{"id":313248,"date":"2026-10-24T07:44:19","date_gmt":"2026-10-24T07:44:19","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/313248\/"},"modified":"2026-10-24T07:44:19","modified_gmt":"2026-10-24T07:44:19","slug":"pittsburgh-magician-to-attempt-houdini-esque-straitjacket-escape-from-high-above-arts-landing","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/313248\/","title":{"rendered":"Pittsburgh magician to attempt Houdini-esque straitjacket escape from high above Arts Landing"},"content":{"rendered":"

It\u2019s tough for a man who once dangled upside down from a wire in a straitjacket 90 feet in the air over Downtown Pittsburgh to one-up himself, but Pittsburgh native and magician Lee Terbosic is burning to try the impossible this Halloween.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s always an element of danger. Anytime you\u2019re doing anything at height or something like this, by nature, there\u2019s always\u00a0that chance of the unknown going awry,\u201d Terbosic explained with just over a week of preparation to go until his next live stunt. \u201cThose dangers are obviously maximized when you see these types of things live.\u201d <\/p>\n

In coordination with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust, Terbosic<\/a>, 44, of Baldwin and Downtown, will attempt to showcase the most grandiose trick the Steel City has up it sleeve this year. That will come in the form of his second live straitjacket escape, this time from the skies above Arts Landing as trick-or-treating winds down on Halloween night.<\/p>\n

Terbosic will endeavor to best the November 2016 spectacle that saw him escape from a straitjacket while suspended 90 feet from a crane above Wood Street and Liberty Avenue in Downtown Pittsburgh. He challenged himself to that feat in commemoration of the 100th anniversary of legendary magician Harry Houdini\u2019s own daring 1916 escape while dangling from a building high above the streets of Pittsburgh.<\/p>\n

This time around, Terbosic is preparing to honor the 100th anniversary of Harry Houdini\u2019s death. And with \u201cHoudini 100: Chapter Two \u2014 The Great Firetruck Ladder Escape,\u201d he\u2019s raising the stakes.<\/p>\n

\u201cThe weather is a big factor in this, but that is the ultimate plan is to do a light of the line\u00a0and have essentially a ticking clock against me,\u201d explained Terbosic. \u201cThe line between my feet and the fire truck will be in flames. That\u2019s what we\u2019re hoping to perform.\u201d <\/p>\n

On Oct. 31, Terbosic will be lifted 100 feet skyward by way of a firetruck ladder around 8:45 p.m. The ascent will mark the culmination of three years of planning and preparation that will climax over four expected minutes of action once setup is complete.<\/p>\n

\u201cThere\u2019s a lot of mental preparation and physical preparation that goes into this one moment in time. How it goes between those 10 minutes is all up to me,\u201d Terbosic said. \u201cThat\u2019s the most important thing, to be dialed in and be focused on exactly what I need to do, in the time I need to do it, to do it all correctly in a sequence. That sequence is completely memorized in my head and it\u2019s like kind of a muscle memory.\u201d<\/p>\n

A ceremony will precede the spectacle at 7 p.m. featuring performances by DJ Bonics and DJ Midas. The free event will be streamed live on Terbosic\u2019s social media channels.<\/p>\n

In 2016, Terbosic was joined by Steelers greats Franco Harris and Rocky Bleier as well as horror movie makeup and special effects legend Tom Savini, who helped secure Terbosic in his straitjacket. No special guests have yet been formally announced for this year\u2019s event.<\/p>\n

\u201cI hope people come out as neighbors, experience something that they\u2019ll always say you had to be there to see it,\u201d said Terbosic. \u201c(Magicians)\u00a0do it to create these unique memories for people.\u201d<\/p>\n

Terbosic\u2019s own journey to becoming a magician who eventually starred in Discovery Science Channel\u2019s four-part series \u201cHoudini\u2019s Last Secrets\u201d<\/a> and befriended a member of the Houdini family began in Pittsburgh\u2019s Lincoln Place.<\/p>\n

\u201cI had a couple posters on my wall growing up. One was Roberto Clemente, and the other one was Harry Houdini,\u201d Terbosic said. \u201cI visualized these crazy antics in my head for my whole childhood, so it\u2019s kind of crazy that as an adult I bring them to life.\u201d<\/p>\n

Other career accomplishments for the Baldwin High School graduate have included co-creating Downtown\u2019s Liberty Magic with the Pittsburgh Cultural Trust and performing in productions like \u201cIn Plain Sleight,\u201d \u201cThe Life and Death of Harry Houdini\u201d and \u201c52 Up Close\u201d at Kimpton Hotel Monaco.<\/p>\n

\u201cMost kids I think at some point in time have a weeklong fascination with magic tricks. I think most kids that only lasts a week or two, some that last a few months, some that last a few years and some that lasts a lifetime,\u201d said Terbosic. \u201cAnd I just happen to be one of those lifetime kids.\u201d<\/p>\n

Houdini, who on several occasions plunged into the freezing waters of the Allegheny River where the Andy Warhol Bridge now stands, holds a special place in the heart of Terbosic, a Houdini prop collector and historian of sorts.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe\u2019s the one magician that kind of transcends time, and I think that\u2019s what\u2019s so cool about his life. He\u2019s still relevant today,\u201d said Terbosic. \u201cIf your cat escapes, you\u2019re calling him a little Houdini.\u201d<\/p>\n

As Terbosic puts it, his legacy goes far beyond his prowess and daring.<\/p>\n

\u201cHe was the one guy that gave people hope. That was it. He knew how to spread hope. He showed people how to free themselves, and that was an important thing at that moment in time. But I think that that\u2019s one of those things that should never go away,\u201d said Terbosic. \u201cI think there should always be somebody trying to show you that anything is possible.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"It\u2019s tough for a man who once dangled upside down from a wire in a straitjacket 90 feet…\n","protected":false},"author":2,"featured_media":313249,"comment_status":"","ping_status":"","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[73,75,74],"class_list":["post-313248","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","category-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh","tag-pittsburgh-headlines","tag-pittsburgh-news"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313248","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/2"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=313248"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/313248\/revisions"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/313249"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=313248"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=313248"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/www.newsbeep.com\/us-pa\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=313248"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}