Friday, July 26, 2013

Howard Stern is an escapology fan

Escape artist Alexanderia the Great (aka Donna Purnell) was eliminated last Wednesday during the quarterfinals of NBC's America’s Got Talent. Her final stunt was to escape from a straightjacket in a locked tank of water made from bullet proof Lexan.

Bostom.com reports that the judges seemed split following her performance. Melanie Brown and Howie Mandel offered "tepid praise." Heidi Krum said the performance kept her on the edge of her seat.

However, Purnell’s greatest supporter at the judges' table was Howard Stern. He praised her performance, saying: "Houdini is your hero; Houdini would be proud of you. I think you did a great job."

The middle-aged escape artist had previously said she was afraid to go on the show because of Stern's reputation. She feared he might belittle her physical appearance. Instead, Stern said she "really deserved a spot in the semifinals."

I'm a big Howard Stern fan. Not sure I've ever heard him talk about Houdini on his radio show, but I'd like to think he's a fan of the very first King of All Media. (By the way, Howard and Houdini score a 100% emotional compatibility on facade.com.)


Congratulations to Alexanderia the Great for getting as far as she did on AGT, and for getting a nice Howard Stern Houdini name-check on national television.
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3 comments:

  1. Alexanderia the GreatJuly 27, 2013 at 6:52 AM

    When you are mentioned in the same breath as Houdini, my idol, by the toughest judge in America, it is such an honor. It is true we feared Howard because he is brutally honest. In the end though he is honest and that is something we respect. One correction the tank is made of Lexan (bullet proof material). We tried to keep to Houdini's adage in his Milk Can escape "Failure means a drowning death" so we used the material because it was unbreakable. Here is the escape on AGT http://www.nbc.com/americas-got-talent/video/alexanderia-the-great-live-night-1/n39236/

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    1. John CoxJuly 27, 2013 at 8:28 AM

      Hey Alexanderia. Thanks for the comment and link. I've made the Lexan correction. And congrats again on the show. Yes, Howard is brutally honest. But he's not cruel. People who don't listen to him don't seem to get that. He's also mellowed these days.

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  2. Alexanderia the GreatJuly 27, 2013 at 6:59 AM

    In our audition escape which was an ode to Houdini bridge jumps, Howie Mandel said "I was the best escape artist he had ever seen. Houdini said he was coming back. He said he was going to be reincarnated. Harry, Harry is that you.". Check it out as I actually blew my air out before I jumped in which had previously never been done in an underwater escape. This is the clip http://www.nbc.com/americas-got-talent/video/alexandria-the-great/n37896/

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