Street performer “Lucky John” Domingue, of Seal Beach, attempts Houdini’s “Great Escape” in a regulation straight jacket, including a steel chain and 2 locks at the Huntington Beach Pier on Wednesday, April 12, 2017. He managed to pry himself out of the jacket and chains in under three minutes. (Photo by Ana Venegas, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Street performer “Lucky John” Domingue, of Seal Beach, gets wrapped in a straight jacket and chains in Houdini’s “Great Escape” at the Huntington Beach Pier on Wednesday, April 12, 2017. He managed to pry himself out of the jacket and chains in under three minutes. (Photo by Ana Venegas, Orange County Register/SCNG)

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Street performer “Lucky John” Domingue, of Seal Beach, gets wrapped in a straight jacket and chains in Houdini’s “Great Escape” at the Huntington Beach Pier on Wednesday, April 12, 2017. He managed to pry himself out of the jacket and chains in under three minutes. (Photo by Ana Venegas, Orange County Register/SCNG)

“Lucky John” Domingue, a street performer pounds a nail into his nostril before performing Houdini’s “Great Escape” in a straight jacket, locks and chain at the Huntington Beach Pier on Wednesday, April 12, 2017. (Photo by Ana Venegas, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Street performer “Lucky John” Domingue, of Seal Beach, attempts Houdini’s “Great Escape” in a regulation straight jacket, including a steel chain and 2 locks at the Huntington Beach Pier on Wednesday, April 12, 2017. He managed to pry himself out of the jacket and chains in under three minutes. (Photo by Ana Venegas, Orange County Register/SCNG)



Shyla Lipps, left, and Rhett Rodriguez, center, watch “Lucky John” Domingue perform Houdini’s “Great Escape” in a regulation straight jacket, including a steel chain and 2 locks at the Huntington Beach on Wednesday, April 12, 2017. (Photo by Ana Venegas, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Volunteers Shyla Lipps, center, of Whittier, and Sal Mendoza, right, of Las Vegas strap “Lucky John” Domingue into a straight jacket as he performs Houdini’s “Great Escape” at the Huntington Beach Pier on Wednesday, April 12, 2017. (Photo by Ana Venegas, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Brothers Dane Porter, Drake Middleton, and Drake Porter, of Corona Del Mar, front row from left, react to “Lucky John” Domingue, a street performer as he hammers a nail into his nostril. Domingue also performed Houdini’s “Great Escape” in a regulation straight jacket, including a steel chain and 2 locks at the Huntington Beach Pier on Wednesday, April 12, 2017. (Photo by Ana Venegas, Orange County Register/SCNG)

A volunteer straps street performer “Lucky John” Domingue, of Seal Beach, into a straight jacket and chains in Houdini’s “Great Escape” at the Huntington Beach Pier on Wednesday, April 12, 2017. He managed to pry himself out of the jacket and chains in under three minutes. (Photo by Ana Venegas, Orange County Register/SCNG)

Dane Porter, left, and Drake Middleton, right, both of Corona Del Mar, react to “Lucky John” Domingue, a street performer as he hammers a nail into his nostril. Domingue also performed Houdini’s “Great Escape” in a regulation straight jacket, including a steel chain and 2 locks at the Huntington Beach Pier on Wednesday, April 12, 2017. (Photo by Ana Venegas, Orange County Register/SCNG)



HUNTINGTON BEACH A mid-afternoon event dubbed Houdini’s Great Escape in downtown Huntington Beach became something of a disappearing act instead.

Through a miscommunication, when street performer John “Lucky John” Domingue arrived at George’s Grill Wednesday, where the eatery was to dedicate a “Lucky John’s Down Under Dog,” it was news to the staff.

The phone exchange between Domingue and George Herrera, the restaurant owner, went something like this: “George, I’m here right now talking to the newspaper guy.”

“No, I told you, I can’t do it tomorrow. This is embarrassing.”

And so, poof, went the “Great Escape.”

But to Domingue, 61, it’s axiomatic that the show must go on. So the Seal Beach resident simply took his act across the street to Pier Plaza.

“I’ll just go over there and I’ll make a buck or two,” he said.

A few minutes later, Domingue had his straitjacket “for the criminally insane,” 30 feet of chain and two padlocks laid out.

Soon, the performer, who bears an uncanny resemblance to Jeff Bridges’ “Dude” character from “The Big Lebowski,” had a crowd of 50 onlookers arrayed around him for his act.

Domingue, who perfected his street busking routine in Australia after doing stand-up comedy, is best known for banging 5 ½-inch nails into his nose or swallowing swords. He jokingly calls them “low-skill, high-danger acts.”

However, every so often he ups the ante with the Houdini bit.

One of those in attendance was Russell Masuno, who has seen Domingue’s nail-smashing routine many times at the Seal Beach Pier.

Domingue is a local legend in Seal Beach, where a life-sized sculpture of his head is displayed at Seal Beach Liquors on Main Street.

“I’ve only seen him practice and mostly from a distance,” Masuno said about the straitjacket routine. “This will be the first time I’ve seen the whole act.”

Also on hand was Jason Collins of Huntington Beach, another street performer. Known as “The Balloon Guy,” Collins makes all kinds of animals, hats, bracelets and figures out of balloons.

Collins said he often pairs up with performers such as Domingue and will make balloon figures for the audience members before and after the shows.

Domingue warmed up the crowd with a bit called mental floss, in which he strings a balloon through his nose and out his mouth. He followed that with his nail act.

The crowd was kept engaged with Domingue’s banter and one-liners.

After the requisite build up, Domingue had volunteers strap him into the jacket and wrap him in chains. After about two minutes of twists and contortions, Domingue wriggled loose from his bindings to applause from the crowd.

About the Houdini act, Domingue says, “Anyone can pound a nail into their head. Few people can do this. This is special because of its history.”

He takes exception with those who call him a magician.

“Magic is illusion. Sideshows are real,” he said. “If this was magic it would be fake and you could call me Criss Angel.”