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Dean
Gunnarson spends his life cheating death. Every time the challenge of
an escape presents itself, this internationally known
escape icon goes to work. His highly documented and acclaimed death-defying
escapes have dazzled audiences from all corners of the globe. The creativity
and imagination behind his deliverance, from the many perils Gunnarson
places himself, is staggering. He has dangled from his toes, 726 feet over
Hoover Dam, shedding a straight jacket, while simultaneously eluding the
imminent plunge to certain death. He has experienced the ultimate 13,000-foot
freefall from a plane, escaping from a straight jacket, and two pairs of
handcuffs, only to land safely on the ground with seconds to spare. There
is a certain amount of addiction involved for Gunnarson, as the adrenalin
needed for his escapes kicks in. And this runs parallel to his excitement
for life when he is away from the death-defying stage. The Heat Magazine
entered this world of mystique and intrigue, and found out what is behind
the many masks of Dean Gunnarson."I've tasted death's doorstep on
more than one occasion. Thank goodness
it's kicked me back," says Gunnarson as he reflects back on his lifetime
of escape. On countless occasions, this Manitoban born and raised thrill seeker
has proven that the impossible is possible. Still, there are some who view
his art with skepticism, wondering what is behind his bravado.
Gunnarson carries a global following who have witnessed in amazement, his struggles
and successes in this seemingly unconventional vocation. |
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His
ambition to become an escape
artist manifested itself early in life. From a book that was gifted
to him, he began to gather inspiration and
focus. "When I was about 10 years
old my mom bought me a book on
Houdini. I kinda got the feel for this
great showman that traveled the
world getting out of handcuffs,
leg irons, jail cells, and basically
did what some people said couldn't
be done. That inspired me... I wanted to do that," reflects
Gunnarson. From that point, there
was no question in Gunnarson's
mind that he'd found his calling.
His definitive passion for the next
escape still exists today. "I look at
it as trying to find your passion in
life, whatever that passion is. If you
can really find that in yourself,
that's the greatest thing life can
offer." |
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By
his early teens, Gunnarson began to perform live magic shows around his
neighborhood. He compiled a repertoire of tricks and escapes he learned
from reading books on the masters of escape, like Houdini. These initial
performances and showcases evolved into gigs that paid. While his peers
worked part-time jobs after school, he turned his interest into a job
that would eventually help finance his way into university. His initial
interest for buying different artifacts of escape occurred around this
time. In fact, Gunnarson took to this interest with so much vigor, that
he often sacrificed necessity for buying the tools of the trade. "Going
through university was rough. There were a lot of times when I'd have
money for tuition, but I wouldn't have money for food. I'd hear about
this old pair of handcuffs, so I'd scrounge up my money and eat bread
and water for a week, so I could buy that old pair of handcuffs. If you
really want something, there's sacrifices that have to be made," remarks
Gunnarson. Another sacrifice he eventually made was leaving a university
education after a couple of years to fully pursue his real dream. Gunnarson
began to further prepare himself to join the ranks of escape artists
who had preceded him. By the age of 23, a meeting with The Amazing Randi
further planted Gunnarson's feet into the world of escape. If fate had
a hand in plotting decisive courses in one's life, it certainly did for
Dean Gunnarson. This intervention occurred on a Halloween night in 1987.
The Amazing Randi had already been so impressed with Gunnarson's accomplishments
that he took him on as an apprentice of sorts. He introduced Gunnarson
to a magic show called "In Search For Houdini," that was
hosted by actor William Shatner. The two-hour live special featured
David Copperfield,
Penn and Teller, Harry Blackstone, among the many greats of magic.
An epic setting for a young escape artist from Winnipeg, who would
soon be introduced
to an international audience. |
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The
spectacle of a Hollywood movie couldn't have better portrayed the sequence
of
events that would occur. Just hours before he was
set to go on the show to perform the "milk can" escape,
The Amazing Randi was injured. Gunnarson was approached to perform the
escape
in Randi's absence. Having little preparation, and
never having the luxury of performing the escape
for an audience, Gunnarson accepted the challenge.
After seeing the escape done only the day
before, Gunnarson successfully escaped the milk
can. "Sometimes opportunities in life only come
once, and you have to take them," says
Gunnarson. These words will become one of
many good epilogues for his career. With the
international stage now set, Gunnarson was now
able to showcase his ability as an escape artist to
the world. "It's been a long journey, and it has not always been easy. At times it's been very difficult. It's always been challenging, it's been extremely rewarding. When you are so passionate about something, it's harder to walk away from," says Gunnarson, when asked to describe the longevity of his career. There is a side of an escape artist's life the public does not see. If you put aside the exhilaration and triumph of escape, you would witness a more tenebrous and painful side to the story. Too numerous to mention, the injuries Gunnarson has sustained throughout his career are physically torturous. During an escape, the demands placed on his body are extreme. A pulled muscle, or worse, during an escape can mean dire consequences for Gunnarson, if he is not able to work through the pain. "I deal with chronic pain all of the time. It's always there," says Gunnarson. |
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| "Gunnarson's escape for us was wild..." - Steven Tyler (Aerosmith) | ||
During
an escape attempt, Gunnarson stresses that having focus is important.
The highly concentrative state he functions under assists him in working
through pain, the inability to breathe in some situations, or an escape. "You
have to be focused
on what you're doing. You have to be ready for,
if this goes wrong, what are you going to do.
You have to know your course of action. That's
why after a show, I'm not just physically
exhausted, but mentally exhausted. This is
because you've had to push your mind to focus
so much that you're mentally drained." This
focus that Gunnarson orates about is the very
essence of his success, especially during a complicated
escape attempt. Gunnarson further
summed up the most important components that
combine to make an escape successful for him."Obviously I can't
tell you the actual technical secrets, because that's part of it. But,
it's not just
the secret. Part of it is the secret, a technique, a
skill you learn. Part of it is a physical ability,
being able to manipulate your body, having
strength and flexibility. The other part is the
mental ability, the ability to be able to think
things through. To be able to stay focused, to
react when things go wrong... not to panic. It's
those three things that encompass every escape."Gunnarson has carried
out complicated and
diverse escapes. Some he conceived personally,
some of which have been performed and
perfected by other masters of escape. Not only
has he performed other artists' escapes, he has
collected some interesting memorabilia from
some of them. His personal collection is vast." I love history and I love
the history of magic. |
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I
have handcuffs from pretty much every country in the world. I have
a set of Houdini's
thumb cuffs that actually belonged to
Houdini... given to me by The Amazing
Randi. They came in a neat little leather
pouch. It's just kind of neat knowing that
Houdini's thumbs were in there escaping," relates Gunnarson. "It's
rewarding in some aspects, to do things knowing that nobody else on earth
has ever
been able to do... then, before, or since," comments
Gunnarson, when Heat asked him to
detail his sense of accomplishment. There are
always calculated risks associated with every
escape. Gunnarson explores every angle of an
escape; he studies with precision. Still, the
imminent danger of his escapes cannot be denied, as he puts his life on the
line for the
most extreme escape attempts. Gunnarson
has dangled by his toes over the Hoover Dam, suspended from a burning
rope above downtown Bangkok, been chained inside a 1970 Cadillac to escape
the clutches of a car crusher's boneshattering jaws, and been handcuffed
to the inside of a shark cage, only to be lowered into shark-infested
waters. |
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| "Dean
Gunnarson is one escape artist extraordinaire..." - Entertainment Tonight |
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He
has come a long way since the skipping rope he would get tied up in
and escape
as a kid. "A lot of the escapes have been dangerous
in different ways. Each has had its moments. The one that I came closest
to death was the coffin escape... Halloween 1983. They chained me up,
put me in the coffin and threw me into the Red River behind the Alexander
dock. I had like 10,000 Winnipeggers come out to cheer me on. I was
under water for nearly 4 minutes. I didn't get out, I was blue, unconscious
and dead," recalls Gunnarson. He was rushed to the hospital where
he remembers waking up in the emergency room. Surrounding him were
a team of doctors and nurses working to revive him. To this day, Gunnarson
is grateful to those dedicated professionals who brought him back.
Though
the coffin-escape attempt was very serious, Gunnarson remembers a quip
about the experience. "The Winnipeg Police Department had one
of the best lines. When the media asked if there was any brain damage
when
I came out of the coffin, they said no more when he came out than when
he went in." |
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Gunnarson's
show travels all over the world. The travel he does exposes his escapes
to a multitude of people. He feels the most important crowd he performs
for to be children. Gunnarson performs for a number of charitable organizations
designed to benefit children. He donates proceeds from these shows
to the various charities. The Rainbow Society, The Cancer Foundation
and the Variety Club are some of the organizations that Gunnarson,
in a position of celebrity, truly gives
back into. This is a worldwide view for Gunnarson, but he maintains a modest
and low profile. "I don't like to talk about my charity work too much,
because I really feel that a true act of charity is one that you would do,
whether nobody found out or not," says Gunnarson. Gunnarson does manage
to break away from his escapes to pursue other, safer forms of performance
art. His recent involvement in the film industry spawned a new and interesting
career venture. Gunnarson makes a cameo appearance in the motion picture "Spooky
House," set for DVD release this coming Halloween. Gunnarson's cameo has
him playing The Great Zamboni's (Ben Kingsley's) magic assistant. |
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"Going
through university was rough. There were a lot of times when
I'd have money for tuition, but I wouldn't have money for food. I'd hear
about this old pair of handcuffs, so I'd scrounge up my money and eat
bread and water for a week, so I could buy that old pair of handcuffs.
If
you really want something, there's sacrifices that have to be made..." |
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Pieces
of Gunnarson's magic equipment are actually used as props throughout
the movie. "It's a neat opportunity to take some of the things that
I've learned, and to use them to teach somebody else the techniques.
It was a really neat experience. I worked on the movie for 33 days as
Ben Kinsley's magic coordinator/technical advisor. I had to teach him
some magic for the movie. They used some of my props for the movie as
well. My Egyptian sarcophagus is in the movie way more than I am! They
gave me a cameo appearance, where I play his (Kingsley's) assistant and
we blow up his wife. Ben Kingsley is a really good person. He took technical
advice really well," says Gunnarson. The world of escape has afforded
Dean Gunnarson numerous experiences and opportunities. Among these, international
fame, world travel, as well as the experience of meeting and helping
people. He has brought joy and amazement to a countless number of audiences.
In his heart, he will always be escaping, but he will never escape the
minds of those who have had the opportunity to view his daring escapes.
Gunnarson will always be known as "The World's Greatest Escape Artist." |
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| If you would like to know more about Dean Gunnarson, his website is www.AlwaysEscaping.com |
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| This article was featured in the October/November 2003 issue of "Heat Magazine" and has been reformatted for easier reading on the web. | |
| Site updated by Spectrum Multi-Media Ltd.- Monday, 19 May, 2014 6:50 PM | |
Site by Jeno Horvath. - Updated Wednesday, 8 April, 2015 5:36 PM