Bill Martin's first escape was a real one.
He is an illusionist, a magician, a hypnotist and an escape artist.
In 1968, while he was in Vietnam, teenagers tied him up on his way to retrieve tools for a magic show. They used the Keller rope tie, which Martin had practiced escaping from after he read about it in one of Harry Houdini's books.
"They were astonished, but not any more than I was, because it worked," Martin said.
About 15 people saw Martin, 73, in full Houdini costume, perform at UNM's Continuing Education Building on Tuesday night.
Martin offered $100 to anyone who managed to tie him up with ropes and chains well enough so that he could not escape.
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"I haven't lost a hundred dollars yet, but there's always the first time," Martin said.
It wasn't Tuesday night.
"You may now go home and tell your family and friends that you challenged Harry Houdini and handcuffed him," Martin said. "But I still have the hundred dollars."
Martin has performed many of Houdini's tricks. His doctor warned him to stay away from the milk can trick where he holds his breath underwater while attempting to escape from chains. Last May, he was suspended 30 feet in the air and escaped from a straitjacket.
It was on-the-ground tricks for yesterday's audience.
Martin set the stage for 1926, months before Houdini died. Houdini changed his name from Ehrich Weiss after reading books about the French magician, Houdin. An audience member asked when he had died.
"I actually feel that I am immortal," he said. "Right now, it's premature of you even to think about it."
He performed death-defying acts, because although he sincerely believed he was immortal, he feared death, Martin said.
"I just always found him fascinating, that he could get out of all those things," said Debbie Ward, a student in Continuing Education.
Houdini was an expert locksmith, and Martin has followed that by taking locksmith classes.
The performance changed with the times, Martin said.
Houdini always performed with a cabinet that held keys and tools inside of it. His assistant was a mechanic who would slip Houdini keys as a volunteer from the audience when he knew Houdini would not be able to escape, Martin said.
"The public wouldn't stand it today to have the escape artist stand behind the cabinet," he said. "The struggle is what they love."
Between tricks and escapes, Martin briefed the audience on the history of Houdini.
"I visited Houdini museums around the country, and I learned far more from his presentation this evening than from any of the museums," said Bill Valentine, a student in Continuing Education.
He said college would be a lot more interesting if professors were like Martin.
"He really gets into character," Valentine said.
And when Martin does not know how to escape from a lock, he doesn't quit there. He tries to develop different methods of escaping from various restraints, he said. Escapism is a branch of magic as a form of entertainment, Martin said.
"It's a whole life, really," he said.
