MAGIC OF DAVID COPPERFIELD VI, THE: FLOATING OVER THE GRAND CANYON (TV)
Summary
This television special is about master illusionist David Copperfield and his attempt to achieve several daring feats of magic, including levitating over the Grand Canyon and escaping from a "water torture cell."
The program begins as host Ricardo Montalban describes Copperfield's plans to "float" across the Arizona landmark to meet singer Bonnie Tyler on the opposite side. Copperfield then seemingly flies across the 18-mile-wide gap as Tyler performs "Holding Out for a Hero." Next, Copperfield takes the stage for a live performance and introduces his pet duck, Webster. He then brings out guest Heather Thomas, who has brought a friend of her own: a giraffe named Jennifer. Copperfield places her in his "giraffe box" and appears to make her long neck disappear and then reappear. In a separately-taped portion, Copperfield comes across a little girl who has lost her pet bird, and proceeds to make a number of parakeets appear out of thin air. When he fails to produce her bird, however, he turns the small flock into a puppy inside a box, then turns the puppy into a little boy, who has the girl's bird in his pocket. During the stage performance, Copperfield selects two young volunteers from the audience and takes their picture with an instant camera. He shows them an oversized deck of cards and instructs them to choose one, then revealing that the playing card appears in the photograph despite being taken before the card was chosen.
Next, in a portion inspired by the song "One More Night" by Stephen Bishop, Copperfield signs autographs at the stage door and loses track of his date, portrayed by Thomas. He searches sadly for her and then finally makes her appear in a stack of boxes. He then shows the audience a trick in which a rubber band "dances" across his fingers, explaining that he created "Project Magic" in order to help disabled individuals regain dexterity. At the Daniel Freeman Hospital, occupational therapist Julie DeJean talks about the benefits and fun of the program, showing a number of patients learning sleight-of-hand tricks as part of their therapy.
Onstage, Copperfield does a trick with Webster, making him disappear from a box and reappear inside a drum, and then, at the behest of a heckler, performs the trick again in slow motion. Finally, he prepares for his water escape, inspired by the feats of Harry Houdini. Montalban explains that Copperfield intends to take the trick further than Houdini did, making it his most dangerous feat so far. Copperfield displays the bulletproof, airtight water tanks and is shackled inside, with a policeman inspecting the shackles and verifying that he has no lock-picking tools on his person. To complicate matters, a heavy metal spike is suspended above the tank and will be dropped at the three-minute mark. The tank is covered and the timer starts; Montalban notes that Copperfield's parents are present in the audience. The time ticks away and Montalban seemingly grows nervous, urging the assistants to rescue Copperfield. After three minutes the spike drops—but Copperfield is revealed to be alive and well, having escaped the tank.
Copperfield closes the program by thanking his guests and assistants. Commercials deleted.
Details
- NETWORK: ABC
- DATE: April 6, 1984 8:00 PM
- RUNNING TIME: 0:49:15
- COLOR/B&W: Color
- CATALOG ID: B:49128
- GENRE: Specials
- SUBJECT HEADING: Specials; Magic
- SERIES RUN: ABC - TV, 1984
- COMMERCIALS:
- TV - Commercials - Kraft food products
CREDITS
- Joseph Cates … Executive Producer
- Kevin S. Bright … Producer
- Martha Benedek … Associate Producer
- Jeff Margolis … Director
- David Copperfield … Director
- Garry Bormet … Writer
- Frank Slocum … Writer
- George Wyle … Music by
- Susan Donovan … Choreographer
- Ricardo Montalban … Host
- David Copperfield … Performer
- Bonnie Tyler … Performer
- Heather Thomas … Guest
- Stephen Bishop
- Julie DeJean
- Harry Houdini