Dorothy Dietrich

Dorothy Dietrich (born October 31, 1969) is an American stage magician and escapologist, best known for performing the bullet catch in her mouth (although Adelaide Herrmann reputedly did this earlier) and the first woman to perform a straitjacket escape while suspended hundreds of feet in the air from a burning rope.

She was the first woman to gain prominence as an escape artist since the days of Houdini, breaking the glass ceiling for women in the field of escapes and magic.

The 2006 Columbia Encyclopedia included Dietrich among their "eight most noted magicians of the late 20th century", and entertainment writer Samantha Hart in Hollywood Walk of Fame: 2000 Sensational Stars, Star Makers and Legends, called her a "world-class magician" and "one of the world's leading female magicians".

Early on, as a teenager, she already was referred to as "The First Lady of Magic", a reference later copied by others.

Dietrich, often called the female Houdini, has duplicated many of Houdini's original escapes, and has gone one step further by doing the Jinxed Bullet Catch Stunt – the one that Houdini backed away from.

Dorothy Dietrich is a native of Erie, Pennsylvania.

In a six-page article about the history of women in magic in the women's magazine, Bust, which contained only two full-page pictures, one of Adelaide Herrmann and the other of Dietrich, Nichole Summer writes:Growing up in rural Pennsylvania with six brothers, she often found herself tied up as the damsel in distress during their games of cowboy and Indians but would somehow manage to escape on her own.

When an aunt saw her freeing herself one day, she said to her, "Who do you think you are, Houdini?"

Dietrich had no clue who Houdini was but set off for the local library to find out.

Doing odd jobs, at the age of 13, she saved enough money as a young teen to hitch a ride with a girlfriend's older brother to New York and ran away from her abusive father, her first true escape act.

Among the books that inspired her as a child was a biography of Houdini, who became a childhood idol, a fact that later influenced her desire to perform magic and escapes.

Early on, she learned her craft mostly from books.

In New York, she auditioned for Westchester Department of Parks from an ad in a show business newspaper and was booked on the spot for a full summer of work, was recommended to the school district for the winter months, and re-booked the following summer for an increase in dates and price.

Around this same time she earned her performing chops working a dime museum "grind show" Ten-in-One operation in Times Square run by legendary mouse pitchman Tommy Laird with such performers as Earl "Presto" Johnson, Lou Lancaster, Chris Capehart, Dick Brooks (a.k.a., Brookz), and others.

Showcasing for the Parent Assembly of the Society of American Magicians at about the same time, well-known magicians Russell Swann and Walter B. Gibson, captivated by her performance style, took her under their wing.

Walter Gibson, who was a confidant and biographer of Houdini's, said "What you have is very reminiscent of Houdini, when Houdini came out on stage, the audience automatically fell in love with him. In my long years I've never seen anyone who had that."

Dietrich also studied with "Coney Island Fakir" Al Flosso (for the coin routine), a regular performer on the Ed Sullivan television show, Jack London (for the bullet catch) and Lou Lancaster with the Milk Can and the Straitjacket escape, as well as sleight-of-hand magic.

"The recognition gradually put Dorothy Dietrich and her magic into resort hotels, nightclubs, school and college auditoriums, trade shows."

She became a favorite of several New York booking agents.

She developed what is known as a flash act that included doves, a rabbit, a duck and two poodles.

Early on she was considered a "leading dove worker".

She also developed several routines few women had ever attempted.

Sawing men in half, escaping from a straitjacket, sleight of hand with coins via the Misers Dream, The Bullet Catch, and levitating audience members.

It was her goal to level the playing field between men and women in the field of magic, and to innovate and break barriers where no women, and in some cases no men, have gone.

Until she broke many of these barriers, women were not allowed full membership in organizations such as The Society of American Magicians, which she tried to join.

She has pioneered and paved the way for women in the field today.

Dietrich has created special shows for such companies as Maidenform, Pooltrol, Yago Sangria, Manhattan Shirts, as well as fashion and cosmetic companies.

She is a regular performer for trade and industrial events.

On television, Dorothy Dietrich won attention as a woman who, instead of allowing herself to be sawed in half, reversed the traditional illusion and severed into two parts the male hosts of talk shows and network specials.

As word got around she was called to do a Bill Cosby special while still in her early teens, but with the help of her sophisticated style and makeup she passed as an adult and was able to work night clubs and banquets in the best hotels and venues.

Cosby was so impressed that he recommended her to several agents.

At this same time she performed with Loretta Lynn, Dick Van Patten, Henny Youngman, Jonathan Winters, and Tony Randall.

Dietrich was co-editor, contributor and publisher of Hocus Pocus Magazine along with magician/mentalist Dick Brooks.

In addition to escapes and large-scale stunts, Dietrich has performs illusions with live animals such as doves, rabbits, poodles and ducks.

She is also known for sawing men in half.

She also does an updated version of the classic Miser's Dream, plucking coins from the air, nose, ears and pockets of a youngster from the audience.

She is also known for levitating volunteers from the audience.

In 2008, Bust reported about Dietrich's 1988 attempt to catch a bullet in a metal cup in her mouth.

She performed it at Donald Trump's Resorts International's 10th anniversary in Atlantic City, New Jersey.

It was televised on a special called, Just For The Record, The Best Of Everything. This came about after catching a .22 caliber bullet for the yearly convention of the International Brotherhood of Magicians in Pittsburgh.