Independent (UK)David Blaine:
"No sequins or toothy grins. He hits the gossip pages regularly, dating in the past the likes of Daryl Hannah and Madonna. He admits to once being hooked on heroin and other drugs. He is clean now, he says.
Yet at the same time, he is a throwback to the days of boardwalk freaks and vaudeville. With his Thames challenge, he is carrying on the legend of Houdini, whom he claims among his heroes. Indeed, his main residence is a Gothic-style mansion in Hollywood that was once home to the legendary escapologist. In the past three years, he has similarly encased himself in a block of ice for three days, buried himself alive in a glass coffin for seven days and balanced atop a narrow 83ft pole before leaping off into a pile of cardboard boxes. "