Alan Alan

Alan Alan (born Alan Rabinowitz, 30 November 1926^[1][2] – 4 July 2014) was a British escapologist and magician.^[3] He originated tricks that have subsequently become familiar features of the repertoire of other performers and he was honoured by The Magic Circle.^[4]

Alan Alan
Alan Alan at The Magic Spot
Born	Alan Rabinowitz (1926-11-30)30 November 1926 London, England
Died	4 July 2014(2014-07-04) (aged 87) London, England
Occupation(s)	escapologist and magician

Alan achieved fame through a series of stunts staged for the media. He made headline news in 1949 when a "buried alive" stunt, performed for Pathe News, nearly went wrong.^[4] He is credited with devising the burning-rope straitjacket escape,^[5] in which he is suspended upside-down from a crane with a length of thick rope doused with petrol; once ignited there is a short time to escape before the rope burns through.

He appeared in a number of television magic shows, including The Magic of David Copperfield.^[6] He also "taught" the inmates of Wormwood Scrubs prison how to escape from handcuffs in his performance with a number of other magicians.^[7] In more recent years he was seen on the Channel 4 TV show The Secret Cabaret with Simon Drake.

He was proprietor of Alan Alan's Magic Spot, a magic shop based on Southampton Row, London until its lease expired in the mid-1990s.

Alan's standing and influence in the world of magic was formally recognised in 2006 when The Magic Circle chose him to receive the coveted Maskelyne Award for services to British magic.^[4] He died on 4 July 2014, aged 87.^[8]