Etc. David Blaine

By collier schorr

People tend to scatter when David Blaine levitates. Without the benefit of the usual smoke and mirrors of stage shows, the mysteriously handsome Blaine can rise up one foot in the air. Just 25, the Brooklyn-born magician will present this and other tricks midmonth in his second television special (pal Leonardo DiCaprio hosted the first one). David Blaine Magic Man (ABC) trails the conjurer as he practices mouth-dropping sleight of hand for Nashville revelers, Haitian children, and Yanamoni tribe members in Venezuela (about whom he says, "Magic is their whole world"). According to Blaine, who has an extensive off-limits library in his bedroom, his craft is an intellectual and spiritual pursuit. "Magic is about creating an everlasting impression on a human being," he says. He definitely made one on model Bridget Hall, who was caught on film watching in horror while Blaine swallowed a piece of thread and then pulled it out through the skin of his abdomen.

Next, Blaine plans to bury himself on United Nations Way for a full week. Hooked up to heart monitors and equipped with only a MagLite and the works of Voltaire, he hopes to raise over a million dollars toward the purpose of much needed medicines for Haiti. Friends have warned that the standard-size casket will induce a severe attack of claustrophobia. But Blaine is unfazed—after once spending a week in a tropical jungle where he awoke to a tarantula on his chest, the coffin should be a breeze. We certainly hope so.