Magician David Blaine Dislocates Shoulder During Show, Soldiers On
Originally published at Vital Vegas
Blaine dislocated his shoulder during a stunt where he falls 80 feet into a pile of cardboard boxes.
He called upon the assistance of doctors in the audience, the shoulder was relocated, and he finished the show. Like a badass.
David Blaine shared video of the aftermath of his accident on Instagram, captioned simply with “Wow, that hurt!”
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Some thoughts.
First, we can’t think of another headliner who would risk life-and-limb doing a stunt like this live. He basically falls from an eight-story building. And not onto one of those big, fluffy “Letal Weapon” style airbags. Cardboard boxes.
Second, most shows stop when their star has been injured or there’s been an accident. David Blaine? He doesn’t leave the stage, he deals with the accident in front of the audience. Third, he does all this without a medical team on stand-by? Can you imagine his insurance bill?
Fourth, there were four orthopedic doctors in the audience. Orthopedic doctors really like magic shows.
Fifth, Nevada doesn’t have the best malpractice laws, yet these intrepid physicians rushed to help, anyway. Not all heroes wear capes, some wear impermeable one-piece suits with clog-like rubber theater shoes and bouffant-style caps.
Blaine later shared an x-ray of his shoulder, with a message, “The doctors on stage did a great job.”
Blaine has suffered a couple of mishaps during his run of “In Spades” at Resorts World.
The most dramatic (grossest) incident occurred in Dec. 2022.
Blaine did a popular illusion where the magician is blindfolded and members of the audience members put three or four styrofoam cups (or paper bags) over a knife blade or icepick. The magician then slams his or her hand down and in most cases, picks the cup or bag without the sharp object underneath.
Let’s just say David Blaine did not choose wisely. Pain ensued. Here’s more.
Spoiler alert, the illusion’s secret is pretty old-school (the magician attaches a small piece of fishing line to the bottom of the base holding the knife or icepick. Blaine should know where the icepick is before he’s blindfolded. In this case, not so much.
Again, he powered through his injury and completed his show, like a champ.
Mishaps aside, Blaine’s residency has been well-received, and he’s pacing himself, limiting his performances to one weekend a month.
Blaine has proven his stunts translate to the Las Vegas stage, and if he can survive, his Resorts World residency should run for some time to come.