Magician says he shipped himself from NY to Vegas

[Alan M]

Federal authorities are investigating a professional magician's claim that he successfully shipped himself in a crate from upstate New York to Las Vegas by the United Parcel Service.

A spokesman for UPS says the company believes Wade Whitcomb's claim is a hoax. The Transportation Security Administration and the FBI are investigating Whitcomb's claim.

Whitcomb is a professional magician from North Syracuse who says he shipped himself to Las Vegas in November as a publicity stunt to promote a friend's new Web site.

Whitcomb says he traveled in a custom-made crate and videotaped the trip with four cameras pointed out of the crate and another inside.

Whitcomb told The Associated Press on Tuesday that his lawyer told him not to talk to the media.

The article is HERE

[Jonathan Townsend]

That mean they move stuff in presurized holds in the aircraft these days? Can't imagine he did a few days in a ground transport shipment. This end up indeed.

[John Carney]

... he successfully shipped himself in a crate from upstate New York to Las Vegas by the United Parcel Service.

wow.....how desperate for attention do you have to be?

[Dustin Stinett]

Not that I believe this story, but Id bet that most air freighters are pressurized. All a modern air freighter is these days is a reconfigured passenger jet (no seats or windows; larger hatches, etc.).

Dustin

[Dave Klaiber]

I hope he thought to bring enough diapers.... :crazy:

[Kevin Connolly]

Is this the goof-ball?

http://www.wpix.com/landing_weird/?Magi ... &feedID=29

No wonder there are laws about marrying your cousin. :D

[Lee Almond]

BS if you ask me. And yes all cargo aircraft are mandated by the FAA to be pressurized. Next hoax. Yawn............

[David Alexander]

Publicity is one thing...notoriety another and looking stupid nationally something else again. Claiming to have shipped yourself across the country in what looks like a large Porta-Potty advances a performing career how?

[NCMarsh]

How about the weirdly qualified admission in the article Kevin links to:

"'It was a publicity stunt right from the start,' said Wade Whitcomb, of North Syracuse, after federal officials declared the event a hoax. 'If that's what they say, that must be the truth.'"

[Magic Newswire]

We interviewed Wade yesterday. He'll be on Inside Edition this week and several morning shows are attempting to schedule an interview. As a publicity stunt... it seems to have worked.

[Ray T. Stott]

Is this the goof-ball?

http://www.wpix.com/landing_weird/?Magi ... &feedID=29

No wonder there are laws about marrying your cousin. :D

The Atlanta-based UPS Inc. also investigated.

KC,
It does appear that the skunk this fellow was wearing on his head made it through alright.

The only reason that UPS is investigating is they believe he owes them $1200 additional for actually transporting human parts rather than the machine parts that were the declared contents :)

[Ray T. Stott]

No wonder there are laws about marrying your cousin. :D

Actually, KC, I had a paper published on this very same topic several years ago - It was titled, The Appalachian Marriage: A Sacrament Best Kept in the Family.

Very well received outside of the Cotton Belt. :D

[Kevin Connolly]

Ray...You're killing me! :grin:

I thought it was a skunk on his head too. :D

[Jeff Haas]

I don't understand why people are upset with this guy for pulling off an outrageous stunt. How is editing video to give the impression that he was in the crate different than using a mirror box or an identically-dressed double?

[Jonathan Townsend]

Live audience vs video audience. Kinda depends on whether one wishes to be a film director or a magician.

[Kevin Connolly]

Jeff,

Please be more specific on who is upset here. I, for one, don't gives a rat's ass on what this dolt did. When a putz like this comes into the light, one is allowed to to take a swat. IMHO.

[Mr. Stickley]

I for one can't see the reason for the negative attitudes towards Wade's "stunt".

From the clips that I saw of it (and I have not yet seen all 6 episodes) - hoax or not - the production values far exceed much of the so called "publicity stunts" and magic specials broadcast on national TV and cable as of late.

As for the stunt itself... well... it's not really being billed as magic in the first place. I think it's a neat premise that he creatively explored and in turn produced some interesting content. There is nothing "putz"-ish about it.

And as a side note, much like Blaine's old-school stunt inspirations, this one seems to be inspired by events in the past as well... Henry Box Brown did something similar (albeit for vastly different reasons!) and also turned out to be a showman/conjuror who cashed in on the publicity generated for his stunt. You can read more about him at http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Henry_Box_Brown

Mr. Stickley

[pixsmith]

I am reminded of a friend's stunt further back than I care to remember, when Dallas had a ton of Kip's Big Boys, great magic hangouts and open 24 hours a day.

A buddy was almost out of money about a week before payday, so he put the premise of "All you can eat buffet" to the test, and remained in the booth for what I think was that last week.

To their credit, that specific Kip's embraced the idea, and newpapers, radio stations, and television stations flooded the place. It was quite a coup.

FWIW, he also drove one of those rallies in UK/Europe in an ice cream truck. If one is looking for creative ideas, this guy has some wild ones.

Back on topic -- at least he had more room than a typical coach airplane seat. Maybe it's time to find a way to market the idea.

Pix

[Doc Dixon]

I am reminded of a friend's stunt further back than I care to remember, when Dallas had a ton of Kip's Big Boys, great magic hangouts and open 24 hours a day.

A buddy was almost out of money about a week before payday, so he put the premise of "All you can eat buffet" to the test, and remained in the booth for what I think was that last week.

To their credit, that specific Kip's embraced the idea, and newpapers, radio stations, and television stations flooded the place. It was quite a coup.

FWIW, he also drove one of those rallies in UK/Europe in an ice cream truck. If one is looking for creative ideas, this guy has some wild ones.

Back on topic -- at least he had more room than a typical coach airplane seat. Maybe it's time to find a way to market the idea.

Pix

Did the restaurant actually let him SLEEP in the booth??

Doc

[pixsmith]

Did the restaurant actually let him SLEEP in the booth??Doc

They did -- he actually took catnaps throughout the time. Various friends went and hung out (ah to be in my 20's again) from time to time, but the restaurant was very very cooperative. They had tons and tons of people coming in once the word got out. It was a great promotion for them as well.

Pretty funny, all the way around.

[Timothy Drake]

You can see his website here. http://www.wadelive.com Wade is a pretty cool guy and really dedicated to magic. His hair is definitely something to talk about and thats exactly why he wears it like that ( all the time and not just on stage) It surely didn't hurt Murray much did it?

He got himself some promotion from this stunt and I give him kudos for that. He is young and an original... give him time and I'm sure we'll see lots more of him and his fresh approach to magic.

Best,

Tim

[Pete McCabe]

What fascinates me is that he did this stunt, in which no magical effect whatsoever occurred, to promote himself as a magician. This is a remarkable indication of the effect of David Blaine on the public's image of magic and magicians.

[Kevin Connolly]

Am I missing something here? He pulled this prank to promote a friends new website. The trouble is that is the website is not up.

This thread has lasted longer than story, except when it's used for a punchline for a joke.

[Timothy Drake]

What fascinates me is that he did this stunt, in which no magical effect whatsoever occurred, to promote himself as a magician. This is a remarkable indication of the effect of David Blaine on the public's image of magic and magicians.

Correct Pete,

Endurance stunts seem to be more accepted these days buy the lay public. You are also right about Blaines influence.

Best,

Tim