David Copperfield Magically Better

Mon., Apr. 2, 2001 12:45 PM PDT by

Great balls of fire, David Copperfield has magically recovered from a bout of "extreme exhaustion."

The TV trickster was briefly hospitalized Friday, according to his company, after collapsing during rehearsals for his upcoming television special.

But by Monday morning, the daredevil illusionist was back hyping his live CBS and Internet special Copperfield! The Tornado of Fire, which airs Tuesday. He was strong enough not just to gab with the ladies of The View, but also to visit The Howard Stern Show.

Presumably, the 44-year-old magic showman's hardcore fans shouldn't have to worry that Copperfield will faint again when he confronts the 2,000-degree Fahrenheit, 140-plus mph winds of his manmade tornado that, the press release claims, "is capable of blowing a house off its foundation."

Copperfield is set to pop into the core of this fiery vortex and escape unsinged for your viewing pleasure. The stunt is being staged at Pier 94 in New York live at 8 p.m. ET.

The illusionist's purported collapse came during a test run on the trick that he and a team of engineers have worked on for seven years. He was rushed off to St. Luke's/Roosevelt Hospital Center in Manhattan for a quick once over.

A spokesperson for Copperfield said the magician had been up for 48 hours straight and was overcome with "extreme exhaustion." However, the rep confirmed Copperfield was quickly discharged from the hospital. "They rehydrated him and told him to get some rest," the rep said. He was apparently recuperated enough to return to rehearsing over the weekend.

A hospital visit now seems almost part of the act when it comes to today's made-for-TV magicians. Last November, David Blaine, who risked been frozen to death, rather than burned to a crisp, emerged alive but not kicking from three days inside a giant ice cube for his Frozen in Time special on ABC. Blaine, 26, conducted post-stunt interviews with talk shows via satellite from his bed because, he claimed, his ankles were swollen and he couldn't walk.

Print Share on Facebook Share Comments

View Next Articles

0 Comments

Now loading...

Add Your Comment!

Guests

E! Online members

Register | Forgot password?

Play nice and have fun. And please, no HTML tags or special characters including [&*#()!@$].
You've got 1000 characters left.

Post Comment

The Big Picture

Happy Meal Katherine Heigl and her crew have a bit of fun while grabbing some fast food

More Photos
GRAB & SHARE
Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player.
Click Here

Our Partners

  • Huffington Post
  • PopEater

Get Your E! News Now

Text ENEWS to 4INFO (44636) for daily celeb news alerts

Standard messaging rates apply.

Did you know you can grab smokin' hot E! Online news, review and gossip through our RSS service?

New to RSS feeds? Learn more >>

Birthdate:

Enter your full birthdate:

  • Opt in for Breaking News Alerts

has been subscribed to the E! News Now Newsletter.

To change your settings, go to your preferences.

Hello, you either have JavaScript turned off or an old version of Adobe's Flash Player. Get the latest Flash player.