Every once in a while, a human sacrifice is needed. Like the ancient Mayans, Romans, and Mesopotamian tribes, sometimes a little bloodletting is necessary to show folks you mean business. And David Copperfield is no different."Brandon", one of David Copperfield's magician assistants was rushed to the hospital with a severe injury during the finale performance of his show Wednesday.
"During an illusion where David attempts to walk through the rotating blades of a 12-foot high industrial fan, the fan and its platform were being rotated by one of David's illusion technicians," Copperfield's rep said. "Just prior to David himself walking through the fan, [the assistant] was accidentally pulled into the vortex of the moving fan blades, causing injury to his arm and face." So somebody got hurt during the performance of an act that is illusory? Awesome. Nothing beats getting hurt for real during a fake act.
The Fire Department confirmed that someones arm was stuck in a fan prop and when paramedics arrived, the assistant's arm was free and had suffered severe bleeding. Brandon broke his arm in multiple places, and surgery was required to insert pins and bolts. There was also a puncture on his face requiring eight or nine stitches.
Copperfield was there when Brandon woke up and presented him with a children's magic set to practice on during his recovery, his rep says. Which is the best insult you can have.
"Brandon is a fantastic guy that has been with our team almost a year and is a loyal and hard-working illusion technician that is truly loved by all who know him," Copperfield confessed. "If he gets too good with the magic set, I'm in big trouble!" Oh Copperfield, your glib remarks make the lack of safety training for your minions comical!
An eyewitness to the incident said that when it happened, the audience "heard a thump." They added, "One of the assistants dropped to the floor. The curtain came down partially. Blood was everywhere, and the other assistants dragged the victim back. Then the curtain closed all the way." Shortly after, "Copperfield came out and said, 'We have an emergency and we might have to end the show...please give me two minutes.' He came back a minute later and said, 'I'm sorry, the show is over...if you want your money back, refunds will be given." Screw that! Show us the injury!
And if not for Brandon, the indomitable spirit of making money will allow the show to go on. The MGM hotel said the magician still intends to do both his evening shows as scheduled. "The show will go on thanks to Davids amazing, hard-working crew, after rehearsing all day to fill in for Brandon." Copperfield's points out, "Many people assume that the death-defying illusions I do on stage are not dangerous. This unfortunate accident shows that couldn't be further from the truth, and were just thankful that Brandon's injuries weren't worse."
Clearly, David Copperfield is the premier magical entertainer in the world. Beyond amazing illusions like getting Claudia Shiffer in her prime, he's ready to maim his staff in order to remind potential audiences that there's always the risk he'll get hurt during his illusions. C'mon, it's like watching boring shit like NASCAR - you only want to see big crashes. Except this time it's an industrial turbine.
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