Whew! David Blaine survives ‘Dive of Death’

But magician says the 'amazing ending' he planned didn't work out

	David Blaine began dangling from a wire over a park skating rink on Sept. 22. He kept smiling while describing the "enormous push of blood" that made it feel as though his head was "about to explode."
Eric Thayer / Reuters

msnbc.com news services

updated 1:29 p.m. ET Sept. 25, 2008

NEW YORK - Magician-daredevil David Blaine has safely finished his latest stunt: hanging upside-down without a net high over Central Park for 60 hours.

Oh, he’s caught a bullet in his mouth, too.

The spectacle ended during a nationally telecast two-hour television special that was filled out with taped footage of Blaine performing and interacting with fans across the country, and several "do not try this at home"-type disclaimers. “David Blaine: Dive of Death” also showed footage of him catching a .22-calibre bullet fired from a rifle into a metal cup in his mouth.

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The endurance artist began dangling from a wire over a park skating rink on Monday. He kept smiling while describing the "enormous push of blood" that made it feel as though his head was "about to explode."

Blaine said the hanging stunt got easier after the initial hours as his body adjusted, and he was strong enough to sign autographs, take pictures and even do card tricks while he was suspended.

But Blaine had one more illusion for his fans. After ending his suspension, he plummeted some 44 feet from the top of the scaffold, swinging briefly from an attached cable. He then ascended and seemingly disappeared into the night sky high above the park.

Not pleased with ending
But on "Live with Regis and Kelly" Thursday, Blaine said he was unhappy with the stunt's ending.

Blaine said that his grand finale didn't go according to plan. He was supposed to jump and, at 10 feet, be swept away by a bunch of helium-filled balloons.

"I had dreamed up the most amazing ending for a stunt ever," he said on the talk show.

Blaine said ABC, which aired the event in a two-hour special called "David Blaine: Dive of Death," had encouraged him not to dive because of high winds.

"I wasn't going to let everybody down, so I just jumped, and somehow the guys with the balloons made it work, and they pulled me slowly up and I went over into the park and they pulled me down," he said.

Blaine added: "I know that it didn't work right when all my friends called up and said, `Wait, what happened? I'm confused.'"

Did his head feel heavy with blood during his upside-down act?

"In the beginning it did," he said. "At the end of the first day I thought I wasn't going to make it. I didn't know what I was going to do, but I didn't want to disappoint everybody, so I kept pushing and going as hard as I could."