact with the person catching the bullet. When magicians Penn and Teller perform the bullet catch, in which each simultaneously catches a bullet shot by the other, a line is drawn down the center of the stageStage (theatre)
In theatre or performance arts, the stage is a designated space for the performance productions. The stage serves as a space for actors or performers and a focal point for the members of the audience...
, demonstrating that neither will cross to the other side.
The gun is then fired through a target (usually a pane of glass
Glass
Glass is an amorphous solid material. Glasses are typically brittle and optically transparent.The most familiar type of glass, used for centuries in windows and drinking vessels, is soda-lime glass, composed of about 75% silica plus Na2O, CaO, and several minor additives...
, which shatters) to demonstrate that the gun has actually fired a bullet and the catcher didn't just hide a bullet in his mouth or hand all along. The performer catching the bullet usually collapses, apparently as a result of performing such a feat, and then rises to produce the bullet which is most often spat onto a plate or tray. Historical accounts of the bullet catch describe the bullet being caught in a handkerchief
Handkerchief
A handkerchief , also called a handkercher or hanky, is a form of a kerchief, typically a hemmed square of thin fabric that can be carried in the pocket or purse, and which is intended for personal hygiene purposes such as wiping one's hands or face, or blowing one's nose...
, in a bottle, on a plate or even on the tip of a sword
Sword
A sword is a bladed weapon used primarily for cutting or thrusting. The precise definition of the term varies with the historical epoch or the geographical region under consideration...
. The guns that Penn and Teller use in their effect are fitted with laser sights to add to the suspense and drama of the trick.
Method
No matter what speed a bullet leaves the muzzleMuzzle
A muzzle may be:* the snout of an animal* Muzzle , a device that covers an animal's snout* Muzzle , the mouth of a firearm* Muzzle , a song on The Smashing Pumpkins album Mellon Collie and the Infinite Sadness...
, it must eventually come to rest. If the gun were perfectly aimed using an appropriate distance, such a trick would seem plausible. This is the line of reasoning the performer of the bullet catch encourages the audience to accept.
As is often the case with other magic illusions, there is no single way the bullet catch is performed. The method a magician may use will vary from performer to performer. It should come as no surprise that the gun or the bullet is rigged in some way. In the simplest form of the bullet catch, the gun is made to fire blanks
Blank (cartridge)
A blank is a type of cartridge for a firearm that contains gunpowder but no bullet or shot. When fired, the blank makes a flash and an explosive sound . Blanks are often used for simulation , training, and for signaling...
. The target through which the "bullet" passes is set to destruct using a squib
Squib (explosive)
A squib is a miniature explosive device used in a wide range of industries, from special effects to military applications. It resembles a tiny stick of dynamite, both in appearance and construction, although with considerably less explosive power...
. All the performer must do is keep the bullet in his or her mouth until ready to produce it.
If the gun is to be loaded in front of the audience, a wax bullet
Wax bullets
Wax bullets are made of paraffin wax, and are pressed into a primed cartridge case. Gun powder is not used; the primer provides all the power.- Inexpensive practice :...
is loaded into the firearm. The spray of liquid wax from the barrel of the gun is enough to break the pane of glass. A good magician is able to use misdirection
Misdirection
Misdirection is a form of deception in which the attention of an audience is focused on one thing in order to distract its attention from another....
to exchange the marked bullet with one made of wax and place the marked bullet into his or her mouth. There are also electronic guns, which will simulate the sound, smoke, and flash of a firing, but not actually affect the bullet. Another method when loading in front of the audience or by an audience member is to have a small magnet
Magnet
A magnet is a material or object that produces a magnetic field. This magnetic field is invisible but is responsible for the most notable property of a magnet: a force that pulls on other ferromagnetic materials, such as iron, and attracts or repels other magnets.A permanent magnet is an object...
attached to the ramrod
Ramrod
A ramrod is a device used with early firearms to push the projectile up against the propellant . It is also commonly referred to as a "scouring stick"...
; the magnet then removes the bullet immediately after loading. When the magician takes the stick, he removes the bullet, and holds it in his or her mouth until producing it. In that case, the gun is always gimmicked; it only simulates a shot. This method is now of course somewhat obsolete, given that modern firearms do not use a ramrod.
In cases where the bullet is marked by an audience member, the marked bullet is then transferred to the magician through sleight-of-hand, or a similar bullet is duplicated by an off-stage assistant and transferred to the magician.
The gun that Soo
Chung Ling Soo
Chung Ling Soo was the stage name of the American magician William Ellsworth Robinson who is mostly remembered today for his tragic death after a bullet catch trick went wrong.- Biography :...
used was set to fire a blank in an adjacent barrel. When the gun malfunctioned, the bullet that had been loaded into the main barrel was accidentally fired into Soo's lung
Lung
The lung is the essential respiration organ in many air-breathing animals, including most tetrapods, a few fish and a few snails. In mammals and the more complex life forms, the two lungs are located near the backbone on either side of the heart...
.
Despite frequent rumors to the contrary, in a radio interview with Penn Jillette
Penn Jillette
Penn Fraser Jillette is an American magician, comedian, illusionist, juggler, bassist and a best-selling author known for his work with fellow illusionist Teller in the team Penn & Teller, and advocacy of atheism, libertarian philosophy, free-market economics, and scientific skepticism.-Early...
in February, 2006, magician Criss Angel
Criss Angel
Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos , better known by the stage name Criss Angel, is an American illusionist, writer, director, musician, and actor...
seemed to indicate his unaired performance of the bullet catch was an illusion, saying that it "was so believable" that television network A&E
A&E Network
The A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...
barred it from airing. In Angel's performance, his musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
friend Jonathan Davis
Jonathan Davis
Jonathan Houseman Davis is the lead vocalist and frontman for the nu metal band Korn. Davis was ranked 16th on Hit Parader 's list of "Heavy Metal's All-Time Top 100 Vocalists".-Early life:...
appeared to fire a high-powered rifle into a titanium
Titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color....
cup custom-made to fit into Criss' mouth.
History
One of the earliest documentations of the bullet catch appeared in the book Theatres of God's Judgments by Reverend Thomas BeardThomas Beard
Thomas Beard was an English clergyman and theologian, of Puritan views. He is known as the author of The Theatre of God's Judgements, and the schoolmaster of Oliver Cromwell at Huntingdon.-Life:...
in 1631. Fifty years earlier in France
France
The French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, a magician by the name of Coullew of Lorraine had performed the bullet catch, demonstrating that he could catch bullets in his hand. (This early performer was clubbed to death with his own gun by an angry assistant in 1613.) Throughout the 18th century, variations of the bullet catch were developed by a number of street performers.
In his 1785 book, Natural Magic or Physical Amusements Revealed, Philip Astley
Philip Astley
Philip Astley was an English equestrian, circus owner, and inventor, regarded as being the "father of the modern circus"...
wrote that he himself had invented the trick in 1762. However, two books published in 1761 mentioned the bullet catch as described by Reverend Beard: The Conjuror Unmasked by Thomas Denton
Thomas Denton
Thomas Denton was an English lawyer and politician, a Member of Parliament from 1536 until his death in 1558. He was elected, consecutively, by six parliamentary consituencies: Wallingford , Oxford , Berkshire , Banbury , Buckinghamshire and Oxfordshire...
, and La Magie blanche dévoilée by Henri Decremps (the former an English translation of the French text). In fact, Astley's publication plagiarized much of its material from Descremps, including a similar cover illustration, but altered the material to depict conjurers in a more positive light.
Around 1840, Scottish
Scotland
Scotland is a country that is part of the United Kingdom. Occupying the northern third of the island of Great Britain, it shares a border with England to the south and is bounded by the North Sea to the east, the Atlantic Ocean to the north and west, and the North Channel and Irish Sea to the...
magician John Henry Anderson
John Henry Anderson
John Henry Anderson was a professional magician, born in The Mearns, Scotland. Anderson is credited with helping bring the art of magic from street performances into theatres and presenting magic performances to entertain and delight the audience....
began demonstrating the gun trick in theatres throughout Britain
United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland
The United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland was the formal name of the United Kingdom during the period when what is now the Republic of Ireland formed a part of it....
. Anderson, or The Great Wizard of the North as he was called, performed for P.T. Barnum, Czar Nicholas, Queen Victoria
Victoria of the United Kingdom
Victoria was the monarch of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until her death. From 1 May 1876, she used the additional title of Empress of India....
, and Prince Albert of Saxe-Coburg and Gotha and toured in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, thus bringing the bullet catch into mainstream magic illusions. At least four of Anderson's rivals adapted and imitated his trick in their own performances.
The bullet catch is arguably one of the most dangerous and daring illusions that a magician can attempt, even when performed in a controlled situation. Legends surround the trick, claiming that more than twelve magicians have been killed while performing it.
Although there are few documented cases of actual death, there are several accounts of the performer actually being shot. The number of deaths surrounding the bullet catch has given rise to a story that the trick carries with it a curse
Curse
A curse is any expressed wish that some form of adversity or misfortune will befall or attach to some other entity—one or more persons, a place, or an object...
to those who attempt to perform it, though in reality there have been far more successful performances than fatalities. This is a bit suspect, as magicians will often include stories of death, dismemberment, and curses as part of the staging of many tricks.
Thomas Frost
Thomas Frost
Thomas Frost is multiple Grammy Award-winning classical music producer, who won many of his awards for producing the albums of Vladimir Horowitz...
in his 1876 book The Lives of the Conjurors wrote of two separate performers in the 1820s named Torrini De Grisy and De Linsky who were responsible for the deaths of their son and wife, respectively. In 1869, a performer by the name of Dr. Epstein was killed when the tip of the wand he was using to ram the charge
Explosive material
An explosive material, also called an explosive, is a reactive substance that contains a great amount of potential energy that can produce an explosion if released suddenly, usually accompanied by the production of light, heat, sound, and pressure...
into the gun broke off inside and was subsequently launched at him when the gun was fired.
The best documented instance of a performer being killed while performing the gun trick is the case of Chung Ling Soo
Chung Ling Soo
Chung Ling Soo was the stage name of the American magician William Ellsworth Robinson who is mostly remembered today for his tragic death after a bullet catch trick went wrong.- Biography :...
who was shot dead when a firearm malfunctioned
Firearm malfunction
A firearm malfunction is the partial or complete failure of a firearm to operate as intended. Malfunctions range from temporary and relatively safe situations, such as a casing that didn't eject, to potentially dangerous occurrences that may permanently damage the gun and cause injury or death...
in London in 1918. This event ended the popularity of the bullet catch trick for nearly 70 years. Escape artist and daredevil Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini
Harry Houdini was a Hungarian-born American magician and escapologist, stunt performer, actor and film producer noted for his sensational escape acts...
wrote a historical account of the illusion and considered adding it to his repertoire but is said to have been afraid to actually perform it. To his friend Houdini, fellow magician Harry Kellar
Harry Kellar
Harry Kellar was an American magician who presented large stage shows during the late 19th and early 20th centuries....
offered this pleading advice in the early 20th century:
American
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
mentalist
Mentalism
Mentalism is a performing art in which its practitioners, known as mentalists, appear to demonstrate highly developed mental or intuitive abilities. Performances may appear to include telepathy, clairvoyance, divination, precognition, psychokinesis, mediumship, mind control, memory feats and rapid...
Theodore Annemann
Theodore Annemann
Theodore 'Theo' Annemann born Theodore John Squires was an American professional magician who specialized in the field of mentalism...
presented a dramatic outdoor version of the bullet catch throughout his career in the 1930s until his death in 1942.
In the 1950s, Australia
Australia
Australia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
n magician Maurice Rooklyn survived being hit in the shoulder by a bullet while performing the bullet catch. After this event he wore a chainmail
Chainmail
Mail is a type of armour consisting of small metal rings linked together in a pattern to form a mesh.-History:Mail was a highly successful type of armour and was used by nearly every metalworking culture....
vest under his shirt for safety. When he was later hit in the scalp by another bullet he decided to remove the trick from his repertoire.
German magician Ralf Bialla started to perform the bullet catch in the 1950s for a fee of 2,000 DM
German mark
The Deutsche Mark |mark]], abbreviated "DM") was the official currency of West Germany and Germany until the adoption of the euro in 2002. It is commonly called the "Deutschmark" in English but not in German. Germans often say "Mark" or "D-Mark"...
a performance. He wore bullet-proof glasses, strong gloves on his hands with which he covered parts of his face, and his front teeth were made of steel. A .22 rifle was fired, and the bullet had to go through three glass panes before Bialla caught it with his teeth. He was seriously wounded nine times but survived. He was portrayed in the 1972 documentary film "Wer schießt auf Ralf Bialla?". He died in 1975 after falling off a cliff, supposedly because of constant dizziness caused by the injuries.
In 1964 Nigel Backhurst (who later performed as Nigel Gordon) developed a version of the Bullet Catch using a .22 Air Rifle, which he performed for his membership audition to the Staffordshire Magical Society. He later wrote an article describing the method used in Abracadabra and continued to perform the effect until 2000 with the Theatre of The Damned the specialist stage manager was circus artiste Tony Hickson who is now an actor.
In April, 1980, a magician named Carl Skenes attempted what is the only verified performance of the bullet-catch using a .22 rifle firing actual bullets. Skenes wore a tooth-guard mouthpiece, and then placed a steel box into his mouth. A sharpshooter then fired the bullet into the dime-sized opening at the front of the box. Skenes first performed this stunt in 1980 on the television show That's Incredible, and later performed it on similar shows in Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is an unincorporated territory of the United States, located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of both the United States Virgin Islands and the British Virgin Islands.Puerto Rico comprises an...
, Japan
Japan
Japan is an island nation in East Asia. Located in the Pacific Ocean, it lies to the east of the Sea of Japan, China, North Korea, South Korea and Russia, stretching from the Sea of Okhotsk in the north to the East China Sea and Taiwan in the south...
, and Venezuela
Venezuela
Venezuela , officially called the Bolivarian Republic of Venezuela , is a tropical country on the northern coast of South America. It borders Colombia to the west, Guyana to the east, and Brazil to the south...
. He used no gimmicks in his performance. The .22 rifle was mounted onto two gun stands to help keep it steady, and the protective gear and target box he placed into his mouth were put in as part of the performance. David Blaine
David Blaine
David Blaine is an American illusionist and endurance artist. He is best known for his high-profile feats of endurance, and has made his name as a performer of street and close-up magic. He has set and broken several world records...
used this same method with Carl Skenes' assistance in September 2008 as part of the "Dive of Death" special, calling it an effect and an illusion.
Dorothy Dietrich
Dorothy Dietrich is an American stage magician and escapologist, and the first and only woman to have performed the bullet catch in mouth. She was also the first woman to perform a straitjacket escape while suspended hundreds of feet in the air from a burning rope Dorothy Dietrich is an American...
, "The First Lady of Magic", performed the bullet catch in a performance at Resorts International in Atlantic City. This was shown throughout the world on a TV special called "Just For The Record, The best of everything." She also performed it as a featured performer for a world wide yearly convention of The International Brotherhood of Magicians that was featured on Network TV's "Evening Magazine", and on another occasion for the television show You Asked for It
You Asked For It
You Asked for It is a popular human-interest show created and hosted by Art Baker. Initially titled The Art Baker Show, the program originally aired on American television between 1950 and 1959...
with Rich Little as host. On another occasion she performed it for the Canadian Broadcasting Corporation on a show called "Autobus du Canada," and received the highest amount ever paid a magician on Canadian television. She advertised that she was the only woman to perform the bullet catch in her mouth. (In the 1850s, a young woman named Annie Vernone had performed the trick with her sister, and in the 1890s, Adelaide Herrmann, wife of The Great Herrmann, continued to perform her husband's routines after his death; however, they usually caught it in a plate held in front of them, and neither of them caught it in her mouth.) Dietrich advertised a $10,000 reward to anyone who could prove that a bullet did not actually leave the rifle.
In 2006, the bullet catch trick was tested on the TV show MythBusters
MythBusters
MythBusters is a science entertainment TV program created and produced by Beyond Television Productions for the Discovery Channel. The series is screened by numerous international broadcasters, including Discovery Channel Australia, Discovery Channel Latin America, Discovery Channel Canada, Quest...
. The crew used a slaughtered pig's head to see if it were actually feasible for a human jaw to withstand the force of a bullet. Despite having stronger teeth than a human, the pig's teeth and jaw were badly damaged. After judging the trick "busted", the crew was challenged to design a precisely timed mechanical bullet catching rig. This device was only modestly successful at actually catching a bullet, and only after the "jaws" were switched from a human shaped metal jaw to a longer duckbill one with more surface area. Even with perfect timing aided by ultra-high speed photography, the bullet deteriorated into an almost unrecognizable mass of metal upon impact.
Despite frequent rumors to the contrary, in a radio interview with Penn Jillette
Penn Jillette
Penn Fraser Jillette is an American magician, comedian, illusionist, juggler, bassist and a best-selling author known for his work with fellow illusionist Teller in the team Penn & Teller, and advocacy of atheism, libertarian philosophy, free-market economics, and scientific skepticism.-Early...
in February, 2006, magician Criss Angel
Criss Angel
Christopher Nicholas Sarantakos , better known by the stage name Criss Angel, is an American illusionist, writer, director, musician, and actor...
seemed to indicate his unaired performance of the bullet catch was an illusion, saying that it "was so believable" that television network A&E
A&E Network
The A&E Network is a United States-based cable and satellite television network with headquarters in New York City and offices in Atlanta, Chicago, Detroit, London, Los Angeles and Stamford. A&E also airs in Canada and Latin America. Initially named the Arts & Entertainment Network, A&E launched...
barred it from airing. In Angel's performance, his musician
Musician
A musician is an artist who plays a musical instrument. It may or may not be the person's profession. Musicians can be classified by their roles in performing music and writing music.Also....* A person who makes music a profession....
friend Jonathan Davis
Jonathan Davis
Jonathan Houseman Davis is the lead vocalist and frontman for the nu metal band Korn. Davis was ranked 16th on Hit Parader 's list of "Heavy Metal's All-Time Top 100 Vocalists".-Early life:...
appeared to fire a high-powered rifle into a titanium
Titanium
Titanium is a chemical element with the symbol Ti and atomic number 22. It has a low density and is a strong, lustrous, corrosion-resistant transition metal with a silver color....
cup custom-made to fit into Criss' mouth.
Famous performers
- Coulew of Lorraine (FranceFranceThe French Republic , The French Republic , The French Republic , (commonly known as France , is a unitary semi-presidential republic in Western Europe with several overseas territories and islands located on other continents and in the Indian, Pacific, and Atlantic oceans. Metropolitan France...
, early 17th century; clubbed to death with his own gun by an irate assistant in 1613) - Kia Khan Khruse (BritainUnited KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern IrelandIn the United Kingdom and Dependencies, other languages have been officially recognised as legitimate autochthonous languages under the European Charter for Regional or Minority Languages...
, shot by spectator in 1818) † - De Linsky (GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, killed his wife in 1820) † - "Torrini" De Grisy (killed his son Giovanni in 1826) †
- Annie Vernone (Britain, 1850s)
- John Henry AndersonJohn Henry AndersonJohn Henry Anderson was a professional magician, born in The Mearns, Scotland. Anderson is credited with helping bring the art of magic from street performances into theatres and presenting magic performances to entertain and delight the audience....
(Britain, 1860s) - Jean Eugène Robert-HoudinJean Eugène Robert-HoudinJean Eugène Robert-Houdin was a French magician. He is widely considered the father of the modern style of conjuring.-Early life and entrance into conjuring:...
(France, 1860s) - Dr. Epstein (ParisParisParis is the capital and largest city in France, situated on the river Seine, in northern France, at the heart of the Île-de-France region...
, killed in 1869) † - De Line (killed his son in 1890) †
- The Great Herrmann and, wife, AdelaideAdelaide HerrmannAdelaide Herrmann was a noted female magician and vaudeville performer. She began her magic career as assistant to her husband, magician Alexander Herrmann...
(United StatesUnited StatesThe United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, 1890s) - Michael Hatal (United States, shot by audience member in 1899) †
- "Bosco" Blumenfeld (SwitzerlandSwitzerlandSwitzerland name of one of the Swiss cantons. ; ; ; or ), in its full name the Swiss Confederation , is a federal republic consisting of 26 cantons, with Bern as the seat of the federal authorities. The country is situated in Western Europe,Or Central Europe depending on the definition....
, shot by audience member in 1906) † - Edvin Lindberg (GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, killed in 1905) † - Chung Ling SooChung Ling SooChung Ling Soo was the stage name of the American magician William Ellsworth Robinson who is mostly remembered today for his tragic death after a bullet catch trick went wrong.- Biography :...
(LondonLondonLondon is the capital city of :England and the :United Kingdom, the largest metropolitan area in the United Kingdom, and the largest urban zone in the European Union by most measures. Located on the River Thames, London has been a major settlement for two millennia, its history going back to its...
, killed in 1918) † - Theodore AnnemannTheodore AnnemannTheodore 'Theo' Annemann born Theodore John Squires was an American professional magician who specialized in the field of mentalism...
(United States, 1930s) - Jean Hugard (New ZealandNew ZealandNew Zealand is an island country in the south-western Pacific Ocean comprising two main landmasses and numerous smaller islands. The country is situated some east of Australia across the Tasman Sea, and roughly south of the Pacific island nations of New Caledonia, Fiji, and Tonga...
, 1940s) - Maurice Fogel (Britain, 1940s-1960s)
- Maurice Rooklyn (AustraliaAustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the mainland of the Australian continent, the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans. It is the world's sixth-largest country by total area...
, 1950s) - Prince Sil (India, 1978s)
- Ralf Bialla (GermanyGermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a federal parliamentary republic in Europe. The country consists of 16 states while the capital and largest city is Berlin. Germany covers an area of 357,021 km2 and has a largely temperate seasonal climate...
, 1950s - 1975), wounded nine times, starring in the documentary "Wer schießt auf Ralf Bialla?" (1972) by Hans-Dieter Grabe - Carl Skenes (United States, 1980s)
- Ben Robinson (United States, 1980s)
- Dorothy DietrichDorothy DietrichDorothy Dietrich is an American stage magician and escapologist, and the first and only woman to have performed the bullet catch in mouth. She was also the first woman to perform a straitjacket escape while suspended hundreds of feet in the air from a burning rope Dorothy Dietrich is an American...
(United States, 1980s) - Paul DanielsPaul DanielsPaul Daniels, born Newton Edward Daniels on 6 April 1938, is a British magician and television performer. He achieved international fame through his television series The Paul Daniels Magic Show, which ran on the BBC from 1979 to 1994.-Early life:...
(Britain, 1980s) - Steven "BanachekBanachekBanachek is an American mentalist. Banachek has written books on mentalism, such as Psychological Subtleties, and invented various magic and mentalism effects, including the Penn & Teller bullet catch and the original "buried alive." Banachek is also the Director of the James Randi Educational...
" Shaw (United States, 1980s) - Val ValentinoVal ValentinoVal Valentino is an Italian American illusionist, and actor, who gained fame by starring in four magic specials exposing magic secrets on the Fox network, using the stage name the Masked Magician.-Biography:...
, with a gimmicked gun, as the Masked Magician in the show "Breaking the Magicians' Code: Magic's Biggest Secrets Finally Revealed" - Joe LaberoJoe LaberoJoe Labero is a Swedish magician. Joe Labero is a stage name derived from his birthname: Lars Bengt Roland Johansson.- Illusionist career :...
(Tunisia, 2000s) - Penn & TellerPenn & TellerPenn & Teller are Las Vegas headliners whose act is an amalgam of illusion and comedy. Penn Jillette is a raconteur; Teller generally uses mime while performing, although his voice can occasionally be heard during their performance...
(United States, 2000s) - Matt the KnifeMatt the Knife"Matt the Knife" was born in Massachusetts and grew up in Boston, but now resides in Rhode Island. He is a magician and mentalist as well as the breaker of a multitude of Guinness World Records...
(United States, 2000s) - Criss AngelCriss AngelChristopher Nicholas Sarantakos , better known by the stage name Criss Angel, is an American illusionist, writer, director, musician, and actor...
(United States, 2000s) - Garrett "Jeffy" Stevenson (United States, 2000s)
- Brock GillBrock GillBrock Gill, is an illusionist. In 2005, he hosted "Miracles of Jesus", a three hour documentary produced by the BBC and aired on the Discovery Channel. Gill is also a part of Freedom Experience, a nation-wide city tour that combines action sports, music, and illusion...
(United States, 2000s) - David BlaineDavid BlaineDavid Blaine is an American illusionist and endurance artist. He is best known for his high-profile feats of endurance, and has made his name as a performer of street and close-up magic. He has set and broken several world records...
(United States, September 24, 2008 as a part of "Dive of Death") - Brock GillBrock GillBrock Gill, is an illusionist. In 2005, he hosted "Miracles of Jesus", a three hour documentary produced by the BBC and aired on the Discovery Channel. Gill is also a part of Freedom Experience, a nation-wide city tour that combines action sports, music, and illusion...
(United States) - Keith BarryKeith BarryKeith Patrick Barry is an Irish illusionist, mentalist, and close-up magician.-Early and personal life:Born in County Waterford, Ireland on 2 October 1976, Barry's interest in magic began at the age of fourteen when he purchased a book entitled Magic for the Complete Klutz.Barry's grandfather, 82,...
(Ireland, 2010s)